Xia Qing thought that what he was best at in the first half of his life was to figure out people's hearts, so when he tried every means to marry Xiao Zhixuan, he knew that the Xiao family would definitely not like him. However, it was not until the return banquet three days after the wedding that he truly felt what bloody hostility was like.

Since he sat down, Xiao Du just stared at him coldly, as if he wanted to eat him alive. Xiao Qing made innuendos in his words, mocking him for being an old cow eating young grass. Even Xiao Yunjing didn't give him a good look, and occasionally sighed a few times, as if Xiao Zhixuan had suffered a great injustice. Xia Qing was usually a sharp-tongued person. He was always the only one who despised and ridiculed others, but this time he was facing his father-in-law and brother-in-law, so he didn't dare to talk back. He had to grit his teeth and swallow these cold words and continue to smile. Who asked him to indulge himself for half his life and fall in love with this little beauty of the Xiao family.

But the three had no intention of letting him go. Xia Qing felt that the meal was getting harder and harder to bear, so he looked at Xiao Zhixuan for help. However, Xiao Zhixuan sat upright, acting like a young lady from a marquis's mansion, and secretly smiled happily, thinking to herself: You deserve it, who told you to bully me?

Thinking of this man's previous bad deeds, Xiao Zhixuan couldn't help but feel ashamed. She knew that she was far inferior to him in terms of sex, so she did her homework before getting married, thinking that she must not lose to this man. Who knew that on the wedding night, when he lifted her veil and stared at her with his evil eyes and smiled, she was still nervous and pale, and couldn't help but feel scared.

He seemed to see her uneasiness, so he was not in a hurry to get close to her. He just blew air into her ear and said, "How about this, I'll play a game with you. If you win, I'll promise not to touch you. How about that?"

Xiao Zhixuan was very surprised. This man was so kind. She thought she would not suffer any loss anyway, so she agreed immediately. Who knew that she was too young and forgot how many dirty tricks this man had. It was all because those erotic pictures did not teach her that there was such a game. In short, she not only lost in the end, but also lost badly. Until now, when she thought of how she kept begging under him, Xiao Zhixuan felt ashamed and angry. She quickly took a bite of food to cover the heat on her face.

At this time, Xia Qing's smile was about to fade away. He turned around and saw Xiao Zhixuan with a red face, biting a piece of meat with her head down, thinking about something. He had an idea, so he covered it with his sleeve and whispered in Xiao Zhixuan's ear: "If you help me now, I will let you win once when we go back."

Xiao Zhixuan's face became even hotter, and she glared at him fiercely, then she chewed the piece of meat in her mouth slowly, determined not to speak. Xia Qing gritted her teeth and added: "I will listen to you tonight and let you do whatever you want."

Xiao Zhixuan's eyes rolled, and she felt that this proposal was quite tempting. She finally picked up the cup and said, "Dad, big brother, second brother, Uncle Xia... ahem... Xia Lang is very good to me. Please give Xuan'er some face and don't embarrass him."

The three looked at the two with suspicious eyes, and finally shut up. Xia Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, reached under the table and secretly grabbed Xiao Zhixuan's hand, and winked at her ambiguously, but Xiao Zhixuan glared back at him, signaling him not to be too presumptuous. Yuan Xi sat next to Xiao Zhixuan, watching everything between the two. She smiled and scooped up a spoonful of soup, thinking to herself: "These two people are not as unmatched as imagined."

At this time, Xiao Du slowly put down his jade chopsticks and said, "Brother-in-law, do you still remember what I said in the palace that I would have to learn from the might of the Xiao family army sooner or later? It is better to do it now than to wait for a day. How about we have a competition now?"

Xia Qing almost reached out to wipe the sweat off his head, secretly complaining: "This is to stop talking and use your hands." But he still maintained a calm attitude and said: "I will follow the arrangements of the Marquis."

There was a martial arts field in the mansion. Xiao Du often practiced there when he was young, but no one had used it for a long time, so Xiao Du chose that place. The others knew what was going on. They understood that Xiao Du was just sparring, but in fact he had something to discuss with Xia Qing alone, so they tacitly let the two of them go by themselves. Yuan Xi took Xiao Zhixuan to her room to talk about some private things. Xiao Zhixuan had just taken a few steps, but she was still a little worried, so she turned around and shouted, "Brother, don't hurt him." Yuan Xi couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle, "You've only been married for a few days, and you're already so worried about him."

Xiao Zhixuan felt a little embarrassed, and muttered with her neck stiff, "With his condition, he is no match for Big Brother. If he gets hurt, he might go back and say that our Xiao family bullied him."

