The husbands exclaimed and praised Lu Shiyi, and Lu Shiyi himself was also incredulous. He never thought he would be pregnant. He was happy and excited at the same time.

Lu Shiyi felt grateful: Thank you, Heaven, thank you, Azure Phoenix, for bestowing this child upon us.

Leng Qingning was overjoyed, feeling like she was about to faint. She didn't know if she was overwhelmed by the series of surprises or if the alcohol was making her dizzy.

She leaned on Jin Yan for support, her body half against him. This action made Jin Yan stiffen, and he quickly reached out a hand to embrace Leng Qingning.

Seeing this, Cang Yuan came over to help her up. "My lady, you're drunk. Let me take you home to rest!"

"Then they..."

Wen Yanche stood up. "Ning'er, don't worry, Lu Shijun will be fine in a while. You can go back now."

"good."

After greeting their husbands, Cangyuan, Jinyan, and Shensu escorted Leng Qingning back to the Rose Garden, after which Jinyan and Shensu left the mansion.

With the three young men of Langya Mansion becoming pregnant one after another, Leng Qingning, fearing that her three husbands would be overworked, bought a new batch of servants and distributed them to their courtyards.

They also hired thirty top chefs to cook for them, assigned ten chefs to each courtyard, increased the monthly allowance for each courtyard, and temporarily entrusted Meng Xu with the management of the household affairs.

June 6th arrived quickly, the day of Jin Yan and Leng Qingning's wedding.

Although he was a concubine, the Empress specially bestowed upon him a grander wedding ceremony, welcoming him with the regalia of a principal consort, making it an exceptionally magnificent event.

Except for the absence of the hair-tying ceremony, the rest of the process is exactly the same as that for welcoming one's master.

When Jin Yan entered the mansion, Leng Qingning wanted to hand over the power of managing the household to Jin Yan, but he refused. Jin Yan said that he was not good at managing the affairs of the mansion, so he had no choice but to let Meng Xu continue to manage it.

Ten days after their marriage, the Jin envoy left the capital.

That same night, after seeing the envoy off, Leng Qingning stayed at Jin Yan's courtyard again.

Listening to the Wind Pavilion

Chi Yan focused intently on his book, laughing as he read, as if this could conceal his worries and cast aside his troubles.

Seeing this, Amu and Yuanshan quietly moved to the garden, their spirits low.

Yuanshan held his breath and, as if venting his frustration, kicked small pebbles along the roadside as he walked.

“It has been a full month since the master entered the manor, but His Highness has not stepped into the courtyard even once. What should we do? The master can only peek at His Highness…” Every time he recalls the situation on June 6th, he can’t help but sigh in distress.

Hearing Yuanshan's words, Amu's face darkened. He had seen clearly how lonely Chi Yan was that day. "That's not called spying. The Lord just didn't want His Highness to dislike him, so he stayed far away."

On their wedding day, Leng Qingning and Jin Yan entered the mansion hand in hand, surrounded by everyone. Chi Yan stood not far from the courtyard gate, watching the two from afar.

“His Highness isn’t coming, and the master isn’t leaving the courtyard either. How can this go on? The master has finally returned. Is he just going to stay cooped up in the courtyard every day? Now that another concubine has entered the palace, will the master fall out of favor?” Yuanshan was anxious.

"What else can we do? The Lord has instructed us not to cause trouble."

"Brother Amu, I didn't mean to cause trouble, and I wouldn't dare. I was just thinking, should we go to the Star-Picking Pavilion and ask His Highness to come over?"

Amu stopped in his tracks. "Can you persuade His Highness to come?"

"Why not give it a try? It's better than sitting and waiting for death. Ever since Consort Yao entered the palace, His Highness has been staying at the Star-Picking Pavilion every day, showering Consort Yao with favors. We should at least go and deliver a message, right? Otherwise, His Highness might become so engrossed in the pleasures of the palace that he might completely forget about our master."

Amu hesitated for a few seconds, then said, "Alright, I'll go with you."

