After crossing, I was forced to hold on to my thighs and build a kingdom

The days passed like flowing water, and in the blink of an eye, Su Cheng'an had been gone for almost half a month.

Su Cheng'an sent a letter back three days ago, saying only that he had arrived safely in Fuyun City, met Ye Jinxuan and General Liu, and rested for a day before going to look for the location of the Xirong people's secret horse farm. He didn't say anything else.

Although the Dingbei Palace was anxious, it had no better solution and could only hope that Su Cheng'an could successfully obtain the horses.

Huanyan's changes were particularly great in the late stage of pregnancy, and her belly swelled like a balloon.

Every time Jin Chu looked at her belly, he would be stunned for a long time. It was still more than a month before the birth, so wouldn’t it be even bigger by then?

Seeing her stunned, Mother Chu smiled and comforted her: "Don't worry, Princess. Madam Ye is fine, and the fetus is in the right position. Aunt Song and I will adjust her diet according to her body, and we will ensure a safe delivery."

After taking the reassurance given by Chu's mother, Jin Chu felt a lot more relaxed.

She has been very busy lately. In addition to going to the Salt Administration and her daily practice of boxing, kicking, and crossbows, she also goes to the farm outside the city every few days to check on the children's studies and life.

The situation in the capital has stabilized for others, but for people in the north, it has reached a critical moment.

Everyone knew very well that before long, the Third Prince would invite the Prince of Dingbei and his son to attend the ceremony of enthroning the Crown Prince in the name of the imperial court.

Sure enough, the next morning, the Dingbei Palace received an imperial edict from the capital, requiring the Prince of Dingbei to go to the capital to attend the ceremony of enthroning the Crown Prince.

King Dingbei warmly received the messenger from the capital. After entertaining him with fine wine and delicious food for two days, he stuffed him with a lot of gold and silver, and finally sent the satisfied messenger on a carriage back to the capital.

As soon as the messenger left, the warm smile on Prince Dingbei's face disappeared without a trace. He walked to the study with heavy steps, followed by Chen Zhe and several staff members.

The day of the enthronement ceremony is the eighth day of the eighth month. It takes five or six days to get from the northern border to the capital even if you ride at full speed. If Su Cheng'an wants to reach the capital before the enthronement, he must set off at the beginning of August at the latest.

Today is July 17th. Excluding the seven days of travel time from Fuyun City in the northwest to Youyun City in the north, Su Cheng'an only has six days left to stay in the northwest.

Prince Dingbei had already combined the 80,000 private soldiers of the palace with the 20,000 elite soldiers in the army who were willing to serve Prince Dingbei. The 100,000 people were divided into several groups. After disguising themselves, they were led by their trusted generals to quietly move south and hide in a secluded place outside the capital, waiting for the prince's orders at any time.

As time passed, the atmosphere in the mansion became more and more tense. Although no one said it, they were all eagerly looking forward to the prince's early return.

Since he was upset, he decided to find something to do. Jinchu took advantage of the calm days before the storm to find a midwife and a wet nurse for Huanyan.

On July 25th, Jin Chu was still half asleep when she heard Yu Xing's voice nearly breaking with joy: "Miss, the prince is back!"

Jin Chu hurriedly put on some clothes and got out of bed. A dusty young man was standing outside the door.

Because of his constant running on the road, his handsome face became gray, but his eyes were bright and captivating. He smiled at Jin Chu with endless joy: "Ajin, I'm back!"

Jin Chu didn't care about being disgusted and rushed over to hug him, but the young man dodged him. "Ah Jin, I'm covered in filth, please don't stain your clothes."

"I don't mind. I'll accompany you to take a shower and change clothes later." Jin Chu stubbornly hugged the tall young man, feeling satisfied and happy. She rubbed his shoulders affectionately and murmured, "The mansion has been looking forward to your return day and night for a while, and now you are finally back!"

"Although I made you worry for a long time, fortunately I have finally fulfilled my mission!" Su Cheng'an hugged Jin Chu and walked towards the bathroom at the back while speaking.

The girls looked at each other, quietly closed the door and left.

After bathing and changing clothes, Jin Chu let him lie on the chaise longue, while she took a cotton towel and personally wrung Su Cheng'an's wet hair.

While enjoying his young wife's gentle and considerate service, Su Cheng'an told Jin Chu in detail what happened during his trip to Northwest Fuyun City.

"We'd like to thank Uncle Chen for his accurate information. Third Brother is already very familiar with the terrain around Floating Cloud City. To be cautious, he also brought a few local soldiers with him, two of whom are his brothers, one named Du Lei and the other named Sun Biao. We followed them and found the horse farm Uncle Chen mentioned, and obtained a full ten thousand fine horses."

"When we came back, Du Lei said that based on the character of the Xirong people, they like to work in pairs and look after each other. If there's a horse farm here, there should be another one nearby."

"We had a large group of horses this time, so we decided to give it a try. We followed his advice and took another safari. Unexpectedly, we stumbled upon a surprising discovery: on another pasture in a valley, we found another 6,000 fine horses."

"Sixteen thousand horses?" Jin Chu was surprised, but a look of ecstasy also appeared on his face. "That's quite a harvest!"

"How many horses did Third Brother give you?" Jin Chu asked with concern.

"My uncle is very loyal! He carefully selected 10,000 horses this time and only took the remaining 6,000."

Su Cheng'an's face was slightly apologetic. "I know he was worried about you and me, so he gave me an extra 2,000 good horses. The Dingbei Palace will remember this favor."

Jin Chu chuckled and comforted him, "Third brother, this is a good idea. The Northwest Army is close to the Rong people and is not short of horses. But it's different in the North. Next, we will face those people in the capital directly. More men and horses will increase our chances of victory."

Su Chengan nodded and laughed, "I thought so too, so I accepted my uncle's kindness and brought back all those ten thousand fine horses."

Thinking of what had happened in the mansion recently, Jin Chu put away his smile: "Not long after you left, the court sent an official to order you to go to the capital to attend the crown prince's enthronement ceremony on August 8th."

"My father has already dispatched 80,000 private soldiers and 20,000 elite troops from the northern border, totaling 100,000 soldiers. They marched south to the capital in batches a few days ago. If they are fast, they may have already reached the outskirts of the capital."

Su Cheng'an thought for a moment and said slowly, "That's fine. I'll go and meet our new Crown Prince Shenyou in person."

Jin Chu thought for a moment and asked, "Going south to the capital this time is undoubtedly a dangerous undertaking. Since we have already sworn an irreconcilable relationship with the capital, why not take this opportunity to make it clear?"

Su Chengan glanced at Jin Chu, who looked worried, and smiled slightly, saying, "People say that when you worry, you become confused. Ah Jin, who is usually smart, can also be stupid sometimes."

He grabbed Jin Chu's hand, placed it on his lips and pecked it, "We must first make him kill the meritorious officials and lose the righteousness, so that we can be forced to counterattack and have a legitimate reason to do so."