Handling the surrendered Black Qiang troops, merging the Black and White Qiang tribes, seizing the spoils of war, rewarding the entire army, summoning teachers from the Three Northwestern Prefectures to head north, and embedding the Prince of Zhenxi Manor's Trade Bureau into the White Qiang economy—
The list of subsequent tasks was practically endless.
Fortunately, Li Yunxiu shouldered the burden of every single one, leaving Wang Yu without a single thing to worry about.
Every day, Li Yunxiu remained in the command tent attending to state affairs, while Wang Yu took Ardai out to tour the surrounding lands.
Every night, Li Yunxiu collapsed into bed completely exhausted in mind and body, while Wang Yu occupied himself with ardently making love to Ardai.
"Come, work with me on this. I want to test out a cultivation technique."
"What technique?"
"A very delightful one. Just give it a try first."
"Mmh—" Ardai let out a soft moan as she suddenly felt Wang Yu's internal energy transmit directly into her through their intimate, seamless embrace. It immediately stirred her own ice-and-snow internal energy, carrying it through a complete circulation before flowing back along its original path.
The next instant, Wang Yu pressed his lips against Ardai's mouth again. Through their entwined tongues came another stream of internal energy, forming an intersecting cycle with the first stream that mutually invigorated each other.
Wang Yu could clearly sense the state of Ardai's body and her circulating true qi, and Ardai could feel his as well.
Though his internal energy was likewise ice-and-snow in nature, it carried a distinct balance of yin and yang. In no time at all, it allowed Ardai's internal energy and Wang Yu's to merge into one, cycling smoothly through both their bodies.
Blended together into a single current imbued with their respective masculine and feminine yin-yang essences, the energy widened their meridians with extraordinary efficiency. Moreover, because each could intuitively perceive what the other had learned, it simultaneously broadened their insights into martial arts.
Kissing Wang Yu, Ardai opened her eyes wide with shock and bewilderment, silently questioning, *What technique is this? How can it be so miraculous?*
Wang Yu smiled faintly. This was none other than the Method of Harmonizing Yang through Taiyin, thoroughly refined and perfected by the mystical turtle shell!
The original Method of Harmonizing Yang through Taiyin had been a plucking art where yang advanced as yin retreated—plucking yin to replenish yang. Although it contained elements of mutual enhancement through yin-yang dual cultivation, they were far cruder than its plucking aspects.
Yet once perfected by the turtle shell, it had transformed into a supreme method that could blend with any art. Imbuing the practitioner's energy with the dual qi of yin and yang, it allowed man and woman to cultivate and progress together.
For instance, during dual cultivation with Wang Yu, Ardai's ice-and-snow true qi was laced with an aura of yin and yang. Communing through this aura, her qi seamlessly fused with Wang Yu's, achieving an effect in cultivation where the whole far exceeded the sum of its parts.
And because Wang Yu was employing ice-and-snow true qi as well, the results were all the more astounding.
After merely a short period of practice, Ardai could already feel the staggering efficiency. A single circulation yielded progress equivalent to an entire day of solitary cultivation!
Deeply thrilled, Ardai eagerly moved her slender waist on her own initiative, and Wang Yu clasped her hands even tighter.
A while later, Ardai lay sprawled across Wang Yu's chest, drenched in fragrant perspiration. "What a pity we can't keep doing this forever," she murmured with mild regret.
Wang Yu fell silent.
Catching her breath after a short rest, Ardai looked up at Wang Yu, only to find him staring blankly at the tent ceiling. She immediately reached down once more.
Wang Yu said helplessly, "Aren't you tired at all?"
"Not at all!" Ardai giggled, casting him a bright, mischievous glance. She slid back a foot, delicately parted her hair, and lowered her head.
Wang Yu gasped softly.
Over the next few days, Li Yunxiu grew visibly weary, whereas Ardai appeared radiant and glowing, her martial cultivation having advanced considerably.
By then, affairs beyond the frontier had largely been settled, and the army struck camp to begin their march back.
Wang Yu invited the martial artists of the Tianshan Sect to visit Longshan Prefecture as guests, but they politely declined.
