[Urban] Turbulent Times and Love (Complete) - 13-15

Chapter Eight: Sea of Blood

"Brother, wake up..."

Wisteria seemed to hear her sister's voice in her sleep. "Hmm... I'll sleep a little longer."

She dismissed it as a hallucination.

"Wake up!"

Wisteria felt a hand reach towards her face, gently playing with her hair, and then...

"Ah? You brat, how did you get in?"

A kiss on the cheek startled Wisteria, and she groggily opened her eyes to see who it was. She immediately jumped up, instinctively reaching for her side. Thankfully, Lan Hua was gone.

"Good morning! What, brother, don't you like morning kisses?"

Yi Rou seemed oblivious to her earlier flustered behavior, smiling as she asked, "There's something good about you, brother. If you treat me to breakfast

, I can tell you!" "What good thing could you possibly have? Never mind, I don't really want to know anyway."

"Hmm?"

"What do you want to eat?"

Her sister's disgruntled voice rang out again, and Wisteria wisely changed her mind before her sister could pounce on her.

After quickly getting dressed and washing up, Zifeng was dragged by her younger sister to the outer dining hall. The servants of the official post station had already prepared breakfast, and the aroma of pastries filled the room.

Yirou picked up two different pastries with both hands and happily took a bite of each. "So sweet, so delicious."

The double sweetness of honey and red bean paste made her squint her eyes in happiness.

"You, you just love sweets."

Zifeng smiled as she took a sip of the porridge in her bowl.

"Brother is the same, he's been drinking porridge for over ten years."

Yirou's mouth was full of food, and she retorted in a muffled voice rather inelegantly, while quickly devouring the pastries in front of her. After a while, she drank some soy milk. "Hmm... I'm full."

"Little girl, are you really full?"

Zifeng noticed that there was still more than half a plate of food in front of his sister. "Is it okay for you to eat so little?"

he asked with some concern.

His sister replied with a smile, "Girls need to maintain their weight, so..."

"...Little girl, how much do you weigh?"

Zifeng asked casually.

"Brother, how could you ask a girl such a question?"

Yi Rou seemed quite displeased; Zi Teng could even feel one of her feet lifting under the table.

"I...I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

He hurriedly apologized, afraid that if he was too late, he would have to limp back home.

"Alright, considering we have important things to do today, I'll forgive you this time."

Yi Rou seemed to have let him off the hook. "Well, it's about time, brother, hurry up and go to the garden next door, don't keep Shiori waiting."

"Really..."

Looking at his sister's unusually serious face, Zi Teng was stunned for a while before reacting. "Little girl, you're such an angel!"

Resisting the urge to hug and kiss his sister, he got up and was about to run outside.

"Brother,"

Yi Rou suddenly blurted out from behind, "Will you stay together forever? The three of us..."

"Silly boy, of course, you're my sister!"

Zi Teng turned around and smiled.

"Just a little sister... is that all?"

Yi Rou's burning heart felt as if it had been suddenly thrown into an ice cellar. Her voice became barely audible, but she still forced a smile. "Good luck, brother!"

Once out of his sister's sight, Zi Teng's steps became unsteady. Yi Rou's memories of his feelings had always been so real... But how should he face her and Sister Xue La?

All of this left Zi Teng deeply troubled.

"Thud!"

The absent-minded Zi Teng was knocked to the ground, and a zither fell beside him.

"Ah... I'm sorry!"

a familiar female voice said, and then the owner of the voice picked up the zither and ran away as fast as she could.

"That back view... looks so familiar..."

The person was wearing a veil and was in a hurry, so Zi Teng didn't see her face clearly, nor did he notice the strange look in her eyes when their eyes met. But that hurried departing figure always gave him a feeling of familiarity, yet something felt off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Continuing alone into the garden next door, the familiar figure finally appeared ahead. Her bright red hair swayed gently in the breeze, accentuating her graceful figure.

Slowly approaching, Zifang tried to calm her pounding heart and greeted her in a normal voice, "Shiori, good morning!"

Shiori turned around, and Zifang saw her gentle smile. "Yes, hello! Young Master Zi."

Shiori smiled. The way she said "Young Master Zi" sounded so natural, yet it sounded so awkward to Zifang.

"Are you reading?"

Zifang noticed a white-covered book in her hands, its title and author written in the strange script of the Western Continent. It was Socrates' *Democratic Politics*, by the outstanding statesman and philosopher of the Western Continent. "Yes! I had nothing else to do,"

Shiori replied, somewhat deliberately trying to start a conversation to avoid an awkward silence. "Unfortunately, there are some things I don't quite understand."

"Ah..."

Zifang hesitated for a moment, then said, "If it's convenient, would I like to sit next to you?"

"Huh?"

Shiori was slightly taken aback.

“Well, didn’t you say there were some parts you didn’t understand?”

Zifang quickly explained, “I’m quite proficient in the languages and philosophies of the Western Continent, so I’ll see if I can help you.”

Shiori chuckled, “Oh, thank you.”

Zifang was slightly taken aback, quickly stepped forward, and sat down next to Shiori, but accidentally sat on her skirt. Zifang hurriedly got up to adjust himself, “My apologies…”

Shiori smiled and shook her head. She turned her head slightly to look at the familiar yet unfamiliar boy beside her. In the sunlight, Zifang noticed something shining in Shiori’s eyes, and his heart began to pound.

Zifang explained the points in the book in detail, but he used Western languages. Shiori also knowingly continued the conversation in Western languages that she wasn’t familiar with, because they both knew two things: first, what they were discussing was absolutely taboo in this country; second, there weren’t many people in the country who understood Western languages, and His Majesty the Emperor would never think of sending someone fluent in such languages to monitor him.

However, Fujiwara soon found himself increasingly unable to concentrate. Shiori wore a gentle smile, her eyes filled with tender shyness, and she turned her head slightly to look at him. Her face, so close to his, made him feel as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest. He couldn't help but lean in a little and whisper, "Shiori..."

Shiori suddenly realized they were getting a little too close. A blush crept across her face, and a flicker of panic crossed her eyes. She gently shifted aside slightly. "Young Master Zi... speaking of which, we used to often play together in gardens like this. It's truly nostalgic!"

Zifang paused slightly. She spoke in an Eastern language. He then recalled that he, Shiori, and his sister had indeed often played in the royal gardens when he was a child. He nodded, saying with deep feeling, "Yes! But that was a long time ago..."

As he spoke, the distance between them seemed to widen. Shiori smiled and said, "A long time ago? I don't think so. It was only a few years ago!"

Zifang caught a faint, refreshing fragrance, and felt his head begin to race again. To be honest, this was probably the closest he and Shiori had ever been in all these years. Only now did he realize how wonderful Shiori's scent was. Listening to Shiori's soft words, he secretly glanced at her: her breasts, with their near-perfect curves. Wisteria sighed, not answering, thinking to herself, "Yes, it was only a few years ago; but in these few years, we've all grown up!"

Seeing his lack of response, Shiori asked with slight doubt, "What's wrong? Don't you think so?"

Wisteria quickly smiled and said, "No, I think so too… I'm just a little sentimental, time really flies…"

"Yes… in the blink of an eye… um…"

Perhaps realizing she'd gone off-topic, Shiori paused for a moment, "I didn't expect you to be so familiar with this book. To be honest, although saying this might seem disrespectful to the Emperor, I think the egalitarian political system described in it is quite good."

Touching on sensitive content, she switched back to Western language.

"Equality? You think so?"

Wisteria also switched.

"Isn't that so?"

"So-called equality is nothing more than the idealistic wishful thinking of those democrats. People are divided into different classes, and each person's different abilities and status determine that they shouldn't be on equal footing. For example, is Socrates, the philosopher, and a beggar equal, as he claims? Whether in terms of ability or social contribution, if they were truly equal, that would be the greatest inequality!"

"Is that so?"

Shiori was somewhat dazed. Everything that Fujito said was so profound to her, who had a somewhat naive view of politics. She had always thought Fujito was just a military genius, but now such profound political arguments coming from his mouth surprised Shiori.

Fujito turned his head and saw the expression on Shiori's face. He paused for a moment before answering, "Yes. Ah, I'm sorry, it was just a sudden impulse..."

He felt very disappointed. He wondered if Shiori would think he had deliberately shown off something to her. One was thinking, and the other was regretting. An awkward silence began between them.

Time passed silently, and finally, as if making a decision, Zifang looked at Shiori and slowly, word by word, said, "Shiori, um... will you be my wife

in the future, just like you said when we were little?" For a moment, everything seemed to freeze.

The girl remained silent, but her expression seemed to transport her to a time tunnel. Zifang knew that his words had reminded Shiori of their carefree childhood, of the innocent promises children made back then. He waited in silence, hoping that Shiori would give him the same answer she had given him then.

Time ticked by, and Shiori's expression gradually hardened. Seeing the familiar yet unfamiliar resolve slowly appear in her eyes, Zifang understood that the girl already had a clear answer.

His heart pounded uncontrollably, faster and faster—Shiori, will your answer lead me to heaven or hell?

Shiori looked at him quietly, and said softly but firmly, "Young Master Zi... no, Zi, I'm sorry, please forgive me for not being able to agree for the time being."

Zifeng swayed, his face turning deathly pale. He glanced at Shiori with a sorrowful expression and said hoarsely, "Is that so? Haha, as expected..."

"Zi, it's not like that! Let me finish!"

Shiori suddenly stood up, supporting him, and called out anxiously.

Zifeng was overjoyed upon hearing this, grabbing her hand and saying tremblingly, "So, you agree?"

Shiori blushed, letting him hold her hand. Actually, she really wanted to agree, but... she sighed softly and said, "Zi... I'm sorry, I'm not mentally prepared for this... I, I don't know what my feelings for you are right now... so, I was wondering, could you give me a little more time?" Helpless and conflicted

, she could only resort to the all-powerful "delaying tactic." Zifeng stared blankly at the girl's blushing face. The shock of happiness seemed to have caused his IQ to plummet, so much so that he didn't notice what lay behind her words. At this moment, he didn't know what he was feeling—Shiori hadn't agreed, but she hadn't refused either. Most importantly, her familiar and affectionate way of addressing him had returned.

Shiori's face slowly turned redder, and the hand that was being held by Wisteria twitched slightly. The slow-witted man finally snapped out of his daze, immediately realizing what had happened, and hurriedly let go of her hand, stammering, "Shiori, this... I didn't mean to."

The girl gently shook her head, "...It's okay."

Another long silence followed, and the atmosphere in the garden became strange again. Shiori quietly shifted her gaze away from Wisteria, "Um, I'll go first..."

Watching her fleeing figure, Wisteria's mind was filled with turbulent thoughts. It was another good start, just like when they first met more than ten years ago. The outcome should be good too, right?

"Bang!"

Wisteria happily turned back, but was knocked over again. What fell beside her was a zither, and it looked like she had just seen it before.

"I'm so sorry!"

The apologetic voice seemed familiar. Looking over, it was the girl who had bumped into her earlier, still wearing her veil.

"It's you again... What a coincidence!"

Zi Teng picked up the zither and handed it back to her.

"Thank you! But it's not a coincidence, it's fate."

Zi Teng sensed something strange about the girl's voice; she was clearly using internal energy to project her voice, but it still felt somewhat familiar.

"I think it's a karmic entanglement..."

Zi Teng joked.

"Indeed..."

The girl gave a rather thought-provoking answer before running away.

"..."

Watching her hurried departure, Zi Teng finally realized what that familiar feeling was—the girl's voice and figure were so similar to Shiori's; as for what felt off at the time, it was her hair—Shiori's hair was red, while hers was brown.

Meanwhile, the bay on Kyuuri Island was filled with smoke and the deafening roar of cannons. This was a large-scale artillery battle rarely seen in the history of continental warfare. Hundreds of cannons roared with deafening explosions, the muzzle flashes illuminating the once-prosperous trading port at the confluence of the two countries' territorial waters. On the harbor waters, in the nearshore waters, in the land fortresses, and around the towering gun emplacements, mud flew, smoke billowed, and a sea of fire

engulfed everything. The naval officers and soldiers of the Yanhuang Empire were in high spirits, for they possessed far more cannons than their opponents. At this moment, the cannonballs fired by the fiercely courageous imperial sailors blasted the entire island and the surrounding sea into chaos.

Meanwhile, a large number of warships, braving cannon fire and a hail of flames, rushed towards the beach. Many were set ablaze and sunk. Before long, the wreckage and debris of these wrecked ships filled most of the bay. The sea was littered not only with broken beams, oars, and shards of wood, but also with countless corpses, turning the water into a sea of blood. Yet, more warships continued to surge forward, crashing onto the beach.

Groups of sailors jumped from their familiar warships. Today, they had to play the role of the army, shields in hand, spears in hand, and swords in hand, staggering forward on the soft sand. They were swallowed by arrows, felled by bullets, and crushed by cannon fire, stepping over the broken corpses of their comrades before them, paving the way for their comrades to reach the fortress with their own blood.

The landing soldiers, struggling amidst the cannon fire and arrows, blamed the gunners on the warships behind them amidst death and pain. But in reality, they were truly being wronged. Not long after the war began, the navy's artillerymen quickly discovered that even with a numerical advantage in cannons, they were still unable to suppress the enemy's firepower.

At the outset of the war, Lysas, a major Western military-industrial nation, adhered to its consistent principle of neutral trade by offering arms sales to both countries. However, the Celestial Emperor of the Celestial Empire immediately declared that he had no need for the "inferior goods" from Western barbarians. Conversely, Xieluzhi responded positively.

Thus, advanced cannons and muskets produced by the Lysas Tulip Arsenal, renowned throughout the continent for their superior quality and advanced technology, were continuously shipped to Xieluzhi. Now, while the South Seas Navy's warships were still equipped with the Red-Clad Cannons, manufactured ten years earlier as imitations of the Tulip Type 1 cannon, the enemy's fortresses and gun emplacements were already equipped with the powerful Tulip Type 3 heavy cannons and the Tulip Type 4 rapid-fire cannons utilizing detachable breech-loading mechanisms.

More importantly, under the guidance of the hired artillery experts from Lisas, the artillerymen of Zerug had already woven a fire net from all angles, enough to annihilate any invading ships. Any target on the sea, once it entered the observation post's field of vision, would immediately become a target for precise and fierce artillery fire. At this moment, under the intense bombardment of the coastal artillery, the warships of the South Sea Fleet were being torn apart one after another, with explosions and flying flesh everywhere.

However, the numerical advantage was still irreversible in this situation. After paying a heavy price, the landing naval forces reached the fortress's walls. They surged towards the unrepaired, collapsed wreckage of the fortress, and without any respite, the attackers and defenders entered into hand-to-hand combat.

The Imperial sailors were in high spirits, but their hand-to-hand combat skills were inferior to the professional army of the enemy, and they did not have an advantage in the fighting. The defenders also quickly deployed defensive fire on the broken walls, especially the dense fire of the numerous scorpion crossbows imported from Lisas that could fire rapidly, which caused great casualties to the attackers.

The Imperial sailors were undoubtedly brave, but the breach in the wall was small, leaving many stranded outside. The terrain there was extremely flat, offering no obstacles to cover their advance. Under a hail of arrows, young sailors fell in droves, their bodies forever laid to rest on this foreign land.

Soon, as ladders and other equipment were delivered to the front lines, the situation improved. Sailors shouted and charged up the ladders to the fortress walls. Countless logs and stones rained down from the walls, knocking sailors off the ladders. Beside the ladders, officers continued to shout, "Charge! Charge!"

More sailors risked their lives to rush upwards…

Just as the two sides were locked in a tense stalemate, a deafening roar resounded, followed by a colossal fireball rising from within the fortress. The sheer volume of the sound and the intensity of the fireball silenced the chaotic battlefield instantly. All fighting ceased, as neither side's officers nor soldiers knew what had happened. Over a hundred thousand eyes stared in astonishment at the thick black smoke billowing into the sky.

A few unidentified gunners and a faulty cannon on an unnamed Nanyang Fleet warship had inadvertently altered the course of the battle—a shell, its trajectory completely distorted by a sudden barrel explosion after firing, inexplicably flew towards a corner of the fortress's main gun emplacement, which was originally outside its firing range—the fortress's temporary gunpowder depot!

In the massive explosion and flames, all buildings within a radius of several miles were destroyed, and enormous plumes of smoke and fire shot thousands of feet into the sky—the explosion destroyed the fortress's core gun emplacement, instantly killing almost all of the Xieluzhi artillerymen and the most important reserve force of the defending troops.

"This is a golden opportunity!"

On the distant flagship, Deng Shizhong was the first to realize the danger. He drew his sword and roared, "Where are the brothers of the Guard Battalion?"

Immediately, a group of valiant personal guards stood up beside him, shouting in unison, "Here!"

He yelled again, "Follow me!"

and personally commanded the flagship to charge towards the beachhead...

In the twilight of the setting sun, near a reef outside the Xieluzhi naval port, more than three hundred warships were ready to set sail. This was the secret anchorage of the Xieluzhi Combined Fleet. Inside the flagship's conference cabin, Admiral Yamamoto, the commander of the Combined Fleet, sat in the main seat in impeccable military uniform, with his generals standing on either side.

