Mu Jin looked at Su Yi in surprise and asked, "How did you know I was feeling down?"

But as soon as she said it, she couldn't help but feel that she had asked a redundant question. She figured that even if Su Yi wasn't by her side every day, someone would still tell Su Yi about her situation.

Seeing Su Yi looking at her with a half-smile, Mu Jin awkwardly changed the subject.

"You've always been in contact with my father, why didn't you tell me? Are you happy to see me so worried about my father and brothers' safety?"

Su Yi smiled again and said, "They say women are fickle, and it's true. Just a moment ago, you were so moved that you were determined to marry me, but now you're ready to settle scores with me. I should have just kept watching you worry and kept it from you, and not even given you this letter from your father."

"Who has to marry you?" Mu Jin muttered softly, "Although you have been helping my father and brothers all along, for which I am very grateful, you should have let me know about your connection with my father from the beginning."

"It's not that I intentionally kept it from you," Su Yi explained.

“After Su Yuntian returned from his mission to Beiqi, the Mu family army was accused of treason. At that time, your father and I suspected that Su Yuntian might have joined forces with the people of Beiqi.”

Su Yi continued looking at Mu Jin and said, "At that time, the situation in Southern Shu changed. I could not leave my grandfather alone, and General Mu did not want people to misunderstand, so he refused to go to Southern Shu with me. Therefore, I had no choice but to make a deal with the old man from Dongyue against my will."

"It also bought my father some time to resign, allowing me to return to the Southern Shu Kingdom to finish dealing with matters here. I originally intended to wait until things were settled here before returning to the Eastern Yue Kingdom to deal with Su Yuntian."

"But as you know, Southern Shu and Eastern Yue are thousands of miles apart. No matter how well I plan and strategize, it is impossible to control many variables."

"Therefore, even before General Mu was freed from the control of the Dongyue royal family, he already understood this principle."

"He wanted me not to tell you about his and my plans yet, in case something went wrong and you couldn't accept it. So I could only keep you at ease and promise to keep your father and brothers safe."

"I can't believe you, woman. All you think about is how to leave me and how to stab me in the heart."

Su Yi touched his chest, glanced at Mu Jin, and said, "My heart is now riddled with holes because of you. I don't know how some people will make it up to me in the future."

Su Yi's words were all reasonable, which made Mu Jin, who was usually eloquent in front of Su Yi, feel guilty and didn't know how to respond.

"Then how do you want me to repay you?" Mu Jin glanced at Su Yi, then hurriedly added, "Besides letting me serve you alongside the women in your harem."

"Where are the women in my harem? Don't accuse me of wrongdoing."

"Even if you don't have any now, as an emperor, you will certainly have no shortage of three thousand concubines in your harem in the future."

"Is that why you rejected me?"

Su Yi's eyes lit up as if he had discovered a new continent, and he said, "Then let me tell you clearly, my harem will only have you, Mu Jin, and I will not allow any other women into my harem. Will you accept me?"

Hearing Su Yi make such a serious promise to her, Mu Jin felt a pang in her heart. However, there seemed to be many things that had not yet been resolved, and she still did not know how to respond to the feelings Su Yi had given her.

Mu Jin changed the subject, saying, "What did you mean by telling me earlier that we would send an army of 100,000 to attack Dongyue?"

Su Yi was well aware of Mu Jin's ulterior motives, but there were indeed many things waiting for them to do.

Su Yi wanted Mu Jin to be with him willingly, not because she was moved or forced by him, so he didn't continue to pester her and insist that Mu Jin respond to his feelings today.

Su Yi said with a solemn expression, "On the day Su Yuntian ascended the throne, he discovered that your father and brother had fled the capital. In a fit of rage, he immediately reached a consensus with the Northern Emperor, who was attending his coronation ceremony, and together they launched an attack on the Southern Shu Kingdom."

"What?" Mu Jin asked hurriedly upon hearing Su Yi's words, "When will they send troops?"

“Five days ago!” Su Yi said.

Mu Jin was silent for a moment, then looked at Su Yi and asked.

"Will my father be involved with you in dealing with the attack from Beiqi in Dongyue this time?"

Su Yi raised an eyebrow and smiled, "How would you know?"

Mu Jin replied, "You just told me that Father was with his old subordinates, and even though there weren't many of them, his letter revealed his dissatisfaction with Su Yuntian. Since you're helping our Mu family so much, how can our Mu family just ignore the fact that Dongyue and Beiqi have joined forces to attack Nanshu?"

Su Yi nodded, "That's right! General Mu is currently stationed on the border of Southern Shu with the Mu family army he has gathered."

"General Mu does not want to support Su Yuntian, nor does he want to establish his own imperial power, so he has already sided with me."

"Your plan is to one day unify the three kingdoms?" Mu Jin asked, a thought stirring in her mind.

Su Yi was surprised that Mu Jin had thought of this so quickly.

Su Yi sneered and said, "Why not? The fact that we in Southern Shu haven't initiated wars with other countries all these years doesn't mean we're weak. Now that they've taken the initiative to provoke us, we won't be polite to them!"

Mu Jin wasn't surprised by Su Yi's admission. She should have expected this to happen.

"You want me to station the Mu family troops on your southern Shu border? Aren't you worried that the weakened Mu family army won't be as strong as before?"

Su Yi laughed and said, "How can a daughter be so insecure about her father and brothers? Be careful your father hears you and scolds you."

"I'm not lacking confidence in my father and brothers' fighting ability; I'm just... I'm just using a metaphor."

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