Chapter 87: Even half the country is acceptable
While observing her expression, Xue Xiujun tentatively asked, "Would you like to go see other places? The world is so big, there are still many places to visit."
Yu Wan asked with a smile, "You want me to go to your Liang Kingdom?"
Startled, Xue Xiujun hurriedly lifted the carriage curtain to look around, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he found no one suspicious.
"My dear aunt, keep your voice down! If someone finds out who I am, we'll both be dead! Don't you care about me? Aren't you worried about that guy surnamed He?"
His face was deathly pale; during his time in Jin Kingdom, he had been constantly worried about his identity being exposed.
Yu Wan laughed and said, "Don't worry, you're my person, would I harm you? Tell me, what do you want to tell me?"
Xue Xiujun chuckled and said, "You're too clever! How did you know I needed something from you?"
"Just tell me straight, what do you want?" Yu Wan asked.
Xue Xiujun rubbed his hands, looking embarrassed. "You haven't been to Liang Kingdom, so you don't know. Actually, our scenery is also very beautiful, and we have a lot of delicious food. We also have many specialties that you can't find anywhere else. Many merchants travel a long way to Liang Kingdom to buy things, such as our jade and agate, which are very popular."
Yu Wan had never been to Liang, but she had seen maps of various countries and knew that Liang was vast and rich in resources. It was a powerful country in many ways that allowed it to become a regional hegemon.
She had thought about finding time to go and see it for herself, but when she could go was unknown.
"You mean you want to cooperate with me after you go back and become emperor? In any country, the people are the foundation of the nation. As an emperor who loves his people like his own children, you would certainly want everyone to live a peaceful and stable life."
Xue Xiujun clapped his hands. "That's exactly what I'm thinking. I want to open a food court in Liang Kingdom too. Can you help me out? If we make money, I'll give you 50%!"
"I'll just give you the blueprints. Anyway, you've been by my side and seen how the food court was built bit by bit, so just follow the instructions."
"No way! I don't have your brains. I want you to personally oversee the process, okay, boss lady? I really need you."
A figure flashed into the car, and the two felt a blur before their eyes, and the boy in black was already sitting in front of them.
The boy looked at the two with a dark expression, and noticing that they were standing very close, he quickly squeezed between them.
Xue Xiujun was nearly thrown off his seat by the jostling, and said angrily, "Hey, are you sick in the head?"
He Jing glared at him, then turned his back to him, even using his physical advantage to shield Xue Xiujun behind him so that Yu Wan couldn't see him.
“Awan, now that you know his identity, don’t believe anything he says.”
Yu Wan was confused by the two of them. "What happened? Did you two have a falling out?"
The reason they were able to plan all this together was because they trusted each other, wasn't it?
Despite He Jing's strong attempts to stop him, Xue Xiujun managed to peek out and said with a grin,
"Boss lady, I believe you are different from ordinary women. You would never put feelings above money, right? As long as you agree to my request, you can ask for anything, even half of the country."
He Jing turned around and glared at him angrily.
Half the country?
Besides the emperor, who else could rightfully possess half of the country?
That kid was definitely up to no good.
"Xue Xiujun, if you don't want to live, you can die now."
Xue Xiujun chuckled and said, "Whether I live or die is not up to you. My life was saved by the landlady. If she hadn't taken me in, I might have starved to death long ago. If you want to kill me, you'll have to ask the owner of this life for permission. Right, landlady?"
Yu Wan's head was throbbing from their noise. "Stop arguing!"
The two boys were still bickering when suddenly an arrow flew by. They stopped arguing and immediately took cover, grabbing the arrow and protecting Yu Wan in the middle.
Yu Wan was startled by this sudden turn of events and whispered,
"Yesterday the Prime Minister made me drink poisoned wine, which will take three days to take effect. Why are you in such a hurry to commit murder so early this morning?"
He Jing looked serious as he carefully examined the arrow. He then released his grip and looked at Xue Xiujun.
Xue Xiujun also noticed the arrow at the same time, his face serious.
Yu Wan followed their gaze and saw the character "翎" (feather) engraved on the arrowhead.
"Were they assassins sent by the Liang Kingdom? Were they your uncle's men?"
Xue Xiujun nodded. "That's right. My uncle is the Prince of Ling, and this arrowhead is exclusively for his private army. That old fox, back when He Jing and I plotted together, I died in battle, and he was seriously wounded and disappeared. I knew my uncle wouldn't believe I was really dead. My men have been keeping an eye on his movements. He sent people to clear the battlefield to find my body. I found a corpse with a similar build to mine, dressed it in my clothes, and he didn't believe it. Now he's found my trail."
The carriage had stopped, and it was completely silent outside; they were far from the bustling city center.
He Jing said, "I'll go out and take a look first. You protect Awan."
Xue Xiujun replied, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to the proprietress. She's going back to Liang with me to share the empire."
He Jing, who was about to fly away, stopped upon hearing this, glared at him fiercely, and warned,
"If you dare touch a hair on her head while I'm not around, you'll face the consequences!" he said before leaving.
Xue Xiujun snorted, then pulled Yu Wan's arm, "Boss lady, don't be afraid. He Jing is highly skilled in martial arts and will definitely be able to protect us."
Yu Wan wasn't afraid. Having experienced so much, she was used to remaining calm in the face of any unexpected situation.
"Let's go out and take a look too."