An officer dressed as a samurai, covered in battle dust and blood, rushed in and reported, "Reporting to the Admiral, a major incident has occurred on Kyuuri Island! Our gunpowder depot has been hit and exploded, and our reserves have been wiped out. The enemy's offensive is intensifying, and our forces are struggling to hold out for long!"

Yamamoto glanced at the samurai out of the corner of his eye and said calmly, "How much longer can the fortress hold out?"

The samurai hesitated, then quickly replied, "At most, one more day!"

"That's right..."

Yamamoto said coldly, "Let them continue to serve the Emperor! You can go and rest now."

The samurai pleaded in a trembling voice, "There are 20,000 brothers in the fortress! Admiral, you can't just stand by and watch them die!"

He cried out hoarsely, "Admiral, I beg you on behalf of the brothers on the island..."

As he spoke, he repeatedly kowtowed heavily. The generals sitting nearby looked at him with expressions of pity.

Yamamoto impatiently interrupted him, "Take him away!"

Two guards immediately came forward, grabbed the samurai, and dragged him away. The samurai struggled, cursing loudly, "You old bastard Yamamoto! You stood by and watched me die, you heartless wretch! You deserve to die a horrible death..."

The hall fell silent, filled with a chilling murderous aura.

Yamamoto, enraged, roared, "Kill him!"

"No!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when the samurai let out a desperate cry, violently breaking free from the guards' arms and rushing out the door. The guards at the door, armed with muskets, immediately opened fire. Amidst the gunfire, the samurai's body staggered and fell to the ground, muttering incoherently, "Don't kill me... let me go back to Kyushu... let me die with my brothers..." He

gradually lost his breath.

"Sigh..."

Yamamoto sighed, then ordered, "Prepare them properly. Bury them with the fallen soldiers on the island after Kyushu is recaptured!"

He then surveyed his generals, saying slowly, "He just said the island could hold out for at most a day. But in my opinion, they won't even last until tomorrow. Kyushu's fall is no later than tomorrow morning."

The generals stood silently in silence. He continued, "Therefore, tonight, all ships and crews should go to sleep early and get a good night's rest to recharge. Tomorrow at dawn, we will rise, make full preparations for battle, and set sail at Chenshi (7-9 AM)."

The generals responded in unison, "Yes, sir!" "

I estimate that the fleet will arrive near Qiuliu Island around noon. If the Yanhuang Nanyang Fleet is still in the open sea when we arrive, all ships should find hidden anchorages and rest and await orders. Anyone who goes into battle without authorization will be executed on the spot!"

The generals looked at each other in surprise and dared not speak.

Yamamoto continued, “If the enemy navy has already entered the port to rest and regroup by the time we arrive, then immediately take advantage of the southwest wind to launch oil-fire ships to blockade the port. After that, each ship should fire its cannons at will according to the pre-drawn firing data map of each berth in the port! Gentlemen, you must convey my words to every soldier, all 50,000 soldiers. Tell them not to worry about the gains or losses of Kyuuri Island. Our goal is to annihilate the enemy navy. As for the island itself, once we have control of the sea, it will be an isolated island. The enemy forces on it, like their Southeast Army, will be trapped like turtles in a jar. It will be easy to deal with them whenever we return!”

**********

...

A lieutenant said in a hoarse voice, "Admiral, I'm afraid more than half of the brothers on each ship have been killed or wounded."

"Hmm..."

Deng Shizhong said thoughtfully, "That's not what I'm worried about..."

The lieutenant pressed, "Then what are you worried about?"

"What I'm worried about is that we've been attacking Qiu Liu for almost a whole day now. Why hasn't the Xie Lu Zhi Allied Fleet come to our aid during this long time? Logically speaking, attacking from the rear while we're attacking the fortress would be their best opportunity, but they haven't come. What are they planning?"

The lieutenants were secretly alarmed and speechless. "So what do we do now?"

one of them asked.

"Continue to clear the fortress, and order all the naval forces still at sea to enter the harbor for rest and recuperation. Let's wait and see!"

Chapter Nine: The Endgame

Night fell, and a swing in a garden of the Royal Post Station was still swaying. Yi Rou sat on it blankly, counting the stars in the sky.

"Of course, you're my sister."

Her brother's words from that morning still seemed to echo in her ears, each time she thought of them causing a dull ache in her heart. "Sister... but I don't want to be just a sister forever..."

Yi Rou murmured softly, two barely noticeable tear tracks glistening faintly in the moonlight.

The swing bar suddenly swayed, startling Yi Rou, who quickly wiped away the tears from her face.

Turning her head, she saw a beautiful face with long red hair smiling at her from another swing next to her. "What's wrong? Something on your mind?"

"Shi... Shiori-nee-san... nothing..."

Yi Rou stammered, trying to hide her disappointment while changing the subject, "Was the morning alright?"

"Hmm..."

Shiori seemed to be savoring something, a look of relief on her face, "I've cleared things up, and I feel much better now, thank you."

"It's nothing..."

Yi Rou shook her head, concealing her envy, "I've seen it since I was little, brother... and you, sister, you both like each other."

"Uh..."

The girl's bluntness made Shiori's cheeks blush slightly, but she didn't forget her purpose. Suppressing her feelings of sentimentality and helplessness, she asked, "And what about you?"

"Me?"

Yi Rou was taken aback; the question caught her off guard. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying you're also blinded by your own feelings, but you're much happier than me."

"What?"

Yi Rou continued to pretend not to understand.

"How much of him is he to you as a brother? And how much is he to you as a longed-for lover? Have you thought about that?"

"We've been together since we were little. He's always treated me like a little sister, and I like him a lot too, but..."

Yi Rou hesitated. She couldn't very well tell him that because her mother was now her brother's woman, there was always an unbridgeable wall between her and her brother,

could she? "Have you ever tried to separate from him?"

"We've been together since we were little, I've never tried. I don't know how to say it."

"Then think about it, if he left your side and never came back, would you feel lost, in pain, and sad?"

"Lost? In pain? Sad? This is... what's wrong with me?"

Yi Rou tried to imagine it, and a bitter feeling instantly filled her little heart.

“Happiness is something you have to fight for, not something someone else can give you. You don’t understand because you’ve always been happy, you’ve always been loved and cared for by him.”

“I… am happy?”

Yi Rou’s mind conjured up her brother’s back, his smile, his care, his gentleness… everything. At this moment, a sweet feeling welled up in her heart. “But…” Suddenly,

she remembered something and was startled. Could it be that her sister Shiori was going to give her brother? “Sister Shiori, you… brother, he…”

She didn’t know how to express herself for a moment.

“Silly girl.”

Shiori affectionately stroked her hair. “Remember? When we were little, we made a pinky promise, the three of us would always be together.”

She smiled and extended her bent little finger to the little girl.

“Thank you…”

Shiori’s honesty put Yirou at ease. She excitedly reached out her hand, their little fingers hooking tightly together. “I will try my best, to be together forever.”

“Alright, go back now. He’ll worry if you keep staying out all night like this.”

“I’ve said everything I needed to say. Good luck…”

Watching Yirou’s departing figure, she silently offered her blessings…

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, a pigeon landed on her shoulder. She nimbly caught it, and the pigeon instantly transformed into a talisman in her hand. Turning it over to look at the contents, she was startled. Composing herself, she asked, “Sakura, are you there?”

“Miss…”

an almost identical voice replied. If it weren’t for the different content, it would have seemed like an echo. A veiled brown-haired girl emerged from a side room. “Something happened?”

“Yes.”

She frowned. “It’s very serious in the southwest. The Zhuge family is barely managing to keep things under control. I have to go there immediately. I’ll leave things here in your care.”

“Yes,”

the girl called Sakura replied. One of them removed her veil, revealing a face, figure, and hairstyle that were identical to Sima Fuyun's—the only difference being the color of her pupils and hair. She took out a talisman from her bosom, which transformed into wisps of green smoke between her fingers, instantly turning her pupils and hair red. From then on, apart from their clothing, the two girls in the courtyard looked exactly alike.

Sima Fuyun also took out a talisman, a teleportation talisman. Suddenly, she remembered something. "You heard what I said before, didn't you?"

"Huh?"

Xiaoying was startled, seemingly not understanding.

"Those words were also directed at you."

Sima Fuyun sighed and said, "Don't deny it. After all, there have been many times since we were little that it was actually you who was with him."

"I...I'm just your shadow, Miss..."

"No...you are my sister."

************

There were no lights in Zifang's room, yet an eerie glow emanated from it. The image in the crystal pillar on the table was blurry—although the magic array in the capital and surrounding area was designed for teleportation magic, it still interfered with magical communication to some extent.

"Sister Shera, am I being a mess?"

Zifang asked, somewhat troubled. The sound of her sister's disappointed voice echoing in her ears had been weighing heavily on her mind.

"Sigh..."

Lux sighed softly in the blurry image. "I knew this day would come. Love or sibling affection, no matter what it seems on the surface, at its core you can only choose one. The result will be complete possession or a respectful distance. Your decision will affect the happiness of both of you for life. You shouldn't be so selfish, only caring about your own fears."

"Am I... selfish?"

"Actually, selfishness isn't wrong. Who isn't selfish when it comes to love? But you've gone too far, possessing her feelings while refusing to acknowledge your own."

"I didn't mean to do this, I was just afraid..."

"Don't make excuses. Your fear stems from wanting to take without giving back."

Lux scoffed at his excuse. "Love requires giving. What have you given Yi Rou? Care?"

"I've always cared about her... and..."

"But your concern has always remained at the level of a brother-sister relationship. You don't have romantic feelings for her, at least not now, because that's not what she wants. Don't you really understand? That girl doesn't know how to express these things in words, but everything she's deliberately done around you since childhood, even her willful and capricious behavior, isn't it all in hopes that you care about her?"

"I..."

Zifang remained silent.

"Because of me, you think your relationship is just that of childhood sweethearts, but you haven't considered Yirou's feelings."

"But..."

Lux's words had already clarified everything, but the knot in Zifang's heart was still not completely untied.

"There are no buts... Our encounter back then was a joke of fate, an abnormal time and space. People living in normal time and space and with normal fate shouldn't have their hearts broken because of it. Think about it carefully, I hope you really understand."

With a deep sigh, the pillar of light on the crystal disappeared.

"Sister Shera doesn't care about that..."

Zifang felt a surge of restlessness in her heart, and her face flushed. He opened the door and stepped into the courtyard, hoping the cool evening breeze would cool him down, but the figure before him made him pause. "Yi Rou..."

"Brother..."

Yi Rou seemed startled as well, and the two siblings looked at each other silently .

"Brother, you really like Shiori-neechan, don't you?"

Yi Rou suddenly spoke, her words hitting the nail on the head regarding the core of their issue.

"..."

Zi Teng remained silent, tacitly agreeing. Yi Rou's question made him quite nervous.

"I don't care, really..."

Yi Rou gently gave her brother an answer that brought him peace of mind, "Mom met you first, eighteen years ago, I know, so I have no right to force anything."

His sister's answer touched Zi Teng, yet he felt a little amused and exasperated. More and more people knew about that miraculous experience, but he, the protagonist, was still completely unaware of the details.

"Then... what about me? How does brother feel about me?"

Yi Rou pressed, desperately wanting to know her brother's true feelings for her.

"I like you just the same, I like you too."

Zi Teng decided to stop hiding his feelings and stop worrying about anything else.

“What I mean is, brother likes Mom like his own woman, but… what do I mean to brother?”

Yi Rou pressed on.

“As…”

Zi Teng hesitated.

Yi Rou leaned closer to look at her brother’s face, an inexplicable impulse making her move even closer. Zi Teng’s scent and warmth made her feel cozy. “Is this the feeling of love?”

she asked herself.

After a long silence, Zi Teng seemed to have made up his mind: “Little girl, brother likes you very much! Not just like brother and sister. I’m so sorry for what I did before, I…”

Yi Rou pressed her hand to her brother’s mouth, then nestled into his arms. The delicate fragrance of her hair, like violets, made Zi Teng feel intoxicated. Yi Rou raised her blushing face, “Brother, carry me inside…”

It was an obvious hint and invitation. Zi Teng picked Yi Rou up like a bride and carried her step by step to the large bed in the room. The path wasn’t long, but for the two of them, it seemed exceptionally long, so long that it took them nearly ten years to complete it. Yi Rou's body trembled with excitement and unease, and Zi Teng seemed somewhat numb, completely unaware of the weight of the soft body in his arms.

Yi Rou was placed on the bed, and she shyly lay on her side, avoiding her brother's gaze. Zi Teng quietly watched her lying on the bed. Although her face still gave off a mischievous, girlish feeling, her feminine features were quite well-developed, making her a shapely woman with a prominent bust and buttocks.

Taking advantage of Yi Rou's subconscious avoidance, he untied the straps of her bodice, then grabbed one end of the strap with one hand and pulled her somewhat stiff body back to a lying position with the other. The bodice was pulled open halfway, revealing half of her delicate and full breast.

"Ah..."

Yi Rou's body suddenly trembled, and she grabbed her brother's hand. Zi Teng thought she was subconsciously resisting, but unexpectedly, she placed his hand on her exposed breast. "It's...not as big as Mom's...but...it's the type...you like, right?"

Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

“It’s beautiful…”

Zifang replied with a smile, gently stroking her while using her other hand to completely remove the corset from her sister’s body. He savored the feeling in his hands—Yirou’s body clearly inherited the excellent bloodline from her mother; her breasts were as full and elastic as Shera’s, though not quite as extremely voluptuous. The smooth touch and the slight resistance against his hand’s pressure were still captivating.

“Mmm… Brother…”

He only snapped out of his reverie when his sister let out a mesmerizing moan. His hands continued downwards, gliding over his sister’s flat stomach, then lifting one of her legs, kissing her from under her skirt, little by little, until he reached her calf. One hand then moved in sync with his lips, slowly removing her boots. He repeated the process with her other leg, and soon Yirou’s two delicate, adorable feet were completely free.

Next came the final line of defense. Her skirt and panties were slowly pulled down over her legs. Yi Rou awkwardly closed her legs, but her slight resistance wasn't enough to stop Zi Teng from completely undressing her.

After tossing the skirt and panties aside, Zi Teng began to disarm herself, only to find Yi Rou quietly closing her eyes, avoiding looking at her gradually exposed body. If you looked closely, you could see her body seemed to be trembling slightly. Even though she usually seemed carefree, at this moment she became like a frightened little bird, a virgin.

Seemingly unable to resist her curiosity, Yi Rou cautiously opened her eyes a crack, then suddenly widened them, staring intently at the thing throbbing between her brother's legs. "So big..."

Yi Rou felt her face burning.

Zi Teng smiled gently, reaching out to gently lift his sister's cheek, pressing his lips to her small mouth, then slipping his tongue into her mouth, forcefully prying open her tightly closed teeth, capturing her soft tongue.

"Mmm... ooh..."

Yi Rou responded awkwardly, her arms timidly wrapping around her brother's back, resting on his shoulders.

Leaving his sister's lips, Zi Teng continued to kiss downwards, his lips lightly touching her neck, behind her ears, collarbone, armpits, breasts, abdomen, back, slender waist, buttocks, thighs, ankles, toes... Every time his lips touched her delicate skin, her body trembled slightly as if electrocuted.

Returning to his sister's upper body, Zifeng frowned. Despite her panting, Yirou's body remained stiff. Entering her directly like this would likely cause her unbearable pain.

He leaned down again, gently kissing Yirou's sensitive earlobe. One hand began to tenderly caress one of her breasts, using the spaces between his fingers to gently tease and turn her pink nipple. The stubborn little mound of flesh subtly changed shape under the pressure of his hand.

Simultaneously, his other hand explored between Yirou's legs, gradually teasing her sensitive vulva, allowing the throbbing pleasure to help relax her tense body.

Yirou's untouched vulva was exceptionally sensitive; her body involuntarily twisted and arched back with Zifeng's movements, her inner thighs gradually becoming stained with the fluid that had quietly seeped from her vulva, making her chestnut-colored pubic hair glisten.

Feeling his fingers lubricated by the liquid, Zifeng slowly inserted one finger into Yirou's honeypot.

"Ah... um..."

The sudden attack caused a surge of stimulation and fear, bringing Yirou to a sudden climax. The amount of fluid gushing from her honeypot increased dramatically, and her previously tense body suddenly went limp. "It feels like... flying..."

Yirou gasped, somewhat dazed.

"This is just the beginning,"

Zifeng smiled, gently parting his sister's legs and rubbing his penis between them, causing her body, especially sensitive after her climax, to tremble. Soon, his penis was completely lubricated by Yirou's fluid.

Zifeng thrust forward forcefully, and the tip of his penis plunged into his sister's narrow honeypot. He felt a strong sense of pressure instantly, and soon he hit a barrier.

"Ah! It hurts..."

Stimulated by the initial pain, Yirou reflexively tried to pull away, but Zifeng grabbed her waist and thwarted her attempt.

“If you keep going like this, your brother can’t continue.”

“But it really hurts!”

Yi Rou’s eyes were already brimming with tears.

Seeing his sister almost crying, Zi Teng felt a pang of pity, but at this stage, he couldn’t stop; a short, sharp pain was better than a long, drawn-out one. He simply thrust forward again, and the previous obstacle became history…

“Mmm… ooh…”

Yi Rou groaned through gritted teeth, her hands straddling her brother’s body, her nails leaving bright red scratches on his back. The walls of her vagina contracted strongly, as if trying to expel the intruder, but the hard penis stubbornly continued to advance, soon fully penetrating the narrow vagina, the siblings’ lower bodies completely joined together.

