To protect that madwoman, Shifu even set up traps?

Most likely to defend against wild beasts...

The only other place to receive such honor would probably be the sect's Treasure Pavilion, aside from the current emperor.

So, what exactly is the background of this madwoman? Even in her madness, she receives such importance and protection from Shifu?

Carefully following Yan Qingqing through the bushes, Yu Qingwu and Xie Jin Yan's hearts both tightened.

Then, through a crack, the two quietly peered inside.

Because it was getting late, and the thatched hut was located deep in a dense forest with sparse sunlight, they could only vaguely see a figure from the back.

Dressed in red, with disheveled hair, but still recognizably a beauty.

She lay rigidly on her side, her hands supporting her head.

Around her ankle was an iron chain, long enough for her to walk anywhere inside the hut.

With a clanging sound, Yu Qingwu saw the woman inside suddenly get up and drag the heavy chain toward a wooden table in the hut.

It seemed she wanted to get a drink of water.

Still facing away from the window, she poured herself a cup of tea.

*Bang!* Suddenly, she threw the teacup heavily to the ground, then burst into mad laughter, "I am the Crown Prince's Consort, hahaha, I am the Empress, I am the future Empress... hahaha..."

"This palace is a princess of Southern Yue. How can a country bumpkin compare to me! Blind! You're all blind! Ah ah ah..."

She laughed proudly, but for some unknown reason, her expression suddenly changed drastically. She shrank into the corner, screaming in terror, "No... I dare not, don't kill me, don't kill me... don't... I dare not! I don't want to die without a whole corpse. It wasn't me... I didn't order them to do it... it was that slut Shen Yan Huan, it was her!"

Staring in horror at the spider that had somehow crawled into the hut, Xiao Yu Mo cowered into a ball, her beautiful and exquisite face filled with fear and despair.

Yu Qingwu was also frightened at this moment...

Shen Yan Huan? Die without a whole corpse? And this voice, this figure...

That madwoman... is Xiao Yu Mo!

Princess Xiao Yu Mo of Southern Yue!

"Ah!!! Get away! Don't touch me! Get away!" Before Yu Qingwu could recover, she heard the madwoman inside let out a sharp roar, then reached out her foot and stomped the intruding spider into a pulp...

It seemed she was treating the spider as the person who had harmed her, stomping it extremely viciously.

Yu Qingwu's face was pale, almost too weak to stand from the shock of this scene, but fortunately, Xie Jin Yan reached out and supported her.

"Let's go." Taking one last deep look inside, Xie Jin Yan called out to Yu Qingwu again.

His steady and serious voice quickly brought Yu Qingwu back to her senses.

But on the way back, her mood was extremely heavy, complicated, and puzzled. Countless speculations flooded her mind...

Xie Jin Yan's expression was also not good, but compared to Yu Qingwu, he was still relatively calm.

Holding the woman's hand tightly, he explored the path ahead while also looking at Yan Qingqing beside him, reminding her in a deep voice, "Junior Sister Yan, what happened today, you must not tell anyone, not even your closest loved ones, do you understand?"

"Seventh Senior Brother, Second Senior Sister, that madwoman inside... do you know her?" Yan Qingqing nodded, and looking at Yu Qingwu and Xie Jin Yan's heavy expressions, couldn't help asking curiously.

The three of them were now in the same boat, and Yan Qingqing had brought them to this place.

Therefore, Xie Jin Yan didn't plan to hide it from her.

If he hid it from her, and she didn't know the importance of the matter and casually mentioned it to someone, it would be even more difficult to handle.

However, he still planned to give her a warning first.

After a moment of silence, Xie Jin Yan looked at Yan Qingqing extremely seriously, word by word, "Junior Sister Yan, today's matter concerns the very foundation of the state, so you must not tell anyone what we three say here."

Hearing Xie Jin Yan's words, Yan Qingqing felt even more uneasy, and was even more grateful that she hadn't told anyone about this matter that day, and hadn't been discovered by Shifu.

She didn't know who that woman was, that she could shake the foundation of the state...

And Senior Sister, what was her relationship with that woman?

Yan Qingqing took a deep breath, suppressed the emotions in her heart, and stammered back to Xie Jin Yan, "Seventh Senior Brother, I... I definitely won't say anything. If I, Yan Qingqing, leak even half a word about today's matter, may I be struck by lightning and die a terrible death!"

She raised three fingers to swear, and after the words fell, she looked very carefully at Xie Jin Yan again.

Xie Jin Yan looked around, and then quietly glanced at the woman beside him, and seeing that her expression was gradually calming down, he finally spoke.

"Her name is Xiao Yu Mo, she is a princess of Southern Yue." However, the next moment, a clear and cold female voice came from his ear.

Yu Qingwu slowly raised her head, looking at Yan Qingqing with a serious expression, and said, "Xiao Yu Mo was originally the daughter of the eldest son of Xiao Hou, the head of the Xiao family of Southern Yue, and Zhou Yu Yan, the ninth princess of Southern Yue. Later, the Xiao family died in battle during the war with Great Wei, leaving only Xiao Yu Mo as an orphan. The powerless and influence-less Xiao Yu Mo became a sacrifice for Southern Yue's marriage alliance with Great Wei. In terms of blood relations, Xiao Yu Mo is actually the niece of the current Empress, but because Southern Yue often has rebellious intentions, the Empress and the Emperor had no intention of betrothing her when she reached marriageable age..."

"But these are not the most important things, the most important thing is... why did Shifu hide Xiao Yu Mo here?"

Yu Qingwu raised her eyelids, her usually beautiful and gentle peach blossom eyes were extremely cold and stern, and her eyes contained solemnity and sternness.

Xie Jin Yan did not speak, but his brow was also tightly furrowed.

The reactions of the two were undoubtedly hinting at the answer.

Could it be that... Shifu Xiao Rong Qi is... a spy from Southern Yue?

But that's not right, Shifu grew up in Great Wei since he was a child, how could he be a spy from Southern Yue?

Moreover, although the Xiao family of Southern Yue and the Xiao family of Great Wei both have the surname Xiao, they had already separated four hundred years ago, because the ancestors had disagreements on governing the country, so they each invested in a master.

And after hundreds of years of great division and integration, the world is no longer what it used to be. As for the Xiao family of Southern Yue and the Xiao family of Great Wei, one takes the imperial family as its leader, and the other reigns supreme in the martial world, and they have long since ceased to interact with each other.

Therefore, it is impossible for the Xiao family of Great Wei to secretly save the blood relatives of Xiao Hou of Southern Yue.

For a time, Yan Qingqing's mind was in chaos.

Nervously looking at Xie Jin Yan and Yu Qingwu for a moment, she nodded heavily, and said with some fear, "Seventh Senior Brother, Second Senior Sister, please rest assured, I... I will definitely not say anything about this matter."

"It's just that the Xiao Clan cultivates talents from all over the world, from the martial world to the imperial court, if they really collude with Southern Yue, this matter will be serious."

"We can't make a conclusion about this matter yet, let's go down the mountain first." Xie Jin Yan interrupted her, then took a deep look at Yu Qingwu again, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "She provoked you first, this is not your fault, if he wants to blame someone, he should blame Xiao Yu Mo herself for hiding her vicious intentions."