Since that day, Shen Muzhi has had two capable assistants, which has given him some free time, and he is no longer as rarely seen as before.

As time went by, many things were almost ready.

Qiu Shanjun has agreed to cooperate with Shen Muzhi. Shen Muzhi will help him succeed, and once the matter is accomplished, he will submit to Shen Muzhi and make the barbarians a subordinate force of Shen Muzhi.

Shen Muzhi was not worried that he would go back on his word later. The main way to help Qiu Shanjun succeed was to work with Qiu Shanjun from the inside to destroy the forces that firmly supported the Barbarian King and the Barbarian King's eldest son. At that time, the Barbarian tribe would suffer at least half of its losses, and his goal would be achieved.

Meanwhile, Yan Xiao had already reached a cooperation agreement with Consort Liu and given her the Love Silk Gu, so that she could restrain Prince Qing and make the already incompetent and tyrannical Prince Qing completely neglect state affairs. She was also ordered to act as regent in place of Prince Qing.

Not only that, Shen Muzhi has already sent people to assist her in handling the aftermath.

This seems absurd, but Prince Qing has always been absurd, so it won't raise any suspicions. It will only further solidify Consort Liu's reputation as a bewitching concubine.

Fortunately, Consort Liu no longer cares about such empty words.

Yan Xiao has already promised Consort Liu that once the matter is accomplished, she will help her escape the palace and elope with her beloved.

Consort Liu's beloved was none other than her former fiancé.

Consort Liu's fiancé was hunted down by Prince Qing's men. He barely escaped with his life, but unfortunately, his face was disfigured.

Although her face was disfigured, it also changed her appearance, allowing her to escape Prince Qing's pursuit.

Yan Xiao learned from the plot that Su Yuanyuan's success in siding with Consort Liu was a lucky accident.

Consort Liu believed that the Thousand Autumn Fruit could cure her fiancé, so she kept sending people to search for it, ostensibly to delay aging.

Later, Su Yuanyuan took the Thousand Autumn Fruit to seek refuge with Consort Liu, who naturally accepted her gladly.

Although the Thousand Autumn Fruit is a sacred object for enhancing appearance, it can only maintain one's appearance and cannot restore it.

Even so, Consort Liu kept Su Yuanyuan around. Although Su Yuanyuan instigated her to do many things, Consort Liu was fully aware of the situation but always let her do as she pleased.

The reason was that she hated him and wanted to destroy Prince Qing and the Qing Kingdom to avenge herself and her lover.

Rather than saying that Su Yuanyuan took advantage of Consort Liu, it would be more accurate to say that they took advantage of each other.

This time, Yan Xiao asked Su Yuanyuan to bring the Thousand Autumn Fruit, just to use it as a stepping stone. After Su Yuanyuan met Consort Liu, she would give her the letter that Yan Xiao had written to Consort Liu.

It explains the function of the Thousand Autumn Fruit and the fact that it cannot heal scars, and states that although the Thousand Autumn Fruit cannot heal, she can speak and laugh.

The reason Su Yuanyuan was sent to deliver the letter instead of a message was simply to show that Su Yuanyuan did not know the contents of the letter, let alone that her fiancé was still alive.

But Yanxiao knew perfectly well that she was the only one who could help the two of them out of their predicament.

Consort Liu already hated Prince Qing to the core, and now Yan Xiao's actions, besides giving her hope, were also a silent threat to her.

After all, Yan Xiao had already made it clear that she knew her secret, and if she revealed it, her fiancé would surely die.

Therefore, no matter what aspect Consort Liu considers, she will inevitably cooperate with Yan Xiao.

For Yanxiao and Shenmu, the only thing that can still be considered troublesome now is the Miao King.

Yan Xiao learned from the guardian deity that the Miao King had already arrived at the border of Jiangbei and had made contact with the eldest son of the Barbarian King, intending to join forces to wipe out Jiangbei in one fell swoop.

The reason they didn't attack immediately is that they wanted to create some chaos outside the city with poison first, so as to lure Lou Guyu out of the city.

The reason she did this was that although she had barely mastered the Ten Thousand Insects Devouring the Heart technique, she was unable to control it for a long time due to the lack of special physical support.

If Lou Guyu were here, he would definitely use his physique to fight against her heart-eating insects. Although she was confident that she could defeat the inexperienced Lou Guyu, she wanted to use a more foolproof method.

As long as Lou Guyu leaves the city, with the Ten Thousand Insects Devouring the Heart and the barbarian army, she is confident that she can destroy Jiangbei.

What she didn't know was that besides Lou Guyu, the fake saintess, there was another true saintess in Jiangbei with an even stronger physique.

Unbeknownst to them, the barbarian king's second son had already reached an agreement with Shen Muzhi and was hiding in the shadows waiting for the eldest son to make a move, so that they could join forces with Shen Muzhi to annihilate the eldest son's forces in one fell swoop.

Little did they know, they had been watching her every move and word, and were now just waiting for her to walk right into their trap.

Meanwhile, Yan Xiao and Shen Muzhi were trying out the enhanced version of the crossbow that Mo Antong had just created.

After testing the crossbow, Shen Muzhi held it with great affection and couldn't help but praise it:

"Excellent! This thing is small in size, yet its range and power are significantly improved compared to the original crossbows. With this, the Jiangbei Army's combat strength will be greatly enhanced."

Yan Xiao found his agitation amusing, and just then, a servant came to report:

"General, Madam, Mr. Qian has arrived."

Yan Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded to indicate that she understood.

Just as I was about to turn around and tell Shen Muzhi that I had to leave for a bit, I saw Shen Muzhi, who had been enthusiastically studying the crossbow, quickly toss it aside and look at Yan Xiao seriously, saying:

"I'll go with you."

That look didn't seem like he was going to see someone; it looked more like he was going to war.

Yan Xiao knew what this person was thinking without even thinking. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but he probably thought she was a hot commodity that everyone liked, and he was wary of people eyeing her.

Yan Xiao chuckled, rolled her eyes at Chen Muzhi, neither refusing nor agreeing, and turned to leave.

For Shen Muzhi, not refusing meant agreeing, so he quickly followed after her.

As Yan Xiao walked, he gave instructions to his servants:

"Go and invite Young Master Lou over here."

The servant responded and trotted away, while Shen Muzhi followed.

When the two entered the room, Situ Nanzhao was pouring tea for someone. Yan Xiao looked closely and realized that the person was Mu Yunniang.

Upon seeing Mu Yunniang, Yan Xiao was slightly surprised for a moment, then her gaze immediately locked onto Situ Nanzhao, and she couldn't help but wonder what the current situation between the two of them was.

Mu Yunniang, who was initially somewhat uneasy, inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Yan Xiao and Shen Mu.

Situ Nanzhao seemed rather attentive to her during their meeting, which made her uneasy, wondering what he was up to.

She immediately stood up, stealthily distancing herself from Situ Nanzhao before bowing to Yan Xiao and Shen Muzhi. She was about to speak when Situ Nanzhao preempted her:

"Sister Lou, why did you come to see me in such a hurry? Is there something urgent?"

As Situ Nanzhao spoke, he winked at Yan Xiao with his back to Mu Yunniang. Yan Xiao pretended not to see it and looked at Mu Yunniang, saying:

"There are some things, but Yunniang, why have you come here?"