Half of the sky changed

The next day, Wu Qi woke up first. Yi Shen was no longer beside her, and there was a letter on the table. Wu Qi glanced at it a few times but didn't pay much attention to it. In recent days, Yi Shen had been exchanging many secret letters with the capital, and she assumed that the letter on the table was a reply from someone in the capital to Yi Shen, but the words on the envelope indicated that it was addressed to her.

The characters lacked any structure or vigor, like those of a beginner.

Wu Qi disassembled it.

—Sister Yaoling, this is Jingzhu. I apologize for writing to you so boldly.

Here's the thing: I heard from my family that my sister isn't in the capital; she's gone to Changru Town. Although I don't know why she left the capital, I haven't forgotten what happened that night.

Sister, you are a good person. I shouldn't have blamed you for my father's death, and I believe my father wouldn't have blamed you either.

Sister, I'm sorry.

Without you, even more people would have died.

Wu Qi quietly finished reading the letter, then silently read it again from the beginning, especially the sentence—"Without you, even more people would die."

She folded the letter and put it back in the envelope without saying anything, simply carrying the letter with her. She sat by the window, applying makeup and doing her hair.

Just a window away, Yi Shen and his group were outside in the courtyard.

Yi Shen asked, "Why did Jing Zhu write a letter to Xiao Qi?"

Not only that, Jing Zhu also asked him to personally hand it over to Wu Qi, or place it somewhere that Wu Qi could see as soon as he opened his eyes after waking up.

“Ah, about this matter,” Lin Kuo said, “didn’t this brat push Xiao Qi in public and blame Xiao Qi for his father’s death? Now he’s been living in the Wu family’s house. I guess he feels guilty.”

Ning Xunxu chuckled and said, "This little brat felt guilty for pushing Sister Xiaoqi back then. If everyone had a conscience like this little brat, I'm afraid quite a few people would have to kowtow to Sister Xiaoqi to confess their sins."

Lin Kuo said, "It's really funny. Wei Si died, but he couldn't die peacefully, and he even dragged Xiao Qi down with him. However... Wei Si did not do as many evils as we thought."

He had always thought that Wei Si was responsible for all the evil deeds, but Wei Si's last words before his death—"I, Wei Si, am not so poor as to accept bribes to buy official positions"—did indeed arouse Lin Kuo's suspicion.

Lin Kuo continued his investigation, but he couldn't find out the truth.

Some are dead, others have vanished, and only scattered fragments point to the person in the high position, leaving no definitive conclusion. Therefore, all the evil deeds have fallen on Wei Si. One wonders if Wei Si knew about this before he died...

The truth is that it cannot be found out.

Even at this point, no one knew how many evil deeds Wei Si had actually committed, or how many things that person had secretly imposed on him.

Lin Kuo sighed, "I wonder what Princess Pingyi will think when she finds out about these things? After all, that man is Wei Luanhua's uncle..."

Upon hearing that person's name, Song Yinxing, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "Brother Weichong, have you made up your mind? Victory could mean ruling the world, but defeat could mean utter ruin."

Yi Shen said, "It's decided."

Only when he reaches a position where no one dares to suppress Wu Qi will he feel at ease.

“Brother Wei Chong, I’m sorry.” Ning Xunxu lowered his eyes and said, “My sister is still in the palace, so I don’t think I can help much with this matter.”

Since Ning Chanyuan helped Yi Shen and Wu Qi leave the capital, she has been under house arrest in the palace. The emperor sent golden-armored soldiers to guard her, and no one can see her.

For this reason, Ning Xunxu once drew his sword and went to the imperial court, nearly committing a fatal crime.

Even so, he still hadn't seen his sister. It was only when the Golden Armor Army came to deliver a message at night that he was able to see her once. To this day, he has only seen his sister twice. Admittedly, Ning Xunxu also wanted to overthrow the world with Yi Shen and the others, but with his sister still in that person's hands, he dared not act rashly.

Yi Shen said, "This matter is not difficult."

Throughout history, no one has dared to describe this matter as "not difficult at all." Lin Kuo had been laying traps in the imperial palace for many years, yet he still dared not think of overthrowing imperial power. When he first learned of Yi Shen's idea, he was so shocked that he spat out all the tea he was drinking onto the letter.

At that moment, Song Yinxing looked at him suspiciously. He wiped the tea off the letter with his sleeve and then showed it to Song Yinxing.

After reading the letter, Song Yinxing said softly, "It wasn't only Brother Chong who volunteered."

Yi Shen wasn't obsessed with that position; rather, he believed that only if he himself sat in that position would no one in the world throw Wu Qi into dire straits.

That was his witch doctor.

He was saved, protected, and cherished.

At that time, Song Yinxing asked Lin Kuo, "What do you think we should do?"

Lin Kuo kissed her, already knowing the answer in his heart. He asked Song Yinxing in return, "Zhiyun, do you want to be remembered in history?"

Song Yinxing asked, "Are you so sure you can succeed?"

Lin Kuo buried his head in her neck, laughing so hard his shoulders were shaking. When he looked up at Song Yinxing again, his usually indifferent eyes were now serious.

