Zhang Yulin had yet to react when Li Qingyuan arrived with his group of soldiers.

Before the Commandery Princess could even reach the northern drill ground of the city, such an incident had already occurred, leaving Li Qingyuan and the soldiers accompanying him with grim expressions.

In their urgency, worried that something might have happened to the Commandery Princess, they had hastened their journey.

But as the group turned into the narrow path, they were collectively stunned.

Among the five hundred soldiers present, not a single sound was made.

Li Qingyuan’s usually stern face showed a momentary lapse.

He instinctively turned to look at Zhang Yulin, only to find a trace of bewilderment on Zhang Yulin’s face as well.

Indeed, since they had both left the drill ground together, Zhang Yulin couldn’t have arrived much earlier than the others.

How could he possibly have slaughtered so many people in such a short time?

Moreover…

Li Qingyuan stepped forward, crouching down to examine one of the corpses.

The bodies here all belonged to death soldiers.

To become a death soldier required exceptional skill, and every one of them had undergone extremely harsh training.

Looking across the road, there were at least thirty to forty such death soldiers lying lifeless.

In other words, before they arrived, someone had already killed all the death soldiers sent to assassinate the Commandery Princess.

The scene was so shocking that Li Qingyuan found himself speechless, frozen in place.

Death soldiers were highly trained; even with the soldiers Li Qingyuan brought, a fight would have been inevitable.

Their advantage in numbers would have eventually secured victory, but only after a struggle—and likely with casualties.

Yet now…

He glanced toward the direction of the carriage.

While he wasn’t sure what had happened earlier, when they arrived, all they saw was the Commandery Princess alone.

So who exactly saved the Commandery Princess?

Among all the soldiers at the northern drill ground, the only person capable of escaping unscathed from such a large group of death soldiers was likely Zhang Yulin.

“Clean up here. Take all the bodies back to the drill ground,” Wen Yuesheng ordered coolly.

Zhang Yulin responded in a low voice, then hesitated before asking, “Is the Commandery Princess hurt?”

Wen Yuesheng replied, “I’m fine.”

Though, she had lost yet another newly consecrated prayer bead.

From beginning to end, her demeanor was nothing like a typical woman’s.

A normal woman would have been panicked or at least visibly shaken after witnessing such a scene. But Wen Yuesheng displayed an almost unnerving calmness—if not outright indifference.

For some reason, none of the surrounding soldiers dared think too deeply about the situation or even glance at her for too long.

It simply didn’t feel like the right time to speak to the Commandery Princess.

The autumn air was indeed stifling.

When Wen Yuesheng and her group arrived at the northern drill ground, the captain of the guard stationed there hurried over.

Seeing that Wen Yuesheng was unharmed, he let out a long sigh of relief and then called out loudly, “Greetings to the Commandery Princess and General.”

“Commandery Princess, His Majesty has summoned you.”

The emperor’s entourage had just arrived at the northern drill ground.

On Wen Yuesheng’s first day at the drill ground, she was attacked.

The emperor, furious, came personally to the drill ground, ordering a thorough investigation into the assassination attempt.

Accompanying the imperial entourage were the princes Hengguang and Weiyang.

Hearing that Wen Yuesheng was unharmed and had already reached the drill ground, the tense atmosphere in the imperial presence finally eased somewhat.

Once the soldiers had reorganized, they followed Wen Yuesheng’s instructions and led the emperor and his retinue to the elevated pavilion outside.

The emperor walked in the lead.

Prince Wei Yangwang, upon seeing the dozens of corpses arranged in the drill ground, froze in shock.

Prince Hengguang, whose injured leg still hadn’t healed, sat in a wheelchair being pushed from behind. He listened as the soldiers reported:

“…They were death soldiers, almost all killed with a single strike. The weapons used were their own blades. When we found the Commandery Princess, there were only three living people on the path.”

“The Commandery Princess, her maid, and the coachman.”

Prince Weiyang’s heart pounded violently. “So who killed these death soldiers?”

“When the soldiers arrived, they were all already dead, so it’s still unclear.”

Prince Hengguang narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a low voice, “It seems that Sining is far more capable than we imagined. Besides Zhang Yulin, she must have another skilled protector.”

Prince Weiyang thought for a moment and asked, “Could it be Lu Qinghuai?”

“It wasn’t General Lu.” The reply came from Li Qingyuan, who had just returned. His tone was firm: “The wounds caused by the Lu family’s swordsmanship are completely different.”

“Moreover, while the young General Lu is highly skilled in various weapons, his specialty is the spear.”

Not Zhang Yulin. Not Lu Qinghuai.

Prince Wei Yangwang smirked. “Could it have been Sining herself?”

No one responded.

But it was worth noting that everyone present understood: after today’s incident, anyone with ulterior motives, whether openly or secretly, would likely think twice.

Prince Heng Guang glanced over at Wen Yuesheng and remarked, “To remain so composed in the face of such a scene—Sining truly is remarkable.”

Once the emperor was seated, those below detailed the assassination attempt.

His face darkened as he looked at Wen Yuesheng. “Do you have any clues about this?”

The death soldiers had all been eliminated, leaving no survivors.

Determining who was behind the attack would not be easy.

As the tension grew, the faces of those present grew darker.

The Emperor had only recently bestowed the golden command token, and yet someone had dared to strike so brazenly. Such behavior—did they not even regard the Emperor as worthy of respect?

Wen Yuesheng’s deep, ink-black eyes were colder than usual.

Prince Heng Guang remarked, “Could this be the work of someone who holds a grudge against you?”

The hall fell silent for a moment.

If one were to consider those who bore enmity against Princess Sining, the immediate names that came to mind were Prince Jingkang and the Liang family.

