Soon after, in a corner of the Royal Garden.

A small boat drifted leisurely on the lake's surface.

Though this place belonged to the Royals, Bai Hui could come and go freely due to her authority as the Hall Master of the Green Bird Society.

Yan Wuheng wielded the oars, glancing back and asked, "I must have brought you a lot of trouble, haven't I?"

Bai Hui sat at the bow of the boat, shaking her head, she said, "Don't worry about what they say. Isn't the scenery here quite nice?"

Yan Wuheng turned his head to look around, smiling, "The beauty of this place is not even one in ten-thousand of yours."

Having lived for over fifty years, it was the first time someone had said such words to her. Bai Hui lowered her head in slight shyness; she had dedicated her life to her country, never expecting that in her later years, fate would bring her such a relationship.

Could this be heaven's compensation for her?

Yan Wuheng rowed the boat, seemingly inadvertently asking, "Hui, what do you usually do?"

Bai Hui replied, "I'm responsible for the intelligence of the Green Bird Society in Xia Country, organizing information sent back from Xia Country, and occasionally nurturing new secret agents for the nation, finding ways to have them undercover around important figures in other countries..."

Yan Wuheng curiously asked, "If these secret agents are undercover with the enemy for long, won't they betray us?"

Bai Hui nodded and said, "Indeed, such things happen. Generally, we would keep some leverage over them, so even if they are willing, they wouldn't dare to act. Furthermore, if anyone does betray us, we would expose their identities, which doesn't lead to a good outcome for them either, so there aren't many traitorous agents..."

Yan Wuheng said, "I heard the border between Qi Country and Xia Country has become more tense, and Xia Country might go to war with us sooner or later. I wonder if we have many agents planted in Daxia..."

Bai Hui smiled and said, "Don't worry, we have many people in both the Xia court and military. Our top agents have already secured trust within the residence of a top authority of Daxia..."

Yan Wuheng's heart was moved, and he asked smoothly, "Her status in Xia should be higher than in Qi. What if she betrays us?"

Bai Hui said, "You don't need to worry about that. Her younger sister is imprisoned by us in the palace. If she dares to betray, her sister will surely die. I watched her grow up, she would never forsake her only relative in this world..."

Yan Wuheng thought for a moment and said, "These secret agents work for our Daqi. The court shouldn't only threaten them; otherwise, it might dishearten them or even make them resentful. For important agents like this, it would be better to treat their family members well, perhaps allowing them to occasionally write a letter to reassure them. This way, they will willingly work for us..."

Bai Hui pondered carefully and nodded, "What you say makes sense. However, we have already treated her sister well. During the months she's been imprisoned, aside from not allowing her to leave the palace, she's had good food and drink; nothing has been lacking..."

Yan Wuheng shook his head and said, "If I were imprisoned, no matter how good the food and drink, I wouldn't be happy..."

...

In the Qi Country Imperial Palace.

The nightingale looked at the square sky above her, sighed softly, and paced bored in the courtyard.

She was not one to stand still for long, otherwise she wouldn't have chosen archery over painting or music...

For the past half year, she hadn't taken a single step out of this palace and was on the brink of madness from boredom.

At a certain moment, the palace door opened from outside, and a figure walked in.

The nightingale glanced at Bai Hui, her eyes showing a hint of surprise. She had heard rumors from the palace maids that Hall Master Bai had taken a liking to a young man with an ugly appearance, which was quite contrary to her understanding of Hall Master Bai from childhood.

Unexpectedly, the always reserved Bai Hui also had such a side.

Bai Hui walked in and gave the nightingale a faint look, saying, "Prepare yourself, you're going out with me..."

The nightingale was stunned and asked, "Where to?"

Bai Hui coldly replied, "Seeing that you've been cooped up here for so long, I'll take you out for some air."

The nightingale's face lit up with joy, surprised and said, "Really!"

Seeing her shift in mood, clearly longing for this for quite a while, Bai Hui thought secretly that Yan's thoughtfulness indeed showed itself here, and perhaps she was drawn to him for precisely this reason…

Actually taking the nightingale out was an easy thing for her.

Her talent wasn't like the Phoenix's, only possessing a cultivation at the peak of the True Qi Realm, it was impossible for her to escape Bai Hui's grasp. Bai Hui looked at her and said, "You've been locked up for so long, you must be annoyed. Today you can roam the streets and buy some things; all the expenses are on me. When you return, write a letter to the Phoenix, telling her that you're well in Qi Country, so she doesn't need to worry, and to focus on doing her tasks for the court..."

The nightingale glanced at Bai Hui in surprise, is this really the Hall Master Bai she knew?

Bai Hui gave her a sidelong glance, saying, "What are you looking at? Don't you want to go out?"

The nightingale immediately looked away, nodding repeatedly, "I want, I want, of course I want!"

A moment later, stepping out of the palace gate, looking at the wide street and the bustling crowd, the nightingale took a deep breath; the sense of freedom was wonderful...

She had never felt today so much that strolling down the street could bring such happiness!

Bai Hui followed behind her, watching her prancing about with youthful exuberance, feeling a wave of emotion; she too once had such vibrant days...

Yet at that time, she didn't cherish it, dedicating her heart and soul to cultivation and official duties, only now feeling the regret.

I was born when you were not, and now you are here, I am old...