The morning of 5 to 7 AM.

A dusty gray pigeon flapped its wings in the heavy snow, carrying a bamboo tube on its foot, and flew into the dark night of the Imperial Capital. It circled above the city for several breaths before turning towards the northeast.

The messenger pigeon flies only from the morning of 5 to 7 AM to the evening of 5 PM each day, landing once every two hours to rest, drink water, and groom its feathers, spending thirty minutes before taking to the skies again.

On the first day, after leaving the Imperial Capital, the pigeon reached Mi Yun and skimmed low over the abandoned beacon tower at Hu Bei Pass.

On the second day, the pigeon flew over the city walls of Pingquan.

On the third day, the pigeon flew over the vast plains of Fuxin.

On the fourth day, early morning, the pigeon flew over the towering walls of the Shangjing City of the Jing Dynasty, hovering incessantly over the watchtowers within Shangjing City. Subsequently, it dove straight towards a residence in Ban Zheng Square.

The residence near the Imperial City was large, resembling a Xing Yuan.

Ordinary princes dared only to occupy up to forty percent of the land within one square, but this grand residence occupied the entirety of Ban Zheng Square, enclosing it with white walls and black tiles.

A plaque hung over the spacious five-room-wide gate: "Li Yang Princess Mansion."

According to the regulations of the Jing Dynasty, only two stone qilins could stand before a princess's gate, while stone lions were reserved for princes. Yet, stone lions were prominently placed before the Li Yang Princess Mansion's gate.

The pigeon skimmed through the residence and eventually landed lightly at the entrance of the pigeon house.

A person, hearing the sound of the pigeon landing, immediately entered the pigeon house and untied the bamboo tube from the pigeon's leg.

The man carefully inspected the bamboo tube, confirmed the fire lacquer was intact, and stepped through the accumulated snow, quickly walking into the depths of the large mansion.

In the front yard, a group of maids carried lacquer boxes, copper basins, and incense burners in a single file, wearing blue satin jackets, hair pressed by silver hairpins. The leader, wearing a lotus-colored satin jacket with a gray squirrel lining on the collar, whispered: "The Prince feels cold, add two more charcoal basins."

The man brushed past the maids and headed straight to Ziwei Hall.

In front of the hall, Liang Gou'er sat in a rattan chair under the eaves, legs crossed humming a tune, while a young maid beside him sat on a small stool, feeding him sliced lamb.

Not far away, Zhu Yunxi was bare-chested, slicing through the snow with his blade, repeating the same move day after day.

Liang Gou'er said lazily, "You must master the breathing techniques of the Liang family. Breathe this way while sleeping, breathe this way while... even if you lose your mind, breathe this way. Only then, when someone strikes at you, your breathing won't falter, and if your breathing doesn't falter, your Sword Gang won't falter."

The next moment, Zhu Yunxi swung the Hidden Dragon Blade obtained from the Temple of Martial Arts, and a Sword Gang cut through ten steps, splitting the wooden stake in front of him into two.

Zhu Yunxi stood in the snow, scanning the Hidden Dragon Blade in his hand.

Liang Gou'er lazily remarked, "Don't get complacent, continue."

Liang Mao'er brought him a new wooden stake for Zhu Yunxi to continue chopping.

At this moment, the messenger, seemingly already accustomed to their actions, without looking at them, directly entered the yard and arrived in front of Ziwei Hall, shouting through the door curtain, "The messenger pigeon from Hu Bei Pass is back."

The door curtain opened slightly, Jiang Pan glanced at the man and took the bamboo tube from him: "You may leave."

The man bowed and left.

Jiang Pan put down the door curtain and quickly walked inside.

Inside the hall, which was as warm as spring, Old Yao sat by the desk flipping through an ancient scroll, while Princess Liyang softly chastised an eleven or twelve-year-old boy: "Have you read 'Jingtai Political Essentials'?"

The boy hung his head, "I have."

Princess Liyang asked angrily, "Where did you read up to?"

The boy's voice lowered further, "Discussion on employing the virtuous."

