Just as the eldest prince and the thirteenth princess were discussing the matter of the second prince's mother, in the camp of the northern frontier of the empire, a woman was shouting angrily at the person in front of her.

"What did you say? I'm defending the empire on the front lines, and you're telling me my son died in the imperial palace?"

In the large room, apart from some communication devices still beeping, the rest of the imperial officers remained silent, each staring at their toes. After all, no one wanted to speak at this moment and become the woman's outlet for her frustration.

After an unknown amount of time, a slightly younger man stepped forward from among the officers. Although his face showed bitterness and reluctance, he had no choice but to let his female adjutant speak for him in this situation.

"Chief of Staff Zhao Li, His Highness the Second Prince died in the palace. There must be some reason for it. Please take care of your health."

At this moment, Zhao Li, the mother of the Second Prince, who was glaring angrily at everyone in the room, seemed to have found an outlet for her anger upon hearing her adjutant's voice, and roared out:

"The reason? Not to mention that the Emperor had already cleared out the strange creatures in the capital, let alone that it happened in the heavily guarded royal palace. Where was Morris's strange squad? My son actually died in the royal palace where the Emperor himself was stationed! How ridiculous is that?"

At this moment, Zhao Li's chest heaved violently with anger. Despite wearing an impeccable imperial military uniform, it could not conceal her perfect figure. Unfortunately, no one dared to look up and admire this beautiful sight.

The young adjutant standing in front of Zhao Li no longer dared to utter a sound, simply letting her vent her anger and sorrow.

“Someone in the palace must have harmed my son, otherwise he would never have died in the palace for no reason.”

She clutched the intelligence report about the Second Prince's death tightly in her hand. Her hair, which had been tied up, had come undone at some point, and her long, black, shiny hair was now scattered messily down her back.

Looking at the adjutant standing silently before her, bearing the brunt of her anger, Zhao Li recalled the days the young adjutant had spent with her. Her roars gradually subsided, but the anger in her heart still lingered.

"Today, you will temporarily serve as the Chief of Staff of the Northern Theater. I need to return to the capital. After all, whether it is due to personal matters or my emotions, I am no longer able to hold this position."

Zhao Li didn't deliberately lower her voice, so everyone else in the room naturally heard what she said. However, no one objected, because whether it was ability or connections, the young adjutant accompanying Zhao Li met the requirements for a temporary chief of staff.

When the young adjutant heard that Zhao Li had temporarily handed over the position of chief of staff to him, he was speechless. Looking up at the beautiful woman in front of him, the adjutant finally spoke.

"Chief of Staff Zhao Li, although I don't understand the intricacies of the royal palace, I know that you will definitely encounter danger on your return journey. Please... be extra careful."

Zhao Li wasn't angry when she heard the young adjutant in front of her say such a simple word of concern after so much preparation; she was glad that he had the heart to do so.

Without saying much in farewell, Zhao Li simply straightened her Imperial Army uniform, which was now somewhat disheveled from her earlier outburst of anger, and then turned and headed towards the exit of the room.

Without any hesitation, Zhao Li simply waved her hand and walked out of the room where many imperial officers were gathered.

When the other officers saw Zhao Li disappear out of the room, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. After all, the wrath of the Imperial Princess and Chief of Staff of the Northern Front was something they couldn't afford to bear.

"How long do you think it will take for Chief of Staff Zhao to return after he goes back to the palace?"

"In my opinion, with Chief of Staff Zhao's capabilities, he should be able to find and execute the murderer of the Second Prince within a week!"

"It doesn't need to take a week! I estimate it will be done in less than five days!"

"Why are you interested? Why don't you place a bet and take a chance?"

"Agreed."

“That’s right, I’m quite interested too. How long will it take Chief of Staff Zhao to find the murderer? I’ll participate.”

After Zhao Li left, the officers in the room began to argue about how long it would take for her to capture and deal with the murderer. Led by an officer with the rank of Imperial Lieutenant General, they each took out checks to bet on how long it would take Zhao Li to execute the murderer.

However, there was only one person who did not participate in the lively scene in the room.

"Hey kid, you've become the interim chief of staff. Want to gamble a little and celebrate?"

The young adjutant stood alone to one side of the crowd, politely declining their invitations with a simple smile.

The others were all busy placing bets and didn't pay any attention to him standing alone to the side.

"Chief of Staff Zhao Li, please make sure you return safely."

The young adjutant muttered to himself, but because everyone was placing bets loudly, no one heard his quiet words.

He knew that these officers had been stationed in the northern war zone for a long time. Although their ranks and positions were very high, they might spend their entire lives in the northern border of the empire. Naturally, they would not know about the darkness and corruption in the capital.

He himself had worked his way up from a commoner's home in the capital, and after much difficulty, he passed the examination and became one of the lowest-ranking officials in the empire.

The glorious and magnificent empire in his heart began to crumble from that moment on.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!