It was the reward she got after battling for a long period of time.

And also the reward for making the correct bet that allowed her to keep her life intact for the next few years.

Even though she didn’t know the detail, she knew that Empress Dowager Yan could live a peaceful life, away from the schemes in the palace after this short period of time.

“Your Highness is still young. Living for a few more years is not a problem,” Nan Hua said softly.

Empress Dowager Yan smiled and looked at the young girl in front of her. For some reason, Nan Hua looked even more pleasing to the eyes. Tsk, for this soft young girl to be caught by a treacherous person like Long Qian Xing was truly…

For some reason, Empress Dowager Yan didn’t want to make it easy for Long Qian Xing.

“Nan Hua, since you’ve done good, I’ll tell you that Long Qian Xing is not as good as he is on the surface. You have to be more careful around him, understand?”

Nan Hua blinked her eyes.

She turned her head to look at Long Qian Xing. Why did the conversation suddenly change to Long Qian Xing when they were talking about Empress Dowager Yan’s condition?

Long Qian Xing put on an innocent face while there was a glint flashed within his eyes. He needed to have a good talk with this Empress Dowager when Nan Hua left not long after this.

Empress Dowager Yan laughed lightly. “Unfortunately, I don’t have much time to talk. Nan Hua, would you please leave me to talk with Long Qian Xing for a moment? You all, come out too.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Nan Hua curtsied and walked out. She had noticed that Empress Dowager Yan suddenly stopped using ‘aijia’ to call herself when talking to them. This was breaking the protocol and etiquette, but there was no one else but her and her closest maidservants there.

It seemed that Empress Dowager Yan didn’t see herself as someone above either one of them.

‘Is this a good thing or not?’

While Nan Hua was pondering outside the room, Long Qian Xing’s eyes turned a shade colder when he looked at Empress Dowager Yan. There were only the two of them left in this large room with the servants gone and with Long Qian Xing’s martial arts, he knew that there was indeed no one close to them.

He gritted his teeth in indignation. “You must be having fun when I don’t know, isn’t it, Empress Dowager Yan?”

He purposely stressed the last three words of his sentence.

Empress Dowager Yan let out a faint laugh and looked at Long Qian Xing in amusement. She was sure that if she was not on this bed, he would have long tried to ask for a method for them to compete and get his revenge.

This young man was very petty.

Even if they were already in this world and had a completely different position, he never changed this personality of his.

Thankfully, this body of hers was weak and her position this time was higher than his. Or else, she would have to figure out a way to avoid this young man’s petty revenge.

“You finally found out about it.”

“Your trace is very faint and it’s not like there are any sudden remarkable changes that cause rumors to spread.”

Empress Dowager Yan nodded and smiled. Being in this secluded palace, the report about her would have long been blocked from going outside. And in this era that was dominated by men, who would pay attention to the women’s battle?

Aside from some gossip here and there, no one dared to speak about Empress Dowager Yan openly. “When did you suspect it?”

“When His Majesty told me that you changed.” Long Qian Xing snorted and then took a seat not far from Empress Dowager Yan. If other people knew about his action, they would look at him in disbelief because it was very disrespectful.

But right now, there were only the two of them.

And neither one of the two felt that there was anything wrong with this behavior.

“His Majesty is sharp.”

“Not as sharp as you.”

“When did you truly notice?”

“Your name is also very unique. The last confirmation I need is the appearance of that person and looking at your name.”

Empress Dowager Yan smiled lightly. She had expected that when the others were to see her name and found the others, they would realize that they all were inside this place.

Even if they were not close.

Each one of them was famous.

It would be impossible for them to not know about each other except if they had been living under the rock for their entire life.

“I see.”

Long Qian Xing looked at Empress Dowager Yan. “When did you find out?”

Empress Dowager Yan smiled faintly. “When I heard your name and the others. Long Qian Xing, …, …, …, ….”

Long Qian Xing’s expression changed when he heard the rest of the names that Empress Dowager Yan listed out. He furrowed his eyebrows. “How did you find out so quickly? That person hadn’t been announced while the last one was still roaming around.”

“That’s because I have a connection.” Empress Dowager Yan took out a bamboo scroll and handed it to Long Qian Xing. “Everyone comes from a different kingdom, so you might need this information. When you do meet them on the battlefield, do be careful. Everyone is different.”

Long Qian Xing took the bamboo scroll and hummed lightly.

Indeed.

“Fei Yang Kingdom, Shi Long Kingdom, Zhang Xu Kingdom, Yan Xi Kingdom, Wei Da Kingdom, and Qi Xi Kingdom.” Long Qian Xing shook his head. “I’m from the Fei Yang Kingdom. Yan Family…”

“Our origin belongs to the Qi Xi Kingdom. We moved to the Fei Yang Kingdom during Emperor Huan’s era, and I was betrothed in order to tie the Yan Family to Fei Yang Kingdom and make sure that they will be on Fei Yang Kingdom’s side.” Empress Dowager Yan showed a mocking smile. “But now that Yan Family has no more power, I’m just a useless piece of chess.”

Regarding that sentence, Long Qian Xing had no words. What happened to Yan Family was not a secret and the fact that Empress Dowager Yan was in this position was something that also had been arranged.

He was not in the position to do anything.

And Long Qian Xing also knew that Empress Dowager Yan didn’t want to owe him anything.

She had a headstrong personality.

And being helped by someone much younger than her was something that Empress Dowager Yan would never be able to accept. It would be against her principle.

He merely looked at the five names written on the bamboo scroll, which included his and Empress Dowager Yan’s names.

There were six kingdoms.

But there were only five names.

“There’s one person missing. When I find him, do you want to…”

“No.”

Long Qian Xing arched his eyebrows.

The last person whose name is not here was the person who had the closest relationship with Empress Dowager Yan. If he was not wrong, that person should be here too.

Empress Dowager Yan glanced at Long Qian Xing and smiled weakly. “I can’t meet him again, not even here, not in this condition. So if you meet him… don’t tell him anything about me.”

Her voice was so soft as if she was pleading.

However, Long Qian Xing knew very well the weight behind those words. The pain and the heartbreak behind those words were not any less than the pain of being stabbed by a sharp weapon into one’s heart directly.

He had heard about what had happened.

But he was not close to these two.

Slowly, Long Qian Xing nodded. “Alright, I won’t tell unless he asks if I see him.”

Hearing that, Empress Dowager Yan looked at Long Qian Xing once more before turning her head away. She really didn’t know what to do with this annoying young man.

Long Qian Xing cupped his fist.

“I’ll excuse myself, Your Highness.”

As Long Qian Xing left, Empress Dowager Yan turned her head to look at the youth’s departing back and then at the ceiling. She sighed deeply, feeling that it was really hard to stay in front of Long Qian Xing when he found out everything.

When he didn’t know, she could easily avoid his eyes and stayed in the shadow. But now that he knew, Empress Dowager Yan was sure that her peaceful days would be interrupted from time to time.

It was hard for them.

Thrown into this place without any prior information and only had the memories of their body… they could only do their best to adapt. Adapt to this new situation, new culture, and all.

In order to survive and live.