“Little girl… brother’s all inside…”

Zi Teng lowered his head and kissed his sister’s forehead, speaking softly.

“So, Rou’er is brother’s woman now?”

Yi Rou asked, somewhat confused.

“Mmm…”

Zi Teng nodded, temporarily stopping his movements to accommodate his sister’s first pain. He could clearly feel the strong, powerful pulse unique to young flesh pulsating from the walls of his sister's tightly wrapped penis. Looking up, he saw a happy smile on his sister's face.

"Rou'er is yours now..."

Yi Rou happily closed her big eyes, seemingly sensing something. After a while, the girl opened her slightly dazed eyes, "Hmm... and Rou'er can feel... your... throbbing inside me... it feels so good..."

"Is everything alright?"

Zi Teng was a little surprised. He suddenly remembered what Xiahou Qin had told him about the female body. "Women are very different the first time. Most will feel pain for a long time, but a few can adapt quickly..."

It seemed that this little girl belonged to the latter.

"Hmm..."

Yi Rou nodded, and it didn't seem like she was faking it.

So, Zi Teng slowly moved his waist and began to thrust. Although there was double lubrication from the vaginal fluid and virgin blood, he still felt a little unable to move due to the tight contractions of Yi Rou's narrow honey hole. The pleasure of his penis being pressed and rubbed spread throughout his body via his spine and neural pathways, making his breathing gradually quicken.

"Mmm... Brother..."

Yi Rou beneath him was clearly enjoying herself, moaning softly. With each thrust of Zi Teng, her sensitive body trembled.

Seeing that she seemed to be completely in the mood, Zi Teng gradually increased the speed and intensity of his movements.

"Mmm... Ah..."

Yi Rou's face was flushed, her brows slightly furrowed, trying to adapt to her brother's increasingly rough movements. At the same time, with the further stimulation of his penis, the inside of her vagina began to heat up even more, the walls of her vagina writhing more violently, making Zi Teng feel as if countless tiny mouths were sucking inside. He couldn't help but lift his sister's legs and thrust even more violently. Yi Rou's thighs were long and full, fleshy yet elastic, making him feel like he couldn't put them down.

"Ooh... Brother..."

Yi Rou called out sweetly, her beautiful moans as enchanting as an elven song.

Zifeng was also panting, their voices drowning out the sounds of their bodies colliding.

Zifeng leaned down, kissing and licking his sister's forehead, nose, cheeks, neck, and everything he could reach, finally slipping his tongue into her mouth.

"Mmm... ooh..."

Yirou responded passionately, their lips pressed tightly together. After a long while, their lips parted, a glistening line still connecting their separated mouths.

"Little girl... you're so sweet..."

Zifeng gasped.

"Mmm... ah... brother..."

Yirou let out a series of trembling, rapid moans, her body suddenly tensing.

"Ah... brother..."

Yirou cried out to her beloved in the throes of orgasm, her head thrown back, while the walls of her vagina began to contract violently, almost grinding, as if there was no room left in her vagina, the walls and clitoris sucking and writhing with all their might.

Under such a powerful final counterattack, Zi Teng felt waves of tingling sensations, stronger and stronger. He unconsciously increased the movement of his waist to the limit, and the sound of their lower bodies colliding became louder and more rapid.

"Ugh... little girl... when was your last period?"

Under waves of intense pleasure, Zifeng was finally overwhelmed. He suddenly remembered something important and asked breathlessly.

"Hmm... brother... ah... brother..."

But Yirou, whose reason had been overwhelmed by the climax, was clearly unable to answer him.

The ejaculation was already imminent. Helplessly, he pulled his penis back sharply. The folds of her contracting flesh gripped his penis painfully. Almost the instant his penis left his sister's body, the white fluid sprayed onto her lower abdomen, chest, inner thighs, and around her vulva—everywhere...

Zifeng, panting heavily after ejaculating, rolled over and lay down beside his sister. Yirou was also panting, her full breasts swaying with her rising and falling chest, covered in the freshly spilled semen, creating an indescribably lewd scene.

After a while, Yi Rou seemed to have caught her breath. She reached out and touched a little of the semen on her body. "Is this what makes a girl pregnant?"

She licked it with her tongue. "It tastes weird."

Zi Teng got up and got a towel. He carefully wiped the semen and blood off his sister's body. After putting down the towel, he seemed to think of something. "Should we change the sheets?"

"Hmm..."

Yi Rou shook her head. "This is proof that Rou'er is your woman. Tonight, you will hold Rou'er and sleep on these sheets."

"Still calling me brother..."

Zi Teng smiled and hugged his sister. He pulled the blanket over her. "Be good and call me husband."

"No...no!"

Yi Rou stuck out her tongue and said, enunciating each word clearly. Then she burrowed into her brother's arms. "Brother! Brother! Brother! Rou'er wants to call you brother..." ... Chapter
10:

Mindset

Early morning, the rising sun shone on the dilapidated Qiu Liu Island fortress. After a day and night of bloody battle, the place was deathly silent. The defenders fought to the last man, while the attackers, exhausted and suffering heavy casualties from their desperate resistance, fell into a deep sleep amidst the rubble and bloodstains, looking no different from the corpses beside them.

Deng Shizhong, dragging his heavy steps, walked alone to the city wall, unfolded the imperial edict in his hand, and read it again. His body trembled with anger and agitation. He roared and tore the edict to pieces, knelt on the cannon platform, and kowtowed three times towards the northwest, facing the imperial capital: "Your Majesty! Do you want me to die for my country?"

It was the emperor's reply to his memorial, sent overnight, stating the navy's heavy losses and requesting the emperor to send the Beiyang Fleet to provide support, allowing his troops a respite and recovery. The content was simple: Denied. The reason given was that the Beiyang Fleet bore the heavy responsibility of protecting the vast sea frontier, especially the maritime gateway to the capital, and could not be moved lightly.

The navy abandoning the struggle for sea control and retreating to defend the capital's gateway—what kind of strategy was this? It remained unknown. The truth is, several hours later, the suddenly arriving Xieluzhi Allied Fleet blockaded the port with fire ships. The Nanyang Fleet was hit by accurate artillery fire, but due to the thick smoke, it was unable to effectively retaliate. In the final moments, Deng Shizhong, in a desperate gamble, led his remaining troops, braving enemy fire, and risked their lives to break through the inferno in a suicidal boarding attack, but failed to turn the tide.

In the end, in despair, Deng Shizhong threw himself into the sea and committed suicide—a tragedy shared by all the generals of this empire: in the eyes of their emperor, frontline officers could fail, but they could not fail in a way that disgraced the Celestial Empire, much less live after defeat. Their only choice was death, so that their families would not be implicated.

The magnificent and solemn Imperial Council Hall stands majestically in the center of the imperial city. The fiery sun bathes the roof of the hall in golden light. The carved beams and painted rafters, the flying eaves and brackets, the intricate details, the interconnected layers, make this core hall of the imperial city appear even more magnificent and imposing.

As noon approached, below the white marble steps, civil and military officials in their finest imperial attire stood in two rows, wisteria vines mingling among the ranks of military officers, all quietly awaiting the summons.

"Dong, dong, dong," the long, deep tones of a bell beside the main hall's entrance rang out on the steps. This was followed by the earth-shattering, resounding low twang of a long horn. With the chimes and gongs, ceremonial music began to play, and a Yellow Gate Attendant strode out of the hall, announcing in a drawn-out voice, "The grand celebration banquet of the prosperous dynasty begins! Civil and military officials, enter the hall in order!"

Led by ministers such as Xiang Lang and Cao Chun, the officials lifted their purple robes, ascended the stone steps, and slowly made their way to the main hall. Inside, the powerful and resounding ceremonial music of the Celestial Empire echoed. The officials filed in, took their seats according to the banquet's arrangement, and faced the Emperor.

Amidst the resounding chimes of bells and chimes, Long Zhengtian, supported by eunuchs, slowly ascended the dragon throne and sat upon it. It was clear he was in high spirits; beneath his solemn expression, his joy was undeniable.

The assembled officials knelt and chanted in unison, "Your Majesty, we congratulate you on the unification of the four seas, the submission of all barbarians, and the eternal prosperity of your imperial enterprise! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live

the Emperor!" A smile appeared on Long Zhengtian's face: "Rise, my ministers."

The officials rose.

Long Zhengtian said, "Since my ascension to the throne thirty-six years ago, I have been blessed by Heaven, and the land has been at peace, the world at peace..."

Hearing this, Zi Teng and Li Xingyu, seated next to him, exchanged a glance, both revealing sarcastic smiles. Looking at Sima Fuyun, seated opposite them among the civil officials, she also shook her head slightly. The Ninth Princess, sitting beside the main seat, did the same. As for the other officials, although they all wore smiles on their faces, who knew what they were truly laughing at?

"Only the barbarian islanders, defying the king's rule, recklessly wage war. However, thanks to the tireless efforts of the court officials and the selfless dedication of the loyal ministers, we have been able to decisively defeat the enemy. This is truly a blessing for me and for the world!"

Long Zhengtian continued speaking, oblivious to the reactions of the crowd.

The ministers chorused, "Thanks to the Emperor's might, it is truly a testament to His Majesty's civil and military prowess! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Of course, how much of this was genuine was unknown.

Long Zhengtian smiled and said, "Today, we celebrate this victory at the front, a truly joyous occasion. I am deeply gratified, and thus this grand banquet is held to reward the military achievements and to share this joy with the entire world!"

The ministers knelt again, shouting "Long live the Emperor! "

Long Zhengtian, as per protocol, offered seats, and the master of ceremonies announced, "Gentlemen, rise and take your seats!"

The ministers rose and took their seats.

Long Zhengtian then commanded, "Serve the meal!"

At his command, music filled the air, and palace maids filed in, bringing forth a continuous stream of prepared delicacies and wines.

Long Zhengtian raised his wine cup and smiled, "This first cup is a toast to the soldiers who fought valiantly on the front lines, to Admiral Deng Shizhong of the Southern Ocean Fleet, and Governor-General Hu Zongxian of the Five Southeastern Provinces! And to all my beloved ministers present!"

The ministers raised their cups in unison, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Long Zhengtian raised his cup to his lips and drank it all in one gulp. The ministers also drank their cups in one go.

Long Zhengtian raised his second cup, "This second cup is a toast to all of you, a shared encouragement for our future, a prayer for national peace and prosperity, and a flourishing dynasty!" He

then drank his wine in one gulp. The ministers did as he was told.

Long Zhengtian pressed down on his third cup, smiling, "This third cup…"

His gaze swept over the ministers.

The ministers watched him silently. Long Zhengtian laughed, "Once the news of victory arrives from the front, we will drink this cup together!"

The ministers chuckled, some knowingly, some reluctantly, and the atmosphere immediately relaxed. They whispered and laughed amongst themselves. Only Zi Teng smiled silently, seemingly lost in thought.

"What is Brother Zi thinking about?"

Li Xingyu asked softly from beside him.

"I was wondering what kind of interesting expression His Majesty the Emperor would have when he received the 'good news'?"

Zi Teng whispered in her ear.

The overly intimate gesture made Li Xingyu's heart race. She instinctively looked away, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. Calming herself

, she asked softly, "Brother Zi, do you mean..."

"I don't mean anything special,"

Zi Teng said, stopping short of abruptly, though a flutter of excitement stirred within her—the earlier action, though unintentional, had been undeniably alluring with its fragrance. Suddenly, he felt a strange gaze fixed on him. Looking up, he met Sima Fuyun's red pupils. Feeling guilty, he scratched his head and gave an awkward, silly smile.

Just then, a loud announcement came from outside the hall: "Your Majesty, an urgent report from six hundred li southeast is now outside the hall!"

The hall fell silent. Long Zhengtian's face broke into a smile: "The good news has arrived! Summon it!"

The Yellow Gate Attendant rushed into the hall, holding the memorial high with both hands. A eunuch took the memorial and quickly walked to the dragon throne, presenting it to Long Zhengtian. Long Zhengtian opened the memorial. In an instant, all eyes were focused on his face. Zi Teng looked at him with a half-smile; Li Xingyu looked at him thoughtfully; Sima Fuyun quietly and coldly observed him…

Long Zhengtian quickly glanced at the memorial, and the smile on his face vanished instantly.

Zi Teng took a deep breath, as if she had expected this, and exchanged glances with Li Xingyu beside her and Sima Fuyun opposite her. The three of them shook their heads in unison. However, no one noticed their actions, except for Long Qianyu, whose wine cup trembled slightly as she gripped it.

Long Zhengtian's expression changed completely. The corners of his mouth trembled slightly, his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, and his hands shook more and more violently, gradually becoming uncontrollable…

“Crack!”

A crisp sound rang out in the silence as the memorial fell to the ground.

The officials gasped and stood up. For a moment, the hall was so quiet that one could hear a single breath.

Long Zhengtian's facial muscles twitched in various ways, seemingly both crying and laughing—an expression that was simply indescribable. Suddenly, he reached out and gripped the wine cup in front of him tightly, as if grasping at a lifeline; it was clear he was desperately trying to suppress his emotions. His hand trembled more and more violently, until the wine spilled onto his hand.

The expressions on the ministers' faces shifted from worry to fear, and then to panic. They had never seen this arrogant emperor with such an expression. The hall was eerily quiet; even breathing seemed to have stopped.

Suddenly, Long Zhengtian burst into laughter, a laugh like the cry of an owl in the dead of night—a sound that was both mournful and trembling, terrifying, causing the ministers' bodies to involuntarily tremble the moment the laughter erupted.

When all eyes turned to Long Zhengtian once more, the ministers were astonished to find that the gloom on his face had vanished, replaced by a joyful expression. He raised his wine cup and declared loudly, "This third cup is a toast to the soldiers who fell on the front lines!"

The ministers were stunned, staring at the emperor's face and the wine cup in his hand. Those ministers who were usually adept at interpreting the emperor's intentions seemed to understand—the emperor had played a joke on them. The atmosphere in the hall instantly lightened. But was that really the case?

Long Zhengtian raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp.

The ministers let out a long sigh of relief, expressed their gratitude, and then also raised their cups and drank. At this moment, the hall was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation again, except for a few people: Zi Teng, Sima Fuyun, Li Xingyu, Long Qianyu, Xiang Lang… They silently watched Long Zhengtian.

Long Zhengtian, his face beaming with smiles, put down his wine cup and said, "Although most of the soldiers of the Nanyang Fleet perished this time, we captured Kyushu Island. It's like the evil tyrant burned our beards, but we cut off their arms. Beards can grow back at any time, but arms can't."

The ministers shouted "Long live the Emperor!" but their hearts were filled with mixed feelings. Everyone was a shrewd man, and from the Emperor's words, they had roughly pieced together the contents of the memorial: the Nanyang Fleet was almost completely wiped out, but the remnants still controlled Kyushu Island.

But in any case, tens of thousands of soldiers had perished because of the Emperor's willfulness and arrogance, yet he could speak of it so lightly for the sake of his own face. Although no one dared to say it outright, how could one not feel a chill in their hearts?

Zi Teng suddenly felt a tremor beside her and looked over to see Li Xingyu's face uncertain, his wine cup trembling violently. Zi Teng wasn't surprised. Unlike most of the court officials here, Li Xingyu, like herself, was a frontline commander. The bond between generals and soldiers was something the Grand Secretaries couldn't understand. She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but Zi Teng quickly pressed her shoulder down, and she finally fell silent, only looking at Zi Teng with slightly moist eyes. Zi Teng read anger, helplessness, and incomprehension in her eyes.

Yes… Zi Teng's heart also ached. If no one stood up to say something at this moment, how could they face the white bones at the bottom of the sea? But, facing the Emperor, he obviously couldn't be too blunt or rude…

"But…"

After a moment of thought, he spoke, seemingly to himself, "What if the cold wind blows when my beard hasn't fully grown?"

The hall immediately fell silent. Everyone looked at him in surprise, then turned their gaze to Long Zhengtian.

His Majesty the Emperor's face darkened upon hearing this, but he didn't lash out, not because of his magnanimity, but because he wasn't confused. He understood perfectly well that although Zi Teng's words were veiled and sharp, they represented the true sentiments of everyone in the hall. After the Zhang Taiyue incident, the court officials were already hesitant to speak out. If he punished Zi Teng now, who would dare to speak the truth in the future?

Long Zhengtian forced a smile again, put down his wine cup, and said, "My lords, please enjoy yourselves. I am not a strong drinker and will go to rest for a while."

The officials rose and sang, "Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty!"

Long Zhengtian stood up and walked towards the rear hall, but tripped and swayed. A eunuch beside him immediately steadied him. The group walked quickly and disappeared outside the door.

Long Qianyu slowly put down her wine cup, her hands trembling slightly. She stood up, her body seemingly trembling as well. She walked to Zi Teng's seat and, under the astonished gazes of the officials, respectfully bowed: "On behalf of the fallen soldiers, I thank you."

After speaking, she also quickly walked towards the rear hall.

