After He Yunxiao left the Jinxian Courtyard where the antidote was administered, it was evening.

In a typical day, He Yunxiao has to take care of Ziruo, Yinyun, and the antidote during the day, and in the afternoon he has to find time to practice martial arts at Chuchu's place. In the evening, he has to go to Nanzhu's place to take his medicine. Only at night does he have time to spend with his sister Jiang.

He Yunxiao told Jiang Wuyou about the plan to develop the antidote.

Jiang Wuyou, however, couldn't understand it.

"Xiao'er, there's something I don't understand."

When discussing serious matters, He Yunxiao remained quite serious, sitting obediently at the table without making any inappropriate moves.

“Please speak, my lady,” he said.

“Xiao’er, the most crucial point in Li Qingmeng’s plan is not how she fakes her death, but the strength of our Marquis’s mansion.” Jiang Wuyou frowned and said, “According to Li Qingmeng, it is true that Meng Qingqian can gather more than 400,000 troops, but almost none of these troops listen to her. The troops directly under her command are at most tens of thousands. Besides that, there are our Marquis’s mansion’s 120,000 elite troops.”

After being reminded by Lady Wuyou, He Yunxiao immediately understood.

"My lady, you mean..."

Jiang Wuyou said, "The Marquis's 120,000 troops are actually the main force for Meng Qingqian's counterattack against the Yan army. I don't understand how she can guarantee that Father will help her with all his might? You know, we are a force in the Prime Minister's camp. There's no reason for us to lend her a hand."

He Yunxiao chuckled and whispered in Jiang Wuyou's ear, "My wife isn't even married yet, why is she already calling me 'father'?"

Jiang Wuyou's pretty face flushed red. She was now so used to calling them "Father" and "Mother" that she hadn't mentioned it to He Yunxiao before, and now, without realizing it, she'd given herself away in front of him. (www.cascoo.net)

"Xiao'er, let's get down to business."

While agreeing, He Yunxiao secretly slipped his hand inside his wife's clothes.

"Xiao'er!" Jiang Wuyou, who was being bullied by He Yunxiao to the point of "having a high fever and panting heavily," had no choice but to speak up to stop him.

She could clearly feel He Yunxiao's progress.

Previously, the two could be said to have been evenly matched, but as He Yunxiao's understanding of her body became more and more refined, Jiang Wuyou was no match for He Yunxiao at all.

Although he hasn't broken through to the final step yet, He Yunxiao has evolved to the point where he understands Jiang Wuyou's body better than Jiang Wuyou herself.

"Xiao'er, Xiao'er, wait... um..."

Jiang Wuyou initially intended to resist, after all, the important matter wasn't finished. However, her will was quickly worn down by He Yunxiao's precise and skillful maneuvering, and in the end, she could only let him do as he pleased...

...

As is customary, He Yunxiao brought hot water to help Jiang Wuyou wash her hands.

After they finished getting ready, they continued discussing business.

“My wife, the reason why your father helped Meng Qingqian is very simple: helping her is helping you.”

Hearing He Yunxiao's words, Jiang Wuyou's eyes softened considerably.

“Xiao’er, Meng Qingqian has already done her part by faking her death at her coming-of-age ceremony. If she revives later, there’s no need for us to go to great lengths to help her. Trading 120,000 elite troops for just me is too much of a bargain for her. Wasting our own military strength to help her secure the throne is foolish. Unless she has other methods or makes an exchange, things won’t go so smoothly.”

...

Meng Qingqian was naturally aware of Jiang Wuyou's concerns.

The invasion of Yan, using Yan as a pretext to eliminate Han Wenxin, the Grand Chancellor, from his influence in the court and the army, was indeed a brilliant yet risky move. The most dangerous step in this move was how to defeat the Yan army and force them to retreat back to Yan after his resurrection.

If he wins, his prestige will be unparalleled; if he loses, Han Wenxin will still have the strength to rise again. All his previous schemes have been rendered useless.

Qi is stronger than Yan, so defeating Yan shouldn't be too difficult. However, Qi's military strength is limited, and its forces are only on par with Yan's. To achieve a great victory, its generals must fight to the death and must not have any disloyalty.

Especially the He family army, which has the strongest fighting power.

Late at night, Meng Qingqian arrived at the Empress Dowager's Fenghua Palace.

"Your subject requests an audience with Your Majesty."

The Empress Dowager knew that her beloved daughter would never visit so late at night unless it was something urgent. So she quickly invited her into the house.

"Qingqian, why are you here so late to see your mother? Has something serious happened?"

Meng Qingqian gritted her teeth and said with a look of resentment, "Mother, I regret it."

regret?

Will she regret it?

The Empress Dowager thought there was something wrong with her ears.

What do you regret?

"Your Majesty previously ordered me to marry He Yunxiao, but I refused and now regret it. I beg Your Majesty to make the decision for me!"

Empress Dowager: !?

When the Empress Dowager saw that her daughter had changed her mind, she was overjoyed and said, "Good! I will immediately issue an imperial edict to announce this to the world!"

"Wait!" Meng Qingqian exclaimed anxiously. If it were truly announced to the world, she would have no choice but to marry him, whether she wanted to or not. But she had no intention of marrying He Yunxiao. Her claim of "regret" was merely a pretext to demand troops from Marquis Wuqing for war.

Meng Qingqian thought long and hard, and came up with countless ways to win over Marquis Wu Qing, but she rejected them all.

The only option that consumes the least resources and is most likely to win over Marquis Wu Qing is to "become He Yunxiao's wife".

Princess Xiaoyue, who was second only to the emperor, ultimately had to rely on her beauty and her body to bribe the He family...

Meng Qingqian was quite unwilling.

She had no real intention of getting married. Given her pride, she would never compete with her sister, Nam-joo, for a man, much less allow a situation where the sisters were... well, let's just say they were getting married. This talk of marriage was merely a temporary measure; she would definitely change her mind later.

"Mother, I don't intend to really marry He Yunxiao. This is because..."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!