During the military exercise of the three armies, everyone was carrying weapons, and it was the most chaotic desert drill yet. Assassins had hidden among the ranks, and it seemed as though carrying out an attack would be an easy task.

However, it was unexpected that the ones truly walking into a deadlock were these assassins.

The dozens of assassins who suddenly attacked were all highly skilled, far surpassing the assassins who had previously tried to kill Wen Yuesheng.

But under her command, none of them survived for more than a few breaths.

The people present, including the battle-hardened General Zhongyong, had never seen such a direct way of killing.

When the situation settled, he immediately shouted, “Princess! Leave one alive!”

His face was grim, and he was furious.

Anyone who dared to carry out an assassination during a military exercise was deserving of death!

The soldiers around him, realizing what had happened, immediately acted to subdue the assassins.

But since these assassins had mixed in with the soldiers of the Hall Guard and were all wearing the same blue uniforms, it was difficult to distinguish them.

By the time they caught all those who had drawn knives, the assassins had already bitten the poison in their mouths and killed themselves.

“Crack!”

Wen Yuesheng’s knife flew out and pinned the last assassin to the ground.

She slowly raised her gaze.

The entire desert arena fell into dead silence.

Her face was cold, and she removed the crimson-gold cloak draped over her shoulders.

Only then did many people notice that there wasn’t a trace of blood on her cloak.

The only place she had been stained with the assassins’ blood was the knife she had taken from one of them.

In an instant, everyone was greatly shaken.

What kind of power could allow her to emerge from such a situation without a single stain?

Despite this, Wen Yuesheng discarded the cloak of the main general.

Her eyes cold, she walked over to the first assassin who had jumped up, the one nearest to her, and the most powerful among the assassins.

Standing in front of his corpse, she spoke in a cold voice:

“Check him.”

The soldiers around her reacted quickly, responding instinctively, “Yes!”

Such a major incident meant that the military exercise could not continue.

On the high platform in the palace, the Emperor stood up in anger, his face livid: “Investigate!”

“Find out who dared to act so recklessly and infiltrate the Imperial Guards!”

His eyes were dark and full of rage. No one in the hall dared to speak.

The assassination of Wen Yuesheng during the military exercise not only disrespected the soldiers present but also mocked the imperial authority.

What was even more absurd was that everyone knew the new Emperor of Haoshu had recently ascended the throne, and this military exercise was more important than previous ones.

With powerful enemies waiting in the wings, if the military morale was not stabilized now, how could they possibly contend with Haoshu in the future?

By causing trouble now, it was clear they were not concerned about the safety of the country, the lives of the army, or even putting internal strife above the survival of the nation.

Such behavior deserved the most severe punishment.

Therefore, the Emperor was enraged.

The assassination wasn’t just aimed at Wen Yuesheng herself, but at shaking the entire Da Hui nation.

As a result, the entire Hall Guard was implicated.

The Hall Guard, one of the three major Imperial Guards, was under the leadership of someone who had failed to do their job properly, and the soldiers had no idea what was happening when individuals with ill intentions infiltrated their ranks.

In addition, the military officers responsible for checking the weapons during the exercise were all implicated, and anyone involved in this incident would face punishment.

The Emperor ordered the three major judicial offices—Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and Shuntian Prefecture—to conduct a thorough investigation, supervised by Princess Sining and General Zhongyong Hou.

For days, the capital was in turmoil.

The Deputy Minister of Dali Temple, Yan Wei, led his officers and arrested many people.

Within the Hall Guard, everyone was on edge, fearing that the fire of this investigation might spread to them.

There were so many individuals whose identities needed to be clarified, and it wasn’t easy because some of them were already members of the Hall Guard.

This made the investigation more complicated.

Fortunately, the person Wen Yuesheng had pointed out during the exercise turned out to be suspicious upon further investigation.

This discovery, however, only deepened the atmosphere of tension in the capital.

Yan Wei found that the man’s family records indicated he had Haoshu blood.

This revelation shocked the entire capital.

It made sense, however. If he were from Da Hui, assassinating Wen Yuesheng would have been a suicidal move.

Regardless of whether the assassination succeeded, it would bring about consequences for the assassin.

But if it were from Haoshu, then the goal was clear—to destabilize the military morale of Da Hui by assassinating its most accomplished general. In that case, the reasoning made sense.

After all, the Crown Prince of Haoshu had previously shown interest in marrying Wen Yuesheng.