The main hall remained eerily quiet. Zi Teng noticed that everyone was looking at her, and most of them, even the officials from the Xiang Party and Xiang Lang himself, looked at her with admiration and approval.

In the inner palace, Long Zhengtian was stamping his feet in anger, muttering something under his breath.

Long Qianyu rushed over: "Father..."

Long Zhengtian interrupted her angrily: "You heard it all, didn't you? That arrogant Zi Teng looks down on me from the bottom of her heart! Humph!"

He gritted his teeth, "It's utterly hateful! I can't help but be furious! I'm so angry I can't sit still."

Long Qianyu didn't defend Zi Teng; she simply asked in a trembling voice, "May I ask Father if Zi Teng is right?"

Long Zhengtian was stunned for a moment, then stamped his foot in anger, "...But...but he's gone too far!"

Long Qianyu explained, "Honest advice is hard to swallow."

"Can't he offer honest advice that isn't hard to hear? Couldn't he just submit a memorial instead of showing off in public and embarrassing me?"

Long Qianyu breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the most dangerous moment had passed. She quickly nodded and said, "Your Majesty's opinion is wise. Grand Secretary Xiang's assessment of Zifeng is very reasonable. He's arrogant, both in his heart and on his face. So, if he's going to speak, he'll show off. He's just being sarcastic! But such arrogant people are often those with great abilities!"

Seeing that Long Zhengtian's temper had calmed down a bit, she continued, "Father, I suspect that Zifeng hasn't finished speaking. He might be secretly harboring a brilliant plan to resolve the mess in the southeast."

Long Zhengtian was startled and asked urgently, "What brilliant plan?"

"You'll have to ask him yourself."

Long Zhengtian said, "Alright! Go ask him for me, but do it quietly. If he doesn't have a brilliant plan, then he's committing treason, he's a traitor. At that point, even if he has ten thousand heads, it won't be enough for me to chop them off!"

**********

Night fell, and several carriages stopped in front of the gates of the royal post station—Long Zhengtian, as if in a fit of pique, had kept his officials waiting until nightfall.

Zifeng stepped down from the carriage somewhat uneasily. The emperor still hadn't appeared, nor had he summoned her alone. This left him somewhat at a loss, having been holding back his trump card—he had no chance to play it. Had he made a mistake? Was the emperor really that confused? He felt a chill run down his spine.

Looking up, Zifang quickly realized the trouble was far from over. At the doorway, Shiori and Li Xingyu, who had alighted from the carriage at the same time as him, were facing each other. Shiori's eyes were filled with wariness, while Li Xingyu's expression was more of amusement.

"Sima Fuyun" stared at the woman opposite her, who was almost a head taller than her. A flicker of jealousy made her desperately try to find flaws in her, or at least things that made her unworthy of the man in her heart. But the answer seemed to be none. Except for height—by Eastern aesthetic standards, Li Xingyu's height wasn't exactly an advantage, but that was all.

Then, noticing the woman's feminine features, her heart suddenly sank: if her own breasts were a standard, well-proportioned size, hers were definitely voluptuous, and most importantly, all signs indicated that the man in her heart preferred a fuller figure.

Li Xingyu also looked at the red-haired girl opposite her. However, unlike the woman who had misunderstood, she was definitely not jealous. She couldn't say she liked or disliked Zi Teng; at most, she felt a slight fondness. At this moment, she was more curious—this renowned goddess could actually have such a jealous, girlish side.

Observing with interest the increasingly unpleasant expression on his face after he looked at her chest, she roughly knew the reason. Judging from Zi Teng's behavior in her courtyard, he seemed to prefer fuller-figured women, and in this respect, she had an overwhelming advantage over this Princess of Lingnan. Thinking of this, perhaps out of mischief, she deliberately puffed out her chest. Seeing the

obvious provocation, "Sima Fuyun's" face paled slightly. Suddenly noticing Zi Teng beside her, she seemed to immediately have a way to retaliate. She suddenly stomped her foot, pretending to twist her ankle, her body about to collapse. Zi Teng was startled and quickly stepped forward to support her. With her arm around Zi Teng's shoulder, she raised her eyebrows in response.

Li Xingyu smiled knowingly, then looked at Zifeng's bewildered face and decided to stop joking. He shrugged, made a nonchalant expression, and went through the door alone.

"Is your foot alright?"

Although he was pretty sure she was faking it, Zifeng couldn't help but ask. "Should I carry you?"

"Ah...I..."

Shiori blushed. "No need...I'm fine, really..."

she said, running through the gate as if fleeing.

Zifeng shook his head and strolled in as well. The situation had left him somewhat bewildered, but not entirely unexpected. As a child, Shiori had often displayed this willful, girlish side. So much so that he often felt she had a dual personality—usually dignified and gentle like a fairy, but sometimes somewhat like Yirou. Just

as Zifeng stepped through the gate, three or four guards rushed out and, before he could react, were abruptly pushed into a small blue sedan chair. The curtain fell, and the door closed. The guards quickly carried the sedan chair away.

Inside, Zifeng was puzzled but not afraid. If the emperor were to take his anger out on him and want to kill him, he would surely execute him openly and justly. Conversely, if he were to disappear without a trace, everyone in the court would know it was related to the emperor, and given his pride, he certainly wouldn't resort to such a tactic. So, it seems to be a secret summons? Then why wait until he returns? Why not just put him in a sedan chair in the palace?

The blue cloth sedan chair was carried into a heavily guarded courtyard, across a courtyard filled with imperial guards, into the main house, and then continued further in… The blue cloth sedan chair was carried until it reached a secret room before stopping. The imperial guards opened the sedan chair door, helped Zi Teng out, and silently withdrew. Zi Teng stood still and looked around. He saw the Ninth Princess, Long Qianyu, sitting in a grand chair, the two of them very close!

Zi Teng hurriedly bowed: “Your subject greets Your Highness!”

Long Qianyu said in a deep voice: “I apologize, Young Master Zi, for suddenly inviting you here… Please rise… Please sit down.”

Zi Teng rose and sat down, remaining silent, only looking at the other person thoughtfully.

"Young Master Zi, it's just the two of us here. The walls are soundproof, so your words will only reach my ears. Now, can we speak what we can't say in court?"

"What does the princess mean? I don't understand." Zi Teng

thought for a moment, then continued to feign ignorance.

"Sigh..."

Long Qianyu sighed, "I didn't expect Father to have made it so that no one dares to speak their mind? It seems the day of Yanhuang's demise is not far off."

"Your Highness."

Her words startled Zi Teng, "Even if you are a member of the royal family, if these treasonous words were to get out, you would probably lose your head."

"I would lose my head..."

Long Qianyu gave a bitter smile, "I've even told you that I'd lose my head, and you still won't reveal what's in your heart?"

"..."

Zi Teng fell silent again, silently looking at the woman before her, who was perhaps the most powerful woman in the Yanhuang Empire. Her jet-black hair was coiled on top of her head, secured by two thin gold plates, with a pearl-encrusted hairpin passing through it. Her bangs, longer than her face, were parted into two crescent shapes, adorning either side of her oval face.

Her skin was flawless, her eyebrows delicately arched, and her eyelashes long and curved. She wore a luxurious silk court dress, the low-cut and form-fitting design highlighting every alluring feature. Everything about her seemed to embody the true meaning of classical beauty.

However, all the splendor and beauty could not conceal the endless weariness and helplessness in her bloodshot eyes. The moment their eyes met, Zi Teng felt as if he were seeing himself. He was certain that this was a kindred spirit with whom he could communicate heart to heart…

“Your Highness…”

Zi Teng sighed and said, “Building an army, especially a navy, is definitely not as simple as your father said, like growing a beard. Admittedly, our Yanhuang is a vast and resource-rich land, and with the manpower and resources of the world, rebuilding hundreds of warships in a short time is not difficult at all. But, what about the manpower?”

“Manpower?”

Long Qianyu seemed to be deep in thought.

"Yes, people. The losses in the naval battle weren't just ships, but also sailors, crew members, warship commanders, and gunners. Many of these were experienced veterans, the army's greatest asset, and they can't be easily recovered. After this battle, the South Sea Fleet's human resources are depleted. Let me do the math for you if you want to recover. To recruit nearly 100,000 personnel of various kinds, especially the technical personnel, and to reorganize them into an army, it would take at least a year. To rigorously train them to have the initial ability to fight the combined fleet of the Yaluzhi, it would take at least three years. The Yaluzhi people won't give us that much time, and the Southeast Army, having lost its reinforcements and supplies, can't hold out for that long either."

"Then what should we do?"

"I have a terrifyingly good idea, a mediocre idea that won't work, and a terrible idea that might work. Which one would Your Highness like to hear first?"

"Oh... let's start with the good one..."

Long Qianyu said hesitantly.

"Forget everything else. Before they completely blockade the high seas, quickly withdraw the expeditionary force..."

Seeing Long Qianyu's wide-open mouth, Zifeng smiled helplessly: "I told you it was terrifying, didn't I? Even you have this expression. Do you think I dare tell your father?"

"As for the mediocre idea, it's to immediately send the Beiyang Fleet south to maintain control of the South China Sea, but that's absolutely impossible. Your father doesn't have the courage, and he can't bring himself to bear the consequences, can he?"

Long Qianyu lowered her head and remained silent, which was considered an admission. She knew very well what the consequences would be, and her father knew very well too: the vast sea frontier, especially the maritime gateways of the capital region, would be wide open, and the Xieluzhi Allied Fleet could recklessly sail north to harass the coast. The cannonballs of those lowly island barbarians falling on the land near the capital of the Celestial Empire was a far more unacceptable humiliation for her father, who valued "face above all else," than the complete annihilation of the expeditionary force. "And what about the last one?"

she asked, clinging to her last hope.

"To be reborn from the ashes..."

Zi Teng paused for a moment, then spoke almost word by word, "Right now, the Southeast Army's supplies are neither insufficient nor sufficient. Insufficient because they cannot sustain a long campaign; sufficient because they can still launch one or two major battles. Therefore, rather than waiting to be worn down, we should gamble everything and crush the enemy's main force at all costs. Only then will we have a glimmer of hope."

"But... can we win?"

"I don't know, Your Highness. No one in this world can guarantee the outcome of a war before it even begins. If someone could, they would be a fraud. Let me be frank with you, doing this gives us at least a 50% chance of victory, but if we don't, the Southeast Army will only be slowly worn down."

"And what if we win? Even if we win, the Southeast Army will probably be half-paralyzed. Then..."

Looking into Zi Teng's eyes, Long Qianyu's voice trailed off. After a moment, she seemed to understand, "You want to seek peace through war?"

Zi Teng nodded. "Right now, this is probably the only way."

“But…you must know how much Father Emperor dislikes those who advocate peace. The example of Lord Zhang is right there.”

“Your Highness…to be frank, His Majesty is incredibly proud, and militarily incompetent.”

Seeing Long Qianyu’s somewhat embarrassed expression, Zifeng paused. “But he’s not foolish. He understands the current situation as well as you and I do. He knows war is impossible, but he’s too proud to negotiate. Right now, the Xieluzhi people have the advantage, and to him, negotiating is practically begging for peace, a disgrace. But if the Southeast Army can achieve a major victory, severely crippling the Xieluzhi people’s main force and turning the tide, then the negotiations will become a grant of peace. The Celestial Empire’s dignity will be preserved, and his power and face will be preserved as well. Naturally, he won’t be too resistant.”

Long Qianyu nodded in agreement, then sighed, “Lord Zhang is truly remarkable. It’s precisely at times like these that his foresight, loyalty, and courage become even more admirable.”

"Yes..."

Zi Teng sighed, "Since ancient times, whenever a nation is weak, a powerful enemy is pressing in, and the land is shattered, those who advocate war are the most adept at winning popular support. Even if they are defeated and their country falls, they can

still be remembered for eternity; those who advocate peace, though considering the long-term interests of the nation, are always despised and framed, and their infamy lasts for ten thousand years..." After a long silence, he finally spoke, "Your Highness, forgive my bad luck, but I'm afraid Lord Zhang is in grave danger this time. Now that the navy has been defeated, if His Majesty pardons him, it's tantamount to admitting his own fault. Given his willingness to do anything for face, he will surely..."

Suddenly, he saw Long Qianyu's slightly trembling shoulders and tearful eyes, and he choked up. After a long while, he spoke again, "Could it be..." "

Unfortunately, Young Master Zi's words have come true. Father has already bestowed 'auspicious wine' upon Lord Zhang..." ...

In the early morning, Zi Teng habitually got up early. As he moved his hand, he touched a pink and tender leg. Looking down, he saw that Yi Rou had fallen over, one little foot resting on his shoulder.

"This girl... how come she's kicking and punching even in her sleep?"

Zi Teng chuckled and gently turned her over.

"Mmm..."

Seemingly sensing her brother's body temperature, Yi Rou moved slightly, snuggling closer to Zi Teng, making drowsy noises.

"So cute..."

Watching his sister's buttocks become more prominent with her movements, Zi Teng couldn't resist secretly touching them, gently pinching the soft flesh, finding the feel exceptionally pleasant.

"Mmm... bad... annoying..."

In her drowsy state, Yi Rou reached out and unconsciously brushed against her buttocks, seemingly trying to shoo away the mischievous hand.

Zi Teng's hand, however, slid down to her crotch, and the sensation surprised him—Yi Rou's genitals showed no signs of redness or swelling, her skin as smooth as a baby's.

"Mmm... I hate it..."

Touching her most sensitive spot, Yi Rou began to struggle in his arms, groggily opening her eyes. "Brother, really, so lewd first thing in the morning..."

the little girl complained.

"Hehe..."

Zi Teng chuckled mischievously, his hands not stopping. "Good morning, my little vixen..."

he said, leaning in to kiss his sister's pouting lips. While sucking the fluid from his sister's mouth, Zi Teng's hands didn't stop, his fingertips slowly probing into the pink crevice. Unexpectedly, even after a night of penetration, the honeyed orifice remained as tight as a virgin's, almost impossible to enter.

His fingers struggled to move little by little against the strong resistance of the flesh. "Ugh..."

Yi Rou's mouth was covered by the kiss, preventing her from making a sound, but her body tensed and trembled from the intense stimulation. She protested in a muffled voice.

Zi Teng completely ignored her objections, continuing to explore with his fingers. Gradually, he encountered an obstacle. "How is this possible?"

Zi Teng exclaimed in surprise, releasing his sister's mouth and trembling violently.

"Ah... ooh..."

Yi Rou screamed as her freed mouth let out a cry. Her body twisted, and she climaxed instantly. The walls of her vagina spasmed in waves, tightly gripping the invading fingers. Then, a warm liquid flowed down her inner thighs.

"Little... little girl... how could you... still..."

Zi Teng stammered, finally managing to pull his fingers out.

"Is brother surprised..."

Yi Rou lay flat on the bed, panting, her full chest rising and falling with her breath. After a while, her breathing seemed to calm down: "The temple doesn't understand what's going on either. They currently believe it's a side effect of the belt. In short, my body's ability to adapt to negative sensations is much lower than normal, and my body's recovery ability is ridiculously strong."

Seeing that her brother was still confused, Yi Rou simply put it another way: "Basically, it means I can quickly adapt to intense pain, and any injury to my body, as long as it's not immediately fatal, will be fully recovered in three hours at most."

"So that means..."

Zi Teng seemed to suddenly think of something, but didn't know how to say it.

"It means that you can have sex with virgins every day from now on, brother. How about that? Happy?"

Yi Rou said casually, but then her voice turned somewhat sad: "But...theoretically, Rou'er can't get pregnant..."

She buried her head in her brother's arm, her voice barely audible.

"It's okay..."

Zi Teng pulled his sister back into his arms, gently comforting her.

"Really?"

The little girl was a little uneasy.

"I swear."

"Mmm..."

Yi Rou, feeling reassured, happily rested her head on her brother's chest, her small hand intentionally or unintentionally touching his already very hard and hot penis: "Brother, are you going to do something naughty and bully Rou'er again?"

"So, little girl, are you willing to let brother bully you?"

Zi Teng pinched his sister's cheek and asked deliberately.

"Of course I don't want to!"

The little girl playfully stuck out her tongue, then deliberately pretended to be a frightened little bird: "But if brother wants to rape Rou'er, then Rou'er won't be able to resist!"

"Hehehehe..."

Zi Teng decided to go all out with the act, flipping his sister face down on the bed, pressing his entire body against the little girl's smooth back, one hand reaching around her body to grab and knead one of her full breasts, while the other hand teasingly lifted the little girl's chin: "Little girl, give me a smile."

"No... help me..."

Yi Rou deliberately cried out in a coquettish voice, twisting her body as if to struggle.

"Hehe... Go ahead and scream! No one will hear you even if you scream your lungs out."

Zifeng chuckled wickedly, moving his mouth to his sister's ear: "Little girl, be good, lift your butt up."

Yirou obediently lifted her buttocks, her honey hole, still pink from her recent orgasm, was adorably pink. Zifeng gently parted the slit with his fingers, lightly touching the entrance with the tip of his penis: "Little girl, brother's going in!"

Zifeng began to exert force little by little, his penis slowly pushing forward until it reached the thin "barrier.

" "Ugh... It hurts..."

Yirou frowned.

"Little girl... Are you alright?"

Zifeng was startled and wanted to stop for a moment.

