Spring arrives and the land smiles

The next morning, when Qingyan woke up, she was greeted by Lan Zhen's alluring smiling face. Startled, Qingyan's still dazed mind instantly cleared up.

"How did you get in?" Qingyan remembered locking the door before going to bed.

“Look.” Lan Zhen glanced at the open window in the room.

"You..." Qingyan was so angry she couldn't speak, "Do you know that entering without permission is the act of a thief?"

"A flower thief, of course he's a thief." Lan Zhen sat down on Qing Yan's bedside, grinned, lifted Qing Yan's chin, and unexpectedly gave Qing Yan a light peck on the corner of her mouth.

Qingyan subconsciously reached out and pushed him, pressing her palms hard against Lan Zhen's chest.

"Ah!" Lan Zhen bent over in pain, her hand landing on her right chest.

"Are you injured?" Qingyan quickly withdrew her hand. "What happened?" Qingyan remembered that when they rescued her that day, Lan Zhen escaped unscathed despite the perilous situation. Nothing had happened to her in the past two days, so why was Lan Zhen injured?

"It's nothing, just an old injury." Lan Zhen smiled nonchalantly, then straightened up as if to touch Qing Yan's face.

"An old injury?" Qingyan slapped Lan Zhen's hand away, not with much force. "Do you think I'm easy to fool?"

"It's just that Lan Yu has gone mad. Don't worry, he's overestimating himself and can't hurt me." Lan Zhen said dismissively.

"What nonsense are you talking about? It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. Don't you understand this principle?" Qingyan frowned as she looked at him, not knowing whether to say that he was highly skilled and daring, or that he was indifferent and carefree.

"Is Xiaoyan concerned about me?" Lan Zhen smiled.

"I care if you die." (She thought to herself.)

"You should rest well these next few days," Qingyan said helplessly.

"No!" Lan Zhen suddenly threw a tantrum like a child. "You just want to take Luo Qing to the southeastern border, so you're using my injury as an excuse to abandon me, isn't that it?"

Qingyan was furious at such unreasonable behavior.

"Lan Zhen, it's just that you're not vying for the throne anymore. Have you lost your mind? Father has already issued an edict to bestow the marriage. If I leave you in Yushan, aren't I afraid of being labeled as disobeying the imperial decree? And then, wouldn't I be so foolish as to anger the Emperor of Nanxia? I'd have to be crazy to do that." Qingyan glared at him.

"So, Xiao Yan'er won't abandon me?" Lan Zhen's eyes lit up.

"Lan Zhen, you are the Prince Zhao of Nanxia, ​​the border general, and the son-in-law of my Great Qi. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at for being so fixated on our petty love?" Qing Yan got angry and rolled off the bed. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Lan Zhen picked her up and laid her down on the bed.

Lan Zhen locked Qingyan's hands, leaned down to look at her, his eyes serious and sharp: "Shen Qingyan, I am your consort, not your consort of Daqi. If you could look at me the way you look at Ning Yuan, why would I cling to you like a little wife? Shen Qingyan, do you even know how much I like you? I've liked you for a long time."

Lan Zhen's sudden confession stunned Qing Yan. Although she had always known that Lan Zhen had some feelings for her, such a straightforward confession caught Qing Yan off guard and left her with no way to avoid it.

"I……"

Before Qingyan could finish speaking, Lan Zhen had already kissed her. He pinned Qingyan down, restrained her hands, and kissed her fiercely and painfully.

Qingyan struggled for a moment, but fearing it would aggravate Lan Zhen's wound, she had no choice but to let him go.

Lan Zhen seemed to sense Qing Yan's compromise and kissed her even more passionately.

After a long while, Lan Zhen finally pulled herself out of this tender moment.

"Little Yan'er, what kind of medicine did Luo Qing give you? The milky scent on your body has been replaced by the smell of medicine." Lan Zhen squinted her eyes, still not satisfied.

