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"Has the Prefectural Governor not yet returned?"

In Lyuzhou, Vice Commander Wu You sat in the main hall, looking at the woman draped in garish clothes lounging lazily before him, his expression exceedingly dark!

He had thought of many ways to deal with Chen Qing’s attempts to fend him off, thought of how to use righteousness to force Hong Lie to join him in demanding the return of military authority from Chen Qing, but he had never anticipated that Chen Qing would not show his face at all!

The key issue wasn’t merely his absence; he could just take over by force if necessary, but the current situation in Lyuzhou was truly peculiar, and he really felt a bit apprehensive about making a move!

First off, this woman ostensibly responsible for Lyuzhou’s military affairs, was a very difficult existence to handle.

The Shen Family...

They have always been an exceedingly unique presence in Jiangnan, and to put it bluntly, the Shen Family in Jiangnan is like a local emperor, co-governing with the Great Jin Dynasty.

At such a time, a person from the Shen Family who is wholly aligned with the Magistrate is enough to give one a headache.

This woman held a high position within the Shen Family, and the name of Wind King Murong Yunji was once well-known in the north.

Faced with such an existence, to coldly tell you that the city defense of Lyuzhou was given to her by Chen Qing, and if they want it back they need to ask Chen Qing himself to retrieve it, and she doesn’t recognize any other so-called generals. ..

Nonsensical and irrational, but indeed troublesome to handle!

"Your Magistrate is very secretive in his movements; I really don’t know when he will return," Murong Yunji said, yawning. "I am tired. If the general doesn’t need anything else, I must go chat with the God Xu..."

"Er..." Wu You’s face darkened further: "Madam Shen, we are dispatched by the Imperial Court, and Minister Shen, the Chief of Staff, is also fully cooperating with us..."

"I am fully cooperating as well..." Murong Yunji said with a smile. "As a modest woman, I normally shouldn’t be involved in such matters, but given my current situation and Lord Chen’s righteous persuasion, I took up the cause, didn’t I?"

"How distressing for Madam..." Wu You said, forcing a smile though he found it anything but amusing.

Righteousness... For this woman to speak such words, what kind of enchanting potion could Chen Qing have fed this coquette? To make her even boldly confront an Imperial Official from the Imperial Court!

"That’s all for now, I shall take my leave," Murong Yunji chuckled. "General, if you need anything, feel free to summon me, okay?"

"Ha ha, Madam is too kind..." Wu You helplessly let her leave.

After she left, he turned to look at Hong Lie, who was staring blankly: "What are you looking at?"

"This woman is really something!" Hong Lie licked his lips. "What a big butt!"

"You... I thought you were seriously considering the situation," Wu You nearly cursed: "Can you be serious? Is that woman someone you can afford to think about?"

"Why not?" Hong Lie said while picking his nose. "If it wasn’t for possibly being the woman of my benefactor, I would’ve climbed into her bed last night."

"Then you might have been ruined last night!" Wu You said with a laugh tinged with irritation. "Didn’t your father tell you about her reputation? And... how did you conclude she’s Chen Qing’s woman?"

"If she’s not Chen Qing’s woman, why would she stick up for Chen Qing?" murmured Hong Lie, confused.

"With your brain, better stick to guarding the gates in the Capital City!" Wu You glared at him. "If she’s taking orders from Chen Qing, he must have promised her a great benefit!"

"What great benefit could Chen Qing offer her?" Hong Lie laughed. "His salary isn’t even more than what I get as tips."

"I..."

Wu You took a deep breath, deciding not to get entangled in this matter, and continued to ask: "If I decide to take power by force, Hong Lie, what do you think our chances are?"

Hong Lie looked at Wu You seriously, putting away his smile: "Are you serious?"

"I know it’s difficult..." Wu You said in a low voice. "But the situation here cannot be left unchecked. You’ve seen it too; all these common folk, they all trust those supposed gods without any reason, that Gate Deity, that God Xu... Where in this world are there such gods? It’s all just a ruse created by that Magistrate! "

"And what of it?" Hong Lie asked, frowning.

"What of it? Haven’t you seen the superstitious nature of those common folk and soldiers?" Wu You said, his face clouded with anger. "Do you believe that if those so-called deities told those soldiers to rebel now, not a single one would hesitate?"

Hong Lie was taken aback: "That’s a rather severe accusation."

"Severe? Ha..." Wu You scoffed. "I’ve led troops for many years, I can’t be mistaken. These soldiers... they’re just like the private forces that serve our families by blood. They... are Chen Qing’s private soldiers!"

This was also why he hesitated to suppress them by force; from the soldiers’ reactions, he was certain that any move on his part would incite a mutiny!

"In that case..." Hong Lie looked at Wu You and said: "Then we definitely can’t make a move."

"Why not?"

"Because we can’t win..." Hong Lie explained bluntly, spreading his hands. "You saw how those soldiers at the city gate dealt with the living corpses. In terms of military power, the three thousand Black Dragon Naval Force troops we’ve brought are indeed elites, and the forces defending the city only number two thousand, but if it comes to a fight, it’s our soldiers who will end up dead. "

"What about with your help?" Wu You frowned. His own combat strength was unclear to him.

"I can’t defeat Murong Yunji..."

"And you still want to climb into her bed?"

"That’s a different matter..." Hong Lie shook his head. "Why insist on seizing power? Isn’t it good that Chen Qing has some strength now? As long as Lyuzhou is defended, why stir up trouble at this time?"

"I feel... uneasy..." Wu You said apprehensively, gazing outside.