"It's okay... It'll be fine in a bit..."

Yirou gestured to continue, taking a few deep breaths before saying easily, "That's about enough, come on!"

Zifeng then hardened his heart and broke through the "barrier" that had reappeared that night, fully inserting his penis into his sister's body.

"Hmm..."

Yi Rou seemed to have mostly adapted to the intense pain, only slightly furrowing her brows and gripping the sheets tightly with both hands. "Ugh... Brother, hmm... It's all in, Rou'er can feel it..."

Some blood flowed down her thighs.

"Ugh..."

Zi Teng couldn't help but shudder. He could clearly feel the tightness in his sister's vagina, no different from when she first lost her virginity yesterday, the walls of her vagina sucking his penis forcefully. He couldn't wait to begin his piston-like movements.

"Hmm... Ah... Ah... Brother... So comfortable... Oh ah..."

Yi Rou also moaned in ecstasy, actively swaying her hips to match the thrusting of his penis. With the pain largely masked, the overwhelming pleasure completely dominated the girl's consciousness.

Each back-and-forth swaying of the two of them made the bed creak; with each thrust of his penis, bubbly love fluid flowed from where their bodies were joined.

"Mmm... little girl... you're so beautiful..."

Zifeng groaned and panted, savoring the heat within his sister's body. Her tight flesh walls licked and stimulated his sensitive areas, sometimes moving left and right, sometimes up and down. The tender flesh of her flower sucked at his glans, and the entrance to her vagina gripped his shaft tightly, each thrust creating intense friction.

"Ah... brother... Rou'er wants..."

Yi Rou was already lost in a series of cries, the intense pleasure drawing her closer to the peak of ecstasy. She instinctively lowered her upper body, the undulating walls of her vagina sucking at his shaft even more forcefully.

"Are you about to fly?"

"Ah... mmm... brother, let me... let me fly..."

Yi Rou cried out unconsciously, her body trembling in climax, her raised buttocks swaying back and forth. This wanton appearance only made Zifeng unable to resist thrusting faster.

The sounds of flesh colliding echoed in the air. Zifeng thrust his penis in and out of his sister's body violently, while Yirou increased the intensity of her hip movements, actively pressing her buttocks against her brother's groin. The intense intercourse created wave after wave of pleasure.

"Ah...ah...um...brother...I want it again..."

"Little girl...brother wants it too...I want to...cum..."

"Um...brother...cum inside...together...ah..."

After a series of moans, Yirou, overwhelmed by consecutive orgasms, finally collapsed weakly onto the bed. Zifeng thrust his penis into his sister's honeyed orifice one last time, filling the chrysanthemum-filled depths with his turbid white fluid. **********

...

This was a "last will and testament" sent by Zhang Taiyue's family to Cao Chun after they learned of his death. The will read: "If Your Majesty sees this letter, it means I am dead. Since I am dead, I can now say what I dared not say while alive. Please consider this, Your Majesty. I believe that our Yanhuang nation has reached its most critical moment, a moment when we must endure humiliation and cease hostilities against external forces. Otherwise, I dare to presume to speak of treason: within thirty years, our Yanhuang nation will surely perish."

Long Zhengtian's face turned slightly pale as he continued reading: "Firstly, since Your Majesty ascended the throne, our Yanhuang nation has gradually shown..." Disadvantages. While not defeated on any front, the losses were enormous. To cite a few examples: In the 28th year of the Shenlong reign, the Xiling Army's Left Leopard Guard, during its campaign against the Southern Barbarians, mistakenly entered a miasma forest; of the 25,000 soldiers, less than 10% survived. In the 30th year of the Shenlong reign, a 300,000-strong orc army invaded the east; although ultimately repelled, the Xiling Army suffered over 100,000 casualties, including the Left and Right Tiger Might Guards who defended the front lines and the Left and Right Dragon Martial Guards who came to their aid; the wounded were countless.

In the 31st year of the Shenlong reign, His Majesty mobilized 100,000 Southeastern troops to cross the sea, but they encountered a storm and none survived. In the 33rd year of the Shenlong reign, the Northern Army advanced into the heartland of the Hu people, but the Northeast Guard, responsible for rearguard support, encountered Hu... The surprise attack caused the Northern Army to collapse at the first sign of trouble, leaving them attacked from both sides. Less than half of the 100,000-

strong army returned, and General Li Yong perished. In just the last few years, even excluding the minor skirmishes on various battlefields, our Yanhuang army has lost over 300,000 of its most elite troops. Moreover, the morale and combat effectiveness of our various armies have been precarious due to prolonged warfare. Most seriously, all our main forces are tied down on the borders and beyond. If anything happens in the Central Plains, the capital will be in grave danger!

Every time, every number made Long Zhengtian shudder. He held the "last will and testament" in trembling hands and continued reading: "Secondly, if..." Today, the land of our Yanhuang is filled with people suffering and refugees everywhere. Since the time of the late emperor, in order to strengthen the border, the court has increased the annual "border tax" from three million to more than eight million. From the thirtieth year of Shenlong, in order to rebuild the Southeast Army and prepare for the expeditionary war, an additional three million taels of "tax" were levied annually. From the thirty-second year of Shenlong, in order to expand the existing navy into two navies, the North and South Seas, and to train the new Southwest Army, an additional three million taels of "training tax" and five million taels of "ship tax" were levied annually. Since the Southeast Army landed at Xieluzhi in the thirty-fifth year of Shenlong, the "tax" was expanded to five million taels to support the expeditionary war.

Your Majesty, the annual national tax revenue is only a little over 18 million taels, while the various additional taxes levied amount to over 20 million taels, meaning the actual tax revenue collected is more than double the regular tax! Currently, the Ministry of Revenue is already collecting taxes decades into the future. In other words, local government offices are already collecting taxes for the generations to come! The poor are now so poor that even if you skin them alive, you can't squeeze any silver out of them. If this continues, a popular uprising is inevitable, and the nation will cease to exist! Your

Majesty, the greatest threat to our nation today is not the foreign enemies on the borders, but the countless refugees throughout the country! If someone incites a rebellion, these millions of refugees will suddenly appear like millions of enemy troops in the weakest areas of our military! No matter how strong the foreign enemies are, they only want pastures and treasures; they cannot destroy our nation. But if the refugees rebel, it could lead to a change of dynasty! Therefore, the court should prioritize internal stability over external threats, treating the refugees and famine as the most pressing problems, and can no longer ignore them! Long Zhengtian's face turned deathly pale, but the "last will and testament" was not yet finished: "

What the Chinese people need most now is rest and recuperation, and peace. Therefore, I humbly suggest that Your Majesty cease hostilities and withdraw troops from the southeast, reluctantly cede territory in the north to seek a truce, and provide annual supplies to the western front in exchange for the orcs ceasing their eastward raids. Although this would be a great humiliation, time and patience are our last weapons. We need time, time for peace, regardless of the means by which it is obtained. We need to allow our army to rest and replenish, to catch its breath from the oppression of prolonged warfare; we need to reduce taxes, open granaries to relieve the people, and allow the people's hearts to recover from the pressure of taxes and famine; we need to encourage agriculture and issue public notices to reassure the people, allowing displaced people to return to their cultivated lands and for barren lands to grow crops again; we need to restore production and expand trade to replenish the empty treasury. In this way, in just about twenty years, we will regain our national wealth and strength, and then we can reclaim everything we have lost!" Long

Zhengtian let out a long sigh, as if all his strength had been drained away. He slumped into the armchair, his eyes half-closed, silent. Suddenly, he heard footsteps outside the door. He stirred slightly, but didn't open his eyes.

Long Qianyu walked slowly to his side and softly called out, "Father." Long Zhengtian abruptly opened his eyes, and Long Qianyu froze—tears were already glistening in her father's eyes. Long Qianyu took a deep breath. She didn't ask anything, nor did she speak. Long Zhengtian's lips trembled, letting the tears stream down his face.

Finally, Long Qianyu sighed softly and said, "I remember the last time I saw Father cry was three years ago when he spoke of General Li Yong's martyrdom."

Long Zhengtian gently wiped away his tears, forcing a smile: "Yes, that was many years ago. Qianyu, what did he say?"

"He believed that the situation in the southeast had deteriorated to this point because of strategic errors." The Eastern Han's system of governance differs greatly from that of the Chinese people. Under the Emperor, sixteen shogunates govern the entire country, each shogun a descendant of the founding imperial family. While nominally all venerate the Emperor, they each possess independent power and ambition.

Our army could have exploited this, primarily targeting the reigning imperial family and their supporting shoguns, while simultaneously courting those with ambition and power to serve us, perhaps even supporting a suitable candidate to rule as a barbarian. However, since landing, the Southeast Army has indiscriminately attacked all shogunate territories along its route, forcing all the shoguns to fight alongside the Emperor, ultimately leaving our army surrounded by enemies.

In response to the extremely deteriorating situation in the Southeast, he has drafted a detailed memorial for the Emperor's review. "

Long Qianyu said, taking out a memorial from her bosom and presenting it to him.

Long Zhengtian took it and hurriedly flipped through it. It not only contained an analysis and response to the current situation in the southeast, but also an analysis and suggestions for the overall southeast strategy. The more he read, the more excited he became... After a long time, he finally raised his head: "Why didn't he report such a good plan earlier? If this plan had been followed earlier, the southeast war situation wouldn't be like this!"

Long Qianyu remained silent. In fact, the reason was obvious, but she didn't want to say it outright, so the father and daughter fell silent again. After a while, Long Zhengtian said again: "Now that the southeast strategy is in place, we still lack a general to oversee and execute it!"

Long Qianyu said in surprise: "I think... it has to be Zi Teng."

Seeing Long Zhengtian's dismissive look, she added: "Father, after all, the southeast strategy was planned by him..."

"That doesn't mean he's suitable to execute it!"

Long Zhengtian paused for a moment, then said, “He’s too sharp-tongued, but lacks the qualifications. If he were to become the Imperial Commissioner, wouldn’t the governors and generals of the southeastern provinces and the southeastern army make things difficult for him? For the sake of the overall situation, I can use his southeastern strategy, not necessarily him personally. Besides, I have more important matters for him to handle.” Long

Qianyu felt a pang of disappointment and wanted to say something, but remained silent. She understood very well that although her father’s reasons were high-sounding, the real reason was simple: Zi Teng had just made him look bad in court. If he were to use him immediately, wouldn’t that be tantamount to admitting his mistake?

After another silence, Long Zhengtian asked again, “What do you think of the three of them?”

“The General of the Flying Cavalry is brave and resolute, and skilled in strategy. He is an excellent choice to be a commander in the army, but as for serving as a high-ranking official in the court… to put it bluntly, her uncle still has caution and composure, while she, besides her arrogant face and rebellious spirit, has nothing. The court officials will not respect her, and she cannot control them.” " The Princess of Lingnan is intelligent and farsighted, and enjoys high prestige among the people. If..."

"The Sima family is, after all, a descendant of the former Chu royal family, and cannot be given important positions."

Long Zhengtian interrupted her assessment.

"Yes..."

Long Qianyu was startled, only then realizing that she had violated a taboo of the royal family for three hundred years. Since the founding of the dynasty, successive emperors had been extremely wary of using the Sima family of Lingnan. It was almost an unspoken rule that descendants of the Sima family could not serve as officials outside of Lingnan.

"As for Ziteng..."

Long Qianyu looked at her father, not continuing, as if testing something.

"..."

Long Zhengtian also looked at her, sighed, and finally spoke: "Let me speak for you. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, given time, the person who can become the chief minister of our Yanhuang will probably be this person."

"Father is wise."

Long Qianyu said, "But..."

She seemed a little troubled, and composed herself: "Father, have you noticed his eyes? I have noticed them. I have never seen such deep pupils, so deep that I can't see anything at all." Long

Zhengtian nodded, understanding his daughter's meaning: Zifeng was too unpredictable! Everyone has an ulterior motive: Xiang Lang's goal was the power of the Xiang family, Li Xingyu's goal was the honor of her family, Cao Chun's goal was to serve the country... People with ulterior motives are easy to understand, and their actions and intentions are easy to control and restrain.

But... he seemed completely unable to understand Zifeng's purpose. If he wanted power, his behavior at the Xiling Prince's Mansion showed no sign of striving for it; if he was fond of women, that seemed obvious, but he was also principled, or perhaps cautious—the maids at the royal post station were all exceptionally beautiful, yet he hadn't touched any of them these past few days; if he was greedy... Judging from the Xiang family's practice of giving gifts, it was basically a joke... So, what exactly did he want?

Actually, let alone his purpose, even his personality seemed ambiguous: was he cowardly? He dared to speak to him directly in court. But he couldn't be called decisive either: Lin Xingchen had clearly been suppressing him, openly or covertly, for years, yet he had obediently followed orders without uttering a sound.

Such a person was the most dangerous. Xiang Lang was composed and cunning, but he was still somewhat elusive. Zi Teng, however, seemed shrouded in mystery, never revealing his true intentions. Such deep cunning was terrifying! It wouldn't be surprising if such a person did something; today he might be loyal to the court, tomorrow he could turn the entire Yanhuang Empire upside down!

However, he couldn't resist the temptation, the allure of hope for a revival. Emperor Wu pacified the realm by employing Li Qingxia, and Emperor Wen ushered in a prosperous era by using Situ Jin. Most importantly, he couldn't simply leave a mess for his son. Before the future succession, he not only had to eliminate that huge poisonous weed in the court, but also consider leaving some capable people to support the court for his son, who was more benevolent than shrewd.

"Is Father also worried about his loyalty?"

Looking at her father, seeing the complex and troubled expression on his face, the intelligent Long Qianyu could easily understand the meaning behind it.

“Yes!”

Long Zhengtian sighed, “This man has the ability of a capable minister in times of peace, yet the appearance of a ruthless warlord in times of chaos. I really can’t rest easy leaving him to your shallow-minded brother.”

“Father, attacking his heart is pointless.”

After hesitating for a while, Long Qianyu finally spoke her mind: “What he wants is not important; what matters is what he can do. Regardless of his ambition, he is a shrewd man. He has a clear understanding of his situation, but he lacks sufficient power to control his future. The reason is simple: he lacks a foundation. This is our best opportunity to help him cultivate a foundation, while tightly intertwining it with the royal family. In this way, even if he harbors disloyal intentions, for the sake of his own survival and future, he will at least be an ally we can trust.”

“Hmm…”

Long Zhengtian nodded, then fell into deep thought again. Now is indeed the perfect time to win him over: on the one hand, we can take advantage of his existing conflict with the Xiang family; on the other hand… marriage is a common and effective tactic used by the royal family, and it's also one of the obligations of royal children. However, the choice of partner needs careful consideration, otherwise, it might backfire and become a thorn in the side's side within the royal family. Of course, the ideal scenario is to have some control over the other party without being controlled, and among his daughters, it seems only… He looked up at his daughter, Qianyu, and after a long while, said, “Qianyu, you're twenty-two now, aren't you?”

Long Qianyu trembled slightly and looked up at him. In the silence between them, what they truly wanted to say was already understood.

“By the way, has there been any progress on the matter I asked you to investigate last time?”

Long Zhengtian broke the awkward silence by changing the subject.

"Ah?"

Long Qianyu was taken aback, but immediately reacted: "After the Nanyang Fleet's initial battle, there was an urgent report, but after it was sent to the Ministry of War, no one has seen it since..."

She looked up at her father's expressionless face and hesitated for a moment: "Although Lord Cao was concurrently in charge of the Ministry of War during this period, the one actually in charge of the Ministry of War's work was Yang Changhe, a protégé of the Xiang family..."

"Hmph!"

Long Zhengtian snorted coldly: "I knew it! Deng Shizhong has always been meticulous in his actions. How could it be that a whole day passed after the battle before he sent a report?"

"The content of the urgent report was..."

"It was a request to temporarily transfer the Beiyang Fleet for garrison duty."

Long Zhengtian seemed to have known this all along: "Xiang Qinglong's Beiyang Fleet and Xiang Qingwu's Northeast Guard are the Xiang family's trump cards. If it weren't to protect them, the Xiang family would never have taken such a big risk to do such a thing."

"In that case, shouldn't we take this opportunity..."

Long Qianyu asked cautiously, but her tone unconsciously carried a hint of murderous intent.

"It's not the right time yet."

Long Zhengtian shook his head and said, "The closest army to the capital right now is the Northeast Guard. If we push the Xiang family too far, an army of 100,000 can reach the capital in less than a day. As for the Imperial Guard, regardless of their combat strength, we have no idea whether they can be completely relied upon. We can't afford to take that risk." "

So that's why Father is in such a hurry to find Emperor Wu's Dragon Soaring Sword?"

"Yes, with that immortal weapon that can defeat ten thousand men with a thousand men, we can at least be invincible. This time, we can just deal with it roughly. We can't dig too deep. However... we need to appoint a new Minister of War, otherwise the cabinet will be unbalanced." "

I think we can summon one of the two princes, Lin and Li, to the capital to take up the post. First, both princes are proficient in military affairs; second, both princes have prestige and can command the respect of the officials; third, there are now capable people in the western border and the northern frontier."

"It can only be Li Gan,"

Long Zhengtian said confidently. "Even if Li Gan leaves the Northern Frontier, the Northern Frontier Army will still belong to the Li family; but if Lin Xingchen leaves Xiling City, then Xiang Qingsi and Lin Feng will turn the world upside down."

