Imperial Secrets - 14

After his father finished speaking, Jiang Hanqing continued, "The group of people chose such an accurate ambush location that night. One reason is that, as I said, they knew my usual routes very well. Another reason is that they knew my whereabouts very well, at least they knew that I was going to the Crown Prince's residence for a banquet that night!"

"Who knew that you were going to the Crown Prince's residence for a banquet that night?" Jiang Haoyu obviously agreed with his son's point of view, so he hurriedly asked his son. "Of course, it goes without saying that Xu Sheng and his wife, as well as Xu Yu and his wife, and many family members in the Crown Prince's residence. In addition, several family members also know about it, and we don't know to whom they've shared this information."

Upon hearing that so many people knew about this, Jiang Haoyu frowned and said, "So many people know about this? Then there's simply no way to investigate this matter!"

Jiang Hanqing said, "Yes! It seems that following this lead won't yield any good results."

Jiang Haoyu stood up, paced around the room a few times, and said to his son with a serious expression, "Son, this is how I see this matter: it absolutely couldn't have been done by the Emperor or Wang Mingde! Those two..." "No one would be foolish enough to do something so thankless!"

Jiang Hanqing nodded and said, "That's what I think too! The person who planned this must be someone who can gain the most direct benefit from my death. As for the Emperor and Wang Mingde, in this very delicate situation, they wouldn't take rash action for someone as difficult as me. For them, even if they get rid of someone like me, they won't gain much benefit. On the contrary, it will arouse suspicion and vigilance from other forces, making it even more difficult for them to take any action in the future!"

Jiang Haoyu didn't say anything at this time, but kept twirling his beard with his fingers, looking somewhat absent-minded, as if he was hesitating about something. Seeing his father remain silent, Jiang Hanqing continued, "There was one assassin that day whose voice I felt was somewhat familiar. Although I can't recall who he was, I'm certain I've heard his voice somewhere before, otherwise I wouldn't have that feeling."

Jiang Haoyu suddenly raised his head, a fierce killing intent flashing in his eyes, and said harshly, "Since you find that voice familiar, you must have heard it before. It's just that you might not know this person very well! In any case, judging from the current situation, I think that bastard is the most suspicious in this matter!"

Looking at his father's fierce expression, Jiang Hanqing said in a deep voice, "My thoughts are the same as yours, Father! The person who did this is most likely..." Suddenly seeing his father glare at him, realizing his mistake, Jiang Hanqing swallowed the name he was about to utter. He paused, then continued, "Heh heh! We've been suspecting the Wang family of plotting a rebellion lately, and by acting at such a sensitive time before the New Year, he can shift everyone's attention to the Wang family.

Besides, with me injured, everyone will be furious and won't suspect anything else. Humph! His plan is truly brilliant! It's a pity I wasn't as pathetic as he imagined, and didn't die at the hands of those assassins."

Jiang Hao continued with a smile, "What's even more regrettable is that you and I, father and son, aren't as idiotic as he thinks! We didn't shift our attention to Wang Mingde or the Emperor as he wished. This guy has worn a mask for so many years, always holding back. Now… heh heh… he's finally getting restless, and his fox tail is about to be revealed!"

Bai Yingjue listened to the father and son's conversation without saying a word. She knew that these powerful families had very strict requirements for their women; when the person in power spoke, the woman could only pretend to be deaf and dumb, and absolutely could not speak out of turn.

Listening to the father and son's conversation, it was clear they both knew who had done it, yet neither revealed the person's name to her. Bai Yingjue was incredibly curious. Who would dare to harm Jiang Hanqing? And judging from their tone, the suspect seemed to be someone they knew very well. Driven by intense curiosity, Bai Yingjue finally asked, "You know who did it? What's his name? Is he... one of your own?" Jiang Haoyu glanced at Bai Yingjue but didn't answer, his expression darkening considerably.

"I'll handle this myself. Just focus on recovering! Hmm... I can tell you're not at peace right now! Sigh!"

He turned to Jiang Hanqing and said this before ignoring them and walking away without another glance at Bai Yingjue. Watching Jiang Haoyu's departing figure, Bai Yingjue said with a troubled expression, "Qing, it seems... your father really doesn't welcome a woman like me associating with you!" Jiang Hanqing sighed and forced a smile, "Don't overthink it! It's just that my father is in a bad mood after I was injured! If he really didn't like you, he would have kicked you out long ago!"

Bai Yingjue shook her head and said sadly, "You don't need to comfort me! Of course he won't kick me out! I'm already your woman. Even if he doesn't like me, he should at least give his son some face! But I know that in his eyes, I'm just a vixen used to satisfy his son's lust, and I'm not even a woman of your Jiang family!"

Jiang Hanqing watched Bai Yingjue wallowing in self-pity, but didn't know what else to say to comfort her. He could only sigh and walk to the side of the room to sit down.

For a moment, the two of them fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

In the days that followed, with Jiang Hanqing awakened, Li Huaxin began to visit him daily under the guise of checking on his health. Under the care and love of Bai Yingjue and Li Huaxin, Jiang Hanqing recovered quickly, becoming energetic again in just over ten days.

During these rare ten days of leisure, Jiang Hanqing quietly contemplated his life and pondered his future path. Never before in his life had he thought about anything so seriously.

The events of the past year had made Jiang Hanqing realize that the fate of the Great Xia Dynasty wouldn't last much longer. At this moment, the empire was nothing more than a decaying house with a massive structure. Its exterior appeared so enormous and imposing, but its interior was already rotten; even the slightest external force would cause the entire empire to collapse completely. Jiang Hanqing knew this "house" would collapse sooner or later, but he couldn't be sure when. Perhaps it would happen in the new year, or perhaps it would take many years.

Regardless, one thing Jiang Hanqing was very clear about: for someone like him, attempting to seize the throne, every day from this moment on was absolutely crucial and could not be wasted.

Currently, what troubled Jiang Hanqing most was undoubtedly the problems with the Manifest Sect and the Holy Maidens. As a member of the Hidden Sect of the Holy Gate, Jiang Hanqing knew better than anyone how powerful these people were. But the capital was so vast; where should he even begin to search for these intangible enemies? Could there truly be spies from the Manifest Sect hidden within his own home? Had the Holy Maidens truly infiltrated the palace? Jiang Hanqing needed to find answers to these questions as soon as possible, otherwise, immense trouble awaited him.

Despite this understanding, Jiang Hanqing had not yet devised a good method to search for the enemy's tracks. Without any clues, how could he possibly identify who he was looking for?

Putting aside these hidden enemies for the time being, the Jiang family's greatest enemy in the current court is undoubtedly the Wang family, the Duke of Dingguo. After six hundred years of painstaking management, the Wang family's vast power is undeniably terrifying, but even the Jiang family isn't entirely clear on the exact extent of their strength. Jiang Hanqing believes that although the Wang family appears weaker than the Jiang family on the surface, they must still harbor considerable hidden power. For such a historically significant and powerful enemy, overestimating their strength is far more advantageous than underestimating them. The Wang family's recent actions have also raised some doubts for Jiang Hanqing. In particular, Wang Siting's handling of controlling Fei Qingsi's forces is causing Jiang Hanqing great concern. He simply cannot believe that the Wang family would do something so foolish without a reason. He secretly resolves that after he recovers from his injuries, he must spend more time investigating what conspiracy the Wang family is plotting. He hopes they are not planning a rebellion before the Jiang family is ready. As for the Anguo Duke's family, although their power has declined in recent years, they are still a force to be reckoned with. Moreover, the Li family possesses a peerless general like Shi Yanying, whose hundreds of thousands of "Flying Eagle Legion" soldiers, once mobilized, would be a formidable force. Compared to the Jiang, Wang, and Li families, the Zou family is significantly weaker and consists mostly of mediocre individuals; Jiang Hanqing truly feels there's nothing to worry about them. After

carefully considering the power balance of the four major families, Jiang Hanqing gradually developed a clear strategy for dealing with the other three.

He would unite with the weakest, the Zou family, to form a temporary alliance; on this basis, he would court the Li family in the middle, and do everything in his power to secretly provoke the existing conflict between Shi Yanying and the Li family, striving to force a final break between them; and as for the isolated and greatest enemy, the Wang family, he would naturally do everything possible to deliver a fatal blow!

As for the imperial family, Jiang Hanqing didn't care much about them. A gradually incompetent emperor poses little threat to anyone, especially given the losses his army suffered in the war against the Qiut people. All he needs to do is avoid appearing too powerful in front of the emperor.

While Crown Prince Xusheng is always law-abiding, his lack of personal ability prevents him from achieving great things. Crucially, this heir to the throne is also suspicious, narrow-minded, and cunning. Just like what happened on the night Jiang Hanqing was attacked, Yin Yuji hoped for cooperation, but Xusheng hesitated due to his prejudices, ultimately missing a crucial opportunity due to a vixen's interference. Jiang Hanqing is almost certain that Xusheng will one day suffer a crushing defeat because of this fatal flaw. The Second Prince Xuyu has recently found a powerful backer and has become increasingly arrogant. However, he is ultimately a fool, and Jiang Hanqing predicts he won't amount to much. Jiang Hanqing is more interested in the forces behind Xuyu. Although the other party's identity was still unclear, their strength was undeniable given their willingness to intervene in the core political struggle. However, if they possessed such power, why would they choose the incompetent Xu Yu as their representative in the court? Jiang Hanqing was filled with questions about this. He concluded that the other party was merely using the foolish Xu Yu temporarily, but what effect would this have? Unable to find a solution, Jiang Hanqing had no choice but to temporarily put the matter aside.

In the past few days, Jiang Hanqing had considered initiating his own uprising, but ultimately abandoned the idea for four reasons.

First, unless the Jiang family could eliminate the other three ducal families and the heads of the imperial family at the outset, they would likely face a formidable force that even a combined power could not match. In reality, Jiang Hanqing knew clearly that his family lacked the capability to do so. Compared to their fiefdom... Compared to the Wang family near the capital, the Jiang family is at a significant disadvantage.

Secondly, although the Jiang family commands a large number of elite troops, could these troops, burdened with the infamy of injustice, maintain high morale if the Jiang family were to rebel? No one dares to take that risk! Moreover, while the Jiang family's army currently holds a certain advantage over other forces, it doesn't guarantee a sure victory.

Thirdly, the Jiang family has many supporters among the common people because of their consistently good reputation within the country. However, if the Jiang family were to cause trouble, plunging the people into misery, would they still support a rebellion? Do you think you have any goodwill towards treacherous officials who plunge the people into misery? The answer is obvious. Those who lack popular support but desire the world have never succeeded!

Fourthly, although the Jiang family possesses vast fiefdoms in the western part of the empire, most of these territories were newly acquired after the empire's founding, initially mostly impoverished areas. Despite years of effort by the Jiang family, these regions have gradually become prosperous, but their position in the empire's political landscape remains insignificant, historically lacking significant strategic importance for the empire's existence and development. Strictly speaking, these fiefdoms are merely for... The empire merely provided some luxurious raw materials; in other words, with these lands, the empire's resources would be more abundant, and the people's lives would be more prosperous. Without these lands, the empire could still exist and develop. However, in the empire's traditional strongholds—the central and northern regions, and even the relatively poor southern and eastern regions—the Jiang family had virtually no influence. If the Jiang family were to launch a rebellion, they would be unlikely to receive any significant support in the empire's heartland; they would have to rely on their own strength to force their way in, a task of immense difficulty. The Jiang family's sphere of influence was frequently... The description of him as "secluded in the western corner" stems from this reason. Back at the crossroads, Jiang Hanqing valued Sun Xianghe so highly, partly because of his undeniable abilities, and partly to utilize him to carve out a foothold in the central and eastern regions of the empire, paving the way for the Jiang family's future development in the region and ultimately changing their geographically unfavorable situation.

After comprehensively considering the current situation, Jiang Hanqing planned the following strategy for his family in the new year: First, they should try to avoid their family initiating a rebellion; being the first to stick their neck out is not easy! They should hide behind others and wait for them to make their move. Then, by personally stepping in to quell the chaos, he could naturally gain a good reputation among the people. Secondly, he should continue to strengthen his control over the army. One can never have too much military power. The more troops one controls, the greater the chance of survival. Thirdly, he should be prepared at all times for a potential rebellion by the Wang family, or for the emperor to suddenly eliminate dissidents. This is something that cannot be taken lightly; better safe than sorry. After all, the emperor still holds unparalleled power in the capital, and the Wang family, due to their fiefdoms surrounding the capital, also enjoys a significant advantage. If they were to act first, they would leave no chance for other families. Without early preparation... That would certainly mean certain death. Whether or not they could survive the enemy's initial, devastating attack was the biggest prerequisite for successfully organizing a counterattack and ultimately seizing power.

After weighing the pros and cons, Jiang Hanqing decided that his family couldn't act first and could only passively wait for others to make their move, but this was extremely dangerous.

If the Jiang family's intelligence was even slightly inaccurate, and they only found out when the enemy made their move, then disaster would be imminent. To ensure a smooth escape and avoid the tragic end of his entire family being wiped out, Jiang Hanqing decided to advise his father to take some measures to prepare for any eventuality.

He suggested to his father that they expand the relocation of family members out of the capital. The plan was to send anyone not holding a high-ranking official position in the court to their western fiefdom, rather than remaining in the capital to await trouble.

Jiang Hanqing also advised his father to prepare escape routes to the western fiefdoms, just in case. He planned to establish several secret outposts outside the capital, stocking them with horses, provisions, and weapons, and extending these outposts as far west as possible. This way, if something happened in the capital, anyone who could escape alive could use these outposts to flee west. Jiang Haotian readily accepted his son's two wise suggestions and immediately dispatched men to carry them out.

Jiang Hanqing also suggested to his father that they should use all available resources in the court to find ways to transfer the family's scattered troops stationed throughout the country to the west. This would allow them to concentrate these troops into a powerful military force, preventing them from being defeated piecemeal by the enemy.

Jiang Haotian agreed, concluding that this strategy should be used to maneuver against their opponents in the court.

Jiang Hanqing had one more thing he hadn't immediately brought up with his father. He knew that his ancestors had designed a secret passage to escape to the city when building the family compound. This passage had never been used for hundreds of years. Jiang Hanqing hoped it would never be used in his lifetime, but he still decided to find an opportunity to ask his father about it, because recently he had increasingly sensed a dangerous atmosphere. He thought that perhaps his ancestors had also felt an imminent danger countless times, anxiously awaiting something to happen, only to find that nothing ever did. Jiang Hanqing understood that this worry was not unfounded; if it became a reality, its impact would far exceed the pressure of the worry itself!

However, the astute Jiang Hanqing would never rashly ask his father about the secret passage. The location of the passage's entrance and exit had always been known only to successive heads of the Jiang family. This secret had, to a certain extent, become a symbol of the head of the family's power. If Jiang Hanqing acted without careful consideration and casually inquired of his father, Jiang Haotian might think his son was plotting to seize his power. After all, in these historically prominent families, it was not uncommon for fathers and sons, brothers, to turn against each other and even kill each other for power and profit. Jiang Hanqing needed to find a way to test his father, ideally getting him to reveal the truth himself.

Furthermore, Jiang Hanqing secretly sent a letter to his mother, expressing his endless longing and love for her. He also requested that his mother temporarily halt the continuous war with the Western Region barbarians and prepare for war against enemies within the country. He instructed his mother to pay close attention to the movements in the capital and, should any unusual developments be detected, to immediately march east to provide support. In the letter, Jiang Hanqing also told his mother that he was deeply worried about some people within the family, believing they might take advantage of the situation to seize power. In these turbulent times, he asked his mother to prepare for any unforeseen events, including the possibility that she might need to use force to crush a rebellion within the family and seize control of all power within the family's fiefdom. If such a thing happened, he hoped his beloved mother would be willing to abandon his father for him, if necessary!

