Inside the pawnshop, the lights shone brightly, carrying a touch of warmth.
Zhao Huai sat at the table. Before him were five steaming dishes, along with fragrant, sweet-looking rice.
Now he knew what was inside the wooden box—it was these five dishes.
Scallion Spare Ribs, Fried Sesame Cake, Steamed Lion's Head, Wensi Tofu Soup, Fresh Bamboo Shoot Vegetarian Soup.
Zhao Huai picked up a spoon, brought a spoonful to his mouth, and savored it carefully.
"Is it good?"
Yu Qinghan looked at Zhao Huai expectantly.
"Mhm, it tastes excellent. The knife work on the tofu is especially good—it melts in your mouth. The broth is made with mushrooms, so it's wonderfully fresh and fragrant."
Zhao Huai nodded lightly. Being able to make dishes to this standard was no easy feat.
Hearing such an answer, Yu Qinghan was immediately satisfied. At the same time, she smiled in surprise. "I never expected Young Master Zhao to be so knowledgeable about cooking."
"Just a little, just a little."
Those countless food blogger videos from his previous life hadn't been watched for nothing, had they?
Zhao Huai thought to himself.
"Actually, I'm not very good at cooking. I learned all this from the servants. When I'm bored and can't go out to listen to music, I study cooking at home."
Yu Qinghan explained.
"Then you truly are very talented, miss."
Zhao Huai said earnestly, "I thought that since you had long weathered the battlefield, you would know nothing at all about cooking. I never expected your thoughts to be just as delicate when it came to preparing food."
Faced with such undisguised praise, Yu Qinghan was delighted.
In all her life, no one had ever praised her for her cooking.
"You flatter me, Young Master."
After quite some time spent eating,
Zhao Huai finally devoured the entire tableful of food.
Perhaps because a lovely woman was keeping him company, his appetite was especially good today.
After eating and drinking his fill, Zhao Huai looked at Yu Qinghan's back and could not help asking, "Miss Yu, if you were to marry me, would your elders be able to make it in time?"
As far as he knew, Yu Qinghan had run away from home. Her parents probably would not come.
Yu Qinghan packed up the food boxes and sighed.
"To my shame, I've been staying at the Marriage Agency these past days. If I get married, I'm afraid they won't come, and I won't invite them either. My father and I might as well have cut each other apart with a single blade."
"It's actually that serious?"
Zhao Huai said in surprise.
"Actually, you may not know this, but I'm an orphan too. My parents passed away when I was young, and I have no elders to speak of. I came out to make a living alone, so if I marry, there probably won't be any elders there either."
Zhao Huai gave a bitter smile and comforted her softly.
"Oh? You're alone too, Young Master?"
Yu Qinghan was equally astonished upon hearing this.
"That's right."
Yu Qinghan looked rather optimistic as she joked, "Then getting married will really be easy for us. We'll save ourselves quite a few cumbersome procedures."
"Yes."
Zhao Huai smiled helplessly as well.
"Since you have no pressure from your family, why not move in early? Staying there all day isn't much of a solution."
"You're willing to take me in?"
Yu Qinghan asked in surprise.
"Since we're going to get married anyway, why speak of taking you in or not?" Zhao Huai found it rather amusing.
"All right, as you say, Young Master."
Yu Qinghan smiled speechlessly and agreed at once.
Jinghai City
Prince Qin's Mansion
On either side of the entrance stood imposing soldiers clad in black iron armor, great halberds in hand.
Within the mansion stood a luxurious pavilion. It was very quiet, without any scene of songs, dances, and revelry.
The generals stood awaiting orders, while strategists lined the sides.
At the very center stood a handsome young man in a white jade dragon robe.
His golden eyes carried immense majesty, and the sharp aura radiating from him was like a divine sword drawn from its sheath. His unruly gaze revealed the domineering air of a king, looking down upon all beneath heaven.
He was Prince Qin of present-day Great Xia, Yu Shihuang.
"Greetings, Prince Qin."
An elderly man in a Confucian robe cupped his hands in salute from the side.
"Hmph! You managed to botch even this? You couldn't even catch a single person—are you all useless good-for-nothings?"
Yu Shihuang snorted coldly. The fury in his words left the surrounding strategists and generals scarcely daring to breathe.
They knew that the man before them was not someone to be trifled with.
Prince Qin, Yu Shihuang.
