Beichen Yuan’s sharp gaze swept over her before he reached into a nearby box and took out a handful of bullets.

When Shen Qingwan saw the bullets, her brows furrowed.

“This… these belong to you, don’t they?” He placed the bullets on the table with a crisp clinking sound.

Shen Qingwan looked at the bullets of various models and felt a jolt of surprise.

These were the very bullets she had used when dealing with the assassins sent after her.

How did they end up in Bei Chenyuan’s possession?

“I’m not investigating you,” Bei Chenyuan said. “These were found on Liang Wang’s men. If I’m not mistaken, they are similar to the hidden weapons you used at the inn. While I may not look into your background, I believe I have the right to know about your connection with Liang Wang, don’t I?”

Shen Qingwan had been moving freely in the Zhenbei military camp.

If she had ties with Liang Wang, Bei Chenyuan needed to get to the bottom of it.

More importantly, he wanted to know why Liang Wang kept sending people to kill her.

For the first time, Shen Qingwan took a serious look at Bei Chenyuan.

The man before her was overwhelmingly powerful, enough to inspire fear.

What she thought had been a flawless cover had been effortlessly uncovered by him.

If he could see through this, how long before he found out she had been secretly emptying storerooms?

It seemed she would need to be more cautious in the future.

Without changing her expression, Shen Qingwan looked at the bullets and admitted, “Yes, these are mine. But I don’t know anyone under Liang Wang. They came after me, so I simply dealt with them as they came. Who knew they would keep coming? Since they refuse to let me go, I have no choice but to kill them every time I encounter them.”

Bei Chenyuan studied her, sensing no deception, before he said slowly, “Liang Wang possesses a secret drug called Thousand Bee Lure. His assassins all carry traces of it, and once someone comes into contact with it, the scent lingers for six months—it cannot be washed away. You killed his people, so he won’t let you off easily. If you’ve been tainted by Thousand Bee Lure, his men will hunt you down like mad dogs. However, if this were just a typical grudge, Liang Wang wouldn’t pursue you so relentlessly—unless you have something they want.”

Bei Chenyuan had expected to see a flicker of fear on Shen Qingwan’s face, but instead, she remained as calm as ever.

As if she wasn’t the least bit concerned about Liang Wang’s pursuit.

So where did her confidence come from?

Was it her hidden weapons?

When he mentioned something they wanted, Shen Qingwan suddenly thought of the Tiger Tally.

To others, it might be an invaluable treasure, but to her, it was nothing more than a lump of metal—a hot potato.

Liang Wang had been searching for it persistently, making it a liability to keep in her possession.

Rather than holding onto it, she figured it would be better to hand it over to Bei Chenyuan and let him deal with Liang Wang instead.

With that thought, she reached into her robes, pulled out the heavy piece of metal, and casually tossed it to Bei Chenyuan.

“Here, take this.”

Bei Chenyuan instinctively caught the black object flying toward his face.

When he looked down and recognized it, his expression changed dramatically.

“Liang Wang’s people have been chasing me, probably because of this. I picked it up on the way,” Shen Qingwan said casually.

She didn’t mention that she had taken it from Liang Wang’s men—just that she had “found” it.

It wasn’t like he could verify the truth.

“Do you realize the crime of privately possessing a Tiger Tally?”

Bei Chenyuan’s eyes turned cold as he stared at her.

She had been holding onto it all this time and only now decided to hand it over?

She certainly had nerves of steel.

“Tiger Tally? I don’t know what that is. When I found it, it just seemed unique, that’s all. If you hadn’t reminded me, I would have completely forgotten about it,” she said with a straight face.

Her calm demeanor almost made Bei Chenyuan believe her.

If he weren’t so observant, he might have been fooled by her act.

Still, she had done him a great favor by returning the tally, so he decided to let the matter rest.

Now that he had recovered the Tiger Tally, he only needed to stabilize the battlefield before returning to the capital with it to protect the emperor.

“Since you contributed to delivering supplies, I’ll overlook this matter regarding the Tiger Tally,” he said. “As for the sweet potatoes, on behalf of my soldiers, I thank you. The Northern Barracks have been unstable lately—you should leave soon, Shen Gongzi.”

Having secured the tally, Bei Chenyuan wasted no time in dismissing her.

Shen Qingwan had originally wanted to see Murong Wushuang, but before she could even try, Bei Chenyuan had already kicked her out.

She felt a little disappointed that she hadn’t gotten to see her “beauty,” but she wasn’t the type to dwell on it.

She was about to leave when a soldier outside the tent suddenly shouted, “Report!”

“Your Highness, enemy forces have been spotted near Xiao Shipo! Several villages in the area have been raided—burned and pillaged! General Meng has already led a unit in pursuit and requests immediate reinforcements!”

The soldier finished his report, and Bei Chenyuan immediately grabbed his armor and donned it. He also put on a silver half-mask, covering most of his face.

Shen Qingwan didn’t like Bei Chenyuan as a person, but she couldn’t deny that he was stunningly handsome.

She disliked him, yet she found herself drawn to his looks.

In truth, her interest in Murong Wushuang was also based purely on admiration for his appearance and aura.

She wasn’t someone who cared much about romantic feelings. Love was irrelevant to her, but satisfying physical needs?

That was necessary.

Perhaps her gaze was too blatant because Bei Chenyuan, after adjusting his armor, finally noticed the way she was eyeing him.

“You should stay here for now. If you leave now, you might run into the Northern Rong army,” he said before striding out of the tent.

Shen Qingwan knew that war was no game, so she had no intention of following him. However, it didn’t feel appropriate for her to linger here either.

“I’ll wait at Physician Chu’s place,” she said.

Bei Chenyuan didn’t respond, simply walking away.

Watching his tall and imposing figure disappear, Shen Qingwan casually retracted her gaze and headed toward Chu Shenyi’s quarters.

After staying there for a while, she figured enough time had passed, so she decided to leave.

She had come in a carriage and wasn’t in a hurry on the way back, so she took her time.

However, not long after leaving the Northern Barracks, she saw a group of riders galloping toward her.

At first, she didn’t think much of it, assuming they were soldiers from the Northern Barracks.

But as they drew closer, she realized something was wrong.

They weren’t wearing Zhenbei Army uniforms.

A chilling thought struck her.

These men—were they Northern Rong warriors?