Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

When Mu Jinchen received the letter, he had already arrived at the Southwest military camp and was inquiring about the military situation.

"What are the casualties of our army now?"

General Zheng replied, "Your Highness, more than 500 people were seriously injured, more than 300 were slightly injured, and more than 1,000 people died, including General Zhao and General Qian."

When the two generals were mentioned, everyone couldn't help but feel a little sad.

"Have we ascertained the enemy's situation?"

"Your Highness, the Annam Kingdom has come with great force this time. They not only appointed their third prince as the commander-in-chief, but also mobilized 70,000 soldiers, as if they will not give up until they achieve their goal," General Sun replied.

"Now the health of the Emperor of Annam is deteriorating, and he probably doesn't have much time left to live. Therefore, the princes of Annam are resorting to any means to seize the throne."

"What Your Highness means is that their Third Prince has his eye on our Yunyue."

"If he can defeat our Yunyue, it will not only enhance his reputation in Annam, but also improve his status in the court. Most importantly, it will allow the Annam emperor and his ministers to see his abilities and thus recognize him."

"No wonder he was so brave when he arrived, like he didn't care about his life."

"Your Highness, what should we do next?"

"Currently, the Southwest only has 50,000 troops, which is no match for the enemy. Therefore, the only option for now is to stall. As long as we stall until the Emperor of Annam dies, they will have no choice but to withdraw. However, during this period, the enemy will definitely launch frequent attacks. What we need to do is to hold the line and never let the enemy set foot on Yunyue's territory."

"Yes".

"In addition, we need to find a way to deplete their forces, the more the better, so that if they fight to the death, we will have the ability to resist and will not be suppressed."

"What Your Highness says is very true."

Then, General Zheng said, "Your Highness, it is getting late. You must be tired after your long journey. Please rest early. We will take our leave now."

"Um"

Then, the group of generals went outside.

Then, Yingfeng took out a letter and handed it to Mu Jinchen, "Your Highness, it's a letter from the Princess."

Mu Jinchen quickly took the letter and eagerly opened it. When he saw that it only contained a short sentence, he was somewhat dissatisfied. She didn't even know how to say "I miss you." So he picked up a pen and wrote a reply to her.

Su Fu

In Meilan Courtyard, Lin Rong looked at Su Qianrou, who was eating heartily, and asked, "When do you plan to go back?"

"Mother, I've only been back for three days, and you're already sending me away."

"The prince just went to the southwest and you've already come back. Aren't you afraid of what people will say?"

"Let them say what they want, I don't care," Su Qianrou said nonchalantly.

“You may not care about outsiders, but what about the Empress Dowager? If she knew about your behavior, wouldn’t she have objections?”

"Even if she has a problem with it, she can't do anything to me."

Rou'er.

"Alright, Mother, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I'll go back as soon as Xiaoyu gets married. Please eat quickly, the food is getting cold," Su Qianrou said, placing a piece of green vegetable into Lin Rong's bowl.

Lin Rong looked at her, her expression full of helplessness.

Soon, the day of Su Haoyu and Liu Xinyue's wedding arrived.

The Su residence was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, filled with joy and bustling with people.

At this moment, many people had gathered in the main hall. Su Jing'an and Lin Rong sat in the seats of honor, while the others stood on both sides, waiting for the newlyweds to come and perform the wedding ceremony.

Before long, firecrackers went off at the door, followed by someone shouting, "The second young master has brought his bride back!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked expectantly towards the entrance. Soon after, they saw Su Haoyu leading Liu Xinyue over, and then the two arrived at the front of the hall.

Su Haoyu was grinning like he was on a tangent, which showed he was genuinely happy.

Liu Xinyue was a little nervous, clutching her fan tightly. She inadvertently saw Su Qianrou, Yang Shanshan, and Li Nanyi. The three smiled at her and gave her a reassuring look, which made her feel less nervous.

Immediately afterwards, the matchmaker cheerfully called out, "First bow to heaven and earth... second bow to the parents... husband and wife bow to each other, the ceremony is complete, escort them to the bridal chamber."

Then, Su Haoyu took Liu Xinyue to his courtyard.

Not long after, Su Qianrou, Yang Shanshan, and Li Nanyi arrived at their bridal chamber.

At this time, Su Haoyu had already left to greet the guests, so only Liu Xinyue and her maid were in the room.

Yang Shanshan joked, "Look at our bride, how beautiful she is."

"Sister Rou, Shanshan, Nanyi, you've arrived."

"You still call her Sister Rou," Yang Shanshan teased.

Liu Xinyue was a little embarrassed and called out softly, "Sister."

“From now on, we’re family,” Su Qianrou said.

“That’s right, we’ll all be relatives from now on,” Yang Shanshan chimed in.

"Ok".

"Are you hungry? Eat something first."

"I've already eaten."

"I've already eaten," Su Qianrou said, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, Xiaoyu had someone prepare peach blossom pastries for me."

This guy was so excited yesterday that he couldn't sleep. He chatted with her for over an hour. They've been talking since they were little. Later, they talked about their feelings when they got married. She said she only had one feeling: she was tired and hungry. I didn't expect him to remember that. He had someone prepare pastries for her early this morning. Not bad, he's a wife-loving husband.

"I didn't realize Xiaoyu had such a thoughtful side," Yang Shanshan said with a smile.

"Both my uncle and cousin Mingxuan dote on their wives, so Xiaoyu will definitely be just as good."

"Doesn't my brother care about you? Looks like I need to have a serious talk with him," Yang Shanshan said indignantly.

Li Nan blushed involuntarily, realizing something.

"Why is your face red? Are you feeling unwell?" Yang Shanshan asked with concern.

"I'm fine," Li Nanyi said guiltily.

Su Qianrou, being an experienced woman, immediately saw through her thoughts, smiled, and said, "Alright, since Xinyue has already eaten, let's go and have our meal too."

The three of them went outside.

In the evening, after seeing all the guests off, Su Qianrou returned to Youlan Courtyard.

At this moment, she was on her way back.

Chunzhu followed behind her and inadvertently saw two figures. She said uncertainly, "Your Highness, do you think that person looks like the Master?"

Su Qianrou looked in the direction she was pointing and saw that it really was Su Jing'an, but he looked drunk.

"Who is the servant boy beside the master? I don't think I've ever seen him before."

Su Qianrou had never seen them before, and since they were heading in the wrong direction, neither the Ink Bamboo Courtyard nor the Plum Blossom Courtyard, she instructed, "Chunzhu, go and take a look."

"Yes".

Youlan Courtyard

Su Qianrou returned to her room, still thinking about what she had just seen. That direction was where Aunt Liu was, but as everyone knew, her father disliked Aunt Liu. Apart from the time he had favored her once more than ten years ago after she was drugged, he had never been to her courtyard in the past ten years. What was going on today? Could it be that everything before was just an illusion?

Before long, Chunzhu rushed in and called out, "Your Highness."

"How about it? Can you see where my father went?"

“Master…” Chunzhu stammered, unsure how to begin.

"Speak your mind."

"Yes, Master went to Concubine Liu's courtyard."

Sure enough, but Su Qianrou couldn't quite figure it out. She wondered if there was something she didn't know about it, so she said, "Go and call Qinghui here."

"Yes".