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Long Ang fell silent, unable to refute him.

"Since that is the case, I shall tell you my decision—for Li Danxin to be saved, you must protect the Wu Household for me. Otherwise... all you can do is wait to attend the funeral. I will posthumously confer upon her the title of Rank-2 Lady of Honor and send her memorial tablet into the Wu Family Ancestral Hall. You will not even get her corpse."

Long Ang knew better than anyone how to save Wu Yanju. He simply had no desire to save him; if he was going to save anyone, he only wished to save her. But now that things had come to this, he had no choice. He raised a hand to his chest and forcefully tore off the object that had always been hidden there, then flicked it toward Li Danxin on the bed.

A Purple Jade Seal landed among the folds of her skirt, the character "Rites" engraved across its surface.

The body and life she had been willing to sacrifice were precisely what he valued most. She had no weapon in hand, yet she was his fatal weakness. Everyone knew it, so why should he stubbornly pretend otherwise?

"Take it and leave the Capital as soon as possible."

Li Danxin knew what it was. In the past, His Majesty had bestowed one Seal upon each of the heads of the Six Ministries. It could avert a death sentence, and though it was an unparalleled honor, it also meant that His Majesty's trust in the six of them came with only one chance. Serving beside the sovereign was like accompanying a tiger; should they disobey his will, they could be killed at any moment. This Seal was their second life.

She had long known how useful this