Sent to the Capital

An extraordinary alliance was forged. Under Sophie White's secret arrangement, Gregory Gu Jr., Imperial Grand Tutor, and Princess May set off for the capital city of Chu.

Princess May was still dazed as she walked along the road; everything that had happened was far beyond her expectations.

"Once I return, I will make Su Li pay for her crimes in blood!" Princess May declared.

Meanwhile, Sophie White stood where she was, gazing at the bodies of her nine brothers at her feet. She sighed softly, "You all died for General Alexander Hayes's lifetime of peace and prosperity; your deaths were not in vain. Alex, one day you will understand that everything Sophie does is for your own good... Right now, you are blinded by that enchantress's spell, unable to see the truth. Once Sophie gets rid of that bloodsucking witch and her little demon spawn, and breaks the spell on you, you'll realize Sophie's painstaking efforts were all for your sake..."

After Sophie White finished dealing with the bodies, she took the secret path through the woods back to the Hayes Regiment border outpost. When she was almost there, she drew the dagger from her waist and stabbed herself hard in the abdomen. She threw the dagger aside, clutched her stomach, and staggered toward the outpost.

This outpost was set up to intercept Gregory Gu Jr., Imperial Grand Tutor, and Princess May, and everyone inside was from the Hayes Regiment. A lookout spotted Sophie White returning, covered in blood, and shouted, "Help! Deputy White is wounded!"

Several soldiers rushed out from the outpost. Blood streamed down Sophie White's body, her face pale. "My brothers and I were chasing fugitives inside Chu territory, but we fell into an ambush by the Chu soldiers. My brothers are all dead. Only I fought my way out... Ah..."

With those words, Sophie White fainted.

Deputy White was Alexander Hayes's most trusted and beloved lieutenant, always known as his closest aide. When the soldiers saw Deputy White so gravely wounded, they hurried to fetch a doctor.

Sophie White struggled to open her eyes and whispered, "Send me to the Capital City of Jin. Only General Alexander Hayes can save me now..."

The soldiers immediately responded, "That's right—the General's father-in-law is Dr. Rowan Lin of the Lin Family of Healers. He will surely be able to save Deputy White's life!"

Sophie White boarded a boat and headed upstream toward the capital. At the same time, a carrier pigeon was dispatched, reporting that Deputy White had been gravely injured while pursuing fugitives and was now in critical condition.

"What? Deputy White is injured?!" Alexander Hayes's face turned pale as he read the urgent message delivered by carrier pigeon.

The messenger reported, "Your Highness, Deputy White and her brothers fell into an ambush. All her brothers were killed, but Deputy White fought her way out despite severe injuries. She is currently on a boat returning to the capital."

"So badly wounded..." Alexander Hayes furrowed his brow, recalling the first time he met Sophie White.

Back then, he was only a fifteen-year-old general, and Sophie White was a ten-year-old girl, lying in a pool of blood in her father's arms, surrounded by the corpses of her family.

Sophie White's father was Alexander Hayes's close friend from the army and one of his spies in Chu.

But due to a strategic mistake by Alexander Hayes, word leaked out and the Chu court discovered the White Family were enemy spies. Alexander secretly led a rescue mission into Chu, hoping to save the Whites, but he was a step too late.

By the time Alexander Hayes arrived, the White Family had already been massacred by Chu's imperial guards. Sophie White was gravely wounded, her life hanging by a thread. Her father, with his last breath, grasped Alexander's hand and made him promise to look after Sophie White before dying heroically.