Zhaixing Pavilion

Leng Qingning sat in front of the mirror, and Jin Yan gently combed her hair.

"My lord, how about arranging the 100,000 soldiers who came with my dowry to Changheng Mountain? The 200,000 soldiers that the Empress Mother bestowed upon me are also stationed on the mountain. You can then take charge of them."

"Does the wife trust her husband so much?"

“Of course, you are a general, so I am at ease having you train my soldiers.”

"I ask you, are you really so comfortable entrusting me with full military power?"

Leng Qingning curled her lips and pulled Jin Yan to sit down. "Now that you've become my husband, of course I trust you. Do you really think you'd run away with these 300,000 people?"

Jin Yan smiled and said, "Thank you for trusting me, my wife."

"By the way, my husband, I have something to tell you, but don't be too surprised."

"Oh? What is so mysterious about this? I'm all ears."

Leng Qingning didn't mince words, "Qi State is making unusual moves, and I'm afraid it will soon go to war with Huai State. The two countries have a long history of grudges. I have already discussed this with my mother, the Empress. At that time, our Dayue will also send troops. I hope that you, my husband, will join me in the expedition to retake Qi State."

"Qi Huai is going to start a war? How could this be so sudden?"

"The Empress just received intelligence yesterday that the Qi and Huai kingdoms have not yet reached an agreement on the ownership of Songcheng. The Qi princess died mysteriously in Huai five days before she went to Huai for negotiations."

"Is this really true?"

"It is absolutely true that Qi is the largest agricultural exporter in the hidden world. I want to take this opportunity to reclaim Qi, and if all goes well, I will also take over Huai."

Jin Yan didn't quite understand. "What does the mistress mean?"

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; I intend to take down both Qi and Huai kingdoms in one fell swoop."

Jin Yan remained silent, having already taken control of two countries? Could it be...?

Two breaths later, she spoke softly, "Does my wife mean that you want to unify the hidden world? Does Her Majesty the Empress know this?"

Leng Qingning nodded, "The Empress Mother is very supportive."

Jin Yan understood. As a general, he understood Leng Qingning's ambition, but...

With a worried look on his face, he asked, "So you also want to attack the Jin Kingdom?"

Leng Qingning chuckled, "Brother Yan, is there any need to attack the Jin Kingdom?"

Jin Yan understood, "My aunt indeed has no heir. So what do you plan to do?"

"No rush, let's talk about it after we've subdued Qi Huai."

"Hmm." Jin Yan's gaze suddenly deepened. He looked away and gazed out the window, remaining silent for a long time.

The Jin Dynasty has no one to inherit its great cause, which is the biggest pain point for its people. After the Jin emperor passes away, whether Jin Yu or Jin Man ascends the throne, the Jin Dynasty will likely be plunged into dire straits...

With an incompetent ruler in power, foreign invasions are inevitable, and there will likely be one fierce battle after another. Jin Yan's mother is also old and can no longer protect Jin Yu and his sister for long.

Jin Yan had worried and toiled greatly about this, quelling rebellions everywhere to ensure the prosperity of the Jin Kingdom and striving to eliminate potential troubles. However, the Jin sisters saw him as a thorn in their side…

At this moment, he was seriously considering what Leng Qingning had said.

Leng Qingning sat quietly, letting Jin Yan think for himself. She was certain that Jin Yan would not object, which was why she was so straightforward in telling him that she wanted to reclaim the Jin Kingdom.

"Knock knock knock." Biluo knocked on the door.

"What is it?"

"Your Highness, Your Highness, the head of Tingfeng Pavilion, Yuanshan, has arrived."

Upon hearing this, Jin Yan's thoughts were instantly pulled back, and he frowned almost imperceptibly as he looked up.

Leng Qingning stood up in confusion, opened the door, and asked, "Yuanshan? What's he doing here?"

Biluo looked speechless. "He said that Young Master Chi has something important to discuss with you and asks you to come to Tingfeng Pavilion." After saying that, she looked into the room to see Jin Yan's expression.

Wow, they really changed their tune.