He even subtly mentioned in the letter that he might clash with his father in the future, and he wanted his mother, as the woman closest to him, to be prepared for such a conflict. Jiang Hanqing knew that his affair with his mother would one day be discovered by his father, making a rift between them inevitable. Under no circumstances would he allow himself to be a loser in the power struggle, not even with his own father. It was this thought that drove him to write this letter to his mother.

Jiang Hanqing knew in his heart that his reflections on the current situation and the conclusions he drew from them over the past ten days would greatly influence his future actions. He could also imagine that some of the things he did during this period would have a certain effect in the future, because these were decisions he made after careful consideration, and what he believed to be the most correct course of action at present. However, like anyone placed in history, he could not yet know how enormous the impact these measures he was taking would be on his entire life!

During Jiang Hanqing's recovery, the court's investigation into his attack continued. But like countless similar incidents before, nothing was found in the end.

The morning court resumed five days after the New Year. And recently, the focus of discussion between the emperor and his ministers was, of course, this attack. The fact that the attack in the capital could not find the real culprit finally pushed the emperor's patience to its limit. He truly lost his temper in court, even beheading the general who was originally responsible for protecting the capital. This general was a member of the royal family, and everyone knew that he had always been loyal to the emperor. This incident further convinced Jiang Haoyu and his son that the attack had nothing to do with the emperor. The emperor's actions revealed his deep concern. The Jiang family fully understood his fury: such a blatant attack occurred in the very heart of his rule. If today it was against his ministers, wouldn't it be against him tomorrow? He could tolerate behind-the-scenes intrigues by his ministers, a natural consequence of power struggles; he couldn't eliminate these ambitious figures now, so he could only turn a blind eye. But he absolutely could not tolerate direct violence, as it was a direct threat, a complete disregard for his rule, and an extremely dangerous signal. Although the emperor was becoming increasingly incompetent, his grasp of the true nature of power struggles remained as sharp as in his youth. He immediately understood the message behind this incident: his rule was in serious trouble!

The emperor entrusted the responsibility of protecting the capital to his second prince, Xu Yu, whom he had recently greatly admired. This move led everyone to speculate whether he would soon appoint a new crown prince!

After learning of this, Jiang Hanqing's suspicions deepened. He wouldn't forget the threatening words Xu Yu had spoken to him the night before the assassination attempt. Now, the military power in the capital had been handed over to such a person—how could he not be worried? He deeply felt that the situation in the capital was becoming increasingly complex!

Moreover, Jiang Hanqing began to have a feeling that this attack might have been orchestrated by Xu Yu. Had he and the people hiding behind him already calculated the emperor's reaction to this incident and deliberately planned it? This way, regardless of whether they could eliminate Jiang Hanqing, their formidable enemy, they could use it as an opportunity to smoothly seize military power in the capital. If that were the case, then the enemy hiding behind Xu Yu was truly terrifying.

The only thing Jiang Hanqing was certain of was that the emperor's actions this time had genuinely made Crown Prince Xu Sheng very anxious.

During the more than ten days Jiang Hanqing was recuperating, Xu Sheng actually sent people to inquire about his injuries four times, bringing a large amount of rare tonics and medicinal herbs from various regions. The messenger also brought a message from Xu Sheng, expressing his wish to meet with Jiang Hanqing again after his recovery.

However, Jiang Hanqing had too many things to consider recently and didn't have time to calculate the pros and cons of allying with Xu Sheng. He also wanted to teach Xu Sheng a lesson, so he pretended not to hear the messenger from the Crown Prince's residence. The messenger, though anxious, had no solution and could only return dejectedly time and time again. This day was the fifteenth of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival.

The people in the Jiang family compound had been busy preparing for the festival since the night before, decorating the large courtyard with festive cheer. In the afternoon, Jiang Hanqing, whose health had largely recovered, was delighted to see everyone so lively. He temporarily put aside the problem he had been pondering for over ten days and appeared in the courtyard with Bai Yingjue, gesturing wildly and instructing his family on what to do, directing them to set up the lanterns to be displayed that evening. Just as everyone was busy at work, a family member suddenly rushed in from outside and announced to Jiang Hanqing, "Young Master, Princess Anping has come to see you!" The Princess Anping mentioned by the family member was Jiang Hanqing's cousin, Jingwen, the daughter of Crown Prince Xusheng and Yin Yuji. Princess Anping was her title in the empire. Jiang Hanqing's brows immediately furrowed. That annoying Xusheng had sent someone to harass him again! Although he had always liked his cousin, Xusheng's enthusiastic behavior in recent days had become quite tiresome, so he wasn't particularly happy about her visit. Just as he was trying to find an excuse to send Jingwen away, he heard Bai Yingjue's jealous voice say, "Isn't that little girl Princess Anping?"

Jiang Hanqing followed Bai Yingjue's gaze and saw a graceful young woman walking towards him. Who else could it be but his cousin, Jingwen?

He could only sigh inwardly, but immediately forced a fake smile onto his face. With her eyes fixed on the beautiful girl Yingying approaching, feeling the strong youthful energy emanating from her, Bai Yingjue unconsciously leaned into Jiang Hanqing's arms.

Jingwen walked to Jiang Hanqing's side and greeted him affectionately, "Cousin!"

Although she was greeting Jiang Hanqing, the girl's gaze had already shifted to the unfamiliar woman nestled in her cousin's arms. There was a hint of curiosity in her expression, but more so, obvious disdain. It was as if she was warning Bai Yingjue not to compete with her, the noble granddaughter of the emperor, for a man. Seeing the arrogant demeanor of the little girl before her, Bai Yingjue suddenly felt a surge of anger and wanted to teach this ignorant Miss Yu Jin a lesson on the spot. She snorted heavily and twisted her body, trying to break free from Jiang Hanqing's embrace.

Although Jiang Hanqing himself had never had any romantic feelings for this cousin, he knew that this girl, experiencing her first stirrings of love, secretly liked him. Seeing the two women at each other's throats, he immediately knew they were vying for his attention. He sighed inwardly, trying to think of a way to divert the two women's attention from each other. But then he felt the woman in his arms move, knowing she was trying to break free to settle scores with Jingwen. A chill ran down his spine, and he quickly wrapped his arms around Bai Yingjue's waist, stopping her.

Seeing her cousin reach out to embrace the woman, Jingwen's eyes practically spit fire; she stood there, clenching her teeth, speechless. Bai Yingjue, however, conveniently flashed her a triumphant smile, making Jingwen's face turn ashen with anger.

Jiang Hanqing, fearing the two women, meeting for the first time, would continue their endless entanglement, quickly coughed and asked, "Cousin, what urgent matter brings you here?"

Hearing her cousin's question, Jingwen ignored Bai Yingjue's sullen expression and turned to Jiang Hanqing, saying, "Does it have to be urgent to see you? I just came to check on your recovery!"

Jiang Hanqing clenched his fist and punched his chest twice, saying, "Alright!" "Look, you're as strong as before!"

As he did this, he gently pushed Bai Yingjue away from his embrace.

Bai Yingjue glared at him with a hint of resentment, but didn't say anything, quietly standing aside. The clever girl naturally understood that she couldn't disobey Jiang Hanqing's wishes at this moment, otherwise he would definitely not give her a good ending.

Seeing her cousin push that annoying woman aside, Jingwen's expression softened a little, and she smiled at Jiang Hanqing, "Your wounds have healed? That's wonderful! My mother has been worried about your injury these past few days. Today, she asked me to come and check on you."

"Oh! Thank you so much, your mother! Sigh! She cares so much about me; as her nephew, I simply don't know how to repay her kindness! I..."

At this point, Jiang Hanqing suddenly seemed to remember something, reaching out to pat his forehead, and exclaimed, "Sigh...sigh! Look at me, your older brother, I'm dizzy! I've made you stand here for so long. Come! Come!" "Come to my courtyard and dust yourself off!"

he said, turning to head towards his own courtyard.

But to his surprise, Jingwen didn't follow him. Instead, she stood still and said, "Cousin, no need! I have to rush back later to go to the palace with Father to pay my respects to Grandfather!"

"Oh! Look at me! Hehe! A little injury has made me silly! I actually forgot that according to custom, your family should go to the palace today

to celebrate the festival with the Emperor. Alright then! Let's talk here!" Jingwen nodded and said, "Okay! I'll finish in a few words! Actually, it's nothing much! It's just that my parents feel particularly guilty because you were injured on your way home from the banquet at our residence. They hope you can come to our place again in a few days when you have time, and they want to give you some wine to soothe your wounds."

Jiang Hanqing feigned a panicked expression and hurriedly replied, "This... I got injured because I accidentally fell into a trap set by a villain... It has nothing to do with my uncle and Aunt Diao, so why would they feel sorry for me? This... isn't this making me, their nephew, feel terrible!" Jingwen

found his anxious look quite amusing and couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "Cousin, it's just going over for a meal! Why are you in such a hurry? Actually, I think... it's just that my mother wants to see you. She's just finding an excuse to get you to come over!" Jiang Hanqing carefully observed his cousin's expression. Seeing her innocent and naive appearance, he clearly didn't understand the hidden meaning behind her parents' actions, and he was immediately touched.

"Sigh! This little girl doesn't understand anything yet, thinking that everything in the world is beautiful! But that's fine too, carefree all day long, how easy it is!"

Jingwen noticed her cousin had suddenly fallen silent, staring intently at her, which struck her as odd. "

Was my clothing incomplete?"

she wondered, looking down at her clothes, but finding nothing amiss. She then suspected something was wrong with her face, wiping it with her sleeve, only to find it still clean. Unsure why her cousin was staring, Jingwen looked up at Jiang Hanqing with a suspicious expression. "Cousin, what...what are you looking at?" Jiang Hanqing paused, snapping out of his reverie, and smiled, shaking his head. "Nothing! I just suddenly remembered some things from my past! Ah! Youth is truly wonderful!"

Seeing her cousin, only a few years older than her, speak with such an air of maturity, Jingwen found it amusing and made a face at him, teasingly saying, "Cousin, you seem to be only in your early twenties too, just as young!" Looking at his cousin's adorable appearance, Jiang Hanqing felt a long-lost sense of ease. He temporarily forgot all his scheming and joked with her, "I'm not old, but my heart is! There's nothing I can do! I'm practically an old man now! Unlike you, you're in your prime, all radiant and beautiful!" Jingwen smiled and said, "Then you should find a white beard to stick on your chin, instead of this pitiful little tuft!"

Jiang Hanqing said, "Hehe! Then I'll have to trouble you, cousin, to go and get me a white beard! I, as your cousin, don't have the ability to pick it myself; I'm destined to be a beardless old man!"

After saying this, they both burst into laughter. Even Bai Yingjue, who had been sulking, smiled. After laughing for a while, Jingwen remembered that she hadn't achieved her purpose for coming and hurriedly asked, "Right! Cousin, you haven't answered me yet! Are you coming to our place or not?"

Jiang Hanqing's smile faded, and he said seriously, "Yes!" "Of course I'll go! How could I dare disobey my cousin's orders! Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to see the bright moon tonight!"

Jingwen saw his serious expression, yet he still managed to say something joking, and couldn't help but chuckle again. "Alright! Alright! Cousin, it's settled then! You're a busy man, so I won't waste your time! Once you're feeling better in a few days, send someone to inform my mother two or three days in advance. We'll prepare properly and then invite you over! Okay?"

"Why wait a few days! Let's set it for the night after tomorrow! How about that!" Jingwen said happily, "That's great! The day after tomorrow it is! Don't go back on your word later and make Jingwen lose face in front of Mother!" Seeing Jiang Hanqing's firm promise, Jingwen felt she had completed her task for the day and immediately took her leave.

Jiang Hanqing knew she was in a hurry to return home to prepare for her audience with the Emperor that evening, so he didn't try to stop her.

Watching his cousin's figure gradually disappear into the distance, a faint smile remained on Jiang Hanqing's lips.

Talking with Jingwen, he didn't have to consider so many complicated things like he did with other people. He hadn't felt this carefree ease for many years.

Jiang Hanqing had never liked those naive, mischievous girls before, finding them too childish and pointless. But after joking around with Jingwen so easily today, he began to feel that being with such simple girls wasn't so bad after all.

As he was lost in thought, someone nudged him, and Bai Yingjue's voice rang out beside him.

"They've already left, what are you still looking at?" Looking at the slightly angry yet cautious expression of the beauty beside him, Jiang Hanqing gave an awkward smile, about to say something to cover it up, when a family member rushed towards him, shouting from afar, "

Young Master... Young Master... Chen Bin and the others are back! Chen Bin is back!" Hearing his family member's voice, Jiang Hanqing was overjoyed. He had always thought Chen Bin and his group wouldn't return to the capital for at least another half month; he never expected them to return so quickly.

"Chen Bin is back? Excellent! Where is he? Take me to see him!" Jiang Hanqing said, waving his hand, signaling the family member to lead the way to Chen Bin.

"Young Master...they...they're all injured! They've been arranged by Young Master Fengxian to rest in a house in the outer courtyard, waiting for you!" Jiang Hanqing was immediately shocked by his family's answer. "What? Injured? In which country? Hurry up and take me to see them!" Urged on by Jiang Hanqing, his family dared not delay and hurriedly turned and led Jiang Hanqing and Bai Yingjue towards the outer courtyard.

Chapter 39 Returning

Empty-handed

Along the way, Jiang Hanqing pondered deeply. How could Chen Bin and the others be injured? Who did it? He had already learned from his family that only his three subordinates—Chen Bin, Jiang Wuxiong, and Li Kebiao—had returned; no one else had come back with them.

Jiang Hanqing knew in his heart that his dream of bringing Fan Hu and Sun Xianghe back with his three subordinates was most likely shattered. When Jiang Hanqing arrived at the room where Chen Bin and the others were temporarily staying, he saw three haggard-looking wounded men. Judging from the number of bandages wrapped around their bodies, they were clearly seriously injured.

Before Jiang Hanqing could speak, Chen Bin stood up and said, "Young Master, we are so sorry! The people you asked us to bring back... we failed to bring back a single one!"

Although he had been somewhat prepared, Jiang Hanqing was still extremely disappointed to hear it from the people involved. However, on the surface, his expression was completely different.

Jiang Hanqing rushed to Chen Bin, helping him sit down with a concerned expression. He repeatedly exclaimed, "No! Don't talk about that! How are your injuries? Are they serious? What kind of bastard dared to attack you?" Seeing his young master's concern for his injuries, Chen Bin was deeply moved. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "Young master... I... our injuries are nothing, just some minor cuts... but... we haven't finished the task you entrusted to us!"

Jiang Hanqing let out a long sigh, seemingly relieved to hear their injuries weren't too serious.

"It's good that the injuries aren't serious! People are the most important thing, everything else is negotiable! Don't you agree?"

Chen Bin felt a surge of warmth in his heart, unable to speak, only nodding repeatedly in a daze.

Jiang Hanqing then inquired about Jiang Wuxiong and Li Kebiao's well-being before turning to Chen Bin, saying, "Tell me everything that happened on your journey!" Chen Bin then recounted everything that had happened since parting ways with Jiang Hanqing.

After parting ways with Jiang Hanqing that day, Chen Bin and his companions retraced their steps.

Their initial plan was to find Fan Hu, who was recuperating at a farmer's house. However, when they arrived at the farmhouse, guided by their memory, they were surprised to discover that Fan Hu and his two men had already left.

