You're the one who wants to marry a mistress, and I'm marrying someone else, yet you still

"Lou Li!"

Xiao Yan roared in anger, his anger flaring up instantly. The two men were incredibly skilled; in a short period of time, they had overthrown dozens of imperial soldiers.

This made Xiao Yan even angrier.

"Capture these two alive! Capture them alive!"

Xiao Yan gave the order to bring these two people to Lou Li and interrogate them properly!

He had only made a plan for himself once in court, and Lou Li refused to help him anymore, which even led to the failure of the plan. He bowed his head and did not care, only hoping that his plans would go smoothly in the future. He would also grant the Lou family what they wanted.

But now, Lou Li is causing trouble again.

Xie Wanru and her senior brother Xu Ning were secretly delighted that their plan had worked, but they dared not relax their vigilance in the slightest.

After all, the other party was a member of the imperial court, so they couldn't really injure him. They mostly used fists and feet, but that made things even more difficult for them.

They fought and retreated, drawing Xiao Yan's soldiers closer and closer. Their goal was to make the chaos seamless, plunging Xiao Yan into rage and confusion.

Senior Brother Xu Ning possessed exceptional lightness skills, and in just a few leaps, he arrived at a dangerous place. He turned back to look at Xie Wanru, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.

He meant that it was time for them to retreat, otherwise they would really start to suffer losses.

Xie Wanru understood immediately, and the two worked together seamlessly, using the terrain to their advantage to shake off the pursuing soldiers one by one. Meanwhile, the third senior brother had deliberately left some misleading clues, making Xiao Yan mistakenly believe that they were fleeing in another direction.

Just as Xiao Yan was focused on capturing this "troublemaker sent by Lou Li," a loud explosion suddenly came from the bandit's den. It turned out that the deputy general had seized the opportunity and detonated the gunpowder that had been laid out in advance, destroying the bandit's lair in one fell swoop.

Flames soared into the sky, illuminating half the night, while the bandits howled in agony, utterly routed.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yan felt a sense of satisfaction, but even more so, he felt anger at being deceived.

Because he felt that Lou Li had tricked him, he was furious and ordered his soldiers to pursue the two "mysterious men" even more fiercely.

However, Xie Wanru and her senior brother had already taken advantage of the brief chaos to quietly blend into the night and disappear without a trace.

After the battle, Xiao Yan stood on the ruins, watching the figures gradually fade into the distance, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

Does Lou Li really want to go against him?

They actually sent someone to interfere and prevent him from making any contributions. Could it be that he is working for the Crown Prince's brother?

Then why marry Lou Yao to him? Was it a smokescreen?

Despite winning the battle, Xiao Yan felt no joy whatsoever. He had originally intended to keep the spoils for himself, but now he dared not do so.

If Lou Li goes crazy again and reports him, then it's all over.

Meanwhile, Xie Wanru, her eldest brother, and her third brother, who arrived later, were hiding in a secluded cave. They took off their masks and smiled at each other.

Their plan was half successful. Next, they waited for the right moment, for Xiao Yan and Lou Li's relationship to completely break down, paving the way for changing the fate of the Xie family.

"Junior Sister's kung fu is getting better and better," Senior Brother Xu Ning said softly, his eyes full of satisfaction.

Having just clashed with the imperial army, one must not actually injure them, but must repel them while ensuring one's own safety; this requires a certain level of skill.

"Senior Brother, you flatter me. Without you, I probably wouldn't have been able to escape."

Xie Wanru responded modestly, her face beaming with confidence and gratitude. In her past life, she had only focused on managing the Shen family, neglecting those who were truly kind to her.

The third senior brother patted his chest and laughed, "With the three of us joining forces, what great things can't we accomplish? Today's performance will surely sow discord between Xiao Yan and Lou Li."

He doesn't usually like to show off, but he was happy to have just successfully tricked Xiao Yan.

A few years ago, when everyone heard that Junior Sister had feelings for the Third Prince, they were heartbroken. Moreover, Xiao Yan was fickle, which saddened Junior Sister for quite some time.

Senior Brother Xu Ning nodded slightly, but his expression was not completely relaxed: "I think Xiao Yan has fallen for today's plan, but I always feel that Lou Li is cunning and suspicious, and is no ordinary person. We still need to act cautiously and not be careless."

Xie Wanru's smile faded, and she nodded seriously: "What Senior Brother said is true. This matter does not guarantee that they will definitely break up. We need to add fuel to the fire to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

The third senior brother suggested, "Now that the bandit's den has been destroyed, and Xiao Yan is going to continue his southward march, he will surely report the victory to the court. Why don't we take this opportunity to add fuel to the fire and further intensify their conflict?"

After a moment's thought, Senior Brother Xu Ning nodded in agreement: "It is indeed an opportunity, but how should we proceed?"

So the three of them huddled together again and whispered their plans for the future.

As night deepened, the wind howled outside the cave, adding a touch of mystery and tension to their plan.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan was leading his soldiers in searching for traces of the two "mysterious men" in the ruins, but to no avail.

His anger grew, and his suspicion of Lou Li deepened.

"Is Lou Li out of his mind?!"

Xiao Yan cursed.

He slammed the broadsword he had just used in the fight to the ground. The sword was stained with blood and had some weight on it. When it hit the ground, dust flew up, highlighting his ashen face.

The soldiers around them didn't dare to breathe, for fear of accidentally incurring bad luck.

"How dare he mock me like this!" Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, his eyes seemingly spitting fire. "Keep searching! Dig three feet into the ground and find them!"

However, the search was still fruitless. The two "mysterious men" seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.

As dawn broke, Xiao Yan, exhausted, gradually calmed down and carefully recalled the whole incident, discovering a few strange things about it.

Why did those two suddenly appear? They seemed to know everything about the court's movements. Also, why is Lou Li "uncooperative" with him at this particular moment?

Aren't you afraid that if he really fails to achieve anything, the Lou family will also be destroyed?

"Could it be..." A thought suddenly flashed through Xiao Yan's mind, a thought that sent chills down his spine, "Was all of this really arranged by Lou Li? Is he already my brother's man?"

Once this thought arose, it grew wildly in his heart like weeds, and he could never shake it off.

He began to suspect that Lou Li had been secretly plotting from the very beginning, waiting to see him make a fool of himself, or perhaps even using this opportunity to bring him down.

So after kidnapping Xie Yanting, Lou Li leaked the information to Xie Wanru so that she could rescue him, making Xie Wanru hate him even more and making everyone in the Xie family despise him, paving the way for his elder brother.

"No, I can't just sit here and wait to die!" Xiao Yan thought to himself. "I have to find a way to deal with this."