Chapter 151 Strategy Discussion: "I want him dead."
Li Mengbai slept soundly last night. Jiang Yuhuo carried him to her bed, and he was surrounded by her scent in both his dreams and waking life. The only downside was that when he woke up, he found that the person in his dream was no longer by his side.
Knowing that Jiang Yuhuo was not a heavy sleeper, it was normal for him to be up at this time. However, he felt that there was no one beside him and he resented that she hadn't spent more time with him even on the first day of their marriage contract.
As she dressed and did her makeup, she looked at the bright red thread on her hand and thought, "Never mind, as husband and wife, he should be more accommodating to her."
Unexpectedly, when he found the person and the mark on his wrist clearly pointed to Jiang Yuhuo's location, the little princess blocked the way in front of the bathhouse and said righteously, "Auntie is not here."
Li Mengbai narrowed his eyes and sized up his future niece. Dressed in fine clothes, she was a world apart from the little beggar he had first met.
In truth, he should thank her. If she hadn't taken the initiative to come to him and left a bell with the Ji family inscription at the Li family, he probably still wouldn't know Jiang Yuhuo's true identity, let alone be able to create a situation where Jiang Yuhuo would willingly form a bond with him.
But now that the person is inside, the little girl is stubbornly preventing them from entering.
Li Mengbai had already begun to have doubts, but she smiled and said, "Really? But I'd like to go in and take a look."
That beautiful face was clearly smiling, yet Xiao Jing felt a chill creep down her spine, her heart filled with unease. She felt inexplicably afraid of him from the first time she saw him, but thinking of her aunt gave her courage. Her aunt had gone into the marriage in her place, and she felt guilty, vowing to protect her aunt and her lover.
Knowing this person wasn't easily fooled, and that a forceful denial would likely backfire, Xiao Jing forced a show of her usual arrogance, raising her chin. "You're not allowed in! Auntie is bathing inside; she doesn't like being disturbed! You're a man, so you absolutely cannot go in!"
To her surprise, the other party was shameless. Her watery eyes flickered, and she smiled, "I am her future husband, of course I have to serve her."
Xiao Jing tried to stop him again, but Li Mengbai had already lost his patience. His face darkened, and he stood there silently, frozen in place.
Why are they blocking us from entering? Could it be that there's something shady going on inside?
Li Mengbai felt he had been extremely merciful to this little princess. The last person who tried to stop him like this had been bitten to death by Gu worms the very next day.
Xiao Jing watched in horror as Li Mengbai's hand pressed against the palace door, but there was nothing she could do but watch.
With a "bang," one of the doors was opened.
Li Mengbai's hand was still raised in a gesture as he saw the person who opened the palace door.
Jiang Yuhuo's face and hair were still damp, making her look like she had just taken a bath. Even her lips, which were usually pale, were much redder. However, she was still wearing the wedding dress she had worn for yesterday's betrothal ceremony.
She looked up at Li Mengbai and asked, "What's wrong? What are you arguing about?" She then casually removed the restraints from Xiao Jing.
Xiao Jing grabbed Jiang Yuhuo's hand, pulled her to her side, and pointed at Li Mengbai to complain, "Auntie, he bullied me!"
Now that her aunt had been pulled out of the hall, Li Mengbai's attention should have shifted away from inside. Once the two of them were gone, she would go back into the hall to secretly escort the merman out for her aunt. After getting the merman's details, she could then help cover for her aunt in the future.
She had a well-thought-out plan, but Li Mengbai didn't follow it.
He twirled a strand of Jiang Yuhuo's damp hair, then sniffed at the side of her neck, and indeed smelled a cool scent, like the fragrance of someone who had just taken a bath.
"Why are you still wearing this? Did you forget to bring a change of clothes?"
Jiang Yuhuo turned her head slightly to the side, "It's okay, we can change it when we get back."
