Thinking of this, Lan Xiuyuan's expression became even colder.

From the time Lan Linxue was very young, the Emperor personally trained a hundred boys for him, including Shuanghua and others who are now by Lan Linxue's side.

These teenagers ate, slept, practiced martial arts and studied with Lan Linxue. Even Lan Xiuyuan was jealous of them when he was a child. Their feelings for Lan Linxue far exceeded those of ordinary people.

These people had been gradually dispersed by the emperor seven years ago and placed in various military camps.

No one knows where these people went, no one knows who else is among them, or what their names are now, except for Lan Linxue.

Lan Linxue also personally formed a youth army in the Qinling Mountains. However, she claimed it was just for fun, to test her ability to lead troops into battle.

At the beginning, even Hu Tianyong did not pay attention to this group of young people who had been abandoned in the Qinling Mountains to guard the frontier.

Lan Linxue initially had some enthusiasm for leading dozens of young people to practice military strategy, but after a few months she got tired of it and simply sent them to the Qinling Mountains.

However, in just three short years, all of these teenagers became young generals with rich combat experience, having fought countless battles.

Their army also rapidly expanded from the initial two hundred men to twenty thousand, firmly guarding the border gates.

Only then did Hu Tianyong realize that he was not only wrong, but terribly wrong.

They not only underestimated Lan Linxue at the time, but also underestimated the power of these people and the position they were guarding.

If something happens in the future, these people will march back from the Qinling Mountains, passing through the prosperous Jiangnan region first, and seize the grain supplies from Jiangnan in an instant.

Moreover, Southerners have never been as fierce in battle as Northerners, and the provinces they pass through are guarded by the Emperor's staunch loyalists. Combined with the Crown Prince's forces, they would be an iron-wolf army capable of shaking the world. Add to that the men Lan Linxue had previously deployed, and the consequences would be utterly unimaginable. They would be powerless to even retaliate.

Lan Linxue spent five years planning this move.

Lan Xiuyuan gave a slightly bleak smile. With such forbearance, such methods, and such scheming, isn't this world Lan Linxue's?

What exactly is he doing?

Was he really courting death?!

Lan Xiuyuan wearily closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Lan Linxue wasn't dead, and Lan Jiayuan had escaped, which meant his plan had completely failed. Moreover, it was highly likely that Lan Linxue would seize this opportunity to turn the tables on him.

But Lan Xiuyuan didn't want to think about these things anymore. The people from the Crown Prince's residence had already told him to wait here, so no matter what the future held, he could only wait here.

Because he had no way out!

By noon, the rain not only showed no signs of stopping, but actually got heavier.

The sandbags thrown into the river were all washed away by the rushing current from upstream, and two people were also swept away.

Driven by the Crown Prince's guards, the officials and yamen runners also joined the fishermen in filling the gaps.

When have these people ever been exposed to cold water? Even after being forced to resign, they still act as if they're government officials, ordering others around. This makes everyone resentful, and when they encounter a man with a bad temper, they immediately resort to violence.

For a moment, chaos erupted below.

Lan Xiuyuan acted as if he hadn't seen anything, simply sitting in his sedan chair, eyes closed, slowly turning the prayer beads.

Those officials stood in the rain, cold and hungry, their hearts filled with fear and anger. When they had no other choice, they could only vent their frustrations on their subordinates.

So when Lan Linxue arrived in his magnificent carriage bearing the insignia of the Crown Prince, leading a large entourage, this was the chaotic scene he witnessed.

Lan Linxue was covered in injuries. He couldn't lean back, so he could only lean sideways against the soft couch next to him, his face showing a charmingly cold and wicked expression.

When Lan Linxue's large entourage arrived, the lower-ranking officials below were all on the shore with their backs to the people giving orders, so they had no idea that Lan Linxue had arrived.

Upon seeing Lan Linxue's convoy, Jiang Ming and his men quickly bowed and knelt in the rain, loudly proclaiming, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Lan Xiuyuan quickly got out of his sedan chair and, with someone holding an umbrella over him, walked up to Lan Linxue, bowing deeply and saying, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Lan Linxue was indeed alive, and not only that, she even showed up the next day in a very confident manner, so it seems that she was indeed saved by Qin Kou'er.

But where did Qin Kou'er go?

Lan Xiuyuan lowered his head, his expression changing repeatedly.

Lan Linxue didn't even glance at them. Instead, she twirled the ring on her hand and lazily said to the seventh brother, "Why is it so noisy?"

The seventh brother quickly said, "The people below are supervising the repair of the dike!"

Lan Linxue gave a mocking laugh, "Now you think of repairing things? I thought all the officials in Yangzhou were dead! Jinshan Temple is about to be flooded, and you're still out there trying to catch some traitor!"

As they were talking, a bigger commotion suddenly broke out in the distance.

A group of mud-covered men clashed with the soldiers below, and a fight broke out. They were about to fall into the water.

Lan Linxue narrowed her eyes and waved to an adjutant below her, "Go, take some men and give those soldiers who only eat and do no work twenty lashes!"

"Yes!" the lieutenant replied in a deep, expressionless voice.

Immediately, the guards rushed over, raised their whips, and without saying a word, lashed the soldiers twenty times.

The fishermen, witnessing this scene, were stunned and bewildered. What was going on? Shouldn't they usually be whipped? Why had the rules changed now?

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