But his sister’s expression made Quan Qiyang mistakenly think she was too shy to speak,

thinking that his sister really got along well with the lord!

Quan Qiyang’s heart trembled, feeling immensely shocked, but he had no intention of opposing it.

At least it’s better than the Imperial Palace.

Since his sister entered the palace three years ago, she has never received the Emperor’s favor. If she relied on her brother, she might still be bullied in the palace.

Moreover, the Royal Family is cold and ungrateful.

It would be better for his sister to be with the lord than to be a consort in the palace.

Finally, if his sister’s identity were exposed, the lord’s current status and position could provide protection.

Although the lord has many women, he cannot have more than the Emperor. Even if his sister is not favored by him, at least she would have her turn once a month.

Having thought these through, Quan Qiyang calmly said, "Sister, have you been happy these days?"

Qi Nichang nodded, with a smile appearing on her face, and said softly, "Quite happy, they all take good care of me."

These words from Qi Nichang were not false.

Upon hearing this, Quan Qiyang’s suspicions were somewhat confirmed. After a dry cough, he said, "Now that you are no longer a consort of the Imperial Palace, my sister, you are still young. If there’s someone you fancy, just tell your brother. No matter who it is, your brother will not oppose."

Quan Qiyang was expressing his consent for his sister to be with the lord.

"Brother, what are you talking about?" Qi Nichang’s face turned red, then she sighed, "In my lifetime, I don’t wish to remarry, as it would only burden the other party."

"What are you saying?" Quan Qiyang wanted to say no need to fear burdens with the lord, but directly pointing it out would embarrass his sister, so he didn’t. Instead, he said,

"Sister, you are in Nanyang now, far from the Emperor’s reach, what burden? If you have someone you care about, just tell your brother, don’t be afraid."

"Brother, really, there’s none." Qi Nichang said sweetly.

Seeing his sister too shy to speak, Quan Qiyang sighed and moved on to official matters:

"Sister, tomorrow I will accompany the lord back to the Capital for a while. While I’m away, stay with Consort Jing and them, it’ll be safer."

"Back to the Capital?" Qi Nichang was surprised and asked, "Is there anything urgent in the Capital?"

"The lord is returning to the Capital to discuss a plan to quell bandits with the Duke of Anyang, I reckon there will be another war." Quan Qiyang explained.

"Then will you also have to go to the front lines?" Qi Nichang started to worry.

"I don’t know either." Quan Qiyang shook his head, then said, "However, I am in charge of the Mo Bing Headquarters, which gathers intelligence, so I probably won’t be going to the front lines. But if the situation becomes critical, I’ll still have to help."

"Then, brother, be careful about everything when you return to the Capital."

"Understood."

Quan Qiyang left altogether, quietly leaving the Glazed Bead Bracelet in its original place before leaving.

When Qi Nichang sewed for a while and wanted to rest, she happened to see the dropped Glazed Bead Bracelet not far away, picked it up, and was taken aback: "Isn’t this Wanqiu’s thing, how did it end up here?"

"Mo Lang?! It seems to be something dear to Wanqiu, she must be anxious now..."

"I’ll return it to her tomorrow."

...

On the other side.

Ye Wanqiu searched thoroughly in the backyard and room but couldn’t find that string of Glazed Beads.

The string of Glazed Beads was given to her by Chen Mo, holding great significance. Ye Wanqiu had also carved the words "Mo Lang" on one bead, her favorite ornament, which she carried with her day and night, never leaving it.

Now that it was lost, Ye Wanqiu was in a bad mood.

But as the lord was about to depart the next day, Ye Wanqiu didn’t make a fuss, lest it make the lord overthink, disturbing his mood for departure.

Thinking carefully, she had gone to Consort Yu’s place today, maybe it was lost at Qi Mansion, she must go find it tomorrow.

...

The next day.

At the drill ground, although the snow had stopped, the temperature had not dropped, and the accumulated snow from the past days had not melted, covered everywhere in a blanket of white snow.

Twenty thousand soldiers stood on the drill ground, extending endlessly, with stern faces and imposing auras.

This army of twenty thousand were all martial artists, the elites under Chen Mo’s command.

Although they hadn’t cultivated for long, their formation stood extremely orderly, and the cooperation between the battle arrays was nearly perfect, only lacking real combat experience.

Of course, they were by no means comparable to those seasoned veterans of the Imperial Guard.

Chen Mo stepped forward and waved his hand, as drumbeats thundered and command flags waved.

As it wasn’t some kind of rally assembly, Chen Mo had nothing much to say, so he simply shouted, "Advance!"

Twenty thousand troops, numerous yet limited, moved along the main road, stretching out for miles, a sea of bobbing heads.

Chen Mo had been gone from Nanyang County for only a day.

Someone in the Capital received the news.

"Your Highness, Chen Mo returned with troops from Nanyang." Barrier Dance knelt on one knee in front of Hu Mei’Er.

On the long table, a chessboard lay, black and white pieces, Hu Mei’Er playing alone, paused her hand upon Barrier Dance’s words, looked up, and said, "Chen Mo came back from Nanyang? And brought troops? What does he intend to do?"

"According to our intelligence, he returned with troops seemingly to have detailed discussions with Xiao Yunqi regarding the deployment against King Yan." Barrier Dance explained.

"Does detailed discussion require returning with troops? Wouldn’t it suffice for him alone to return? After all, he would have to go out again later. Isn’t this redundant?" Hu Mei’Er frowned slightly.

"I don’t know." Barrier Dance speculated, "Your Highness, could it be related to military supplies? Nanyang County is dirt poor; Chen Mo purchased provisions with his own money, and Xiao Yunqi hasn’t allocated any funds to him. Now, asking him to campaign against King Yan without offering anything... Could it be that he returned to demand supplies from Xiao Yunqi?"

"Are you suggesting he brought troops back to the Capital to force Xiao Yunqi to provide provisions?" Hu Mei’Er picked up a black piece, laughing, "Such boldness aligns with his ways."

A stone struck the board with a sound.

"But I feel it’s not that simple." Hu Mei’Er straightened her back and turned around, standing with hands behind her back. Moments later, she turned back, "Have someone closely monitor him; we mustn’t let this boy disrupt our entire plan."

"Understood."

...

Witch Mansion.

After the military coup, the Xiao Family had become overwhelmingly dominant, and Xiao Yunqi’s greedy demeanor, along with his wanton slaughter of ministers, left other major families dissatisfied. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Coupled with the matter of Chen Mo, Xiao Yunqi’s evasiveness left Wu Lu very displeased.

In his view, the reason Chen Mo repeatedly declined marriage to Xin’Er must have been due to Xiao Yunqi’s interference.

Otherwise, Wu Lu couldn’t fathom any reason for Chen Mo to reject the Wu Family.

Xin’Er had the family background, the figure, the looks, everything that perfectly matched Chen Mo.

As for the supposed object of his affection, Wu Lu still regarded it as an excuse.

Previously, due to the Xiao Family’s dominant power, the Wu Family could only grudgingly endure.

Now, with his own people being imprisoned and insecurity rampant, Wu Lu felt that the opportunity had arrived.