The change seemed sudden, yet it also seemed not so sudden.
Even with a sword pointed at her, Qingxia remained calm and composed, saying, "Princess, this servant has no such skill."
"You, Qingxia, I really trusted you wrongly."
Nan Fenghuang crossed her arms, looking quite defeated, after all, she was the one who found this maid and assigned her to Nan Lingqin.
"Qingxia, do I need to interrogate you any further?"
Nan Lingqin suddenly stepped forward.
The cold and domineering words made Qingxia lower her head abruptly. Her hand tightened, and with a sudden look up, she swept her long sleeves out, sending silver needles flying straight towards Nan Lingqin's face.
Xu Yiran and Nan Fenghuang immediately stepped forward to help, while Qingxia took the opportunity to kick Tinghai away and run off in the other direction.
"Don't let her get away."
As Nan Lingqin coldly gave the order, he had already taken the lead and chased after her.
"Hey, Nan Lingqin, aren't you supposed to be in charge of the overall situation?"
Nan Fenghuang was utterly speechless. They had just put on such a show, and now she had run away. Just as she was about to chase after them with Xu Yiran, they suddenly heard strange noises all around, and then someone rushed in to report, "Reporting to the Second Princess, there is something strange in the northeast corner."
Upon hearing this, Nan Fenghuang's expression changed slightly. After greeting Xu Yiran, she immediately led her people over.
Qingxia's lightness skill was so superb that Nan Lingqin had to chase for a while before she could close the distance.
Behind her, Xu Yiran followed closely, her voice ringing in her ears, "Xiao Qin, whose side do you think she is on?"
A biting wind howled, Nan Lingqin's clothes fluttered, and she glanced at Xu Yiran's face, which seemed to be covered in frost, and said, "You noticed it too."
“Naturally.” Xu Yiran nodded, her expression somber. “Tonight, all the passes were attacked one after another. First, two people broke in disguised as bandits, their motives unclear. Then, the Iron General Camp set up a trap within a trap, forcing them to kill each other, their methods were clearly cruel. Then, someone silently broke in from the northeast corner without harming a single person. Obviously, these are two different methods of doing things. One side is clearly full of hostility, while the other side… doesn’t seem to want to hurt anyone.”
Nan Lingqin listened to Xu Yiran's analysis and nodded, "You're right. The silent intrusion from the north and south corners doesn't seem like they're trying to break the formation; it's more like they have an extremely deep understanding of it. So this group must be Qing Xia's accomplices. As for the other group..."
Nan Lingqin suddenly laughed, her voice clear and melodious, like a night elf, only lacking the lightness and etherealness, but possessing an eerie and melodious quality.
"Seeing that you ran out alone without asking for help, the other party will definitely come after you."
Xu Yiran continued Nan Lingqin's words.
Nan Lingqin nodded, her starry eyes slightly raised as she looked at Xu Yiran, somewhat disapproving. "Since you saw through my purpose, why did you come along? If you were going to come, it would have been better to do it secretly, so that the other party would be less vigilant."
But I'm worried about you.
Even though I know it's impossible in the end, I just want to never leave you, not even for a moment.
Xu Yiran looked at Nan Lingqin. Her slender profile shone with a unique, lustrous glow in the moonlight. Her chin was tightly pursed, but he couldn't understand her or see through her, yet he wanted to understand her even more.
"Xu Yiran".
Feeling Xu Yiran's gaze, so intense and so unwavering, Nan Lingqin remained steadfast. She turned her head, and in the moonlight, her eyes rippled with a clear, gentle light.
"Besides friends, I can't give you the result you want. I'm helpless."
Nan Lingqin said that even though Xu Yiran was so clever as to know this long ago, she still had to say it. Because she knew that her father was secretly sending messages to Xu Yiran and had even taught him hundreds of ways to pursue her.
She considered him family, couldn't live without him, and didn't want to hold him back.
“I understand. If you rise to the throne, I will serve as a wise minister by your side. If you retire to the mountains and rivers and have no one to rely on, then I will leave the world with you and remain your lifelong friend without regret.”
I'd rather leave the world behind than lose a lifelong friend; I have no regrets.
It is said that companionship is the longest confession of love. At this moment, Nan Lingqin suddenly understood the profound meaning of these words.
It turns out it didn't refer to romantic love.
Nan Lingqin felt a bittersweet feeling spreading through her heart.
“Xu Yiran, what have I, Nan Lingqin, done to deserve such a person in my life?”
"No, it is I, Xu Yiran, who have done so much to deserve being by your side. That is enough for the rest of my life."
Nan Lingqin looked into Xu Yiran's pure and untainted gaze. Even after experiencing so much, he remained unperturbed, his eyes seeing only the vast sky and the only person in his world.
"good."
She said that at the same time, with a flick of her wide sleeve, a small crossbow appeared in her hand, and the silver needles shot straight at Qingxia, who was only a few dozen meters away.
The fine rain, like needles, barely brushed past in the crisp summer air, forcing me to land and lean against a large tree to steady myself.
“Princess, please believe me. Tonight I did tell someone how to break the formation, but I never really wanted to harm you, nor did I ever intend to betray you.”
After running for so long, Qingxia's breathing was clearly unsteady.
"Then who do you serve?"
Nan Lingqin asked directly, her murderous aura filling the air, but Qingxia kept her mouth shut, her expression suggesting she would rather die than speak.
"hehe."
Nan Lingqin chuckled, no longer looking at Qingxia, but instead looking in the direction behind her, "Your Excellency, you see, I have come alone as you wished, so shouldn't you stop hiding and show yourself?"
The clear, melodious voice traveled out through her inner strength, causing the leaves and withered grass around her to rustle, and the atmosphere seemed to instantly become eerie.
Then, a person appeared, a middle-aged man.
Wearing a dark black robe with a unique pattern on the sleeves, under the dappled moonlight, he exuded the majesty of someone in a high position, honed through long experience; a single glance could kill enemies on all sides.
Even when a monarch is in an ordinary place, he cannot conceal his domineering aura.
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