Loss

"."

Silence followed.

Seeing the murderous intent in Li Qingyan's eyes, Xu Yuan felt he should be moved.

After all, she was willing to kill her own brother for the sake of her fiancé.

But for some reason, Xu Yuan felt very calm, so calm that he even felt that Li Qingyan was acting.

If it were Big Ice Block) who wanted to draw his sword and chop Li Zhaoyuan, he would have no doubts, but Li Qingyan... well, she'd better not.

Although the two have now been completely honest with each other, even if Li Qingyan were willing to have a deeper conversation with him on this big red bed, Xu Yuan would still not believe her.

Therefore, Xu Yuan did not give a direct answer to this question.

He glanced in the direction of the main gate of the barracks and asked with a smile:

"Did Deputy General Cang's news travel so fast? The battle just ended, and the Second Prince brought me here already?"

Deputy General Cang's speed should not be comparable to Li Zhaoyuan's. Even if Li Zhaoyuan said that he used external force to unleash his Dao Domain, he is still at least a pseudo-first-rank general.

"How Deputy General Cang informed me is not important."

Li Qingyan shook his head slightly and stared at Xu Yuan without any intention of skipping this topic. "The important thing is, does my second brother really want to kill you, my consort?"

"."

Seeing the determination in Li Qingyan's eyes, Xu Yuan hesitated for a moment, but his smile remained unchanged:

"If I said yes, Qingyan, are you prepared to sacrifice your own family for my sake?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyan frowned slightly. She seemed dissatisfied with Xu Yuan's ambiguous answer, and with a slight smile, she replied in a similarly ambiguous manner:

"Putting family members down for the greater good is not uncommon in the history of the Li Family."

"Not that bad."

Xu Yuan sighed softly, his voice deliberate and clear. "Qingyan, our relationship shouldn't have reached that point yet."

"The relationship isn't close enough yet?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyan glanced at herself and asked with a smile, "Then, what does the Prince Consort think I should consider as sufficient for a proper relationship?"

Xu Yuan met her gaze, smiled, but didn't say anything.

Li Qingyan was indeed very good to him, so good that he was almost unable to control himself.

But their relationship just wasn't quite there yet.

At least, it hasn't come to the point where he would want to kill her own brother.

But the longest lesson those bad women taught him in his past life was not to believe their acting skills, especially when you don't know what they're after.

Seeing Xu Yuan's nonchalant attitude, Li Qingyan's smile vanished. Her gaze seemed to penetrate the walls, landing on Li Zhaoyuan standing at the barracks entrance.

"My lord, my desire to kill my second brother was not because he wanted to kill you."

"."

Xu Yuan's cheek twitched.

Kill Second Brother

Is it something you can just say directly?

After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan chuckled softly, staring at Li Qingyan with great interest:

"You're quite straightforward."

Li Qingyan's crimson eyes swept over Xu Yuan, devoid of any of the previous affection or ambiguity, and her voice was as cold and clear as a military formation:

"If I were lying, with your intelligence, Your Highness, you wouldn't believe me."

Xu Yuan asked with a hint of curiosity:

"If that's the case, then why are you angry about this, Qingyan?"

"Prince Consort, what do you think the consequences would be if you died in Beifeng City?" Li Qingyan asked instead of answering.

"Um?"

Xu Yuan hesitated for a moment, then smiled and replied, "If I die in Beifeng City, my father will be very sad, and many people will die because of his sadness."

A hint of coldness flashed in Li Qingyan's crimson eyes:

"Many people will indeed die, but that's not important. What's important is that the cooperation between Father and Lord Xu will instantly crack."

He paused for a moment,

Li Qingyan at Xu Yuan, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes:

"My lord, who do you think would want you to die in Beifeng City?"

Xu Yuan paused for a few breaths, then uttered two words:

"Sect."

"Yes, the sect."

Li Qingyan smiled, but the smile on her red lips was as chilling as ancient ice.

"Therefore, my second brother must not have any intention of killing you. If he wants to kill you, it means he wants to sabotage the cooperation between Father and Lord Xu, and it means that in order to seize the throne, he has already chosen to side with those sects by any means necessary."

"."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Yuan's thoughts began to wander.

Li Zhaoyuan wanted to kill him, but he had only considered the matter of the successor of the Prime Minister's Estate before, and had not thought about it so deeply.

If he really died in Beifeng, regardless of whether the investigation finds out or not, and regardless of whether Li Zhaoyuan was the one who did it, the blame will fall on the royal family.

It was you, Li Yaoxuan, who promised that I, Xu Yinhe, would send my son to your army in exchange for mutual trust. But now he's dead, dead right under your noses. Give me an explanation?

This is inexplicable.