From the farmer, Chen Bin learned that Fan Hu's injuries hadn't fully healed when he left. The honest farmer also told Chen Bin that Fan Hu had said before leaving that if his friends who had brought him there returned, he should tell them he had other matters to attend to and had left without waiting for them, and that they would meet again sometime. Chen Bin and his companions were naturally very disappointed, but since the man was gone, what could they do? After discussing it, the three of them decided to head west along the main road towards the three-way intersection, hoping to recruit Sun Xianghe. That way, their trip wouldn't have been in vain, and they could explain themselves to their young master. When they arrived at the intersection, they discovered something even more shocking: the inn run by Sun Xianghe was now nothing but ruins.

The three men couldn't help but worry: What exactly happened to the Sun family? Had Sun Xianghe become dead? Were they destined to return empty-handed? Had their young master failed to complete any of the tasks entrusted to them? This time, they had to find out the truth before leaving. Having made up their minds, they found a newly opened inn.

They booked two rooms, left their mounts there, and immediately went out to gather information.

Near the ruins of the Sun family inn, they tried to ask the local Zou people what had happened. However, upon hearing that it concerned Sun Xianghe, the people immediately pretended to be deaf and dumb; some even avoided them like the plague, pointing and whispering among themselves. Unable to understand the people's strong reaction, Chen Bin and the others were completely bewildered. Just as they were filled with suspicion, the "answer" appeared on its own. A group of burly men, about twenty in number, armed with weapons, rushed down the street, shouting arrogantly, "Who the hell is asking about that bastard from the Sun family? Are they going against Master Jin? We'll kill him!"

As this menacing group appeared, the crowd on the side of the street immediately scrambled to the side, leaving Chen Bin and his two companions standing dumbfounded in the middle of the road. Looking at this group of ruthless men charging towards them with menacing grins, Chen Bin finally understood the fate that had befallen the Sun family. It seemed that after the Jiang family left, Jin Nan, seeking revenge for the humiliation he had suffered that day, had used evil means to destroy the entire Sun family. And this group of men was clearly the culprit who had turned Sun Xianghe's inn into ruins.

But was Sun Xianghe himself dead or not? Chen Bin still didn't know. He thought he would have to find someone to ask; perhaps the answer lay with that damned Jin Nan.

Although there were only three of them, Chen Bin wasn't nervous at all, seeing the unsteady steps of the approaching group.

"Hmph! Just a bunch of thugs! Looks like that guy Jin Nan sent them! Heh heh! These weaklings think they can take on three of us, the best of Jiang family martial arts experts? They're like frogs in a well, unaware of the world!"

Glancing at his two companions who were about to draw their weapons, Chen Bin shook his head slightly and said, "Don't rush! We don't even need weapons to deal with them! Let's teach them a lesson first, draw out their master, and then we'll make our plans!"

Jiang Wuxiong and Li Kebiao stopped drawing their swords upon hearing this, standing quietly and waiting for the group to approach.

The group of thugs showed no reaction to Chen Bin and his companions' composure, completely oblivious to the hidden meaning behind it. In their eyes, these three fools must be completely stunned by the imposing aura they exuded, thus unable to make a move.

When the group actually engaged Chen Bin and his two companions in combat, they finally understood. The three men hadn't been intimidated; they simply didn't take them, a group of mediocre fighters, seriously.

With almost no effort, Chen Bin and his team swiftly and decisively routed the group of weaklings.

The onlookers, who had been watching from a distance, could hardly believe their eyes: twenty or so burly men wielding swords couldn't defeat three seemingly ordinary, unarmed men.

After being thoroughly thrashed by Chen Bin and his men, the twenty-odd men realized that the three before them were experts they couldn't possibly handle. They threw their weapons to the ground and, amidst the jeers of the onlookers, scrambled away in a sorry state.

The genuine cheers and laughter of the bystanders clearly demonstrated how unpopular these men were among the common people. Despite this, not a single one dared to approach Chen Bin and his group to show any kindness. Everyone knew this was just the beginning, far from over. If they showed goodwill to these three outsiders and were subsequently outmaneuvered, they might not be able to escape safely. With this in mind, everyone stayed at a distance, comfortably preparing to continue watching the spectacle unfold.

Only one kind-hearted old man couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up to remind Chen Bin and his companions, "Young men, you should leave quickly! The people coming later are formidable! Although the three of you are all highly skilled in martial arts, one should always be cautious! Besides, as the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake! Why must you be so stubborn? Haven't you already taught them a lesson? Leave for now! It's better to avoid trouble!"

Chen Bin nodded gratefully to the old man and said, "Old man! Thank you for your guidance! Don't worry! This matter is about them provoking us, not us provoking them! I..."

Before Chen Bin could finish speaking, two men who looked like relatives of the old man approached and pulled him away hastily, clearly not wanting him to talk to Chen Bin any longer, lest they get into trouble. Chen Bin shook his head with a wry smile, ignoring the pointing fingers of the people around him, and led Jiang Wuxiong and Li Kebiao into a roadside restaurant to sit down. The crowd that had been crammed into the tavern to watch the spectacle scattered like birds, even the waiter and the owner hiding in the back hall! The three of them had only been sitting there for less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea when they suddenly heard the clear sound of horses' hooves coming from the street outside, gradually approaching. Judging from the sound, there weren't many people, probably only four or five riders. The hooves quickly reached the outside of the tavern and stopped right at the entrance. Then several people dismounted and walked in through the main door. Chen Bin looked up at the newcomers. There were six people in total, four men and two women.

Wang Meiyun and Jin Nan, whom he had met before, were among them, but they walked at the back like two attendants, heads bowed. Walking at the very front, in the center, was a man in his fifties with a short beard, who looked very wiry. His footsteps were so quiet that they barely touched the ground, showing that his martial arts skills were not to be underestimated. Walking beside him were two men and a woman, all appearing to be in their thirties, each with a dignified appearance and an air of effortless mastery.

Chen Bin was secretly surprised by their appearance. Initially, he hadn't expected them to have any capable allies; he simply assumed the thugs would report back to Wang Meiyun and Jin Nan, who would then deal with the three of them.

In his view, given the disparity in strength, while he couldn't guarantee a victory, he wouldn't be easily defeated. Therefore, when the old man told him to quit while he was ahead, he hadn't heeded his advice. But now, seeing the four ahead of Wang Meiyun and Jin Nan, Chen Bin immediately regretted his decision. Judging from their imposing presence, these four were undoubtedly skilled fighters, no less than the three of them; moreover, their demeanor upon entering suggested they held a higher status than Wang Meiyun. Although Chen Bin remained outwardly composed, he inwardly groaned. He realized he had underestimated his enemy's strength, having underestimated their abilities. He was certain these four were direct descendants of the Wang family, skilled fighters sent specifically to oversee the situation.

It seemed they had come after Bai Yingjue had taught Wang and Jin a lesson at the inn. Had they known he was already there, they certainly wouldn't have allowed the Jiang family to leave so easily after what had happened. He glanced at his two companions, seeing the same worry in their eyes. But now, he was in a bind, forced to grit his teeth and persevere, concealing his true strength from the enemy and taking things one step at a time.

With this in mind, Chen Bin sat there unmoved, not even glancing at the newcomers. Jiang Wuxiong and Li Kebiao clearly shared the same plan, sitting there with equally nonchalant expressions. Looking at the three mysterious enemies sitting in the tavern, the Wang family members also seemed hesitant. The group exchanged glances, and the leader, an elderly man in his fifties, coughed and said, "Where do these three brothers come from? Could we perhaps become friends?"

Chen Bin raised his head, coldly scrutinized the Wang family members for a moment, and calmly replied, "Old man, where we three come from is not important to me! As for making friends, we always hope to befriend others. But today, we've only just arrived in your esteemed place and have already been harassed by those brutes. What's the story behind this?"

The old man smiled awkwardly and said leisurely, "Let's not beat around the bush! What is your relationship with Sun Xianghe?" Chen Bin chuckled and said... "Old man, are you perhaps my superior? Why do you need to ask so many questions about our relationship with others?"

A man standing behind the old man sneered, his face showing indignation. "Boy, don't play dumb! I'll tell you the truth today..." Before he could finish speaking, the old man interrupted, "Sicong, don't be impulsive! This old man hasn't finished speaking, what's the rush, young man?" Although his tone was very calm, his words subtly criticized the man for not paying attention to the difference in seniority and for speaking carelessly before he had finished negotiating with the other party. The speaker may have meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart.

When Chen Bin heard the name "Sicong," he became even more certain that his earlier judgment was correct; the other party was definitely a direct descendant of the Wang family! The family rules of the four great ducal families were different, but there was one rule that existed in every family: each generation must strictly follow the family's generational naming rules; and only direct relatives could use the family's generational names in their names, while other collateral relatives had to avoid using them. This rule was strictly enforced by members of the four great ducal families. The four families used this system to allow members to determine a person's generation and blood relation within the family simply by looking at their name.

For example, the current head of the Jiang family used the character "Hao" in his name, while Jiang Han's generation used "Han." Lin Fengxian, who was of the same generation as Jiang Hanqing, was a relative of the maternal relatives, so his name had to be avoided; it absolutely could not appear in the Jiang family's genealogy for generational ranking. For example, names like "Lin Haoxian" or "Lin Hanxian" were strictly prohibited.

The old man had just called the other man "Sicong." The character "Si" is the given name used by the younger generation of the Wang family, the Duke of Dingguo; for example, the young master of the Wang family is called "Wang Siting." Therefore, this "Wang Sicong" should be a direct relative of Wang Siting, probably a cousin or something similar. The old man was clearly of the same generation as Wang Mingde, the current head of the Wang family. Chen Bin and his two companions, as hereditary family warriors who had grown up in the Diao and Jiang families, naturally knew how exquisite the martial arts learned by the direct descendants of the four great ducal families were, far surpassing those of ordinary family warriors. Thinking of this, the three felt even more apprehensive before the fight even began, secretly plotting their escape. After being reprimanded by the old man, the man named "Sicong" looked extremely resentful, but he still had to admit his mistake, saying, "Yes! Fourth Uncle, I was wrong! Please continue!" Because Sicong was standing behind the old man he called "Fourth Uncle," the other man didn't see his displeasure. He only heard the two words of apology and nodded with satisfaction before continuing to Chen Bin and the others: "Young man, let me tell you the truth! When the Qiu Te people invaded, Sun Xianghe colluded with enemy traitors, disturbed the local people's peace of mind, causing soldiers and civilians to abandon the city and flee inland, almost causing a major disaster. Now that the Qiu Te have turned against the country and fled, his conspiracy has been exposed. So, in a fit of anger, they demolished his inn and buildings! Brother, you wouldn't happen to have anything to do with him, would you? That's the crime of colluding with foreign powers!" Chen Bin sneered; "You say he colluded with foreign powers..." "Traitor? Is there any evidence? And what crime have his family committed? Where have you taken them all? We just saw his inn was in ruins and couldn't help but inquire about him by the roadside. Does that count as collusion with foreign powers? Does that mean he should be killed by your people?"

The old man chuckled a few times and said, "This...hehe...um...this Sun family...sigh! This...actually, weren't they harmed by their own master, that guy named Sun Xianghe? Look, Sun Xianghe actually abandoned his family and ran away alone. Sigh! Young brother, why do you commit crimes for such a heartless person? Do you know where he is now? Why not help us apprehend him!" Chen Bin breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Sun Xianghe had managed to escape first and hadn't been caught by the Wang family; only his family had suffered. It seemed that the Wang family didn't know his whereabouts either. The only thing to do now was to find a way to escape and report back to the young master, after which he would find a way to locate this person. Thinking this to himself, Chen Bin showed no politeness towards the Wang family, sneering, "Hmph! Assist in apprehending them? You bandits really think you're government officials! Haha! How laughable!"

The old man, seeing Chen Bin's blatant disregard, was secretly furious. If he weren't unsure of their background and afraid of suffering losses by acting rashly, he would have already charged at these three young lads. "Young man, don't be so stubborn! Hmm... everything can be discussed! If things get heated, it'll be difficult for everyone! Young people should be smarter!" Chen Bin retorted, "Hell? Weren't you afraid of ruining things by sending people to attack?" "While saying this, his eyes glanced at his two companions. The three had grown up together, practicing martial arts and sparring together every day, and were already in perfect sync. Jiang Wuxiong and Li Kebiao immediately understood from his gaze that he was about to make a run for it, and immediately prepared to get up and flee at any moment. Hearing Chen Bin's merciless reply, the old man knew that he couldn't let this go today. He chuckled twice, put one hand behind his back and gestured for the people behind him to prepare to attack, while continuing to persuade Chen Bin verbally. Seeing the old man's gesture, the five people standing behind him slowly moved their hands to the hilts of their swords at their waists. Chen Bin saw the Wang family's actions and knew that the situation was bad and he couldn't delay any longer. Ignoring the old man's rambling, Chen Bin suddenly leaped up and overturned the table in front of him, then kicked it onto the tabletop, sending the large table flying towards the Wang family. "Quickly! Go from behind!" "Chen Bin roared and charged towards the back of the inn. Jiang Wuxiong and Li Kebiao followed closely behind. The old man from the Wang family roared and slammed his palm down on the table that was flying towards him. With a 'crack,' the table disintegrated in mid-air, filling the small tavern with sawdust and dust. "Damn it, so he was just putting on an act to scare me! Trying to run away!

No way! Chase after him! " "The old man shouted loudly, ignoring the wood chips still flying in the air, and rushed ahead, with the others following closely behind. Chen Bin and his two companions rushed out of the back door of the tavern. They found themselves in a secluded, deserted alley. There was no time to look around, and they ran down the alley. The Wang family members also rushed out of the tavern and followed closely behind.

In the chaos, the three of them heard sirens and shouts everywhere in the town. The entire town of Sanchakou seemed to have completely fallen into chaos in such a short time. "Damn it, it seems that these scoundrels have completely taken control of Sanchakou: they don't care about the local government at all!"

Li Kebiao shouted as he ran for his life. "Nonsense! What local government is there here? They are the government! Look at their arrogance, they are even more arrogant than in their own fiefdom!" Jiang Wuxiong was also full of complaints, and naturally joined in the shouting when he heard Li Kebiao's words. Judging from his excited state, if it weren't for the approaching enemies not far behind, he would have probably dragged Li Kebiao down and talked to him for ages. Chen Bin was both annoyed and amused to see the two of them arguing and wasting their breath while fleeing for their lives. Looking back at the pursuers closing in, he hurriedly shouted: "Stop talking nonsense! Get out of the alley first!" Just as they were about to reach the alley entrance and rush out into the street, a group of thugs wielding knives and guns charged towards them from the alley entrance, shouting. Normally, such a group of thugs would be nothing more than a piece of cake for the Jiang family's martial arts masters. But now, with several Wang family experts following behind, how could they let these thugs hold them off? Seeing that they were about to be attacked from both sides, Chen Bin suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He stopped his charge and roared: "Follow me!" Turning around, he kicked a wooden door jutting out from the alleyway, sending it crashing to the ground with a loud bang. Without time to examine the interior, the three men rushed inside in a panic. Following the path from the back to the front courtyard, they entered the main hall, only to discover it was a bustling brothel, filled with all sorts of prostitutes and their clients. The three men, like wolves, aggressively roamed the hall, immediately eliciting screams of terror from the women inside. In the chaos, Jiang Wuxiong couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn!