It was not entirely implausible. The downfall of the Liang family was rooted in Wen Yuesheng’s actions. Their hatred for her was so deep that it was almost expected they might try to kill her at any cost.

Prince Weiyang interjected, “If it were a personal grudge, there were countless other opportunities to exact revenge. Why choose the route to the inspection grounds? In my view, this isn’t about personal enmity—it’s about someone’s interests being threatened, leaving them unsettled.”

This was a statement only he dared to make.

Prince Hengguang’s expression darkened, and he sneered. “Third Brother, has no one ever taught you that one should always speak with evidence?”

Prince Weiyang retorted, “Just idle speculation, Brother. Why so upset?”

“Enough!” the Emperor rebuked coldly. “I am questioning Sining—did I ask either of you?”

Both princes fell silent.

Wen Yuesheng continued wiping her hands, but no amount of cleaning could dispel the irritation simmering within her.

She looked up and said icily, “Rather than concern ourselves with who made the attempt, we should first investigate the one who leaked the information from the military.”

“Zhang Yulin,” she called.

Zhang Yulin promptly summoned two junior officers into the hall.

These two officers had been recently promoted from the recruit camp under Zhang Yulin’s command. They were not particularly notable in appearance or skill but were known for their exceptional intelligence.

“Your Majesty,” Zhang Yulin began, “three days ago, after the princess received the golden command token, she instructed me to select a few individuals from the army to monitor troop movements.”

The hall fell into a stunned silence.

Both Prince Hengguang and Prince Weiyang’s expressions shifted subtly.

Princess Sining had not rushed to the inspection grounds immediately after receiving the token. Instead, she had prepared in advance.

However, Wen Yuesheng had anticipated a more sophisticated ploy from the opposition—not a direct assassination attempt.

Her past life experiences had never prepared her for such blatant acts of violence. This was, indeed, a first.

That morning, Wen Yuesheng had gone to Tianci Temple, deviating from the route one might expect her to take from the princess’s residence.

Yet the ambush had been set along the path from Tianci Temple to the inspection grounds, clearly indicating that someone had leaked her plans.

The source of the leak could only be one of two possibilities: someone within Wen Yuesheng’s inner circle or someone from the military.

If it wasn’t someone close to Wen Yuesheng, then it had to be someone from the army.

The Emperor’s expression softened slightly as he asked in a low voice, “What have you found?”

“Your Majesty,” one of the officers reported, “this morning, General Li Qingyuan sent a letter after receiving a reply from the princess. Within the northern training grounds, only one individual left after the message was delivered.”

“That individual is Captain Sun.”

The Sun in question was a recently promoted officer.

The hall fell silent again. No one had expected the leak to come from an officer of such rank.

The two officers’ testimony corroborated each other, making it almost certain that Captain Sun had leaked the information.

When Captain Sun was brought in, he vehemently denied the accusation.

“Your Majesty, Princess, I beg for your discernment!” Sun shouted. “I left the training grounds this morning because my elderly mother fell gravely ill. My family sent someone urgently to fetch me.”

“The person who came to deliver the message was my household steward. The princess may interrogate him as she wishes.”

Wen Yuesheng’s expression remained indifferent.

She replied curtly, “Did you hear that? Investigate his steward’s whereabouts and whom he met with today.”

Captain Sun froze.

He had not expected Wen Yuesheng to dismiss his explanation outright.

After a brief moment, one of the officers saluted and left to carry out the investigation.

Wen Yuesheng raised her hand and pointed at Captain Sun. “As for him,” she said coldly, “take him to the training grounds and execute him as an example.”

The hall fell into stunned silence.

Prince Hengguang’s sharp gaze snapped toward her, and Prince Weiyang’s expression shifted dramatically.

Earlier, they had quietly discussed among themselves, “Father entrusted the northern military command to a woman—it’s absurd. Sining, raised in the sheltered confines of the inner court, would faint at the sight of a battlefield, let alone manage troops.”

“This incident might just scare her off entirely.”

Yet now, faced with the reality, they saw that not only could she remain calm in the face of such situations, but her methods were also ruthlessly decisive.

Their feelings were complicated.

“Princess! Princess!” Captain Sun shouted in panic. “I’ve been wronged! Please show mercy!”

Wen Yuesheng replied indifferently, “Whether you are wronged will become clear once your steward has been interrogated.”

Captain Sun’s expression changed drastically, but he stubbornly clung to his story.

The investigation progressed swiftly, and soon a report came back.

“Your Majesty,” Zhang Yulin said gravely, “Captain Sun’s steward has confessed.”

“This morning, under the guise of purchasing medicine, he visited a clinic and disclosed the princess’s departure from Tianci Temple.”

Captain Sun’s face turned ashen. In a desperate bid to save his life, he shouted, “Princess, spare me! I was wrong! This was all orchestrated by someone higher up—I was merely following orders! Please have mercy!”

Wen Yuesheng showed no interest in his pleas. Even in the presence of the princes and the Emperor, she did not inquire about the mastermind behind the plot.

The dying words of a condemned man could be lies. Evidence, however, would not deceive.

She rose and walked toward the high platform.

As she ascended, she gave a cold command: “Take him away and execute him.”

Before Captain Sun could process her words, he was dragged to the center of the training grounds.

Below the platform, the soldiers gathered in a dense crowd.

Standing atop the platform, Wen Yuesheng’s expression was calm, but her voice carried authority as she declared, “The Great Hui Army has no room for traitors.”

“Disobey orders, and death is the only consequence.”

As her words faded, Captain Sun’s head rolled to the ground.

The training grounds fell into a deathly silence.