He said, "First, the country is doomed. Second, we are both young and intelligent, how can we possibly lose and have our families destroyed?"

The next sentence, with its rising tone, is reminiscent of Lin Kuo in my memory.

After a moment of silence, Song Yinxing said, "Then let's make a bet."

Lin Kuo considered this matter of utmost importance. He originally thought there wouldn't be much progress in the short term, but Yi Shen's involvement accelerated the process, with Yi Shen even resorting to risky tactics on several occasions. Yi Shen, a scion of a prominent family, was skilled in poetry, painting, and playing the zither, but he also possessed a sharp eye and ruthless actions. In some matters, he was so ruthless that Lin Kuo had to clasp his hands in prayer.

Although Yi Shen was not in the capital, he was watching everything.

Perhaps it was because he was too sharp and ruthless, yet he concealed it well, or perhaps it was simply the trend of the times. Before long, the students of Cizige Middle School also quietly joined in.

The capital city has changed halfway without anyone realizing it.

Lin Kuo once sighed, "Sometimes, we are all forced to move forward, and Yi Shen is the one among us who is forced the most."

If he doesn't take that position, the next person to die will be his lover.

The people from Cizige gathered in Changru Town not only to celebrate Wu Qi's birthday, but also for another reason—the Emperor's Golden Armor Army was one in a million, with superb martial arts skills, capable of fighting a hundred men single-handedly. They could not even manage to fight them to a draw, not to mention that the Emperor also held a large army.

If this is not broken, they will be doomed forever.

However, they really couldn't break it.

A group of people were slumped over the table with long faces, not standing or sitting properly. Some were hiding their faces with books, some were sitting on the floor, and some were eating pastries and fruits non-stop.

They discussed it for a long time but couldn't come up with a good solution; they were all at a loss.

Lin Kuo opened the door and saw the terrible state of the room before even entering. He couldn't help but joke, "Everyone, what's going on here? Why are you so worried? Just use a cannon to blast it."

A rebellion should look like a rebellion...

One of them blew a strand of hair away from his face, spread his hands helplessly, and said, "The Cannon Scale can indeed bombard the Golden Armor Army, but unfortunately, it's in the enemy's hands."

Although Ning Xunxu frankly admitted that he couldn't help much, everyone had long regarded him as a friend in life and death, and they never shied away from discussing important matters with him. He sat in his chair, picked up a piece of fruit and tossed it around, saying, "What a coincidence! Now, we not only have to defeat the Golden Armor Army, but also the Cannon Scale Army."

No sooner had the words been spoken than another wail erupted.

Amidst the wails, one person asked, "Do you know what the people call Paolin?"

What should it be called?

"The Invincible Little General".

One of the crowd said, "...Did you hear that right? The 'Invincible Little General' refers to Xiao Qi. Pao Lin is known by the people as the 'Divine Weapon of the Invincible Little General'."

The man asked doubtfully, "Really? Did I hear that right?"

Another person said, "You must have misheard. I heard the people say this with my own ears. Xiao Qi is the Invincible Little General, and Pao Lin is the Invincible Little General's divine weapon."

Although Wu Qi is currently in Changru Town, he has already become famous. It is just that Changru Town is too remote that Wu Qi's reputation has not yet spread.

General Wei Mao was known as the "Hundred-Victory General" by the people, a high praise after experiencing countless battles. Wu Qi won the title of "Invincible Little General" among the people with just one battle.

As for that unspeakable matter...

In fact, everyone knows that there is a way.

However, this solution still requires Wu Qi to resolve.

However, Wu Qi's current situation...

"Alright, alright, let's not make things difficult for Xiaoqi. She's so young, she just turned eighteen, and she's finally getting a little better, let's not pressure her."

"Yes, yes. Even if we have to postpone this matter, we need to let Xiaoqi get a few more good nights of sleep."

"Yeah, we saw how much she cared about Paolin back then. She could barely sleep for a few hours a day. Now that this matter is too much... I'm afraid she'll have to stay up a lot of nights again."

"Let's think of another way first."

Yi Shen, who was inside the house, didn't say much. He got up and said goodbye, "I'm going to see Xiao Qi."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door was opened.

It is Wu Qi.

Today she wore a light green dress, her pale yellow hair ribbon fluttering in the wind, and just like a long time ago, she had filled her hair with many flowers in front of the mirror.

She was covered in the fragrance of flowers, smiling sweetly, and radiant with joy.

She truly resembles the celestial goddess who governs the spring equinox.

It had been a long time since anyone had seen Wu Qi like this. It was as if they had returned to Ci Zi Pavilion and seen the carefree Wu Qi again.

At that time, her most important task every day was to paint a picture that would satisfy Master Sun.

But they knew in their hearts that they were ultimately different.

Wu Qi leaned against the doorframe, holding a bouquet of freshly picked flowers in her hands. She looked around the room, her gaze settling on Yi Shen. She tilted her head slightly and said, "Everyone, aren't you going to ask me for help?"

No one can be as carefree and exuberant as they were in their youth, but what is truly admirable is that even after experiencing life and death, one still has the courage to embrace a bouquet of flowers.

Wu Qi was precisely that kind of person.