Now, unable to marry her, it was reasonable that he might resort to assassination.

The news reached the palace, and the Emperor was furious. He summoned all his senior ministers for an emergency meeting.

If this was truly the work of Haoshu, their actions were clearly a provocation against Da Hui.

Da Hui could never let this slide.

However, launching a war now, with Da Hui’s current strength, might only give Haoshu an opportunity to break through Da Hui’s borders.

Thus, the entire situation became a deadlock.

Outside the capital, the whole city was in turmoil, but Wen Yue Sheng only made a brief appearance during the investigation and then spent the rest of her time in the Royal National Temple, meditating and praying.

Compared to the rest of the agitated court, she appeared remarkably calm, as if the one who had been assassinated was not her.

By late October, the weather had turned cooler.

In the Royal National Temple, many of the trees had shed their leaves.

Early in the morning, a young monk was sweeping fallen leaves with a broom, taking his time.

Wen Yue Sheng, dressed in a blue robe, stood in a windbreak pavilion on the mountainside. From her position, she could easily see the long, lonely path that wound through the temple.

Yan Ling stood behind her, his tone cold: “Yan Wei has uncovered a large number of Haoshu documents from the assassin’s family’s cellar.”

“Additionally, many people who were working with the assassin have also been identified. These individuals are all closely connected to Haoshu.”

At this point, it was nearly certain that the incident had been orchestrated by Haoshu.

Wen Yuesheng’s gaze fell on the distant green mountains as she spoke in a soft voice: “Yesterday, General Lu sent back a letter.”

Yan Ling looked up at her.

“The political unrest in Haoshu, caused by the old Emperor’s faction frequently petitioning to intervene in the harem and… send troops to Da Hui.”

The internal struggle in Haoshu had now spilled over to Da Hui.

This assassination was likely a result of that internal conflict.

As for whether the assassin was sent by Xu Shun or the old Haoshu faction, Wen Yuesheng didn’t care.

She lifted her eyes, coldly looking at Yan Ling: “Have we found Haoshu’s inside informant?”

Haoshu’s influence was far-reaching, and their soldiers had long been infiltrating the Hall Guard.

If there was no one assisting them, it would indeed be absurd.

Yan Ling spoke in a deep voice: “It’s Wu Anhou.”

Wen Yuesheng was not surprised by this result.

After all, Wu Anhou had long controlled the Hall Guard.

If he wanted to insert Haoshu agents into the Hall Guard, it would have been easy.

“Is he the only one?” Wen Yuesheng asked after a brief pause.

The assassination during the military exercise occurred after Wu Anhou’s death.

Yan Ling raised his eyes, looking at her: “The list of Hall Guard soldiers participating in the military exercise was determined by Hall Guard Commander Feng Ji.”

“Feng Ji wasn’t a former subordinate of Wu Anhou. In fact, they had disputes in the past. After Wu Anhou died, Dali Temple was ordered to investigate all Hall Guard officers. His information couldn’t be transmitted outside the capital, and similarly, Haoshu’s information couldn’t get in.”

“To compile the list, he visited many places, met countless officials, and even went to the Wei Yang Wangfu.”

Because of the many people involved, Dali Temple found it difficult to investigate.

But now that Yan Ling had arrived, Wen Yuesheng knew he had discovered the identity of those involved.

She remained silent as Yan Ling’s eyes darkened, and he said directly: “Among the people Feng Ji met, there was a maid, the niece of Zhou Mama, the wet nurse of Princess Furui.”

Princess Furuo.

Wen Yuesheng lowered her eyes coldly.

Yan Ling’s voice was cold: “Helping an insider pass information is equivalent to collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country.”

He paused for a moment, then his tone shifted: “But Princess Furui should be dealt with by the Emperor himself.”

Wen Yuesheng looked at him as he calmly continued: “Since Princess Furui has been a source of trouble, the Emperor should bear the consequences.”

“The Emperor has treated you as a tool for his own use, even willing to let your name be tarnished.”

“To restore order and cleanse the court, no one should be vilified.”

He looked at Wen Yuesheng with calm eyes, but the light within them was intense: “Since I met you, you’ve never killed an innocent person.”

“Now, even if you were to kill everyone, I would ensure you do so without any stain on your hands.”

Wen Yuesheng lowered her gaze, her eyes resting on the Buddhist beads on her wrist.

It was truly an evaluation she had never heard before.

After all, since her entry into the world, everyone had only ever seen her as a killing machine.