“If you forget again in the future, just call me.” He lifted his sleeve, revealing the golden mark on his wrist, and smiled with his eyes lowered. “As long as you think of me when you look at this, I will know that you are calling me, and I will rush over no matter where I am.”
Jiang Yuhuo's eyes flickered slightly. She had almost forgotten about this thing. When she first met Li Mengbai in Luoyue City, he placed a tracking curse on her, which she had never been able to remove. No wonder he found her here.
Jiang Yuhuo lowered her gaze. "Let's go back. We have important business to attend to later."
"etc."
Li Mengbai suddenly called out to her, but his gaze drifted into the bathhouse. He smiled and pushed the door open, striding inside.
"I'm always worried, in case you leave something inside, so I don't have to come back to get it."
His gaze swept over the door, the partition, the screen, the pillars, the roof... He even used his spiritual power to blow away the petals floating on the surface of the bath. There was no one there. He then checked the windows in the hall to make sure there were no signs of them being opened before turning back to Jiang Yuhuo with a smile, "You're right, business is more important."
Jiang Yuhuo returned to her palace to change her clothes. Li Mengbai spent a long time choosing from the clothes presented by the palace servants, but couldn't find anything he liked. Jiang Yuhuo ignored him and directly asked the palace servants to bring back her original clothes.
The soft black dress was neatly folded on the tray, and Li Mengbai's eyes lit up when he saw it.
He picked up a corner of the garment and twirled it in his hand, raising an eyebrow. "I never imagined that I could still see clothes woven from silk in the Zhou royal palace. The extravagance of the human royal family is even more extravagant than that of the immortal sects."
"Mermaid silk?"
Seeing the doubt in Jiang Yuhuo's eyes, Li Mengbai chuckled and explained, "It's a garment woven from water by the merfolk. Don't underestimate this soft and delicate piece; it's impervious to water and fire, and impervious to swords and blades."
Jiang Yuhuo's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at a spot on her waist. "Is that so?"
Li Mengbai assumed she didn't know her, smiled, patted her hair, and went to wait for her in the outer room.
Behind the screen, Jiang Yuhuo took down a glass bottle hanging from her waist and placed it on the table. The bottle was crystal clear, filled halfway with water, and contained a mermaid shrunk to the size of a loach.
...
According to the Zhou rites, on the first day after the ceremony, Jiang Yuhuo and Li Mengbai were to meet the emperor, empress, and a group of court officials.
After the formalities of the meeting were completed, only a few courtiers remained in the council hall.
With the marriage ceremony completed, the alliance between the Great Zhou and the Li family of the Immortal Sect was essentially established. However, this was only the first step in the cooperation, and all subsequent arrangements required careful discussion. Qin Yuqi was currently recuperating in the capital, Zhaoming City, due to his severe injuries. Once he recovered, he could make a comeback at any time. Furthermore, even if Qin Yuqi was temporarily unable to personally lead the army, the Yong army soldiers stationed along the Jiuyou Mountain line were still eyeing the Western Capital City covetously, and the Great Zhou could not afford to relax its vigilance for a moment.
The Li family, a prominent clan in the immortal realm for hundreds of years, is particularly skilled in formations and spells. These techniques are far more effective on the battlefield than in individual combat. With proper planning, they can protect the Zhou army without disturbing the rules of Heaven. In addition, the Li family has accumulated magical treasures over hundreds of years and continuously created and improved spells. With these as a foundation, the Zhou army can easily take on ten, if not a hundred, of them.
It remains to be seen what the Li family is willing to offer, what they want to gain from the Great Zhou, and how much they want.
After several attempts to probe, Li Mengbai closed his folding fan and smiled gently, "Now that the Ji and Li families are in-laws, we should not speak like family. Magic arrays, spells, spiritual artifacts... whatever the Great Zhou needs, the Li family will gladly offer them."
"As for what the Li family wants, Your Majesty and the other officials are surely aware of it as well." He glanced at the faces of everyone in the hall. There weren't many people present; those who remained were the pillars of the Zhou Dynasty and the emperor's confidants. These people all knew about the ancient divine breath of the Ji family.
