I died tragically in my previous life, and I want to be an empress in my next life

Although Wang Dunfa was a military commander, he acted cautiously, and was located in Anbei City, far away from the capital. It was undoubtedly a difficult task to collect evidence of his crimes and bring him down.

In order to win this battle, there must be someone who is smart and trustworthy enough to go to Anbei City in person, sneak into Wang Dunfa's sphere of influence, and collect conclusive evidence.

After Pei Zhiyan discussed with General Lin, Lin Xiaoyu became the best candidate for this operation.

He was born in the General's Mansion. He was extremely intelligent, good at observing people's words and expressions, and even better at navigating complex social situations with ease.

More importantly, he had always appeared in the capital as a playboy, not caring about worldly affairs and doing nothing. Such an identity and image allowed him to travel to Anbei City without arousing Wang Dunfa's suspicion.

In a corner of Anbei City, Lin Xiaoyu appeared quietly.

Lin Xiaoyu was worthy of being born in the General's Mansion. He acted quickly and decisively, and soon sent back the news, confirming that Wang Dunfa had indeed embezzled military pay.

Now we only need one last piece of strong evidence, which is Wang Dunfa's secret account book. As long as we have this account book, there will be no way to argue between Marquis Zhongwu and Wang Dunfa.

At night, the moonlight in Anbei City was like water. Lin Xiaoyu, dressed in fine clothes, sneaked into Wang Dunfa's mansion alone. He came to the door of the study, where his target was hidden - the secret account book.

He gently pushed open the door, and the moonlight sprinkled on the table, illuminating the thick account book. Lin Xiaoyu's fingers gently flipped open the account book, and those numbers, dates, and amounts revealed unknown secrets.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the door. Lin Xiaoyu's heart tightened, he knew that time was running out. He quickly stuffed the account book into his arms and hid his body. The door was pushed open, and a beam of light illuminated the study. It was Wang Dunfa, his face was gloomy, and he had obviously noticed something was wrong.

"Who are you?" Wang Dun asked loudly.

Lin Xiaoyu secretly cried out in his heart, he knew he had been exposed. He quickly drew the sword from his waist and rushed towards Wang Dunfa, the sword flashing and cutting through the air. The two figures crossed in the moonlight, the sword flashed, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

"Someone come, catch the assassin!" Wang Dunfa shouted.

Lin Xiaoyu was startled and waved his sword, breaking free from Wang Dunfa's entanglement and rushing into the yard.

There was a sudden chaos in the yard, and a team of guards rushed in and surrounded him.

Lin Xiaoyu gritted his teeth and rushed towards the besieged guards, sword flashing, blood splattering. For a moment, the yard was filled with swords and screams.

Lin Xiaoyu's swordsmanship was strong, but with so many guards, he gradually felt overwhelmed. At this moment, a figure fell from the sky and landed in front of him. It was a masked man in black. Although his face was covered, the sharpness and calmness in his eyes could not be concealed.

The two men cooperated well, killing guards along the way and opening up a bloody path.

Just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, a team of archers suddenly appeared in their sight. Arrows rained down, and Lin Xiaoyu and the masked man quickly dodged and swung their swords to fight back.

Suddenly, the man in black was hit by an arrow and his body trembled. Another group of men in black came to support him, and he was able to get rid of the predicament and escape.

Three days later, Lin Xiaoyu returned to the capital and secretly sent a message to Pei Zhiyan, inviting her to a farm in the suburbs of Beijing.

Pei Zhiyan arrived at the farm as promised. It was a very remote place with silence all around except for the occasional sound of birds singing and the rustling of leaves in the wind.

The interior of the manor is decorated very simply, but it reveals an ancient and elegant atmosphere everywhere. Lin Xiaoyu has been waiting inside for a long time. When he saw Pei Zhiyan, he smiled slightly.

"Second cousin, why do you have to come here to talk?" Pei Zhiyan asked with some confusion.

Lin Xiaoyu smiled mysteriously and said, "Sister Yan, just follow me."

Lin Xiaoyu led Pei Zhiyan through a bamboo forest and they came to a simple pavilion. The pavilion was decorated very elegantly, with a pot of orchids in full bloom, emitting a faint fragrance.

There was already a person sitting in the pavilion, with a straight back.

"Second cousin, who is this?" Pei Zhiyan asked in surprise.

"You know him." Lin Xiaoyu introduced.

The man slowly turned around, a gleam in his eyes, and bowed, "Nice to meet you."

A hint of surprise flashed across Pei Zhiyan's eyes. She never expected that she would meet Xuanyuan Che in this remote manor.

She blurted out, "Sixth brother, why are you here?"

Xuanyuan Che's lips curled up into a smile, and a sly look flashed in his eyes, "We will meet if we are destined to."

Pei Zhiyan couldn't help but feel angry when she heard this. This Xuanyuan Che always spoke frivolously and was hard to understand. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. "Sixth brother, please respect yourself when you speak."

Seeing this, Lin Xiaoyu hurriedly tried to smooth things over, "Sister Yan, the Sixth Prince made a great contribution to this matter."

Pei Zhiyan looked at Lin Xiaoyu in confusion, "What does second cousin mean by this?"

Lin Xiaoyu vividly recounted the story of Xuanyuan Che saving him. It turned out that Xuanyuan Che had been secretly helping him on this trip to Anbei City, and he had quietly guided him through many clues, so it was no wonder that his trip was so smooth.

Pei Zhiyan couldn't help but feel a complicated emotion welling up in her heart as she listened to Lin Xiaoyu's story. This Xuanyuan Che was really hard for her to understand.

"The trip to Anbei City was a life-and-death experience." Lin Xiaoyu's eyes revealed deep emotion. "The Sixth Prince was shot by an arrow while trying to save me. Now he is recovering here."

Pei Zhiyan's heart was shocked and her eyes fell on Xuanyuan Che.

"This is just a small matter." Xuanyuan Che said calmly, "Brother Lin and I have always been close friends, and helping each other is a common occurrence."

Pei Zhiyan was stunned when she heard this. She didn't expect that Lin Xiaoyu and Xuanyuan Che had such a deep relationship.

Lin Xiaoyu is of similar age to Xuanyuan Che. Xuanyuan Che's mother, Concubine Xian, and Lin Xiaoyu's mother, Liu, are close friends. When Concubine Xian was alive, she had invited Liu to bring Lin Xiaoyu to the palace to play many times.

At that time, Xuanyuan Che was a famous little bully in the palace. Everyone flattered and coaxed him, except Lin Xiaoyu, who could not tolerate his bad habits. The two of them fought many times in the palace.

Time flies, Concubine Xian passed away, Lin Xiaoyu and Xuanyuan Che also grew up, and the two gradually drifted apart. They met a few more times outside the palace, and they still disliked each other.

Until one day, the Queen's nephew tried to rape a woman on the street. Lin Xiaoyu and Xuanyuan Che happened to pass by. They worked together to teach the nephew a lesson and rescued the girl. They then felt a sense of mutual respect and became close friends.

However, these were not known to outsiders. After all, one of them was a prince, and the other was the son of the general's mansion. If they got too close, it would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble.