Duanmu Rong slightly raised his chin, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes.

"She had a faint scent of musk on her, not from something she carried with her. It must have come from something in her palace, and it was well-hidden. However, if you smelled or touched it frequently, it could cause miscarriage, so..."

Xie Lingqin's starry eyes were as dark as a deep sea. "So, Crown Prince Duanmu, it's time for you to clean up your back garden."

The implication is quite clear.

Someone had been plotting to frame Consort Min for a long time, causing her to miscarry. However, they hadn't found an opportunity until now. Coincidentally, Xie Lingqin had moved into the Brocade World, making her a perfect scapegoat. If the child was lost, Xie Lingqin would have no way to explain herself, and the other party could eliminate two at once, truly killing two birds with one stone.

However, the other party certainly didn't know her true identity, nor did they know that she wasn't actually a canary kept here by Crown Prince Duanmu, but a caged bird. They also didn't know that Xie Lingqin had easily seen through this ingenious palace intrigue.

Duanmu Rong left, and Consort Min was also helped away. As she left, the look in her eyes as she looked at Xie Lingqin was still full of hatred.

She's really naive.

"Even as a caged bird, I still managed to solve a major case in your backyard. I'm quite impressed with myself," Xie Lingqin said, looking at the sky with a hint of self-deprecation.

The tea inside the hall eventually went cold.

The young eunuch looked on and sighed.

As darkness fell, Duanmu Rong kept his word and sent someone to take Xie Lingqin to see Xuanyuan Du.

In the dimly lit cell, Xuanyuan sat alone in a corner, looking haggard. His once handsome face was completely devoid of color. If it weren't for the unusually bright and familiar look in his eyes, Xie Lingqin would almost have thought she had mistaken him for someone else.

"As expected, the person Duanmu Rong used to threaten me during the day wasn't really you." After looking Duanmu Rong up and down, Xie Lingqin came to her conclusion.

Xuanyuan Du only needed a moment to think before he understood Xie Lingqin's meaning. He took a few steps forward toward the prison door and said, "You should leave. You should return to Nanqi."

"Does the Emperor know how much you're suffering in prison?"

Xie Lingqin asked, her face tightening as she looked at Xuan Yuandu, whose body was almost entirely covered in lumps of flesh.

"Whether I know it or not, it's not that important to me anymore. For so many years, I've never known the meaning of my life. I'm a son of a concubine in the Xuanyuan Prince's Mansion, and I've never been favored. One day, my father said he would give me the title of heir apparent. When he said that, his expression was cold and indifferent, without any joy. Later, I found out that it was the Emperor's decree, and I, it turns out, am not..."

"It's just a bit of background, what's there to make you want to take your own life?" Xie Lingqin glanced around, then stepped forward and whispered to Xuan Yuandu through the cell door, "Xuan Yuandu, if I give you the military seal of Bei Rong, what do you want to do?"

Xuanyuan Du was stunned and stared at Xie Lingqin without blinking.

In the dim light, the cell was damp and gloomy, but she was aloof and stern, her gaze sharp and powerful as she looked at him.

Xuanyuan looked at Xie Lingqin in disbelief, his eyes almost glued to a certain light, and a moment of shock crossed his arrogant yet sharply defined face.

After all, such a profound scheme should not have been conceived by a woman.

Nor should it be the woman before me.

It seems that it can only be her.

"I've heard that you are a princess of Southern Qi." After a long while, Xuan Yuan Du's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"yes."

Xie Lingqin did not deny it.

The Southern Emperor announced this news as soon as he arrived in Southern Qi, in order to protect her.

"So, you want me to use Bei Rong's military strength to ascend the throne? And then use the military tally to feign goodwill towards them." Xuan Yuan Du looked at Xie Ling Qin and spoke in a tone so low that only the two of them could hear.

"Do you want to be the emperor?"

Xie Lingqin asked again.

Xuanyuan's single eye twitched. "Xie Lingqin, you're not serious."

"No, I've never been this serious before."

Xuanyuan sighed heavily, "Then, I'll change my mind again and catch Beirong off guard?"

Xie Lingqin looked at Xuan Yuandu, a cold smile appearing between her brows. "Do you think I'm despicable? But... I have no other choice."

Bei Rong and Nan Qi will go to war sooner or later. Since things have already come to this, she might as well strike first and gain the upper hand for Nan Qi.

"But I don't want to see you and Yuwen Yao..."

"With his foresight and ambition, perhaps all of this was within his expectations," Xie Lingqin interrupted Xuan Yuandu with a light, sarcastic tone, her eyes filled with coldness.

“I know that even if I try my best to save you, you can’t live an unknown life forever. Xixia will eventually give you an explanation. Your contributions to Xixia over the years deserve recognition.”

After Xie Lingqin finished speaking, she took a few steps back and silently said, "Think it over carefully."

As soon as Xie Lingqin finished speaking, the person next to Duanmu Rong walked in from behind her. "Miss Xie, it's time."

"Your crown prince is really stingy."

Xie Lingqin was not happy.

The visitor did not answer, but instead ordered a palace maid behind her to take out a piece of black cloth and blindfold Xie Lingqin.

Just now, Xie Lingqin came in the same way, because she didn't want Xie Lingqin to know where Xuan Yuandu was being held.

When Xie Lingqin returned to Jinse Tianxia, ​​Yuwen Qingyue was still awake. Seeing Xie Lingqin return, she immediately went to greet her, "You didn't manage to save Xuanyuan Du?"

"You are so powerful, how could you have rescued him all by yourself?"

This is true.

Yu Fangqingyue choked for a moment, then composed herself and said, "How about we take a gamble? I'll break out and call for help, then notify Xu Yiran, and finally my fifth brother."

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