"Since we need the Li family's assistance, it is only right to bestow upon them divine essence. After the Yong Kingdom's troops retreat, I will personally burn incense and present it to the Li family." The emperor sat at the head of the table, clearly having anticipated Li Mengbai's request.
Li Mengbai gently shook his folding fan, smiled modestly, and said, "It's not the Li family, but myself."
He grasped Jiang Yuhuo's hand and gently stroked it. "I am the one who has formed a pact with Her Highness the Eldest Princess, and I am also the Li family member who is most loyal to the Great Zhou. Rather than letting the divine essence fall into the hands of others, why not provide it to the son-in-law of the Ji family? What does Your Majesty think?"
Legend has it that only the Ji family can ignite that Qilin horn, and the bestowal of divine energy is entirely at the Ji family's discretion. No one else, no matter how powerful their spiritual energy, can interfere. Therefore, although cultivators in the world know of this divine object, they cannot forcibly take it. They can only exchange it with this royal family, who are said to be descendants of an ancient clan. As long as the Ji family does not give it to them, no other member of the Li family can obtain it.
Li Mengbai's words were quite clear. Those present were either members of the royal family or ministers, and naturally, they were well aware of the struggle between successors. As Li Mengbai said, only by supporting him could the cooperation with the Great Zhou be guaranteed. Furthermore, if the Li family could produce an heir with Ji family blood in the future, the alliance would be even stronger, and perhaps the Yong Kingdom would never dare to invade the Great Zhou again.
The emperor and his ministers exchanged glances several times, and had already agreed to Li Mengbai's request; the discussion went so smoothly.
Jiang Yuhuo stood in the hall, looking at the pleased expressions on the faces of the two sides who had reached an agreement, and suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
They were calculating their costs, engaging in a back-and-forth tug-of-war, with each side having its own interests.
Li Mengbai kept saying he liked her, but in the end, it was just to secure his position as the heir of the Li family. The people of Zhou always talked about their blood feud with Yong, but in reality, they just wanted to protect their current country. If Yong didn't invade again, they might never have avenged this feud.
Jiang Yuhuo suddenly realized that she had actually entered a world that had nothing to do with her. The Li family and the Great Zhou had nothing to do with her.
She is not Ji Hongyu of the Zhou Kingdom, she is Jiang Yuhuo of the Liyue Village.
They were right in what they said and did; she was just too naive to think that these people shared the same goal as her.
Her father was dead, her clansmen were dead, and her home had been occupied by a group of outsiders. Those people, that land, even herself... If she hadn't stubbornly used the name Jiang Yuhuo, she would have disappeared from this world long ago.
No one in the world shares her goals.
It is always laughable to place your hopes for revenge on others.
Jiang Yuhuo withdrew her hand, coldly looking at Li Mengbai and the group, "Is that all?"
Li Mengbai smiled and looked at her, "Then what does Your Highness think should be done?"
"Your Majesty, Young Master Li, I believe that the alliance between Ji and Li is only seeking this much, and is far from sufficient."
A man stepped forward, bowed to both sides, and broke the harmonious atmosphere with a single sentence, neither humble nor arrogant. The speaker had graying temples but showed no signs of age. He was dressed in a black and red official robe and wore a scholar's cap; he was none other than the prime minister, who was the head of the court officials.
The hall fell silent for a moment before Jiang Yuhuo's gaze fell on the Prime Minister.
The emperor slightly raised his hand. "Please speak, Prime Minister."