"Master!"

Just then, a eunuch entered and presented a memorial: "A memorial from the King of Xiling."

Then, he quickly withdrew.

"Hmph... old fox."

Long Zhengtian sneered as he unfolded the memorial and glanced at it. He then handed the memorial to his daughter, Long Qianyu, who took it and read it carefully. The content stated that the southwestern mountain barbarians seemed to be in internal strife, and he believed it was an excellent opportunity to send troops to quell the rebellion. Therefore, he requested to personally lead the troops into battle.

"This isn't some voluntary campaign; it's clearly a plea for men from me,"

Long Zhengtian continued. "He knows he can't leave Xiling City, but he doesn't want to openly offend the Xiang family, so he's making me the one to offend them."

"Then what are you planning, Father...?"

"Fine, I'll have to play the villain. Anyway, we can't use him in the Southeast."...

Half an hour later, at the morning court session, an angry voice echoed over the capital. In the main hall, Long Zhengtian roared in fury, and the assembled officials held their breath, none daring to speak.

Long Zhengtian shouted angrily, "You are ministers in the cabinet, important officials of the court, yet you have been negligent and complacent in this matter of military importance, allowing treacherous villains to take advantage of the situation; the Southeast barbarians have run rampant, resulting in the destruction of the 100,000-strong Nanyang Navy, the loss of a general, and the complete loss of imperial authority! Do you still deserve to wear this purple robe and stand proudly among the officials?"

The officials bowed their heads in silence.

Long Zhengtian took a deep breath: "Yang Changhe!"

Yang Changhe trembled as he quickly stepped forward and knelt down: "Your subject is here."

Long Zhengtian shouted: "After the Battle of Ryukyu, Naval Commander Deng Shizhong submitted a letter stating that the navy was in dire straits. Where is this letter now? Why have I never seen it?"

Yang Changhe instantly turned pale and replied in a trembling voice: "Your subject has ordered the Ministry of War to send a proclamation to all the post stations, ordering them to investigate thoroughly!"

Long Zhengtian snorted fiercely: "By the time you have investigated thoroughly, my head will already be placed before Emperor Xie Luzhi!" Yang

Changhe was so frightened that he crawled two steps forward: "Your subject failed in his investigation and deserves to die!"

Zheng Tian pressed further: "Prince Lin Xingchen of Xiling submitted a memorial reporting internal strife among the southwestern barbarians, yet there are reports of malevolent spirits appearing, hindering the advance. Is this true? What countermeasures does the Ministry of War have?"

Yang Changhe raised his head: "The matter arose hastily, and I truly have no clue whatsoever. I have already dispatched Li Han, the Minister of Agriculture of the Ministry of War, to the southwest to investigate this matter and devise countermeasures."

Long Zheng Tian angrily rebuked: "Hmph, you know nothing! What use are you!"

Yang Changhe stammered: "I know my crime!"

Long Zheng Tian ordered: "Immediately issue an edict, effective immediately, dismissing Yang Changhe from his position as Vice Minister of War, demoting him to a commoner, and never to be employed again! Xiang Lang!"

"Your old minister is here!" Xiang

Lang exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly stepped forward.

"The Cabinet must immediately draft a memorial to transfer Prince Li Gan of the Northern Frontier to the capital to manage the affairs of the Ministry of War, and order General Li Xingyu of the Flying Cavalry to return to the Northern Frontier to take over military affairs!"

"As for the matter in the southwest, Prince Lin Xingchen is not one to speak carelessly; it must be the truth."

Long Zhengtian continued, "This is the best time to quell the border troubles. To achieve a permanent solution, we need to dispatch capable people to reorganize the army and prepare for battle!"

The ministers all said in unison, "Your Majesty's words are very true."

Long Zhengtian suddenly asked Zifeng, "My dear minister, you have been in the western frontier for a long time and are well-versed in military affairs. In your opinion, who is suitable for this important task?"

Zifeng was startled and hesitated for a moment. Li Xingyu, who was beside her, said, "No one but the General of Chariots and Cavalry can take on this task!"

Long Qianyu also hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the General of Chariots and Cavalry is brave and skilled in battle, highly respected in the Xiling army, and is known as the 'God of War.' He is most suitable to take on this important task."

An inscrutable smile appeared on Long Zhengtian's face as he looked at Zifeng: "My dear minister, in the battle of Ningyuan half a month ago, you spent several days..." "The victory has shocked the entire court. Now, you will likely have to shoulder this responsibility once again."

Zi Teng replied, "This concerns the fate of the nation; how could I dare to refuse!"

Long Zhengtian said, "Very well, it is settled then! I hereby appoint you as the Grand Marshal of the Southwest Army and the Grand Governor of Yizhou, in charge of all affairs on the southwestern border, and to command all the troops in the southwest. Firstly, to investigate and resolve the matter of the ghosts, and secondly, to pacify the southwestern mountain barbarians. Act as you see fit. The imperial edict shall be issued immediately!"

Zi Teng said, "Your subject obeys the decree and thanks you."

Long Zhengtian continued, "Although Admiral Deng Shizhong of the Southern Ocean Fleet suffered a defeat, it was not without reason. Moreover, he had previously submitted a memorial explaining his situation, but the report was concealed by villains, which was not his fault. Furthermore, he has fought bravely and died for his country; he shall be treated with great respect!"

After speaking, he looked around at the officials.

"Officials, if you have something to report, speak quickly; otherwise, the court may adjourn!"

A eunuch, understanding the emperor's meaning, stepped forward and announced loudly.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Sima Fuyun stepped out of the ranks of civil officials and bowed, saying, "My mother was buried in the southwest, and her death anniversary is in a few days. In addition, I have been in Lingnan for a long time confronting the mountain barbarians, and I may be of assistance to the General of Chariots and Cavalry. Therefore, I request to accompany him."

"..."

Long Zhengtian frowned, looking at her warily, then at Zifeng. He vaguely felt that something was amiss, but he had no grounds to refuse. After all, the empire was founded on filial piety, and no one could say anything about such a reason. After thinking for a moment, he could only agree: "Granted."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"...

After the court session, Zifeng walked out of the main hall in the crowd.

"General of Chariots and Cavalry, please wait!"

A clear female voice came from behind. Long Qianyu walked out of the main hall. "Can I take up a little of your time? I want to talk to you about something."

The surrounding officials were somewhat surprised, but they did not dare to ask any questions. They all quickened their pace. Sima Fuyun glanced at Zifeng with some concern, but still followed the crowd.

Zifeng politely asked, "Your Highness, what brings you here?"

Long Qianyu hesitated, then walked on silently. Zifeng had no choice but to follow.

After walking for a while, Zifeng finally couldn't help but speak up: "I am still unmarried, and Your Highness is so pure and innocent. If we were seen alone together by someone with a lot of gossip, it might not be good..."

He subtly probed from a different angle.

"Don't worry,"

Long Qianyu said coldly. "If anyone sees something they shouldn't and can't control their mouth, the Inner Guard will handle it properly."

"Gulp..."

Sensing the faint murderous intent in those cold words, Zifeng thought of the various tortures rumored to be inflicted by the Inner Guard and couldn't help but swallow.

"Don't be so nervous,"

Long Qianyu smiled. "Our Inner Guard isn't as unreasonable as outsiders imagine. We handle cases based on principles and evidence."

"Uh... this... for example?"

Zifeng asked tentatively.

“For example, if I found a kitchen knife in this person’s house, I would have enough reason and evidence to believe that he is hoarding a weapon and plotting something sinister.”

Long Qianyu’s words sent a chill down Zi Teng’s spine. She continued, “However, although the General of Chariots and Cavalry is unmarried, he is surrounded by beauties, especially your fairy-like master.”

“Hmph… The Inner Guard is really well-informed!”

Zi Teng said sarcastically, “But what exactly are you looking for in her?”

“…”

Long Qianyu’s body trembled, and she looked at him warily: “You know?”

“Although your men try their best not to move when I’m here, it’s impossible to completely avoid giving yourself away.”

“You are indeed terrifying…”

“Is that so? Then what does Your Highness intend to do?”

Zi Teng smiled: “Could it be that three hundred axemen have been lying in ambush on the outer perimeter, just waiting for your clap of the hand to rush out and tear me to pieces?”

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Long Qianyu deliberately clapped her hands three times, but there was no sound around her. "It seems that the executioners of our Inner Guard are not very good at hearing. I apologize for the misunderstanding, General."

She continued with a smile, "It's my father who is looking for something. As for me, I'm more interested in you than him. Why are you so unfathomable? What's the benefit of hiding so many things?" "

..."

Zi Teng was silent for a moment, then met Long Qianyu's deep but weary eyes again. He sighed and said, "In this world, if you don't have some trump cards, you can't even protect your own life, let alone achieve anything. My trump cards, besides my ability to fight, are my inability to be understood."

“I’m an adopted son. I don’t even know who my biological parents are. Nobody respected me when I was little, especially my older brother. From that moment on, I swore: one day, I would trample all those who looked down on me under my feet! I studied hard, practiced martial arts, and learned everything useful. I became more and more outstanding, but I found it was all meaningless. The more outstanding I became, the more people wanted me dead, and the more anxious they were. So I had to become even more outstanding and stronger.”

“It’s a completely unsolvable circle, a road with no end in sight. I’m really tired of walking, but I have to keep going because I know very well that if I want to stop, even just think about it, those who want me dead will immediately pounce on me and tear me to pieces.”

Zi Teng said silently, and Long Qianyu listened silently. For the former, these words had been bottled up in her heart for countless years; for the latter, who had a similar experience, she felt that her memories and a corner of her heart had been deeply touched.

"You ask me what the benefit is of hiding everything like this? Let me put it this way, if I'm carelessly killed off, then because I have so many hidden things, I'll become the perfect topic of conversation, perhaps even leaving my name for a thousand years. That's probably the only possible benefit I've gained after all these years of hardship!"

Zi Teng said with a bitter smile.

Long Qianyu gazed at him, and at that moment, she saw the same genuine sorrow on his face as she did herself, along with a deep-seated weariness and boredom.

Long Qianyu remained silent for a long time before waving her hand to signal Zi Teng to leave. Zi Teng bowed knowingly, "This humble official takes his leave."

Watching his receding figure, Long Qianyu felt somewhat lost. This Zi Teng, she had always thought he was as arrogant and outstanding as his appearance suggested, but she hadn't expected that deep down he was as bitter and distressed as she was. At this moment, she felt she no longer resented her father's decision so much.

(11-20

Volume 3,

Chapter 1: Twin Love and Hatred)

This is the three hundredth year of the Yanhuang Empire. This vast empire is like a frail old man, its body no longer suffering from any ailment, but rather aging naturally and irreversibly.

Years of natural disasters and man-made calamities have filled the desolate fields and dirt roads with desperate refugees. As they pass the ancient temples and stone tablets, symbols of glorious achievements, bathed in the slanting sunlight, their eyes are blank and vacant.

In this fragmented reality, a large number of impoverished people at the very bottom of society struggle to survive, their lives reduced to the bare minimum. Poverty has made the lives of many in this empire extremely fragile. A slight decrease in rainfall means thousands will starve to death; a slight increase means thousands of families will be flooded.

The people of the empire, on the verge of starvation, face only two paths: awaiting death or taking desperate measures. To take the latter path, all they need is a banner, even a shout.

Gao Xiang—soon this name will shake the entire continent, but at this moment, even within the Yanhuang Empire, apart from the impoverished people who follow him, few know this name.

In an inconspicuous corner of the empire, he raised the banner of the "Taiping Tiandao" (Way of Heavenly Peace), and in an instant, followers flocked to it. In reality, it was less the power of the banner and more the power of hunger.

The Taiping Tiandao's method of expanding its influence was simple, yet extremely effective. Many wealthy families who believed in the Way donated large quantities of rice and flour. With food, stoves were built, large pots were set up, and everyone ate together. The aroma of the cooking food wafted far and wide.

Then, even starving people from further afield came. Registering their names and kowtowing meant they had "joined the Way and were eating." "Eating"—a seemingly simple matter—became the focus of everyone's hearts. Word spread like wildfire, and a large number of desperate, starving peasants decided to sell their lives to the Taiping Tiandao just to have food.

However, the simple, or perhaps ignorant, peasants of the empire would never know that there was such a thing as a "boundary." Moreover, having been oppressed for generations, they had a long-standing habit of daring to do things rarely heard of when they rose up as a group.

The wealthy families who had once supported the "Taiping Heavenly Way" soon discovered they were supporting a pack of ingrates.

The starving people, gathering in droves, needed silver, grain, and other resources. As the ranks expanded, the donations from the wealthy families were insufficient for their survival and movement.

Thus, every few days, these starving people, waving the banner of the "Taiping Heavenly Way," would raid nearby wealthy families. Gold, silver, grain, cotton, clothing, carts, livestock—all were among their needs…

These starving imperial peasants were no longer the simple, honest peasants they once were. Faced with the increasingly outrageous behavior of their followers, the leaders of the "Taiping Heavenly Way" were deeply troubled. However, the most serious problem was that, at this critical juncture, Gao Xiang, the core of the organization, had disappeared.

Gao Xiang had gone to the southwest, and now he was hiding in a deep mountain, further refining the results of his trip.

He was a visionary; compared to his high-ranking followers who were struggling with expanding their power, he had already seen the next step—how to overthrow the corrupt court.

He never dared to dream that his army of starving peasants could accomplish anything that would change the dynasty, even though they numbered in the hundreds of thousands. As a former imperial official, he understood better than anyone that even though the country was so weak, it still possessed the toughest backbone—the most professional, bravest, most loyal, and largest army in the entire eastern continent.

Against them, no matter how crazy or fearless his starving peasants were, their ultimate fate would be the same: headless corpses. Therefore, he had to prepare his secret weapon before truly swearing an oath.

However, he did not expect that his previous trip to the southwest would almost cause a catastrophe for humanity.

On this day, while busy assisting the Xuanmen in suppressing the Ghostly Demons and comforting the fleeing civilians, the overwhelmed Generals Lin Yongzhong and Xue Qinglin of the Left and Right Leopard Guards stationed in the southwest, along with the Prefect of Yizhou, suddenly received an official document from the court, informing them that the Imperial Envoy, the young marshal of the Prince's Mansion, Zifeng, was about to depart for the region to oversee military and political affairs.

In the luxurious bathroom of the Xiling Prince's Mansion, shrouded in steam, Zi Teng lay quietly on the surface of the enormous bathtub. His long black hair was scattered in all directions by the flowing water. He opened his eyes, and the heavy steam could not obscure his dark pupils.

Despite floating on the hot water, Zi Teng trembled slightly. What stimulated his body was not the cold, but loneliness. Sister Xue La had moved out long ago, and Yi Rou, who had always been by his side, had gone to Baiyun City to bid farewell to her mother a few days ago, along with Shi Zhi and Yu Yue—now, there was no one left in this vast mansion whom he could consider family.

As for the remaining people, he saw no difference. They were all like his "brothers," looking down on him from the bottom of their hearts yet fearing him. The only reason they seemed to still respect him was because they still needed him for now.

He slowly sank into the water, letting the hot water stop his muscles from twitching involuntarily. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he leaped out of the water, leaning against the edge of the bath, panting, his soaking wet hair obscuring most of his face.

There was actually someone in the Prince's mansion whom he considered at least half a family member, but judging from that person's various reactions these past few days...

"Is he leaving again? He won't be coming back, will he..."

At that moment, in the dressing room just a wall away, someone else was also standing there, stunned.

Lan Hua hesitated. She knew she had come to another place, and she couldn't help but want to go in and see him, because she knew she wouldn't have another chance. But she hesitated, wondering if she should go in. She was afraid that if she went in, she wouldn't want to leave.

She stared blankly at the door that was the last barrier between them.

She saw herself floating on that vast, despairing sea, slowly becoming numb and lifeless. She saw her injured mother and younger brother left on the deserted island, watching them row their raft out to sea with hopeful eyes. Seeing the merciless look in her eyes as she pushed her into the sea…

Yes, she had to go; it was the only meaning of her life so far.

However, she also saw him, always the one she scolded yet never “repentant,” saw him soaked to the bone after peeping at her bathing, saw him standing atop a thousand armies—seemingly forever in control of everything—seen his sleeping face resting on her lap… a face like a child's, making one want to feel tenderness…

Seemingly finally making up her mind, she slowly undressed.

Zifang remained sitting in the pool. Familiar footsteps behind him startled him. He glanced back, but Lanhua, who had entered, seemed to avoid his gaze.

“Hidden ulterior motives…”

Zifang seemed to mutter to herself.

Turning back, she asked, “Is something wrong, Sister Lanhua?”

“No…”

He always omitted her surname when calling her, adding that one word afterward, always like that, she thought, her eyes involuntarily welling up with tears.

“Bear with it…”

The trembling tone made Zifang clearly understand her expression.

“There’s plenty of water here, you won’t miss a little.”

Lan Hua silently stepped into the bath and sat quietly beside him, silent for a long time, seemingly unable to bear it any longer.

“Please hold me…”

Her weak voice was almost a plea.

