Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 1015 - 630: The Gap

Chapter 1015: Chapter 630: The Gap

The rich aroma of wine drifted throughout the private room, mingling with the storyteller’s rhythmic voice, separated only by a thin curtain, recounting the legendary tales of the Marquis of Zhenxi’s valor in days past.

Sipping lightly from his cup, Xu Yuan glanced across at the girl clutching a wine jar, gulping it down in long swigs, the daughter of the Marquis of Zhenxi. He sighed softly yet again.

Li Junwu set the wine jar down, her face flushed from drinking. She glanced at him and asked:

"I’ve already told you, this place only has wine shops. Next time, I’ll take you to see the brothels on this side of the Western Desert."

Xu Yuan shook his head lightly, his gaze carrying a hint of complexity, and asked in a low voice:

"Are you... not going to ask about the next steps of the plan?"

Li Junwu pointed at him and said:

"Isn’t that what you’re here for? You plan, I cooperate."

"....."

Hearing this response, Xu Yuan sighed again silently in his heart.

Everything he had laid out was centered around Li Junwu, helping her regain control of Zhenxi Prefecture City. But ever since arriving at this wine shop called Western Mountain Retreat, Li Junwu had stopped taking any initiative in inquiring about the follow-up plans to seize control of the city’s defenses.

She had simply entrusted such a crucial matter entirely to him, a mere outsider, to devise and execute.

This so-called "good brother with a strong chest," it seemed, truly fell far short of the Wrapped Chest Princess.

Thinking back to his experiences in the Northern Frontier, the difference between Li Qingyan and Li Junwu became immediately apparent.

The Wrapped Chest Princess, even in the face of absolute adversity, always maintained her initiative, always sought to oversee and control everything, always insisted on making him follow her lead.

But as for Li Junwu? Seeing that she had his help, she decisively and cleanly handed over everything to him, becoming the very definition of a hands-off shopkeeper.

Xu Yuan, of course, understood that this was because Li Junwu trusted him. But the problem was, in the future, she was supposed to be the one in charge of Zhenxi Prefecture!

A leader can be cruel, can be debauched, can even be indecisive, but they absolutely cannot shirk their responsibilities.

These complex thoughts flashed through his mind as Xu Yuan shook his head and said wistfully:

"I think I’m beginning to understand why your father has always wanted to retire and lay down his armor to become a farmer."

Li Junwu’s drinking motion halted. She keenly sensed the layered meaning behind his words and furrowed her brow:

"What do you mean by that?"

Xu Yuan winked at her and said with a low chuckle:

"Just that someone might be unfit for responsibility, that’s all."

With a loud "thud," Li Junwu slammed the wine jar onto the table, her eyes narrowing:

"Xu Changtian, are you looking for an argument?"

Xu Yuan shrugged, deciding it was time to address her habits, and said:

"I’m only stating a fact. If you keep shirking your duties, the authority you hold won’t disappear into thin air—it will simply shift to someone else. Keep shirking a few more times, and you’ll find yourself entirely sidelined."

Saying this,

he tapped lightly on the table in front of him, his tone taking on a subtle edge:

"Leaving other matters aside, let’s take this city defense plan as an example. If everything goes smoothly and you don’t bother with the details, if I wanted to, I could insert people from the Prime Minister’s Mansion into the city’s defensive structure in Zhenxi Prefecture."

Li Junwu listened carefully. The initial anger on her face gradually faded, replaced by a calm expression as she stared at him:

"If I ask, it’ll inevitably involve the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s secrets. You’d definitely lie to me. How would the result be any different from me not asking? It would only create conflict and strain between us."

Hearing this, Xu Yuan was momentarily surprised. He hadn’t expected this reasoning. After a brief silence, he spoke with a layered tone:

"Junwu, I’m helping you with Zhenxi Prefecture not purely because of our personal friendship but also because of the mutual interests between the Prime Minister’s Mansion and your Zhenxi Prefecture. You could consider this a cooperative arrangement.

"If you assume I’d lie about this matter, then why not try to discern truth from falsehood in my words and use me to your advantage? Understand?"

Li Junwu blinked, then a faint, amused smile curved her lips as she waved a dismissive hand:

"So, Changtian, would you actually do something detrimental to me?"

"No."

"Then that’s settled."

"....." Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan’s eyelids twitched, and he chuckled ruefully as he said:

"Look, sister, while I might say I wouldn’t, that doesn’t guarantee I wouldn’t in reality."

