...

...

...

Qin Wan read the letter very quickly, scanning it in her hand with lightning speed. She then clenched her fingers, gathering her inner strength in her palm, and the letter instantly turned into a pile of ashes.

Before Ji Wenruo could speak, Qin Wan asked, "Did you come to the border specifically because of this letter, brother?"

Ji Wenruo nodded and then shook her head.

"That's part of the reason, but more than that, I'm worried about you and want to see you."

"You and I are brothers..."

When the word "brother" was mentioned, Ji Wenruo paused strangely.

Seeing this, Qin Wan smiled faintly, without any attempt to hide her reaction.

"I am indeed a woman."

I am indeed a woman...

It was indeed a woman...

It's a woman...

These words kept echoing in Ji Wenruo's mind.

Looking at Qin Wan's delicate face, Ji Wenruo's feelings were extremely complicated, and for a moment she didn't know how to react.

My mind is filled with all the little moments I've shared with Qin Wan since childhood...

Her companionship, her protection, her care and concern, her stubbornness, and her departure without saying goodbye...

Why...?

Ji Wenruo looked at Qin Wan with disbelief and asked.

"Brother, this is my fate." Qin Wan sighed softly, a hint of helplessness on her face.

Ji Wenruo looked at her without saying a word.

Seeing this, Qin Wan sighed softly, but in the end she couldn't resist Ji Wenruo's insistence and took out a pendant from her neck.

"Do you recognize this jade pendant, sir?"

"This is……"

"The Feng family?"

Ji Wenruo's pupils contracted, and in that instant, an ominous premonition flashed through his mind.

Why did the Feng family's jade pendant end up on Wan Di... and his sister?

Could it be that Wan'er's disguise as a man is related to this jade pendant?

A woman from the Feng family?

The Feng family...

In a flash, something swiftly crossed Ji Wenruo's mind.

"Wan'er, you?"

Qin Wan and Ji Wenruo stared at each other in silence, without saying a word.

...

...

...

Ji Wenruo stared at her blankly for a long time, her mind filled with complex emotions.

It took Ji Wenruo quite a while to recover.

"There's a prophecy about the Feng family that's been circulating on the Prosperous Continent for a long time..." Ji Wenruo began with difficulty.

Seeing this, Qin Wan poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him, patting his arm reassuringly.

"Brother, have some tea first."

Qin Wan neither admitted nor denied it.

She was comforting him...

Upon realizing this, Ji Wenruo's face paled.

So this is the truth...

No wonder...

No wonder Wan'er wanted to dress up as a man...

No wonder his father repeatedly stopped him from searching for Wan'er...

No wonder Wan'er became the Great General who protects the country in the Great Xia Dynasty.

The legendary Phoenix Maiden.

He who wins the Phoenix Maiden wins the world.

Wan'er wants to change her fate and escape the control of this prophecy, so she must conceal her identity and wield enough power...

“Father…” Ji Wenruo looked at Qin Wan with complicated emotions.

"My father knows," Qin Wan said frankly.

"My life was saved by my father."

"My appearance at the border and my successful rise to the position of General Who Protects the Nation are all thanks to my father's help."

“From a young age, my father taught me horsemanship and archery, and his military strategies and tactics were all for my own good.”

"My father wants me to be able to protect myself, not to become a plaything for those men because of some so-called prophecy."

"Is there anything else you want to ask, brother?" Qin Wan's frankness left Ji Wenruo momentarily speechless.

Father knows...

Father knows everything...

Wan'er knows too...

He was the only one kept in the dark...

Is it because of his health?

Because he was too weak to even kill a chicken?

Is it because even if he knew the truth, he was powerless to protect Wan'er?

Ji Wenruo's face showed self-reproach.

“Wan’er…”

"sorry……"

"It's all because my eldest brother is incompetent..."

"It's because your older brother was useless and couldn't protect you..."

Qin Wan pinched her brow, feeling a headache coming on. She was afraid that Ji Wenruo would react this way, which was why she had been avoiding him.

She truly had no patience to comfort any man other than Ling Jue...

She's not good at comforting people...

Thinking of this, Qin Wan could only sit there and let Ji Wenruo keep blaming herself.

As she was talking, Ji Wenruo suddenly fell silent.

He looked up at Qin Wan, a hint of confusion in his eyes, "Wan'er?"

"I'm here," Qin Wan replied obediently.

"sorry……"

Qin Wan: "..." Here we go again.

"Wan'er, don't worry. Even if your older brother is a useless person, as long as he lives, he will do his best to protect you."

"Although I can't practice martial arts like Wan'er, or protect her like an ordinary older brother, I've studied the classics for so many years. I can protect Wan'er with my brain."

"Wan'er, don't worry, with your older brother here, you won't be fighting alone anymore." As he spoke, Ji Wenruo subconsciously grabbed Qin Wan's hand.

Qin Wan: "..." There's no need for that.

Qin Wan calmly broke free from Ji Wenruo's grasp.

The sudden emptiness in his palm made Ji Wenruo frown subconsciously, and a fleeting sense of loneliness, which he himself was unaware of, flashed through his heart.

"Wan'er?" Ji Wenruo looked at Qin Wan with trepidation.

"Does Wan'er think that her elder brother can't do it?"

Seeing the unease on Ji Wenruo's face, Qin Wan sighed softly.

"No, I didn't, brother, you've misunderstood."

"I know that my brother is doing this for my own good, and he is worried about me."

"I just..." Qin Wan was struggling to find a reason to comfort Ji Wenruo when a commotion suddenly came from the entrance of the tent.

"Doctor Qi?"

Qin Wan and Ji Wenruo turned their heads to look at the same time.

For the past ten days or so, because he had to cooperate with Qin Wan's act, Qi Xiao no longer needed to report when entering or leaving the commander's tent.

Qi Xiao remained calm, as if he hadn't realized that his presence had disrupted Qin Wan and Ji Wenruo's "alone time".

“General, this is an imperial edict from Shengjing, delivered with utmost urgency…” Qi Xiao handed over the bright yellow imperial edict.

Qin Wan stood up, took the document, and opened it. "Where is the person who delivered the decree?"

"Dead."

Qin Wan paused in her gaze as she looked at the imperial edict, then looked up at Qi Xiao in surprise.

"Dead...?"

"Yes, he died from poisoning," Qi Xiao explained.

Qin Wan: "..."

Qin Wan stared at the imperial edict in her hand and fell silent.

After a moment of stunned silence, Qin Wan looked up at Qi Xiao and asked, "This imperial edict has been poisoned?"

"Yes," Qi Xiao replied obediently.

Ji Wenruo: "???"

Qin Wan: "..."

After regaining her senses, Ji Wenruo subconsciously reached out to snatch the imperial edict.

Strangely, Qin Wan did not dodge, and Qi Xiao did not stop her; he easily obtained the imperial edict.

Ji Wenruo's reaction time was a bit slow, and she didn't react for a moment. She subconsciously threw away the imperial edict in her hand and anxiously reached out to grab Qin Wan's hand.

Unexpectedly, just as he reached out, a long, slender hand with distinct knuckles suddenly stopped him...

"Doctor Qi?" Ji Wenruo looked at Qi Xiao in confusion.

"Your Highness, do not be anxious..." Qi Xiao remained calm and composed.