In the Great Qin Dynasty, I, the Unruly Commander, begin by dual-cultivating with Yan Ling Ji.

Wei Mansion

At this time, the Wei family mansion regained its former prosperity, and even surpassed its former glory.

All of this is thanks to Wei Wuji and Wei An for choosing Ying Ziqing as their patron. Now, the head of the Wei family, Wei An, holds the prestigious position of Magistrate of Daliang, overseeing all affairs both inside and outside the city.

With the threat from the Wei royal family gone, their family can now operate more freely and develop their business.

In a beautiful and exquisite little courtyard,

Wei Ji was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, her hands supporting her chin, her pretty face filled with a deep sense of resentment.

"Damn it, he hasn't come to see me after all this time..."

Just as Wei Ji was wondering who she was complaining about, a magnetic voice appeared behind her.

"Who is that damn guy...?"

Upon hearing the voice, Wei Ji turned around and threw a punch. Hou Qing easily dodged it by tilting his head, while Wei Ji cried out in surprise as her fist missed its mark, and her delicate body involuntarily fell forward.

Hou Qing, who was standing in front of her, saw Wei Ji falling into his arms and decisively teleported to the side.

As expected, Wei Ji fell flat on her face. When she got up, the surprise in her beautiful eyes disappeared, replaced by annoyance that made her want to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"Hou Qing! You idiot!" Wei Ji said angrily.

Hou Qing, who had been calmly standing to the side, seemed to realize that he had done something wrong. He coldly pulled out a candied hawthorn from behind his back and handed it to Wei Ji, who was about to explode in anger.

Upon seeing the bright red candied hawthorn, Wei Ji's impending anger dissipated like a deflated balloon.

After taking the candied hawthorn, Wei Ji turned her head and gave a soft hum.

"Alright, I'll forgive you, you fool. When... are you leaving?" Wei Ji's voice softened as she spoke.

"How did you know I would leave?" Hou Qing asked curiously.

A smug smile appeared on Wei Ji's pretty face, but she did not answer Hou Qing's question.

She was a clever little devil in Daliang City, so she could naturally guess that now that Daliang was settled and Hou Qing's mission was completed, he would definitely not stay in Daliang for long.

For a moment, Hou Qing and Wei Ji fell silent.

After a long silence, Hou Qing broke the silence by handing Wei Ji the folding fan he always carried with him.

“Miss Wei, as we part, I have nothing of value but this precious gift to give you. Please do not find it offensive.”

A radiant smile spread across Wei Ji's face as she carefully took the folding fan and placed it gently into her bosom.

"Oh, right, you idiot, I also have something for you..."

Wei Ji took out an exquisite jade comb made of gilded jade from her bosom and handed it to Hou Qing.

"This is the jade comb I've used since I was a child. I'm entrusting it to you for safekeeping for now. When we meet again, please remember to comb my hair."

Feeling the warmth of the jade comb in his hand and the shyness of the girl in front of him, Hou Qing, who was usually funny, rarely showed a serious expression.

"When we meet again, I will brew tea and comb your hair for you. Farewell."

After saying that, Hou Qing disappeared into the courtyard in a flash.

A faint trace of disappointment appeared on Wei Ji's beautiful face as she gazed at the empty courtyard and murmured softly:

"After meeting as promised, we whispered to each other at dusk..."

High above the building, Ying Ziqing, clad in armor and mask, stood with his hands behind his back, overlooking the newly renovated Daliang City below.

Behind him, Hou Qing, dressed in white, appeared beside him.

"Have you finished saying goodbye?"

"Ah."

"Now that it's over, let's go find Li Cunxu and protect him. He should have already led his army away from Daliang City."

"Yes, Commander."

——Dividing——Line——

On the border of Wei, outside Linzhao City,

One hundred thousand Zhao soldiers enveloped Linzhao City like a dark cloud pressing down.

Commander of the 100,000 Zhao troops was Zhao An, a confidant of the King of Zhao. He was acting on the King's orders to take advantage of Wei's predicament and plunder the gold, silver and grain of Wei's border cities.

Over three days, they plundered several important border towns. Because the border town troops had been transferred to support Daliang, the defenses were weak, which allowed the Zhao army to take advantage of the situation.

Many Wei citizens had their families destroyed and lives lost due to the burning, killing, and looting by the Zhao army. Now it was the turn of Linzhao City.

Chen Kang, the garrison commander on the Linzhao city wall, stared solemnly at the endless enemy troops below.

The deputy general standing to the side couldn't help but speak up:

"General, those damned Zhao people are utterly despicable! They actually took this opportunity to plunder our Wei Kingdom. There are only ten thousand soldiers defending Linzhao City. General, can we hold it?"

"We must defend it even if we can't. We absolutely cannot let those wolves and tigers of Zhao enter Linzhao City, or the people of Wei will be in grave danger."

Seeing his commander's resolute decision, the deputy general said nothing more and turned to strengthen the defenses on the city wall.

Zhao An sat atop his horse, whip in hand, gazing arrogantly towards Linzhao City. He addressed his lieutenant beside him with a haughty expression:

"I will give you 40,000 troops, and you can take this city within half a day."

"Yes, General, rest assured, three hours will be enough."

The lieutenant rode away, then led his troops, carrying siege equipment, in a grand procession toward the city walls.

Upon seeing this, Chen Kang, the commander on the city wall, hurriedly ordered archers to stand guard on the battlements.

"Archers, prepare! Wait until the enemy is twenty paces away before firing!"

Seeing the approaching enemy troops, Chen Kang gritted his teeth and shouted loudly:

"Fire arrows!"

In an instant, arrows rained down, taking the lives of many Zhao soldiers. But this did not stop the ferocious Zhao army; instead, they charged towards the city wall even more fiercely.

Ultimately, they inevitably ended up in close combat.

P.S.: I almost died from a cold and sore throat during the Lunar New Year. Now I can't enjoy big meals anymore, and I can't smell anything. It's awful. My friends, please take care of yourselves too! Also, today is the day to welcome the God of Wealth. Wishing you all a prosperous New Year!