Kezhou, on the drill ground.
Guo Pingchuan was clad in silver armor, with sword-like eyebrows and a high, straight nose, but her eyes and lips had a delicate beauty unique to women, making it easy to recognize her as a girl at a glance.
Fu Yuchi stood by the training ground, watching this group of well-trained elite soldiers. They were indeed much better than the bunch of good-for-nothings from the capital.
The shouts on the drill ground were deafening. The uniform iron boots pounded the ground, making the earth tremble like the roar of dragons and the howl of tigers, a sound that was deafening.
"Ji'an, how is my army? Can it fight?" Xi Yan rode over. The horse was jet black, without a single stray hair, and its saddle was made of black iron, gleaming brightly.
Fu Yuchi looked up at the person approaching on horseback and replied, "They can fight."
In the brief pause between their conversation, Xi Yan nimbly dismounted from his horse, placing a hand on Fu Yuchi's shoulder. "The training ground is too noisy; let's talk inside the tent."
After entering the tent, Xi Yan sat down and took a sip of warm wine. "How's your investigation into the medicine man going?"
"That's the question I should be asking Your Highness." Fu Yuchi's eyes remained completely calm, but a polite smile played on his lips, making him appear to be an easy person to get along with.
Xi Yan smiled enigmatically, "Ji An, do you really think I don't know? What my imperial brother went through so much trouble to want, it's probably already in your hands."
Fu Yuchi remained calm and composed, saying, "Your Highness is joking."
"He wants to refine a human medicine, but relying solely on those wandering sorcerers, I doubt he'll ever succeed before he dies." Xi Yan's eyes flashed with ruthlessness when he mentioned his elder brother.
Fu Yuchi just smiled, shook his head, and said helplessly, "Indeed, I don't know who came up with this terrible idea. It's so terrible that they could think of using women to refine them."
"Ji'an refuses to give him the method, and also refuses to give it to me?" Xi Yan's eyes met Fu Yuchi's, seeking a definite answer.
Fu Yuchi's hand rested on the cup, his knuckles clearly visible. "Your Highness, the medicine man is no good. I've never refined one before, so I don't know how powerful it is. Or perhaps I can't control it at all. Wouldn't that be killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of my own?"
"Give it to me when you can control it. In short, we can't let this thing fall into his hands!" Xi Yan suddenly tightened his grip, almost crushing the cup in his palm.
Fu Yuchi remained calm and composed, showing no sign of being intimidated by Xi Yan's fury. "Where is the woman I asked the prince to investigate?"
"The spies said they found some clues in the capital, but it's not certain yet. Ji'an, you wouldn't be talking about someone in their thirties...?"
Fu Yuchi's expression finally showed a slight change. "It's meaningless for Your Highness to tease me. She is Miao'er's mother and also a victim of the drug people."
"So it's all about that girl after all!" Xi Yan said with a disappointed look. "Tell me, what is it about that girl that you're so hung up on? The spies said she's nothing special. As for beauties, I can find all kinds."
Fu Yuchi's anger was evident on his handsome face. "You had spies investigate her?"
Seeing that he was serious, Xi Yan changed his tune and said, "Aren't you worried about her? Now that I need your help, I naturally have to send people to protect her. What if something happens to her and you just walk away? I need some protection too, don't I?"
"Whether it's protection or a threat, Your Highness knows the answer, but as you know, I never accept threats." Fu Yuchi felt a slight tremor in his chest. If Xi Yan dared to touch Xiao Miao'er, he would definitely not let him get away with it.
Xi Yan, instead, laughed as he stepped down from the main seat, poured himself a glass of wine, and said, "Ji An, do you think I don't know who you are? Let me tell you something funny: that girl went to borrow money from Hu Tingzhi."
Fu Yuchi was stunned, her eyebrows twitched. How did she end up borrowing money? Hadn't she taken care of everything for her, getting the house and land sorted out?
“That girl is doing very well in Pingnan City. I heard she owns a cloth shop. Now that you mention it, she is indeed different from ordinary women. Her behavior is more unconventional.” Xi Yan paid attention to Fu Yuchi’s expression with every word he spoke.
Fu Yuchi, who is usually very careful about his facial expressions, often loses control when he hears Sun Miao'er's name and reveals his true thoughts.
For example, right now, his face is very dark, and the smile at the corner of his mouth has a deeper meaning.
"How much silver did you borrow?" Fu Yuchi's voice was extremely cold at this moment, almost every word seemed frozen.
Xi Yan held up one finger and gestured in front of him, "One hundred taels."
Fu Yuchi's face darkened even more.
Xi Yan couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Ji An, you didn't even leave that girl a hundred taels, did you? Hahahaha!"
If looks could kill, Xi Yan would probably have died several times over right under Fu Yuchi's nose by now.
He truly hadn't expected that in just a month or two, Xiao Miao'er would open a shop in Pingnan City and even fall into the situation of needing to borrow money. Sure enough, he couldn't leave. He always felt that it was because he left that Xiao Miao'er had fallen into such a miserable state of debt.
Fu Yuchi gave a forced smile and said, "I don't have any money. How about Your Highness lend me some? Anyway, Hu Tingzhi belongs to Your Highness, do you care about a little bit?"
"Hey, Ji'an, it's not that I want to laugh, but I just didn't expect that girl would go to Hu Tingzhi for a hundred taels of silver." Xi Yan laughed for a while, then became serious.
Fu Yuchi knew that she was probably out of options, because based on his understanding of her, she would never trouble outsiders with things she could do herself.
Besides, she used to despise using his connections, and she would even go into dangerous situations on her own.
"Your Highness's spies are very useful, so please take good care of her for me. If this happens again, please remember to hold me responsible." Fu Yuchi was thinking of his little Miao'er, but unfortunately he was too busy to go back and check on her.
Xi Yan joked, "Ji An is a living Zhuge Liang whom I visited several times to invite. I'm too busy giving you money to keep track of your expenses!"
"Since Your Highness is willing to take on this responsibility, then let me make this clear from the outset: if anything happens to Miao'er, I will hold Your Highness responsible." Fu Yu Chi drank her wine. Well, it's good that someone is protecting her, after all, things are about to get unsettled outside.
Before that, he tried his best not to touch Yingzhou or disturb the peaceful life of Pingnan City.
Xi Yan suddenly bent down and said behind him, "As long as Ji An is loyal and helps me get what I want, my men will protect him while you are away."
"Your Highness need not threaten me. If something happens to her, the world will no longer be in the hands of the Xi family."
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