Zi Teng sighed and pulled her into his arms with a hint of helplessness. He knew she had come to say goodbye and, incidentally, to ask for some final comfort; that was her purpose. He also understood her personality; he wouldn’t get anything out of her if he didn’t let her achieve her goal.

Feeling the smooth, supple skin of the body in his arms, Zi Teng felt no desire for lovemaking. To be honest, while Lan Hua wasn't a stunning beauty, her charm was in no way inferior to any of his other women.

Her brown hair cascaded across the water, and against her skin, Zi Teng could clearly feel her slender, tall figure. Her breasts, though not full, were noticeably firm and elastic. Her slender waist, firm hips, and long legs that made up most of her height exuded an aura that deeply aroused male desire.

However, her expressionless face radiated a suffocating sadness. Although he could clearly feel her body temperature, Zi Teng still felt that her body was cold, like a corpse. Some people live, but their hearts are dead; Zi Teng understood what that meant.

Zi Teng shook his head dejectedly. In this state, no amount of gentleness would work, he thought. So… he might as well try the other extreme.

"Ah?"

Lan Hua was startled, because Zi Teng had forcefully lifted her entire body out of the water and spread her legs wide apart. Now she was lying face down on the edge of the bathtub in a V-shape, her delicate pink labia between her long thighs wet, whether from the pool water or bodily fluids, it was hard to tell.

"Sister Lan Hua, you're already wet..."

Zi Teng gently teased her vulva with his fingers.

"I... I'm not... um... it's just... some water on it..."

Lan Hua denied weakly, overwhelmed with shame at her exposed position.

Zi Teng didn't stop, however, his fingers spreading her vulva open. His fingers, wet with the external fluid, began to move back and forth, stimulating the sensitive walls of her vulva.

He could clearly feel Lan Hua's body tense up, and his fingers, not being properly lubricated, were struggling to penetrate her vagina.

Shaking his head in frustration, he withdrew his fingers, then simply brought his face close to hers, licking the petal-like structure of her vulva with his tongue. A unique fragrance emanating from a woman's genitals stimulated his sense of smell, while a slightly salty taste, like seawater, quickly spread in his mouth.

"Mmm...no, don't lick there..."

Lan Hua, who had never had a man's face so close to her private parts before, instinctively resisted, but Zi Teng's strong hands held her legs tightly, preventing her from breaking free. Soon, a wave of pleasure surged through her spine, causing her whole body to tremble violently.

"Ugh...don't do this...ah..."

The resistance gradually turned into a trembling moan.

Zi Teng's hands continued to move up her thighs, then forcefully pinched Lan Hua's firm buttocks, pulling her body sharply towards him. His tongue, which had been licking her vulva, then plunged deep inside. With this powerful attack, the lustful fluid in her vulva seemed to overflow endlessly, like a flood bursting through a dam.

"Huff..."

Lan Hua, who had been instantly brought to orgasm by the sudden, heavy blow, collapsed on the edge of the bathtub, panting. Her taut body seemed to have lost all its muscles and gone limp.

Zi Teng raised her head, wiping the hot liquid from her face with a towel, while her other hand remained fixed on the firm, high buttocks before her. The taut, well-defined buttocks had no excess fat, and the pitiful anus was contracting intensely from the previous orgasm...

"It's coming..."

Zi Teng whispered softly in Lan Hua's ear, then stood up and grabbed her buttocks, pulling her body towards him.

"Mmm..."

Lan Hua let out a weak moan of agreement, turning her head to watch silently as Zi Teng inserted his penis into her wet, honeyed hole.

"

Ughh

...

Zifeng gradually slowed his thrusting, while his upper body pressed tightly against Lanhua's back, his hands reaching forward to caress her small breasts. The firm, elastic flesh stubbornly resisted the force of his fingers, which kneaded and squeezed even harder in return.

"Mmm..."

The initially rough attack transformed into gentle stimulation, and Lanhua let out a slightly intoxicated moan.

Zifeng's tongue gently licked the sensitive inner side of her ear, quietly licking the smooth skin along her neck. A damp, fragrant scent of sweat spread from his tongue.

"Ah...ah...ahhh..."

The sudden gentle onslaught seemed to overwhelm Lanhua, and a wanton moan escaped her lips. The walls of her vagina began to contract more and more violently, tightly intertwining with Zifeng's penis.

"Ugh...this is..."

Zifang couldn't help but let out a satisfied moan, a feeling of intense stimulation akin to intercourse with a virgin. He twisted his waist forcefully, continuing to thrust, his penis struggling to rub in and out of the flesh, which was being sucked and squeezed even more tightly by another sudden orgasm... Before long, he felt a strong spasm-like sensation in his waist.

"No...I'm going to come..."

Zifang gradually felt unable to resist the urge to ejaculate within him. He tried to pull his penis out, but found himself completely unable to move. Only then did he realize that Lanhua's long legs had somehow wrapped tightly around his waist, and her blushing face, turned back to look at him, was full of pleading.

Zi Teng sighed helplessly, then forcefully thrust his penis deep into Lan Hua's honeyed depths, ejaculating his hot fluid directly into her uterus. At that moment, both of them trembled violently, as if struck by lightning… As

the passion subsided, Zi Teng remained seated in the water, while Lan Hua rested her head on his chest, almost clinging to him, greedily savoring the last moment of tenderness in her heart.

“Like a lost soul…”

Zi Teng stroked her damp hair.

“Why did you suddenly seek me out after hiding from me for so many days?”

he asked, almost knowing the answer.

“I…”

Lan Hua hesitated.

“The dog always lingers where it found bones, what about you?”

“I…”

Lan Hua smiled bitterly. Zi Teng's words clearly had a hidden meaning, and she understood perfectly well that the bones represented comfort.

“I’m probably about the same…”

“Am I really that bad? After all this comforting, you still look empty?”

“It’s not your fault…”

Lan Hua’s voice choked slightly: “It’s my problem…”

"What have you lived for? To kill her? Is it that either she or you must die, otherwise your life has no meaning, and you'd be even more unwilling to die?"

Lan Hua lowered her head, not denying it.

"You want to leave, you want to do something foolish, you want to die—it's all written on your face. A person who still wants to live won't look like a lost soul. To be honest, I don't want to stop you, because living like this is too tiring for you; but I have to stop you, because you are my woman, even my sister."

As she said this, Zi Teng clearly felt the previously motionless body in her arms suddenly tremble.

"Sister..."

Lan Hua was somewhat stunned, repeating the word woodenly.

"Do you think I saved you that day just to take advantage of your body? Mother is gone, and Yirou won't be staying long either. You're practically the only person in this manor I can still call family. Are you leaving too?"

Ziteng's tone was somewhat agitated, and she unconsciously hugged Lanhua tighter. "Fine, it's your freedom, I have no right to interfere. If you've really thought it through, say goodbye now. Abandon yourself, and abandon me. Even if you succeed, will you really feel happier living in that world than you are now?"

"No..."

Lanhua in her arms let out a low sob. "I'm not leaving..."

"It's written all over your face. You've come here to say goodbye, to look at me one last time, to find some self-righteous peace of mind,"

Ziteng hadn't anticipated her. "You just didn't say it. Now I'm saying it for you. Go!"

Ziteng practically shouted the last two words, and at the same time, she forcefully pushed Lanhua away. But she didn't succeed; Lanhua almost struggled and lunged back.

"But I don't want to leave now, really..."

she cried.

Zi Teng embraced her again, saying nothing more, simply letting her tears flow silently down his shoulder into the pool.

"Sister Lan Hua..."

After a long while, until he could clearly feel the person in his arms gradually calming down, he spoke again: "Can you tell me? The story you didn't want to tell that night."

"..."

Lan Hua seemed hesitant.

"I won't force you."

Zi Teng gently stroked her smooth back comfortingly: "I just feel that you can't live carrying a mountain on your back alone, that's exhausting."

"You're the same."

Lan Hua was silent for a moment, then seemed to remember something, her tone filled with care: "You're practically carrying two mountains."

"Yes...it's heavy...but many people are helping me share the burden, including you..."

That tone warmed Zi Teng's heart.

"So of course I don't mind helping you share the burden."

Another long silence followed, and finally, Lan Hua, seemingly having made up her mind, asked a seemingly unrelated question, "Do you know my surname?"

"You said your surname is Huang."

Zi Teng answered matter-of-factly.

“Yes, but not the Huang you know, but…”

Lan Hua didn’t bother to explain, but instead used her slender fingers to carefully write a character on his chest. It was a character with the same pronunciation, but it was indeed the Huang of Emperor. This unusual surname puzzled Zi Teng.

“Don’t be surprised, this character is not actually found in the Hundred Family Surnames of Yanhuang.”

Lan Hua explained, “Because I am not a Yanhuang person, I am a Xieluzhi person.”

“I’ve suspected this for a long time…”

Zi Teng murmured, “Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine how you could have any grudges or entanglements with the Xieluzhi Empress.”

“As for the current Xieluzhi Empress…”

Lan Hua’s emotions became slightly agitated. She slowly took several deep breaths to relax herself again: “She is actually my own sister.”

“I really never expected that.”

Zi Teng was full of suspicion. What kind of hatred could make two sisters fight to the death?

"My father died young, and my mother was the former admiral of the Xieluzhi Allied Fleet. My family is a distant relative of the royal family."

After calming her emotions slightly, Lan Hua continued, "Five years ago, when the Yanhuang Southeast Army launched its first expedition, my mother led a fleet of fast ships to harass and intercept enemy ships along the way, hoping to buy time for the coastal defenses. My sister, my younger brother, and I were on her ship. But fate intervened; a storm swept your entire expeditionary force to the bottom of the sea, and we perished along with them."

"Our family was lucky; we were all washed ashore on a deserted island. Although we were all injured, we survived."

"To seek help, we built a raft from the wreckage of our ship. My mother was badly injured, and my brother was too young to withstand the hardships of the sea. So they concentrated most of the remaining fresh water and food on my sister and me, who were the least injured, so we could search for land or passing ships. However, after drifting for a long time without seeing any hope, and with the last of the fresh water on the raft dwindling, finally…"

"Lanhua!"

Hearing her sister call her from behind, Lanhua turned around, only to see her sister holding her dagger, pointing it at her. "Draw your sword!"

she commanded.

"Sister, what are you doing? Are you crazy?"

"I'm perfectly lucid! There's not much water left. If we continue to share it, we'll all die of thirst. We have to make a choice."

"Stop it, sister."

Lanhua tried to persuade her, "We'll all be alright. We still have Mother and my little brother. Everything will be alright..."

But the only answer she received was the sound of a blade cutting through the air.

"Sister, you..."

Looking in disbelief at her bleeding chest, her vision went black, and she collapsed into the waves...

"She just left like that, without a trace of guilt or sorrow... and..."

Tears welled up in Lanhua's eyes again, "She couldn't even kill me!"...

In her unconscious state, Lanhua felt herself being awakened by the cold water. Looking around, she found herself in a dilapidated and filthy ship's hold, surrounded by several pirate-looking men who were leering at her. Instinctively, she tried to get up and run away, but found herself as weak as a frail child.

“Don’t bother, little girl. You’re injured like that, and you’ve been unconscious for so long without eating or drinking. What strength do you have left?”

The burly man who had just splashed water threw the bucket aside and laughed.

“Who are you people? What do you want?”

Completely powerless, she felt fear for the first time and asked in a trembling voice.

“Who we are isn’t important, but what we want, don’t you know? Hehehehe…”

A hideous, bearded pirate pointed at his still erect penis and grinned wickedly.

Yes, she knew exactly what they wanted. In the past, when she followed her mother to fight pirates, she had rescued many poor women who had been captured, gang-raped, and were about to be sold into slavery. But she never imagined that such a fate would befall her.

“Please, let me go…”

She pleaded desperately. But her pleas couldn't quell the pirates' lust. With a tacit wave of their hand from their leader, they pounced on her.

"No!"

Lan Hua struggled weakly, but her almost futile resistance only fueled the beasts' madness. Her tight clothes were instantly torn to shreds, and filthy hands groped her body.

"Wow..."

The pirates gasped in amazement. For this small, inexperienced group, this beautiful body was simply perfect. The so-called angelic face and devilish figure were probably nothing more than this in their understanding.

"I can't take it anymore!"

a tall man shouted, forcefully spreading Lan Hua's legs. His ugly, enormous penis pressed against her vulva, about to break in.

"No!"

Lan Hua cried out in despair as the monstrous penis was about to pierce her body.

"Hehe... Scream, scream, the more you scream, the more excited I get."

The burly man leered as he mercilessly inserted his penis completely into Lan Hua's vulva.

"No... Ugh..."

How could a virgin's vagina, completely unlubricated, withstand such brutality? Lan Hua felt as if her body was being torn in two. The intense pain made her cry out, but her scream was choked back by another penis. A large amount of blood flowed from the forcibly penetrated vagina.

"Good buddy, we've struck gold! This girl's still a virgin!"

the burly man who had penetrated first laughed loudly.

The stench of blood further fueled the crowd's lust. They pulled down their pants and pounced on her, dozens of filthy hands groping her, dozens of foul mouths kissing and licking indiscriminately, dozens of stinking penises rubbing wildly against every inch of her skin. Amidst the intense pain and tears of humiliation, she finally fainted again…

“Later, the warships escorting the ship carrying your mother, the Lady… the ship that was carrying you, the warships of Lisas City, encountered and destroyed that group of pirates, rescuing me. Your Lady also sent people with me to that island, but we couldn't find my mother and brother, not even their bodies. And she, there was absolutely no news of her. I could only assume they were all dead, so I chose to stay by your side as a way of repaying your kindness. You know what happened after that.”

“But this time, when you came to the capital with me…”

Lan Hua fell silent again, but Zi Teng continued, “You discovered that the person you thought was dead and most deserving of death is actually still living a glorious life, isn't that right?”

"Hmm..."

Lan Hua nodded, the memory seemingly causing her immense pain: "That night, I sneaked into the inn. I didn't actually intend to kill her, but when I questioned her about her mother and brother, she told me they were both dead, dead on that island. I frantically pressed her to tell me why she hadn't gone back to save them, but she lowered her head and didn't say a word. At that moment, I understood everything—she had never gone back!"

Lan Hua burst into uncontrollable sobs again. Zi Teng silently embraced her for a long time...

"Thank you..."

she said as she lifted her head from Zi Teng's embrace.

"That's more like the usual Lan Hua."

Looking at her face, which was exactly the same cold and beautiful yet slightly blushing face she had when they were naked together before, Zi Teng was completely relieved: "It seems your soul has returned."

"What..."

Lan Hua was a little embarrassed.

"You still ask? Do you know how I felt when you first came in? It felt like someone had died somewhere, their soul had drifted to say goodbye. That chilling wind gave me goosebumps; and just now, I could barely get an erection because it felt like necrophilia."

"What are you saying, you rascal!"

Lan Hua seemed angry, slapping Zi Teng across the face. Zi Teng didn't even try to dodge, but when her hand actually landed on her face, it became a gentle caress: "Thank you. Having someone to confide in after all these years makes me feel so much better, really..."

"So, what are your plans for the future?"

"I don't know..."

Lan Hua nestled back into his arms: "You're right, I have a mountain in my heart, but there's nothing I can do. What's done is done. Forgetting it, throwing it away, or being crushed by it isn't the solution. I can only carry it and continue living. Besides... even you, my younger brother, are carrying two mountains. How can I, as your older sister, not even bear half of your burden?"

"Don't worry... I'll help you shatter that mountain."

"Hmm?"

Lan Hua seemed to be asking, but without a trace of doubt.

"Let's make another bet."

But Zi Teng seemed unwilling to be so bored: "No matter what the emperor is thinking now, he'll still have to come to me to solve the problems in the southeast, because only I can solve them, believe it or not?"

"I don't believe it..."

Of course, this was a lie, but since her "little brother" wanted to play, she, as the older sister, naturally had an obligation to play along: "What are we betting on?"

"..."

Zi Teng didn't speak, but a thieving hand quietly touched Lan Hua's buttocks, the mischievous fingers lingering around her anus, making her body tremble.

"Sister Lan Hua, is your place... still a virgin?"

"Then... is that place okay too..."

she asked somewhat awkwardly.

"The books say it's okay."

Zi Teng put on a harmless scholarly demeanor and said seriously.

"..."

Lan Hua lowered her head and remained silent. She didn't want to refuse, but she couldn't help but feel some resistance to this strange way of having sex.

“Um…actually, if you don’t want to…”

Zi Teng felt he might have gone too far, but Lan Hua’s fingers sealed his words back into his mouth.

“Sister is very happy…I still have my first time to give to you…” …

A few days later, at the south gate of Jiangyuan City, a major city in the southwest, the generals of the Left and Right Leopard Guards, the governor of Yizhou, the prefect, the magistrate of Jiangyuan County, and other local military and political officials waited anxiously.

Lin Yongzhong looked up at the sky; the sun was already setting. He asked Xue Qinglin beside him, “Why hasn’t the young marshal arrived yet?”

Xue Qinglin shook his head: “Was he delayed on the way?”

Before he finished speaking, the deputy general behind him said, “Look, they’re here!”

In the distance, dust billowed as a procession of mounted escorts, carrying a large banner with the character “Marshal” aloft, galloped in. Behind them, the royal guards of the Blood-Clad Guards escorted a luxurious carriage, with large banners flanking them, inscribed with: “Grand Marshal of the Southwest Army, Zi Teng.” The two generals and the governor of Yizhou waved to the crowd behind them and quickly walked to the center of the road, bowing respectfully in welcome.

