A week later.

The Royal Palace of Country Z.

Bradley and Freya returned here with the intention of drawing out the mastermind lurking in the dark.

However, after several days of investigation, there was still not the slightest clue, and that mysterious person hadn't shown up either.

Just then, news came from the capital city. Jiang Xiuzhen had been tormented by nightmares day and night. She suddenly died a violent death last night, and her death was a tragic one.

Upon hearing this news, Freya was somewhat shocked.

After all, they had met a week ago, and it hadn't been long before the person was dead.

Perhaps, this was what the ancients often referred to as karma.

Jiang Xiuzhen had done countless bad deeds. It wasn't that there would be no retribution; it was just that the time hadn't come yet.

Now that her luck had run out, the retribution had arrived!

Freya didn't plan to go back to prepare for the funeral. Instead, she told Xia Yanxi about this news. Unexpectedly, this woman was worried that revealing herself as a daughter of the Lawson family would invite trouble, so she refused to attend Jiang Xiuzhen's funeral.

In the end, Freya entrusted this matter to the director of the psychiatric hospital and asked her to handle it.

In this way, this matter was finally settled.

At the same time, news also came from Heize. He had fully recovered from his serious injury and was now fine. Moreover, the killer who had assassinated him hadn't shown up again, and it seemed as if nothing had ever happened.

Freya let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this news.

It seemed that their guess was correct. The killer was mainly after her and Bradley, and Heize was just a bait to force them back to Country Z.

And this royal palace was now hiding a crisis, waiting for them to fall into the trap at any moment.

"Since the killer has withdrawn from the capital city, it's highly likely that he has returned here. So, Freya, our situation will be very dangerous from now on."

Bradley originally wanted to send Freya back to Solterra first, but she insisted on staying with him. Bradley had no choice but to bring her back with him in the end.

He knew very well that those people were targeting him and would surely try every means to attack him.

As for Freya staying by his side, it was very dangerous.

"I'm not afraid," Freya said firmly. "We are husband and wife. As the saying goes, husband and wife should be of one mind, sharing both good fortune and misfortune. I'll follow you wherever you go. Even if there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, I'll charge through them with you."

She wasn't afraid of danger; she was just afraid that she wouldn't be able to wait until the day when she could catch the queen.

Some truths still had to be spoken by the queen. Otherwise, without clear answers, she couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart.

"Next, I'll transfer all the main forces to Country Z, and they will fully assist us in uncovering those behind the scenes."

This royal palace was no longer peaceful. To be precise, it was like a big net covering their heads. Once they stepped in, they would be trapped in a situation from which there was no return.

So they had to be cautious and not make any mistakes.

Otherwise, they would lose everything.

"Alright. I'll ask White Fox to deploy the forces of Raven Pavillion as well. Although they can't compare to the elites of the Dark Web, White Fox and the others are my carefully cultivated confidants, and they can still be of use at critical moments."

Bradley nodded. "That's fine. Once White Fox comes, Xiao Yan will follow. Then we can have them guard every corner. As soon as the mastermind behind the scenes dares to act, we'll catch them in a trap."

With these forces assembled, together with those from Ye Lv An's side, Bradley was confident that he could solve this matter as quickly as possible.

After finalizing the plan, Bradley asked Freya to have a good rest and then went to find Ye Lv An to discuss countermeasures.

After all, this was the Ye Lv Royal Family. Although Ye Lv Qi had handed over most of his forces to Ye Lv An, Ye Lv Qi was still in charge of the governance of Country Z.

Therefore, Bradley had to first test the situation on Ye Lv An's side.

After Bradley left, Freya didn't follow his advice to rest. Instead, she went to find Queen Sally.

Ye Lv Qi had been in low spirits since suffering a setback. After Queen Sally left the capital city earlier, she came to Country Z to visit her old friend.

Freya wanted to ask her master about the situation.

After all, as an old friend, Ye Lv Qi should have told her master a lot of things.

The master and disciple went to sit in the pavilion in the backyard. But shortly after they sat down, Queen Sally suddenly leaned close to Freya's ear and whispered, "This royal palace is no longer safe. Be careful about everything you say, in case there are eavesdroppers."

Freya nodded and said, "I know."

The mastermind behind the scenes was hiding in the dark, and maybe they were being monitored at this very moment.

So, they couldn't be careless about what they said or did.

Queen Sally took Freya's hand and sighed. "Your Uncle Ye Lv's situation isn't good. Although the operation saved his life, his body has become much weaker, and he can't withstand the slightest stimulation now."

Freya naturally understood, after all, she was the one who performed the operation.

Moreover, Ye Lv Qi was old, and his body's recovery ability wasn't as fast as that of a young person. He could only try to relax his mind and rest more.

"But you've been away for so long. What about Stolan?"

Although Wu Ying had realized his mistakes and pledged his loyalty to the master again, Freya was worried that her master's long absence would invite some big trouble.

"I came out to meet you this time just to tell you about this," Queen Sally said softly. "I plan to go back in a couple of days. So, regarding Ye Lv Qi, I hope you can take good care of him. Anyway, he's my old friend."

When Queen Sally inherited the throne, she also encountered various crises. If it weren't for Ye Lv Qi's repeated help, Queen Sally might not have been able to hold on until today.

She had always been grateful to Ye Lv Qi and had a deep affection for him.

So even though she knew that Freya didn't like Ye Lv Qi, she still selfishly asked Freya to take good care of this old friend for her.

Freya pursed her lips. Although she was reluctant in her heart, she finally nodded out of respect for her master. "Don't worry, Master. I will."

Her master's friend was like her family.

Besides, since her master had asked, if she refused, it would be unfilial!

Queen Sally patted her shoulder with satisfaction and said, "In fact, if you get to know him well, you'll surely understand that Ye Lv Qi isn't as bad as you think. He's a person who values friendship and righteousness. But as a parent and the ruler of a country, there are some things that he can't help but do."

Ye Lv Qi seemed strict and unfeeling, but his eyes were sharper than anyone else's.

He could clearly distinguish right from wrong.

If it weren't for the constraints of family ties, why would he have tolerated the queen again and again and even agreed to let Ye Lv Mingshuo, a child with no blood relation, become the successor of Country Z?