Milky smell? Qingyan raised her arm and smelled it, but couldn't detect anything.

"I'm not a baby, so I don't smell like milk."

"Haha, Xiao Yan'er, you're so cute." Lan Zhen laughed and walked out.

Qingyan stared at Lan Zhen's back and angrily punched the bed: she had never won when it came to flirting with people. Once this scoundrel officially entered the Eastern Palace, she would definitely teach him a lesson.

Qingyan had originally planned to set off for the southeastern border in the next two days, but now that Lan Zhen was injured, and it seemed that the injury was not serious, she was afraid that she would not be able to leave for the next two days. So after washing up, she instructed Zhui'er to make some nourishing soup for Lan Zhen, and then went to find Luo Qing.

As Qingyan stood at Luo Qing's door, ready to knock, Luo Qing opened the door as if by unspoken agreement.

"Qingqing." Luo Qing was surprised to see Qingyan, who was obviously about to go out and had encountered a visitor.

"Are you going out?" Qingyan asked, standing at the door.

"I was just about to apply medicine to Lan Zhen. He was stabbed by an assassin sent by Lan Yu yesterday, and his injuries are quite serious," Luo Qing replied.

It turns out that he had already told Luo Qing about Lan Zhen's injury; it seems that only she was kept in the dark.

"What brings you here, Qingqing?" Luo Qing asked.

"I'm also going for this reason. Let's go together." Qingyan said to Luo Qing. "Lan Zhen came to see me just now. I accidentally discovered his injury, and he admitted to being assassinated. Now that we're about to set off for the southeastern border, I don't want anything to happen to Lan Zhen."

"When would you like to set off, Qingqing?" Luo Qing asked.

"Lan Zhen can set off as soon as he recovers from his injuries," Qingyan said.

Besides that, Qingyan also wanted to wait for news from Sicheng.

"Well, I see."

When Luo Qing and Qing Yan arrived at Lan Zhen's room, he was re-bandaging himself.

Luo Qing quickly took over: "How did it get like this? What were you doing?"

Lan Zhen's wound was bleeding visibly, a shocking sight to behold.

Qingyan frowned: "What else can a lecherous man do?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Qing glanced at Qing Yan, who blushed for a moment and awkwardly avoided Luo Qing's gaze.

Luo Qing smiled and tightened her grip on the wound.

"Ouch—be gentle." Lan Zhen grimaced.

"Serves you right, you can't stay quiet even when you're injured, and you even made Qingqing angry." Luo Qing said with a laugh.

"Qingqing?" Lan Zhen grinned, "You call her Qingqing, hahaha, Luo Qing, when did you change your ways? You can even call her Qingqing, it seems you really like Xiao Yan'er, hahaha."

"Shut up." Qingyan glared at him angrily.

Lan Zhen chuckled and remained silent.

At this moment, Zhui'er asked to see him from outside the door.

"Come in." Qingyan allowed her to enter.

Zhui'er brought in the nourishing soup, placed it on the table, and greeted everyone: "Princess, people from Lingfeng Pavilion have arrived. It's the sisters Siyou and Siwu."

"Have them wait for me in the side hall," Qingyan instructed.

Zhuier agreed and withdrew.

Qingyan then said to Luoqing, "I'll be right back."

Just as she turned around, Lan Zhen suddenly grabbed her: "Why won't you let them in to question us? Is there anything we can't know?"

Lan Zhen's eyes revealed urgency and fear, like a small animal worried about being abandoned, using strength to replace helplessness.

It's the same thing again, just like this morning's inexplicable worry that I wouldn't take him to the southeastern border.

Qingyan sighed inwardly, then slapped Lan Zhen's bare shoulder:

"Haven't you figured out your brain yet? Siyou and Siwu are women, are you sure you want to see them like this?"

Although Qingyan controlled her strength, the slap was still enough to make Lan Zhen wince in pain, but it also made him feel enlightened.

