Do You Agree, Third Young Master

Outside, snow was falling heavily, while Li Zhaoyuan stood alone in the silent main hall.

He suddenly realized that his thoughts were in disarray, because a sense of helplessness, unable to break the deadlock no matter how hard he tried, resurfaced in his mind.

A feeling I haven't had in a long time.

Xu Changtian's earlier words made him realize once again the gap between himself and his elder brother, the emperor.

It's not a difference in ability, but simply a difference in background.

The Crown Prince a mountain weighing on the hearts of all the princes.

Even if you try your best and scheme every time, it's still difficult to overcome.

After standing there for a long time, Li Zhaoyuan sighed, turned around and walked towards the table.

And at that moment,

"I didn't expect you to make that kind of expression, Zhao Yuan."

A delicate female voice suddenly broke the silence in the hall, carrying a hint of teasing, as if she were quite familiar with the Second Prince.

"."

Upon hearing this, a hint of tenderness unconsciously flickered in Li Zhaoyuan's eyes, but when he turned to look at her, his expression was calm, even showing a hint of disgust.

A woman dressed in pure white appeared at the entrance of the main hall.

With a delicate nose and red lips, her white dress fell to her elbows, revealing her fragrant shoulders and exquisitely white collarbones.

Beautiful but freezing.

The woman seemed to appear along with a wisp of snow mist drifting down into the hall from the entrance.

As she walked by, a layer of white frost formed on the ground.

If Xu Yuan were still in the council hall at this moment, upon seeing the woman's clothing, he would recognize her as one of the three kings of the Ancient Abyss Fox Clan.

After all, there aren't many poor yet generous people in Cangyuan.

Snow Fox of Nan Jinxi.

It's not the female lead from Cangyuan, but a very special BOSS.

Although she was one of the three kings of the fox clan, she was nowhere to be seen when Ancient Abyss invaded the Great Yan.

In many timelines, she obediently stayed in a secluded mountain forest within the Great Yan territory, living in seclusion.

He can be considered a neutral boss.

Killing her will yield equipment and information.

If you don't kill her, she'll help you once later, but only against the Prime Minister's Estate.

Upon hearing this teasing remark, Li Zhaoyuan's face showed no emotion whatsoever.

"I am only human, and naturally I will also feel frustrated."

He paused for a moment, then asked in a solemn voice:

"Nan Jinxi, why have you come here?"

Snow Fox Nan Jinxi tilted her head and thought for a moment, then took a step forward with her slender figure, giggling softly:

"Xu Yinhe and your father have caused such a commotion in the Northern Border, it would be difficult for us not to come. Some small beasts in the city told me that we could sense your presence in this government office, so we came to check on you."

In terms of intelligence gathering, the Demon Race is virtually unmatched.

Their bloodline allows them to control low-level Demon Beast, or even ordinary animals, to provide them with intelligence.

However, this kind of control also has its flaws.

The controlled Demon Beast possessed a faint trace of Source Qi, which a powerful expert like Lou Ji could easily detect and then trace back to its source.

Li Zhaoyuan glanced outside the hall:

"Aren't you afraid of being stuck in Beifeng City forever by doing this?"

"Is Zhao Yuan concerned about me?"

Looking at the other person's striking features, Nan Jinxi smiled.

"Don't worry, Lou Ji has already left the city and headed north. As long as she doesn't get too close to your imperial sister, no one in the city will be able to find me."

As they spoke,

Dressed in simple, plain clothes, she had already crossed the hundred-meter-long hall and arrived in front of Li Zhaoyuan.

Li Zhaoyuan's expression was unreadable; he asked thoughtfully:

"Lou Ji has left?"

Nan Jinxi tugged at her fair, smooth shoulder and smiled playfully:

"I dare not come out until that woman leaves; she seems to be delivering something important."

While speaking,

She gathered her skirt and sat down in the chair, reaching out to grab the files on the desk.

Unfortunately, Li Zhaoyuan, standing to one side of the desk, took the file first and smiled slightly:

Are you that afraid of Lou Ji?

"They can't beat us."

Nan Jinxi gave a pitiful look, reached for the other files, and said with a smile:

"If that woman hadn't somehow damaged her foundation, she might already be a saint by now."

Seeing the other party's actions, Li Zhaoyuan immediately stored all the files on the table into his Sumeru Ring, his voice slightly cold:

"Alright, if you want to gather intelligence, go find someone else."

Nan Jinxi stared at Li Zhaoyuan with her azure eyes and said:

"Just kidding, you idiot. You really don't understand women at all."

Li Zhaoyuan's dark pupils looked down at the woman:

"Woman? Are you even human?"

"."

Upon hearing this, Nan Jinxi paused for a moment, then a hint of anger flashed in her beautiful eyes.

Li Zhaoyuan's dark eyes remained deep and unmoved.

They looked at each other, then remained silent.

a long time,

The anger in Nan Jinxi's eyes gradually disappeared, and she murmured to herself:

"I know your identity makes it impossible for you to have any connection with me, but..."

