“Our son is good-looking, we can find him another wife later. Jiang left a divorce agreement, so we have no reason to sue her in court.”

Su Zhengxing was an educated man who knew that everything had to be done according to the law, and he had an inexplicable confidence in his son.

Every mother in the world thinks her own son is the best, and Qin Shi was no exception. Hearing Su Zhengxing's words, her anger subsided considerably.

If you calm down and think about it carefully, Jiang didn't have much dowry, so there really wasn't much to miss.

With her son's looks, it's not impossible for him to marry a wealthy heiress in the future.

Three days later, the man surnamed Yang kept his word and personally took Jiang Jiaojiao away from the capital in a carriage.

Jiang Jiaojiao's departure was just like Caiyan's departure back then—silent and without a trace, as if she had never existed in the capital.

Jiang Shuyue was busy with her own affairs and naturally didn't pay attention to Jiang Jiaojiao's whereabouts.

Early that morning, Jiang Shuyue went out alone. After some effort, she finally managed to get the tender corn out of her space.

He threw a stack of silver notes into his spatial storage, and then went to his usual pastry shop to buy Sui Sui's favorite walnut and sesame shortbread.

As soon as I stepped through the gate, Qiuju came out to greet me.

"Miss, where have you been? When I went there, only Xue'er was fast asleep on the soft couch."

Jiang Shuyue held up the pastry box in her hand. "I went to buy some pastries. I'll have Cangyun deliver them to the Su residence later."

"I don't know if Young Master Sui Sui will be going to the palace today. I'll have Cang Yun deliver it to him right away."

Qiuju reached out and took the box, then quickly ran towards the front of the building.

Jiang Shuyue shook her head and chuckled, "Luckily I'm not pregnant. With that impatient nature, she could make the baby dizzy even while it's still in my belly."

After breakfast, Jiang Shuyue took a stroll in the neighboring courtyard.

Several servants tidied the courtyard up spotless, and there wasn't a speck of dust on the tables and chairs inside the house.

Qiuju followed and went to look at the bed.

“Miss, Young Master Nangong doesn’t stay at home often. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I’ll have them take the bedding out to air it.”

"Have them change and wash all the curtains, air out the bedding and put it away. They can put it back on when the person comes back."

Jiang Shuyue is a clean freak. Even if she can't see any dust with her naked eye, she still feels that the bed should be washed frequently if someone hasn't slept on it for several days.

The servant took away all the curtains, bedding, and sheets, and then fetched water to wipe the dust off each item.

Once outside the inner room, Qiuju asked with a smile, "Miss, when you and the young master get married, will you set up your bridal chamber here or at the Jiang residence?"

"I haven't thought about that yet."

Qiuju said with a smile, "Miss, it's not too late to think about it now. It would be best to choose an auspicious day nearby to hold the wedding."

"It can't be that fast. He's not in a hurry at all. Does your young lady have to be so eager to get married?" Jiang Shuyue said irritably.

"It's about finding a son-in-law to live with the family; of course, it's up to Miss to decide."

Qiu Ju couldn't forget the matter of marrying into Nangong Zeyue's family that he had mentioned.

Nangong Zeyue has been quite busy in the military camp these days, practicing battle strategies with the two commanders every day.

On this day, Nangong Zeyue saw that the terrain in the sand table looked somewhat familiar.

He couldn't help but ask, "This terrain seems to be the intersection of our Wanling and the Nanzhao Kingdom."

Commander-in-Chief Chu Zheng gave Nangong Zeyue an approving look.

He then picked up a thick wooden stick and pointed to a river at the border between the two countries: "The two countries use this river as the boundary. This time, the Nanzhao Kingdom did not cross the river, but instead bypassed the Liang Kingdom's border to invade our border. Today, we will deduce the strategic deployment of the border area of ​​the three countries."

"Is there fighting on the border?"