Lan Zhen was in a great mood and took Qing Yan's hand to his lips to kiss it lightly: "I knew Xiao Yan'er wouldn't want to part with me."

"I can't bear to part with you, my foot!" Qing thought to herself, then forcefully pulled her hand away and left.

Luo Qing couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she tightened her grip even more.

"Ah—you're going to kill me!" Lan Zhen screamed.

"Do you even have a life left? Your life has long been in Qingqing's hands." Luo Qing rolled her eyes at him.

Lan Zhen didn't speak, waiting for Luo Qing to finish bandaging him and put his clothes back on. His playful expression was gone.

"Luo Qing, do you think she has my life in her hands? Could she just strangle me to death like this?"

Luo Qing: "Qingqing is kind and gentle. You treat her like this, she will never betray you."

Lan Zhen: "Perhaps Xiao Yan'er won't betray me, but what about the Xuanjia Army? I promised my father that once the imperial decree of marriage is issued, I will disband the Xuanjia Army. But given my father's suspicious and ruthless nature, he will never let it go. Therefore, I must save the Xuanjia Army."

Luo Qing: "What do you want to do?"

Lan Zhen: "Father probably guessed that I wouldn't give up the Xuanjia Army easily, so Li Muqing and I discussed that the five thousand Xuanjia Army soldiers should be divided into groups of fifty and scattered around Yushan, disguised as citizens of Daqi or Nanxia. However, Yushan is a small city, and suddenly there are five thousand more people, all of them young and strong men. Both Daqi and Nanxia will be suspicious, and no matter what we do, we can't hide it."

"So you want Qingqing to turn these five thousand armored soldiers into craftsmen and miners at Yushan Iron Mine, so that even if there are many people, you can still successfully cover your tracks?" Luo Qing replied.

“Yes, the original craftsmen can disguise themselves and return to Suizhou, or some of the Xuanjia Army can be sent to Suizhou in this way. As long as they enter the Great Qi and do not cause any trouble, then Father Emperor will not be able to pursue the matter further,” Lan Zhen said.

Luo Qing: "Have you ever thought that if the Emperor of Daqi, Qingqing's father, knew about this, that the powerful prince was not alone, but secretly brought five thousand elite assassins to marry into the Eastern Palace, then Qingqing would be only one step away from the crime of plotting to usurp the throne, perhaps just a matter of the Emperor of Daqi's decision."

“But I have no other choice.” Lan Zhen lowered her head in anguish.

"Have you mentioned this to Qingqing?" Luo Qing sighed softly.

Lan Zhen: Not yet.

Luo Qing: "Let's go, it'll be too late if we don't tell now." After saying that, she pulled Lan Zhen and went to find Qing Yan.

Side hall.

As Luo Qing and Lan Zhen reached the door, they ran into Si You and Si Wu coming out from inside.

The two sisters greeted the two men, clearly showing their attitude towards their masters.

The guards of Lingfeng Pavilion are indeed all-knowing, especially since they are Qingyan's personal guards.

The two men made no attempt to be polite and entered the side hall.

Qingyan gets a headache whenever she sees Lan Zhen, but seeing him with Luo Qing makes her feel less irritated.

"Qingqing, I have something to discuss with you," Luo Qing said first.

Luo Qing's tone was serious, and Qing Yan had a feeling that the matter must be very important.

"What is it? Sit down and we'll talk." Qingyan led the two of them to sit down.

What puzzled Ling Qingyan was that Lan Zhen didn't flirt with her from the moment he entered the room, and didn't even sit next to her.

Qingyan increasingly felt that the matter to be discussed next must be very important and troublesome.

Luo Qing got straight to the point and explained the situation of the Xuanjia Army to Qing Yan in detail, even emphasizing the serious implications.

After listening to Luo Qing's explanation, Qing Yan did not speak, but began to ponder.