"Alright."

Li Zhaoyuan interrupted, standing ramrod straight:

"Nan Jinxi, I did save you back then, but let's not put on this ridiculous story of a white fox repaying a debt of gratitude anymore."

Nan Jinxi's slender fingers, which had been caressing each other, suddenly exerted force:

"Li Zhaoyuan, I gave up my lifespan to cultivate into human form, what do you think it was for?"

Li Zhaoyuan remained unmoved, even showing a hint of impatience:

"Speak plainly if you have something to say. The war in Beifeng is urgent. If you continue with your nonsense, I will initiate the battle."

"."

Silence fell within the hall.

The woman's frail, slender body trembled slightly, and she whispered:

"I've only come to tell you to leave Beifeng City as soon as possible."

"Leave?"

Li Zhaoyuan frowned slightly. She knew that the other party had risked being killed to appear, so he was unlikely to lie.

After a moment's thought, he uttered two words:

"Reason."

A hint of hesitation flickered in Nan Jinxi's eyes, but she still managed to convey:

"All of the sect's grain and military supplies in Beifeng City will be destroyed soon. You should know what that means."

This means that seven or eight tenths of the city's grain supplies were destroyed.

This means that half of the city's defensive equipment cannot be replenished.

The representative and one-third of the reserve Source Crystal supplying the City Protection Array evaporated completely.

Thinking of this, Li Zhaoyuan was about to leave to deal with it, but Nan Jinxi stopped him and said slowly:

"It's too late. I learned about this news about fifteen minutes ago. If you calculate the time, you should have heard the sound in less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea."

Li Zhaoyuan was silent for a moment, then frowned and said:

"Is it a sect?"

Nan Jinxi shook her head, indicating that she didn't know either, but her words carried a hint of mockery:

"The resources within your Great Yan territory are truly abundant. The imperial court can fight against the sects, and the sects can fight against each other. If Beifeng City is lost, even if 700,000 troops are buried in the Snow Plain, Great Yan will definitely have to send troops to retake a strategic pass like Beifeng next year."

"The Barbarian Tribe will not give up this opportunity to escape the Snow Plain. The sects, the Great Desert, and even our Ancient Abyss will not let this opportunity to weaken your Great Yan Dynasty pass by. We will all support them. Even if your Great Yan Dynasty manages to take it back, it will inevitably be severely weakened and unable to attack the sects again."

"."

After a few breaths of silence,

Li Zhaoyuan suddenly asked:

"Are you done talking?"

"Um?"

"You may leave now that you've finished speaking. I must return to my military duties."

"."

Snow Fox Nan Jinxi's eyes widened slightly, and her tone quickened:

"Li Zhaoyuan, didn't you understand what I said? This Beifeng City..."

"Of course I understood."

Li Zhaoyuan slowly stepped forward, pulled the woman up from the chair, sat down himself, leaned back in his chair, and spoke calmly:

"But the more critical the situation becomes, the more support I can gain from others. If handled properly, I might even gain the support of that imperial sister."

"You will die." Nan Jinxi stared at Li Zhaoyuan.

Li Zhaoyuan shook his head and stopped looking at her.

"If I fail, I will not escape death."

For a moment, the hall fell silent.

Li Zhaoyuan exhaled a puff of white mist:

"Let's go. If we are discovered, I will have no choice but to activate the formation and kill you."

"."

Nan Jinxi looked at him with a complicated expression for a few moments, gritted her teeth, turned around, and disappeared into a wisp of snow mist in the council hall.

And along with her disappeared the white frost she stirred up as she walked.

All traces vanished, as if she had never been there.

Seeing the other person leave, Li Zhaoyuan put the documents he had just stored in his Sumeru Ring back on the table. But when he placed the document about the sect's inventory in Beifeng City, he suddenly curled his lips into a meaningful smile.

Night deepened.

On a snowy night, the important town of Beifeng appeared deserted and desolate.

Soldiers patrolling the streets from time to time, and animal-drawn carts carrying military equipment rushing by, became the only sounds on the streets.

The horses in the stables paced restlessly because of the continuous clattering sounds from the southern sky. Countless soldiers and civilians, protected beneath the great formation, huddled in their beds, enjoying a false sense of security in their warm and thick blankets.

Xu Yuan was one of them.

After bidding farewell to the Second Prince, he immediately returned to his room to rest.

Since no one made any arrangements for him, he simply rested in his fiancée's room.

This violates the rules of etiquette in the Great Yan, but spoiled brats don't care about etiquette.

Besides, there are only three decent rooms in the back courtyard; he can't very well sleep in the Third Prince's room, can he?

The thick quilt allowed Xu Yuan to sleep soundly, but unfortunately, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, Xu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.

Xu Yuan sat up, rubbing his temples, his long, unbound hair cascading down his back.

Suppressing her weariness, she got up, picked up the coat hanging on the back of the chair, put it on, and walked out the door.

