Harem Daily Life

He Xuan took the letter and read it carefully. It explained that Xiaoliu's name, He Dingyi, had been chosen by the Empress Dowager, symbolizing peace and prosperity. It also mentioned how much the children missed their father and elder sister, hoping they would return safely to Beijing and reunite. At the end of the letter, each child wrote a message to their father and sister. He Xuan couldn't help but tear up as she read it.

"Your mother misses you very much. As soon as the war is over, I will send someone to escort you back to the capital."

He Xuan asked in confusion, "Now that the war is over, isn't Father going back to the capital with us?"

He Linzhang shook his head: "I didn't tell you before because I was afraid you would worry. Jin'an is here too. At this moment, he should have sneaked into the State of Yan."

He Xuan opened her eyes wide in disbelief: "Why...why did he sneak into Yan State?"

He Linzhang had no choice but to tell He Xuan the secret report from Yin Jiu, including that Jin'an had been bewitched by a witchcraft and that he had sneaked into the State of Yan to find a wizard to remove the witchcraft.

"Father, do you want to wait until Jin'an is well before returning to the capital together?"

He Linzhang nodded. "That's not all. I'm personally leading this expedition to resolve the Yan Kingdom issue from the ground up. Yan's monarch, Feng Chenmu, is a warmongerer. I can't let him get away with it, or he'll turn against us and attack our Great Zhou again. Therefore, I'm going to overthrow Yan, whether by supporting a puppet emperor or simply incorporating Yan into the Great Zhou. In short, this battle can't be fought in vain. We must achieve the most favorable outcome for the Great Zhou."

He Xuan frowned. "Just these few battles have taken up so much time. If Father wants to overthrow the State of Yan, wouldn't it take even longer? As for... Queen Mother..."

He Linzhang smiled and said, "Your mother will understand me, but you have to go back first. You are a girl, and it is not convenient for you to stay in this military camp all the time. Besides, swords have no eyes, and your father is worried."

He Xuan wanted to say something else, but was stopped by He Linzhang: "I'm not sending you away right away. Let's wait for a while and wait for news from Jin'an. If Jin'an's problem is resolved soon, then you can go back with him."

He Jin'an, after taking advantage of the chaos to infiltrate Yan State, contacted their counterparts in the Secret Guard Battalion, donned Yan clothing, and hid in a border town. After much inquiry, they located a sorcerer residing in a small village near the Yan capital. However, just as they were about to capture the sorcerer, a group of Yan soldiers quickly surrounded them.

Yin Jiu and many shadow guards surrounded He Jinan. They gripped their swords tightly, their eyes determined, ready to fight to the death.

At this time, two people walked out from behind the Yan soldiers. Although they were wearing Yan clothes, He Jinan recognized them even if they turned into ashes.

"He Qi? He Feng?"

He Jinan narrowed his eyes and stared at the two people in front of him. One of them was the son of King Liang, and the other was the grandson of King Ding. Did they both defect to the State of Yan?

He Qi looked at He Jinan and glanced at He Feng: "A foster child brought back from the common people, is he worthy of your use? It would be more interesting to use the technique of losing the mind on that little prince and let the son kill the father."

He Feng smiled. "How old is that little prince? Can he kill He Linzhang? Although this guy in front of me is not He Linzhang's biological son, he knows martial arts, and He Linzhang is not on guard against him. The King of Yan chose him, so there must be a reason why he deserves to be chosen."

The conversation between the two reached the ears of He Jinan and others, and everyone understood that it was Prince Yan who was behind all this. It was Prince Yan who asked a wizard to poison He Jinan and use the art of losing his mind to deal with He Linzhang.

"You two are selling out your country for personal gain. You are not worthy of being the citizens of the Great Zhou, nor are you worthy of being members of the He family!" He Jinan said angrily.

He Qi laughed heartily: "Who wants to be a citizen of your Great Zhou? Who wants to be a member of the He family? We are both royal relatives of the He clan, but He Linzhang killed my cousin without mercy and showed no mercy to my uncle. It would be strange if the two brothers of the He family didn't rebel against such a person!"

"It's obvious that Prince Liang and Prince Ding were at fault first. Their refusal to repent and their betrayal to seek forgiveness are even more sinful! I urge you to repent now, hand over the wizard to me, and let us go. Otherwise, when the Great Zhou army attacks, I will not plead for you."

"Hahahahahaha, you're about to die, yet you still don't forget to incite us to rebel. You're really funny. Aren't you too naive? He Jinan, since you're here today, don't even think about escaping. You're our best hostage now. Doesn't He Linzhang care about you? Let's see, with you in his hands, will he retreat?"

He Jinan clenched his fists and said, "You all said that I was adopted from the common people, not a prince of a proper birth. How could Your Majesty disrupt the battle plan because of an adopted son? Forget this idea. I will not cooperate with you."

He Feng sneered: "Don't cooperate? That's not up to you. Don't forget, you have been hit by the spell of losing your mind, and you can't get rid of it." After saying that, he made a gesture, and the wizard was stabbed to death in front of everyone.

"He Feng——"

Seeing the wizard fall, He Jinan shouted.

He Feng scratched his ear. "I forgot to tell you, there is only one wizard in Yan State. King Yan found him from a primitive tribe with great difficulty. After finding him, King Yan asked dozens of people from the Great Zhou to test him one by one before the mind-losing technique was successful. This mind-losing technique was specially prepared for you and your father. How is it? Is it a surprise?"

He Feng was in a state of madness. Looking at the helpless He Jinan in front of him, he felt relaxed all over and a lot of anger in his heart was released.

"Stop wasting time talking to him and take them back quickly. The King of Yan is still waiting for our report." He Qi said, then turned and left. He Feng waved his hand and said, "Capture them all. If anyone resists, except He Jinan, they will all be killed without mercy!"

He Jinan winked at Yin Jiu and the others, and the shadow guards did not resist. They were all tied up with reins and taken away.

The King of Yan sat in the palace, reading the war report, at a loss as to what to do.

"Your Majesty, it would be better to send someone to ask for peace," a minister advised.

"If we ask for peace now, although it will be embarrassing, at least we can save the capital!" Another minister also came to persuade.

Feng Chenmu tore up the report in his hand: "Is the Xia Kingdom really that useless? It can't contain the Great Zhou at all?"

The minister sighed, "I thought our two countries, working together, would definitely be able to carve a piece of the Great Zhou's flesh. But we never imagined that our combined strength wouldn't be able to shake the Great Zhou in the slightest. They simply have too much food. Not only rice and noodles, but I heard they also have staple foods made from various grains, as well as braised dishes that won't go bad for a few days. And that... fried instant noodles, filled with meat and vegetables, ready to eat after just a few minutes of boiling water. It's both filling and time-saving. We just made our meal, and before it's even cooked, another round of attacks has already begun. How can we win on an empty stomach?"

"The soldiers are strong, the food is plentiful, and the military salaries are sufficient. The national strength of the Great Zhou seems to have increased several times over the past few years." The Minister of Finance of the Yan State really couldn't understand why the other party's treasury was so rich?

Feng Chenmu sneered: "The Great Zhou is not rich, so why would I want to rob it?" However, he was not as skilled as his opponent and was defeated again.