Back at Deyang Palace, Liu Hong unconsciously took out the sachet and rubbed it in his hand.

Liu Hong's mind kept replaying every scene and every word he had spoken with Song Yue that day, and a sweet smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

After a long while, recalling his plan to use Song Feng to deal with the King of Bohai, Liu Hong shook his head and sighed. Then, he got up and walked towards Chang Le Palace.

Seeing Liu Hong suddenly come over to pay his respects, Dou Miao couldn't help but ask, "Hong'er, what brings you here?"

Liu Hong smiled and said, "It's nothing serious. I just want to ask Mother to summon the Princess of Bohai to the capital!"

Dou Miao was slightly taken aback: "Oh? Is Hong'er planning to make a move against the King of Bohai?"

Liu Hong shook his head: "No, that's not it. I was just preparing to stir up trouble and alert the enemy..."

Dou Miao frowned slightly: "I have summoned the Prince of Bohai to the capital twice, but he has been delaying until now. Now that I have summoned his queen, I am afraid he will delay again..."

Liu Hong smiled and said, "Mother, there is no need to worry. Now that Song Feng is the Commander of the Imperial Guard, the Prince of Bohai has sent letters to him several times, but Song Feng has refused them all. Therefore, the Prince of Bohai will definitely try other ways to win him over, and the marriage between the two families is one of the means he relies on the most..."

Dou Miao nodded: "Hong'er is right, then let's do as you say!"

Soon, Chang Le Palace issued an edict from the Empress Dowager, requiring the princesses and wives of all members of the imperial clan to come to Luoyang on the day of the national sacrifice next month to participate in the sacrificial ceremony.

Seeing this, Liu Hong returned to Deyang Palace with satisfaction.

The reason he asked Dou Miao to summon the Princess of Bohai back to the capital and keep her away from that turbulent place was simply because she was Song Yue's aunt.

Although Liu Hong wouldn't change his plans because of Song Yue, he would still do his best to protect her family.

Sitting behind his desk, Liu Hong picked up a copy of the latest intelligence from the Investigation Department and began to read it.

The intelligence report clearly stated that Han Ping was in contact with the gentry of Qing, Ji, and Yan provinces. Through the operations of the intelligence bureau, those gentry had already established some contact with the King of Bohai and the local powerful families.

Once the Prince of Bohai rebels, Liu Hong can then take the opportunity to thoroughly purge the gentry and powerful families of Qing, Yan, and Ji provinces.

After reviewing his plan in his mind, Liu Hong wrote a secret letter to Jia Xu and Cheng Yu respectively.

On October 10th, the weather began to cool down, but Luoyang was still bustling with activity. The various families that had obtained quotas in the border trade continued to purchase all kinds of goods from the Royal Trading Company and then continuously transport them to the border.

On this day, a large procession appeared on the official road west of Luoyang, slowly making its way towards the city.

This caravan was the same one that the imperial court organized last year to travel to the Western Regions. After a year, they have finally returned to Luoyang.

At first glance, the entire procession stretched for nearly five miles from front to back. At the front of the procession was the imperial caravan escorted by five hundred Imperial Guards, while behind were members of various families and merchants from all over the country.

The caravan dispatched by the imperial court not only brought back various seeds and special products from the Western Regions, but also a large quantity of cotton and cotton seeds.

Of course... the most eye-catching were the beautiful women from the Western Regions brought back by the families and merchants' caravans. These women certainly attracted a lot of attention from passersby along the way.

As soon as the caravan entered the West Market of Luoyang, dignitaries of all ranks rushed there upon hearing the news.

Cao Song also secretly changed into civilian clothes and dragged Xiahou Dun's father to the West Market, ostensibly to "broaden his horizons."

"So beautiful...so beautiful! It's so white and pretty, and it feels amazing!"

"Uh... Brother, you brought me here just to see these...?"

Inside the market, Xiahou Cai, Xiahou Dun's father, couldn't help but roll his eyes as he looked at the wad of cotton in Cao Song's hand.

Cao Song glanced at Xiahou Cai: "What? You want to see something else...?"

"Don't you want to...?"

As Xiahou Cai spoke, his gaze drifted to an open space not far away, which was already surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, with bursts of music constantly emanating from it.

Seeing the lively scene over there, Cao Song pursed his lips: "Hmm~, going over to take a look wouldn't hurt...!"

As they spoke, Cao Song and Xiahou Cai involuntarily walked over as well.

In the center of the open space, several scantily clad women from the Western Regions were dancing gracefully to the music. However... their dance moves were incredibly seductive, causing the surrounding crowd to swallow hard.

Upon reaching the outer edge of the crowd, Cao Song and Xiahou Cai also stood on tiptoe and craned their necks to look inside.

Xiahou Cai's eyes lit up as he looked on, and he exclaimed, "Tsk tsk tsk! These women are really tempting, brother, why don't you buy a few to take home...?"

Cao Song shook his head: "I won't buy..."

Xiahou Cai was taken aback: "Uh... you don't like it?"

Cao Song curled his lip: "I like it...!"

Xiahou Cai: "If you like it, why not buy it...?"

Cao Song blushed: "His Majesty has already sent people to the Western Regions to demand it. I will naturally get a share then. Why waste this money..."

"Oh, that's true...!"

Remembering Cao Song's stingy nature, Xiahou shrugged and said nothing more, continuing to tiptoe and peer inside.

Cao Song also stared intently inside, but because he was a little short, he could not see the women's faces clearly.

"It's not very clear from here, shall we go inside and take a look...?"

"What my elder brother says is true...!"

Xiahou Cai nodded, then pulled Cao Song along and squeezed inside.

As Xiahou Dun's father, Xiahou Cai was also a large and burly man with strength far exceeding that of ordinary people. In no time, the two of them squeezed to the very back.

Looking at the dancing women before him, Xiahou Cai couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "Oh dear, seeing them up close, these women are even more alluring. If my wife didn't forbid it, I would definitely buy a few to take home..."

Upon hearing Xiahou Cai's words, Cao Song's face darkened. He glared at Xiahou Cai but said nothing, his eyes fixed on the woman in the room.

"Damn it, who is it now? Stop pushing!"

"Whose child is this? Doesn't anyone care?"

Just as Cao Song and Xiahou Cai were watching the performance with complete concentration, the crowd behind them suddenly became chaotic, and shouts and curses could be heard.

Cao Song and Xiahou Cai heard the commotion behind them and turned to look.

Several teenagers had already squeezed to a spot not far behind the two of them.

Upon recognizing the figures, Cao Song and Xiahou Cai's faces immediately darkened.

It turned out that these young boys were Xu Chu, the Xiahou brothers, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and a few others.