After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

"What kind of person does the young master think I am?" Liu Longyue's attitude remained cold and indifferent.

Chen Futu curled his lip and said, "Is it worth it to use any means to achieve one's goals, even at the cost of personal involvement and tarnishing one's reputation?"

“I said I would take Beiwu away from this bitter, cold land. You are not from Beiwu, you don’t understand our suffering.”

Liu Longyue turned her face away, her expression full of anger.

She said that twice.

Chen Futu raised an eyebrow, casually grabbed her cold little hand, and ignored her struggles.

"Don't waste your energy. I'll give you two choices: either be my obedient woman, or one day when you're no longer of use, I won't be lenient with you. Of course, you can forget about becoming the Crown Prince's consort."

"Your Highness, please rest assured that since I have stayed, I will never do anything that would harm the Northern Frontier."

"Better so."

Their eyes met, and their first frank conversation ended there, the atmosphere strained.

Upon returning to the royal court, Liu Longyue intended to go to the inner palace, but Chen Futu stopped her and asked her to sit aside and watch.

Liu Longyue didn't ask any more questions, and sat quietly to the side like a beautiful ink painting.

Consort Ge said, "Your Highness, the people who came from the capital are probably here for those two纨绔 (playboys)."

Not long after Chen Fu massacred his way out of the capital, he captured Guo Yunqi, the son of the Minister of War. Then, in the battle of Pingzi County, he devised a plan to capture Liang Huan, the beloved younger brother of the Crown Princess.

They thought the capital had given up on them, but they never expected it to come looking for them now.

"Your Highness, do you wish to see them?" Consort Ge asked softly.

Chen Futu did not answer, but looked at Liu Longyue beside him, "You have been in the capital for quite some time now, tell me, what is the purpose of the people who came from the capital?"

Liu Longyue then understood Chen Futu's intention in keeping her. She smoothed her hair and calmly replied, "On the surface, it was to redeem those two young masters, but in reality, it was because they heard that the Crown Prince was going to succeed to the throne of the Northern Frontier King, and the capital sent someone specifically to gather information."

"Continue," Chen Futu said, taking a sip of tea, his expression unreadable.

"The Crown Prince's ascension to the throne of the Northern Frontier King is practically equivalent to establishing a new kingdom. How could the Great Qian allow others to sleep soundly beside its bed? There must be their accomplices in Dragon City who might try to sabotage the ceremony. Even if they can't stop the Crown Prince from taking that position, they will still humiliate him."

Liu Longyue's analysis makes a lot of sense.

Ding!

The Great Qian Dynasty seems to be plotting something sinister. How does the host plan to deal with the impending crisis?

[1. If you choose to let them do as they please, you will be rewarded with a bronze coffin, which will preserve the host's body from decay.]

[2. Choose to kill the envoy from the capital to eliminate any potential threats, and you will be rewarded with one Breakthrough Pill]

[3. Choose to lure the enemy into the trap, letting the demons and monsters jump out on their own. The reward is 3,000 Imperial Guards, commanded by Mao Xiang, at the peak of the eighth rank.]

"The Embroidered Uniform Guards have come at the right time. I was just looking for a pair of eyes to monitor the northern frontier."

[If your choice is successful, Mao Xiang will arrive in Dragon City at noon with the host's peerless war steed, Dragonscale.]

[The Imperial Guards will automatically disperse throughout Longcheng after Mao Xiang enters the city.]

With the Embroidered Uniform Guard in place, it would be much easier for Chen Futu to get things done in the future.

"Consort Ge, take the princess to change into men's clothes, and then come with me."

Chen Futu casually gave the order.

Liu Longyue was slightly taken aback. "Where is the young master taking me?"

"Go to the city and give some people a chance."

Chen Futu smiled and waved his hand, and Consort Ge then led Liu Longyue to the inner palace.

When Liu Longyue changed into men's clothing, even though Chen Futu was prepared, he couldn't help but feel surprised.

"The people in Mo are like jade, and the young master is unparalleled in the world."

Liu Longyue's attire and exquisitely beautiful face, with her bright eyes and white teeth, left Chen Futu momentarily stunned. A question involuntarily popped into his mind: "How can one tell if she is male or female?"

"Is there a problem?"

Liu Longyue didn't understand what Chen Futu's staring gaze meant.

Chen Futu circled around her once, clicking his tongue and saying, "Beautiful, truly beautiful, but how did you do that?"

Liu Longyue subconsciously looked down and realized that Chen Futu was staring intently at her flat chest. She immediately turned around and covered herself: "Has Your Highness seen enough?"

"Brother with exceptional skills, let's go."

Chen Futu eventually turned her gaze away, presumably because she had used a breast binder to restrain her large breasts.

The two left the royal court without letting Consort Ge follow them, mainly because her injuries had not fully healed and she still needed to recuperate.

In the southern part of the city, there is a Hundred Flowers Pavilion, a large entertainment venue that Chen Futu specially commissioned the Commerce Department to renovate. The girls there are all quite nice, but they do not entertain customers.

They were selling their talents, which also provided a job opportunity for homeless women. Moreover, the Hundred Flowers Pavilion was built in an extremely high-end manner, mainly to serve merchants and conduct business negotiations.

Having a great meal or a great song can greatly increase the success rate of cooperation. This is an experience from that world, and we just use it casually.

Liu Longyue followed Chen Futu awkwardly, thinking to herself, "Brother... why did you bring me to a place like this?"

Chen Futu asked her to call him "brother," but she wasn't too happy about it and even deliberately lowered her voice when she spoke, which was a bit funny.

"Don't overthink it, the Hundred Flowers Pavilion isn't what you're guessing."

Chen Futu led her into the main hall, where several beautifully dressed women were dancing gracefully on the stage in the center. Their dance was elegant and pleasing to the eye.

The surrounding guests were mostly wealthy merchants and scholars, all staring at them with burning eyes, wishing they could rush onto the stage and kiss them.

Of course, they were only thinking about it. Baihua Pavilion was a business of the Commerce Department, and the girls in the pavilion were all employed. In addition, Yu Qian issued a series of public security decrees. Anyone who dared to force women to trade in Longcheng would be close to death.

Chen Futu led Liu Longyue to a random spot.

The person in charge was a middle-aged woman who looked quite shrewd. She called herself Boss Hua and was the manager of Hundred Flowers Pavilion, handpicked by the Commerce Department.

"Boss Hua, business is good."

Chen Futu smiled and struck up a conversation.

Seeing that the two young men were dressed in fine clothes, the shopkeeper dared not neglect them and immediately ordered tea to be served.

"Are you a local, sir? Many businesses in Longcheng are run by the Commerce Department, and we have partnerships with many merchants, so we don't lack customers," Boss Hua enthusiastically explained.

Chen Futu then asked, "Besides the merchants from Longcheng, are there any merchants from other places who come here?"

"Yes, a large group of merchants have come from Chuzhou. They are busy acquiring properties and often gather here. They are very generous."

Just as Chen Futu had predicted, most of the merchants who left Chuzhou came to Longcheng.

In this way, the development zone plan of the Commerce Department can be gradually spread throughout northern Xinjiang, and the construction of cement roads can be completed incidentally.

As they were talking, Chen Futu saw an old acquaintance, who turned out to be Yan Qing.

Yan Qing's demeanor was calm and composed, as if everything had been arranged properly.