Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 379 - 265: Breaking Camp and Moving South

Chapter 379: Chapter 265: Breaking Camp and Moving South

A quarter of an hour later,

Mr. Ji stood atop the main hall of the Government Office, and after delivering a small cloth bag to Xu Yuan with Origin Qi, he whispered, "Third Young Master, there are five in total. If there’s nothing else, I will go down and watch over those two Sect leaders."

Xu Yuan took it with one hand, glanced down, and smiled,

"Good, then I shall trouble Mr. Ji."

"It’s all part of the job," Mr. Ji said expressionlessly, bowing slightly before turning and walking straight out of the hall.

Xu Yuan sat beside Li Qingyan, watching Mr. Ji leave, and chuckled while shaking his head,

"Mr. Ji is also a clever man, isn’t he."

"A clever man?"

Li Qingyan lifted her gaze from the military documents, glanced at Xu Yuan, and asked, "You... what do you mean by that?"

Xu Yuan looked at Li Qingyan and said with a light smile,

"Lou Ji arranged for him to stay in Houting County to protect me thoroughly, and even ordered him to follow my commands."

Li Qingyan’s eyes revealed a hint of contemplation, and with a smile on her lips, she said,

"You mean... Lou Ji wants to give him a chance to become one of your trusted followers?"

Xu Yuan played with the cloth bag in his hands and nodded, then he began to bluff,

"That should be the case, but this Mr. Ji doesn’t seem to have any intention of taking sides between me and my elder brother."

"......"

Li Qingyan slowly placed the documents in her hands onto the desk, looked at Xu Yuan, and said softly,

"In the Prime Minister’s Mansion, there are two dragons, one phoenix, and one old rat. One dragon has left, the phoenix is not of the direct lineage, leaving only Xu Changge as the heir. This Mr. Ji does not know your depth, so not taking your side is the logical choice."

Xu Yuan grinned,

"The problem is, my immediate superior, Lou Ji, will stand by me."

Li Qingyan looked deeply at Xu Yuan and shook her head,

"Minister Xu should be in the prime of his life."

"But your father, the Emperor, probably won’t last much longer."

"......."

The air suddenly fell silent.

Li Qingyan stared at Xu Yuan as if she saw through his plans and huffed,

"Prince Consort, you are to be my future husband, and I am to be your future wife. Beyond that, there is nothing else."

Xu Yuan smacked his lips, his voice taking on a tone of resignation,

"There’s an old saying, ’Even a day of marriage binds one with a hundred days of affection.’ Although we haven’t communicated deeply, we’ve shared a bed for so many nights, that counts for quite a bit of affection."

Li Qingyan continued to lower her gaze, reviewing the military situation within the city,

"Prince Consort, there is another ancient saying, ’Same bed, different dreams.’ I will not change my choices because of you."

"......"

Xu Yuan stared at her fair profile and sighed softly.

Another failure.

He wanted to know Li Qingyan’s true stance.

If his old man’s plans went smoothly, the conflict with the Barbarian Tribes would be pacified, the Northern Border Sects would be destroyed, the Emperor’s life would be at an end, and the Prince’s fight for succession would enter its final stage. Any one of these issues could cause drastic changes in the world’s situation.

In this, the attitude of the Princess before him, known as Wu Yuan, was extremely important.

Throughout these days, Xu Yuan had found that this woman’s prestige in the military was truly terrifying.

Not only did her personal guards, the Feathered Forest Army, include her, but the soldiers of the Northern Border Army also held her in extremely high respect.

And after the battle of the Northern Frontier ended, her position would undoubtedly become even higher.

At that time, her choices would greatly influence the outcome of the succession struggle.

In the silence,

Xu Yuan did not continue on the subject, and instead examined the Sumeru Ring inside the cloth bag. As soon as his will-spirit entered, his eyes lifted in surprise.

While only a faint expression had just formed on his face, Li Qingyan, who had just been cold, immediately transmitted her voice over with a laugh,

"Prince Consort, how is it?"

Heh, women.

Xu Yuan glanced sideways at her and without further ado, said frankly:

"All five Sumeru Rings are the largest size, and the grain stored inside should be enough to feed thirty thousand people for one month. In addition to this, there are some spare armor and weapons—I doubt they have much stock left."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyan fell into a brief contemplation before suddenly speaking:

"That’s right, Prince Consort, those two must have noticed something."

Without a second thought, Xu Yuan replied with a smile,

"Your Highness, are you referring to me selling them the Cloud Qi Bombs?"

Li Qingyan nodded slightly and said in a low voice,

"They might not figure it out from one incident, but now that they have experienced the collapse of the northern wall of the Northern Border, they will inevitably connect the two events."

Xu Yuan spoke nonchalantly:

"They’ll probably pin it on Lou Ji rather than me."

Li Qingyan shook her head slightly:

"During that time, I was in charge of the Northern Border, and Lou Ji had no chance to access those key formation points within the city wall."

Speaking of which,

Li Qingyan let out a sigh, and said in a tone resembling a sigh, "If I had known your true character back then, I wouldn’t have let you go in so easily."

Xu Yuan smiled with a hint of dissatisfaction,

"True character... why do I get the impression that the Princess is scolding me?"

"No, I’m praising you for being full of wisdom and strategies."

Li Qingyan gave him a look and then spoke seriously, "If they let this out, a series of events that happened in the Northern Frontier will be pinned on you, and then you might become a thorn in many people’s sides, hmm... just like your Second Brother used to be."

"Does that include you, Princess?" Xu Yuan asked with a smile.

"It shouldn’t include me," Li Qingyan replied with a smile. "If it did, I wouldn’t be reminding you."

Xu Yuan moved a bit closer:

"So... are you worried about me, Princess?"

"Of course," Li Qingyan winked at Xu Yuan and smiled sweetly, "I don’t want to be widowed in the future~"

Burned!

Xu Yuan’s eye twitched as he chuckled,

"Then I am truly grateful, but actually, it’s not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?"

"Quite simple, dead men tell no tales."

"....."

...

...

...

In the following days, neither Zong Qingsheng nor Li Qingyan showed any intention of moving south.

They made no move from Houting County, preparing for battle while continuously receiving Sect forces fleeing from the south.

There were large groups like Luo Qingfeng’s, who managed to retreat in an orderly manner with thousands of troops, as well as small groups of scattered soldiers numbering in the dozens or hundreds.

But all this was of no concern to Xu Yuan. As an unofficial, idle person, he led a leisurely life in Houting County.

His daily activities consisted of cultivation and sleeping with Li Qingyan.

Li Qingyan did not need to sleep, but she was indeed idle during this period, often lying in bed with him to deepen their bond, talking into the night before sleeping together.

Sleeping together, in the literal sense.

Xu Yuan seriously suspected that this woman was teasing him, because every time she would take off her bandeau and sleep in a silk nightgown.

She would teasingly itch his heart, confident since he couldn’t defeat her, eventually leading Xu Yuan to add a new activity to his daily routine—teasing Luo Qingfeng.

It was his way to reminisce about his fleeting youth and his soon-to-be-missed paper-thin wife.

Four days later,

the peaceful life came to an end,

a Cloud Qi Bomb detonated one hundred miles south of Houting County, and two hundred and twenty thousand elite Imperial troops, along with a total of ninety thousand Sect fleeing forces, began to set out southward one after another.....