"I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine." Xia Yixin took a deep breath, raised her eyes, her eyes filled with anger. "Since he's been so heartless, why should I still be bothered? It was just a fake relationship, just a bunch of data. I was the one who took it seriously. System, I've just figured it out."
She dislikes her indecisiveness.
She disliked Chu Mubai's way of handling problems even more. Couldn't he just lay things out on the table? He didn't even ask her questions. She didn't even have a chance to explain herself. No matter what happened that night, his actions made her furious.
Now that he has drawn a clear line, she will draw a clear line with him as well.
Xia Yixin walked to her desk, picked up a calligraphy brush, signed her name, put away all the property deeds, identity notices, etc., then tore up another letter and left the room.
Outside, the old lady saw Xia Yixin's calm expression and her heart sank. "Girl, you..."
"Grandma, I think he must have told you his decision. I accept it, but I'm a person of my word. I will stay in the manor for a while to make all the medicine he needs. You can find a way to send it to him on time. As long as you persevere, his health will be fully recovered within three years." Xia Yixin said, feeling a little sorry for the old woman's dim eyes, but she still hardened her heart and finished speaking.
The old lady remained silent for a long time, then sighed, "Very well, since you've all made up your minds, let's do it this way. Girl, I promised you one more thing. I said before that after you healed him, I could grant you one request."
Xia Yixin wanted to refuse, but seeing the old woman's insistence, she had no choice but to say, "Then my request is that you please don't be angry, Madam."
The old lady could no longer hold back her tears. "Girl, if you have the chance, you must come back, okay? Just for my sake."
Xia Yixin actually liked the people in the Grand Tutor's Mansion very much, at least most of them. It felt like home there. She couldn't bear to see the old lady sad, so she nodded.
If all else fails, I'll just come back and visit her.
A few days later.
When Grand Tutor Chu was bedridden with illness, the new emperor experienced for the first time what it meant to be overwhelmed with trouble. The Northern Ming army had captured ten cities in seven days, and the generals he sent out brought back bad news one after another. Even the Ninth Prince was just going through the motions with him.
Fortunately, although the war was intense, the cities stopped falling one after another, and the two sides began a long stalemate.
The new emperor became increasingly irritable. He even flew into a rage during court because a few officials said that "the new emperor should bestow Zi Linglong upon Crown Prince Rui in marriage," and beheaded the two ministers on the spot.
The outside world only thought that the new emperor was angry because Zi Linglong was captured and Nan Yu suffered repeated defeats. However, the real reason for his irritability was that he found out that he had been tricked by Crown Prince Rui!
When Zi Linglong learned that Crown Prince Rui had released the news, she secretly had Ying send a letter to the new emperor.
This was a slap in the face to the new emperor.
Unfortunately, even though the new emperor knew that Crown Prince Rui had lied to him, the die was cast and he had no choice but to go. If he admitted that he had been deceived, wouldn't he become a laughing stock of the world?
Just as Nan Yu was suffering repeated defeats and the new emperor was extremely irritable, suddenly, an unknown garrison force rose up unexpectedly and recaptured a city overnight. The commander of the troops was a young general named Zhao Tuo.
The new emperor was overjoyed and before he could even reward the young general, he was shocked to learn that the reason he had won this time was because he had accidentally encountered Chu Mubai, who was on his way to the north to find the Valley of Divine Healers!
Chu Mubai is a genius; seven hundred people broke through the ranks of over ten thousand!
Chu Mubai's foresight was uncanny; his counter-night attack claimed the lives of hundreds of Beiming soldiers!
Chu Mubai alone scared away tens of thousands of soldiers!
One... two... three...
Over the course of half a month, Zhao Tuo's troops grew larger and larger like a snowball, and Chu Mubai's reputation as a genius became known throughout the entire Nanyu.
Originally, he was just a handsome young master from a noble family, but with a sickly and delicate body. What a pity.
However, his astonishing talent has now made the people of Nanyu ecstatic. They keep saying "General Zhao is mighty" and "Strategist Chu is a genius." In fact, because Chu Mubai helped the people get rid of tyrants and corrupt officials and reorganize the town's defenses without ever visiting a city, he has won the support of the people even more.
As for the Ninth Prince? He was utterly defeated in a battle and returned to court severely injured and humiliated.
The new emperor was both happy and worried. His suspicious nature made it difficult for him to sleep, and Zi Linglong was also out of his control. In addition to lavishly rewarding the Grand Tutor's Mansion and promoting Chu Mubai, he also sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to guard the Grand Tutor's Mansion day and night.
From the first day he met Chu Mubai, he knew of Chu Mubai's talent and was even more jealous of his handsome appearance. Therefore, he suppressed him in every way, including preventing him from meeting Zi Linglong.
Even with the Chu family, and Chu Mubai having been his advisor for many years, he still couldn't fully trust them.
Because he had witnessed his mother being strangled to death by the very person she trusted—his father!
The new emperor's temper grew increasingly erratic, and the court officials gradually became like quails, though deep down they harbored resentment.
In the blink of an eye.
One month later.
Zhao Tuo was appointed as the Grand General, the highest-ranking military officer, and Chu Mubai was promoted to Minister of War, directly challenging the position of one of the Three Dukes in the court. The few generals from the royalist faction appointed by the new emperor could only follow behind and fight a few small battles.
Moreover, Chu Mubai disregarded the new emperor's decree because he believed that "opportunity knocks but once."
Zhao Tuo led a million-strong army of Nan Yu, and Chu Mubai, as the strategist, not only reclaimed the ten cities that originally belonged to Nan Yu, but also began to counterattack Bei Ming. This infuriated the new emperor, but the officials in the court pleaded for him, and with the continuous reports of victories from the front, he could not punish Chu Mubai even if he wanted to.
The Northern Underworld Emperor was ambitious and loved to make a name for himself. For many years, he had been controlled by eunuchs, and the entire Northern Underworld had long been hollowed out. In addition, his dozen or so sons were scheming against each other, and the people were left to die without anyone to govern them.
Every winter, Beiming had to exchange horses for grain from Nanyu in order to barely survive, and people starved to death every year. In recent years, Crown Prince Rui's ambition has led to a series of wars, which has caused widespread resentment among the people, and even led to the selling of daughters for food.
Beiming may seem to have a vast territory and fierce soldiers, but in reality, it's just a paper tiger.
With Zhao Tuo as the vanguard and Chu Mubai as the strategist, they managed to capture several key transportation hubs in Beiming in one fell swoop.
But before the court could even get excited, another battle report came from the front lines.
"Report! General Chu is trapped in Maicheng by enemy forces and requests Your Majesty's assistance!"
If it weren't for the time and place constraints, the new emperor would have loved to shout, "Well done!"
If Chu Mubai and Zhao Tuo were to successfully defeat Beiming, would he still be able to hold onto his throne?
The new emperor wanted to take this opportunity to give Chu Mubai and Zhao Tuo a good warning, so he allowed Zhao Tuo to request troops time and time again. The new emperor would find all sorts of excuses, and Zhao Tuo himself was also busy, as he was constantly harassed by Bei Ming soldiers who were trying to retaliate.
Crown Prince Rui was also terrified by Chu Mubai's actions over the past month. He gathered tens of thousands of troops to besiege Maicheng, demanding to see Chu Mubai alive or dead, and determined to fight him to the death.
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