Fairy, don't try to mess with my filial piety

Wen Yao'er was puzzled. She muttered, "Mother, why are you covering my eyes? Why isn't my brother in the bathtub? Has he left?"

Princess Jing'an looked away and lowered her head, saying, "Wu Ji, I've put your clothes here. They're all thick base layers. Let the maid help wash your warrior robe first."

Chu Wuji was also embarrassed, he nodded and said: "Okay."

After a while, Chu Wuji put on his clothes and went to find Princess Jing'an to express his gratitude.

The intellectual beauty exuding a mature charm was holding the letter, browsing the last part anxiously, and a sigh escaped from her crimson lips.

Chu Wuji noticed the princess's worried look and asked:

"Princess, what happened? Oh, I came to thank you for the clothes you gave me."

Princess Jing'an had already put the little accident that had just happened behind her. With the matter of the letter weighing on her mind, how could she have the mood to think about anything else?

"There's no need to express your gratitude. You are now a member of the palace. If you need anything in the future, just ask the maid."

Chu Wuji nodded, accepted the kindness, and asked:

"What was mentioned in the letter? Your expression is a little grim, Princess."

Princess Jing'an didn't want him to know, but she had just said "You are also from the palace", so she did not hide it and said:

"That's perfect. Wuji, can you help me see why these strange measures are being taken?"

Chu Wuji took the letter and read its contents carefully. The Fox Goddess turned back into a fox, lay on his shoulder, and read the contents of the letter together.

The fox girl murmured quietly, "Why does it sound like a confession? Did anyone commit a crime?"

This first measure mentioned that King Jing'an discovered that Yunze Township of Xiaoze State was adjacent to the border of Lihuo State and was in internal chaos. The local people were extremely dissatisfied with the government of Xiaoze State. He could instigate a rebellion, send troops to occupy it as territory, expand the territory, and the soil there was suitable for farming and could be developed into grain land.

Prince Jing'an wanted to occupy this area as his own fiefdom.

Chu Wuji complained in his heart: "Few of the people in Yunze Township are selected normally. Try to win over these guys and make them rebel. Don't let them cause trouble in the Lihuo Kingdom!"

The second measure was about recruiting soldiers. Prince Jing'an did not have his own fiefdom and could not afford much money. He could only rely on the salaries of the princes and borrow from the Wen family. In order to accomplish great things with little money, he recruited some strange people who knew some magic, and also bought some strange weapons and evil objects from outside.

This was something Prince Jing'an learned secretly after visiting Jieshi City. He found that there was no rush to pay the salaries of these extraordinary people, so he could learn from the Jieshi City Lord and make big promises, saying that the annual salary was very high, but only pay it once a year.

In the early stage, he recruited several extraordinary people and said that he would try out their abilities first, but delayed paying them. Then, he relied on their information channels to contact more extraordinary people and slowly recruited them.

Chu Wuji exclaimed, "That's amazing! Prince Jing'an, you've overlooked one thing. The Lord of Jieshi City dares to pay out food and wages once a year because he has a dragon to intimidate his retainers. What can you, Prince Jing'an, use to justify your promises?"

It is easy to understand how to purchase strange weapons and evil objects. He would just go among the people and inquire about which places had some evil objects. Then King Jing'an would ask someone to buy them at a low price and keep them for use as "bombs" in the future.

"It turns out that the demon drum from Yunhe Town was purchased by Prince Jing'an. When it passed through this area of ​​the capital, it was confiscated by Yunhe Town officials."

It was probably after the incident in Yunhe Town that the Holy Queen Lihuo sent people to investigate, and accidentally discovered the little tricks of Prince Jing'an.

Chu Wuji roughly understood the situation and comforted him:

"Princess, you don't have to worry. The Queen is not too angry about this matter and will not implicate you and Yao'er."

"Why?"

Princess Jing'an didn't understand. In her opinion, this was basically a major event at the level of rebellion.

"Prince Jing'an's intention is to gain power, but he does so by expanding territory, not by inciting rebellion. However, his strategies are a bit... too random, like they were made on the spur of the moment."

Chu Wuji smiled gently.

Prince Jing'an's measures were quite tortuous.

At first glance, he seemed to be seeking power and occupying fiefdoms, but in fact he wanted to expand his territory and gain merit, but his actions caused trouble for the Lihuo Kingdom.

When the time comes, the recruited retainers will not be able to get their wages and food, and they will rebel and kill people. The people of Lihuo Country will suffer.

He purchased evil things at random, and it was the people of Lihuo Country who suffered.

