Villain Lady

"Strategist Yang, please follow me."

Yang Xian nodded and followed the eunuch. The room was sound proofed, so he knew that the only one who knew the conversation just now was the Imperial Physician. Still, he was worried that things might not be going that smoothly.

Walking back to the hall, Yang Xian noticed that each of the official was keeping close attention to each other. They would try to catch anyone who act suspicious.

'This is truly a battlefield on its own.'

"Strategist Yang, did His Majesty say anything?" Prime Minister Xie asked directly.

Yang Xian smiled. "His Majesty is worried about the border getting affected. Fortunately, His Highness the Third Prince is still holding on there."

The news regarding the war at the north was not new for the officials. They have heard about it countless times and ever since the fallout of the treaty, no one seemed to feel that it was strange for wars to happen again and again.

"Ah, that's good news," Prime Minister Xie said with a bitter smile.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yang Xian left the main hall. He thought about what Wei Liuying asked him to do and felt that it was difficult. If he was seen visiting the bookstore, everyone would be suspicious of him.

As he walked out, Yang Xian noticed Manager Xin was walking into the main hall. Manager Xin had already retired but he had quite a high position back then. It was not strange to see him in the palace occasionally, helping out the younger officials to do their duties. This time, he was walking with a stick in his hand.

'He's acting.'

Yang Xian knew very well that Manager Xin was still capable to walk properly without the need of a stick. He was only carrying one because it was important for him to act weak to not be targeted with anyone.

It was then, the stick suddenly shook and Manager Xin nearly fell.

Thump!

Moving to Manager Xin, Yang Xian held his arm and whispered, 'Liuying, right arm.'

In but a moment, the scroll that he kept under his sleeve was gone. Manager Xin was already used with this kind of exchange because he couldn't interact with Yang Xian properly.

'His Majesty?'

'No need.'

"Are you alright?" Yang Xian asked while trying to keep Manager Xin stable.

Manager Xin nodded and tried to take his stick back. "Yes, yes, sorry, my old hand is a bit too old."

"You should be more careful."

"Yes, yes."

Yang Xian smiled bitterly. Everyone knew that Manager Xin hated to talk with the younger generation, so they could only try to be patient when they faced with his annoying behavior. They were taught to respect the elderly ever since they were young, so they have to keep their emotion in check when they were facing Manager Xin to make sure that they didn't lash out.

He never wanted to get close to any youngsters and never gave any of them a chance when they met in the palace. Of course, this was also the front he adopted to all youngsters he met in public because he didn't want to let anyone knew who he truly fancied in private.

"I'll get going now, Elder Xin. Please take care."

Yang Xian walked away and tried to act as normal as possible. This was not the first time Manager Xin pretended to fall to test the young generations. He had done it numerous times that the old officials could only shake their heads when they saw their old friend's antic.

Manager Xin didn't even take another glance to Yang Xian, but he was still thinking about the whisper Yang Xian made.

No need.

It meant that Yang Xian was determined to bring whatever the Emperor asked him to do to Prince Ji Sheng by himself. In other words, he was confident that he could get out of the place safely without anyone could stop him.

'I hope you didn't just have baseless confidence.'

Walking out of the palace, Yang Xian headed to the temporary residence that the Emperor had prepared for him. The Emperor's days were numbered, so he could only try his best to not catch anyone's attention while he was staying in the capital city. Hopefully, his plan would go undisturbed.

…

- Zhuang City -

The journey didn't take as long as what Wei Liuying first expected. Looking at the high walls around Zhuang City, she came to understand that this must be one of the reasons as to why this city could stand tall even after all these times.

She stopped before the gate and showed the token that Prince Ji Sheng handed to her.

"Strategist Liu?" the guard was stunned when he read the name. When Wei Liuying first appeared before him, he thought it was just a young traveler roaming around at the wrong time. But seeing the name, he was stunned. Everyone did say about how young Strategist Liu was, but no one ever said that he looked like a child even when he was already 15 years old.

"Yes?" Wei Liuying tilted her head. "Is there anything wrong?"

"No, there's nothing wrong. I'll inform General Hao about your arrival. In the meantime, please wait inside."

"I understand. Thank you for your hospitality."

Wei Liuying passed the gate and entered the city before alighted down the horse. The city was well developed now that she had seen from inside. It was far better than what she had imagined at first. 

"Strategist Liu?"

Turning her head to the side, Wei Liuying saw Xie Jing walked. There were several soldiers following behind him with one standing a bit at the front. He looked like the adjutant of Xie Jing based on the way they walked.

"It's been a while, Soldier Xie Jing," Wei Liuying responded with a smile.

"Yes," Xie Jing responded and scratched his head. It was out of his expectation to see Wei Liuying in this city. In the next second, he recalled the incident and bowed down. "I'm sorry!"