Yang Weiming and Feng Rigan escorted Xin Yilong back to Mount Tianshan to recuperate from his wounds, while Gu Nanfeng took Ling Kaixuan and the rest of the Three Steeds of Tianshan on a sightseeing journey into the Central Plains.
Gulanrena and Atuke remained on the steppe to oversee the subsequent matters of the White Qiang, while Yan Xiangxue and Asuli accompanied Wang Yu on the return trip to attend his upcoming wedding.
The grand army snaked forward, soon passing through Jinfeng Pass into the Central Plains. The Wuben Army and the Chengyuan Army remained stationed there to guard the pass, while the Xionglue Army and the Ding'an Army marched all the way back to Fengming Prefecture.
It had still been early March when they first received Gulanrena's message. By the time everyone returned to Longshan Prefecture, it was already late April, and the weather had long since grown warm.
Qianqian had not yet returned, nor was there any news of her across the jianghu.
However, the story of Wang Yu wiping out the Black Qiang in a single battle had already spread from the Three Northwestern Prefectures while he was still managing affairs on the steppe, swiftly sweeping across the entire Central Plains.
The world was thoroughly shaken!
In recent years, the late emperor's northern campaigns had suffered setbacks, unrest had flared in the southwest, and both the Shuntian Army and the Red Lotus Cult had raised banners of rebellion across the Central Plains. Signal fires raged everywhere, and the imperial court was entirely overwhelmed trying to extinguish the blazes.
Although these conflicts did not directly threaten the imperial throne's foundation, the prolonged skirmishes and the court's inability to suppress them had made its growing frailty obvious to all.
Yet amidst this precarious state, the Zhenxi Army had struck with formidable might, annihilating the Black Qiang in a single campaign and bringing the White Qiang under a loose tributary administration, resolving in one fell swoop the persistent threat that had plagued the northwest for decades.
This victory galvanized the hearts of the people!
Those who understood the inner workings knew very well that the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor maintained a semi-independent relationship with the court, obeying imperial deployment orders while remaining free of administrative summons. But the common folk had no such knowledge; on paper, the manor served the imperial court, and the prince bore the official title of the Prince of Zhenxi of Great Jin.
Consequently, the imperial court's prestige surged, leading to several victories against the forces of the Shuntian Army and the Red Lotus Cult on the battlefields of the Central Plains.
At the same time, news spread that Zhao Yu, the Prince of Zhenxi, had completed his period of filial mourning and was about to wed Li Yunxiu, the female top scholar betrothed to him by imperial decree, while simultaneously taking Ardai, the young princess of the White Qiang, as an equal secondary consort.
This was an unmistakable declaration of deference to the imperial court.
Wang Yu suspected that the emperor had pushed the news forward behind the scenes to bolster the court's prestige, but he paid it little mind. For the moment, it was convenient to take shelter under a grand tree; as for the future, they would deal with it when the time came.
The moment they returned to Longshan Prefecture, Zhao Rong set about preparing for Wang Yu's wedding.
Lanterns and banners hung inside and outside the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, and the entire city of Longshan was wrapped in festive joy.
Wang Yu was guided through the various ceremonial procedures by ritual officials, while the two brides began preparing their auspicious wedding gowns.
Li Yunxiu found an opportunity to speak with Ardai in private.
"Ardai."
"Does Elder Sister need me for something?"
Even though Yan Xiangxue had previously briefed her on the identities and origins of Li Yunxiu and Qianqian, seeing how seamlessly Wang Yu lived and worked alongside the two women after half a year together still left Ardai feeling a little sheepish.
Observing Ardai's timid, lamb-like demeanor, Li Yunxiu could not help but soften her heart.
"It's nothing serious."
Li Yunxiu considered her words before offering a gentle reminder. "Since Little Sister genuinely loves our husband, you must prioritize his endeavors from now on. When the manor oversees White Qiang affairs in the future, there will likely be murmurs of discontent from the White Qiang nobility. I hope you will discern right from wrong and refrain from interfering."
Ardai gave Li Yunxiu a peculiar look.
Puzzled, Li Yunxiu asked, "Do you have something to say?"