The Prime Minister's expression was grave. "The Yong Kingdom harbors wolfish ambitions and has long intended to annex the Great Zhou. That Qin traitor is young and eager to make his mark, and he will not let the Great Zhou go. Even if the Great Zhou repels the Yong army once or twice with the help of the Immortal Sect, it will not be enough to quell the Yong Kingdom's ambitions. A hundred years ago, the Yong army already clashed with the Immortal Sect, and for the past century, they have consistently pursued a policy of suppressing immortals. They do not hold the same reverence for the Immortal Sect as the people of Zhou. Forgive my presumption, but in other words, the Yong Kingdom will not be deterred by the fact that the Great Zhou has the help of the Immortal Sect. They will definitely try every means to annex the Great Zhou."
The court officials understood that the prime minister was telling the truth, and their faces, which had been filled with joy just moments before, now showed signs of worry.
"The Great Zhou is destined by Heaven, and this alliance between immortals and mortals is unprecedented. Now that we have such a good opportunity, we should not think that driving away the Yong army is enough. Rather than waiting for the Yong army to make a comeback, we should take action. Only by recovering lost territory, reclaiming the old capital, and eliminating the Qin traitors can we truly eliminate future troubles forever."
The emperor at the head of the table fell into deep thought. He longed to return to the old capital, but with the Great Zhou now confined to a corner of the country, how could it possibly contend with the vast Yong Kingdom?
The Prime Minister turned to Li Mengbai, and everyone thought he was going to persuade the Li family again, but instead he bowed to Jiang Yuhuo beside Li Mengbai and said, "Her Highness the Princess personally risked her life to assassinate the Qin traitor. What she wants is probably not for the Great Zhou to be content with temporary peace."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Jiang Yuhuo again, and everyone's eyes followed his gaze to Jiang Yuhuo.
Jiang Yuhuo lifted his eyelids and looked at the Prime Minister and the court officials around him, a cold flame burning in his dark eyes.
"I want him dead."
Everyone knew who he was. How could they have accomplished the task of killing the emperor without storming the imperial palace in Zhaoming City?
Upon hearing her answer, the Prime Minister's heavy brows finally relaxed slightly, and he nodded to her, seemingly feeling that he had finally found a reliable ally. As the eldest princess who had returned from the Immortal Sect, she was now the most crucial person in the connection between the Great Zhou and the Immortal Sect, and her words carried considerable weight.
The Emperor glanced at Zhou Sidao, who had remained silent. Both knew that Ji Hongyu was actually an outsider of unknown origin. However, in order to keep Xiao Jing, when the Li family proposed a marriage alliance with the eldest princess, he had even secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glad that this person had returned in his sister's guise. But the hatred in this person's eyes was so intense that the Emperor couldn't immediately tell whether arranging a marriage between her and the Li family was a good thing or a bad thing.
The policy towards Yongzheng ultimately failed to reach a conclusion, and the emperor, feigning illness, hastily adjourned the meeting, pressing his forehead. However, the clear statements made by the eldest princess and the prime minister had already garnered considerable support.
Jiang Yuhuo returned to his bedroom alone.
She wanted to ask Li Mengbai what level the Li family could achieve, but as she left the court hall, Li Mengbai received a letter from a subordinate. After glancing at it quickly, the smile that was always on his face vanished instantly. He only said goodbye to Jiang Yuhuo before hurrying out of the palace.
The bedchamber was empty. Jiang Yuhuo didn't like being served. If it weren't for the marriage ceremony, this bedchamber, which had been empty for many years, would have been completely deserted.
The glass bottle on the table was empty. She picked up the bottle and examined it quietly.
She stole this from her father many years ago to keep a mermaid by her side. The Liyue Village has vanished, yet this glass bottle still exists.
In the bathhouse, when Jia Yue took out the glass bottle, she was stunned for a long time. It wasn't until Jia Yue transformed himself and put himself into the bottle that she understood his meaning and belatedly tied it around her waist.
Her outer garment concealed the ornaments at her waist, and as she had done many times before, she led the mermaid out.
A distorted white expanse appeared behind the glass bottle. Jiang Yuhuo put down the bottle and saw the merman standing behind it.
Jiang Yuhuo looked up and asked, "You haven't left yet?"
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