Ning Qingtian’s words made Wu Qianlan even more certain of her guess.

The original owner of this body should have been a third-rank martial expert.

Although she looked to be not even twenty years old, her martial talent was truly terrifying.

And it seemed she had recently been trying to break through to the second rank of martial cultivation, though judging from the result, she had failed.

It was a pity that although Wu Qianlan understood all the theory, she had no talent for martial cultivation herself.

How enviable.

But with such ability, instead of serving the nation, this girl had chosen to occupy a mountain and become a bandit chief—unbelievable.

* * *

Ning Qingtian held his wife for half a day yet received no reaction, causing his heart to waver in uncertainty.

When he looked down, he saw a complex expression on her face as though she were thinking about something, so he couldn’t help asking,

“Madam, what are you thinking about?”

Wu Qianlan, who had been deep in thought, instantly returned to her senses.

How could she be so careless in a situation like this?

No matter what, she had to first gather information and confirm the situation.

If everything truly was as she suspected, she must return to her original body and return to the palace as soon as possible.

The four-hundred-year foundation of the Song Dynasty must never fall into the hands of outsiders.

Having realized this, she gently pushed the man away, then deliberately touched her own head and sighed,

“Sigh, this attempt at breaking through to the second rank was too rushed. I suffered some internal injury, and now my mind is chaotic. There are many things I cannot recall for the moment. I must trouble my husband to help remind me. Otherwise, if others notice anything amiss, it would be very bad.”

Ning Qingtian did not find this strange.

Ever since he saw her injuries, he had mentally prepared himself.

Hearing that her memory was simply disordered brought him relief.

At such a critical time, his wife absolutely must not have any serious problems.

“Let’s talk inside. The wind outside is strong, and your body is still weak. You shouldn’t stay out here for long.”

Ning Qingtian glanced outside.

The moon was already hanging from the willow branches, and the late autumn night wind was cold and piercing.

With his reminder, Wu Qianlan also suddenly felt a wave of chill.

After all, she was not the martial master of this body and had no ability to use internal qi.

But she did not show this and only nodded calmly.

Seeing her reaction, Ning Qingtian remembered that his wife was a martial master who would never fear the cold.

He assumed she agreed only because she was worried he might be cold.

Thinking this, he felt even more touched.

Closing the door to block the night wind, Ning Qingtian sat by the table and carefully observed her.

But after watching her for a long time, he found nothing unusual.

Eventually he gave up, thinking she would recover her memory after a few days once her internal injuries healed.

“Madam, everything else can wait, but there is one urgent matter. Do you still remember it?”

“What matter?”

Wu Qianlan replied casually.

She didn’t care about anything except confirming whether her original body in the palace was safe.

Seeing her indifferent expression, Ning Qingtian realized she had likely forgotten her past entirely.

After hesitating repeatedly, he finally explained everything.

The choice would be hers.

“Right now, the female emperor of the Song Dynasty has just ascended the throne and cannot control the realm. Coupled with disasters everywhere and the Northern Barbarians attacking from time to time, the Song Dynasty may not survive much longer. Madam, if you wish to avenge your father, now is the perfect time to raise troops and gather power.”

Ning Qingtian’s words shocked Wu Qianlan to her core.

She instinctively stood up and glared at him with killing intent.

“You dare to rebel?”

“Why wouldn’t I dare? Madam, you need not worry. Your husband will assist you with everything. To avenge the one hundred and thirty-four members of the Yan family, I would gladly charge through fire and blades without hesitation.”

Ning Qingtian did not notice the murderous intent in her eyes, nor did he know that his wife’s soul had been replaced.

He continued making solemn vows with complete sincerity.

Wu Qianlan originally planned to kill this man who dared speak of rebellion.

But after hearing “Yan family” and “one hundred and thirty-four people,” she froze.

Now she finally knew whose body she had taken.

Twenty years ago, Yan Ruxiao angered the late emperor and was executed along with his entire family.

One hundred and thirty-five people in total—except for one infant, rescued by a mysterious expert—were all executed publicly in the marketplace.

It was said that on that day, snow fell in June (idiom for injustice).

These details she had only ever heard in passing, and even the palace records contained nothing.

So the owner of this body was the sole surviving descendant of the Yan family.

With this information, the motive for rebellion made sense.

Wu Qianlan’s expression darkened.

She knew she could not oppose him now.

If she exposed herself, she would be killed immediately.

And since she had no martial ability, escaping this bandit stronghold was impossible.

“Bailu, don’t worry, no matter what happens, your husband will always stand behind you.”

Seeing her gloomy expression, Ning Qingtian tried to comfort her, believing she couldn’t decide immediately.

“This matter isn’t urgent. We should observe a bit longer. The government is not easy to deal with,” The woman glanced at Ning Qingtian and replied.

If Yan Bailu had heard this, she would have been moved to tears.

But the one occupying this body was the empress Wu Qianlan.

She could hardly rebel against herself.

“That is good too. This way we can prepare more thoroughly.”

Ning Qingtian nodded, noticing nothing amiss.

The couple stayed in the room for a while, and Ning Qingtian explained some matters of the stronghold.

Before they knew it, it was already the hour of Hai (9-11pm).

Hearing the patrol beating their gongs outside, Ning Qingtian looked at his wife.

“Madam, it’s getting late. Shall we rest?”

“Here it comes… what do I do?”

After two hours of conversation, Wu Qianlan now roughly understood the situation in the stronghold.

Hearing Ning Qingtian say this, her expression changed.

From the start, she had been worrying about this.

This body and the young man before her were husband and wife, which meant they were expected to share a bed.

But she was not Yan Bailu.

She could not sleep with this man.

However, if she refused, it would arouse suspicion.

For a moment, Wu Qianlan’s heart was thrown into turmoil.