Nangong Zeyue belatedly realized that the endless deductions he had been making lately were actually providing war strategies for the frontier.

The deputy commander nodded. "The border of Nanzhao is showing signs of unrest. The Emperor Emeritus has been stationed on the frontier with the soldiers of Yannan for some time now. War is imminent. Our western camp doesn't need to go to support them, but we should still do something."

Hearing that the situation on the border was tense, Nangong Zeyue felt anxious.

I finally got a vacation that I can go home once a month a few days ago. I hope it won't be ruined because of the border situation.

I felt very guilty for not being by her side on our first Lunar New Year's Eve.

Nangong Zeyue looked at Huo Chuan, "Lord Huo, I'm going home in a few days. Does that promise still stand?"

These days, he's been spending more time with Huo Chuan. After his persistent pleading, Huo Chuan agreed that he could go home to see his fiancée in a few days.

Huo Chuan pointed to the sand table, "Let's solve the problems here first."

Chu Zheng also discovered that Nangong Zeyue was a genius. He usually seemed carefree and irresponsible, but he had ingenious ideas when analyzing strategies.

...

Pigeons could be seen taking off and landing frequently above the palace.

Xiao Jingzhao sat upright in the imperial study, listening to Xiang Song report the news that had come back from outside.

"The Liang Kingdom's envoys have crossed the border and are heading towards the capital, accompanied by envoys from several other small countries."

"Can the Nanzhao Kingdom send envoys to negotiate peace?" Xiao Jingzhao's phoenix eyes flickered slightly.

Xiang Song then unfolded the remaining letters, his brows furrowing slightly. "Master, there has been no news from the Nanzhao envoy. It seems this battle is about to begin."

Xiao Jingzhao twirled his fingers. “Mo Ziyan is pulling strings. Not all of his maternal clans are of one mind. The Nanzhao Kingdom has lent him 30,000 troops, and General Zhan and the Emperor Emeritus are stationed at the border of the three kingdoms with 50,000 soldiers. We are 100% confident of victory.”

Suddenly remembering that Lin Xiangzhi hadn't sent any news back for a long time, Xiao Jingzhao asked again, "Has any news come back from Jiangzhou?"

Xiang Song shook his head with a serious expression. "No, the last letter mentioned that there were many shady dealings at the docks. I don't know if Young Master Lin has revealed his identity."

The Governor-General of Water Transport held absolute power in Jiangzhou. If he were to kill someone to cover it up without leaving a trace, the imperial court would be powerless against him.

Such examples have already occurred in previous dynasties.

That was when Emperor Renzong's son had just ascended the throne. The court sent inspectors to various parts of the country to inspect the performance of local officials and investigate corruption.

Those who have rendered meritorious service to the people will be rewarded; conversely, corrupt officials or local bullies will be investigated and punished, and may even be executed on the spot without reporting to the imperial court.

However, when the imperial inspector's entourage was traveling through Yangzhou, they were suddenly attacked by a group of bandits who appeared out of nowhere as they passed through a grove of trees.

The imperial inspector was killed in the fierce fight between the two sides.

Afterwards, all the officials and constables of Yangzhou Prefecture went out to investigate, but they still couldn't find the murderer's whereabouts.

Those highly skilled bandits vanished as if into thin air, leaving no trace. The imperial court later sent people down again, but they couldn't find a single clue.

Some say it was a revenge killing, while others say it was retaliation by officials who had been punished.

Some people also suspected that the prefect of Yangzhou was involved in something shady, as he was silenced as soon as he entered Yangzhou territory, which was a way of sending a message of power to the imperial court.

The case enraged the emperor, who immediately ordered the demotion of the prefect of Yangzhou. The prefect cried out that he was innocent, but to this day no one knows whether he was actually innocent.

Thinking of this, Xiao Jingzhao felt a chill run down his spine, and then said to Xiang Song, "Send a group of secret guards to Jiangzhou to protect Minister Lin."