"But I believe you were telling the truth just now."

"....."

Xu Yuan couldn’t hold back and cursed:

"If you inherit your dad’s title someday, I hope you trust me this blindly, so I can drain you dry and leave you with nothing!"

Li Junwu chuckled softly, waving her hand dismissively:

"Alright, alright, I get it."

Watching her completely unmoved demeanor, Xu Yuan opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to offer more advice. But as a sudden thought struck him, he changed his words:

"Forget it. No matter what I say, you won’t listen anyway. You always seem to enjoy comparing yourself to Li Qingyan, right? Next time we return to the capital, I’ll introduce her to you. You can learn a thing or two from her."

At the mere mention of the Wrapped Chest Princess, Li Junwu seemed to bristle, her voice rising slightly:

"Me, learn from her? What is there to learn from her?!"

Seeing his crude provocation take immediate effect, Xu Yuan stifled the grin in his heart, putting on a calm expression:

"What? Don’t tell me you genuinely believe the two of you are on the same level? Back when you were playing around, she was focused on cultivation. When you spent all your time in brothels, she was studying strategy. Even now, while we’re sitting here drinking, she’s out there fighting on the battlefield. What do you have to compare with her?"

Watching Li Junwu’s expression darken further, Xu Yuan continued pressing her buttons:

"In the Northern Frontier, when I faced hardship with her, even in the direst straits, she never stopped thinking about how to turn the situation around. Even when I told her I had a plan, she still worked on contingency strategies."

At this point,

he suddenly sighed, speaking in a low voice:

"If Qingyan were in your position, even without me, she’d find a way to turn the tables on her own, not hide away in some corner and obediently wait for her father to bail her out."

"Bang!"

Li Junwu slapped the table in front of her. Though she held back, the impact still left a palm print in the wood grain:

"Turn the tables? How? The people from the sects are after my life! If I dared to show myself, they’d kill me on the spot. With the enemy’s forces unclear, what options do I have besides hiding?!"

Xu Yuan spread his hands and said softly:

"See? You’re aggravated. Li Qingyan would never lose her cool like this."

"....." Li Junwu clenched her fists tightly.

Xu Yuan chuckled but ignored her rising anger. After all, this woman couldn’t beat him anyway. He continued in a leisurely tone:

"Junwu, why do you think they want to kill you?"

"Because without an heir, Zhenxi Prefecture would fall into disarray, and the Mu Family would likely take control."

"That’s exactly it."

Xu Yuan watched her panting slightly in frustration and spoke gently:

"Zhenxi Prefecture bears the surname Li, not Mu. Even if the upper echelons have betrayed you, the rank-and-file soldiers still remain loyal to your father.

He tapped the table again, speaking in a low tone:

"The entire Zhenxi Army is willing to mobilize for your safety. Isn’t that because your very existence embodies the righteousness and legitimacy of Zhenxi Prefecture?

"The military formation technique you’ve cultivated is the highest-level maternal technique of the Zhenxi Army. If you activate it, nearly twenty thousand elite troops in the city would sense it."

"This single card in your hand is enough to give you the leverage to turn the tide."

With that, Xu Yuan seemed to sense something, pulling out a crystalline object from his Sumeru Ring. After examining it briefly, he smiled and got to his feet:

"The government office results are in. One good news, one bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"....." Li Junwu, seemingly overwhelmed, lowered her head and said nothing.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan spoke to himself:

"The bad news is that Commander Zhan is indeed a traitor. The good news is that our spy has thoroughly duped him. Now, we can head to the government office."

As he spoke,

Xu Yuan observed her expression, softening his tone slightly:

"Also, Junwu, think carefully about what I said earlier. If you truly want to inherit Zhenxi Prefecture, these are all matters you must consider."

"...."

Li Junwu lowered her eyes and quietly followed him.

They walked in silence.

It wasn’t until they stepped out of the wine shop, the midday sun shining down on them, and reached the carriage outside, that she suddenly asked in a low voice:

"... Am I really that much worse than her?"

He glanced sideways at her and answered softly but truthfully:

"From a subjective standpoint, the gap between you and Li Qingyan isn’t just a small one."

Her posture trembled slightly:

"I will catch up to her."

"When you can command a military formation of twenty thousand, then you can say that."

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes without hesitation and teased:

"Honestly, if you could command twenty thousand troops, we wouldn’t be in such a disadvantaged position right now."

"....." She bit her lip and clenched her fists tightly.