Control of the City Defenses

Xu Yuan felt that Li Junwu's reaction was completely normal. Yesterday's seduction had merely been to ensure the continuation of her family line. Since someone was bound to get lucky with her anyway, why not let her bro enjoy the perks? Could Li Junwu's thought process really be that simple? Just kidding. Deep down, Xu Yuan knew this deduction of his was purely a case of shooting the arrow first and painting the bullseye around it. Earlier, rather than wanting to confirm that Li Junwu liked him, he had wanted even more to confirm that she didn't. And so he would do everything in his power to hunt for evidence proving that Li Junwu was merely his good bosom bro. When you presuppose a stance before looking for answers, no matter how glaring the contradictions were, you would simply ignore them. As for why he was doing this… Listening to the wind whistling past the carriage as it rolled forward, a flicker of melancholy crossed Xu Yuan's eyes. When the right question was answered at the wrong time, regardless of whether the answer was right or wrong, it would ultimately lead only to the wrong outcome. In this extraordinary feudal dynasty, devotion to one partner for a lifetime like his father's was rare; for wealthy and noble houses, polygamy or polyandry was the norm. Xu Yuan had always held the attitude that only children made choices—he wanted them all. But the problem was that Li Junwu was different. Human emotion was an exceptionally complex thing. Although influenced by the body's objective physical state, subjective perception still played the dominant role. Xu Yuan admitted that he liked his bosom bro's body. Because Li Junwu was gorgeous, with a voluptuous chest, a slender waist, and long legs—otherwise, he wouldn't have been willing to take advantage of her. Yet on a psychological level, he had never really viewed her as a woman. One's perception of another person wasn't formed overnight; it accumulated day after day. His bosom bro wasn't merely a tomboyish childhood friend; her genuine lesbian traits had already been etched into his very bones. Teasing her from time to time was thrilling, but if Li Junwu were to suddenly tell him that she had been pretending to like girls all along, Xu Yuan's brain wouldn't be able to wrap itself around that anytime soon. Xu Yuan had seen the trick in his past life of guys pretending to be gay to chase women, but who had ever heard of pretending to be gay only to end up getting bottomed yourself? It was like having the childhood buddy you grew up playing with suddenly genderbend, confess their love, and ask to have "in-depth exchanges" with you… While there was an inexplicable sense of taboo to it, it was truly hard to keep a straight face. So rather than knowing the answer right now, it was better to play dumb while knowing full well, and see first whether he could twist his mindset around. At that thought, Xu Yuan subconsciously glanced at the woman beside him. Li Junwu didn't shy away from his gaze at all. The moment she felt his eyes on her, she turned her head. Their eyes met for an instant. Seeming to sense something, Li Junwu arched a willowy brow and asked with irritation in her voice: "Flattering yourself isn't a good habit. Speak your mind or shut your mouth." Seeing the atmosphere return to normal, Xu Yuan breathed a slight sigh of relief and smiled. "Did I say anything? I'm trying to talk about serious business now." "Serious business? The matter of an heir for Zhenxi Manor?" "Tsk, are you ever going to let that go?" "Aren't you terrified that I might have other feelings for you?" With that, Li Junwu pointed at her cheek and said sarcastically, "Besides, someone just slapped me across the face. Forgotten that already?" "……" Knowing he was in the wrong, Xu Yuan said in a low voice, "Then slap me back." Li Junwu rolled her eyes at him and huffed. "How old are you, playing this game? Aren't you childish?" Hearing the familiar tone in her words, Xu Yuan chuckled and said, "Men stay boys until the day they die—never heard that before? Well, maybe you really haven't. Whatever, I'm not going to bicker about this with you. Li Junwu, how much longer until we reach the Zhenxi Prefectural Yamen from here?" Hearing this, Li Junwu gave him a deep look, then glanced out the carriage window. After studying the view for a dozen breaths, she whispered, "The yamen is over on Pingxi Street. About a quarter of an hour or so." "That fast?" Xu Yuan was somewhat surprised. The neighborhood where they had been staying was mostly populated by mortals, belonging to the outer districts of Zhenxi Prefectural City, yet it was only about half an hour's carriage ride from the prefectural yamen in the heart of the city. Li Junwu said, rather exasperated, "Are you applying your habits from Di'an City here? Zhenxi Prefectural City was originally a fortress. No matter how much it's expanded, it's still a fortress." Xu Yuan shook his head and said slowly, "I was referring to Beifeng City. Your Zhenxi Prefectural City is quite a bit smaller than that northern stronghold." Hearing this, Li Junwu's willowy brows furrowed instantly. "Beifeng City is built on a plain nestled between two mountain cliffs. My family's Zhenxi Prefectural City sits right on the edge of a precipice." *My family's Zhenxi Prefectural City…* Xu Yuan found that somewhat amusing and said mildly, "Since it's your family's prefectural city, how come you, the great commandery princess, didn't even dare show your face and could only miserably hole up in an inn like that?" "……" Li Junwu opened her mouth, but ultimately just clicked her tongue. "Tch." Xu Yuan let out a soft breath, his tone turning serious: "Right now, in all of Zhenxi Prefectural City, is there really not a single person you can trust?" Li Junwu fell silent for a moment before exhaling softly, her tone carrying a hint of despondence: "I already told you about this before. My old man has always wanted to lay down his armor and retire to the fields; he never intended to let me take over Zhenxi Manor. Last year, after endless begging and pestering, I barely got him to let me enlist, but he basically never let me participate in strategic decision-making. He said I had to take it one step at a time." Hearing that, Xu Yuan consoled her in a low voice, "The old Marquis of Zhenxi has his reasons. Leading an army isn't like other things. Back then, Li Qingyan rose through the ranks step by step from