Princess Jing'an was stunned, finally understanding the whole situation. "This is just playing house! Wuji, I think you've been to Yunze Township? Isn't it said to be a mess there?"

"It's quite a mess, almost like an open-air prison. Even the officials of Yunze Country think it's unlucky. It's not a big place, just a larger village."

"His so-called enfeoffment and meritorious service means occupying a village and becoming the village chief?!"

Princess Jing'an bit her lips with her silver teeth, feeling that she had lost all her face.

Chu Wuji comforted him, "Prince Jing'an must have some tricks in mind. Let me analyze it..."

Chu Wuji still remembers that when he first entered Sanquanwei, he learned from the locals that the area was a relatively neutral area.

The border of a country cannot be managed by simply erecting a monument. To do that, soldiers must be stationed there to guard it. However, it is difficult to station soldiers and cultivate land around Sanquanwei, so it is difficult to manage that area.

The areas around here are all areas in Lihuo that are not under the jurisdiction of a king, so there is no need to worry about offending one's own king or prince.

If Prince Jing'an really succeeds in conquering Xia Yunze Township, then this large area with unclear ownership can be directly incorporated into Prince Jing'an's fiefdom.

This is equivalent to occupying a village or town and obtaining a large piece of land.

Pure cost-effectiveness, spend little money to achieve big things.

This has definitely been studied specifically.

It’s just that Prince Jing’an only studied the territorial interests and did not study anything more in-depth.

That area is a remote and desolate wilderness that is difficult to develop. The only truly useful place is Yunze Township.

It would be difficult for the army in Lihuo to support him, but it would be easy for the army in Xiaoze to take over Yunze Township. By then, all the wealth of King Jing'an would be wasted there, and he might even help Xiaoze to govern Yunze Township.

When the governance is successful one day, we can simply send troops to drive him away and easily achieve the governance results of King Jing'an (provided that he can govern well).

Princess Jing'an finally understood everything. She said dully:

"In other words, this plan will only cause trouble for the people of Lihuo Nation, and there's no possibility of expanding the territory. Even if there is, it will only be a village chief and temporary prison management?"

Chu Wuji nodded heavily and said seriously:

"Yes, the Holy Empress most likely saw through this and didn't regard Prince Jing'an as a rebel, but only as a foolish man causing trouble, so she asked Empress Wen to write a letter to remind him.

The Holy Queen has no intention of blaming you, Princess, so you can rest assured!"

Princess Jing'an was speechless. Why did she feel that this was even more embarrassing?

It's almost Chinese New Year, and there will be all kinds of banquets and gatherings. How will the other noble ladies view her and Yao'er?!

Princess Jing'an was a little tired. She sighed and said:

"Okay, Wuji, you're tired from practicing just now, go and have a good rest first. If Yao'er bothers you, just call her to come to me."

She could already think of how to explain the situation to the Queen when she entered the palace.

Good news: it was a false alarm, it wasn't a big deal at all!

Bad news: We've lost all our face! It's even more shameful than having our property confiscated and our heads executed for our ambitions!

The Fox Goddess burst into laughter, very happy:

"How can there be a follow-up to the Yunze Township incident? How can one seek power in this way? Rebellion and power seeking is a serious matter, there is no room for clever tricks!"

Chu Wuji stuffed his fingers into the mouth of the Fox Goddess to prevent the princess from hearing his laughter. He couldn't think of any words of comfort and planned to take Yao'er to the old house to let the princess calm down alone for a while.

"By the way, Princess, is there any news about Prince Jing'an?"

"Oh, no, I haven't even received a letter. I don't know when he will come back. I'll try to persuade him!"

"Then I'll take Yaoer to walk the cat. Yaoer happened to say she wanted to leave the cat with me."

*

Within Shenxiao Sect,

Yun Qingying was in the mission hall, checking whether there were any suitable tasks.

What she wanted to find was a task like finding seasonal spiritual energy. Some of her fellow disciples passed by a place and sensed the breath of seasonal spiritual energy, but they were too lazy to look for it, so they would go back to the sect and tell their fellow disciples to go and find it.

As I was searching, a task card tied with a red rope appeared.

This is a request for help from the kings and nobles in the secular kingdom. When they encounter danger from monsters, they will burn a stick of Shenxiao Sect's incense, and then they can send a message for help.

The expressionless and cold girl took the task card. The red rope turned into a red figure. The woman was wearing a blood-red wedding dress, with empty feet and two red embroidered shoes in her hands.