He doesn't know how many enemies are outside. He Jing is good at fighting and has a chance of winning against a hundred or two hundred. But if the enemy has thousands of soldiers and horses, or even various poisoned hidden weapons, even if he were a great immortal, he might not be able to handle it.
Hiding in the car, completely unaware of what was happening outside, was a feeling she didn't like.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Xue Xiujun said first, "Don't rush, let me check the situation first."
He lifted the curtain and found himself in the woods. There was nothing around him, not a soul in sight, not even a horse, and He Jing was nowhere to be seen.
"Where are they? Why haven't we heard any fighting?"
Yu Wan pulled him away and jumped off the carriage first, with Xue Xiujun quickly following.
Xue Xiujun usually traveled around and knew the capital city very well, and he could even come and go freely in the palace, so he naturally recognized this place.
"This is the outskirts of the city to the west."
Yu Wan asked, "Your Liang Kingdom won't send troops to attack us, will it? Could it be that your uncle, who doesn't dare to fight openly, is sending troops to the capital to assassinate us?"
Xue Xiujun shook his head. "It's unlikely. Don't let my uncle's cunning and treacherous nature fool you; he's very wary of He Jing's reputation. He would never do such a thing without confirming whether He Jing is dead or not; he's afraid of He Jing's retaliation. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been no movement for a year, and the war wouldn't still be at a stalemate."
"So you mean, all these people are here for you? There shouldn't be many of them." Yu Wan breathed a sigh of relief.
Xue Xiujun, being a martial artist, possessed far more acute senses than ordinary people, and he vaguely heard sounds of fighting coming from his left front.
"It looks like it's over there!" he pointed.
The two quietly approached and, sure enough, saw He Jing single-handedly killing over a hundred masked assassins in black.
Despite this, He Jing remained calm and composed.
Xue Xiujun couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "My uncle has no weak soldiers under his command, they are all experts. So many people couldn't even hurt He Jing in the slightest. This man's martial prowess is terrifying! He truly deserves to be called the young war god, one man against ten thousand horses."
Yu Wan could tell that although these assassins couldn't do anything to He Jing, it wouldn't be long before he killed everyone.
"Let's go up and help."
Xue Xiujun quickly pulled her back, "You don't know kung fu, and I'm not as good as him either. Let's not go up there and cause trouble, shall we?"
Yu Wan took out various poison powders she carried with her and gave some to Xue Xiujun.
Xue Xiujun asked, "What kind of poisons are these? Won't we get poisoned ourselves?"
Yu Wan gave him a pill, saying, "This can cure all poisons. Take it first before you go."
Xue Xiujun swallowed it in one gulp, "Then what about He Jing?"
Yu Wan smiled and said, "It's alright, he has the antidote on him."
Xue Xiujun exclaimed in shock, "What? Boss lady, you're so biased! You gave him all the good stuff all along, but I didn't get any!"
"Stop fooling around, get down to business. Help He Jing sort things out here; he still has to deal with the Prime Minister's affairs," Yu Wan urged.
The two immediately ran to the outer edge of the assassins' circle. The assassins were caught off guard and were startled when someone suddenly appeared behind them. When they saw Xue Xiujun's face, they were all stunned.
"The Crown Prince? The Crown Prince is really not dead?"
Xue Xiujun smiled and said, "Yes, I'm going to live to be a hundred years old, but you won't be able to go back and report."
He flicked his hand, and a cloud of powder landed on several people's faces.
After inhaling the poison powder, these people immediately felt difficulty breathing, clutching their own necks, their faces turning red and then purple as they suffocated. Within a few breaths, they could no longer hold on, lying down or sprawling, unable to even scream properly, only able to make muffled noises.
The two repeated the same method, continuing to sprinkle poison powder on more people. Before long, 80% of them were powerless to resist.
The remaining 20% was also taken care of by He Jing alone.
Seeing that He Jing had been using force instead of poison, Xue Xiujun huffed angrily.
"Didn't the boss's wife give you the poison powder? Why don't you use it? Are you reluctant to use it? You can handle it by yourself, but now you need me and the boss's wife to help you."
He Jing glanced at him, then walked up to Yu Wan to check if her clothes were stained with blood and to make sure she was not injured.
Seeing that there wasn't a single drop of blood on her, he was still worried and asked,
"Are you alright?"
“It’s alright.” Yu Wan observed the pile of corpses on the ground. “These people failed, they will definitely send more people.”
He Jing looked at Xue Xiujun, "What do you think?"
Xue Xiujun sighed deeply, his expression solemn, and faced the direction of the Liang Kingdom.
"You've almost finished purging the court; it seems I need to go back and set things right."
The next moment, he suddenly grinned and said, "Otherwise, if things get better and better on your side, and our Liang Kingdom falls into chaos, wouldn't that give you, surnamed He, an opportunity to take advantage of the situation?"
He Jing ignored his playful remarks and reminded him with a serious expression, "The journey back will definitely be dangerous, and there will be many difficulties after you return to Liang. Are you prepared?"
Xue Xiujun shrugged. "There's nothing I can do. How can I welcome the boss lady if I don't govern the country well?"
He Jing glared at him angrily, "Be serious! If you don't come up with a solution now, are you going back to your death?"
Xue Xiujun tugged at Yu Wan's sleeve and said coquettishly, "Boss lady, look at him! I didn't say anything, but he's so hard to get along with. He's always scolding people or giving them a hard time. With a personality like that, it'll be a miracle if he can find a wife. What woman can stand that icy face?"
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