Let them offer their loyalty!

With these thoughts in mind, Qiu Tu roughly reconstructed the whole story in his mind.

As a thousand-year-old family, the Kou family definitely has a whole set of methods to collude with nobility and support those on the fringes of society.

Throughout history, aside from blood ties, the most reliable relationship is obviously "marriage alliance."

So, just as the Kou family used Su Wanqing to "entice" Qiu Tu, forming a strong connection with him, they undoubtedly also facilitated the marriage between King Kang and the Queen.

Even... perhaps because King Kang rose from humble beginnings, the Kou family's marriage alliance would be even more forceful.

Of course, for King Kang, gaining the support of an influential family via a marriage was certainly a profitable deal.

Thus, both sides hit it off and formally cooperated.

This led to the Kou family choosing King Kang, supporting him all the way, and helping him establish the Sixth Sanctuary.

And just like all such "startup" partnerships, suspicions grew, leading to a break.

As the Sixth Sanctuary's development thrived and its power expanded, the relationship between King Kang and the Kou family was noticeably less intimate than before.

During this time, the Queen, like countless daughters of powerful ministers, faced a dilemma: should she side with her husband or her family?

Ultimately, perhaps due to interests or emotions, the Queen chose King Kang.

During this period, Princess Xi appeared.

Princess Xi's family evidently also descended from the Era of Disaster, so there were some marital ties with the Kou family.

After Princess Xi's family fell into decline, she sought refuge with her cousin, the Queen, and lived under her protection.

Afterward, perhaps the Queen indeed fell ill; perhaps Princess Xi poisoned her; or perhaps the Kou family realized the Queen was out of control and acted on their own; in any case... the Queen became critically ill.

To continue reaping the benefits of the Sixth Sanctuary, the Kou family certainly wanted to reselect a Kou woman for King Kang.

After all, only in this way could a princely heir be born with half Kou blood, binding the Kou family further to the Sixth Sanctuary, and claiming more benefits.

However, by this time, King Kang had become more powerful and was unwilling to remain under the Kou family's control.

Thus, it might have been King Kang's intention, or perhaps the Queen had truly fallen completely in love with King Kang.

In any case, the Queen ultimately chose Princess Xi, her cousin with some resemblance to herself.

With the Queen's deathbed designation and King Kang's approval, no one else, no other force, could find fault.

Therefore,... Princess Xi ascended to the highest position, and with King Kang's support or acquiescence, cultivated a Royalist faction to oppose the Kou family.

This resulted in the Kou family always viewing Princess Xi as a thorn in their side.

Besides the accumulated grievances over the years between both sides, it was clear.... the princely heir born to Princess Xi dashed all the Kou family's plans for the Sixth Sanctuary.

Though Qiu Tu couldn't be sure his guesses were 100% accurate, he believed he was about 70% right on the issues.

The rest involves sides taking different stances on minor details that are hard to verify.

Details like who killed the Queen; how King Kang died; and why, in his final year, King Kang began to trust the Kou family and distanced himself from Princess Xi, and so on....

But the main thread of events was clear enough for Qiu Tu to grasp the entire situation regarding the Sixth and Seventh Sanctuaries.

Meanwhile, as Qiu Tu was deep in thought, Princess Xi was quietly observing him.

Admittedly.... Qiu Tu was quite handsome, and ever since he reached a high position and peak in strength, he had an aura different from ordinary people, making him exceptionally appealing.

During the time spent with Qiu Tu, Princess Xi had already witnessed his cunning.... well.... resourcefulness.

Moreover, with Qiu Tu's top-tier power in the Northwestern Region and the help he could provide her.

Princess Xi suddenly felt... being involved with such an exceptional man might not be such a bad deal?

And at that moment, as Princess Xi was idly daydreaming, Qiu Tu slowly returned to his senses.

He looked at Princess Xi sitting in front of him, then asked, "Princess, was your relationship with Queen Kou good?"

Hearing this, Princess Xi paused for a moment and then said, "Just fairly good."

Qiu Tu instantly understood: it sounded quite ordinary.

He couldn't resist asking, "And with King Kang?"

Princess Xi fell silent again.

After a moment, she said, "We treated each other with respect."

Qiu Tu instantly understood again: still quite ordinary.

It seems his guess was right; most of the complex marriage among the three was driven by political factors.

Considerations for emotions were almost negligible.

This also aligned with Qiu Tu's assessment of Princess Xi—a standard political creature.

In that case, the next steps should be straightforward.

With this in mind, Qiu Tu slowly approached Princess Xi in her gaze, then stopped.

Princess Xi seemed to have guessed what was about to happen, her lips tightly pressed, and her hands involuntarily clenched.

Qiu Tu reached out to lift her face, gently caressing her beautiful cheek, then softly said, "Princess, do you remember our agreement this afternoon?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Princess Xi bit her lip gently.

Even though she had mentally prepared herself many times today, at the moment when it was about to happen, she felt somewhat conflicted and hesitant.

After all, no matter what, she was once a lofty princess and a woman admired by all.