Xia Qing only heard the first half of her words about not wanting to hurt him, and couldn't help but cover his lips with his fist, with the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up. Xiao Du glanced at him coldly and said, "It won't be too late for you to laugh again after the scene is over."

Xia Qing was so proud of himself at the moment that he didn't care about the sharp blade he mentioned. The two walked to the martial arts field together, each chose a weapon, one holding a spear and the other holding a halberd, and started fighting. After just a few rounds, Xia Qing was only able to defend himself, but Xiao Du was not careless at all. He bent his waist and stretched his arms to stab several times. Suddenly, his face changed, and he froze his movements. The tip of the spear stopped a few inches from Xia Qing's neck. Xia Qing smiled slightly, let go of the long halberd in his hand and threw it on the ground, saying: "My Lord, you are really good at fighting. I admit that I am inferior to you."

Xiao Du threw the gun in his hand aside, sat down and snorted, "It's really boring that the opponent didn't try his best."

Xia Qing clapped her hands, sat beside him and said with a smile: "Mr. Hou is Xuan'er's elder brother, my brother-in-law, how dare I hurt you."

Xiao Du raised his eyebrows. Although there was Xia Qing's pride in his words, there was also some tenderness that did not belong to Xia Qing. He could not help but think in his heart: "Could it be that Xuan'er is right? This man really has some sincerity towards Xuan'er."

This thought made him ponder, and after a while he said, "You married the daughter of the Xiao family, and I'm afraid the Emperor and the Xia family must have been quite shaken."

Xia Qing showed a disdainful expression and said, "Xia Mingyuan, that old fox, came to congratulate me hypocritically. He probably can't figure out what I'm going to do yet, so he won't do anything easily. But my so-called father got very angry and blamed me for acting without consulting him. But given my current status, he is quite jealous of me and doesn't dare to really punish me." He paused and continued, "But the emperor was very dissatisfied at first. I understand that he is afraid that if I join forces with you, the capital will be in danger. But I told him to rest assured that the little sister of the Xiao family is the person you care about the most. With this person in my hands, we will have more weight in the future."

Xiao Du couldn't help but sneer and said, "The emperor actually believes that someone like you would be loyal to him."

Xia Qing's expression suddenly became serious, and he said, "What if it's true?" Then he returned to a joking expression and said, "Your Majesty can give me fame and fortune, and can turn me from a lowly concubine's son into a commander respected by everyone in the Xia family. Why shouldn't I be loyal to him?"

Xiao Du looked away meaningfully and said, "So even when he wanted to use you to deal with the Xia family and almost took your life, you didn't care."

Xia Qing said, "Because I understand your Majesty, he wants to establish a unified dynasty and realize his own clear and bright rule. A capable monarch will naturally be more ruthless. Besides, how can I sit and wait for death?" He glanced at Xiao Du and said, "In fact, I have always felt that it is a pity. The Marquis and the current emperor have a long-term friendship and common aspirations. Why did they come to this point? As far as I know, the current emperor has long wanted to deal with the Xia family. Prime Minister Xia has become more and more authoritarian in recent years. The Xia family has colluded with each other and relied on the protection of Queen Mother Xia. They don't take your Majesty seriously at all. In recent years, they have been doing everything from favoritism to corruption and occupation of land, which has long caused resentment among the people. The clean stream in the court has also risked their lives to report them many times, but they can't shake them at all."

Xiao Du sneered and said, "Perhaps these are exactly what the current emperor wanted to create." He allowed his foreign relatives to seize power and made everyone angry about the Xia family's meddling in politics and mismanaging the country, while he himself left behind a reputation for humility and diligence. Mingcheng, you are indeed getting more and more familiar with the art of being an emperor.

Xia Qing smiled noncommittally and said, "No matter what, your majesty has been laying out the lines for so many years, and it's almost time to retract them. It's time to cut off the Xia family's tangled tree. I think the emperor is just waiting for an opportunity. Once he starts, we must cut off the roots and not leave any trouble behind."

Xiao Du stood up and said, "You don't need to tell me these things. The more fiercely he fights with the Xia family, the better. He is still wary of me now, but it's only because he wants to use my Xiao Family Army to check and balance the power of the Xia family. Apart from the Xia family, I am the only thorn in his eyes."

Xia Qing's eyes became deep, and he said, "Yes, I just want to remind you, Lord Hou, that the overthrow of the Xia family is imminent, and you'd better make plans early and find a way out as soon as possible."