Zhao Xiheng spoke with such nonchalance that Wei Li's heart skipped a beat. In this world, was there anyone who could stand by and watch their family's empire fall into the hands of others? If so, it would probably only be Zhao Xiheng. He was now increasingly curious about how his father-in-law had raised his children.

However, if Zhao Xiheng wants the Zhao family's empire, what's the point of him training troops these days? It seems pointless. It's a real headache.

Wei Li's smile froze, and Zhao Xiheng even felt a little frightened.

He wouldn't actually be planning to help the Zhao brothers, Zhao Mingjin and Zhao Mingchen, would he? Is he really that desperate?

I already thought Wei Li's idea of ​​waiting to die was terrifying enough, but these young people are really out of their minds, coming up with one ridiculous idea after another. Helping their two cousins ​​save the nation—even a donkey-kicked brain wouldn't produce such thoughts. Five hundred thousand people, even keeping them to farm would be more useful than this.

She reached out to touch Wei Li's forehead, but he dodged away and yelled fiercely, "What are you doing?"

"It's okay." She looked sincerely into Wei Li's eyes. "Promise me you won't have such thoughts again, okay?"

Wei Li felt that Zhao Xiheng was looking at him like he was a fool.

But if he were to explain his motives, it would seem to confirm that he is a fool.

There's simply no way to explain this.

He simply stopped explaining, leaned in menacingly, grabbed Zhao Xiheng's chin, and lowered his head to kiss her. There's nothing a kiss can't solve.

Zhao Xiheng simply didn't dodge. Wei Li was stubborn and wouldn't give up until he kissed her, unless Gou Dan'er was watching from the side.

Instead of trying to hide, it's better to just give him a good bite.

He became addicted to kissing her after just one time, and would press her head down and kiss her every now and then, like it was a meal, three times a day.

Zhao Xiheng had just raised her head, intending to give a perfunctory answer, when she heard a series of hurried footsteps outside.

Deputy General Chen said through the crystal curtain, "My lord, the Emperor has sent an envoy."

The only emperor who could be considered a legitimate ruler was Zhao Mingjin, the emperor of the Southern Zhou Dynasty.

Zhao Xiheng's brows were so furrowed they could have crushed a fly. Did Zhao Mingjin even have any sense of self-awareness? Instead of focusing on managing his own little plot of land, where would he send envoys?

They might not be here to ask for reinforcements.

That would be like throwing a meat bun to a dog—it's gone forever.

Zhao Xiheng recalled Wei Li's reckless ruthlessness; even when an arrow struck his shoulder, he could pull it out without batting an eye and continue wielding his sword as if nothing had happened.

If he were to actually fight for Zhao Mingjin, he would probably be a formidable weapon, and perhaps Southern Zhou would be able to turn the tide.

But none of that matters; what matters is whether you can defend after you've taken the lead.

She grabbed Wei Li's sleeve and shook her head, meaning that he should never listen to the nonsense spoken by the envoy sent by Zhao Mingjin.

Wei Li bent down, intending to kiss the corner of her mouth, but fearing that outsiders would see and Zhao Xiheng would be unhappy, he instead kissed her forehead.

"Oh, it's none of your business." He then left.

Zhao Xiheng frowned and spat under her breath at his maroon back, thinking, "I don't know who made you these new clothes, and then they just turn around and say it's none of your business."

Zhao Mingjin didn't just come to ask for reinforcements; Zhao Xiheng slightly underestimated his shamelessness.

His envoy wore a long white robe covered with a layer of cloud-like blue gauze. He had a mustache on his chin and lips and a graceful demeanor, which made him look quite elegant and noble. Now, this immortal-like man had sunken eyes and a pale face, probably due to the long journey, but he still did not lose his high and mighty attitude when facing Wei Li.

This was Wei Li's first time meeting a scholar-official from Jinyang. He glanced at him a few more times and found that apart from his graceful manners, there was nothing else to see. He was as thin as a chick and, more importantly, arrogant with his nose in the air.

So, this is what the men in Zhao Xiheng's hometown look like now?

He still remembers that when he left, he still admired a strong and resilient spirit.

A new emperor brings a new court; the people follow the emperor's example. One can glimpse the nature of his subjects from the emperor's personality and style of doing things. Emperor Shunhe and his son Zhao Mingjin were both indecisive and literary scholars, and they preferred to appoint people like themselves. The court and the country followed the emperor's preferences, and this became the prevailing trend.

When Wei Li turned his gaze away from the envoy, the envoy was still sizing him up with disdain in his eyes.

Is this Princess Jingcheng's husband? Or was he the one who abducted her?

It was truly vulgar and crude, reeking of the sleazy, uncouth air of a country bumpkin.

How dare he call himself the son-in-law of the Great Zhou?

In his opinion, Princess Jingcheng was not as chaste as her father, Emperor Huiwu. Being defiled by such a person was worse than killing herself to preserve her reputation. Fortunately, she hadn't given birth to a bastard and tainted the royal bloodline.

The emperor's envoy from the capital, Jinyang, sounds impressive, but compared to the capital, the whole country is a remote and impoverished place. No wonder he thinks so highly of himself.

Wei Li couldn't help but touch the moon blade on the table with his fingers, feeling a strong urge to gouge out someone's eyes.

If the two sides don't like each other, it's hard to start a conversation.

