In the evening, Lady Chen received a secret letter from the Empress from the palace: the operation had failed, and her mother must prevent the trial from starting the next day.

Upon seeing this news, Lady Chen's legs went weak, and she barely managed to avoid falling to the ground.

"Mother, is the Empress asking us to give her silver? That's millions of taels of silver, not just a few dozen taels!" Chen Ziying pouted anxiously, clearly very unwilling and angry.

She just couldn't understand it. Her sister, the Empress, was second only to the Emperor. Who would dare disobey her if she said a word? Why did it have to be so complicated, and why did she have to pay silver to that insignificant Magistrate of the Capital?

What's even more infuriating is that that worthless little official actually dared to ask for an exorbitant amount!

"Shut up! This is all your fault!" Even though Lady Chen doted on Chen Ziying, she couldn't help but get angry when she heard Chen Ziying's foolish words.

They are also daughters she gave birth to and raised.

How come the Empress is so shrewd and composed, while Chen Ziying seems to be missing a screw in her head?

When she was pregnant with Chen Ziying, she didn't bump into anything or get her head caught in a door!

"How can you blame me? It's all because none of you helped me deal with those bandits. If you could avenge me, would I have taken matters into my own hands?" Chen Ziying stomped her foot in anger and ran away crying.

Lady Chen, the wife of the Duke of Chen, leaned on the table and rubbed her forehead, so angry that she couldn't speak for a long time.

Not to mention the Empress, even she herself had the urge to kill Chen Ziying!

Several million taels?

Xiong Yingxiang didn't even consider the six million taels; he probably meant to double the amount offered by the bandits!

The western expeditionary force marched for two days before setting up camp outside Hualiang City to rest.

After two days of forced marching, Ji Fengming was so bored he was practically crawling with lice.

Anyway, the soldiers in the army were all Chen Guogong's soldiers, so he didn't need to manage them, and no one listened to them anyway. As soon as the army was stationed, he dragged Ji Chenhai and Hei Xiao into the city to have some fun.

The father and his sons went into the city and found the best restaurant. Just as the food and wine were served, they suddenly heard a commotion on the street below.

Several people looked downstairs.

On the long street below, soldiers from the city lined the road to welcome them. Chen Yunli, the garrison commander of Hualiang City, came out in full military uniform to greet them, solemnly welcoming the Duke of Chen and his son into the city in a high-profile manner.

"Heh heh, look at the grandeur of their arrival in the city. Anyone who didn't know better would think the Emperor himself was leading an expedition," Ji Fengming said sarcastically, filling the three of their cups with wine and adding a few more bites of food to Hei Xiao's bowl. "My sister instructed that you and your brother-in-law both have sensitive stomachs, so you're not allowed to drink on an empty stomach. Eat some food first, then drink."

Black Owl pursed his lips, said nothing, and instead of reaching for his wine glass, he picked up his chopsticks.

At the next table, a handsome young man who was eating melons, upon hearing Ji Fengming's words, enthusiastically said, "You don't know, do you? The garrison commander of Hualiang City is from a branch of the Chen family. He was promoted by the Duke of Chen himself. Naturally, he treats the Duke of Chen even more attentively than the Emperor."

"Brother, you look somewhat familiar," Black Owl casually glanced at the young man.

"Uh, you don't know my sister-in-law..." The boy thought that Black Owl really recognized him, so he quickly covered his face and whispered to Black Owl, "Big brother, please don't tell anyone. I ran away secretly. Don't let my brother's men catch me and take me back."

Black Owl: "..."

Ji Fengming: "No, who are you? Why are you being so mysterious? How much money do you owe someone?"

"Who I am? If I told you, you'd be scared to death. It's better if you don't know," the boy said arrogantly.