The Kind Wife

General Wuwei's Mansion.

Wang Li hurried home, his expression tense. Completely ignoring the servants who greeted him, he ran straight to the courtyard where his sister lived.

"Sister! Sister!"

"What is the meaning of this panic?"

Wang Xuan tucked a lock of hair trailing over her shoulder, lazily picked up her brush, and continued painting the garden rockery.

Wang Li snatched the brush from her hand and said urgently, "Stop painting, something huge has happened!"

"What huge thing?"

Wang Xuan furrowed her brows slightly, casting a reproachful glance at her brother.

Wang Li rubbed his head: "I heard that this morning, Qin Muye led the Brocade Guard to block the gates of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and he kept it blocked for an entire hour."

"What!"

Wang Xuan was startled: "Uncle is the Prime Minister, how could he let him act so lawlessly?"

Wang Li said irritably: "I don't know! I went out to ask again just now, and they say Qin Muye went back to block the Prime Minister's Mansion again this afternoon. Sister, tell me, could it really be that Uncle was the one who kidnapped Qin Muye?"

"That is absolutely impossible. How could Uncle do something so muddle-headed?"

Wang Xuan shook her head repeatedly. Her uncle had been Prime Minister for twenty years and had long since reached the pinnacle of officialdom. He had caused many disasters without consequence, but those never included kidnapping the Heir to the Marquis of Southern Suppression.

Who is Qin Kaijiang?

The greatest military commander in a century!

A meritorious official who helped the new monarch ascend the throne.

He is also an invincible marshal who, in times of crisis, single-handedly defended the northern gateway of the Great Gan.

He is, furthermore, the Marquis of Southern Suppression who currently keeps the various tribes of the Southwest in awe.

To mess with Qin Muye would be no different than destroying the foundations of the dynasty itself.

Even the dandies in the Capital City know that while you can tease Qin Muye, you must never harm his body.

How could her uncle, the Prime Minister, not know this?

"But if it wasn't him, where does Qin Muye get the confidence to block the door?"

Wang Li wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Sister! If this really has something to do with Uncle, this matter will surely implicate us. After all, you were the one who... and the day before yesterday, it was also because of you that Qin Muye boarded the boat. That good-for-nothing is so vengeful, he definitely won't let us go."

"Stop talking!"

Wang Xuan's pretty face tightened. When Shen Jin first approached her, hoping she would tease Qin Muye with matters of romance, she had initially refused.

But upon further thought, she was already dissatisfied with her own marriage arrangement. Moreover, her father had once been trained like a dog by Qin Kaijiang, who also came from a military family, and he still couldn't hold his head high in the Capital City to this day.

Driven by a sudden desire for revenge, she agreed to tease Qin Muye and spread the news that he suffered from a physical ailment.

Watching his embarrassed and broken appearance had been quite a joy.

But who could have imagined the consequences would be so severe!

Wang Xuan felt a touch of panic.

Just then, the anxious voice of Shen Jin drifted from outside the courtyard.

"Cousin! Cousin!"

"Shen Jin!?"

Wang Xuan hurried to greet him: "What is going on at the Prime Minister's Mansion? Have the Brocade Guard found anything?"

Shen Jin was in such pain he could barely breathe: "I've been raided!"

"What!"

Wang Xuan's face turned deathly pale, and she stumbled, nearly fainting.

Raided.

The Prime Minister's Mansion was actually raided?

Did that mean the Wang family was next?

Shen Jin was startled and quickly explained: "It's not the kind of raid you're thinking of. The situation is like this..."

He recounted everything that had happened at the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Only then did a trace of color return to Wang Xuan's face. She gave him a reproachful glare: "Can you stop leaving out the most important parts? You scared me to death!"

Shen Jin rubbed his head: "My father's meaning is that in a few days, it will be Qin Muye's birthday. Everyone should prepare gifts; don't be stingy with money, preferably no less than three thousand taels. Otherwise, if you make Qin Muye unhappy, he might bring the Brocade Guard to surround your house for a few days.

You might not care about the commoners gossiping behind your backs, but there are many heroes among the people who revere Qin Kaijiang. You never know when one might hit you over the head with a club. The message has been delivered; I'm going to notify the others now!"

Wang Xuan grew anxious: "Wait! Your uncle has been out of office for many years; where would our family find three thousand taels? Good cousin, your sister only got involved to help you, you must help me."