We actually walked into a brothel! What a disgrace!" "As they rushed out of the brothel's front door, they entered a bustling street at a three-way intersection. This street was filled with panicked, screaming, and shouting ordinary people. These people were clearly terrified by the Wang family's henchmen's city-wide search, fleeing in panic, hoping to find a place to hide from their impending doom. After roughly determining their direction, the three members of the Jiang family mingled in the chaotic crowd and headed towards the inn where they had stored their horses. Once they were on their mounts, they could make their escape. If they acted quickly, they believed the enemy wouldn't even have a chance to react. Chen Bin looked back in the direction he had come from; everywhere he looked was a chaotic mass of people, so disorienting that he couldn't make out where the Wang family members were. However, he was even more pleased. In this situation, since he couldn't see them, the chances of them seeing him were slim." It wasn't a large place, of course. Sure enough, under the cover of the crowd, Chen Bin and his companions quickly and easily slipped into the inn. Without lingering, the three mounted their warhorses and fled for their lives. By this time, the streets at the fork in the road were deserted. The fork in the road wasn't large to begin with, and this amount of time was enough for most people to escape back to their lodgings. Following the empty streets, Chen Bin and his companions rode westward. Occasionally, a few petty thugs would jump out to try and block their path. Such futile attempts posed no problem for the three; they only added a few pitiful souls to the chaos. When the low city gate of the fork in the road appeared before them, Chen Bin felt a surge of joy. He shouted "Giddy up!" and kicked his horse's flanks hard. The horse, in pain, galloped even faster. Looking back, he saw only a few petty thugs who had somehow found their mounts and were still chasing after them.

With a disdainful sneer, Chen Bin turned to Jiang Wuxiong and called out, "Wuxiong, look behind us! Some friends are still reluctantly seeing us off!" Jiang Wuxiong and Li Kebiao turned around and looked too, bursting into laughter. Just as the three of them were overjoyed, thinking they had escaped, a sudden change occurred.

The sharp sound of arrows piercing the air rang out, and a rain of arrows shot down from the city wall. Chen Bin cried out in alarm and hurriedly wielded his sword with incredible speed, trying to stop the overwhelming barrage of arrows. Just as the three of them were about to reach the city gate, Chen Bin felt a tremendous impact strike his left arm. The force was so strong that he swayed on his horse. If his legs hadn't been tightly gripping the horse's flanks, the force would likely have knocked him off. "Oh no! I've been hit by an arrow!" The thought had barely crossed Chen Bin's mind when he felt a searing pain, and the speed at which he swung his sword noticeably slowed. If another arrow were to fall now, Chen Bin would have no choice but to die on the spot. Fortunately, his mount had already rushed into the city gate, dodging the successive barrage of deadly arrows.

While the archers on the city wall hurriedly rushed from one side to the other, the three members of the Jiang family had already dashed far beyond the city gate. With distance, the accuracy of the arrows decreased rapidly. After firing several futile shots, almost all the archers gave up on the idea of killing the enemy below the city, and could only watch as their three lucky enemies disappeared into the distance. Having run far out of the enemy's range and seeing no one chasing after him, Chen Bin finally relaxed and turned to check on his companions. What he saw shocked him greatly. Of the three, Chen Bin's injury was the least severe. Li Kebiao was hit by two arrows, one in the thigh and one in the arm. Jiang Wuxiong, on the other hand, was hit by four arrows—two in the thigh, one in the arm, and one in the shoulder—his entire body stained with blood, making him look like a blood-soaked figure. Seeing him lying motionless on his horse, he was clearly unconscious from the pain. The intense pain in his arm made it difficult for Chen Bin to speak. He forced a gesture with his uninjured hand to Li Kebiao, indicating that they should stop and rest, and then tried to reach out and stop Jiang Wuxiong's horse. But as soon as he grasped the horse's hindquarters, it suddenly bolted forward like a madman, pulling the unsuspecting Chen Bin from his mount. Hearing Li Kebiao's cry of alarm, Chen Bin felt a sharp pain all over his body, his vision went black, and he fainted.

After Chen Bin fell from his horse, Li Kebiao, despite his injuries, rushed to stop Jiang Wuxiong's horse and then, with great effort, tied the unconscious Chen Bin to his own horse. Thus, this lightly wounded soldier carried two seriously wounded soldiers for twenty li (approximately 10 kilometers) before finally finding a farmhouse to rest. However, Li Kebiao's fate was even worse than Chen Bin's. Just as the farmer rushed over, screaming and ready to help him off his horse, he couldn't hold on any longer and fell heavily to the ground. When Chen Bin awoke, he found himself completely bandaged, lying on a farmhouse bed. He forced a turn of his neck, enduring the pain, and saw two other wounded soldiers lying beside him, also wrapped in bandages—Jiang Wuxiong and Li Kebiao, who were looking at him with bitter smiles. At this point, if the Wang family had been more diligent in pursuing them from the crossroads, they could have captured the three Jiang family scoundrels with minimal effort. Unfortunately, the Wang family didn't pursue them. Perhaps they felt these three unknown youths weren't worth their trouble. After resting at that farmer's house for over ten days, the three poor Jiang family members finally dragged their ailing bodies, barely able to move, back to the capital. The journey was fraught with hardship, but they persevered and made it home. After hearing Chen Bin's story, Jiang Hanqing felt deeply disappointed. Seeing two talented individuals disappear without a trace was a great loss, no matter how optimistic he was. Sitting there, he sighed heavily, shaking his head and lamenting, "I never imagined you'd have such bad luck this time. You didn't find a single person you were looking for, and you've ended up nearly dead! Oh well! It's all fate! Don't think about it too much, just focus on getting better!" After offering a few more words of comfort to Chen Bin and the other two, Jiang Hanqing got up and left. Before leaving, he instructed Lin Fengxian, who was standing to the side, to arrange for the best doctors to take care of Chen Bin and the others. This greatly moved the three men, who felt guilty for not completing the task assigned by their young master. Leaving the courtyard where Chen Bin and the others were recuperating, Jiang Hanqing seemed preoccupied, wandering aimlessly along the stone path. Seeing his gloomy appearance, Bai Yingjue, who had been following behind him, couldn't help but ask, "Qing, is something bothering you? Is it because Chen Bin and the others didn't bring back the talent you wanted?"

Jiang Hanqing stopped, turned around, glanced at Bai Yingjue's concerned face, and forced a smile, saying, "No! That's not the reason!" "If that's not the reason, then why do you look so downcast?" Jiang Hanqing shook his head, not answering Bai Yingjue's question, but simply standing there, gazing blankly at the sky. After a long while, he suddenly turned to Bai Yingjue and smiled broadly, saying, "Haha! I don't want to think about it anymore... I've figured it out!" Bai Yingjue was bewildered by his sudden words and asked blankly, "What? What did you say? What have you figured out?" Jiang Hanqing suddenly realized and patted his head, laughing, "Haha! I was thinking about it all by myself and got all confused. I forgot you don't know anything!" Now that Bai Yingjue had heard him say that, she naturally wouldn't let him go, pestering him relentlessly, "Then tell me, what exactly were you thinking about? How did you suddenly figure it out?"

Jiang Hanqing initially smiled and didn't want to tell her, but later, unable to bear her pestering him any longer, he explained, "I was just thinking about why the Wang family values the Sanchakou place so much? Is it just because..." "How can they be so blatant in preventing dissidents from establishing themselves there?" Bai Yingjue nodded. "So that's what you were thinking about! What's your conclusion after you figured it out?" Jiang Hanqing suddenly winked at her, a strange smile on his face. "Why are you asking this? I just remembered something else!" Before Bai Yingjue could ask him what he remembered, Jiang Hanqing had already leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I just remembered... how long has it been since we've been intimate?" Bai Yingjue was surprised that he immediately thought of this. Her face flushed, and she lowered her head and said softly, "You... it hasn't been that long... just about ten days!"

Hearing Jiang Hanqing mention this, Bai Yingjue's body, which had become completely accustomed to a life of debauchery, immediately became hot. Remembering that she hadn't been truly intimate with Jiang Hanqing for more than ten days, she wished he would immediately reach out and embrace her and caress her. The matter that she had been pestering Jiang Hanqing with questions earlier was now forgotten. But Jiang Hanqing didn't reach out to embrace her as she wished. Instead, he suddenly turned away, ignoring her, and strode forward. It was as if he had seen through Bai Yingjue's inner desires and was deliberately teasing her.

Seeing Jiang Hanqing arouse her desires, yet cruelly refuse to let go, Bai Yingjue felt even more restless. Following closely behind Jiang Hanqing, she desperately hoped he would turn back and embrace her tenderly. But the cruel man ignored her completely, not even glancing back at her.

Finally, Bai Yingjue couldn't bear it any longer. She rushed forward and took Jiang Hanqing's hand, whispering sweetly, "Qing, shall we... go... that?" To her surprise, Jiang Hanqing looked bewildered and asked, "What? Which? What are you talking about?" Seeing his hateful expression, Bai Yingjue was practically in tears. She suddenly thought of pinning him to the

ground right there and then, and the two of them would have sex. Clearly seeing the burning desire in Bai Yingjue's eyes, Jiang Hanqing was practically bursting with joy, but outwardly he pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Why aren't you saying anything? What do you want?" To Jiang Hanqing's surprise, Bai Yingjue suddenly reached down to his groin, pinching his penis through his crotch and whining, "Master! I want this! Please give it to me!"

Jiang Hanqing had always been very proud of his training of Bai Yingjue, but he hadn't expected her to be so lewd. Startled by her unexpected action, Jiang Hanqing laughed excitedly, "Good! You slut, you've become so lewd! Very good, Master will reward you well later!"

As Jiang Hanqing spoke, his hands moved behind Bai Yingjue's skirt, grabbing her buttocks and squeezing them hard, completely abandoning his usual gentle and refined demeanor. His erect penis, standing before Bai Yingjue, made him look like a demon from a sadistic hell. Gently playing with the delicate nipple rings on Bai Yingjue's nipples, Jiang Hanqing enjoyed watching her incredibly lewd expression, a result of her frenzied masturbation. Her beautiful face was flushed red like a ripe apple from passion, covered with fine beads of sweat from the intense movements. From Jiang Hanqing's angle, he could clearly see the fine lines around her eyes, but these marks of time did not disgust him; instead, they amplified the pleasure he felt in humiliating a mature woman.

At this moment, panting and moaning continuously escaped from Bai Yingjue's usually demure cherry-like mouth, further deepening the lewd atmosphere in the room. Bai Yingjue, with an almost self-destructive movement, parted her labia and used her fingers to penetrate her seemingly perpetually wet vagina. "You slut, start playing with your anus!" At Jiang Hanqing's command, the wanton sex slave, without hesitation, inserted her other hand's fingers into her anus from behind. Vaginal fluid slowly flowed from her fingers, then down her plump thighs.

Jiang Hanqing stared at her mature naked body with burning eyes, then suddenly tugged hard at her nipple rings. The woman, busy playing with her vagina and anus, almost lost her balance from the stinging pain. She let out a soft "Ah," a pained expression on Bai Yingjue's face, but her eyes were filled with desire. The flow of pleasure from her lower body increased even more. When Jiang Hanqing pushed her onto the bed, Bai Yingjue's vulva was completely soaked. As if wrapping a rice dumpling, Jiang Hanqing tightly bound Bai Yingjue with rope. The rope was so tight that it squeezed her two full breasts forward, causing them to bulge out. The rope around her crotch dug deep into her thick labia. The rough rope rubbed painfully against her delicate vulva, stimulating Bai Yingjue's clitoris to become engorged and erect. As she twisted her body, the rope inevitably touched her sensitive vulva, making her desire seem endless. After spreading Bai Yingjue's thighs wide, Jiang Hanqing tied her ankles to the ends of a wooden stick, forming a V-shape with her vulva completely exposed. Jiang Hanqing didn't stop there. He carried Bai Yingjue to a corner of the room. There, four iron chains hung from the air, each ending in an iron stalk. After Bai Yingjue's hands and feet were bound to iron chains, her beautiful body was suspended in the air with her legs spread apart. All her weight was concentrated on the four points of skin closest to her, and Bai Yingjue felt intense pain and fear, as if her body might be torn to pieces at any moment.

She groaned and moaned incessantly, but the uncooperative vaginal fluids flowed down her buttocks, finally dripping to the ground like raindrops. Jiang Hanqing, holding a leather whip, circled his "masterpiece" once and couldn't help but sigh: "If a man could possess such a beautiful body in his life, even dying immediately would be worthwhile! What have I, Jiang Hanqing, done to deserve so many alluring beauties? Alas! What more could a man ask for in life?" As he murmured this, the whip in his hand didn't pause for a moment, relentlessly striking Bai Yingjue's breasts, genitals, and thighs. With each crack of the whip against her skin, Bai Yingjue's body, suspended in mid-air, writhed in agony, screaming in agony. The beautiful sight of her snow-white body writhing in the air fueled Jiang Hanqing's sadistic blood. Grabbing Bai Yingjue's long, flowing hair that trailed on the ground, Jiang Hanqing roared, "Bitch! Is this good?! Tell me, is it good? Louder! I can't hear you!" Tears streaming down her face,

Bai Yingjue managed to answer with all her might, "Yes... Master... It's good... I... It's very good! " Walking between Bai Yingjue's legs, Jiang Hanqing aimed a thick wooden dildo at her tightly closed anus, directly at her exposed vulva. Almost before Bai Yingjue could react, Jiang Hanqing forcefully pushed forward. The enormous wooden dildo cruelly broke through the barrier of her anus and smoothly entered Bai Yingjue's body. Although she was already used to her anus being cruelly manipulated, the burning pain from the rough friction against her anus still made Bai Yingjue roll her eyes in discomfort.

"You slut, just wait until the day you have the chance! I will gather all the skilled craftsmen in the world to design the most innovative device for a slut like you, and then I will make sure you have enough pleasure!" While roughly playing with Bai Yingjue's anus with the dildo, Jiang Hanqing was engrossed in imagining a beautiful future together. Bai Yingjue seemed unable to speak, only responding to Jiang Hanqing's words with muffled whimpers. But when Jiang Hanqing's hand caressed her vulva, Bai Yingjue felt a surge of power returning to her body. Although suspended in the air, her frantic writhing was no less intense than when she was lying in bed. Pulling hard on the ropes embedded deep within Bai Yingjue's thick, swollen vulva, Jiang Hanqing cursed, "You slut, look how wanton you are! Just a light touch and you're already swinging!" "Amidst the curses, Jiang Hanqing forcefully twisted and pinched her voluptuous body, while the leather whip in his hand lashed even more fiercely at Bai Yingjue's breasts and lower abdomen. When the dildo in Jiang Hanqing's hand was thrust hard into Bai Yingjue's vagina, the lewd woman cried out and reached the peak of happiness. Looking at Bai Yingjue's vagina, which was constantly flowing with lustful fluids, Jiang Hanqing let out a cruel sneer. "So quick to come! You slut, how come you're getting faster and faster! If you come so early again, I'll cut off your cunt and feed it to the dogs! Do you understand?" Hearing her master's curses, Bai Yingjue, crying hysterically, could no longer utter a word, only nodding frantically to indicate that she had heard. Having been tortured enough, Bai Yingjue was lowered from the chains, and the ropes binding her were untied. Jiang Hanqing could clearly see the numerous marks left by the rope bindings and the bloody welts from the whipping of the poor woman.

