The days following the agreement to marry Xiaoyue were peaceful and uneventful.

He Yunxiao lived a very regular life. He would get up early in the morning to go to the Fan residence, spend some time with his wife Ziruo, and then send his sister Du to work. In the mornings afterward, he would either go to the Short Knife Gang or meet with the antidote to discuss the "fake death" plan.

I went home for lunch, then went to practice martial arts with Chu Chu in the afternoon. Dinner was at Linxuan Palace, as usual. After taking my medicine and spending some time with Nan Zhu's wife, I went home. After returning home, I planned to visit Jiang Wuyou again.

After meeting twice regarding the antidote, the "fake death" plan was finally finalized.

Because there was an informant within the palace who served the Emperor of Yan, very few people knew about this plan. Within the palace, only Meng Qingqian, Meng Qingrou, the Empress Dowager, Jian Ling, and a few of Meng Qingqian's trusted subordinates knew. Among the officials, only a few ministers who had pledged allegiance to Meng Qingqian, and Yang Zhe and others who were definitely not Emperor Yan's spies, knew. Outside the palace, besides He Yunxiao, only Jiang Wuyou knew.

Of course, from He Yunxiao's perspective, the girl who received the antidote, who was "someone outside the palace," also knew about it.

According to the plan, Meng Qingqian would drink the "poisoned wine" while Jiang Wuyou was performing his sword dance, then immediately succumb to the poison and be carried back to her palace. After a joint diagnosis by several imperial physicians, she would be pronounced dead. The "poisoned wine" she drank would be a pre-prepared poison that could temporarily stop her pulse, thus deceiving the imperial physicians' diagnosis.

Afterwards, the imperial palace will begin mourning and prepare for a grand funeral. At this time, the truth will be revealed to Marquis Wuqing, who will then begin preparing to mobilize troops for a counterattack. Meanwhile, they will await the arrival of the Yan army.

After the Yan army penetrated into the heart of Qi, the Prime Minister's side was already showing signs of weakness. Meng Qingqian, whose burial had been postponed due to the war, could then begin the process of "resurrection".

Then came the time to reclaim power from the prime minister and simultaneously mobilize troops and select generals to launch a counterattack against the Yan state.

He Yunxiao's task was simply to wait until the actual battle began, then send him out to accumulate military merits. Extremely simple.

But He Yunxiao always felt that something was wrong.

...

Jinxian Academy.

Looking at the girl opposite him who had put on men's clothing again, He Yunxiao said regretfully, "Miss Li, I think there's something wrong with our plan."

"where?"

"It went too smoothly. Do you remember what I told you? The Yan Emperor definitely had more than just Jiang Wuyou as an assassination target."

Meng Qingqian smiled and said, "If it was an assassination attempt, you don't need to worry with the palace's security. If it was poisoning, Xiaoyue was already dead then, so why would they need to poison her?"

He Yunxiao countered, "What if it's before or after the coming-of-age ceremony?"

Meng Qingqian said, "If the Emperor of Yan truly had a better method of assassination than Jiang Wuyou's sword dance, why would he go to such lengths to keep Jiang Wuyou alive?"

He Yunxiao was speechless.

The antidote makes sense; I was indeed being a bit unreasonable.

In any case, you shouldn't be suspicious all day long because of an unfounded, intuitive guess.

Looking at He Yunxiao, who was so concerned about her, Meng Qingqian felt inexplicably happy.

She coughed lightly twice, then blushed slightly and said somewhat shyly, "Um, He Yunxiao."

"What's wrong?"

"In a few days it will be Princess Xiaoyue's coming-of-age ceremony."

"right."

He Yunxiao looked at the stammering Li Qingmeng and felt very strange.

"Miss Li, please speak your mind. I will definitely not reveal it."

Meng Qingqian took a deep breath and said with determination, "You are not allowed to attend Princess Xiaoyue's coming-of-age ceremony."

He Yunxiao: ?

"Why? Do you even know she's marrying me? I haven't even met her yet. It's her coming-of-age ceremony... I can't possibly ask to go and take a look, can I?"

Meng Qingqian's reason for not letting He Yunxiao attend the coming-of-age ceremony was simple: if he went and saw her, the fact that Meng Qingqian and Li Qingmeng were the same person would be completely exposed. Then, she would face ultimate social humiliation, and in front of many people.

Meng Qingqian blushed. "Marrying you is just a temporary measure. You mustn't take it seriously."

He Yunxiao hadn't taken it seriously, but he really wanted to see Meng Qingqian.

I've been in this novel for quite some time now, but I haven't even read about one of the most important female characters in the original book, Princess Xiaoyue, Meng Qingqian. It's kind of embarrassing to admit it.

"No, I just want to see what Meng Qingqian looks like."

The person in question sat opposite He Yunxiao, blushing and at a loss for what to do.

"What's so great about her? She's just so-so."

He Yunxiao looked at the girl who had given him the antidote and teased her, "As the eldest princess, Meng Qingqian can't possibly be any less capable than Miss Li, can she?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Qingqian disregarded her blush and immediately questioned He Yunxiao, "What's wrong with me? Am I not pretty?!"

He Yunxiao spread his hands and said, "The young lady is as beautiful as a fairy."

"Me! You!" Meng Qingqian was speechless with anger.

"What," He Yunxiao said with a smile, "Am I wrong?"

“Yes. But you’re not allowed to attend Xiaoyue’s coming-of-age ceremony.” Meng Qingqian said clearly, her face flushed, as she held the bell.

"No, what's wrong with me going to see what she looks like? It's not like she'll lose a piece of flesh." He Yunxiao was taken aback by the antidote's sudden "not to go."

"I said you can't go, so you can't go. There's no reason why." Meng Qingqian knew she was in the wrong, but she had no choice but to give He Yunxiao a firm order.

Hearing the antidote girl's tone, which sounded almost like a girlfriend being unreasonable, He Yunxiao laughed in exasperation.

If the key to the antidote were to truly establish a relationship with him, then He Yunxiao wouldn't have to go. But now, although the two have feelings for each other, they haven't established a relationship at all. How could he possibly listen to her?

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