The Shadow Guards were very fast, but the men Gan Qiongying sent returned to the princess's residence before dawn and the golden crow had completely risen into the sky, and they failed to deliver the letter to the prince consort.

Because the prince consort was not at home at this time.

Li Hua didn't sleep a wink last night, keeping a close eye on the situation inside the Regent's Palace, and knew that the Regent had woken up in the middle of the night.

However, he was injured after all, and it would be inconvenient for him to enter the palace for the next two days.

However, there was no guarantee that the Regent would insist on entering the palace despite the pain, so Li Hua did not rest all night and sent three letters to Zhongli Zhengzhen.

Early this morning, people were already waiting for Zhongli Zhengzhen at the Phoenix Tower.

Zhongli Zhengzhen also didn't sleep well all night. He had just fallen asleep when his servant woke him up, saying that Li Hua had sent him another letter.

Li Hua didn't sleep all night, nor did he let him sleep at all.

Upon entering Phoenix Tower, Zhongli Zhengzhen went straight to a private room on the top floor. His expression was quite unpleasant, but he still nodded slightly when he saw Li Hua.

For a rare occurrence, Li Hua actually gave him a smile.

It wasn't the kind of smile that didn't reach the eyes, but a genuine smile.

The two brothers look exactly alike. Although Li Hua is wearing a mask now, his eyes cannot be covered by the mask.

Zhongli's anger dissipated by half from the smile in Lihua's eyes.

However, just as Li Hua was about to speak, Zhong Li Zhengzhen spoke first, interrupting Li Hua and silencing her.

"I already know what you're planning to do in yesterday's letter, but I will not lend you the man."

Zhongli Zhengzhen said, "Brother, do you still remember what we came to Nanzhao for?"

"Because of its past defeats, Jinchuan has been paying tribute to Nanzhao for years, causing immense suffering to its people. What we need to do is to throw Nanzhao, which is now outwardly prosperous but inwardly weak, into chaos so that we can launch a surprise attack and turn the tables."

"Last night at the palace banquet, the Regent and the Empress Dowager's treacherous scheme was foiled, and the balance between us and the Southern Dynasty's emperor has finally been broken. This is a good thing for us, so why are you meddling in our affairs?"

"Was it you who assassinated the Regent last night? The Regent should have gone to the palace to settle accounts with the Emperor last night. The Emperor dared to disrupt the marriage alliance that the Regent had worked so hard to secure in front of so many people at the palace banquet. Perhaps the Regent would have killed the Emperor of Nanzhao in a fit of anger when he went to the palace last night."

"That would be in our best interest, so why are you preventing the Regent from entering the palace!"

Zhongli Zhengzhen's face was full of disapproval. He stared intently into Lihua's eyes. After all, they were twins. Even if they hadn't seen each other for many years and there was no telepathy, he could easily see Lihua's wavering from his eyes.

"Are you trying to buy time for Princess Duanrong? Has Princess Duanrong drugged you?"

Zhongli Zhengzhen stepped forward, facing Li Hua directly. With his handsome yet sharp face, he said to Li Hua, "Brother, you're confused."

"Have you forgotten how she treated you before? She's only changed her ways a few days ago, and we don't even know what her intentions are, yet you've already been so bewitched by her!"

Li Hua pursed her lips tightly.

Zhongli Zhengzhen said, "This morning I sent someone to deliver the best medicine from Jinchuan to the Regent. He will enter the palace once he recovers. We'll just have to wait and see what happens after that."

Li Hua's gaze gradually turned cold, but Zhong Li Zhengzhen was completely unaware, or rather, he simply didn't care.

He said to Li Hua, "It just so happens that Princess Duanrong can't easily leave the palace this time. My people have already spread the word that the Empress Dowager left two people in the palace for a long time last night. When they came out, Princess Duanrong seemed to be injured and had to be carried out."

Li Hua's eyes sharpened. He had no way to place someone in the palace, so he hadn't received any news from inside. Hearing Zhongli Zhengzhen say this, he immediately grabbed his hand and asked, "What injury did you suffer? Where are you injured? How serious is it...?"

