On the ninety-second day of the great turmoil, the fall of Tiger Prison Pass, the defeat and retreat of the Eldest Princess to the Yao River, and the news of the Desolate Kingdom’s army advancing deep into the Great Song reached the Capital, causing a shock to the Imperial Court, with civil and military officials in an uproar.

Previous disturbances in the Southwest, the rebellion in Nanyang, and the uprising of the Eighteen Lords were considered internal strife.

But the invasion of the Desolate Kingdom is an external invasion, which carries a completely different meaning.

If the Desolate Kingdom were to invade, they would become subjects of a fallen nation.

They panicked, utterly panicked.

Now that rebellions are breaking out all over the country, troops are needed to suppress the rebellions. Just a few days ago, the Eighteen Lords’ uprising was suppressed, resulting in heavy losses. Now, with the Desolate Kingdom’s massive invasion and even the Eldest Princess’s Celestial Dragon Army unable to press back, how should they deal with this?

In the early court session, they quarreled until they were red in the face.

"I said it before, when the Desolate Kingdom attacked Tiger Prison Pass, reinforcements should have been sent. Now the Tiger Prison Pass is lost, and the Desolate Kingdom’s army is galloping through our territory."

Before Tiger Prison Pass fell, the Imperial Court received news of the Desolate Kingdom attacking it, but at that time, the country was busy suppressing rebellions and couldn’t spare attention.

"How to send troops? Where are the soldiers? The counties north of the Yao River have long stopped responding to the court’s orders. Even if troops are dispatched, there’s no guarantee they’ll reach Tiger Prison Pass."

"What do we do now? Our army has just been battered and hasn’t had time to rest, how can we confront the Desolate Kingdom’s army?"

"Troops must be dispatched immediately to support them. Even though Tiger Prison Pass is lost, the Eldest Princess’s Celestial Dragon Army is still there. We must preserve the Eldest Princess’s Celestial Dragon Army, as only by maintaining our living forces can we resist the Desolate Kingdom."

"Who will go? You? If troops are sent, what about the Capital?"

"You... you aggravate this old man..."

"..."

The Desolate Kingdom’s attack made the ministers panic, even more so than when the Eighteen Lords made their assault.

After all, if the Eighteen Lords reached the Capital, Zhao Jiang, given his ambition, would definitely want to control the court and need the support of the nobility.

Under such circumstances, Zhao Jiang wouldn’t slaughter the ministers.

But the Desolate Kingdom is different. Every time they invade the frontier, they plunder before they even establish stability, so they don’t need the foundation of the Great Song, and the ministers lose their value.

Then it would truly be a case of being at the mercy of others.

"Silence!"

"Silence——"

The eunuch waiting at the side above looked at Zhao Chong, hearing his annoyance, and immediately raised his voice, shouting twice.

The uproar in the court quieted down a bit.

Then one by one, they looked towards Xiao Yunqi at the front.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Yunqi said, "Let’s discuss when General Huangfu returns."

Currently, there are not enough forces in the Capital because if reinforcements are dispatched, the forces should certainly not be less than a hundred thousand, otherwise, there’s no need for support.

These words were obviously not what the ministers wanted to hear; the Desolate Kingdom had already advanced into their territory, could this wait? Immediate counterattack should be launched.

But now the entire court was under Xiao Yunqi’s command, and since he said so, what could the ministers do?

Soon, the court session ended.

From start to finish, Chen Mo did not say a word.

He did not wish to create unforeseen variables, for fear of hindering his assignment to Nanyang. Only in Nanyang could he truly be far from the Emperor’s reach and have free rein.

At that time, even if it came to a fallout with Xiao Yunqi, he would be able to deal with it.

...

On the other side, to Hu Mei’Er, the news of the large-scale invasion by the Desolate Kingdom was also grave, causing her face to darken.

Because the Desolate Kingdom’s invasion would disrupt all her plans, making the restoration of Nan Zhou even more of an impossibility.

"Inform Die Wu, give her two more days, if she still hasn’t found any clues about the Red Sun Bell, have her withdraw." With no results from the Chen Mansion for a long time, Hu Mei’Er was a bit worried. Could it be that Chen Mo has already noticed a trace of Die Wu’s trail, otherwise, why else would there be no clues?

"Understood." A Black Shadow retreated from behind the screen.

...

After returning from the Imperial Palace, Chen Mo did not go out, thinking that he hadn’t yet attended to Miaozhen, so he headed towards her room. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

As a result, upon entering, Luo Zhen, Zhao Jiangning, and Yi Yao were playing mahjong in her room.

This surprised Chen Mo: "How did you all end up playing cards in Miaozhen’s room?"

Luo Zhen tilted her head slightly and replied, "Wanqiu, Ruoqing sis, Ripple, and Chun Lan are playing another game in Wanqiu’s room."

The ladies in the mansion now were almost enough to set up three tables of card games.

Chen Mo nodded, then came over and picked up Xu Miaozhen, saying to the three: "I need Miaozhen for something, can you play three-person mahjong? Or perhaps ask Qiu Lan to fill in."

Saying this, he placed Xu Miaozhen on the bed, and despite Luo Zhen and the others being next to them, he removed Miaozhen’s embroidered shoes and began to flirt.

This made Miaozhen very embarrassed: "The lady... they’re still here?"

Xu Miaozhen had become accustomed to calling Luo Zhen the lady.

"It’s alright, we’ll do our thing." Chen Mo undid Miaozhen’s collar and buried himself in the task.

This caused Luo Zhen and the other two to blush.

Later on, the three also joined in.

...

In Ye Wanqiu’s room, the continuous clacking of bamboo tiles could be heard, while Chun Lan, who was more daring, looked at Jiang Ruoqing across the table and said while playing cards, "Ruoqing sis, how do you get along with the lady now?"

This was a very awkward question.

But Ye Wanqiu and Ripple both perked up their ears out of curiosity about such matters.

"Just get along as we should." Jiang Ruoqing said, not directly addressing the question.

"Have you ever kept company with the master together with the lady before, Ruoqing sis?" Chun Lan asked with a curious gaze directed at Jiang Ruoqing.

"No." Jiang Ruoqing said without blinking and then asked back: "What about you, Xia Lan, Qiu Lan, and Dong Lan?"

Chun Lan, unlike Jiang Ruoqing, wasn’t as good at hiding her emotions, and her face immediately turned red.

It was self-evident.

Ye Wanqiu and Ripple had wide-eyed amazement.

This crazy?!

Jiang Ruoqing glanced at Ye Wanqiu and Ripple: "You both have been toyed with by him, haven’t you?"

Both girls blushed and said nothing.

"South Wind." Jiang Ruoqing played a tile and then asked, "Are there any sisters in the back courtyard who are still... untouched?"

"Su Mu is." Chun Lan said: "As for Zhu Ying and Bu Qingping, they should be too, but the master said he doesn’t want to take them in."

Chun Lan was bold enough to say anything.

This made Jiang Ruoqing open her mouth slightly; was she always so straightforward, not fearing to say anything?

She didn’t ask any more questions, for fear of learning something earth-shattering.

But just because Jiang Ruoqing stopped asking didn’t mean Chun Lan would stop questioning.

"Ruoqing sis, I heard that previously a Wu Family’s legitimate daughter went to Qinyang County to personally see the master?"

Jiang Ruoqing nodded: "What’s wrong?"

"Jiangnan is thousands of miles away from Qinyang County. For the Wu Family’s legitimate daughter to travel thousands of miles to Qinyang County to see the master, how much must she like him? They seem not to have met before, right?"