She is the Side Character! — Watch Her Change her fate!

"Sir, why is that person so quiet today?" Song Jie was puzzled. Naturally, he was referring to Cui Chen, "He normally disapproves greatly of the Ninth Princess, so why the sudden change?"

Mr. Fan was well-informed and knew who this person was—he was the second son of the County Magistrate of the seventh rank, also Cui Jing’s older brother. Therefore, his animosity towards the Ninth Princess was quite understandable, but it was unusual for him to suddenly change his behavior today.

"It must be because Cui Jing was coerced," Fan Shi glanced into the distance and quickly looked away, "He is indeed quite noisy."

Throughout the journey, not too close yet not too far, he was curious about this Ninth Princess, so he gathered some information about her. Earlier, there was a message delivered by a carrier pigeon, allowing him to understand her situation a bit better. Piecing together these scattered pieces of information, he found something peculiar about it all.

Song Chen’s reputation in Qingfeng County wasn’t good; many people thought she was competitive, always trying to suppress Cui Jing, and her bad temper was blamed on the officials not daring to overly control the Princess.

There were also rumors that once Song Chen rose to power, she treated the Cui Family without courtesy. Regardless of everything, the Cui Family had once saved her life, and she shouldn’t be acting this way. The news of the Nan Qi Ninth Princess heading to Bei Qi could not be concealed and has already spread over there.

The people of Qingfeng County, upon learning that the Ninth Princess was replacing herself with Cui Jing to go to Bei Qi, were very angry, but they could only swallow their fury, as she was a Princess.

Still, he felt something was amiss.

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong; the information available was too scarce unless he went to Qingfeng County himself, which was not feasible now.

Fan Shi quickly shook his head, somewhat puzzled. Why was he so concerned about this? He and the Ninth Princess were essentially not on the same journey, so there was no point in being curious about these matters.

They would soon reach the Bei Qi Capital.

The journey of the Nan Qi Ninth Princess was likely fraught with danger.

Watching the convoy drive into the distance, Fan Shi naturally couldn’t follow; accompanying them to the Bei Qi Capital was one thing, but following them now seemed out of place.

"Mr. Fan."

A familiar voice suddenly sounded beside him, Fan Shi lifted his head to see the Third Prince, Song Yuheng, looking at him with a bit of surprise.

"Mr. Fan, why have you returned?" Song Yuheng took a few steps forward. He had already witnessed Fan Shi’s talents before and regretted that Fan Shi did not accept his invitation. Now that Fan Shi was back, he felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Fan Shi had changed his mind?

"I remembered a few things." Fan Shi casually found an excuse and declined Song Yuheng’s invitation, "Today is not convenient."

Song Yuheng was disappointed; so he hadn’t returned for him?

Yet, he still stepped closer and lowered his voice to ask, "Mr. Fan, can you suggest a clear path, how can I persuade you to stay?"

Being able to communicate with such a person and having him showcase some talents before him proved that he wasn’t that bad, at least Fan Shi was still willing to befriend him. For his father, as well as his brothers and sisters, Fan Shi didn’t even have the heart to befriend them.

This person was not only full of talent, skilled in martial arts, but also bold and didn’t care about his noble status, which was why he wanted to keep him. If he had such a person offering counsel by his side, he would surely have a significant advantage when competing against his brothers in the future.

Unfortunately, Fan Shi was unwilling.

Song Yuheng was a persistent person, and Fan Shi had long realized this.

Glancing around, he grabbed Song Yuheng by the sleeve and pulled him into a corner. Song Jie, understanding his nature, immediately kept a watch nearby.

Fan Shi then said, "Third Prince, do you dare to kill the Monarch King and your siblings? Kill them all, leaving no one behind."

In his view, none of the Bei Qi Royal Family should be left alive, save for Song Yuheng, who was somewhat better. Although everyone was, to some extent, tainted by this murky situation, Song Yuheng’s only redeeming quality was that he wasn’t like them, who played with and trampled on lives.

Song Yuheng was stunned; this... Fan Shi was daring, even thinking about this!

Seeing Song Yuheng’s shocked expression, Fan Shi found it dull.

If you can’t even dare that, how could you expect him to stay and assist, dreaming on.

If these tumors weren’t eradicated, even if Bei Qi eventually came under Song Yuheng’s rule, he’d be controlled from all sides, and Bei Qi would remain as it is, while Song Yuheng would gradually lose any conscience he might have now.

He did not expect the stabilizer of the world to be particularly good, kind, or just; as long as the world was stable and people had food and clothing, he was a good monarch.

But with such a group of madmen in Bei Qi, there’s no guarantee that ordinary people wouldn’t turn into their playthings one day.

So for the world to unite and stabilize, some tumors must be thoroughly eradicated; otherwise, how could things stabilize?

Song Yuheng dared not.

"Mr. Fan, your idea is unacceptable, they are my father and siblings, linked by blood, how could I act against them? You ask too much," Song Yuheng was somewhat angry, "Enough, I cannot make you stay, nor will I force you. Why scare me off with such a reason?"

Fan Shi did not explain further. He wasn’t trying to scare Song Yuheng.

If the other truly wished to eradicate those royal tumors that treated life with such disregard, he would assist him in governance.

Watching Song Yuheng leave, he wandered around the Bei Qi Capital before finding an inn to stay in.

"Sir, the Third Prince of Bei Qi was frightened by you; he probably won’t come looking for you again." Song Jie laughed. His master was indeed bold to say such things, "Aren’t you afraid he’d come after you with people?"

Fan Shi said, "He won’t do it."

"Even if he did, with our martial arts, escaping is easy enough."

In these times, if you didn’t have some abilities, you couldn’t live peacefully.

Running away in the wild wasn’t something new; they were used to it.

Pretty ladies might attract trouble when out and about, but young men weren’t immune either; there were plenty of odd jobs, and even black shops using human flesh for buns.

"Even bandit girls looking for a husband to hold the fort," Song Jie teased, "Such events occurred to you a few times as well."

"There were also local officials’ daughters who fancied you, nearly forcing you to comply. Thankfully, you had some martial skills," Song Jie added, "There were even a couple of times where you fled over the rooftops."

Fan Shi’s expression was calm, "You should practice your handwriting, why is it still like chicken scrawls after all these years?"

Song Jie: Alright, the master was perfect, except that he insisted on him practicing calligraphy, which was a bit annoying.

But he still had to go.

Observing Song Jie’s woeful expression, Fan Shi felt cheerful, "Next time something like that happens, I’ll just throw you out to bear the disaster, you’re not too bad looking."

"Sir, I was wrong!" Song Jie hastily pleaded for mercy.

Fan Shi said no more, that was surely a joke.

As silence returned, he intended to flip through some books, but couldn’t get into them, and found himself thinking about the Nan Qi Ninth Princess.

He sighed; he had witnessed many such situations before, feeling uncomfortable, but not as hard to bear as today.

Perhaps traveling together for a while, becoming somewhat acquainted, it felt even more distressing.