The eldest legitimate son of the Great Xia Emperor, the First Prince.
His status was exceptionally noble. Apart from the Second Prince and the princess, he was the one whose word was law throughout all of Great Xia.
The old man in the Confucian robe said, "Please quell your anger, Your Highness. The princess is in the Suzhou-Hangzhou region. Give us two more days, and we will find her."
Yu Shihuang waved his hand impatiently and questioned, "How have things been in the capital lately?"
The old man in the Confucian robe cupped his hands and replied solemnly, "Your Highness, His Majesty has already handed the one hundred and forty thousand Capital Garrison Feather Army stationed in the capital and Guanzhong over to the Second Prince. It can be said that Great Xia's military authority has now been split into three."
"My younger brother isn't some harmless fool either."
Yu Shihuang gave a cold laugh, then said blandly, "And the other two?"
The old man in the Confucian robe continued, "The second is naturally the nearly two hundred thousand troops in Your Highness's hands. They occupy half of the Central Plains and even the north, stretching north to the Hongmen Border, west to Yao Mountain, and east to the coast. Their territory is the broadest."
"Continue."
"The third is the princess's army of three hundred thousand. It occupies the south as well as the most vital region of the Central Plains, making it the largest force in terms of numbers."
Yu Shihuang said calmly, "There is one more thing you failed to mention. Though they have three hundred thousand troops, the laborers transporting provisions make up the greater part of them. They should only have a hundred-odd thousand soldiers. By ranking, they ought to be third."
The old man in the Confucian robe replied, "But the princess's army is hardened through a hundred battles. Starting from nothing, she rose in the south with only a few thousand troops in her humble beginnings. She won battle after battle, growing into a force seventy thousand strong, then marched northward all the way—conquering the Yan Capital, taking the Central Plains, pacifying the north, and severing Great Yan's final straw."
"Well said!"
Yu Shihuang sneered. "What a 'severing Great Yan's final straw.' Then today, everyone, let us discuss how we can deal with my younger sister's army."
The old man in the Confucian robe said, "Your Highness, this matter cannot be rushed. The princess has no intention of contending for supremacy, and she has now withdrawn into seclusion. Her army has no commander and no news of her whereabouts. This is our best opportunity. If Your Highness cannot bear to act, the Second Prince will act instead. But being too hasty will only startle the snake in the grass."
Yu Shihuang barked sharply, raised a glass of colored glaze, and smashed it down with force. "Then come up with a plan for me! You have followed me for so many years—can't you even handle an army trained by a woman?"
Crash!
The sound of the cup shattering rang out as Yu Shihuang swept his sharp gaze around the room.
Yet no one dared meet his eyes.
"Your Highness, I have a plan."
Among the strategists, a lean and tall adviser in green robes with a goatee stepped forward and cupped his hands.
Yu Shihuang's expression eased slightly. Frowning, he said, "Speak."
The green-robed adviser stroked his goatee and said with utter seriousness, "The princess's martial prowess is known to all under heaven, and the elite army under her command is loyal beyond compare. Therefore, we cannot force the issue. We can only outwit them."
Yu Shihuang said flatly, "Cut the crap. How do we outwit them?"
"If the princess had not had someone supporting her from behind, she could never, ever have reached where she is today."
The green-robed adviser smiled inscrutably.
"Oh? Who?"
The green-robed adviser waved his feather fan and said, "All things lie at the heights. Naturally, it is the one upon the imperial throne. Without His Majesty's support, the princess could never have gained so much support from the court and the realm, much less such great authority. So long as one sits upon the throne, dealing with the iron army under the princess's command requires only a single written order of transfer."
"You mean, deal with my imperial father?"
Yu Shihuang said thoughtfully.
"Precisely." The green-robed adviser smiled faintly.
"His Majesty has fought wars year after year, leaving behind many hidden injuries. He is only forcing himself to hold on now. Your Highness need only wait for the right moment, ascend the throne in one stroke, and then issue an order to disband the army. Every problem will be solved as easily as a blade cuts through bamboo."
Yu Shihuang said lightly, "I understand."
He pondered for a long time and made his decision.
"In that case, shift our focus to the imperial city. As for my younger sister's side, there is no need to startle the snake in the grass. Send someone to the Black Market and have them deal with it."
"Yes!"
Everyone accepted their orders.
Before you continue