Breaking Camp and Heading South

Fifteen minutes later,

Mr. Wine stood in the main hall of the government office, used his Source Qi to hand a small cloth bag to Xu Yuan, and said softly, "Third Young Master, there are five in total. If there's nothing else, I'll go down and keep watch over those two sect generals."

Xu Yuan took it, glanced at it, and smiled:

"Alright, then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Wine."

"It's just my duty." Mr. Wine bowed expressionlessly, then turned and walked out of the hall.

Xu Yuan sat beside Li Qingyan, watching Mr. Wine leave, and shook his head with a light laugh:

"Mr. Wine is a smart man too."

"A smart person?"

Li Qingyan looked up from the military files and glanced at Xu Yuan: "What do you mean?"

Xu Yuan looked at Li Qingyan and said with a light laugh:

"Lou Ji arranged for him to stay in Houting County to protect me, and she also ordered him to obey my commands."

A thoughtful look appeared in Li Qingyan's eyes, and a smile played on his lips:

"Your Highness, do you mean that Lou Ji wants to give him a chance to become your confidante?"

Xu Yuan fiddled with the cloth bag in his hand, nodded, and began to deceive:

"It should be, but this Mr. Wine doesn't seem to be taking sides between me and my older brother."

"."

Li Qingyan slowly placed the file in her hand on the desk, looked at Xu Yuan, and said softly:

"The Prime Minister's Estate has two dragons, one phoenix, and one rat. One dragon has passed away, and the phoenix is not a direct descendant. The only heir is Xu Changge. This Mr. Wine doesn't know your true strength, so it's only natural that he doesn't side with you."

Xu Yuan grinned:

"The problem is, Lou Ji, his direct superior, will side with me."

Li Qingyan gave Xu Yuan a deep look and shook his head:

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

"But your father's health probably won't hold up for much longer."

"."

The air fell silent.

Li Qingyan looked at Xu Yuan, seemingly seeing through his plans, and snorted coldly:

"My lord, you are my future husband, and I am your future wife. There is no other reason."

Xu Yuan smacked his lips, his tone becoming helpless:

There's an old saying, "Even a day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of kindness." Although we haven't had any deep conversations, we've still shared a bed and slept together for so many days. That's already a lot of kindness.

Li Qingyan continued to scan the city's military situation with his lowered gaze:

"My lord, there's an old saying, 'Sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams.' I will not change my choice because of you."

"."

Xu Yuan stared at her fair profile and sighed softly.

Another failure.

He wanted to know Li Qingyan's true attitude.

If the old man's plan succeeds, the Barbarian Tribe war will end, the Northern Border sects will be destroyed, the emperor's lifespan will run out, and the struggle for the throne among the princes will enter its final stage. Any one of these events could cause a major change in the situation of the world.

Among all these factors, the attitude of the princess named Wu Yuan is of great importance.

Over the past few days, Xu Yuan has discovered that this woman's prestige in the army is frighteningly high.

Not only her own personal guards, the Yulin Army, but also the soldiers of the Beifeng Army held her in the highest esteem.

And once the war in the Northern Border ends, her status will definitely rise even higher.

At that time, her choice will greatly influence the outcome of the struggle for the throne.

In silence,

Xu Yuan didn't say anything more about the matter. He lowered his eyes to examine the Sumeru Ring in the cloth bag. As soon as his Will Soul probed into it, his eyes widened.

The moment a faint expression appeared on her face, Li Qingyan's voice, which had been cold just moments before, immediately came through, tinged with laughter:

"My lord, how is it?"

Ah, women.

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

"The five Sumeru Ring are all the largest size. The food stored inside should be enough to feed 30,000 people for a month. In addition, there are some spare armor and weapons. Even if they still have some stock, it shouldn't be much left."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyan pondered for a moment, then suddenly said:

"By the way, Your Highness, those two seem to have figured something out."

Without hesitation, Xu Yuan replied with a smile:

"Your Highness, are you referring to the matter of me selling Cloud Qi Bomb to them?"

Li Qingyan nodded slightly and said in a low voice:

"They might not see it in a single event, but now that they have witnessed the collapse of Beifeng City, they will inevitably connect the two events."

Xu Yuan said indifferently:

"I think they're more inclined to believe it was Lou Ji who did it than I am."

Li Qingyan shook his head slightly.

"At that time, I was in charge of Beifeng, Lou Ji didn't have the opportunity to enter those key positions on the north city wall."

As he spoke,

Li Qingyan let out a breath and said with a sigh, "If I had known your true character back then, I wouldn't have felt comfortable sending you in."

Xu Yuan smiled, slightly displeased:

"Why do I feel like the princess is scolding me?"

"No, I'm praising your resourcefulness."

Li Qingyan rolled her eyes at her, then said seriously, "If they spread this news, all the things that happened in the Northern Border will be blamed on you, the Prince Consort. You might become a thorn in the side of many people, just like your second brother back then."

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

"It shouldn't include that," Li Qingyan replied with a smile. "If it did, I wouldn't have reminded you, my consort."

Xu Yuan leaned slightly closer:

"So, Princess, you're worried about me?"

"Of course." Li Qingyan winked at Xu Yuan, then smiled, her eyes crinkling. "The future is long, and I don't want to be a widow!"

Beaker.

Xu Yuan's eye twitched, and he chuckled softly:

"I'm truly grateful, but it's really nothing."

"Doesn't matter?"

"It's simple, the dead don't spread messages."

"."

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

While remaining inactive in Houting County and actively preparing for war, they continuously received fleeing troops from the southern sects who were fleeing north.

Among them were large units like Luo Qingfeng's, with tens of thousands of soldiers remaining and withdrawing in an orderly manner, as well as scattered soldiers in groups of three or five, or even dozens or hundreds.

However, none of this concerned Xu Yuan. As an Rogue Person without official status, he lived a very leisurely life in Houting County.

Besides cultivating, his daily activities consisted of sleeping with Li Qingyan.

Li Qingyan didn't need to sleep, but since she had nothing else to do during this time, she often lay in bed with him, sharing their feelings and talking until late at night before going to sleep together.

Sleeping in the noun sense.

Xu Yuan strongly suspected that this woman was with him at KFC, because every time she went to sleep, she would take off her bra and wear a silk nightgown to bed.

She flirted with him so confidently that he couldn't resist her charms. After all, he couldn't beat her, so Xu Yuan ended up having to add another activity to his daily routine: teasing Luo Qingfeng.

This is a way of remembering his lost youth and his soon-to-be-gone two-dimensional wife.

Four days later,

The peaceful life disappeared.

A Cloud Qi Bomb was detonated a hundred miles south of Houting County, and 220,000 elite imperial troops and a total of 90,000 defeated sect troops began to break camp and head south.