"No, my wife is waiting for me." Meng Yuxiu pressed his thumb against her soft, rosy lips, his gaze so intense, yet he slightly distanced himself from her, as if he were truly afraid of being discovered.

Chang Lili leaned against him and said, "General, are you lying to me? I've never heard of the wise and mighty general ever having a wife."

Meng Yuxiu looked at her, his eyes filled with three parts tenderness and seven parts seriousness: "You will soon hear it. This general will marry her with proper betrothal and ceremony, so that everyone will know that she is my wife."

Chang Lili immediately understood the meaning behind Meng Yuxiu's words. She stared blankly at this man of his word and was too embarrassed to continue fooling around. She blushed and leaned against Meng Yuxiu's chest.

Meng Yuxiu hugged her and said, "I'll find an auspicious day to tell Mother-in-law another time."

"It's up to you."

The two hugged quietly for a while, then Chang Lili said with unfounded worry, "I'm afraid my mother-in-law won't be able to bear to part with me."

Meng Yuxiu said, "Your mother-in-law will still live with you from now on. We will be a family in the right, and I won't miss her."

Chang Lili said, "I've lived with my mother-in-law since I was little. She dotes on me. Don't be fooled by her current lack of affection; it's all because I like her. Otherwise, you'll see, she definitely won't agree to your request."

Meng Yuxiu smiled, then suddenly remembered something, pinched Chang Lili's cheek, and asked, "You've lived with your mother-in-law since you were little, what about your parents..."

"I passed away a long time ago." Chang Lili was very honest with him. "It seems to be because of a fire. My mother-in-law rescued me and raised me. I was also injured in the fire and don't remember much about my childhood. I'm not sad now, so you don't need to comfort me."

"I just feel sorry for the hardships you suffered when you were a child."

Meng Yuxiu rarely said such things. Chang Lili felt soft-hearted and said, "It's not hard work. My mother-in-law can't bear to let me suffer. She never let me do any work when I was little. I said I wanted to study mechanical manufacturing, but she was afraid of the hard work and always made me go."

Chang Lili is very talented in government affairs, which is a valuable skill. With her talent, it's not impossible for her to become famous at a young age.

But her mother-in-law has always been against it; she would even get angry if she touched the tools.

"She probably thought it was too dangerous for a daughter to do those things, and always hoped that I would know some music, chess, calligraphy and painting."

Meng Yuxiu concealed the deep thought in his eyes and looked at her with a smile: "You can play the piano?"

Chang Lili smiled slyly and readily admitted, "No, I secretly sawed the guqin in half and used the strings to make several mechanical boxes, which I sold for a lot of money."

Thinking about her childhood, Chang Lili had a lot to share with Meng Yuxiu, things she had never mentioned to anyone before, but now she was telling Meng Yuxiu about them as if they were her most treasured possessions.

Meng Yuxiu listened attentively and finally asked, "Where are your parents buried? Let's go pay our respects to them together sometime."

“Okay. But Grandma has been keeping their memorial tablets, so we’ll burn some paper money for them together during the Ghost Festival.”

Meng Yuxiu nodded.

"Knock knock." A knock sounded at the door. Chang Lili looked over and immediately realized that she was sitting on Meng Yuxiu's lap. She quickly sat up and hurriedly straightened her skirt.

Meng Yuxiu looked at her calmly and said, "You still want to have an affair with me? You get scared like this just because someone comes along."

Chang Lili glared at him and stood obediently to the side.

"Come in."

The man who entered was one of Meng Yuxiu's men. Seeing Chang Lili there, he hesitated for a moment, but after hearing Meng Yuxiu say, "Speak," he handed over the letter in his hand and said, "General, this is something sent by the Hu family."

The Hu family?

Meng Yuxiu guessed it was about Hu Cheng's investigation into the Three Pages Gate, but Chang Lili didn't know. She frowned as she looked at the letter. Hu Cheng's letter? Could he have ill intentions?

"General, I have placed people in various places as you instructed, but I have not found anyone suspicious."

"Don't let your guard down. Act immediately if you spot anything. Even if it means death, bring the person back."

"yes!"

"Go down."

Chang Lili was completely confused. Thinking of the barbarians from before, she asked, "Is something wrong on the frontier?"

Meng Yuxiu opened the letter in front of her, but stopped when he was about to take it out. He pressed the letter on the table, shook his head and said, "It's something His Majesty sent down when I went to the palace today."

Chang Lili suddenly remembered what Chu Moyu had said before. She had been listening absentmindedly at the time, but now it seemed to be reminding her of something, so she asked, "Did something happen in the palace today?"

Meng Yuxiu said, "Someone in the palace wanted to assassinate Consort Lan, which uncovered an old case..."

Listening to Meng Yuxiu's words, Chang Lili sighed inwardly at how exhausting the palace intrigue was, while also analyzing the matter and asking, "Aren't the Empress and Consort Lan mortal enemies? How come they seem to be on the same side this time?"

Meng Yuxiu also found it strange, but after thinking about it carefully, he seemed to be able to come up with a reason. He said, "If the Empress does not help Consort Lan this time, Consort Lan may also implicate her. Moreover, the Empress's request to leave the palace to pray for blessings today is probably for some other purpose. Think about it, the imperial harem is about to hold a grand selection."

Chang Lili suddenly understood the intricacies of the situation.

Consort Lan is cunning but lacks shrewdness. If it weren't for Xiao Shu'er's help, she certainly wouldn't be a match for the Empress. Both Consort Lan and the Empress are undoubtedly culpable for what happened back then. The Empress calculated that Consort Lan's reckless nature would eventually implicate her, so she conveniently helped her, effectively helping herself. The matter of leaving the palace to pray for blessings further demonstrates the Empress's shrewdness. By temporarily avoiding conflict with the Emperor, she isn't afraid of losing power in the harem. The upcoming imperial selection, presided over by Consort Lan, will likely be met with hostility from her, making life difficult for the new concubines. The harem will never be peaceful.

This calculated approach sent a chill down Chang Lili's spine.

She hadn't had any direct confrontation with the Empress yet, but she no longer wanted to have anything to do with that woman.

"Moreover," Meng Yuxiu continued, "the discord between the Emperor and Empress is no secret. The Empress's departure from the palace this time not only gave the Emperor face, but also gave the Crown Prince some leeway."

Xiao Lingshou?

"His Majesty has always been afraid of power struggles in the harem, because the Empress has a lot of dislike for the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince can perform well and prove himself, that is probably what the Empress wants to see."

Chang Lili saw through the treacherous and cunning struggles in the palace with just one glance at him. She knew that although he was a military general, he was also very perceptive. Although he did not participate in any political struggles, he was clear about everything.

However, Meng Yuxiu was, after all, a powerful general with military authority, and many people were watching him, including the emperor and empress.

Chang Lili asked worriedly, "This won't affect you, will it?"