The old man might be able to deduce that someone was interfering, but he couldn't be sure.

Because while the sects are indeed a thorn in the side of the royal family, isn't the Prime Minister's Estate now the same?

The two sides were bound by a fragile alliance of mutual trust, as fragile as glass. Xu Yuan's death would be the small pebble that shattered that glass.

Thinking of this,

Xu Yuan raised his eyes, looking at the stunning beauty in red before him with a slightly strange expression.

Li Qingyan probably didn't have as much information as him, and she knew about it for a shorter time.

hiss.

Why is this woman not only highly skilled in cultivation, but also so intelligent?

How could he possibly rebuild his life after this?

"The Prince Consort."

Li Qingyan's murmur interrupted Xu Yuan's thoughts.

He looked up.

Her crimson eyes shone with unparalleled beauty:

"After the wedding, outside I will be Wu Yuan, and at home I will only be Qingyan. You don't need to worry about restoring my husband's authority."

"."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and as a strange feeling gradually spread, he suddenly came back to his senses.

Staring into her gentle eyes, Xu Yuan felt a little intimidated.

Damn, this is a high-level match.

This wicked woman is too dangerous.

He felt that none of the wicked women from his past life, who had experienced the information explosion, were as skilled as this Wu Yuan.

Could her earlier display of pain and excitement have also been an act?

If so.

Su Jinxuan, you're so shameful!

Calm your mind,

Xu Yuan crossed his legs and smiled unhurriedly:

"Qingyan, I don't really believe in promises. A promise that can't be kept is just a shackle."

Let's get real, stop making empty promises, buddy, I don't believe them.

Li Qingyan chuckled:

Whether it can be achieved or not, you will know after the marriage, my lord.

broken.

Xu Yuan realized that after hearing her words, he was already looking forward to this political marriage.

This is not a good sign.

After thinking of Big Ice Block, that wonderful woman, twice, Xu Yuan suppressed the ripples in his heart, staring at her with a smile but saying nothing.

Seeing this, Li Qingyan steered the conversation back on track:

"So, Prince Consort, does my second brother really want to kill you?"

"I can only say it's somewhat similar, but there's no evidence," Xu Yuan replied truthfully this time.

"Real?"

"Certainly."

Xu Yuan shrugged nonchalantly.

He indeed had no evidence; apart from a limited amount of information, his previous inferences all stemmed from behavioral logic.

The sect's warehouse was blown up by Qin Weijiu's people, and Su Jinxuan did not find out that Qin Weijiu had any connection with Li Zhaoyuan.

Li Zhaoyuan's trip to East City can also be explained as a move to win over the army.

Every action was flawless.

Li Qingyan pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"My lord, you must possess some information that I am unaware of, right?"

Xu Yuan denied it without hesitation:

"No, all the information is with Lou Ji. He only gave me a few escape routes."

He does not intend to participate in this struggle for the throne.

It's not that I'm not interested, it's just that my father, the Prime Minister, might have his own plans, and blindly getting involved without knowing the details could ruin those plans.

The casual conversation I had with Li Yunqing before was partly to stir things up, but also partly to lay the groundwork for my own future.

If the Third Prince truly believes it, that promise will most likely become an empty check, and he'll have to sell everything he owns.

Li Qingyan gave Xu Yuan a deep look and sighed:

"Alright, I think I understand. I will not leave the city again. You stay by my side, and Li Zhaoyuan cannot harm you."

Xu Yuan smiled slightly upon seeing this.

If the Second Prince Li Zhaoyuan really wanted to kill him, he could only do so when Li Qingyan left the city, but unfortunately, he had already missed his best opportunity.

After changing into a set of standard commander's armor, Li Qingyan took Xu Yuan to the barracks outside and called Li Zhaoyuan in.

Xu Yuan, dressed in his personal guard armor, stood behind Li Qingyan like a doorman, watching the two talk.

The way Li Zhaoyuan and Li Qingyan interacted showed no signs of being siblings; rather, it resembled that of a superior and subordinate.

Li Qingyan expressed his gratitude, but Li Zhaoyuan humbly declined. Then, he arranged a series of matters concerning the defense of the city for Li Zhaoyuan.

The two talked about city defense and military affairs for half an hour, then Li Zhaoyuan cupped his hands in greeting and returned to the government office.

After Li Zhaoyuan left, only Xu Yuan and Li Zhaoyuan remained in the barracks once again.

Li Qingyan, clad in full armor, leaned back in her chair, exuding an air of queenly authority.

Xu Yuan stood to her side and slightly behind, looking at her with his eyes down, deep in thought.

Beautiful people are indeed pleasing to the eye no matter how long you look at them.