As soon as the door opened, the biting wind and blizzard cut into his cheeks like knives.

In the distance, the red glow of flames mingled with black mist on the horizon, and the sounds of continuous explosions echoed one after another.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan subconsciously frowned.

Before he could think any further, a figure landed; Zhou Chen had arrived.

"Third Young Master"

Xu Yuan glanced at him and asked:

"What happens?"

Zhou Chen glanced at the direction from which the flames were rising, and hesitated before saying:

"That direction... that should be the border troops' warehouse."

"Hiss"

Xu Yuan's eyes twitched, and he was completely awake. He circulated his Cultivation Method and leaped to a high place in the government office.

On a snowy night with low visibility, apart from the fire near the government office, he could vaguely see several other flames rising in the city.

"Those places are all warehouses for the border troops?"

Zhou Chen, who had been following Xu Yuan closely, immediately responded upon hearing this:

"Yes, the border army is in disarray, and each clan has its own warehouses for storing supplies within Beifeng City."

Xu Yuan stood on the high place and watched for a few moments, then gently shook his head:

"They wiped them all out in one fell swoop. These sects really have a good appetite."

"That's certainly a good appetite."

The voice that answered was calm and steady; it wasn't Zhou Chen, but Li Zhaoyuan.

He had somehow arrived at the highest pavilion in the government office, looked at Xu Yuan, held a file in his hand, and said calmly:

"It's just a pity that the sect's treasury information that the Third Young Master gave me earlier is now useless."

As he spoke, a ball of blue flame ignited in Li Zhaoyuan's hand, instantly engulfing the dossier and turning it to ashes.

Xu Yuan frowned and stared at Li Zhaoyuan:

"Your Highness, are you implying that this military warehouse was burned down by our Prime Minister's Estate?"

Li Zhaoyuan's gaze seemed to see right through people:

"Third Young Master, the Black Scale Guard can even ascertain the quantity of goods stored in the warehouse, so it shouldn't be difficult for them to tamper with things. Moreover, the investigation results regarding the destruction of the South City Triumph Gate also point to your Tian'an Chamber of Commerce."

Xu Yuan remained silent and offered no explanation.

Seeing the other party's expression, Li Zhaoyuan Wan'er:

"However, given how Lord Xu dotes on you, Third Young Master, why would he put you in danger? I suspect that someone else is behind this. After all, if it were truly your Prime Minister's Estate, why would you hand over the border army's warehouse intelligence to me, Third Young Master, and why would you use the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce's carriages? I suspect that someone is behind this, trying to sow discord."

The wind and snow were heavy at the top of the attic, and her long, unbound hair swayed in the wind.

Xu Yuan's eyes burned with bloodlust as he chuckled softly:

"With such a major incident, instead of going to oversee and control the fire, Your Highness has the leisure to come and chat with me?"

A hint of a smile appeared in Li Zhaoyuan's deep, dark eyes:

"The destruction of the Northern Border ' warehouses is actually beneficial to the imperial court, isn't it?"

"Advantageous?" Xu Yuan seemed to be thinking.

"Third Young Master, I have identified three advantages; please advise me on them."

Li Zhaoyuan glanced at Xu Yuan, then turned to gaze at the distant South City, his expression a mixture of sighing and amusement.

"Firstly, if Beifeng City cannot be defended, all these things will have to be destroyed sooner or later. The supplies that are enough for 300,000 troops for half a year will only be given to the Barbarian Tribe if we keep them."

"Secondly, the biggest reason for the crisis in Beifeng City is not the shortage of supplies within the city, but the complete destruction of the formation and city gates of the Triumph Gate in the south of the city. The Barbarian Tribe have gathered their totems to attack, and we need to fill the gaps with lives. Now that someone is willing to help us destroy it, the sect border troops in the city will be without supplies and will inevitably seek our help. My sister's decision to have these sect border troops rotate the city defenses has greatly reduced the resistance."

"Thirdly, Houting County is only three hundred li away from Beifeng City. Even if high-level cultivators need to conceal their aura, the round trip only takes one day. For every extra day Beifeng City is defended, some of these supplies will be transported away by the sect's high-level cultivators using their Sumeru Ring. If the defense lasts ten days, most of the supplies will be stockpiled in Houting County. At that time, the only people trapped in the Snow Plain will be our imperial army of 300,000 in the Dali Mountain."

"."

Xu Yuan looked at the deep-thinking Second Prince and suddenly grinned:

"So that's how it is. The destruction of the sect's warehouses has such a benefit for our Great Yan Dynasty. The Second Prince's meticulousness is indeed well-deserved."

Li Zhaoyuan shook his head:

"You flatter me, Third Young Master. I only realized this after thinking about it. The person who planned this beforehand was truly meticulous."

As he spoke,

Snowflakes danced wildly.

He stared at Xu Yuan and said with a smile, enunciating each word clearly:

"Aren't you right, Third Young Master?"