Although a moment of pity flashed through Jiang Hanqing's heart at the sight of his beloved woman's miserable state, his sadistic blood was still boiling, and Jiang Hanqing quickly... He cast aside any pity he felt for the woman before him. When Jiang Hanqing pressed the woman, who had just recovered from her torment, onto the bed, Bai Yingjue thought she could finally relax and enjoy herself, and couldn't help but cry out in excitement. But she quickly realized it was all just wishful thinking. Jiang Hanqing didn't intend for her to experience sexual pleasure; he simply wanted to apply a stimulating ointment to her labia and anus.

After roughly applying the ointment to Bai Yingjue's vagina and anus with his fingers for a while, Jiang Hanqing again used a rope to tie Bai Yingjue's legs... His hands were tied behind his back, and he stood by, smugly waiting to enjoy her lustful display. As the ointment took effect, Bai Yingjue felt an excruciating, tingling sensation in her vulva and anus; she desperately wanted something hard inserted into her two orifices. But Jiang Hanqing simply stood by, coldly watching, offering no help whatsoever. Even if she wanted to masturbate, she couldn't, because her hands were bound. The only thing she could do was struggle... She twisted her thighs desperately, trying to relieve the unbearable itching by rubbing her groin together. When the ointment reached its limit, Bai Yingjue was almost too weak to move, lying pitifully on the bed, her eyes rolling back. She was completely exhausted, but the damned itching only intensified, almost robbing her of all other sensations. Helplessly and blankly looking at Jiang Hanqing, Bai Yingjue desperately craved his penetration. Her eyes were filled with helplessness, desolation, pain, and pleading.

Perhaps influenced by her complex and pitiful gaze, Jiang Hanqing finally couldn't bear to watch her suffer any longer. He pounced on her, parted her legs, and inserted his penis into her vagina. Her vagina, which was almost numb with itching, was suddenly filled with his hard penis, and Bai Yingjue breathed a sigh of comfort, her body floating as if she were about to reach the peak of pleasure. Her consciousness began to blur; she only knew that as long as the person she loved could let her enjoy this once a day, she wouldn't ask for anything else.

Although her hands were bound and she couldn't move, Bai Yingjue still tried her best to express her love for Jiang Hanqing in her own way. Her legs were tightly wrapped around Jiang Hanqing's waist, as if she wanted to break his waist. "Qing, I love you! I'm willing to die for you!" When she expressed her love for Jiang Hanqing in the most direct way, Jiang Hanqing gave her even more intense thrusting, which was exactly the pleasure she craved most. The intense pleasure made her begin to lose her senses.

In a daze, she felt as if she had ascended to heaven, become an immortal, and all her pain had left her. Everything that remained was so beautiful, so blissful…

Chapter 40 Palace Intrigue

Chapter 40 Palace Intrigue

On her way to the banquet at the Crown Prince's residence, Jiang Hanqing still chose her usual route. Riding her horse slowly along the familiar streets, she surveyed the surrounding houses and shops. Jiang Hanqing clearly felt the impact of her attack that day on the local people. This area used to be very lively and prosperous, but now it was deserted and sparsely populated. According to the court's subsequent investigation, the warriors who attacked Jiang Hanqing that day had hidden in several ordinary houses beforehand. The original residents of these houses had all disappeared after that night, and no one knew where they went. It was likely that they had been silenced by the assassins. Because of this, the houses damaged in the fight still had not been repaired.

As Jiang Hanqing passed the site of the attack, even in broad daylight, a chill ran down his spine. He looked around nervously, fearing another group of unknown assassins might suddenly appear. After walking this path with bated breath, Jiang Hanqing let out a long sigh of relief, muttering to himself, "Looks like I'd rather take a longer route than walk this way again! Once bitten, twice shy!" Upon arriving at the Crown Prince's residence, Jiang Hanqing was quickly led to the dining area by servants. He then discovered that only Crown Prince Xusheng and his wife Yin Yuji were present for the meal; even Jingwen was absent. Xusheng's face was very gloomy, as if he were deeply troubled. Yin Yuji appeared quite calm, though occasional signs of worry occasionally appeared in the corners of her eyes and brows.

After the servants served the food and wine, they all quickly withdrew. The large room was left empty and desolate with only the three of them present. At first, Xu Sheng and his wife said nothing, only constantly urging Jiang Hanqing to drink and eat, appearing very attentive. Jiang Hanqing didn't ask many questions, knowing that the other party would naturally say what needed to be said, so she sat there contentedly and ate heartily. After several rounds of drinks, Xu Sheng hesitated for a long time before finally speaking: "Qing'er... um... Hanqing... this... I... invited you here today, firstly, to help you calm your nerves after the assassination attempt after leaving the manor that night, and secondly, to discuss something with you."

The change in how he addressed Jiang Hanqing clearly showed how much he now valued her. Jiang Hanqing smiled slightly, thinking to himself, "Alright! Finally getting to the point? Looks like you really need my help today, old man. Let's see what you want! Hehe!"

Thinking this, he quickly agreed aloud, "Uncle, please tell me what you need! Don't worry, as long as it's within Qing'er's power, Qing'er will do her best!" Xu Sheng nodded and said, "Alright! Hanqing, we're practically family, so although what I'm about to tell you concerns royal secrets, I've decided not to hide it from you anymore!" Jiang Hanqing quickly said gratefully, "Thank you for your trust, Uncle. Qing'er will definitely keep all the secrets I learn today. Please rest assured, Your Highness!"

Since the two were about to discuss serious matters, to show his respect for Xu Sheng, Jiang Hanqing changed his form of address. Hearing Jiang Hanqing's words, Xu Sheng finally smiled slightly and said, "The current situation inside and outside the court is delicate, and I think Qing'er is very aware of it! There are many who covet the throne." "I have become a thorn in the side of many, and your Jiang family has countless enemies in the court. I believe that in this situation, divided strength is weak, united strength is strong! Only by joining hands and fighting against external enemies can we have a chance to turn danger into safety! What do you think?"

Jiang Hanqing quickly replied with a look of deep agreement, "That's right! Your Highness is absolutely right! In this situation where we are surrounded by enemies, we are all relatives after all, and we should unite to defend against them. Only when we are all of one mind can we be sure of a complete victory. Here, I can represent all members of the Jiang family to assure Your Highness that the entire Jiang family will follow Your Highness's lead!"

With Jiang Hanqing's support, Xu Sheng's expression brightened considerably. Just as he was about to say something more, Yin Yuji interjected at the opportune moment, "Tell Qing'er what happened in the palace first! We can talk about the rest later!" "Being abruptly interrupted by his wife, Xu Sheng was clearly displeased. He glared at her disapprovingly before continuing to Jiang Hanqing, 'Alright! Let me tell Hanqing about some recent events!' It turned out that at the very beginning of the Imperial Army's expedition to Qiute, Xu Sheng had objected to the Emperor's decision to appoint Li Jixing as commander. In his view, Li Jixing was old and arrogant, no longer fit for the task, and unsuitable to lead the army.

However, the stubborn Emperor Wuming ignored his son's advice and insisted on his own decision, appointing Li Jixing as commander of the expeditionary force, ultimately leading to the army's annihilation. When the news of the Imperial Army's defeat reached the capital, Xu Sheng thought his father would look at him with new respect, but instead, the enraged Emperor vented his anger on his son.

That night, Xu Sheng was summoned to the palace and given a severe dressing-down. The Emperor accused Xu Sheng of jinxing the Imperial Army because of his 'prophetic' words ." The devastating defeat of his army served as a stark warning to him, as the heir to the imperial throne, to be careful with his words. The emperor's unreasonable accusations infuriated Xu Sheng, but he dared not reveal his true feelings to his father, forced to suppress his anger and bow his head in apology. Xu Sheng initially thought his father would merely hurl a few words and let it go, but he soon discovered a complete change in his father's attitude. His father's former amiable demeanor had vanished, replaced by relentless rebukes and insults! It seemed that in the emperor's heart, Xu Sheng was truly the culprit responsible for the annihilation of the imperial army. Meanwhile, the second prince, Xu Yu, whom the emperor had previously deeply disliked, was now his father's favorite, simply because he fully supported his father's policies towards the Qiu Te people. The thought of carrying out a frenzied revenge crossed his mind. Only then did Xu Sheng realize how eloquent and popular his younger brother was in the palace, something he had previously known nothing about! He finally understood that the real Xu Yu was not the foolish person he had thought of, but rather a perfect example of feigned wisdom. He

had never imagined that his seemingly simple-minded brother possessed such immense ambition, and for the first time, Xu Sheng deeply felt the threat posed by his younger brother. Xu Sheng also began to worry about his future. And as if to confirm that his worries were not unfounded, the spies Xu Sheng had planted in the palace soon brought even more troubling news: Xu Yu seemed to have secretly colluded with the royal family, because he and the royal family's representatives in the court—one after another… The eunuch Li Si'an was a close confidant of the emperor. Upon hearing this news, Prince Xu could only groan inwardly. Li Si'an was a favorite of the emperor and had very close ties with the Wang family, the Duke of Dingguo, essentially making him a tentacle of the Wang family within the palace. Now, with the Wang family's support, Prince Xu's power was naturally incomparable to what it had been before. Just as Prince Xu was deeply worried and unable to sleep for several nights, even worse news came from the palace: the emperor had recently selected a beautiful young woman from the common people and summoned her to the palace. This woman was named Miao Ji, a natural beauty, incomparably gorgeous, and highly skilled in singing, dancing, and music. Therefore, she quickly gained the emperor's favor after entering the palace. The emperor, infatuated with this woman, almost always listened to her every word.

Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, Consort Miao seemed to have no affection for the Crown Prince and constantly spoke ill of him to the Emperor. Adding insult to injury, the Emperor had recently been quite hostile towards the Crown Prince, and Consort Miao's words only fueled his desire to depose the Crown Prince and install a new one. Xu Sheng had tried to persuade his and Xu Yu's biological mother, the current Empress Yang Simin, to intervene. He hoped she could say a few good words to his father and salvage the extremely unfavorable situation. However, to his surprise, his mother, who had always doted on him and ignored his younger brother Xu Yu, now completely sided with his brother, her attitude towards him becoming lukewarm. When Xu Sheng repeatedly asked her to persuade his father, Yang Simin simply replied that the Emperor would handle the matter himself, telling her son not to be too hasty, and urging him to get along well with his brother Xu Yu and not to dwell on the sibling rivalry. This drastic change in the Empress caught Xu Sheng completely off guard.

He had absolutely no idea what he had done wrong to cause even his usually doting mother to dislike him. Under these extremely unfavorable circumstances, Crown Prince Xu Sheng gradually began to agree with his wife Yin Yu Ji's suggestions and prepared to join forces with his brother-in-law Jiang Hao Yu to fight against the Wang family and Xu Yu's power. Before the New Year, they invited Jiang Han Qing over for dinner, intending to take the opportunity to discuss this matter, but the somewhat narrow-minded Xu Sheng couldn't let go of his prejudice against the Jiang family and didn't mention it to Jiang Han Qing at all. Afterwards, Yin Yu Ji was very dissatisfied and gave him the cold shoulder for several days. Faced with the increasingly dire situation, after a fierce struggle, Xu Sheng finally relented and agreed to adopt his wife's suggestion. After listening to Xu Sheng's explanation, Jiang Han Qing finally understood that Xu Yu's backer was the Wang family, the old enemy of his family, the Duke of Dingguo; no wonder they had become so fearless.

As for the Jiang family's spies, they couldn't obtain reliable intelligence to prove that Xu Yu and the Wang family were allied, because Xu Yu and the Wang family communicated through the palace eunuch Li Si'an, and the two sides had no contact outside the palace. The Jiang family had always had a weakness: they never had any spies in the palace, so naturally they had no way of finding out about the alliance between the Wang family and Xu Yu. This news also shocked Jiang Hanqing. He hadn't expected Xu Yu to be able to hide his true colors so well over the years; this guy was truly something else! He knew that under normal circumstances, he had no chance of seizing the crown prince position from his brother, so he willingly concealed his abilities and pretended to be foolish to avoid suspicion. Now, seizing the opportunity of the crown prince's fall from favor, he quickly turned the tide and firmly gained the upper hand in the struggle for the throne. His previous display of ignorance and vulgarity in public was most likely an act!

As for that Miao Ji, she was probably no good either; perhaps she was also a powerful pawn placed in the palace by the Wang family. And the empress's change of heart must have a deeper reason behind it.

Jiang Hanqing hadn't originally intended to truly ally with Xu Sheng; he merely wanted to extract some inside information from him. However, upon hearing that Xu Yu and the Wang family had joined forces, he began to consider whether he should ally with Xu Sheng. Considering the Wang family's recent actions, Jiang Hanqing deeply felt that the Wang family was rapidly tightening its all-encompassing net. If Crown Prince Xu Sheng were allowed to collapse, the Wang family and Xu Yu, once freed up their resources, would undoubtedly target the Jiang family next. It seemed that supporting Xu Sheng was absolutely necessary to allow him to withstand the attacks of the Wang and Xu Yu families. Only in this way could the Jiang family have a chance to reverse the unfavorable situation, or at least be better prepared to launch a preemptive strike, instead of helplessly waiting to die. As for what would happen after victory, that would naturally be a matter of each using their own abilities, with the victor taking all! However, such distant matters wouldn't, and shouldn't, affect the cooperation between the two sides at present! Jiang Hanqing was very clear about this, and Yin Yuji and her husband naturally had no doubts either. Seeing her nephew lost in thought, Yin Yuji asked, "Qing'er, what's your opinion on this?"

In that short time, Jiang Hanqing had quickly weighed the pros and cons, drawing his own conclusion based on the current balance of power. Hearing his aunt's question, he no longer hesitated.

"His Highness the Crown Prince's words have enlightened me. Things I haven't understood for days are finally clear. The current situation in the palace is extremely unfavorable for His Highness, and the Wang family seems to have been prepared all along, pressing forward at every turn. Our Jiang family has already fallen behind without realizing it. In Qing'er's opinion, joining forces is the only viable option right now. We must not delay any longer! Only by working together can we possibly turn the tide." Hearing Jiang Hanqing agree to the proposal of a joint effort, Xu Sheng was overjoyed. His previously gloomy face was now full of smiles. But after thinking it over, he was still a little worried about Jiang Haoyu's attitude, and cautiously asked, "Hanqing, although you've agreed, what about your father... I wonder if..." Jiang Hanqing knew exactly what he was worried about, and immediately replied decisively, "Don't worry! I'll take care of Father! I believe there won't be any problems!" Yin Yuji also smiled and said from the side, "Yes! Brother-in-law has always been clear-headed, so there shouldn't be any major problems. Besides, with Qing'er's intervention, there naturally won't be any issues!"

Hearing the two say this, Xu Sheng felt a great weight lifted from his heart, nodded, and laughed heartily, "That's good! That's good!" Jiang Hanqing knew that Xu Sheng was always ambitious but lacked talent, and his mind was particularly narrow, making it difficult for him to achieve great things. Judging from his current appearance, Jiang Hanqing guessed that he didn't have any clear plans for his future actions. He ignored Xu Sheng, who was grinning foolishly to the side, and turned to his aunt, asking, "Aunt, it's easy for both sides to join forces, but how can we take action to achieve good results? Do you have any plans?"