Lan Zhen looked at Qing Yan, but Qing Yan kept frowning and thinking. After a long while, he poured Qing Yan a cup of tea, which Qing Yan drank in one gulp without even looking at it.

“Alright, we’ll do it your way. But, Lan Zhen,” Qingyan turned to him, “you will select two hundred men to disguise themselves as three or five caravans and come with us into the southeastern border region.”

Although this matter is quite risky, high risk means high reward. At this moment, Qingyan was thinking that with Lan Zhen's dowry army, plus the Ning family army, they could withstand any major upheaval in Shengjing.

"Shen Qingyan, have you thought this through? This is no small matter. If it comes to light, it will be a capital offense," Lan Zhen said in a low voice.

"You're so reluctant to part with the two hundred brothers you asked me to choose for this adventure, and you even said you've had your eye on me for a long time. Sure enough, a man's words are deceitful." Qingyan smiled dismissively.

"Qingqing, think it over." Luo Qing's serious expression remained unchanged despite Qingyan's teasing.

"If we think about this matter too much, there's no point in discussing it at all. Although my position as crown prince is not secure, it's not yet on the verge of collapse, let alone something I would risk. So, if you ask me to weigh the pros and cons, I would disregard the lives of these five thousand Xuanjia soldiers. But these are five thousand lives. Do you think they're like five thousand cabbages or five thousand potatoes, to be eaten or stewed at will? So, no matter how great the risk, we must let them enter Daqi first," Qingyan said solemnly.

"Little Yan'er." This time, Lan Zhen's address, though still those three words, was no longer teasing, but full of emotion.

"Alright, let's save our gratitude for later. Let's split up and deal with the immediate problem first." Qingyan's words were concise, and everyone sprang into action.

However, this matter was of great importance and required everyone's cooperation. After thinking for a while, Qingyan summoned Siyou and Siwu back and asked them to take the secret letter to Shengjing, where she insisted on personally delivering it to everyone.

Lan Zhen and Luo Qing were also working diligently, but Lan Zhen's frequent contact with Li Muqing, coupled with the fact that the Xuanjia Army, though broken up into smaller units, still made occasional moves, eventually attracted the attention of the Yushan garrison commanders.

“General, if the previous large-scale invasion of the Xuanjia Army was at the behest of King Zhao of Nanxia, ​​and King Zhao himself even entered the Great Qi to inform him of this matter, now that King Zhao has formed a marriage alliance with our Great Qi, we should not have any doubts. However, the Xuanjia Army’s unusual movements this time are frequent and strange. Shouldn’t we take precautions as soon as possible?” Lu Yan, Chu Shen’s deputy general, said.

Since Xu Zhao, this cancerous tumor, was exposed, Lu Yan has become Chu Shen's most trusted deputy general. Naturally, such important military matters must be discussed by the two of them together.

Chu Shen sat upright in the main seat without speaking, his brows furrowed as he stared at the sketch on the table.

This sketch depicts the troop distribution of various states in Yushan, drawn by Chu Shen himself, a common practice among border generals. The location of the Xuanjia Army on the sketch is particularly prominent; Chu Shen stares at that spot for a long time before speaking:

"The Xuanjia Army is stationed in all border passes. Presumably, although the King Zhao of Nanxia has shown some restraint towards our Great Qi, he has never thought of crossing the border to invade or take advantage of our vulnerability. Otherwise, given the Xuanjia Army's combat strength, they should be stationed here." Chu Shen pointed to an open area on the map.

The Xuanjia Army is a cavalry force, suitable for fighting in open and flat terrain. Lan Zhen's decision to have them guard the city shows that even when defending against the Great Qi, he had no intention of using them.

"What does the general mean?" Lu Yan leaned forward.

"Use stillness to control movement, and remain unchanged to respond to all changes. I want to see what tricks Lan Zhen is up to." Chu Shen slapped his hand on the sketch and stood up.