Xie Yin wanted to reach out and knock Ye Chenxing away.

Xi Xingxue: "Uh..."

He thought Ye Chenxing was probably crazy.

"Don't let yourself fall into depravity," Xi Xingxue said solemnly. "You are a general of my Great Xia, and you shouldn't let love and romance hold you back."

Ye Chenxing was somewhat disappointed. He knew that Xi Xingxue was rejecting him.

But this will not hinder his progress.

He looked at Xi Xingxue, wanting to say something, but Xie Yin blocked his way.

"Ye Chenxing, stop talking."

His eyes flashed with murderous intent, as if he was about to fight Ye Chenxing at any moment.

Xi Xingxue felt she needed to stop them, so she said, "General Ye, it's getting late, shouldn't we go back for dinner?"

Ye Chenxing knew that Xi Xingxue was trying to get rid of him. Although he didn't want to leave, he had no reason to stay, so he could only leave with many backward glances.

Xie Yin expressed his jealousy and unhappiness, but he felt he was not worthy of being coaxed by Xi Xingxue, so he could only force a smile.

Xi Xingxue's eyes lit up: "Xie Yin, don't think about these things. I'll ask the kitchen to make your favorite dishes."

Xie Yin was taken aback.

Was he... trying to comfort him?

This discovery instantly dispelled his disappointment and distress, and a gentle smile appeared on his lips.

"good."

But after Xi Xingxue turned around, his expression changed instantly.

He had to find the person in the painting and make sure he stayed far away from Xi Xingxue, never to appear again.

........

In the days that followed, Xie Yin became increasingly busy, often leaving early and returning late.

Xi Xingxue knew.

The countdown has begun for Xie Yin to turn the tide for the Xie family and for the story to reach its finale.

Although Xie Jiuchuan is very likely to never appear again, Xi Xingxue is still unwilling to give up.

He went to see Qi Jinzhao under the pretext of going to the palace to observe the celestial phenomena.

However, it was only after arriving at the East Palace that he discovered that the Daoist Bai Zhan was also there.

He chatted with Qi Jinzhao, but it's unclear what they talked about.

After Master Bai Zhan left, Xi Xingxue was welcomed inside.

"Are you going to cooperate with Bai Zhan?" Xi Xingxue probed.

Qi Jinzhao leaned against the chaise longue, crossed her long legs, lifted her eyelids, and looked at him with her narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes.

"Oh? You're worried about me cooperating with him?"

Xi Xingxue looked into his eyes, and for a moment, he actually thought that Qi Jinzhao and Xie Jiuchuan looked a bit alike. He was really obsessed, almost doing something as absurd as using someone as a substitute.

He shook his head to clear his mind of these distracting thoughts and looked calmly at Qi Jinzhao.

"You're overthinking it. I was just asking. Bai Zhan is my mortal enemy, and you treat me the same way. Your cooperation means the same thing to me."

Qi Jinzhao smiled as he looked at Xi Xingxue, who spoke without any politeness.

He really has no sense of distance at all.

However, I... simply can't get angry.

The reason why people find Xi Xingxue interesting is because they admire his "dead pig doesn't fear boiling water" spirit, isn't it?

"He does want to cooperate with me, but I won't give him the chance. However, he's deliberately staying behind, probably to target you."

As soon as Bai Zhan entered prison, he concocted some kind of talisman and presented it to the emperor.

It was said that the talisman, when applied to the body, could make one feel refreshed and light-footed, as if floating on clouds. The emperor was overjoyed and secretly granted Bai Zhan an official position and rewards.

However, this official position was low-key, the kind that most people wouldn't immediately recall.

Even so, as long as Bai Zhan remained in the palace, he posed a threat to Xi Xingxue.

Taking advantage of this, Qi Jinzhao said, "How about we cooperate? I'll help you deal with Bai Zhan."

Xi Xingxue thought the Crown Prince was crazy, even though the person who ultimately drove Bai Zhan to assassinate him at the banquet was not the Second Prince.

However, it cannot be denied that Qi Jinzhao played a role in bringing Bai Zhan down the mountain.

Why are we now trying to cooperate with him to deal with Bai Zhan?

"Doesn't Your Highness dislike me? Aren't you afraid you'll lose your appetite if you cooperate with me?"

Xi Xingxue said sarcastically.

Qi Jinzhao was stunned for a moment, and then his expression became very serious.

He said, "I have never hated you."

The person he used to hate was not Xi Xingxue at all.

They were never one person.

Its importance in his heart has never been the same.

Xi Xingxue didn't know what Qi Jinzhao was thinking, so she couldn't understand his explanation and just thought he was coaxing her.

But I'm sorry, he's not so easy to appease.

But as she turned her gaze, Xi Xingxue thought of something else.

"Your Highness, are you aware of the Xie family's affairs?"

Qi Jinzhao's smile vanished.

Xi Xingxue must want to say something on Xie Yin's behalf; he could totally guess that.

Could it be that Xi Xingxue has fallen for Xie Yin? Is that why she's been helping him in such roundabout ways?

Qi Jinchao said unhappily:

"Just say what you have to say."

Xi Xingxue: "If we help you rise to power, will you help the Xie family get justice?"

Xi Xingxue no longer needs to maintain a persona.

As mentioned before, his superiors wouldn't allow him to voluntarily modify the plot, but he's only helping to speed up the plot, so it should be fine; at worst, he'll get struck by lightning.

Help Xie Yin and expedite the clearing of the Xie family's name.

Qi Jinzhao stared at Xi Xingxue with his dark eyes for a long time.

Finally, he spoke: "You want to cooperate with me?"

Xi Xingxue paused for a moment: "You could say that."

"Let Xie Yin come and talk to us in person." Qi Jinzhao's tone was gloomy: "Xi Xingxue, does he know how much you value him?"

Why are you suddenly calling me by my full name?

Xi Xingxue frowned, suppressing her doubt.

"I did this for my own reasons, you may have misunderstood me."

Qi Jinzhao felt a little better when he heard that he could actually explain, but the discomfort in his heart just wouldn't go away when he thought about how much he valued and helped Xie Yin.

"I understand. You should go back now. Let Xie Yin handle the rest."

"Um."

Xi Xingxue left.

He did indeed send Xie Yin to talk to Qi Jinzhao, but he wouldn't just sit idly by doing nothing.

He began developing bombs.

Yes, you heard right, developing bombs.

The original plot also depicted Qi Jinzhao ultimately defeating the Second Prince and ascending the throne, but it also showed that he was under immense pressure, even losing an arm and nearly dying.

Xie Yin was also seriously injured.

Xi Xingxue decided to help them.

A month has passed.

Xi Xingxue developed a bunch of bombs.

The materials needed for these bombs seem similar to those used in ancient gunpowder. However, Xi Xingxue was a simple ancient man. He used modern knowledge to develop something similar to a hand grenade, which was far more lethal than gunpowder.

This month.

Ye Chenxing was very distressed.

No matter how he pursued Xi Xingxue, he remained unmoved, but fortunately, he had completely forgiven him.

I'm no longer angry about the time I pinched him when we first met...