Yin Yuji nodded, "Yes! You're right! I think that in the current unfavorable situation, the key is to seize the initiative, otherwise, nothing can be discussed!" Seeing her nephew nod in agreement, Ming Yuji continued, "The current situation is unfavorable to us in four ways. First, your uncle has lost favor with the Emperor, and his status in the palace is much lower than Xu Yu's; second, there's that Miao Ji in the palace who harbors inexplicable hatred for your uncle, and we don't know what she's plotting. She's a major threat to us; third, the Empress's attitude has changed so drastically, which is completely unexpected; fourth, Xu Yu has actually colluded with the Wang family, becoming..." "Even more emboldened!" After resting for a moment, Yin Yuji examined her nephew's face and slowly said, "There's one more thing! I'm not very clear about what the Wang family has been up to lately, but judging from Qing'er's reaction just now, I guess the Wang family might have done something that makes you very uneasy. So when you heard this news, you knew the situation was not good. Perhaps, as you just said, your Jiang family is already at a disadvantage compared to the Wang family without realizing it! Am I right?" Jiang Hanqing chuckled bitterly a few times after hearing his aunt's words and said, "Qing'er knew that nothing could be hidden from you, Aunt! That's right! The Wang family has been a bit suspicious lately!"

He then unhesitatingly told her about the Wang family forcing Fei Qingsi, and also briefly mentioned that the Wang family had sent family members to Sanchakou to eliminate dissidents. Of course, he never mentioned that the Jiang family was involved, only saying that it was information he had gathered from his own spies. Upon hearing this, Xu Sheng immediately began to rant and rave: "Damn the Wang family! They're so blatantly trying to seize military power! Bah! They're utterly treacherous! That idiot Xu Yu is trying to play the fool; I bet he'll suffer a terrible death!" Unlike her impetuous husband, Yin Yu Ji calmly pondered for a while before saying, "The Wang family's blatant attempt to seize military power must have a reason! Their rebellious intentions are unmistakable! As for Sanchakou, although the city is small, it's a fortress leading to the eastern part of the empire, making it geographically very important. It's not surprising that the Wang family wants to establish a foothold there. What's strange is why they value that place so much. The eastern part of the empire has always been barren, and recently it has been repeatedly harassed by the Qiu Te barbarians. Its impact on the struggle for the world is negligible. Why would the Wang family value this place so much? Sending people there when they need manpower! You know, at this time, everything requires manpower!"

Hearing his wife's words, Xu Sheng said impatiently, "What's so strange about that! The Wang family is trying to seize the world, so naturally they'll find every opportunity to take over! They won't easily give up any more land they can! I would do the same!" Yin Yuji hadn't expected that even with her thorough analysis, her husband still wouldn't understand the situation, and she felt a surge of displeasure. Glancing sideways, she clearly saw the fleeting look of disdain on Jiang Hanqing's face. Although it was only for a moment, Yin Yuji knew she couldn't be mistaken. She felt secretly saddened, lamenting her misfortune at having such a useless husband: "I never imagined he would be such a good-for-nothing! Alas! He's over fifty, yet he's not as sensible as a little kid like Qing'er!" Jiang Hanqing noticed his aunt's displeasure and was secretly pleased, wishing she would immediately quarrel with her husband. She said, "Uncle is telling the truth! But in Qing'er's opinion, the Wang family's occupation of this place must have a special meaning behind it! However, Qing'er dares not be sure what their true intentions are at this moment."

Changing the subject, Jiang Hanqing continued, "As for the four unfavorable reasons that Aunt just mentioned, here's what I think: First, we can only take things one step at a time with the Emperor. For now, we can only hope that Xu Yu does something wrong and completely loses favor with the Emperor. Also, His Highness the Crown Prince should behave a little more restrained in front of the Emperor, and absolutely not let him see that you have any ulterior motives." "That's all. Besides that, I really can't think of any other good solutions. Second, Miao Ji is nothing; if all else fails, I think His Highness the Crown Prince will naturally have a way to get rid of her. Third, we must find out why the Empress's attitude changed; there must be a big secret behind it. As for the Wang family and Xu Yu's collusion... haven't we joined forces now? They probably don't know either! In short, the situation isn't beyond saving! We can still turn things around! Haha!" Xu Sheng thought this made a lot of sense and laughed along with him. Yin Yuji frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "I think the changes on Mother's side are definitely related to that guy Xu Yu! The key is to find out what methods he used to bewitch Mother and make her think he's so good. We must find out! As for that Miao Ji, like Qing'er said, if all else fails, just get rid of her! To avoid any unforeseen complications!" Just then, Jiang Hanqing suddenly heard faint breathing sounds coming from outside the window. Startled, he stood up and shouted, "Who's outside! Who is it!" Xu Sheng and Yin Yuji's expressions also changed drastically. They had secretly instructed all the servants not to approach this room at will, but someone still disobeyed. Without hesitation, Xu Sheng immediately drew his long sword and jumped out of the window. Just then, the door creaked open. A graceful figure appeared in the doorway—it was Ru Feng, whom Jiang Hanqing had seen that day. Seeing Ru Feng standing there, Xu Sheng, sword in hand, froze. The woman looked at the three people in the room with a terrified expression, and said in a panic, "I...Your Highness...it was me...I saw that it was getting dark and the wind was picking up outside, and I was afraid Your Highness would catch a cold, so I wanted to bring you...bring you a fur coat!" Hearing this, Xu Sheng immediately sheathed his sword, went over and hugged her gently, saying, "I'm sorry! We're talking about serious matters, and no one is allowed to hear us!

You didn't even say anything, I thought someone was daring to eavesdrop outside! It's alright! It's alright! Don't be afraid!" Ru Feng looked inside and saw Jiang Hanqing looking at her with suspicion, and quickly said to Xu Sheng, "Your Highness, then you can continue your talk! This humble concubine will take her leave first!" Xu Sheng quickly helped her up, saying, "You were seriously ill earlier, and your body is still very weak. Anyway, we've talked enough! Come! I'll take you back!" "Having said that, just like last time, he immediately forgot about Yin Yuji and Jiang Hanqing and tried to help Ru Feng back. Ru Feng declined a few times, but in the end, she couldn't resist Xu Sheng's insistence and could only let him help her away. Before leaving, she bowed to Yin Yuji and Jiang Hanqing. Jiang Hanqing reluctantly returned the bow, while Yin Yuji turned her face away and ignored her completely. After Xu Sheng and Ru Feng had gone far away, looking at Ru Feng's thin back as she was being held by Xu Sheng, Jiang Hanqing asked Yin Yuji, "Aunt, what is the background of this Ru Feng? Why did she appear twice when we were talking at a crucial moment?" Yin Yuji's body trembled slightly, and she turned to look at her nephew with a surprised expression, saying, "You...you mean...you suspect that this vixen is problematic?" Jiang Hanqing didn't speak, only nodded slightly. Yin Yuji's face turned ashen, and she exclaimed, "This vixen... I never thought... she... I only thought she was a demon... could she actually be a poisonous snake?" Jiang Hanqing nodded

, and without any politeness, reprimanded Yin Yuji, "Aunt, you've been so clever all your life, but you've made a foolish mistake! After this woman appeared at the Crown Prince's residence, have you focused all your attention on the competition between women? You've concentrated on one point, and as a result, you've overlooked many obvious things! Think about it, our conversations were interrupted by her twice, is that a coincidence?" Hearing her aunt's words, Yin Yuji immediately realized, "What a vile woman! How dare she play tricks on me! I'll see how I deal with you!" Seeing that her aunt understood, Jiang Hanqing continued in a deep voice, "Just now, she must have been standing outside the window eavesdropping, because when I heard her breathing, she was right next to the window." "And look at her, although she looks very weak, we didn't even notice when she went to the window! So her weakness is all an act; she must be skilled in martial arts! And definitely not an ordinary one!" Yin Yuji gritted her teeth and said, "I'll go find her and settle the score! Let's see how this vixen tries to deny it!"

Jiang Hanqing chuckled, "Auntie, look at you! You've been blinded by anger! Even if you expose her, what good will it do? She's just a pawn in front of the camera. Who's really hiding behind the scenes? Do you know? They know nothing! What you should do isn't expose her now, but let her continue her acting while you observe her from the sidelines. The fox's tail will eventually be revealed!" Yin Yuji deeply agreed with her nephew's words and nodded repeatedly, "Yes! You're right! We'll do it your way!" After thinking for a while, Yin Yuji said, "This woman was found by your uncle when he went hunting after the Imperial Expeditionary Force set off. I don't know what's so special about her, but your uncle was completely captivated by her and immediately brought her back to the manor. He dotes on her and has never been so kind to me!"

Jiang Hanqing asked doubtfully, "A farmer's family? Did you investigate their background?" Yin Yuji answered without hesitation, "I did! This farmer's family is indeed a long-time resident of the area. And the surrounding villagers all say that the fox spirit is that farmer's biological daughter, who grew up there. Because of this investigation, I didn't suspect anything else. But now, hearing what you've said, I'm confused! If her villagers aren't lying, how did this girl learn martial arts?" Jiang Hanqing shook his head, indicating he didn't know either. Yin Yuji thought about it and agreed; even she couldn't figure it out, so how could her nephew, who knew nothing about the situation, know? Thinking this, she didn't ask any more questions. Unbeknownst to her, Jiang Hanqing was thinking, "That woman named Ru Feng could conceal her movements so well; her martial arts skills must be quite formidable! Just as I discovered her presence, Aunt Diao was talking about eliminating Miao Ji in the palace. Could it be that she became emotional upon hearing this and didn't control her breathing, which is why I discovered her? If so, then she and Miao Ji must have a deep connection. Right! Both of them appeared not long ago; could this just be a coincidence? Hmph! There must be some connection; these two women must have some kind of backing! Perhaps they're even from the same school! But where did they come from?"

Thinking of this, Jiang Hanqing suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Could it be... that they are the Holy Maidens'? Could they be the Holy Maidens' agents within the royal family? If that's the case, wouldn't it be like finding a needle in a haystack without any effort at all! It seems I should put in some effort to inquire with people here. Even if it's not certain, it's much better than having no chance at all!" The feeling of a glimmer of light appearing in the darkness made Jiang Hanqing, who had been worrying about finding the Holy Maidens' whereabouts for some time, feel extremely happy, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her face. "Qing'er, what are you thinking about?" Suddenly hearing her aunt ask, and feeling her aunt's gaze on her face, Jiang Hanqing quickly composed herself, pretending to be very embarrassed that her secret had been seen through, and stammered, "Nothing: I was just thinking about... thinking about... my cousin... where did my cousin go?" Yin Yuji was very happy to hear her spoiled and beloved nephew directly say that he missed his cousin Jingwen. She actually hoped that this talented and ambitious nephew could become her son-in-law, as the saying goes, "Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders!" Looking at Jiang Hanqing's shy expression, Yin Yuji smiled and said, "Because we're going to talk about serious matters tonight, your uncle sent the little girl out to play with her sisters! If you want to see her, you'll have to come another day!" Jiang Hanqing's face immediately showed disappointment. This time, he wasn't pretending; he genuinely felt a little lost because he wouldn't see his lovely cousin tonight. His mind was filled with his cousin's charming and innocent expression, and he was momentarily stunned. After a moment of distraction, noticing his aunt smiling at him, Jiang Hanqing quickly composed himself and said, "Auntie, I don't think my uncle is destined for greatness!

And look, he hasn't even become emperor yet and he already doesn't care about you. Who knows what will become of him in the future! If you continue like this, your future won't be easy! Sigh!" Jiang Hanqing could see that Yin Yuji harbored strong resentment towards her husband, Xusheng, and wanted to use this resentment to persuade his aunt, hoping to win her over. However, he also knew that his aunt was extremely moral and would never easily abandon her husband. Because of this, he dared not reveal his true feelings, and could only pretend to be worried about his aunt's future, deliberately stirring up some of her inner thoughts. Sure enough, upon hearing her nephew's words, Yin Yuji's smile immediately froze, and her eyes revealed helplessness. "Qing'er, do you understand this principle? Many things in life are like this: you know the outcome is likely to be failure, but you still do it. Because for you, the result isn't important; what's important is that you don't regret not trying! If I gave up just because there's a possibility of failure, that's not my character. I would definitely regret it then, regretting why I didn't try! If I've tried and still don't succeed, I will absolutely not regret it! Xusheng is my husband. Since I'm with him, I've never considered my own gains or losses. As long as he's happy, I'm happy! He's everything to me, and I'm willing to give up everything for him! No matter what others say, I will never give up on my belief!" Yin Yuji spoke in a very low, melancholic tone, full of a sense of vicissitude, as if stating an unchanging truth of human nature, her eyes revealing unwavering conviction. Jiang Hanqing silently pondered the meaning behind her aunt's words, sighed, and said nothing more. Some people are just so strange; they know they might be wrong, yet they still try. As long as they've tried, they will never regret it! Is this a strength or a weakness of this kind of person? Jiang Hanqing repeatedly asked himself this question, because he didn't know either.

From Yin Yuji's words, Jiang Hanqing knew that his aunt had understood the purpose of his earlier remarks, and had even subtly told him that there was no need to bring up similar topics again, because this was her lifelong belief, and a person's belief is never easily shaken!

Looking at his aunt's resolute expression, Jiang Hanqing was filled with emotion. He didn't know if he might become enemies with Xu Sheng in the future, but he knew that if that became a reality, then this aunt who had always been so doting on him would inevitably become his enemy, the enemy of her own sister, Yin Yufeng! Because she was Xu Sheng's wife, for her, this meant that no matter whether Xu Sheng was good or bad, she would accompany him for life! This was her destiny! The destiny arranged for her by heaven!

Yin Yuji was lost in thought for a while, then turned to look at her nephew with infinite tenderness, and said, "Qing'er, do you know? A person's fate is determined by heaven! I never believed in fate before, but after experiencing so much, I finally believe! What's meant to be yours will be yours! What's not meant to be yours, no matter how hard you try, will never be yours! You're still young, and there are many things you don't understand! Many times... alas! We are not in control of our own lives! Even if I can disregard your uncle's feelings, how can I not consider your two cousins?" Jiang Hanqing nodded and said, "Auntie! I understand what you mean! No matter what, Qing'er will always be your family!" Yin Yuji gave a wry smile: "Alright! Let's not talk about this anymore! It's like we're about to face off on the battlefield tomorrow! Sigh!"

She sighed deeply, then spaced out for a moment before slowly saying, "What's most important for you right now is to figure out what those guys from the Wang family are up to! If we don't even know what their plans are, we'll be doomed! Don't forget, the Wang family's fiefdom is near the capital. If they make their move first, we'll have no chance!"

Jiang Hanqing deeply agreed with his aunt's opinion and was about to say something... But then Yin Yuji continued, "Your Jiang family thinks you have the upper hand in the army, but can you be sure how many of them will be truly loyal to the death? Those uncouth, uncultured brutes are easily bribed. Can you be sure how many people the Wang family has bribed in the army? How many troops do they control?" Seeing his aunt's piercing gaze fixed on his face, Jiang Hanqing felt a pang of shame and lowered his head, whispering, "Yes! Auntie's words make a lot of sense. We hadn't thought of that before, and we hadn't paid much attention to the Wang family's situation in the army!" Yin Yuji sneered, "Fine! You really..." "You've turned the Imperial Army into your Jiang family's own army! Qing'er, don't be so arrogant! Don't be so superstitious about your father's and your own wisdom! Nobody's a fool. You're scheming against others, but others are scheming against you! Why was your mother able to become such a renowned general? A crucial reason is that she never underestimated any enemy! You and your father are underestimating the Wang family now, thinking they're all idiots waiting to be slaughtered! I think they see you as nothing more than pigs!"

After being reprimanded by her aunt, Jiang Hanqing blushed with shame and stammered, "Um! This... Auntie's scolding..." "Yes... I'll think about it carefully when I get back... um..."

Seeing her nephew's embarrassed expression, Yin Yuji couldn't bear to say anything more to him and nodded, "Alright! Go back and think about it yourself! The Wang family has already started preparing! You're still kept in the dark, you know nothing! Sigh! Hurry up and go back and think of a solution!"