Shen Jin complained bitterly: "I've already been raided by Qin Muye, what ability do I have to help you? My father also said that he cannot help you this time, so that everyone can learn a lesson."

Having said this, he slipped away.

Wang Li's face was as pale as paper: "Sister, what should we do?"

Wang Xuan thought for a moment, then suddenly gave a light laugh: "Go and prepare any jade pendant! That little waste still has lingering feelings for me. At worst, I'll let him get some saliva on my face again. It's disgusting, but it's still better than having the Brocade Guard surround our home."

"On the Flower Boat that day, besides us, there were many talented individuals from the Demon Race at the Great Sage Temple."

"Qin Muye is relying on the fact that he was the victim, so he actually dared to extort them too. He's going to have a hard time later on!"

Southern Pacification Mansion.

Bai Yuji watched as Qin Muye pulled out one treasure after another, her eyes widening: "Did you extort all of this?"

Although she was currently very short on funds, she had been a princess of a nation, after all, and had no trouble estimating their rough value. None of these items were supreme treasures, nor did they provide any benefit to cultivation.

At most, they were trinkets for playboys or collectibles for ordinary wealthy families.

But all of them combined were worth at least twenty thousand taels.

That was enough to support the Nanzhao Remnants under her command for a long time.

Bai Yuji gritted her teeth, thinking that the Gan Kingdom was truly despicable. They had driven the people of Nanzhao into displacement, yet the youngest son of their Prime Minister had so many private collections.

"There will be even more in a few days!"

Qin Muye happily tucked the items away. Seeing her eyes turning green with envy, he asked with a smile: "If you want one, I can give you one."

Bai Yuji sneered: "If I wanted one, I could just rob it myself!"

Qin Muye curled his lips: "My actions this time were quite significant. If these items appear through the wrong channels, both of us will die. Stop pulling such a long face, take this."

He took out a white jade seal and shoved it into Bai Yuji's hand: "This is our token of love; you mustn't sell it."

"Who's having a token of love with you?"

Bai Yuji did not intend to accept the gesture.

She was just about to return it when she noticed that the white jade seal was carved into the elegant form of an Eye-Feather Chicken.

Qin Muye chuckled: "A white jade chicken for Bai Yuji, it's a perfect match for you."

"How boring!"

Bai Yuji rolled her eyes at him, yet she still put the seal away. She looked at Qin Muye thoughtfully: "You're acting so arrogant this time; aren't you afraid of bringing trouble upon yourself?"

Qin Muye scoffed: "Aside from you, what trouble am I afraid to provoke? My life is in your hands anyway, so why shouldn't I scrape together some money and enjoy myself while I can?"

He had already figured it out: staying alive served the interests of almost everyone.

But there was no one who could actually help him, and even Qin Yanying was willing but unable to assist.

If he wanted to counter Bai Yuji, he had to rely on himself.

Thinking about it carefully, as a hostage prince, the last thing the Emperor wanted to see was him forming cliques or factions.

Offending people everywhere actually aligned with the Emperor's expectations.

In other words, as long as he didn't touch the Emperor's bottom line, he could act as recklessly as he wanted.

He had spent the whole day causing chaos at the Prime Minister's Mansion, and the Emperor hadn't sent anyone to stop him, which completely confirmed this point.

As long as he caught someone he could afford to offend, even if he slapped them across the face in the middle of the street, they wouldn't be able to fight back.

Why shouldn't he make the most of it?

With the top-tier puppetry of the Thread-Crafter in his hands, he already had a rough direction in mind; he would secure his startup capital first.

Watching his carefree demeanor, Bai Yuji suddenly felt a sense of absurdity.

She was the victim.

Yet her method of revenge was to harm another innocent person who was already being bullied.

And yet, she couldn't touch Shen Kui and Li Hong, who had instigated and ordered the slaughter of Nanzhao, nor Qin Kaijiang, who had personally taken action against Nanzhao.

"Qin Muye!"

"What is it?"

"Go and bring your aunt back. I will have my 'master' come tonight."

"So soon?"

Qin Muye was somewhat surprised.

Bai Yuji nodded: "Yes! That way, you won't have to drink such bitter medicine tomorrow."

Qin Muye: "..."

Oh no!

This little vixen's technique for playing with men's emotions is advancing way too fast.

She was as clumsy as a dog this morning, but after just one day, she's playing the emotional card so naturally?

If I weren't so vigilant, I really wouldn't have been able to react in time.