A rider galloped towards them, clad in crimson rhinoceros-hide armor, tiger-head boots with gold accents, and a steel-ringed hand saber—it was none other than the Blood-Clad Guard of the Prince's Palace.

He reined in his horse, took a brocade case from his document pouch, and shouted, "Generals of the Left and Right Leopard Guards and the Prefect of Yizhou, receive this decree!"

The three men were startled, then quickly led their men to kneel down.

The Blood-Clad Guard unfurled the imperial edict and read aloud, "The border situation is urgent. Qin Dian, the Grand Marshal of the Southwest Route Army, is to oversee the affairs of the Southwest Border. Generals of the Left and Right Leopard Guards, Lin Yongzhong and Xue Qinglin, are appointed to assist him. All military and political needs are to be provided by the Prefect of Yizhou. This is the imperial decree."

The three men kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, we accept the decree and thank you!"

The Blood-Clad Guard dismounted and handed over the imperial edict.

Just as the exchange took place, the main force arrived at the city gate. The carriage stopped, and the doors opened. The three men rushed forward, calling out, "Welcome, Grand Marshal..."

The carriage door opened, and a person stepped out. The three men were immediately

dumbfounded. This person was not Zi Teng, but Huang Lanhua in crimson armor! She stepped forward and handed over a letter: "My lords, this is a letter from the young marshal."

The three men took the letter and immediately opened it, their heads huddled together reading.

Jiangjin Village, on the outskirts of Jiangyuan City, a village built on the surface of Fengdu, was anciently known as the Ghost Village. At this moment, countless walking corpses and ghosts roamed the village, and the village's perimeter was completely surrounded by a large force of Xuanmen troops and soldiers.

Soldiers from the Left and Right Leopard Guards stood watch on the outer perimeter, using weapons treated with Xuanmen magic to repel the torsos of zombies and ghosts attempting to break out of the village. Inside the village, large groups of Xuanmen sorcerers were using magic to clear away swarms of zombies and ghosts.

Not far from the village was a campsite, not only scenic but also featuring many antique-style pavilions, a veritable paradise, showing no trace of the pre-war atmosphere.

In one of the pavilions, a red-haired woman with a blue veil covering her face sat opposite a middle-aged man in a Taoist robe.

"The environment here is quite nice,"

the red-haired woman said, her tone revealing a hint of disapproval of the grandeur of such a prestigious sect.

"But in my opinion, a temporary encampment really doesn't need to be like this, does it, Senior Brother Zhuge?"

"Hehe... well, that's just a bad habit of mine, I hope you won't laugh at me, Junior Sister Sect Leader..."

Zhuge Qi said with an awkward laugh.

Fortunately, the red-haired woman didn't intend to embarrass him too much and quickly changed the subject: "This can't go on."

She looked out the window and said somewhat uneasily—although the Xuanmen and the army had cleared away tens of thousands of ghosts and monsters in recent days, they seemed completely unable to truly control the situation. "The strangest thing is that the problem doesn't seem to be in Fengdu, so it could be..."

She lowered her head and pondered, feeling that she had overlooked something, but she couldn't figure out what it was...

Qingming Mountain was originally an ordinary earthen mountain in the southwest, neither tall nor particularly beautiful. There were a few villages and a few estates where wealthy merchants and families used to escape the summer heat. In addition, there was a quiet Muyuan Garden. Every year around this time, people from Lingnan or the Xiling Prince's Mansion would come to pay their respects, which was a rare moment of liveliness for the mountain forest.

In an inn in a small town at the foot of the mountain, Yi Rou sat on the edge of the bed in her room. Traveling, the young girl was unusually conservative in her attire. Although still wearing short sleeves and a low-cut neckline, her light yellow dress at least didn't reveal too much of her upper body.

However, the Western style of the clothing, especially the flesh-colored stockings and semi-transparent sandals, still seemed out of place in her current country.

Yu Yue stood behind her, combing her hair, still dressed in her standard maid outfit, only this time in white.

"Why aren't you wearing braids anymore?"

Yu Yue asked with a smile, touching Yi Rou's chestnut-brown, flowing hair.

"I still think you were cuter before, Miss, like a little bunny..."

she said, drawing two bunny ears on her head with her hands.

"But Brother seems to prefer girls with long, flowing hair..."

Yi Rou replied absentmindedly, seemingly lost in thought. "Oh, right, Sister Yu Yue,"

she suddenly seemed to remember something.

The little girl countered, "What do you think of Shiori-neechan?"

"That red-haired girl?"

Yu Yue thought for a moment. "She's quite nice. Beautiful, smart, strong, and seems to have a gentle personality."

"Brother can have many, many women, but at least nominally, he needs a wife,"

Yi Rou said, unusually serious. "So, how about letting Shiori-neechan be the future matriarch of the Zi family?"

"You want your brother to get married so soon?"

Yu Yue chuckled half-jokingly. "Of course! Otherwise, where would I find a sister-in-law to tease? Life would be so much less fun… Hmm… Why aren't my brothers back yet…"

Seemingly remembering something, Yi Rou became a little anxious, her legs rubbing together involuntarily.

"No way…"

Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind and grabbed Yi Rou's full breasts, feeling the hardened nipples as the fingers touched the mountain of flesh.

Yu Yue laughed, "We were just 'taking a nap' together, and you're already thinking about making love again?"

"No…"

The little girl blushed, a rare occurrence for her.

“But it’s been over two hours already, my body is almost recovered, if we don’t hurry… the pain will start all over again…”

“I’m sorry… I was being so stubborn and made you come here with me…”

“It’s nothing, anyway, I can’t organize military affairs and start a war until the Xuanmen finishes dealing with the ghost problem.”

Just then, familiar voices came from the door, and Yi Rou immediately broke free from Yu Yue’s hand and rushed out.

“Brother!”

She grabbed Zi Teng’s hand and dragged him into a bedroom without saying a word, “Hurry up, hurry up, it’s important!” She

slammed the door shut.

“What… what’s the rush…”

Sima Fuyun asked, somewhat surprised.

“Nothing, just doing something important related to the survival and reproduction of humanity.”

Yu Yue replied with a smile, then continued to smile as she looked at the girl in front of her for a moment before her face suddenly turned as red as her hair.

“So cute…”

she thought.

“Sima Fuyun” finally recovered from the daze and the shy heat, only to find that the blonde woman with long, pointed ears had disappeared. She stared blankly at the bedroom door, completely at a loss—whether it was Yi Rou's carelessness or a deliberate prank, the door wasn't closed properly, and the sounds of passion emanating from the slightly ajar crack tickled her heart like a mischievous kitten.

"Mmm...brother's bad..."

Yi Rou's voice from inside trembled slightly, seemingly both pleading and protesting...

Her face flushed even more; she wanted to run away, but couldn't turn around. Suddenly, Yi Rou's sweet, pleading voice disappeared, replaced by a strange, almost sucking sound. Whether out of curiosity or something else, she involuntarily peeked through the crack in the door, closed one eye, and peered inside.

Through the gap, Zifeng could be seen straddling the edge of the bed, completely naked. His strong body exuded a masculine charm that made her somewhat lost in thought. Yirou was still partially clothed, but it was practically the same as being naked. Her short skirt was rolled up to her waist, and her panties were nowhere to be seen. Between her bare legs, a few glistening drops of liquid could be seen flowing down her thighs, wetting the edges of her stockings. Yirou knelt before her brother, her small mouth struggling to suck on his engorged and somewhat frighteningly large penis. Saliva dripped from the corners of her mouth. Her eyes were slightly closed, and her face no longer held its usual mischievous and cute charm, but instead, a subtle yet lewd look.

"Ugh...ugh...ugh!"

Yi Rou tried her best to suck on her brother's penis, but due to the size difference and lack of skill, it was impossible for her small mouth to take the whole penis in. Even with her mouth wide open, the little girl could only take in the first half of the penis. However, she had an excellent alternative: she used her hands to lift her full breasts and squeeze the part of the penis that could not be taken in, moving it up and down. The fluid from her mouth, combined with the friction and sweat from the heat, quickly lubricated the entire penis...

Yi Rou squeezed her breasts tightly, continuing to move her breasts up and down with the lubrication of the two fluids, while not stopping the sucking motion in her mouth. Her face, flushed red from the strain, was full of longing. The dual stimulation of sight and touch quickly made Zi Teng let out a satisfied moan.

“You brat…”

He patted his sister’s head. “Where did you learn all this?”

“From peeping at my brother and mother making love.”

The little girl spat out the penis, licking it with her tongue as she answered indistinctly.

“…”

Zifang was speechless. He pretended to be angry and pinched his sister’s face with both hands, lifting her up from between his legs. “You shameless little slut.”

He gently pinched the little girl’s soft skin and half-jokingly “scolded” her.

"Ugh, it hurts..."

Yi Rou broke free from her brother's hand and buried her face in his arms. "Rou'er is just a shameless little slut. As long as brother likes it, it doesn't matter what."

"You brat..." Zi Teng hugged his sister's body tightly, lovingly kneading her full breasts. Her breasts changed shape in his hands, while his fingers gently played with the cute protrusions on the tops of her breasts, pinching them between two fingers and pulling and twisting them forcefully...

"Ah...ah...ah...brother...woo...no...my body in the recovery period...is the most sensitive...it's...coming out..."

Yi Rou suddenly cried out, her body stiffening abruptly. Her head, which was tilted back uncontrollably, leaned weakly against Zi Teng's shoulder. A warm stream gushed out between her legs, and the unique fragrance of a young girl immediately spread.

Their tight embrace caused the fluids from Yi Rou's climax to spray onto Zi Teng's already swollen and somewhat menacing penis. This made him unable to restrain himself any longer. He laid his sister's body down on the bed, his thick penis pressing tightly against the entrance of her overflowing honeypot. With each thrust of his hips, his penis began to slowly squeeze in.

"Ugh..."

The afterglow of her climax made Yi Rou's body even more sensitive, yet utterly exhausted. She could only furrow her brow and protest her brother's sudden intrusion with muffled moans. This, of course, did not stop Zi Teng's actions. No matter how wildly Yi Rou's honeypot had been, it could quickly return to its current virginal tightness, which was one of the things he loved most about this little girl in bed. His penis, like a pioneer, slowly broke through the layers of resistance, finally reaching an obstacle.

Zi Teng clearly felt the presence of that barrier; although still incomplete, it was almost completely restored compared to when he had breached it that afternoon. “So that’s how it is, no wonder this girl was in such a hurry…”

Taking a deep breath, he suddenly exerted force, his penis quickly breaking through the unfinished “defense” and almost completely squeezing into the girl’s pink honey hole. A few drops of blood began to appear at the point where their bodies were joined, following the fluid secreted from the honey hole.

“Ah…it hurts…it’s going to split open…be gentle…”

Yi Rou’s body trembled in waves, her extraordinary nervous system struggling to suppress the waves of pain. “It hurts so much! It hurts so much!”

Yi Rou waved her pink fists and pounded her brother’s head in protest. “You stupid brother, I told you to hurry up, but you wouldn’t. You only know how to enjoy taking a virgin. My body isn’t completely immune to pain. You bad brother, boohoo…”

Seeing that he was about to be beaten into a pig’s head, Zi Teng quickly hugged his sister, pressing down on her hands in the same position, silencing her complaints with his mouth, and stopping his lower body movements at the same time, so that the girl’s body could have time to adapt to and suppress the pain.

Not long after, feeling the body beneath him gradually relax, Zifeng dared to release his sister's hands and mouth. "Does it not hurt anymore?"

he asked.

"Don't think it's over now, you stinky brother..."

Yirou was clearly no longer in pain, but she was still relentless, reaching out to pinch and tear at her brother's face, stretching his skin into an exaggerated shape. "I'll teach you to be bad, I'll teach you to be bad... Ah!"

Yirou suddenly screamed, her body going limp again, because Zifeng had begun his "counterattack," thrusting his hips and using his penis to "unblock" her tight honey hole. The intense feeling of fullness and friction that followed made the little girl unable to help but shake her long hair and moan, her legs unconsciously wrapping around her brother's body.

"Mmm... bad brother... ooh... you're going to rape Rou'er again..."

Yirou moaned, the walls of flesh inside her honey hole, driven by sensitive nerves, kept tightening and compressing, tightly wrapping and squeezing the penetrating penis from all sides.

"Hoo... Little girl... does it feel good to be raped by your brother?"

The tight, writhing honey pot made Zifeng breathe heavily with pleasure. He couldn't help but thrust in and out with all his might, his thick penis forcefully entering his sister's body like a pile driver, the burning glans slamming heavily into the depths of her honey pot with each stroke.

"Yes! More! Keep going! Again!"

With each increasingly rapid withdrawal, the little girl couldn't help but cry out, yearning for more penetration.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"

With each increasingly forceful insertion, the little girl couldn't help but let out sounds of pleasure and lust.

"Gurgle... gurgle... gurgle..."

With each of Zifeng's somewhat rough movements, a large amount of lustful fluid was squeezed out from where the two were joined, making lewd sounds.

"Mmm... Brother! Ah... Brother!"

Yirou's moans gradually turned into high-pitched cries of pleasure, she twisted her waist forcefully, seeking even greater pleasure...

"Hoo... hoo..."

The two people inside the room, immersed in a world of love and lust, didn't notice the increasingly rapid breathing outside the crack in the door.

Sima Fuyun's face was flushed red. She even felt that the skin beneath her clothes must be red as well, because she could clearly feel it was as hot as her face. The sight before her made her want to turn away, but she couldn't move her neck. She wanted to turn and leave, but couldn't move her feet...

However, what embarrassed her was far from over—the blonde elf who seemed to have left had reappeared behind her without her noticing. Even worse, one of her hands had somehow wrapped around her waist, while the other hand was even more restless, groping and teasing her most sensitive areas.

Taking advantage of her confusion, the elf pressed her advantage further, pulling her into her arms. She tried to pull away, but was surprised to find that the elf's delicate, elegant hands were as strong and unyielding as steel clamps.

She was now completely under the elf's control. The elf's hand gently caressed her sensitive neck, while the other hand wrapped around her body, untying the ribbons of her silk robe to reveal a red bodice underneath. The elf's face was pressed tightly against hers, her warm, damp breath constantly assaulting the sensitive nerves beneath her skin.

Soon, even the bodice was slightly pulled to one side by the elf's slender, deft fingers, revealing most of one breast. This startled her, and with a sudden burst of strength, she broke free from the seemingly unbreakable entanglement, fleeing towards her bedroom like a frightened rabbit.

Back in her room, shame and heat tormented her body and mind; she didn't even bother to tidy her disheveled clothes.

I closed all the doors and windows tightly, and covered my head with pillows and blankets, but the sounds of lovemaking still echoed in my ears like a curse.

I turned off all the lights and closed my eyes tightly, but the images of intertwined bodies still floated before my eyes like a mirage.

My heart felt like a jumbled mess of emotions. There was sourness, the jealousy and envy of watching other women make love with their beloved; there was sweetness, the satisfaction of seeing her childhood playmate achieve her desires; there was bitterness, the pain of not being able to confide her secrets to her beloved; there was spiciness, the helplessness of being a shadow...

Amidst this cacophony of emotions, her feelings seemed beyond words. She wearily rose, placed a zither on the table, and a melodious and poignant tune floated from her fingertips, accompanied by her slightly hoarse voice: "In my past life, I was a cherry blossom, blooming with loneliness in the mortal world, thinking of you lingering among the flowers, watching my longing wither in the cold moonlight; in my next life, I will be a cherry blossom, once falling from your fingertips, listening to your long sighs in the mortal world, the fallen petals withering away, longing for your face..."

In the morning, Zi Teng awoke, only to find herself completely unable to move. Looking down, he saw two alluring bodies pressed against him, one on each side. Yi Rou playfully claimed his chest, leaving Yu Yue to lean against his shoulder. Her long, cute ears trembled in front of him with her sleepy breathing, and he couldn't resist gently biting them.

"Mmm...you're so annoying..."

Yu Yue didn't even wake up, only vaguely protesting in her sleep before turning over and hiding at the edge of the bed to continue sleeping.

"She won't wake up..."

Zi Teng sighed helplessly.

“Of course, Sister Yuyue’s body isn’t as strong as mine. After being kept up by you all night, she must be exhausted.”

Yirou’s voice came from beside him. “But you’re so mean, trying to bully Sister Yuyue first thing in the morning.”

“You have so much energy.”

Zifeng smiled and reached out to hug his sister. “Then I’ll bully you!”

“Don’t try anything funny.”

Yirou nimbly dodged. “Get up early. We’re going to sweep Aunt’s grave today. Don’t keep Sister Shizhi waiting for us.”

Zifeng nodded, got up, dressed, and went out of his room, only to find that Shizhi’s room across the hall was still closed. He knocked gently. “Shizhi, are you up?” He

knocked several more times, but there was still no sound from inside. Was she not home? After hesitating for a moment, he quietly pushed the door open and saw Shizhi lying face down on the table, asleep. She was using a zither as a pillow. Her snow-white silk dress was a little disheveled, and her fiery red hair was loose.

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