There is an inexplicable strange smell.

This woman had just killed a soldier and was extremely vicious, far more vicious than an ordinary ghost.

This is the scene captured when the incense for help was burning, indicating that a ghost in wedding clothes appeared nearby.

Yun Qingying glanced at the location and murmured:

"It's near the official road to the Fire Nation, not too far from the capital. There's seasonal spiritual energy nearby... and I can also go see that guy."

Chapter 132: Prince Jing’an wouldn’t die on the way, right?

After Chu Wuzhi had dinner at Prince Jing'an's Mansion, he took the little girl to the old house, even if it meant spending the night.

Because the Fox Goddess will not help him to recuperate at the moment, so as not to consume his energy and delay the time for the recovery of his energy and blood, so there is no need to worry about Xiao Yao'er being "in the way" nearby.

After putting all the cats in the old house, Wen Yaoer begged Chu Wuzhi to take her out shopping and play.

Chu Wuzhi thought about it and felt that the little girl was probably not allowed to go out after dark on weekdays. Rich families have their own rules. She probably had long been fascinated by the acrobatics in the night market.

Then he thought that the Fox Goddess might also want to watch the fun, so he agreed.

"Of course you can, but Yao'er, you can't be naughty. You are not allowed to wander around willfully. You must stay by my side."

"Uh-huh!"

The girl nodded repeatedly, her round eyes blinking cleverly, and took the initiative to say:

"To prevent Yao'er from running around, brother, can you hold me?"

The Fox Goddess looked at the little girl with a smile and said, "Wu Ji, you should learn from this girl and learn to be more proactive!"

Chu Wuji thought about it and realized that this little princess was indeed very good at pleasing adults, but how could one learn to take the initiative from a girl?

He can't ask for a hug like Wen Yaoer, right?

Chu Wuji didn't bother to think about it. He picked up the girl and held her in his arms, while the Fox Goddess continued to sit firmly on Chu Wuji's shoulder.

The nightlife in Lihuo Capital is quite good. You can see fire-breathing and monkey-playing acrobatics, as well as performances of operas and dances.

Although it is cold in winter, there are still many people visiting.

As the end of the year approaches, many people's work becomes less busy, giving them some free time to stroll around.

Along the way, I also met many children from wealthy families, who sneaked out in groups of three or five. They can be said to be the main consumer group in the night market.

They have a lot of money and don't bargain. They just buy those useless new gadgets and everyone has to have one.

Chu Wuji was a little surprised. He thought these wealthy children really stayed indoors. He asked Yao'er:

"Do they sneak out often?"

Wen Yaoer was like a little female cat, looking at the lively scene around her excitedly. When the cold wind blew, she quickly snuggled into the man's warm embrace, her smooth little face pressed against Chu Wuzhi's neck, feeling that he was particularly warm.

"Well, many of them escaped by climbing over the wall and playing until dawn before returning to their homes. They would nap in the academy during the day."

"Are you not afraid of running into bad guys?"

"The capital is quite peaceful. If there was a fight, they wouldn't have sneaked out to play and hide for a few days."

"So that's it."

Chu Wuji thought that the father was extremely strict, but after thinking about it, it was normal. A child who was born with no worries about food and clothing would naturally want to go out and play at this age. The father who was in charge of the family rules would not really beat him to death.

That's the nature of children.

"Yao'er, why haven't you ever sneaked out to play at night?"

"Yao'er, there's no one to take care of her. Girls of my age all have brothers who take them out to play. I once asked Sister Que to secretly take me for a short stroll, and then we went back. Sister Que has to be a guard during the day, so she's very tired!"

"Yao'er is so well-behaved!" Chu Wuzhi seemed to know why this girl was so clingy to him.

He thought of the girl from the Yun family again and felt that it was even more difficult. After all, Yao'er grew up under the care of a group of elders and they had harmonious relationships.

It is normal for Yun Qingying to become numb and indifferent due to the distorted environment she grew up in.

Chu Wuzhi walked around for a while and saw that the little princess kept covering her ears to keep warm, and her ears hurt from the evening breeze, so he bought her an orange cat-style tiger-head hat and a string of candied haws.

Chu Wuzhi took the candied haws and fed them to Xiao Yaoer, and sometimes he would secretly give a bite to the Sky Fox Queen when she wasn't paying attention.

"Brother, why are the candied haws gone so quickly?" The girl was surprised. She ate very slowly and it felt like she hadn't eaten many.

"Because I stole it." Chu Wuji had no choice but to admit it.