"Zhongli Hua!" Zhongli Zhengzhen shook off Li Hua's hand. "I think you've completely lost your mind. You're actually concerned about Princess Duanrong. Have you forgotten the time she almost beat you to death and wouldn't let the doctor treat you?"

"Have you forgotten your own last name? Have you forgotten who you are?!"

Zhongli glared fiercely at Lihua and said, "Don't think I don't know what you've been doing behind my back! I've just turned a blind eye and helped you hide it from Father!"

"Your people in Jinchuan have almost all withdrawn, right? Father asked me why the information you gave me was always misleading, and that's when I realized I'd been deceived. Those so-called strongholds of Princess Duanrong that you gave me seemed real, but when our people went there, they found they were just empty shells!"

"So you were already secretly planning this back then, trying to get rid of us?"

"You've moved all your people to Nanzhao. What exactly are you trying to do? You asked me for your two maids not because you're too busy, but because you want to take back all the leverage Father has against you!"

“You’ve sold off all your businesses in Jinchuan. If I hadn’t specifically sent someone to investigate, I wouldn’t have known you were severing all ties with us!”

Zhongli Zhengzhen rattled off a long string of words, but Li Hua's expression remained unchanged, though her gaze grew increasingly somber.

He didn't offer any explanation because it was all true, and this day was bound to come sooner or later. From the day he gave Zhong Lizheng the list of the real and fake names, he was already prepared to break ties with them.

However... this time things happened suddenly, and most of his men were not in Yindu. He had promised Gan Qiongying that he would hold off the Regent, so he needed to borrow Zhongli Zhengzhen's men.

However, Li Hua did not expect that Zhongli Zhengzhen would discover his plan so quickly. Caihong and Quelu would not be able to arrive in Yindu for another five days.

Why aren't you speaking? Are you speechless?

Zhongli pressed on relentlessly: "Don't tell me you've really fallen in love with Princess Duanrong and want to elope with her!"

"It's just that a promiscuous woman who talks nonsense changed her ways and sweet-talked you a few times, and she fooled you," Zhongli was truly exasperated. "Haven't you ever seen a woman before?!"

"I will not allow you to help her again, nor will I allow you to return to the princess's residence and continue to be bewitched by her."

“I have decided to join forces with the Regent. Although the Regent is untrustworthy, as long as there is a change of government in Nanzhao, we in Jinchuan will have a chance to rise to prominence.”

"Your move is now useless. I will arrange for someone to send you back to Jinchuan as soon as possible." Zhongli Zhengzhen was a prince from a young age and was raised by his father as the heir to the throne. His greatest strength was his ability to act arbitrarily.

Seeing that Li Hua was hanging his head and not speaking, he didn't care at all what his reasons were.

Zhongli Zhengzhen simply felt that Li Hua was being misled, and that he would wake up after a while once they returned to Jinchuan.

Zhongli Zhengzhen said, "I did not tell Father Emperor about your attempt to rebel. I have asked Father Emperor to find you a truly gentle and virtuous wife among the noble ladies of Jinchuan."

Zhongli Zhengzhen said, "When you have a real woman and your own family, you will realize how wicked Princess Duanrong is, and you will realize that her sweet words are like a poison that corrodes your bones and will take your life!"

“I suspect she discovered your identity a long time ago, and the reason she suddenly changed her mind was to use you against her! She couldn’t kill you, so she wanted to use you, and you actually believed her... You are completely unsuitable to stay in Nanzhao.”

After Zhongli Zhengzhen's attack occurred, he made a decision for Li Hua and even arranged a family for Li Hua.

Li Hua did not refute at all, and later she didn't even look at Zhongli Zhengzhen again.

Zhongli Zhengzhen made it clear that he couldn't go back today and had to leave Yindu tomorrow. Zhongli Zhengzhen would arrange for him to die a "sudden death" and told him not to worry about anything and to stay obediently in Phoenix Tower and wait.

Li Hua glanced downstairs and saw a group of people who had gathered around. Although they weren't dressed as guards, Li Hua could tell from their strong physiques that they were no ordinary people.

Zhongli was actually going to forcibly send him away.