Even though the envoy from Jinyang was arrogant and domineering, he still needed something from them. Although his attitude was not very respectful, he still started the conversation: "The capital is in danger. Since the prince consort acknowledges that he is the prince consort of the Great Zhou and has a large army, he should naturally fulfill his duty to protect the Great Zhou, recover lost territories, and uphold the rightful heir."

So it's not just about borrowing troops, but also about dragging Wei Li into it, making Wei Li expand his territory all the way.

Wei Li found these words grating; what did he mean by "obligation"?

In this world, there are only things he is willing to do and things he is unwilling to do; there is no such thing as what he should or shouldn't do.

"Who told you that I, Baba'er, would become your Great Zhou's consort?" Wei Li flicked the moon blade on the table, getting a little out of control.

"There are people behind the wall. Since you dare to boast, someone will naturally hear you!"

Good heavens, this envoy still considers being the son-in-law of the Great Zhou Dynasty something glorious and worth showing off.

Wei Li tilted his head and thought for a moment, "I only said that I am the son-in-law of Emperor Huiwu and the husband of Princess Jingcheng, but I never said that I am the consort of your Great Zhou." He only said this to the envoy sent by Liu Huan, and it must have been that troublemaking villain Liu Huan who relayed it to Zhao Mingjin's ears, inciting Zhao Mingjin to send someone to take advantage of him.

This didn't cost him anything, but it was incredibly disgusting. Liu Huan was probably testing him to see if he was on Zhao Mingjin's side.

"I don't like hearing that. Say something else." He had already controlled his temper and interrupted the envoy who was about to speak.

The envoy's face turned a deep shade of liver. He stood with his hands in his pockets, feeling extremely embarrassed that Wei Li hadn't arranged a seat for him yet. "That's all," he said.

He's just a country bumpkin, crude and rude, and doesn't even know where he comes from. He seized Pingzhou and the princess by some underhanded means. How dare someone of such lowly birth speak to him like that?

His father held the official position of Right Grand Counselor, and his elder brother was also a Grand Counselor. In Jinyang, who wasn't...

"That's all?" Wei Li turned his gaze. "Didn't your emperor send you to visit the princess or anything? To ask her how she's doing in Pingzhou?"

"A married daughter is like a spilled drop of water..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wei Li splashed the hot tea on the table onto his face. The envoy covered his scalded face and cried out in pain.

Wei Li finally picked up the pair of crescent blades on the table, and the tips of the blades landed steadily on his eyes, gouging out his eyeballs perfectly. Only then did he feel a little bit of the anger in his heart.

"Drag him out." Wei Li casually wiped the blood from the tip of the knife onto his clothes and ordered.

The man was dragged away by his ankle, leaving a pool of blood. Wei Li chased after him, saying, "Hang him on the city gate for ten days or half a month."

Let's show that dog emperor and Liu Huan that whoever annoys him will have their dog's life taken.

The dog emperor had a beautiful dream. On one hand, he looked down on him, treating him like a poor relative who was begging for handouts, as if he desperately wanted to stick with that dilapidated Great Zhou. On the other hand, he fawned over him, wanting him to send troops.

Being arrogant and bossy—whoever spoiled them with that bad habit could cut off enough skin to build a city wall.

Did the sons and daughters born to Emperor Shunhe all think they were very noble and that others would be eager to fawn over them?

His father-in-law only had one daughter, Zhao Xiheng, which was really too few. The Zhao family's fine character was not carried forward, which made people think that the Zhao family was a bunch of stupid fools with potholes in their heads and pus dripping from their feet.

Zhao Xiheng watered the ginseng seedlings regularly. During the watering, her thoughts kept switching between the possibility that Wei Li might be mentally unstable and the certainty that he was not. In the end, she concluded that it was more likely that Wei Li, this madman, was unpredictable and that his mental state was either good or bad.

"Where is the envoy?" Zhao Xiheng asked Wei Li after he returned.

If he actually listened to Zhao Mingjin's persuasion, she planned to stay up all night and argue with him.

He even had a prepared explanation: "You're dragging along an army of 500,000, doing all that work for nothing. What kind of empire are you building for Zhao Mingjin? He'll just turn around and bestow upon you a title of 'One-Word King'."

Wei Li raised an eyebrow at her, "As an envoy of the emperor, of course we should respectfully invite him to stay at our lodgings."

Zhao Xiheng slapped her forehead, repeatedly asking to confirm, "Really?"

"Of course, when have I ever lied to you?" Wei Li poured himself a glass of water, suppressing the smile on his lips.

"What did he ask for? Did you agree?" If he hadn't agreed, he probably wouldn't have so respectfully invited him to stay at his lodging.

"Your cousin wants me to help him reclaim his lost territory, promising me gold, silver, treasures, titles, and beautiful women."

Zhao Xiheng scratched her head. "Aren't you pretty rich? If you want a title, why don't you just give yourself one? Learn from Wang Zhiyao, he gave himself a fancy title like 'Great Sage of Heaven' and I won't call it tacky. As for beauties, aren't there plenty of beauties right here? Is there anyone prettier than me?"

She pointed to herself.

Wei Li choked on a mouthful of water and couldn't stop coughing.

Zhao Xiheng silently prayed in her heart, "May Wei Li choke to death, may Wei Li choke to death."

Wei Li wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and lifted her chin. "But this little beauty isn't proactive at all."