Song Tang's smile froze.

After her initial joy quickly cooled, she heard footsteps in the courtyard outside the window. The footsteps were as light as falling snow and blooming flowers; if it weren't for the reminder from Ai Cao, she would never have noticed anyone in the courtyard at this point.

Songtang quietly raised her hand and pointed to the window, asking with her eyes how to treat the mugwort.

Ai Cao smiled slightly.

She jumped silently in place, stretching her body. She raised her short sword and made a throat-slitting motion.

Songtang shuddered in fright. Aicao blinked, and before she could ask any more questions, she turned and rushed to Songtang's side.

The window had been kicked open.

In broad daylight, under the clear blue sky, a person dressed in black climbed in through the window. This person's face was also covered with a black cloth, with only a pair of dark eyes visible.

Ai Cao kicked open the half-window that had been thrown at her. She recognized the eyes of the man in black in front of her; they looked like the prince's younger brother, who was a guard.

Song Tang took a deep breath. She asked nervously, "What should we do? Kill them all?"

Despite being in a tense standoff with the enemy, Ai Cao burst out laughing.

The system said dryly, "Look what you've done to the bishop..."

The mugwort asked, "Not satisfied?"

The system's tone quickly became ingratiating: "Satisfied, extremely satisfied."

When it heard that the artemisia didn't respond, it continued to praise: "How can a heroine who isn't decisive and ruthless conquer the world!"

“…It’s overblown, really overblown.” Artemisia laughed and scolded it, “Pine and Crabapple might not even want to be emperor.”

"There's not much difference..." the system muttered, then fell silent.

The mugwort is ignoring the system.

Ai Cao smiled and said to Song Tang, "I'll handle them. You go find the Crown Princess."

Two more men in black rushed in through the window.

They pressed closer and closer, and Ai Cao stood protectively in front of Song Tang with her sword.

The system promptly notified: "There's no one in the yard."

It complained with exasperation, "You're underestimating me too much. You only sent three people?"

“It’s all the same anyway,” Artemisia replied.

Song Tang took two steps back and spoke quickly: "This place is far from the Crown Princess's residence, I probably won't be able to get back in time."

Ai Cao nodded, "That's true." She brandished the tip of her sword, looking at the three people in front of her, "Then wait for me, let's go together."

The lead guard spoke up: "Wait, I'm here to negotiate..."

Ai Cao drew her sword, and with her first strike, she sliced ​​off the black veil from the face of the person in front of her.

The scene was almost identical to their first encounter, but the person before him no longer had the heart to retrieve the black veil. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, but Ai Cao drew her sword again.

Ai Cao laughed and said, "You're not qualified to negotiate."

The sword tip lightly grazed the man's wrist, leaving a bloody mark. The sword only grazed the superficial skin and tendons, and the sword clattered to the ground.

The guard held his numb right hand in a daze.

The incident was so sudden that the two people beside the newcomer didn't even have time to react.

By the time they tried to come to their rescue, Ai Cao had already twirled the sword in her hand and gripped the hilt in reverse.

She gripped the hilt of her sword and flashed in front of the two men, striking them one on the side of their necks in turn.

The two of them collapsed with two thuds, lying on the ground in two different "big" shapes.

Ai Cao turned around and struck the leading guard on the neck with the hilt of her sword.

There was another thud.

Three men in black were lying on the ground in a mess.

Ai Cao dislocated the jaws of the three men and checked their mouths. Finding no poison, she wiped the bloodstains from the guards' wrists with satisfaction.

The blood on the guard's wrist flowed for a while, then stopped on its own.

Ai Cao tore off a strip of cloth from the guard's clothes and slowly wiped the bloodstains off the sword.

This sword is indeed a fine sword; it's exceptionally easy to use, whether for skinning, bone-scraping, or striking a neck.

Song Tang raised her hand and touched her face. This wasn't the first time she'd witnessed Ai Cao kill someone, and she was already quite calm about it.

Not to mention that this time, Ai Cao didn't kill a single person.

Song Tang hesitated for a moment, then asked, "...Should we kidnap them and take them to the Crown Princess's residence?"

Artemisia nodded as she wiped the sword.

Songtang squatted down and gently touched the unconscious person.

Originally, she was only trying to stick the hands and feet of these people together, but after several attempts, she found that these people were not flexible enough.

Song Tang then pinched the guard's face again. She pinched it a few times and was surprised by how tender and smooth it was.

The guard's face felt like steamed egg custard. She poked and pinched it, feeling a little reluctant to let him die like this.

Song Tang asked, "Can his face be preserved?"

Artemisia cleaned the short sword and put it back in its sheath.

She walked over and squatted down next to Songtang, saying, "Perhaps we can ask around; the Crown Princess might know a craftsman who can peel off faces."

Song Tang touched his face again and whispered, "Never mind, you can't peel someone else's face off."

She glanced longingly at the guard, scrutinizing his face: "Shall we go to the Crown Princess's residence now?"

Ai Cao glanced at the guard a couple more times, planning what kind of handicrafts she could make from that face. Maybe just using the face itself wouldn't be enough; she'd better add something else...

Mugwort said yes.

They tied the three of them up like dumplings and stuffed them into a sack.

Ai Cao called a horse-drawn carriage, loaded the sacks onto it, and transported them to the Crown Princess's residence.

The two people who dragged sacks into the Crown Princess's residence received a warm welcome.

The Crown Princess led them into the side room.

After figuring out what had happened with the arrival of the eldest princess, she frowned and pondered in her chair.

The eldest princess eagerly raised her fist: "Eldest sister, this is the perfect opportunity for us to overthrow Uncle, take over his private army, and then force that...!"

The Crown Princess's brows furrowed even more.

This is a bit strange.

Although, when she first discovered that... the teacher who had taught her and was now teaching her younger sister had rented the courtyard to Song Tang, who had just arrived in the capital, without informing her, she felt that this was a bit strange.

But at that time, she didn't think it was a big problem.

After all, Songtang was just a little girl.

What impact could a seven or eight-year-old girl have on the murky waters of Beijing?

It's just a matter of making things a little muddier; there's no real difference.

But now...

The Emperor's newly favored Lord Song has been exiled; the Eldest Princess stormed into the Prince's mansion and discovered that the Prince had a private army; now the leader of the private army has even come to their door and fallen into their hands.

Everything went too smoothly.

The Crown Princess frowned and said, "Let me take another look."

She couldn't gamble with her own and her sister's lives and fortunes.

Just by looking at her expression, Ai Cao could deduce some of her thoughts.

Ai Cao thought for a moment and said, "It's normal for the Crown Princess to be worried."

She asked the eldest princess, "Did the eldest princess and the crown princess mention the previous matter?"

The eldest princess shook her head: "Even if I told you, who would believe me? My elder sister will see it herself sooner or later, why should I repeat myself?"

The Crown Princess's brow furrowed even more: "What is it?"

Ai Cao laughed and kicked the unconscious man on the ground, saying, "It didn't matter if we didn't know before, but now it's perfect that we have someone who can be used."

She asked with a grin, "Is the mute girl still taking care of the children in the Crown Princess's residence?"