A quarter of an hour later.
Mister Jiu stood in the grand hall of the government office. Using his Source Qi to float a small cloth pouch over to Xu Yuan, he said softly, "Third Young Master, five in total. If there is nothing else, this Jiu will head down to watch over those two sect commanders."
Xu Yuan caught it in one swift motion, cast his eyes down for a glance, and smiled.
"Very well. Thank you for your trouble, Mister Jiu."
"Merely doing my duty." Mister Jiu cupped his hands without expression, then turned and strode out of the hall.
Sitting beside Li Qingyan, Xu Yuan watched Mister Jiu depart, chuckling as he shook his head. "Mister Jiu is quite the sharp one, too."
"A sharp one?"
Li Qingyan lifted her eyes from the military dossiers and glanced sideways at Xu Yuan. "What do you mean?"
Xu Yuan looked at Li Qingyan, smiling faintly. "Lou Ji arranged for him to stay in Houting County to protect me, and even ordered him to follow my commands."
A glimmer of contemplation showed in Li Qingyan's eyes, and her lips curled with amusement. "Does my Prince Consort mean to say that Lou Ji wanted to give him a chance to become your confidant?"
Toying with the pouch in his hands, Xu Yuan nodded and began to spin his tale. "Most likely. But this Mister Jiu doesn't seem keen on picking a side between me and my eldest brother."
"......"
Li Qingyan slowly set down the dossier on the desk. Looking at Xu Yuan, she said softly, "Of the Chancellor's Manor's two dragons, one phoenix, and one rat, one dragon is already gone, and the phoenix is not of the direct lineage. The sole heir is Xu Changge alone. Furthermore, Mister Jiu has no idea of the depths of your abilities, Prince Consort. Choosing not to side with you is only natural."
Xu Yuan grinned. "The problem is, his direct superior, Lou Ji, happens to stand on my side."
Li Qingyan gave Xu Yuan a deep look and shook her head. "Duke Xu's health should still be in the prime of his life."
"Yet your Imperial Father's body probably won't hold out much longer."
"......"
The air suddenly fell dead silent.
Li Qingyan looked at Xu Yuan as if seeing straight through his designs. With a cold snort, she said, "Prince Consort, you are this princess's future husband, and this princess is your future wife. Aside from that, there is nothing else."
Xu Yuan clicked his tongue, his tone turning helpless. "There's an old saying: one day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of affection. While we haven't engaged in any 'deeper communion,' we've still shared a bed and pillow for so many nights now. Think of how many hundreds of days of affection that adds up to!"
Li Qingyan lowered her gaze again to browse the military intelligence from the city. "Prince Consort, there is another old saying: sleeping in the same bed, dreaming different dreams. This princess will not change her choices for you."
"......"
Staring at her fair profile, Xu Yuan sighed softly.
Failed again.
He wanted to know Li Qingyan's true stance.
If his old man's plans went smoothly, the war with the Barbarians would be settled, the northern sects would be wiped out, and the Emperor's lifespan would run dry. At that point, the princes' struggle for the throne would enter its final stage. Any single one of those events would be enough to cause colossal upheavals across the realm.
Amidst all of that, the attitude held by Princess Wuyuan before him was of paramount importance.
Over these past few days, Xu Yuan had realized that this woman's prestige in the army was terrifyingly high.
Not only her personal Feather Forest Guards, but even the soldiers of the Beifeng Army held immense reverence for her.
Once the northern campaign concluded, her standing would inevitably climb higher still.
When that time came, her choice would significantly influence the outcome of the imperial succession.
In the silence,
Xu Yuan pressed the matter no further. Lowering his eyes, he inspected the Sumeru rings inside the pouch. The moment his intent-soul swept inside, his eyebrows twitched.
Just as that subtle expression showed on his face, Li Qingyan, who had looked so frigid a moment ago, chimed in with a teasing smile. "Well, Prince Consort? How are they?"
*Hah. Women.*
Xu Yuan glanced sideways at her and spoke candidly without dawdling. "All five are of the largest capacity. The grain and fodder stored within should be enough to feed thirty thousand men for a month. Aside from that, there are spare suits of armor and weapons. Even if they still have some stash hidden away, it shouldn't be much."
Li Qingyan mused for a moment upon hearing this, then suddenly said, "Right, Prince Consort. Those two have likely pieced together a few things."
Without a second thought, Xu Yuan smiled and replied, "Does Your Highness mean the fact that I sold them Cloud Qi Bombs?"
Li Qingyan gave a slight nod and whispered, "They might not have realized it from that alone. But now that they have witnessed the collapse of the northern wall in Beifeng City, they will inevitably connect the two."
Xu Yuan said nonchalantly, "Compared to me, I imagine they're far more inclined to suspect it was Lou Ji's doing."
Li Qingyan shook her head faintly. "At that time, I was in charge of Beifeng. Lou Ji had no opportunity to approach those key array nodes on the northern wall."
With that, Li Qingyan let out a sigh. "Had this princess known your true character back then, I would never have felt safe sending you inside."
Xu Yuan grinned with mild dissatisfaction. "My true character? Why do I feel like the Princess is insulting me?"
"No, this princess is praising your resourcefulness."
Li Qingyan rolled her eyes at him, then turned serious. "If they spread word of this, the entire chain of events in the north will be pinned on your head. When that happens, you might become a thorn in the side of many—much like your second brother back then."
"Does that include you, Princess?" Xu Yuan asked with a smile.
"Probably not," Li Qingyan answered with a light laugh. "If it did, this princess wouldn't be warning you, Prince Consort."
Xu Yuan leaned in slightly closer. "So... the Princess is worried about me?"
"Naturally." Li Qingyan blinked at Xu Yuan, her eyes curving in a smile. "The days ahead are long. This princess has no wish to become a widow so soon~"
*What a shameless tease.*
The corner of Xu Yuan's eye twitched. He gave a soft laugh. "Then I am truly grateful. But in truth, it doesn't matter."
"Doesn't matter?"
"Simple. Dead men tell no tales."
"......"
Over the next few days, neither Zong Qingsheng nor Li Qingyan showed any intention of heading south.
While holding their ground in Houting County and actively preparing for battle, they continuously received the routed sect armies fleeing north from the south.
Among them were large forces like Luo Qingfeng's, which maintained an organized retreat of over ten thousand soldiers with intact formations, as well as stragglers wandering in small bands of three to five, or dozens and hundreds.
None of this had anything to do with Xu Yuan, however. As an unattached idle observer, his life in Houting County was leisurely in the extreme.
His daily routine, aside from cultivating, was sleeping with Li Qingyan.
Li Qingyan had no need for sleep, but having nothing else to do during this lull, she often lay on the bed with him to cultivate their relationship, chatting late into the night before falling asleep together.
Sleeping in the strictly literal sense of the word.
Xu Yuan severely suspected this woman was deliberately messing with his head, because every night she would unfasten her chest wrap and sleep in a silk nightgown.
Knowing full well he couldn't beat her in a fight, she brazenly teased him until his heart itched. In the end, Xu Yuan had to add one more activity to his daily routine: teasing Luo Qingfeng.
Considered a way to reminisce about his lost youth, as well as the 2D waifu who was soon to perish.
Four days later,
The peaceful days came to an end.
A Cloud Qi Bomb was detonated a hundred li south of Houting County. Two hundred and twenty thousand imperial elites and a total of ninety thousand routed sect troops began to break camp and march south in succession.
Chapter 265