Princess Liyang gently tapped the book on the desk: "Grand Ancestor said to the Chief Ministers, 'The essential in governance only lies in employing capable individuals'. Now tell me, how do you employ capable individuals?"

The boy remained silent.

Princess Liyang softened her tone, "Ah Jie is not forbidding you to play, but you are a Prince, not a son from an ordinary family. When ordinary sons fail in their studies, they merely lose their future; if you fail, you lose your life! The term 'determination' is not shouted, it is borne out through endurance. Grand Ancestor read history books till the third watch every day, how many watches do you read till?"

The boy's head hung even lower.

Princess Liyang sighed, "Your third brother's scholarly achievements are outstanding, familiar with all classical texts by age twelve and drafting decrees on behalf of Father, winning admiration from civil servants in court. Your sixth brother is renowned for military exploits, accompanying Champion Marquis to the north against the Dada at sixteen, opening a mansion and establishing a horse battalion at eighteen, with elite generals under his command. And you? All you do is dally with female servants in the mansion. How will you compete with them?"

The boy said softly, "Ah Jie, I understand my mistake."

Princess Liyang, unable to continue being harsh, said: "Copy the discussion on employing the virtuous ten times, and until completed, you're not allowed to go out and play."

The boy stood up and bowed, "Yes."

After the boy left Ziwei Hall, Jiang Pan stepped forward, offering the bamboo tube with both hands, "Princess, this is from Hu Bei Pass."

Princess Liyang took the bamboo tube, opened the fire lacquer, and extracted a finger-length letter, unfolding it to reveal densely packed small letters, less than half a fingernail in size.

After reading, she found herself lost in thought, silent for a long time.

Old Yao raised his eyes and glanced at her: "Did your lover die?"

Princess Liyang rolled her eyes: "If you lick your lips, you might poison yourself, right? It's a letter from the Ning Dynasty, your cherished disciple got married."

Old Yao was taken aback: "Married?"

Princess Liyang sat down on the chair opposite Old Yao's desk, leaning back against the chair: "Missing your disciple's wedding, would the old man feel regret? How about you guess whom he married."

Old Yao pondered for a moment: "With Zhang Xia?"

"Wrong," Princess Liyang said unexpectedly: "Shouldn't you have guessed Princess Bai Li?"

Old Yao also slowly leaned against the chair: "That lad keeps everything bottled up inside, if Bai Li was still in the Imperial Capital, they probably wouldn't get married for a few years. The only one who could have acted so quickly is Zhang Xia."

Princess Liyang asked quizzically: "Why couldn't it be that Third Miss Qi?"

Old Yao sneered: "You ask knowing the answer."

Princess Liyang smiled: "The marriage caused quite a stir, first with Wang Daosheng personally matchmaking, then a big merchant presented thirty-six carriages of betrothal gifts, and finally, the Yulin Army went to escort the bride. Unfortunately, your cherished disciple moved into the Zhang Family, and promised the second child would have Zhang's surname, practically as if joining the other family. In your Ning Dynasty, living with the wife's family is considered quite disgraceful."

Old Yao glanced at her: "Look at you, so bitter."

Princess Liyang was silent for a long time, stood at the window, pushed open a gap to watch the heavy snow outside: "I indeed envy them. At Chongli Pass, Chen Ji stayed in Jiang Xiansheng's hands as a hostage to protect Zhang Xia, and Zhang Xia broke into Jiang Xianzong's White Tiger Festival Hall to save Chen Ji. At that time, I knew they were a match made in heaven... Lovers finally united is only a story found in books."

Princess Liyang turned back around.

Today she wore a Jing dynasty man's round-collared robe with a right-overlapping style, her hair neatly tied up in a masculine fashion, full of spirit: "Old man, I sometimes think, if I were born into an ordinary family, without having to constantly worry about succession struggles, it'd be enough to have someone to spend life with. But unfortunately, these things are beyond my control. In our Jing dynasty, the succession struggle is always a life-and-death matter, with no way out."