That night, upon returning home, Jiang Hanqing immediately summoned his father's five brothers and recounted the day's events to them. After listening to his son's account, Jiang Haoyu's face turned extremely grim. The situation was clearly much more complicated than he had initially imagined.

"The Wang family really colluded with Xu Yu! I really didn't expect this! It seems the situation is becoming increasingly urgent! What exactly are the origins of that Miao Ji and Ru Feng? Xu Yu is really good at pretending, we all misjudged him! It seems he really does have some ability! Hmph! Sanchakou... Sanchakou... what use is the Wang family controlling Sanchakou?"

Jiang Haoyu muttered to himself, his brows furrowed. The others sitting beside him also looked worried, understanding that the Wang family had begun taking action while they remained oblivious. Undoubtedly, the Jiang family was at a disadvantage. "Have the people we sent to contact Fei Qingsi returned?" Suddenly remembering something, Jiang Haoyu turned to his fourth brother, Jiang Haoting, who sat beside him and asked. "Big brother, no news yet! How long has it been? At most a month! What's the rush? If Fei Qingsi really has returned to the southern garrison, I think it will take at least two to three months to receive a reply! Don't worry! As soon as there's news, they will naturally report to you immediately!" This wasn't Jiang Haoting's reply; before the fourth brother could speak, the fifth brother, Jiang Haoran, interrupted. This impatient fifth brother of the Jiang family spent his days drinking and having fun, completely oblivious to the current situation, and his answer was full of disdain for Jiang Haoyu's question. Jiang Haoyu, already quite dissatisfied with his brother's idle lifestyle, seized the opportunity to immediately launch into a tirade.

Glaring fiercely at his fifth brother, Jiang Haoyu snapped, "I thought you knew nothing! I didn't expect you to know the messenger sent to find Fei Qingsi hadn't returned! Our fifth brother is truly something! Hmm! Do you know how tense the situation is right now? All you do is drink and have fun all day! Why don't you learn from your three older brothers and help me out a bit? Do you really only get worried when everyone's driven to the brink?"

Jiang Haoran, bewildered by his elder brother's harsh words, frantically looked for help at the people sitting in the room: Jiang Haotian, Jiang Haoming, Jiang Haoting, and Jiang Hanqing, hoping they could intervene. However, these men had long been dissatisfied with Jiang Haoran's neglect of family affairs and his constant drinking. Seeing the head of the family reprimanding him, none of them spoke, letting him be taught a lesson. "You! You're supposed to be the fifth son, the one who carries the family on his shoulders! Why can't you use your brain a little more and think things through?! If people knew the fifth son of the Jiang family was like this, wouldn't they make our family lose all face?"

Jiang Haoyu looked at his fifth son's foolish face, and the more he spoke, the angrier he became. He stood up, walked over to him, and poked his head hard with his finger. Jiang Haoran endured his older brother's scolding without daring to talk back. His face was flushed red, and the veins on his face were bulging. It seemed that if it weren't for Jiang Haoyu, and if it were someone else scolding him like this, he would have already punched them. Jiang Haoyu looked at his younger brother's indignant expression and became even angrier. "You...you...what are you going to do? You dare hit your older brother?" Jiang Haoyu roared, spitting on Jiang Haoran's face. Jiang Haoran retorted angrily, "I didn't say that...and I wouldn't dare! You're the head of the family!" "Fine! If I weren't the head of the family, you'd even hit your older brother?" Jiang Haoyu couldn't believe his usually docile younger brother dared to speak to him in such a tone. He trembled with rage, his hand immediately landing on the hilt of his sword. Those around him panicked when they saw his actions were escalating.

Jiang Haoting and Jiang Haoming jumped up and grabbed his hands, repeatedly comforting him, "Big brother! Big brother! Don't be anxious! Fifth brother just speaks without thinking! Don't be angry! Don't take his words seriously!"

Jiang Hanqing also chimed in, "Father, Fifth Uncle just misspoke! Please don't take it to heart!"

Jiang Haotian went over and pulled Jiang Haoran, saying, "Fifth brother, what's wrong with you today? You can't even handle a few words from your older brother? How can this be? Go! Go apologize to your older brother right now!" Under everyone's persuasion, Jiang Haoyu's anger gradually subsided. He sat back down and accepted Jiang Haoran's bow, which was considered an act of forgiveness for his younger brother's mistake. However, the atmosphere of the meeting had been completely ruined, and it was impossible to continue. The group sat there absentmindedly, making a few perfunctory remarks, and then Jiang Haoyu announced the end of the meeting.

Although Haoran had apologized to his older brother, he still looked angry and was immediately dragged out by Jiang Haotian. Jiang Haoming and Jiang Haoting greeted their elder brother and followed the two out. After the four uncles had all left, Jiang Hanqing said to his father, "You really didn't need to get so angry with Fifth Uncle!" Jiang Haoyu glanced at his son and said coldly, "That guy has been really outrageous lately! Everyone else is busy as bees, but he seems to be doing nothing! How can we not scold him?" "But... if you do this, and Fifth Uncle holds a grudge, wouldn't that be troublesome?" Jiang Hanqing clearly thought his father's approach was unwise. Jiang Haoyu glared at his son, displeased, and said, "What? Are you going to lecture me today too?"

Seeing his father was angry, Jiang Hanqing didn't dare say anything more, shaking his head and sighing, "Fine! Fine! Father, let's not talk about this, okay?" Jiang Haoyu pondered for a while, his anger subsiding slightly. He looked up at the roof, distressed, and said, "We underestimated them! We always thought we were the best, that they wouldn't have any good options but to wait for their doom. Sigh! How foolish!" Standing up, he patted Jiang Hanqing's shoulder and said solemnly, "I know Xu Sheng very well; he's a classic example of selfishness. Don't believe any of his promises. His words are completely unreliable! If things get even slightly unfavorable, he'll be the first to run away! He won't care about the lives of you or anyone else!"

"Father, do you mean... we can't ally with Xu Sheng?" "Of course not! We must cooperate with Xu Sheng now, using his spies in the palace to keep track of the situation. We've always suffered because we lack manpower within the palace. Sigh! I hope Xu Sheng can see the situation clearly at this crucial moment! He'll cooperate sincerely with us and not try anything funny. Otherwise, we'll all be finished!" "I think he wouldn't act recklessly in a life-or-death situation, right? After all, he's not stupid; he knows what's important and what's urgent, otherwise he wouldn't have offered to cooperate with us. But... Father, I think Aunt's words shouldn't be ignored! Look, the Wang family is clearly plotting something. Without the support of the army, would they dare to act so boldly?"

Jiang Hanqing was increasingly worried about the issue of military control raised by his aunt, and took this opportunity to bring it up with his father. Jiang Haoyu had obviously never worried about this issue before, and was immediately taken aback. He paced around the room several times before finally saying in a low voice, "The army? That's right! Your concerns aren't unfounded! Judging from the Wang family's current situation, a rebellion is inevitable. They wouldn't dare be so audacious without control of a portion of the army. But where did their army come from? We control the majority!"

Jiang Hanqing replied without hesitation, "Perhaps it's true, as Auntie said, that many of our generals have been bribed!" Jiang Haoyu glanced at his son suspiciously but said nothing. Judging from his expression, he clearly didn't believe his men could be bribed by the Wang family. In his mind, the loyalty of the Jiang family's subjects to the Jiang family was beyond question. He was somewhat dismissive of his son's thoughts, thinking he was overthinking things. Although the current situation was somewhat passive for their side, there was no need to become so tense. But Jiang Hanqing's worries about the situation didn't stop there. He continued, "No matter what, the Imperial Guards and the Imperial Bodyguards in the capital aren't under our control. If these people are bribed by the Wang family, that would be extremely troublesome!" Although Jiang Haoyu didn't believe this would happen, he was still somewhat worried, and he frowned repeatedly upon hearing his son's words. The father and son discussed for a long time, but how could they possibly come up with a good solution in such a short time? They could only take it one step at a time. After his father left, Jiang Hanqing stood up and paced back and forth in the room, trying to think of a way to turn the situation around. "How can I effectively gather information from within the palace, thereby identifying Xu Yu's weaknesses and destroying the image he has just built in front of the emperor? If the Wang family intends to launch a rebellion, they must have made arrangements in the capital! How can I find out their specific actions?"

Jiang Hanqing pondered deeply, but he was in the open while the enemy remained hidden, and he couldn't find any reliable spies to gather information. He couldn't come up with a good solution. While thinking it over, he suddenly remembered the Holy Gate, and a surge of anger welled up inside him. "Damn it! That old bastard! The Holy Gate definitely has people in the capital, but they just won't tell me! If I had contacted the Holy Gate earlier and relied on their influence to get information from the shadows, we wouldn't be so helpless now! They say they're afraid I'll expose my identity if I contact them. Damn it! It's all nonsense! Ugh! Where am I supposed to find anyone now?"

Thinking of this, Jiang Hanqing suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Hey! That's right! Aren't there Zhang Sihai and a few others we can use? Yes! I'll find out about them first! Sigh! I wonder which army they're in now? But finding out should be quick, right? It should be easy to find out about generals of their rank! Good! Tomorrow I'll send someone to inquire about them and find them to help as soon as possible!"

Chapter 41 Palace Intrigue Chapter

41 Palace Intrigue

Just as Jiang Hanqing was worrying about the current situation, ten miles away from the Jiang family compound, in front of the palace, a carriage was slowly making its way towards the palace gates along a wide road. The guards at the palace gate waved to stop the carriage for inspection. A guard swaggered up to the carriage, lifted the curtain, and looked inside. His arrogant attitude immediately turned into one of extreme respect. He took two steps back and bowed deeply to the carriage, saying, "So it's His Highness the Second Prince! Forgive me! Forgive me!" Before the person inside the carriage could speak, the guard had already signaled to his companions to let them pass. Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, another guard asked the first one, "What is the Second Prince doing going to the palace so late? Does the Emperor summon him so late?" The first guard chuckled coldly, "The throne rotates, this year it's someone else's turn. They're in power now, why do you care so much? Just do your job and don't offend them! If you piss them off, they can wipe out us lowly ones with a flick of their little finger!" "Hmm! What you say makes sense!" "By the way! When I checked earlier, I caught a glimpse and saw what seemed to be a woman sitting in the carriage. The other brothers said that recently… this Second Prince often brings a woman into the palace at night…" Just then, a guard leader suddenly appeared, snarling, "Li Quan, you fucking shut your dog mouth! Don't you want to live?" The guard named Li Quan was startled, stuck out his tongue, and dared not say another word. The palace gates returned to the silence that preceded the arrival of the carriage… The carriage stopped before the Empress's residence, Kunning Palace. The curtain was lifted, and two people jumped out. The man in the lead was none other than the Second Prince, Xuyu, who had recently gained favor with the Emperor. Following closely behind him was a woman. A veil hung from her hair, completely obscuring her face, making her features impossible to discern. She wore a long black dress, and although she was bundled up in thick clothes due to the cold weather, it still couldn't completely conceal her curvaceous figure. Without pausing, the two immediately ascended the steps towards Kunning Palace. As they approached the top of the long steps and reached the spacious plaza in front of Kunning Palace, a hunched-over eunuch rushed out from Shenning Palace. "Your Highness, please rest assured... everything inside... is ready! We're just waiting for you, and we can begin immediately!" The eunuch, who looked to be around fifty years old, was panting heavily when he reached Xu Yu, but still hurriedly greeted him. Xu Yu coldly glanced at the exhausted old eunuch before him, chuckled twice, and slowly said, "Li Si'an, did you get a taste of it ahead of time?"

It turned out that this fifty-something-year-old eunuch was Li Si'an, the palace's chief eunuch, the spy that the Wang family had planted in the palace, as Ling Sheng had mentioned to Jiang Hanqing. Hearing Xu Yu's words, Li Si'an chuckled dryly twice and said, "This... Your Highness is overthinking it! Hehe! Without Your Highness present, how could this servant dare to act recklessly!" Ling Yu chuckled twice more, then turned to look at the veiled woman following behind him. She held her head high, staring blankly at the palace ceiling, seemingly indifferent to everything before her. Turning back, Lingyu asked Li Si'an, "How are the preparations going with the Emperor?" "Your Highness, please rest assured, everything is arranged with the Emperor! We're just waiting for Lady Wang to make her move!"

Lingyu seemed satisfied with Li Si'an's answer, nodding and saying, "Good! Very good! Then you can take Lady Wang to meet the Emperor now! I don't need your service; I want to enjoy myself! Haha!"

He then ignored Li Si'an and the woman behind him, walking towards Kunning Palace. Watching Lingyu's figure gradually disappear into the distance, Li Si'an, a lewd grin on his face, walked to the masked woman in black and gave her a hard squeeze of her breast. "Let's go! Lady Wang, the Emperor is waiting for you to serve him!" "

Regarding Li Si'an's humiliating actions, the woman's expression couldn't be seen due to the veil covering her face. However, judging from her silent actions as she followed the old eunuch towards the emperor's palace, she seemed to have been prepared for it, or perhaps was already used to it. Meanwhile, Ling Yu, walking along the path leading to his mother's palace, was recalling the series of earth-shattering changes that had occurred in his life over the past few months. Since childhood, Ling Yu had lived in the shadow of his elder brother, Xu Sheng.

He always believed that his abilities were absolutely no less than his brother's, but just because he was born two years later, everything about him paled in comparison to Xu Sheng. Everything belonged not to him, but to Xu Sheng. Power, respect, favor, happiness—all of this belonged to Xu Sheng, while he seemed to be just a superfluous waste, never cared for or loved by anyone. Xu Sheng was the crown prince; everyone feared and respected Xu Sheng. Everything had to be given to Xu Sheng first." As for him, Lingyu, despite being a prince, had to be tolerant in everything and couldn't contradict Lingsheng, because Lingsheng was the crown prince, while he wasn't! In his eyes, apart from the few palace maids and wet nurses who cared for him, almost no one in the palace cared about him. Even his mother, the mother of both him and Lingsheng, only favored Lingsheng, who would grow up to be the crown prince and inherit the throne, and always treated him, this seemingly superfluous son, with indifference. In such an environment, Lingyu learned the most effective way to protect himself from a very young age: to play dumb. Lingyu was a smart person, perhaps even smarter than his brother, but unfortunately, he had never found an opportunity to show his talent. Instead, he acted foolish in front of everyone, appearing as if he had no ability whatsoever. Because his performance was so convincing, everyone genuinely believed he was a fool, and no one saw him as a smart person. He knew that only by doing this could he avoid attracting attention. Only by doing so could he avoid the entanglements of ambitious men. Only by doing so could his brother, born a strongman, suppress his narrow-mindedness and not preemptively plot against him for fear of him seizing power. He often thought that if he hadn't been good at playing dumb, he might already be dead.

Lingyu endured this bitterly, waiting for an opportunity. He understood that without an opportunity, he would only live a life of melancholy, dying in despair, his true self buried deep within him. But he firmly believed that he would eventually get an opportunity, a chance to turn his life around. Lingyu knew that the four great ducal families had harbored an unquenchable ambition for the imperial throne for hundreds of years, and he also understood how much his father feared the four great ducal families. He firmly believed that by exploiting this conflict, he would surely have his day of reckoning. In recent years, seeing his increasingly incompetent father, Lingyu understood even more clearly that his day of reckoning was approaching. The baby is coming soon. Some time ago, when Crown Prince Ling Sheng opposed his father's appointment of Li Jixing as commander of the Imperial Expeditionary Force, Ling Yu keenly realized that the time had come to damage the relationship between his brother and father.