About 15 minutes later, after being informed, several captains entered the barracks one after another and handed several files to Li Qingyan.

A very thick stack.

Li Qingyan made no attempt to hide from Xu Yuan standing behind her, openly turning the pages one by one.

The file contains statistics about the Beifeng City.

As a border town, Beifeng City is not as prosperous as the prefectural cities within the Great Yan territory. Most of the area is military camps, and there are only about 300,000 civilians who are not soldiers. Most of them are military families and some merchants' families who come here to do business.

Including private martial arts groups and escort agencies, the proportion of cultivators among the city's residents is alarmingly high.

one third.

In other words, a little over 100,000.

Of course, this part mainly consists of those who have just entered the ranks or are cannon fodder around the ninth rank.

Xu Yuan was looking at these statistics when he suddenly heard Li Qingyan's cold voice:

"Captain Jin, come in."

After waiting for several breaths,

A young man in captain's armor trotted into the barracks, knelt on one knee below the main hall, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and bowed his head respectfully, saying:

"Your Highness."

Li Qingyan glanced at the data in the file and casually said without looking up:

"Go and send all the cultivators and martial artists in the city to the city walls to guard them."

"." Xu Yuan

Captain Jin was visibly taken aback upon hearing this, raised his eyes, and tentatively said:

"Your Highness, such actions may provoke a rebellion among those people."

Low-level martial artists who don't understand military formations are just cannon fodder on the battlefield. Against those Barbarian Tribe, a ten-to-one casualty ratio is already considered high.

People who have lived in Beifeng City for many years would not be unaware of these things.

Li Qingyan glanced at the other person, her eyes devoid of any emotion.

"Rebellion? Go tell those border generals that I have allowed them to 'hire' martial artists from within the city to assist in defending it, and they will find a way to resolve it."

Captain Jin hesitated slightly, but said nothing more, and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture:

"Yes, I will take care of it immediately."

"."

Watching Captain Jin leave, Xu Yuan suddenly asked:

"Won't these conscripted men desert in the face of battle?"

A hint of warmth flickered across Li Qingyan's cold face as he turned and sighed:

"Yes, but we must do it, otherwise we won't be able to defend Beifeng City."

As he spoke,

She handed the last few files to Xu Yuan:

"Take a look."

Xu Yuan took the files and asked:

Aren't you going to watch it?

Li Qingyan smiled slightly:

"My Will Soul is not just for show."

"." Xu Yuan.

Well, all that pretense of flipping through the case files was just her way of showing them to him.

Bad women always find out about their actions subtly.

Then little by little, it adds up.

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes, calmly took the book, and began to read it. But as he browsed, he lost all interest in thinking about these messy things.

The previous report contained statistics on various aspects of the city, while Li Qingyan handed him the statistics on the losses suffered by Beifeng City today.

From the start of the battle at dawn today to its end, it lasted only two hours, and of the 300,000 people in the city, 50,000 were killed or wounded.

In order to concentrate energy to protect the city walls, Li Zhaoyuan removed the sky curtain above the entire city, and the Barbarian Tribe catapults, which were capable of miraculous feats of strength, were able to hurl countless boulders and ice spikes into the city without any hindrance.

The buildings were destroyed, the ruins piled up like mountains, and countless people who had just gone to sleep with trepidation were buried under the rubble.

And these injuries and deaths were mostly among ordinary people.

As long as one doesn't lose their composure, dodging the Barbarian Tribe projectiles isn't too difficult for a cultivator, even one at the ninth rank, provided their vision isn't obstructed.

However, the casualties among the civilians in the city were only a small part; the majority of the casualties were among the current garrison of Beifeng City.

The death toll is around 23,000, the missing number around 37,000, the number of slightly injured around 13,000, and the number of seriously injured around 7,000.

Looking at the word "missing" at the bottom, Xu Yuan opened his mouth, feeling that it was somewhat absurd.

Does this disappearance refer to the soldiers who were beaten to a pulp on the East City wall?

If no remains are found, it is considered a missing person.

Xu Yuan silently finished reading through the various statistics and handed the file back to Li Qingyan.

Of the 130,000 troops Beifeng, more than half were killed in less than two hours.

After a while,

Xu Yuan asked:

"What about the losses on the Barbarian Tribe side?"

Upon hearing this,

Li Qingyan slowly stood up from her chair, leaned back against the table, her crimson eyes turned to the side, her slender fingers gently twirling her long, flowing hair, and whispered:

"The Barbarian Tribe suffered greater losses, but the Barbarian King will soon receive news of the ' Cloud Qi Bomb.' We must immediately send the chivalrous groups and escort agencies within the city to weaken their forces in order to defend Beifeng City before the sect's elite troops return to defend it."

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