Ardai replied with absolute earnestness, "Do you also prioritize Brother Zhao's endeavors above all else, Elder Sister?"
"Of course," Li Yunxiu answered naturally. She was the one who managed the administrative affairs of the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor and even the entire northwest. Aside from Wang Yu himself, she was undoubtedly the person most dedicated to the manor's success.
"Then what about the imperial court and the emperor?" Ardai pressed on. "If a conflict arises between the emperor and Brother Zhao, whose side will you take?"
A deafening shock seemed to toll like a great bronze bell in Li Yunxiu's mind.
"They won't come into conflict," Li Yunxiu replied instinctively.
Wang Yu's identity was an outright fabrication, while the real prince was under house arrest in the capital, alongside his childhood sweetheart, Chen Yue'er. How could he possibly dare to clash with the emperor?
The moment the emperor released the real prince, his disguise would be exposed instantly. Thus, he had no choice but to safeguard the interests of the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor within the bounds of obeying imperial decrees if he wished to remain the Prince of Zhenxi.
For example, when the emperor ordered them to seize the treasure in the Western Regions, demanded it be delivered to the capital, and instructed them to investigate once it was stolen, they had been powerless to defy the imperial decrees.
Furthermore, whenever she discussed such matters with Wang Yu, he always appeared completely devoid of personal ambition. Not only did he leave the administration entirely to her, but he even actively encouraged it.
When she had worried about his feelings and tried to console him, offering to retire to the countryside with him in the future, he had calmly responded that he was content to simply be the Prince of Zhenxi, and would offer no resistance even if the emperor moved to strip the feudatories of power.
"Why wouldn't they?" Ardai countered. "The current emperor levies harsh taxes and extracts forced labor, stirring public outrage. Last time, he even made you people seize treasure in the Western Regions just to present it to him. How could Brother Zhao ever walk the same path as a man like that?
"Now that the Black and White Qiang are united, our allegiance belongs to Brother Zhao, not the imperial court. If the court wages war on the steppe and demands the White Qiang send troops alongside them, we will never agree.
"My master told me that members of your Li family serve as officials in the imperial court, and that the emperor sent you here to spy on Brother Zhao and wrest control of the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor. In truth, you stand on the emperor's side, don't you?"
Li Yunxiu wanted to deny it, but the words would not come.
Now that everything was out in the open, Ardai spoke her mind freely. "I love Brother Zhao. I think Brother Zhao is truly pitiable—neither you nor Sister Qianqian share his true heart, even if you share his bed.
"Both of you harbor your own purposes. I am the only one who genuinely loves Brother Zhao. Whatever he chooses to do, I will stand by his side, and the White Qiang will stand firmly behind him."
Li Yunxiu was left speechless. Forget sharing his bed while harboring different dreams; they hadn't even shared a bed yet.
"Elder Sister," Ardai asked softly, "do you love Brother Zhao?"
Li Yunxiu's heart skipped a beat.
Once again, the memory flashed through her mind of the day they were cornered in the courtyard by assassins from the Ghost Shadow Sect, when Wang Yu had stepped forward to shield her despite having virtually no martial arts of his own.
For her sake, he had persuaded Zhao Rong to let go of his lethal intent, relieved the veteran general Zhao Siqi of his military command, and handed over the full authority of the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor to her.
Li Yunxiu recalled him giving her perfume, gifting her the colored-glaze phoenix cup, and teasingly joking that he wanted to sleep with her.
She remembered his striking figure when he slew Wei Honggang, his haughty defiance in the face of Shi Mo, and his bold courage when venturing alone onto the steppe.
Meeting Ardai's crystal-clear gaze, Li Yunxiu nodded, finally acknowledging her true feelings.
"I do."
Without realizing it, she had fallen for him long ago. That was why she felt unhappy whenever he grew close to Qianqian, and why she had been so angry upon learning he had slept with Ardai.
Ardai took Li Yunxiu's hands in hers. "Then if a conflict ever breaks out between the emperor and Brother Zhao, you will stand by Brother Zhao's side too, won't you, Elder Sister?"
Li Yunxiu remained silent.
Chapter 129