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

The stench of blood from the Tongguan battlefield still lingers in the air.

Zhao Xier was not stingy either. She arranged for people to transport wine and meat to reward the troops, and then tens of thousands of warhorses and more than 20,000 captured warhorses were transported over.

Chen Futu ordered his personal guards to inform Li Huaifeng to come and collect the warhorses, and instructed him to keep a close watch on Shouren to prevent him from launching a surprise attack at this time.

In the pitch-black night, the campfire blazed brightly.

Chen Futu sat in front of the fire, poking at the flames, his face grim.

Zhao Xier came to her side and asked strangely, "You clearly won, so why aren't you happy?"

"This battle has served as a wake-up call for me. As a central dynasty, Daqian has a deep foundation and is still very powerful. The Tongguan Garrison Commander alone can contend with me. If I want to take over Daqian, I still need to accumulate strength."

"You are already very capable. Without you, I never thought we could defeat the combined forces of Daqian and Longman in this battle."

It was rare for Zhao Xier to say something so gentle.

By the light of the campfire, Chen Futu saw her rare smile and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I was well protected by you and was not injured, but your people suffered heavy losses and it will probably take a long time to recover."

Zhao Xier gathered her disheveled hair, and at this moment she had a wild beauty.

The two then discussed future collaborations.

The Longman suffered heavy losses in this battle, but it could not shake the foundation of their state. It was unrealistic for the Western Zhao to annex the Longman in a short period of time.

Zhao Xier planned to focus on development first, and when the Northern Frontier annexed the Great Qian, that would be the time for her to fight the Dragon Barbarians to the death.

"By the way, are you planning to marry Qin Liangyu as your heir apparent?"

Zhao Xier changed the subject so quickly that Chen Futu didn't react in time.

She said calmly, "Don't misunderstand, I was just asking casually."

"To be honest, I wanted to marry her, but she wouldn't take the bait, so there was nothing I could do."

Chen Futu did not hide his thoughts.

Disappointment flashed across Zhao Xier's face, but she said nonchalantly, "General Qin is a good man. He is loyal to you, beautiful, and a powerful innate expert. It is your good fortune to marry him."

"And then?" Chen Futu asked with a smile.

"What, and then..."

"Have you never thought about marrying me in the future? Don't worry, I won't treat you badly. At least you'll have the position of Imperial Concubine."

"Concubine?"

Zhao Xier grinned with a strange expression, "You think I'd want to make you a concubine? You're dreaming!"

"Is being a concubine not enough? Do you want to be the empress? You don't look like someone who can rule the world. If I marry you into the harem in the future, I'll have to worry about whether you'll start a palace intrigue."

"Shut up!"

Zhao Xier suddenly stood up, glaring at me with her watery almond eyes as if she wanted to devour me, "Stop thinking such nonsense, the outcome is still uncertain!"

"Tsk tsk, you think you can conquer the Central Plains?"

Chen Futu deliberately provoked her, his words infuriating Zhao Xier. She stomped her foot and turned back to her tent.

Chen Futu wanted to tease her a bit more, but when he suddenly saw Qin Liangyu coming over, he quickly stepped forward and took her hand, saying softly, "Why aren't you resting properly? It's windy outside, what are you doing out here?"

Qin Liangyu pursed her lips and said, "It's nothing serious, just a minor injury."

"That won't work either. Did you use the medicine I gave you?"

"It's already been used. Would the lord like to see the wound?"

"There's no need to look."

Chen Futu touched his nose, then led her to the campfire and handed her a piece of roasted meat.

Qin Liangyu glanced curiously at Zhao Xier's tent, "What did the lord just say? The King of Zhao seemed very angry."

"Even if we make her a concubine, she won't be happy; she wants to be empress."

"what?"

Qin Liangyu was shocked, but then, recalling Chen Futu's previous financial losses, she understood everything.

So the woman who had an affair with the lord was Zhao Xier!

Seeing Qin Liangyu's foolish look, Chen Futu steeled his heart and asked, "Do you want to be the Crown Prince's consort?"

Qin Liangyu quietly stopped eating the roasted meat that was about to reach her mouth. Being the Crown Prince's wife now meant becoming the Empress in the future, but she ultimately shook her head, "I don't want to."

"Why!"

Chen Futu glared at him, clearly displeased. "You think I'm not good enough for you?"

"Let's talk about it when our lord defeats me."

Qin Liangyu was clearly making excuses; to put it bluntly, the two only had a superior-subordinate relationship and no special feelings for each other.

Chen Futu immediately felt a deep sense of frustration.

Ding!

[The system has detected that the host has repeatedly encountered obstacles in front of Qin Liangyu. The system will give the host a special choice.]

"piss off!"

Chen Futu doesn't want to make choices right now.

[The host refused to make a special choice; the system retracts this selection.]

"Wait a minute, why didn't you take it back last time with Zhao Xier?"

The system refused to answer.

"Fuck you, you hypocrite!"

[Host has been detected to have insulted the system again. The host's cultivation will be deprived for 24 hours, and a weakened state will be imposed for 24 hours.]

"Whatever, do whatever you want!"

As soon as Chen Futu finished speaking, everything went black before his eyes, and he collapsed to the ground.

Stripped of his cultivation and weakened, Chen Futu felt as if all his strength had been drained.

Qin Liangyu was taken aback and hurriedly stepped forward to check on his body, but Chen Futu shook his head and said, "I'm just a little tired. Take me back to rest first."

Qin Liangyu thought for a moment, then picked her up in a princess carry.

Chen Futu broke out in a cold sweat. "Seriously, could you please stop hugging me like this? I'd rather die out here."

"My lord, please stop talking nonsense. I will take you back to rest right away."

Qin Liangyu couldn't understand Chen Futu's thoughts at all. Last time, Chen Futu was carried in a princess carry by Zhao Xier and he was still traumatized. This time, it was in the military camp, and he was too ashamed to face anyone.

As the saying goes, what you fear most is what will happen.

Qin Liangyu had only taken two steps carrying Chen Futu when Zhao Xier came out, raising her eyebrows with a look of disdain. "Oh, what's wrong with the young master? Did he take the wrong medicine again?"

Chen Futu covered his face, his lips twitching.

Then Dian Wei, Ma Chao, and Cao Zhen came over arm in arm, carrying wine jars in their hands.

The three were taken aback when they saw this, and quickly stepped forward to inquire about the situation.

Zhao Xier interjected, "Don't worry, the young master just had too many wicked ideas and got his comeuppance. Also, remind General Qin to arrange for more guards when he sleeps at night, and be sure to prevent some lecherous thieves from coming to his door at night."

Qin Liangyu glanced at her sideways, "No need for Your Majesty to trouble yourself. Besides, I would like to remind Your Majesty to watch your words, or don't blame me for being impolite."

"No good deed goes unpunished!"

Zhao Xier snorted and went back to her tent, clenching her fists in anger.

After Ma Chao and his two companions entered the tent, they stripped Chen Futu of his clothes in front of Qin Liangyu to check if he was injured.

With his last ounce of strength, Chen Futu clutched his clothes tightly and said angrily, "You three, stay away from me, I'm getting the creeps."

Chen Futu was genuinely afraid of these three burly men!

Qin Liangyu was well aware of Chen Futu's little scheme, and said with a wry smile, "You all go, I'll take care of our lord."