*
After Pei Linmo returned to Yong'an City, he had Su Jing deliver the secret report from the Crown Princess of Wei Kingdom once again.
He locked himself in his study and read those few pages over and over again.
The Fifth Minister of the Southern Court, with the title of Zhaoyang, was sixteen years old.
At the time of his birth, auspicious clouds of dragons and phoenixes appeared in the sky, and hundreds of birds paid homage...
She was well-versed in classical texts at the age of three, engaged in debates before the emperor at five, compiled "Strategies for Governing the Country" at eight, and was established as the Crown Princess...
Pei Linmo frowned slightly; it was too one-sided.
"Su Jing".
Su Jing, who had been waiting outside, entered upon hearing the sound, only to find his master unusually absent-minded.
"Your Highness."
"Go check..."
He paused, his voice hesitant but clear, and said, "All that has happened to the Crown Princess of Wei over the past sixteen years."
Su Jingwei looked up at her master behind the desk and keenly noticed that the prince's tone was warmer than usual today.
"Including daily life, diet, martial arts training, reading, and who they've come into contact with..."
Pei Linmo paused as he tapped the table, then continued as if nothing had happened: "Especially... does she have any close male companions?"
Upon hearing the last sentence, Su Jing's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly lowered her head to hide her surprise and hesitated before saying:
"Understood."
"Does Your Highness intend to investigate whether the Crown Princess has any...childhood sweethearts?"
Pei Linmo's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not deny it. He simply said, "No matter how small the matter is."
After Su Jing left, Pei Linmo got up and walked to the window, his left hand behind his back, his fingertips rubbing together, as if he was still feeling the warmth of the person's wrist when he touched it.
"Fifth Minister Nanqing..."
He murmured the name, and couldn't help but recall that figure in silver armor and red cloak.
The slight upturn of her lips as she held the sword.
The hair that flies when riding a tiger.
And... the cunning look in her eyes when she peeled away his armor.
He looked down at the faint red mark on his wrist, a trace left by the wind of her sword. His fingertips unconsciously brushed against the wound, and a strange ripple stirred in his usually calm heart.
But deep down, he felt no aversion to this unfamiliar emotion; in fact, he even felt a strange sense of joy.
What am I so happy about?
Pei Linmo, who was always able to plan everything perfectly, couldn't control his thoughts for the first time, and couldn't figure out why he had such sudden feelings for Fifth Nanqing.
Is it the excitement of meeting a worthy opponent, or...?
But this unfamiliar feeling both confused him and, inexplicably... made him feel sweet.
Even if Pei Linmo had arranged many spies in the capital of Wei, it wouldn't be easy for him to find out what he wanted to know.
So on the second day, just as dawn broke, Pei Linmo, who hadn't slept all night, couldn't resist any longer. He and Su Jing disguised themselves and sneaked into Crescent Moon Pass.
The two men disguised themselves as two middle-aged men with dark faces, dressed in coarse cloth clothes, and with unshaven faces, blending into the crowd at the morning market.
The two approached the temporary residence of the Crown Princess, which they had discovered, discreetly. After turning through several streets and alleys, they saw a procession of carriages in front of the residence, one of which was understated yet luxurious.
The two squatted in the corner, glancing at the gate out of the corner of their eyes. After a while, Nan Qing, dressed in a plain dress, came out of the gate, followed by the white tiger.
Pei Linmo's gaze was fixed on the newcomer. Today, she was not dressed in military uniform, but as an ordinary woman. Her hair was loosely tied up, without many hairpins or ornaments, only a jade hairpin. However, her noble temperament could not be concealed.
Compared to her dashing appearance yesterday, she now possesses a softer, more delicate charm, with a hint of childishness still lingering on her cheeks. Yet, she is already stunningly beautiful, her radiance beyond compare.
He gazed at her, his face expressionless, but his eyes remained fixed on her, and he felt a sudden burning sensation in his heart.
But soon, the person got into the carriage and disappeared from his sight, and the caravan slowly drove away.
"Your Highness, should we follow them?" Su Jing asked softly.
Pei Linmo watched the convoy gradually disappear into the distance without saying a word, simply keeping his eyes fixed on it.
He stood up and turned to leave only after the convoy disappeared at the end of the long street.
Pei Linmo also returned to the capital, but he hadn't rested well along the way. Every time he closed his eyes, that familiar figure would appear in his mind.
"Your Highness, it's time to administer the medicine."
Su Jing brought in the calming medicine, but found that the documents on the table remained untouched.
Pei Linmo took the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. For the past half month, he had not had a proper rest, and the dark circles under his eyes were getting worse.
It wasn't until a rainy night, half a month after returning to Beijing, that Su Jing hurriedly knocked on the study door:
"Your Highness, a secret report from the State of Wei has arrived."
Pei Linmo paused slightly with his brush, the ink spreading across the rice paper. He put down the brush and took the thick stack of secret letters.
By candlelight, he turned the pages one by one, reading the records of the life and deeds of the Fifth Princess Nanqing of the State of Wei.
"The Fifth Princess Nanqing of Weiguo was born on the sixth day of the sixth month of the eleventh year of Yonghe. As the eldest daughter of the emperor, she was intelligent from a young age..."
"When she was ten years old, the Crown Princess first entered the military camp. Many generals secretly resented her. The Crown Princess set up a challenge, taking on dozens of soldiers in the camp single-handedly, which won them all over. She once single-handedly went deep into the enemy lines to rescue a trapped scout..."
Each entry made the figure that had never left his mind even clearer.
Suddenly, the "List of Companions for Studying in the Imperial Study" caught his attention.
"When the Crown Princess was studying, she was classmates with Zhou Mingyuan, the eldest son of the Prime Minister; Lu Ye, the son of General Zhenyuan; and Lin Wenqian, the eldest grandson of the Grand Tutor. Because General Zhenyuan was the Crown Princess's martial arts instructor in her childhood, she was closest to Lu Ye, and they often practiced martial arts and swordsmanship together..."
Upon seeing this, Pei Linmo's eyes narrowed slightly, his expression darkened, and he secretly memorized the names of those people.
The secret report concluded with:
"The Crown Princess's personal guards number five hundred and are called the Iron Eagle Guards. They are all elites, personally trained by the Crown Princess. The commander is Zhou Cheng, who is twenty-five years old and highly skilled in martial arts. He has been following the Crown Princess for six years. The deputy general is Lin Rui, who is knowledgeable in military strategy and especially good at arranging formations. He has also been following the Crown Princess for six years. Both of them were personally selected by the Crown Princess."
Pei Linmo read the secret report many times. When he put it down, the rain outside the window had gradually stopped and the sky was beginning to lighten.
He rubbed his temples, put the secret report into a hidden compartment, and as he turned around, his gaze fell on the map of the territory hanging on the wall.
There, the border between the Liang and Wei states stands out prominently.
"Your Highness, it's time for court," Su Jing whispered from outside the door.
Pei Linmo straightened his clothes and pushed open the door to go out.
Su Jing stole a glance and saw that his master's expression was calm and composed, just like the ruthless regent of Liang Kingdom he usually was.
But only Pei Linmo himself knew that the four words "Fifth Nanqing" still lingered in his heart, and were becoming more and more profound.
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