Old Yao spoke leisurely: "The Tokyo Dao Jiedu Envoy specially prepared three three-masted ships to send you siblings overseas, why not go?"

Princess Liyang chuckled: "Why should I leave, and not them? That dragon throne in the Hanyuan Hall of the Great Ming Palace rightly belongs to my brother."

Old Yao mocked: "Words from the mouth of an ambitious person, not a single word can be trusted. Once you've truly understood what you desire most, there's no need to put on a show. A person who still harbors feelings of love cannot accomplish anything well."

Princess Liyang asked with curiosity: "Old man, why don't you teach this reason to your disciple?"

Old Yao said leisurely: "He doesn't want to be emperor. Just living a good life is enough. Life being slightly fulfilled is sufficient; it doesn't have to be perfect."

Princess Liyang returned to her seat: "Your disciple risks his life to save others every day; it seems it's not easy for him to have a stable life either."

Old Yao looked at the wind and snow outside the window: "You don't understand. He risks his life for others, only hoping that others could do the same for him. Trading genuine heart for genuine heart, life for life, is the greatest gamble in the world, but he won."

Princess Liyang seemed thoughtful: "Old man, have you gambled?"

Old Yao said lightly: "Yes, lost."

Princess Liyang was somewhat surprised.

She changed the subject: "Recently, there are rumors in the market saying there has never been a Mr. Yao in the Temple of Martial Arts, these rumors should be spread by Lu Jin, waiting for Yuan Hengli Zhen to return to the Imperial Capital to make a move. Yuan Hengli Zhen came down from the Temple of Martial Arts, such claims won't fool him. Tell me honestly, what's your relationship with the Temple of Martial Arts? Looking back, I feel Mr. Wu had great respect for you, but he indeed never said you were from the Temple of Martial Arts... and you never stated yourself to be part of it."

Old Yao glanced at her: "If I were not from the Temple of Martial Arts, what would you do?"

Princess Liyang said sincerely: "You still have time to leave. The mansion has prepared fast horses, and the road pass is ready too. If you go out from Ban Zheng Square through the Golden Light Gate, today the Right Weiwei is guarding it, they are my people."

Old Yao tapped his fingers on the desk: "You, young lady, are not suited for succession struggle."

Princess Liyang was startled: "Why would you say that, old man? I'm planning the throne inheritance for my brother, gathering ministers, controlling spies, raising death soldiers, and connecting with the border army; what am I doing wrong?"

Old Yao didn't look at her, turned a page of the ancient book, spoke slowly: "When gathering ministers, you use kindness, not interests. When controlling spies, you use trust, not intimidation. When raising death soldiers, you raise loyal men, not those caught by handles. When connecting with the border army, you connect with camaraderie, not gold or silver. If you were to raise a rebellion, these methods might work, but for succession struggles, they won't."

Princess Liyang slowly restrained her smile: "What's the difference?"

Old Yao said indifferently: "In a rebellion, everyone has no way out, if defeated, they die together. But in a succession struggle, everyone uses plots and schemes, selling you could swap for a great future."

Princess Liyang said calmly: "The old man thinks too highly of me. I have my means too."

Old Yao laughed heartily: "Your heart is still too soft."

Princess Liyang frowned: "When have I been soft-hearted?"

Old Yao tapped his finger on the desk again: "Just now."

At this moment, Jiang Pan returned to Ziwei Hall, lifted the curtain and walked in briskly, cupping his fist: "Your Highness, an envoy from the palace summoned you to the palace... and Mr. Yao must go too."

Princess Liyang suddenly stood up: "Yuan Hengli Zhen has entered the kingdom?"

Jiang Pan hesitated for a moment: "Reporting to Your Highness, Yuan Hengli Zhen has entered the kingdom."

Princess Liyang turned to look at Old Yao, but Old Yao stood up as if it was nothing: "Let's go, take a look."

As Old Yao reached the door, he suddenly stopped, turned to Princess Liyang: "A truth I taught Chen Ji, now I'll teach you too: the heart can be warm, but the blood must be cold."