They had exchanged blows at the martial arts arena, and Chen Mo’s treat was simply too generous. One by one, they raised their cups, chatting about everything under the sun, and became fast friends.

"Brother Chen, I heard you’re still unmarried. I have a cousin who is as beautiful as a flower. Do you want me to introduce her to you?" Li Weiqiu, with a playful wink, placed his arm around Chen Mo’s shoulder and said.

"Brother Li, you should stop trying to set Brother Chen up. He even turned down the Wu family’s legitimate daughter, how could he be interested in your cousin? Maybe she’ll be suitable as a concubine." Whether truly drunk or pretending, Zhang Lie wasn’t afraid of whether this would anger Li Weiqiu and said it outright.

"From what I understand, Brother Chen already has quite a few concubines. Your cousin wouldn’t make much of a difference, better introduce her to me." Wang Kai jeeringly leaned in front of Li Weiqiu, chiming in.

"Get lost, look at your plump face. Do you think my cousin would be interested in you?" Li Weiqiu said with disdain, then turned to Chen Mo to discuss the real topic: "Brother Chen, will Anyang send troops to support the Eldest Princess and stop the Desolate Kingdom from moving south?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment and said, "They probably will, but there aren’t many troops in the Capital right now. We’ll have to wait for General Huangfu and other troops to return to the Capital before taking action."

"Huh?" Zhang Lie was surprised, "Then when will that be?"

Chen Mo shook his head. Although there was a timeline in the simulation, he did not disclose it.

"Then does Anyang have any plans to send you, Brother Chen, for support?" Li Weiqiu seemed a bit excited.

After all, now that he had pledged his allegiance to him, only if Chen Mo went would they be able to go to the battlefield, kill enemies, and build their careers.

Chen Mo knew that was their real intention, so he needed to assure them, "Don’t worry, we’ll definitely have a role to play in this northern expedition."

"That’s good to hear." Li Weiqiu breathed a sigh of relief, then raised his glass and clinked it with Chen Mo’s, smiling: "Let’s drink, let’s drink! Tonight, we don’t go home until we’re drunk."

"Let’s drink!"

...

By the end of the banquet, it was already the latter part of the night.

After drinking so much, they were full, slightly tipsy, but not completely drunk.

Thinking about heading to Nanyang for an appointment the day after tomorrow, Chen Mo’s mind involuntarily conjured the face of Xiao Yunxi.

This time it was for an appointment, akin to settling down in Nanyang; coming back, who knows when that would be.

Chen Mo changed direction, fueled by alcohol, heading towards the Imperial Palace.

...

In the latter half of the night, the palace gates were tightly shut. Unless it was an urgent matter, no one was allowed to enter or leave.

But for Chen Mo, it was a piece of cake. He scaled the palace walls with ease.

Due to Zhao Ji’s escape and the waning power of the throne, except for Weiyang Palace and Taihe Palace, which were heavily guarded, there weren’t many patrols elsewhere in the palace.

Moreover, the strictness of Weiyang Palace and Taihe Palace was no match to when Zhao Ji was in power.

Chen Mo easily snuck into Xiao Yunxi’s sleeping quarters.

At this time, Xiao Yunxi had already fallen asleep, with only two lights still shining outside the hall, casting the outer hall in a dim glow.

But these had no effect on Chen Mo.

He approached the inner chamber, looking at a voluptuous figure lying sideways on the soft couch, with only a thin blanket covering her waist, her alluring hips directly facing Chen Mo.

Chen Mo quietly approached. Whether due to drunkenness, or emboldened by alcohol, he did not wake Xiao Yunxi.

Instead, he removed his shoes and climbed into bed, hugging her from behind.

Then gently peeled off her shell, moved away the thin blanket covering her waist, and finally...

...

In Xiao Yunxi’s dream, she was originally in a sea of flowers, freely chasing butterflies, when suddenly she was tripped by something underfoot, causing her to fall into the flower bed. When she got up, Chen Mo had somehow appeared before her.

Before Xiao Yunxi could greet him, Chen Mo hugged her and kissed her cherry lips.

Xiao Yunxi had little resistance to him, and with this kiss, her body went soft, and she enthusiastically responded.

The two fell into the flower bed, and everything afterward happened naturally.

But gradually, she found something odd, this dream seemed too real, even those peculiar feelings.

Not only that, she felt her body getting hotter, so hot that she couldn’t help wanting to scream.

Then, she woke up.

But quickly, her expression changed, just about to scream, her mouth was covered.

"Mmm mmm..."

"Yunxi, you’re awake? It’s me," said Chen Mo.

Xiao Yunxi smelled the strong scent of alcohol, and after realizing it was Chen Mo, she breathed a sigh of relief, but soon grew both angry and annoyed.

This scoundrel actually took advantage of her while she was asleep...

She wanted to resist, but her body’s instincts drove her to hold tightly onto the blanket beside her.

Seeing her calm down, Chen Mo also removed his hand, then let her lie down...

...

...

Not far away in a room, Xiao Qing’Er finished her cultivation for the evening, planning to stroll around the Empress Dowager’s quarters before going to sleep.

Upon reaching the outside of the quarters, Xiao Qing’Er heard strange noises coming from within, making her curious.

She perked up her ears, listening intently, discovering it was the Empress Dowager’s voice, her expression changed drastically, she hurried in to check.

Upon lifting the bead curtain, Xiao Qing’Er was thunderstruck, covering her mouth in shock.

The scene before her left her immobilized.

But the noise of the bead curtain being lifted was heard by both Chen Mo and Xiao Yunqi.

Chen Mo turned around.

In the instant their eyes met, both saw the disbelief in the other’s eyes.

At this moment, Xiao Qing’Er also realized, but hadn’t fully reacted. She didn’t know that Chen Mo and the Empress Dowager were mutually consented, thinking Chen Mo was unilaterally harassing the Empress Dowager. She immediately yelled, rushing forward: "Stop, you scoundrel, let go of the Empress Dowager."

This shout stunned both Chen Mo and Xiao Yunxi.

Fortunately, Chen Mo responded first, grabbing a nearby blanket and covering Xiao Yunxi, swiftly wrapping himself in the robe he had taken off earlier.

At this moment, Xiao Qing’Er was also in front of Chen Mo, throwing a punch at him.

But this move, in Chen Mo’s eyes, seemed as slow as a turtle. He countered by grabbing Xiao Qing’Er’s wrist, pinning her on the bed, and was about to silence her when Xiao Yunxi stopped him: "Stop, don’t..."

"But she..." Seeing Xiao Qing’Er still resisting, Chen Mo thought he couldn’t leave any witnesses.

"No, she’s my person, she wouldn’t speak of this."

Though she said so, Xiao Yunxi was still troubled by this incident being discovered by Xiao Qing’Er, finding it hard to accept.

She regretted deeply, wishing she hadn’t been so loud earlier.

She thought everyone was asleep, so let herself go a little.