Your Majesty said that my life is worthless, so why are you crying when I increase my troops?

Sun Yaozu shook his head and sighed, "Master Geng is wrong."

"If we want revenge, we should deal with Xia Mingyuan first."

"Hmm?" Hearing this, Geng Ruhuai was slightly startled and frowned. "Old Sun, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Xia Mingyuan is just a guard beside the princess. After he dealt with Xia Xue, he will be at the mercy of you and me."

"What's more, I'm here on orders from His Majesty. Personal vendettas are minor matters; getting rid of Xia Xue is our top priority!"

Sun Yaozu said sternly, "Master Geng, Xia Mingyuan is not as simple as you think."

"To be honest, I fought him several times before you arrived. Both I and my son suffered at his hands."

"Hmm?" Geng Ruhuai couldn't help but frown upon hearing this. "It's normal for you, a county magistrate, to be suppressed by the princess, but how dare a mere guard from the princess's mansion ride on your head and shit on you?"

"Sun Yaozu, are you trying to deceive me?"

Sun Yaozu's expression froze, and he spread his hands towards Geng Ruhuai with a wry smile.

"My Lord Geng, even if I had ten times the courage, I would not dare to deceive you."

"Xia Xue is just a princess of the royal family. Apart from her special status, it won't take much effort to deal with her."

"But Xia Mingyuan is not that easy to deal with. He's only been in Hanyang for a month, and he's already ruined a lot of my plans. But now he's snatched the job of suppressing the bandits, and with the support of the eldest princess, I have no way to deal with him."

At this point, Sun Yaozu sighed softly and lowered his voice, "Master Geng, to be honest, I once wanted to attack Her Royal Highness the Princess, but Xia Mingyuan is surrounded by so many experts..."

Hearing this, Geng Ruhuai widened his eyes, his eyes full of disbelief.

"Old Sun, have you been planning to attack the princess before?"

"Shh..." Sun Yaozu turned around and glanced around, "Master Geng, this is not the place to talk. Let's go back to the private room and talk."

……

In the princess's mansion, Xia Mingyuan sat in the study with a serious expression on his face, not saying a word.

After a while, Zhao Hongying, dressed in black, suddenly walked in quietly from outside.

Seeing Zhao Hongying coming back, Xia Mingyuan immediately sat up straight, "Hongying, you are finally back. Did you hear any useful news?"

Zhao Hongying shook her head and said in a deep voice, "I eavesdropped for a while from the window. These two people are very cautious. Whenever they talk about something crucial, they always keep silent."

"However, we can now conclude that they must be targeting the eldest princess, and they will also target you."

Xia Mingyuan raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a smile. "It seems our guess was correct. Sun Yaozu and this so-called imperial envoy are sneaking around like they're hiding something from the public. They must be holding back their farts."

"In that case, we might as well play with them."

As he said that, Xia Mingyuan stood up, put on his clothes, and left the study.

Arriving at Xia Xue's room, Xia Mingyuan took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Ever since Xia Xue came back from Xujiazhuang last time and was restricted by him from entering and leaving the palace freely, she has been refusing to see him, as if she was angry. Even her daily meals were brought into the room by Lanxiang.

The two had just repaired their relationship a little while ago, but now it has fallen to a freezing point again.

"Who?"

Xia Xue's cold voice came from inside the house.

Xia Mingyuan said calmly, "Aunt, your nephew has something important to discuss with you. Can you let me in now to discuss it in detail?"

There was a dead silence in the room.

After a while, Xia Xue finally spoke: "What is it? Why are you saying it now?"

"It's an important matter, concerning the safety of the court and my aunt, and it must be discussed tonight."

Xia Mingyuan's voice was resounding and could not be questioned.

As soon as she finished speaking, Lanxiang opened the door. Xia Mingyuan smiled at her and walked straight into the house.

"Nephew has met aunt."

Looking at Xia Mingyuan who seemed to be still angry with him, he bowed to his aunt politely.

"Hmph, I'm not worthy of being called Aunt by Commander Xia." Xia Xue sneered and heavily put down the teacup in her hand. "From ancient times to the present, this is probably the first time that a royal princess has been imprisoned in the princess's mansion by her own guards."

"Xia Mingyuan, my good nephew, all of this is thanks to you."

Upon hearing this, Xia Mingyuan's expression gradually became solemn.

"Aunt, you are really wrong this time."

"I would like to ask, auntie, do you know Xia Tianxiong?"

Xia Xue sneered at this, "Xia Tianxiong killed all his brothers. After the late emperor passed away, I became his only sister."

"I'm afraid no one in this world understands that guy better than me. To secure the throne, he's so hypocritical, cruel, and unscrupulous."

Xia Xue stared straight into Xia Mingyuan's eyes, gritted her teeth and spoke word by word, as if she had some hidden meaning.

Xia Mingyuan touched his nose and suddenly raised his voice a few notches, "Auntie, since you know his character, you should know that since this man has shown his fangs to you, he will never give up!"

"Not mentioning the distant past, has Auntie forgotten the assassination in the temple a few days ago?"

Xia Xue's expression froze, and she turned her head without saying a word.

Xia Mingyuan said coldly, "Aunt, Xia Tianxiong has already sent an imperial envoy. According to my investigation, this imperial envoy has teamed up with Sun Yaozu and wants to kill you and me."

"You ran off to the desolate mountains outside the city without telling me. Isn't that just creating an opportunity for them?"

Xia Xue stared at Xia Mingyuan with her eyes wide open, her body trembling slightly.

"Did the imperial court really send an imperial envoy?"

"What does Xia Tianxiong want him to do?"

Xia Mingyuan sighed deeply, "Xia Tianxiong wants to get rid of you to consolidate his prestige, but he's extremely hypocritical and naturally doesn't want to bear the blame. So Geng Ruhuai will definitely use some shameful means this time to make my aunt die in an unclear way."

Xia Xue sat there in a daze.

She thought Xia Tianxiong would not let her go easily, but she did not expect that her royal brother could not wait even a quarter of an hour and wanted to kill him.

Xia Mingyuan took a deep breath and continued:

"I know your aunt doesn't trust me, but because of our suspicion, you've created opportunities for Xia Tianxiong and his gang. But have you ever thought about how the guards of the princess's mansion, the soldiers outside the city, and me, Xia Mingyuan, Lanxiang, and the rest of us would survive if you really died?"

"By then, if the government accuses you of any crime, which of these guards who saved your life wouldn't lose their heads?"

"I..." Xia Xue blushed and stammered, not knowing how to defend herself.

Xia Mingyuan stood up and said calmly, "I didn't let you leave the Princess Mansion before because it was a turbulent time and you should stay out of the spotlight as much as possible."

"The most important thing is to make Auntie understand that your life is related to hundreds, thousands of lives!"

"This is why my nephew stopped you from acting recklessly and going out without a guard."