a company commander, too." "I know that, but Marquis Wucheng never hid strategic decisions from Wuyuan, either!" Li Junwu clearly harbored considerable resentment toward her father. "Even though she wasn't his biological daughter, Marquis Wucheng kept that woman right by his side wherever he went! But what about that damn old man of mine? He guards against his own daughter like a thief! And now look where we are—I can't even tell who's on our side!" Xu Yuan cleared his throat twice to change the subject: "In other words, you just can't tell, not that the entire city belongs to the Mu family, right?" Li Junwu took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and nodded gently. "Yeah. Right now, the highest military and civil official in the city is Commander Zhan Xian'an of the Zhenxi Army's Second Division. He's followed my father for over twenty years, but I don't know what he's like behind closed doors." Xu Yuan smiled faintly. "That's enough." Li Junwu's gaze turned solemn as she warned, "Changtian, I know you probably have an imperial envoy medallion on you, but here in Zhenxi, the military has always governed civilian affairs." Xu Yuan lifted his gaze toward the sky outside the carriage window and smiled. "Even if the military governs civilian affairs, we still have to go. With so many Saints eyeing the city like tigers stalking prey outside the walls, if we want to defend this city, we must mobilize every single resource inside." Li Junwu pressed her lips together, worry evident in her eyes, but in the end, she chose to place her trust in the man before her. Seeing her fall silent, Xu Yuan asked with a rather peculiar look, "Aren't you even a little curious about what I have planned?" "……" Li Junwu froze for an instant before realizing he was just fishing for compliments. Still, after a soft huff, she played along: "Uh-huh, I'm very curious." Xu Yuan glared at her perfunctory expression and twitched his lips. "There are two essential resources in the city we must use. The first is the city defense formation, and the second is the garrison stationed inside. Our trip this time is to seize control of the city defense formation." With that, he asked in a measured voice, "So, first off: did your family tamper with the city defense formation?" "Tamper with it?" "Those of royal blood are the primary controllers of the city defense formation. After managing this place for so long, did your family secretly alter any of the formation lines?" "I'm not really sure about that. My father never let me touch it… Sorry." "What are you apologizing for?" Xu Yuan cocked his head, shooting her a sideways glance, and said with a smile, "Can't we just head over and test it? One of our purposes in going to the yamen right now is to see whether you, My Lady Princess, can directly take command of the formation." Li Junwu narrowed her long, shapely eyes and whispered, "And our pretext? The core of the city defense formation is heavily guarded. Zhan Xian'an won't just let us in." "Who said we don't have one?" Xu Yuan pointed a finger at himself and Li Junwu, speaking in a low voice: "Between the two of us, one represents the imperial court, and the other represents Zhenxi Manor. Whether by law or by reason, Commander Zhan has no ground to refuse." Li Junwu stared blankly for a second, her beautiful eyes wavering with hesitation. "But I can't be sure Zhan Xian'an is on our side. What if he's already thrown in his lot with the Mu family? Wouldn't we be exposing ourselves prematurely?" Xu Yuan smiled faintly and murmured, "Which brings us to the third pretext we'll use first." "A third pretext?" "A high-ranking officer of my Black Scale Guards happened to pick up a precious treasure on the way to Zhenxi…" "Xu Changtian, can't you just finish your sentences all at once?! Do you have to squeeze them out drop by drop every time I prompt you?" "……" Silence fell for a moment. Seeing the displeasure on her face, Xu Yuan clicked his tongue and spoke rapidly: "Uh… someone is backing the Mu family, and I have the body double of that clan's direct heir in my hands. By now, my people should have already delivered him to the yamen." "Swapping the prince for a leopard cat?" A flicker of surprise flashed in Li Junwu's eyes, but she immediately realized a flaw. "What if they don't recognize him? After all, they're separated by several layers of hierarchy." Xu Yuan wasn't surprised by the question and patiently broke it down for her: "Zhenxi Manor is backed by the imperial court, with your father enfeoffed as a marquis by His Majesty, whereas the Mu family is merely a merchant clan clinging to your manor for survival. What could they possibly offer to induce Commander Zhan to betray Zhenxi Manor? "Absolutely nothing. "To put it bluntly, even if the Mu family managed to pull off a bait-and-switch and supplant Zhenxi Manor, could Commander Zhan advance any further because of it? "Given the Mu family's stature, that would be nearly impossible. After all, one step above a commander is practically your father's seat. If someone turns traitor and rebels, they can't very well settle for remaining in the exact same rank when all is said and done, can they? "Therefore, if Commander Zhan has indeed turned traitor, he will inevitably have been in direct contact with the faction backing the Mu family." "……" Watching his earnest expression, Li Junwu felt her heart skip a beat for some inexplicable reason. Xu Yuan clapped his hands together with a crisp snap, then lowered his voice: "So, Junwu, are there any upscale taverns or pleasure houses near the yamen?" "Huh?" "What are you 'huh'-ing about?" Xu Yuan shot her an odd look and said as if it were obvious, "I can't guarantee total success. If we fail, walking in right now would be walking right into a trap. If you can't even grasp something this simple, you still want to compete with Li Qingyan?" Hearing that, Li Junwu grew somewhat flustered: "It's because you jumped across topics too fast! I just didn't catch up in time!" With that, she took a deep breath and murmured, "There's a decent tavern, but you'd have to go over to the East City for a pleasure house. But you still haven't told me: what do we do if it fails?" Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, gazed at Li Junwu, and said with a smile, "Then we officially announce the news that you, the commandery princess, have returned to the city—though only after Linlang and Tianye make it inside."