However, he had always acted foolishly in front of his father, and although his father was now somewhat dissatisfied with Ling Sheng, how could he truly win his father's favor? Ling Yu was deeply troubled by this matter. After careful consideration, he decided to use his visit to the palace to see his mother as an opportunity to create a chance to appear before his father, and then flatter his father to his face, praising his decision as exceptionally wise, hoping to improve the emperor's impression of him. Having made up his mind, he immediately put it into action. Although Emperor Wu Ming had always paid little attention to this foolish son, it was still pleasing to have someone praise him to his face as exceptionally wise. Moreover, the emperor had recently felt isolated by his ministers, and was experiencing a sense of helpless panic; hearing his son's praise naturally pleased him even more.

Under these circumstances, the emperor's opinion of Lingyu quickly changed, and Lingyu seized the opportunity to appear in court several times, offering unexpected and unique insights into some difficult issues. The emperor finally began to realize that his son was not a fool. When news of the imperial army's defeat reached the palace, the emperor felt he had lost face in front of the crown prince, who had opposed his decision to select a commander. The defeat seemed to prove the crown prince right, while he, the ruler of the country, was wrong. Unable to save face, the emperor's attitude towards the crown prince finally shifted from displeasure to resentment. The emperor began to consider the possibility of changing the heir apparent. At this time, the second prince, Lingyu, also born of the empress, became the emperor's darling. Under the emperor's favor, Lingyu's status rose rapidly, and he even showed signs of replacing the emperor. Originally, he relied on the empress's influence... Ling Sheng still had a chance to salvage the situation, but an unexpected event allowed Ling Yu to completely control his mother, thus extinguishing Ling Sheng's hopes... In the palace, everyone now knew that this second prince had risen from humble beginnings to become the emperor's favorite, someone not to be trifled with! The guards who used to treat him with deference but not necessarily respect now looked at him with trepidation, fearing to offend him.

Thanks to his newly acquired imperial favor, Ling Yu no longer needed to be as cautious as before when entering and leaving the palace. He used to dislike going to the palace because he hated being looked down upon, but now he enjoyed staying there when he had nothing to do, because now he could flatter his father and mother and enjoy the intoxicating feeling of being fawned over. That evening, Ling Yu left his father's quarters, intending to visit his mother and pay his respects, hoping to leave a good impression.

However, when he arrived at his mother's residence, Kunning Palace, he found the atmosphere somewhat different from usual. The palace maids and eunuchs who were usually everywhere, waiting for their masters' summons, were nowhere to be seen that night. Lingyu felt something was amiss, but remained silent. He quietly made his way to his mother's palace. Before he even reached the palace gate, he heard his mother's painful groans, but these groans were different from those made in illness; they carried a hint of joy. With a heart full of excitement, Lingyu gently drilled a hole in the window of his mother's palace and peered inside. On the bed inside, the usually noble and dignified Empress lay naked. A young eunuch sat beside her, dripping wax from a burning candle onto her breasts, lower abdomen, and thighs. Each time the scalding wax dripped onto her skin, Yang Simin's body would convulse violently, accompanied by continuous groans—the same sounds Lingyu had heard earlier.

Unexpectedly, the usually dignified Empress was so licentious in the palace. A strange spark ignited in Ling Yu's eyes. He had always suppressed his hatred for the woman who bore him deep within his heart. Seeing her so wanton now, any remaining respect he held vanished. "Good! I never imagined you were such a licentious woman! And yet you put on such an aloof act! Damn it! You've never truly cared about me since I was little! Hehe! Watch how I deal with you!"

Watching the ever-changing forms of humiliation inside, and hearing his mother's screams of agony, Ling Yu's gaze turned cruel. He wanted to punish this woman who had been wicked since childhood and use her to achieve his goals! Standing outside the window, Ling Yu greedily watched the spectacle unfolding inside. First came candles, then whips, then silver needles. The continuous humiliation didn't frighten Yang Simin; instead, it fueled her growing excitement. Before the young eunuch, the noble Empress seemed to have become a lewd beast capable of enduring any pain. Seeing the excited yet cruel smile on the eunuch's face, Ling Yu was filled with jealousy. He wanted nothing more than to push open the door and rush in, to take the place of that lowly eunuch and humiliate that woman. But he didn't know how the woman would react when she saw him enter. He hesitated, his mind in turmoil.

After all, the woman inside was his own mother. From a moral standpoint, what he was doing would be an act of bestiality, and she was the current Empress. If anything happened to her, he would be torn to pieces! Even with Ling Yu's audacity, he still had to think things through carefully before acting. "Lingyu! Lingyu! You think yourself invincible every day, but what are you hesitating for at a time like this? Such a lowly woman, and you still want to consider anything else? Bah! What bullshit ethics! It's all shit! Once you become emperor, you can write your own story!" "Sigh! Why don't you dare rush in? Is it really your conscience that's bothering you? No! It's your lack of courage! Are you really less courageous than that little eunuch inside?" "By sleeping with this lowly woman, you can seize the opportunity to control her! Then use her to completely crush that arrogant, stupid pig, Ling Sheng!" After repeated struggles, finally, lustful desires overwhelmed the last vestiges of conscience in Lingyu's mind . Most importantly, this opportunity was absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime chance for him.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! With this thought, Lingyu made up his mind. He kicked open the palace door and rushed in like a mad beast. The two people inside sat up straight, staring in terror at the person who rushed in, thinking it was someone catching them in adultery. When Yang Simin recognized her own son, she let out a groan, covered her face, and lay back on the bed, curling her naked body into a ball. The young eunuch, in a panic, jumped off the bed, trying to hide. Lingyu rushed to the young eunuch, grabbed him forcefully, and then squeezed his throat hard. With a "crack," the poor young eunuch's throat bones were crushed, and he died instantly. Hearing the young eunuch's dying groan, Yang Simin opened her hands covering her face and looked in their direction in horror.

Seeing Lingyu's frantic gaze and the corpse he was carrying, Yang Simin was about to scream, but fortunately, Lingyu reacted quickly, realizing something was wrong as soon as he saw his mother open her mouth. He pounced on his mother, pinning her down and pressing his hand firmly against her mouth, refusing to loosen his grip no matter how much she struggled. Only when her resistance subsided slightly did Lingyu tear off a piece of her clothing to gag her. Lingyu slapped his mother's naked body repeatedly, cursing, "You slut! You really are a slut! You actually enjoy being tortured! No wonder that little eunuch dared to play with you like that! It must have been your own request, ah! Slut! Does this feel good? Moan louder! Moan!" Under her son's continuous blows, Yang Simin's reaction grew stronger. Even though she was pinned down by Lingyu, her body still writhed wildly. Saliva dripped from the corners of her mouth, which was stuffed with cloth. A surge of heat coursed through her head, and Yang Simin couldn't help but cry out, "Punish me! Mother is a lowly woman! Punish me however you like!"

As soon as she uttered this, Lingyu immediately rebuked her: "Slut! You lowly woman, how dare you utter such shameless words!" "You're nothing but a sow!" That night, when he left his mother's palace, he left behind a naked body covered in wounds. Of course, for Yang Simin, this was only the beginning of her suffering. In the following ten days, Yang Simin endured all sorts of torture from her son. Often, Lingyu would bring in different eunuchs to join the torture. Being tortured by her son as a mother, being humiliated by her subjects as an empress—this perfectly satisfied Yang Simin's long-standing, perverse fetish for masochism. Gradually, Yang Simin became completely accustomed to the life of being humiliated by her son. Blinded by this, Yang Simin now almost completely obeyed Lingyu's words.

Following Lingyu's instructions, Yang Simin seized the opportunity to speak ill of Lingsheng to the emperor. This perfectly aligned with the emperor's current thoughts, and thus, the unfortunate Lingsheng gradually lost his position in the palace. Although he knew he had inexplicably lost his mother's favor, how could he know the lewd truth hidden behind her change in attitude? Although he had firmly controlled his mother and established a very good image in his father's eyes, Lingyu could be said to have made a brilliant comeback. However, the clever Lingyu remained worried. He knew that compared to the four great ducal families, and even in front of his brother Lingsheng, he was like a nouveau riche, lacking sufficient foundation to truly confront them. To ascend the throne, it was absolutely impossible without one's own strength. Just like now, although Lingsheng was at a disadvantage, over the years he had cultivated his own power base and had many supporters in the army. If the two brothers turned against each other now, it would surely be Lingyu who was defeated. As for the four great ducal families, forget about it. Emperor Yunwu Ming could only turn a blind eye to them unless he found something to hold against them. Ling Yu deeply understood that to become the ultimate victor, he needed to possess true strength of his own, with his own subordinates and his own army.

However, his rise to power had only been a matter of a few months. How could he possibly cultivate his own strength in such a short time? Therefore, Ling Yu planned to form an alliance with a certain power, utilizing their existing strength to secure his newly acquired but not yet stable advantageous position. And within the current empire, who else besides the four great ducal families could possess such power? But how could he establish a connection with the four great families? Ling Yu was once again racking his brains over this. However, his lewd mother always managed to give him a surprise, and this time it was no different. It turned out that Yang Simin not only played sadomasochistic games with the young eunuchs, but also had a lewd affair with the chief eunuch of the palace, Li Si'an. To please her son and enhance Lingyu's enjoyment of sadomasochistic games, Simin went so far as to degrade herself, summoning Li Si'an to torture her in front of her son. A vile man and another equally vile, yet no longer manly, monster came into contact.

The two like-minded individuals quickly became acquainted. For Lingyu, who was searching for a powerful patron, he was overjoyed to discover that this old eunuch had intricate connections with the Wang family. Through Li Si'an, he easily established contact with the Wang family. Meanwhile, the pitiful Empress Yang Simin sank into an inescapable abyss of debauchery, becoming a plaything for Lingyu and Li Si'an. However, Lingyu also harbored many reservations about the Wang family, especially puzzled by Li Si'an's revelation that the Wang family was urgently seeking a powerful patron within the royal family. "Why would the Duke of Dingguo want to find someone within my royal family?"

Xiangyu asked Li Si'an, filled with questions about the Wang family's actions. Li Si'an answered without hesitation, "There's nothing strange about it! Although the Duke of Dingguo's family is large and deeply rooted, they have always held the imperial family in high esteem and have never dared to harbor any disloyalty. Now, the Duke of Dingguo simply wants to find a loyal and honest member of the royal family and use the Wang family's power to push him to the throne. This way, when this person inherits the throne, the Duke of Dingguo's family will surely be guaranteed wealth and honor!" Although Xiangyu knew that Li Si'an wasn't telling the truth, when he was weak and alone, finding such a powerful backer as the Wang family was always more beneficial than harmful. Why wouldn't he take advantage of it? In his opinion, his current choice was undoubtedly correct. First, he would rely on the Wang family's power to gain a foothold in the court struggles. Once he was strong enough, no matter what tricks the other side tried, he wouldn't be afraid. Previously, when he wanted a court official to pledge allegiance to him, the official would always avoid him like the plague. He believed that now, if he encountered the same situation again, as long as he revealed his alliance with the Wang family, he would surely attract fish to take the bait! With this wishful thinking in mind, Ling Yu finally boarded the Wang family's "warship" through Li Si'an.

With the Wang family's support, Ling Yu immediately felt much more confident. In his pride, his actions inevitably became somewhat arrogant and overbearing. It was precisely for this reason that he behaved so out of line in front of Ling Sheng and Jiang Hanqing when he went to drink at Ling Sheng's residence before the New Year. However, that was only a momentary emotional outburst. Most of the time, Ling Yu continued to act crazy and foolish in front of others, making people think that his current rise was only due to the emperor's increasing old age and incompetence, and that he himself had no real ability. And just as Ling Yu had predicted, with the Wang family's support, his conspiracy to bribe court officials and military generals went much more smoothly. Initially, several powerful figures were skeptical of his attempts to win them over, but once they heard that he had already made connections with the Wang family, they immediately joined his ranks without hesitation. Even within the Imperial Guard, the foundation of the royal rule, many generals began to look at him with new respect and started frequent contact with him. What made Lingyu trust the Wang family even more was that shortly after the two sides made contact, Wang Mingde presented him with a special gift. One evening, Li Si'an brought a beautiful and alluring middle-aged woman to Lingyu's residence, telling him that this woman was a gift from the Duke of Dingguo to show his sincerity in forming an alliance. Lingyu was pleasantly surprised, but looking at the mature and beautiful noblewoman in front of him, he felt that she looked very familiar, yet he couldn't remember where he had seen such a woman before.

After thinking for a while without reaching a conclusion, Lingyu put the question aside and turned to calmly "digest" the gift from Wang Mingde. Faced with such a stunning beauty who had come to him, Lingyu naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony and invited Li Si'an to share in this beautiful and mature woman. However, to his great surprise, his well-intentioned invitation was immediately and hastily rejected by Li Si'an, who quickly made an excuse to leave and return to the palace.

Why was Li Si'an, who usually enjoyed humiliating noblewomen, acting so cautiously this time? Lingyu naturally became suspicious of his strange behavior, but with such a beautiful woman before him, he didn't care about such things. That night, he indulged himself to his heart's content and was pleasantly surprised to find that this woman was so adept at pleasing men, even achieving arousal through masochism.

But when he woke up the next morning, he was astonished to find that the woman had quietly disappeared, leaving him feeling a pang of loss. Later, when Lingyu entered the palace and interrogated Li Si'an, he learned that the woman was none other than Ye Xinyi, the wife of the Duke of Dingguo. Startled, Lingyu realized why the woman looked familiar—they had met at a palace banquet. He also understood why Li Si'an had fled so quickly that night when he was asked to join in the debauchery of Ye Xinyi; she was the woman of his powerful backer, how could he dare touch her? Understanding the woman's identity, Lingyu realized just how "valuable" the gift from Wang Mingde truly was, and his gratitude towards Wang Mingde deepened, strengthening his resolve to ally with the Wang family.

As if as a reward for the Wang family's unwavering stance, Ye Xinyi appeared before Lingyu almost every night for his pleasure. As time went on, Lingyu and Li Si'an gradually discovered that this seemingly unapproachable matriarch of the Wang family was actually a masochistic woman.

With this discovery, Li Si'an slowly abandoned her past fear of the matriarch and began to join Lingyu in humiliating this seemingly unapproachable but actually base and lewd woman. Every night in Kunning Palace, Empress Yang Simin and Lady Ye Xinyi, the Duchess of Dingguo, these two women who were always high and mighty, would be stripped naked and forced to crawl on the ground like dogs. Several eunuchs would follow behind them, whipping their writhing buttocks as they crawled. When the two women were exhausted, they would be tied to the thick pillars of the main hall, and their nipples or labia would be clamped. Then, scalding candle wax would be dripped onto their sensitive skin, followed by seemingly endless rape and humiliation. At such times, the two noblewomen would completely forget their status, willingly accepting the abuse of a group of beasts. Watching them groan, cry out, and weep, they were no different from prostitutes in the marketplace. But this scene of noblewomen being humiliated perfectly satisfied the dark and perverse psychology of Lingyu and Li Si'an.

While enduring Ling Yu's humiliation and satisfying his perverse lust, Ye Xinyi's relationship with Ling Yu began to grow closer. Ye Xinyi was a natural beauty who could captivate men, and now she went to great lengths to please Ling Yu. As a result, within a few days, Ling Yu became completely infatuated with Ye Xinyi's body. Ye Xinyi's care and consideration for Ling Yu quickly led him to confide in her completely. In a man who always considered himself...

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Imperial Secrets - 14

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