Jiang Qinyu! It's that woman again!

Why? Why does fate always seem to side with this woman?!

Liu Ruyi was so angry her eyes almost popped out, but Jiang Qinyu remained the same, smiling faintly as if she were looking at a clown.

"Take the thing out of her mouth," Jiang Qinyu said to the soldier who brought her back.

Someone immediately stepped forward and pulled the foot-binding cloth out of Liu Ruyi's mouth. The next moment, the woman's sharp cursing rang out.

"Jiang Qinyu, you bitch! I am the Emperor's woman, how dare you treat me like this? When I get back, I will make sure the Emperor issues an edict to exterminate your entire clan!"

Jiang Qinyu picked at her ear, her gaze towards Liu Ruyi was somewhat indescribable.

I still remember when I first met Liu Ruyi, she had the air of a well-bred lady, and her words and actions were impeccable. How did she become like this?

"Let me go right now!" Liu Ruyi struggled to her feet and rushed towards Jiang Qinyu.

Unfortunately, she was stopped as soon as she made a move.

Aping grabbed her by the collar and threw her aside, causing Liu Ruyi to fall flat on her face. "You think you're worthy to get close to the Princess?"

Liu Ruyi's pupils suddenly dilated, then she burst into laughter, "Princess? What kind of princess is she? You traitors! How dare you dream of overthrowing my Great Yue Dynasty? You're dreaming!"

"Whether it's a dream or not is not for you to decide," Jiang Qinyu said without the slightest annoyance, and even asked, "Are you very familiar with the Fifth Prince of Western Qiang?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyi's disheveled state from being thrown to the ground by A Ping vanished instantly. She raised her chin proudly and declared, "Yes, I am his woman. When we return, the Emperor will bestow a marriage upon us. If you know what's good for you, you'd better release me now..."

"Is that so?" Jiang Qinyu tilted her head as if thinking, then smiled and said, "Then you two can keep each other company!"

After saying that, she said to A-Ping, "Stun her acupoints and throw her over to the livestock shed. Let Miss Liu be with her fiancé; she might feel safer that way."

Liu Ruyi was stunned when she heard this. What kind of sense of security is this?!

Does Jiang Qinyu mean that Jiang Chengyou has also been arrested? And that she and Jiang Chengyou will be locked up together in a livestock shed?

How could that be? Jiang Chengyou brought three thousand men! Could three thousand men really not be able to defeat the thousand-plus people from Dingshui Village?

At this moment, Liu Ruyi began to question her life. By the time she realized what was happening, she was already tied to the manger in Jiang Qinyu's livestock shed.

That's right, her treatment was even worse than Jiang Chengyou's. At least the rope that tied Jiang Chengyou to was longer and he was tied to a cow post, so he could stand or sit as he pleased. But Liu Ruyi, in her current state, only had one option: to lie down.

She appeared before Jiang Chengyou in such a disheveled state. Jiang Chengyou opened his mouth in exasperation, but no one knew what he wanted to say. His mouth was moving, but no sound came out.

Liu Ruyi didn't care how disheveled she was at this moment. Seeing Jiang Chengyou like this, she opened her mouth to speak, but found that no sound came out.

At the same moment, the two looked at each other and suddenly felt utterly hopeless.

How did they end up in this situation?

The situation was so promising at the beginning!

No one cared what they were thinking. Lu Yanzheng and Wei Chengzong met up on Yunshan Mountain and brought all the captured Western Qiang people back to Yongshan County.

The Northwest Army stationed in Dingshui Village also returned, while Lu Yanzheng led the villagers of Dingshui Village back to the village.

Before parting, Wei Chengzong pulled Lu Yanzheng aside to talk.

"Your Highness, now that you are in Dingshui Village, shouldn't these people continue to stay in the village to protect you?" Wei Chengzhong was truly worried.

Lu Yanzheng shook his head, "No need for now. Take your men back and arrange for the workshop staff to come over. Dingshui Village needs to be replanned."

Wei Chengzhong's expression hardened, and he nodded, saying, "Your subordinate obeys!"

He appeared calm on the surface, but inside he was incredibly excited upon hearing those words.

The prince clearly intends to turn Dingshui Village into their important stronghold. Once their great cause is accomplished, they will have to expand to the capital!

"Furthermore, starting today, land in Yongshan County will no longer be allowed to be bought or sold. All land and property held by the government will be compiled into a register and sent to Dingshui Village to be given to the Princess," Lu Yanzheng added after a moment's thought.

Since they will be making this their capital in the future, the land in the entire Yongshan County will naturally need to be strictly controlled in preparation for future needs.

Yongshan County, as the most remote county in Ngoc Kang Prefecture, was once the poorest place in Dai Viet, but it was not small in size.

"If someone wants to buy the land, should I refuse them directly, or should I report to you or the Princess before making a decision?" Wei Chengzhong asked.

Lu Yanzheng pondered for a moment, "Register it, and send the reason for the purchase and the buyer's information to the Princess for her to decide."

"Yes." Wei Chengzong nodded quickly.

It seems that the princess holds an unparalleled place in the prince's heart!

That makes sense. Given the princess's abilities, if he were the prince, he would have done the same.

After the two parted ways, Lu Yanzheng headed towards the village. The journey was so lively that anyone who didn't know better would think some great joy had happened.

"Did you just see that? How fast those Western Qiang people ran!"

"Haha, that's because they're afraid of Ah Zheng. Let's see if they dare to mess with us again!"

"I finally understand today why Ah Zheng is the only one in our village who has the ability to become a general and a prince. He really is capable!"

"Alright, alright, hurry back home. Your wife is probably worried sick about you..."

Upon hearing these words, Lu Yanzheng couldn't help but smile. He also wanted to hurry home to put Jiang Qinyu's mind at ease.

"Big brother..." Lu Yancai suddenly spoke, though he hesitated.

Lu Yanzheng turned his head to look at him, "What's wrong?"

"No, it's just that seeing you rush into the crowd to kill the enemy today... it hurts me." Lu Yan's eyes reddened as she spoke.

He used to think that once Lu Yanzheng became a general, his family would be able to enjoy a life of luxury. He even thought about getting something for nothing or using Lu Yanzheng's reputation to bully the villagers.

But today he realized that everything Lu Yanzheng had was bought with his life.

Putting everything else aside, just take today for example. These Western Qiang soldiers were really fighting desperately at the beginning, showing no mercy. The wound on his arm still hurts.

Afterwards, the Western Qiang soldiers fled, and in order to avoid being captured, they fought them recklessly.

Lu Yanzheng alone not only had to deal with so many Western Qiang soldiers, but also protect the people in his village who followed him. He didn't even dare to imagine what he would do in that situation.

He had admired his older brother after he figured things out, and after today, he would be even more proud to be Lu Yanzheng's younger brother!

Lu Yanzheng patted his shoulder, "It's all in the past now."

Although he didn't have much opportunity to observe Lu Yancai's behavior closely, the few times he caught a glimpse of him, he could still tell that Lu Yancai was seriously defending himself and was not a coward who would retreat for fear of death.

Besides him, everyone else in the village was also very capable; not one of them was a hindrance. Among them, Meng Tianze and Li Dachui were particularly outstanding.