I think my luck is turning around.

As Ji Xia listened to An Ge's question, he pondered it seriously. A female general? There are quite a few daughters of military families, but he had never heard of or seen a female general.

To confirm her thoughts, Ji Xia summoned Steward Wang directly. As one of the stewards of the Ji family, he needed to have the most accurate information.

"Since the current emperor ascended the throne, there have been no female generals, and even female officials have been few and far between."

Butler Wang's analysis was reasonable and fair, and Ji Xia completely believed him without a trace of doubt. Hearing this, An Ge couldn't help but begin to doubt the accuracy of the information provided by Mu An.

"Believe it or not, it's the truth!"

As a system, Mu An would never lie; his information was absolutely true and reliable. An Ge's thought only flashed through her mind briefly before disappearing again.

After all, it was a bit unreasonable for her to suspect a robot. Since there was no female general, could there be a female general disguised as a man? With her thoughts lingering there, An Ge had a flash of inspiration.

"I heard that the person the Second Prince likes is on the Northwest Border, but the general guarding the Northwest Border is Li Yu, the head of the Li family in the capital!"

Does Li Yu have any other identity?

"This Li family is also a heavy burden. Li Yu took on this family at a young age. His father was fighting on the front lines, his mother was in poor health, and when news of his father's death in battle reached the capital, his mother also passed away."

Young Li Yu and his sister, who was not even five years old, knelt in the ancestral hall to observe mourning. If his father had not begged me, their Li family would have been wiped out.

Originally, I didn't want to get involved in these things, but since they had already asked, I decided to help. At that time, I sat outside the ancestral hall with some people and watched them finish their mourning period.

That's why those collateral branches didn't succeed and didn't manage to divide up the Li family of Dujing.

But I never expected that Li Yu would be just like his father, joining the army and going to the battlefield. This was something I never thought possible. The kid was a bit short and thin, and he never had much muscle. I was really afraid that he would die on the battlefield.

But unexpectedly, he really was exactly like his father, brave and skilled in battle, capable of taking on a thousand men single-handedly. He rose straight to the position of General of the Cavalry!

As he spoke, Ji Xia's expression shifted from reminiscence to regret, and then to triumphant description of Li Yu's numerous military achievements. It was as if Li Yu was a child he had raised; indeed, Li Yu had been mentored by Ji Xia.

Is Ji Xia running a kindergarten or an orphanage? An Ge was a little confused; just how many people had Ji Xia helped?

"Aren't you going a bit off-topic? My question was whether there are any female generals on this western border?"

"No! I do know a thing or two about the people the Second Prince likes."

Ji Xia also seized on another topic from the original question, which piqued An Ge's interest. Butler Wang wisely withdrew, and had someone bring a pot of tea, instructing him to leave quickly after the tea was served.

"This Second Prince Ming Kang seems a bit gay. I've never seen him get very close to women, but he often travels and associates with men."

Li Yu was one of them, but Li Yu didn't really want to talk to Ming Kang, which could be interpreted as Ming Kang trying to get close to Li Yu but getting cold shoulders.

After saying that, Ji Xia started laughing.

"They studied together at the Ji family mansion when they were young. Mingkang was always in poor health, but he liked to follow Li Yu around. Li Yu was a child who was very diligent in exercising."

Perhaps it was to inherit his father's armor! He often trained alone for a long time, and seeing how he did it, I would sometimes teach him a thing or two.

He seemed to be enjoying his studies, while Ming Kang, standing beside him, was like a little girl looking at her senior, holding an umbrella in the sun and staring straight at Li Yu.

That's when I started to kowtow. Back then, I spent every day in guilt. They were just kids! Their friendship was pure and innocent. If I hadn't hypnotized myself like this, I would have died of guilt long ago.

But later I found out that when they were young, Mingkang's eyes were not innocent at all. Based on my many years of experience as a female fan of BL, this is true!

Li Yu was naturally immersed in his training and didn't quite understand Ming Kang's feelings. Even after Li Yu went to the battlefield, Ming Kang hadn't confessed his love.

Ji Xia's description of this relationship was also tinged with her own personality, a kind of beautiful, filtered view. But at this moment, An Ge raised a question.

"Ming Kang is in love with a girl, and a female general at that! Doesn't this Li Yu seem a bit gender-neutral?"

"Don't think like that. The Li family in Dujing is a large and powerful family. If they don't want their family fortune to be divided up by their maternal relatives, they naturally want a boy to inherit the family property. This gender is publicly known!"

This is one of the reasons why I absolutely must implement the 'Wang Mang Plan'. Now, Li Yu's younger sister, Li Yue'er, is not a child who needs to be protected under her brother's wings. She is one of the richest young ladies in the capital!

This was also arranged directly by Li Yu. Now, Li Yue'er is in full control of the Li family, and she makes all the decisions, both inside and out.

This isn't the older brother relinquishing control to his younger sister; it's the older sister's expectation that her younger sister will be able to stand on her own.

At this point, An Ge immediately understood that Li Yu was that woman! The fact that she was a female general was something that could not be made public, but the general's strength still existed, regardless of her gender.

She doesn't care about personal feelings; she needs to dedicate herself to the peace and stability of the nation. Without gender discrimination or limitations, equality for all is achievable to a certain extent.

But such thinking is too idealistic. How many years would it take to eliminate such ideological differences? Li Yu's situation is very difficult. In order to fight like a man and defend her country like her father, she has to bear far too much pressure and take far too many risks!

The slightest slackening would be an insult to his father's reputation, and he would be told, "If you knew this would happen, you shouldn't have come to embarrass your father in the first place." The slightest carelessness, and his identity would be discovered, leading to being drowned in the spittle of public opinion.

"The bigger picture has been achieved!"

An Ge was very impressed with this, but she was also thinking about something else. The war in the west would end soon, but she didn't know how soon. She was looking forward to the next development of the story. If the script didn't need to be unlocked step by step, she would definitely have finished reading it in one night!

It was getting dark outside, and Butler Wang was already waiting not far from the door. Ji Xia opened the door and went out, with An Ge following behind.

"Old Wang, what are we having for dinner tonight?"

"The kitchen has prepared some light food, some plain porridge and vegetables. Would Mr. Ji like something else?"

"No need for that, this will do! Ange, what would you like to eat?"

Ji Xia thought dinner was pretty good. She had indeed been eating a bit too much oily food lately, so something light was just right.

"I'm fine with anything, these are all I need."