Chapter 284 Consolidating Strength
Mu Xi knew all too well that without money and food, even the strongest morale would eventually crumble. Her title of "Prince of Jinfang" seemed somewhat pale in the face of real military supplies.
"Report—" At this moment, Bai Su's messenger's urgent report came from outside the hall.
Bai Su ordered someone to come in, took a bamboo tube, opened it, and after seeing the message inside, his eyebrows twitched. Without making a sound, he dismissed the generals who had already given their reports.
He turned back, a strange excitement in his eyes: "Your Highness, news from the East Sea."
Mu Xi looked up: "Donghai?"
"Qingyang Lord Li Tong suddenly announced his abdication to Princess Qingyang a month ago. Princess Qingyang directly declared herself a female ruler, and now the new ruler of the East Sea is 'Qingyang Lady'." Bai Su spoke quickly, also excited that Yan Sheng could produce a female ruler at this time.
"The Qingyang Lady, it should have been a natural thing to do long ago." Mu Xi recalled those fiery red lychee eyes, and was not too surprised. While she was happy for her "best friend", she couldn't help but think to herself.
It's likely that Lord Qingyang, Li Tong, didn't voluntarily "step down" but rather that Li Li's fiery temper made him unwilling to wait any longer, forcing his father to relinquish the position.
Bai Su, for some reason, was even more excited than before, having never met Li Li: "I heard that after this Lady of Qingyang succeeded to the throne, she did not follow the old practice of appointing a royal consort, but instead acted swiftly and decisively, rectified the internal affairs, and promoted a group of female officials and generals."
Mu Xi smiled knowingly: "She was indeed straightforward, which is to be expected."
Bai Su stared intently at Mu Xi, then suddenly stepped forward: "Your Highness, I have long wanted to say this: if Princess Qingyang can do it, why can't Your Highness?"
The two had discussed this issue privately as early as when they occupied the former Zhu Mingjun residence.
At that time, Bai Su suggested that Mu Xi directly declare himself King of Jin Fang, but Mu Xi felt that the time was not right.
Now, Bai Su said, "If Princess Qingyang can become the Queen of Qingyang, then the Crown Prince can naturally take advantage of this momentum and become the Queen of Jinfang as well. Otherwise, if the Crown Prince still commands under the name of 'Crown Prince of Jinfang,' there will still be a gap between them, making it easy for others to use it against him. In the future, when it comes to 'punishing the rebels,' he will always seem to be inferior to them."
Mu Xi had considered it, but still felt it wasn't the right time: "General Bai, are you confident that your forces are sufficient to help me ascend to the position of a lord? Although I believe in your abilities, ambition needs financial support. Princess Qingyang possesses the wealthy lands of the East Sea and has the support of both her parents and clans, so she naturally has the confidence. As for me, I'm afraid I'm even struggling to afford to reward the army. To become a lord? How will I maintain the dignity of this 'lord'? How will I secure the foundation of this 'lord'? Let's wait until we stabilize the situation in the Southern Territory and gain complete control before making a decision."
Mu Xi now has two goals: first, to establish a foothold in the southern region; and second, to secretly search for and find Mu Xun's whereabouts.
Bai Su had a different opinion: "Now that the traitor Mu Heng can establish himself as the 'King of the West Sea,' the Crown Prince is rightfully entitled to the title, so why can't he? As for military strength, I can't guarantee anything else, but we are certainly safe in the Southern Territory."
“If the southern border is secure, then how do we expand?” Mu Xi countered. This was a question they had discussed many times. “The most urgent task is for General Bai to take control of the southern border nobles, clarify the local forces in the south, gather those that should be gathered, eliminate those that should be eliminated, and incorporate those that should be incorporated. Only when the southern border is stable can we proceed slowly.”
"Yes." Bai Su was full of enthusiasm, but Mu Xi remained calm and could only agree.
Mu Xi then prepared a congratulatory gift and sent it to the East China Sea.
Haste makes waste. Having finally regained everything she had, even though several months had passed, Mu Xi still felt a sense of unreality, because everything was about maintaining stability.
And so, another half month passed.
One day, news came from outside that an old friend had come to visit.
Mu Xi ordered someone to invite her in, and there stood Qi Yingyu, who had gained even more weight and was now a round, smiling Buddha.
Qi Yingyu greeted him with a beaming smile: "Hahaha... Your Highness... Ever since we parted, the news coming from you has been truly breathtaking. But unexpectedly, things have taken such a dramatic turn for the better. I've actually met Your Highness at the residence of Zhu Mingjun in the Southern Territory... no... now, the proper Jin Fangjun residence. Hahaha..."
Mu Xi was delighted to see Qi Yingyu again: "Isn't Boss Qi in Hunan? Did you receive the letter I sent? Why did you come here directly?"
"Hahaha... This servant naturally received the prince's letter and rushed over." Qi Yingyu said, scrutinizing Mu Xi from head to toe before asking, "How did the prince know she was still dressed as a man? I heard that Princess Qingyang has already declared herself Queen of Qingyang, why doesn't the prince also..."
Mu Xi didn't expect Qi Yingyu to bring this up as soon as they met, so she interrupted and shook her head: "It's not the right time yet."
"Hahaha... How could it be untimely? Your Highness need not worry about money. I have come with a big 'money bag' this time, hahaha..." Qi Yingyu laughed triumphantly.
"Oh?" Mu Xi had previously contacted Qi Yingyu to inquire about funding, so she wasn't surprised.
Before she could finish her sentence, Qi Yingyu added, "Hahaha... Your Highness, please don't misunderstand. Don't treat me like a money bag. I'm not that big enough to support hundreds of thousands of people and horses. Hahaha, I'm here on behalf of the Qi family of Xiangnan, and on behalf of the new head of the Qi family, the Second Young Master Qi, to express our goodwill to Your Highness."
"The new head of the Qi family?" Mu Xi was surprised, then a bad feeling arose. "Where's Qi Qingyuan? He wouldn't be..."
“Hahaha… No, no, the old patriarch is still alive…” Qi Yingyu’s laughter suddenly stopped, replaced by a somber tone. “However, because of the death of Miss Qi Zhuying, the old patriarch was deeply saddened and no longer manages affairs.”
"Qi Zhuying is dead?" Mu Xi was shocked and almost jumped out of her chair.
When Qi Yingyu spoke of this matter, the smile on her face vanished without a trace, and she sighed, "Alas, yes, everyone knows that the old patriarch cherished this daughter he had late in life as a precious treasure, as the apple of his eye. After Miss Zhuying's unfortunate passing, the old patriarch became disheartened and no longer cared about worldly affairs."
Remembering Shen Pingting's earlier words of jealousy and rivalry with Qi Zhuying, Mu Xi hurriedly asked, "How did Qi Zhuying die?"
"I don't know. The old patriarch was very secretive about Qi Zhuying's cause of death, only saying to the outside world that she had fallen ill." Qi Yingyu shook her head with a puzzled and solemn expression, but then changed the subject, "However, based on some information I've received, I suspect things are not so simple. At least in the matter of Qi Zhuying's death, the eldest young master must have offended the old patriarch somewhere. It is precisely because of this that the second young master was able to seize the opportunity and eventually become the head of the family."
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