"Left for Taiyuan?"

"Yes."

"How long ago?"

"Just—Not long ago."

Shortly after Shang Ruyi said the words "separation" to him, his face turned pale, and like a helpless wandering soul, he left here. Soon afterward, he led his troops to depart. Wo Xue also went to the county government gate to see him off. Although he was donned in Bright Armor, and the team behind him was stern and disciplined with flags fluttering in the wind, maintaining his usual cold and formidable demeanor, for some reason, Wo Xue seemed to see a hint of brokenness from his frost-layered cold eyes.

Before leaving, he only said one thing to Wo Xue—

"Take good care of her."

Then, he led the troops away, disappearing into the dust without looking back.

From Qi County to Taiyuan, if riding swiftly, it wouldn’t take a day. Perhaps by now, they are already approaching Taiyuan City. According to Yu Wenye’s previous plan, he wouldn’t immediately attack the city but would wait for the time agreed with Nie Chong and others who had successfully infiltrated Taiyuan City. When the city’s defenses are weakest, Nie Chong and his group would open the city gates, supporting from the inside to attack Taiyuan City together.

So now, what they should do is wait for the right moment in an unnoticed place.

Shang Ruyi was silent for a while, then gently nodded, "Hmm."

After saying this, Wo Xue did not dare to delay and reached out to handle the bowls and chopsticks.

But just as she extended her hand, Shang Ruyi suddenly raised her head, her formerly calm eyes slightly flickering with light as she looked at her, "Wo Xue."

"Princess, what are your orders?"

"I want you to help me."

"...!"

At this moment, Wo Xue’s heart almost jumped out of her chest.

Her hand trembled, knocking a bowl off the table that crashed to the ground with a clang, shattering to pieces. The sound startled Wo Xue, prompting her to hurriedly kneel on the ground, "Princess, please forgive me!"

"..."

Shang Ruyi slowly lowered her head to look at her, her gaze flickering, her voice hoarse as she said, "What, you don’t want to help me?"

"..."

"Could it be that you’re just going to watch me trapped here?"

"..."

"While my brother dies in a place I cannot see."

"Princess!"

This sentence hurt Shang Ruyi herself, but Wo Xue still felt a tearing pain in her chest. She immediately looked up at Shang Ruyi’s reddened eyes—her calm was merely repression of the grief in her heart, but once she spoke, once she mentioned Shen Wuzheng’s death, she felt utterly broken.

And this pain extended to Wo Xue as well.

She choked up and said, "Princess, please don’t say that, it’s not that I don’t want to."

"..." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"I’m just—helpless."

"..."

"Although Prince Qin has left, he still left a lot of people in the county government, specifically instructing them to take good care of the Princess without disturbing her. So these people are outside, but the Princess cannot see them."

Hearing this, Shang Ruyi’s gaze flickered again, as if something was about to burst uncontrollably.

Yet, she gritted her teeth and swallowed it down hard.

Then she let out a light laugh.

Yu Wenye knew her—because he understood her, he knew how to hurt her.

Of course, she was the same.

Seeing Shang Ruyi’s tear-filled, seemingly sorrowful smile, Wo Xue felt both ached and pained, and she bowed her head shamefully, whispering, "Although I have some skills, to deal with these people, I stand no chance."

"..."

"So—"

Although the invisible blade had already torn her heart apart, leaving it in a bloodied mess, Shang Ruyi still showed a hint of comforting, faint smile and said, "Well, your words are enough for me."

"..."

"But when I ask for your help, it’s not to help me fight my way out. I’m not that foolish."

"..."

"Besides, I don’t want to drag you down."

"Ah?"

Wo Xue froze and looked at Shang Ruyi in surprise, "Then what does the Princess mean—"

Shang Ruyi looked at her without speaking.

The two of them silently stared at each other, and in the next moment, Wo Xue immediately understood.

Her eyes flickered intensely, as if struggling or hesitating. After thinking for a while, she said, "But Princess alone—"

"Even alone, I must go."

Shang Ruyi interrupted her words, her trembling voice seemed ready to shatter the next moment, "Otherwise, I’ll go mad."

"...!"

Hearing this, Wo Xue no longer hesitated. She steeled her heart, stood up, and slowly turned around, showing her back to Shang Ruyi.

"Princess, please."