The populace of Lyuzhou was increasing day by day. The situation here was far better than in Nanming Prefecture and still improving. It felt as if... someone was accumulating power amidst the chaos.

Plus, with these peculiar deities, he felt it was necessary to guard against potential threats on behalf of the Imperial Court!

"If you really want to take action..." Hong Lie considered and then continued: "You could secretly send a message to the outside. Didn’t they say that the contents of the messages sent by the wooden birds are all true..."

"That was before..." Wu You said softly, "I sent a message yesterday, but there has been no response until now."

"Eh? Has the wooden bird broken?"

"It’s your brain that’s broken!" Wu You shot back at him, not bothering with this fool, but worry started to grow in his heart.

The message... probably couldn’t get through!

Lord Chen had worried before that these messages might be tampered with, which is why he had Wang Ye, who could come and go freely, verify them.

But according to the current situation, Wang Ye... was intentionally concealing Lyuzhou’s condition!

Otherwise, Lord Chen would definitely not have sent only this small amount of forces!

Chen Qing and Wang Ye... were in collusion!

What... are they trying to do?

------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, outside the blockade, the Duke of Qin had indeed received a letter from Wu You, which was, just as Wu You suspected, switched out.

"What does it say?" Shen Yinian asked with concern.

"The letter says the situation isn’t too bad..." The Duke of Qin said, frowning at the content of the letter.

"Lyuzhou has the Emperor’s arrangements, and now Wu You and Hong Lie have taken over the defense, so the situation in Lyuzhou is even more stable..."

"This seems to sound quite good," Shen Yinian said with a smile.

"This seems a bit too unrealistic to me..." The Duke of Qin shook his head with a wry smile. He had met the young man Chen Qing before, and that guy... was not an honest man; he didn’t think Chen Qing would so easily let people like Wu You take over the defense.

The message... was most likely... fake!

But if the message was fake, it represented two very terrifying things. First, Chen Qing had absolute control over Lyuzhou and could directly capture Hong Lie, Wu You, and those three thousand elite Black Dragon troops!

Second, Wang Ye was on Chen Qing’s side, no matter what Chen Qing wanted to do!

"It really is... *cough cough*!" The Duke of Qin suddenly started coughing violently.

"Lord Duke, take care of your health!" The people around him quickly expressed their concern, including the Crown Prince with his insincere expression.

"It’s nothing..." The Duke of Qin wiped away the blood from his cough and looked towards the river shrouded in dense fog: "Why is it... that everyone wants to create chaos? Wouldn’t it be better to stay well-behaved?"

"Let me help you rest, Your Highness," the Crown Prince said, smiling as he came forward.

The military generals around them all frowned, but the Duke of Qin nodded slightly: "I appreciate your help, Crown Prince."

"You’re too polite, Lord Duke; although I am the Crown Prince, I am also your junior, it’s what I should do..." The Crown Prince said with an obviously schadenfreude smile as he supported the Duke of Qin, a smile that made all the deputy generals’ blood boil with anger!

What kind of nonsense is this?

And so, the two of them slowly entered a tent, outside of which a faint barrier was erected, obscuring the view from the outside. Shen Yinian watched the backs of the Crown Prince and the Duke of Qin, frowning heavily.

----------------------------

"Uncle Lu, your health has deteriorated too severely!"

Once inside the tent, the Crown Prince’s face changed completely, his urgency starkly different from his previous hypocrisy!

"It’s nothing..." The Duke of Qin coughed twice and said: "I’ve been like this for many years now, Your Highness need not worry..."

"How can I not worry?" The Crown Prince frowned.

"You shouldn’t have taken on this mission.

The situation in Jiangnan is already complicated, and this demon event is clearly very troublesome.

If you are forced to take action and hurt your foundation again, how can I explain to Brother Lu and the others? "

"How could I have avoided it?" The Duke of Qin shook his head with a bitter smile: "By the way, that letter... did you find out who gave it to you?"

"I couldn’t find out..." The Crown Prince shook his head: "No trace at all. I initially thought Wang Ye had sent it in secret, but judging by Minister Wang’s demeanor, it seems that’s not the case."

"That’s strange..." The Duke of Qin frowned. "The child in the Fox Demon’s womb is made of your essence blood; His Majesty would definitely not want you to know. If it’s not the Emperor... then who else could it be?"

"It’s most likely the person who planned for the Thousand-Faced Fox to enter the Capital City!" The Crown Prince’s expression grew serious.

"Many have speculated that the affair with the Thousand-Faced Fox is related to you, Uncle Lu, but I know... Uncle Lu would definitely not harm mother!"

If anyone were present, they would be staggered to their core.

The usually tyrannical and hypocritical Crown Prince... actually had this face, actually had such a... close relationship with the Duke of Qin, whom the Royal Family most dreaded!!

"In the Capital City... apart from His Majesty and myself, the only one capable of orchestrating such an event is the Chief of Staff Liu Yu!

" The Duke of Qin furrowed his brow: "I was actually most suspicious of Liu Yu at first, but Liu Yu is dead; there is no mistake about that... But if it’s not His Majesty, then there must be a traitor among my men, and the one with the best opportunity to do this is. .."

"The Governor-General of the West Sea!" the Crown Prince chimed in: "Your son, who is most likely to inherit your title, Uncle Lu!"

"Are you prepared, Your Highness?"

"I am prepared!" The Crown Prince stood up straight: "Mother’s vengeance must be served, and no matter who it is, I will not let them off!"