At the Princess's Residence, before the ruins of the Golden Scale Pool Pavilion.
Lu Changfeng, Li Lingyue, and Li Longji stood beneath the covered walkway, their hands clasped behind their backs.
Moonlight fell across their faces, revealing three different expressions.
An unexpected visitor had appeared in the courtyard.
Luo Qingge.
She wore a plain white dress, and a palm-sized blue-green bird perched on her shoulder-the Azure Luan. Moonlight illuminated her cool, serene profile, making her look like an immortal maiden from the moon palace.
Nearly half a year had passed since Princess Taiping had last hosted an elegant gathering of the Nine-Shao Music Bureau and invited Luo Qingge to perform. Throughout those months, Li Lingyue and Luo Qingge had maintained a tacit understanding-Li Lingyue no longer summoned her, and Luo Qingge never came to the residence in person to seek Lu Changfeng. Even when she needed him, she sent a bird with a message.
But today, too much was at stake.
Luo Qingge had come of her own accord.
There was no trace of hostility in Li Lingyue's eyes. Instead, they held genuine gratitude, for Luo Qingge had an important task today-to monitor the entire plan as it unfolded, prevent any oversights, and remedy any problems in time.
Countless birds flocked into the Princess's Residence, chirping beside Luo Qingge's ears as they relayed intelligence from every quarter.
The Azure Luan perched obediently on her shoulder, occasionally giving a soft call.
After a moment, Luo Qingge opened her eyes, turned, and gave the three a slight nod. "The Golden-Winged Owl has followed the Dragon-Falling Dust to Hei Chijun's hiding place on Zhongnan Mountain. The fighting has begun. Hei Chijun's party... has suffered heavy casualties."
At this, Li Longji could not help asking, "Is my great-granduncle all right?"
Luo Qingge shook her