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The Duke of Qin’s party was on the way to Nanming Prefecture. At this moment, the morale of the entire team was extremely low under the influence of Mu Hongqing’s intelligence!

Mu Hongqing had contacted Chen Ying and had also gathered some intelligence. Learning that the Imperial Army had been defeated, Weichi Peng had been captured, and the decision for peace negotiations with the Imperial Army, Lumings was completely stunned.

His plans had hardly begun, and he already felt like they were ending...

"Lord Duke of Qin, do we really need to continue?"

Approaching the Capital City, Mu Hongqing finally snapped out of his shock from the enormous bubble barrier, turning to ask Lumings.

The conversation with Chen Ying from a few days ago still resurfaced in his mind.

"Chen Qing wishes to invite an alliance of the four quarters? Has he gone mad?"

"Master once taught me not to jump to conclusions easily. Has Master’s heart become impetuous now..."

"You girl... You’re mocking me now."

"That’s what you taught me..." The typically aloof Chen Ying rarely showed her playful side like a little girl, even sticking out her tongue.

"Girl..."

"Yes?"

"Can we rely on Chen Qing?"

"Didn’t you tell me that once we follow someone, we should follow through to the end?"

"Are you annoyed with your teacher?"

"No..." Chen Ying shook her head, "Master wouldn’t harm me. You made that judgment then, so you must have believed that Chen Qing was the best choice."

"But now I’m not sure..." Mu Hongqing frowned, "His actions are too risky!"

"Maybe it’s not a risk?"

Remembering this conversation, Mu Hongqing came back to his senses and looked at the huge barrier. Suddenly, he somewhat understood the hidden meaning behind that brat’s words. The little rascal had been playing riddles with him, making him worry for days for nothing.

He would never force his disciple to provide him with real secret intelligence. When he had entrusted her to others, it wasn’t to extract intelligence from her now.

Since the first time his disciple sent him a message, he knew that Chen Qing would definitely take a path opposed to the Imperial Court, so he immediately decided to trust Chen Ying to him.

There were two reasons. First: he valued Chen Ying highly enough to easily bestow the Azure Dragon Heritage, indicating sufficient boldness.

It also showed that he was very optimistic about Chen Ying, which Mu Hongqing greatly admired.

To invest heavily in a person with high potential is a sign of likely success.

The second was Chen Qing’s internal structure. Leaving aside those amazing deities, the assurance of such a broad channel for advancement was unheard of by him. In such an environment, given enough time, Mu Hongqing privately believed that Chen Qing... would be the second King of Qin!

As for the risks...

Chen Ying had a shallow foundation, and although he was now the youngest Academic Commissioner, his situation was precarious, like walking on fire.

If someday the Emperor changed his mind and he fell out of favor, the fierce woman in the Duke of Qin’s Residence would definitely be the first to pounce on him and devour him to the bone.

His own sister had died so miserably, and as her brother, he had been powerless to protect her. Naturally, he didn’t want Chen Ying to meet the same fate.

Therefore, he started looking for a powerful and supportive family for Chen Ying early on, because he was well aware that the malicious woman in the Duke’s residence had long wanted to deal with Chen Ying.

The more outstanding he became, the more vicious that envious woman would be!

Now... everyone knew that Chen Ying was his most valued disciple, so of course, she would not let her get away.

But those noble families were extremely crafty in their calculations. They didn’t want to offend the woman of the Duke of Qin’s Residence and yet coveted his disciple’s potential, so almost all of them proposed conditions of taking her as a concubine!

A concubine?

What difference was there from having no protection?

Offering such conditions, how could he trust these noble families to protect his disciple in the end?

As a result, he had been so anxious over the years that he started to look for families in the fringes. The Shen Family was originally one of his strategies, but unexpectedly, due to an unforeseen mistake, Chen Qing, that young man, ended up with his disciple.

Although she was a concubine, it was different from the concubines promised by those noble families.

Chen Qing’s legal wife was a Princess. Whether or not he could marry her was one question; even if he did, with Chen Qing’s current situation, if he didn’t rebel, he would die.

The Princess would be in a very awkward position by then.

Chen Ying, inheriting the Azure Dragon Heritage, would surely be a major support by Chen Qing’s side.

Such aid was something a fragile woman with a Princess’s title could hardly match.

He had great confidence in his disciple.

But Chen Qing’s recent choices had made him somewhat uneasy.

In his view, the current Chen Qing should take advantage of Great Jin’s chaos to keep a low profile, building up his strength rather than emerging like this, inviting an alliance of all sides. Where did he get the courage?

Who is the Princess Royale? Who is the Duke of Wei?

"Invite such voracious tigers and wolves in, and if you can’t suppress them," Mu Hongqing believed they would devour Chen Qing down to the bone without hesitation!

He even began to doubt whether allowing Chen Ying to choose Chen Qing was a mistake?

But right now...

"This is truly a magnificent sight..." Zhou Hanyang commented from behind, looking up at the sky.

"It seems there’s a reason why Chen the rebel has been able to cause the Imperial Court to suffer losses," the Provincial Governor also spoke up.

He is currently the most vocally against Chen Qing, frequently cursing him in public for betraying His Majesty’s grace, with the term ’Chen the rebel’ constantly on his lips.

But the reason... most people knew it was not to be blamed on him, after all... the decision to allow Chen Qing to recruit his own troops was stamped by him, the Provincial Governor.

"Fake!"

Lumings’ voice broke the awkward silence that had enveloped everyone.

"Fake?" A group of people looked at each other in astonishment, and Mu Hongqing also cast a cold gaze, curious to see how this man would boost morale under such circumstances.

"Educational Governor."

"Hmm?" Mu Hongqing looked over coldly, frowning in confusion. Not bothering with formalities, he asked directly, "What does the Duke of Qin command?"

"I ask you, have you also been involved in the construction of the Capital City’s spellcraft array?"

"Hmm..." Mu Hongqing continued to watch him coldly, beginning to understand what the other was getting at. But with everyone watching, he could only cooperate and reply, "To be part of such a grand project was an honor for me."

"How long did it take?"

"Counting from the conception and blueprint designs, it took nine years. If we consider from the commencement of construction, it took four years!"

"How much manpower?"

"Fourteen millennium-old families, over a hundred century-old Sorcerer Families, and more than three thousand magicians of the Fifth Rank, nearly occupying ninety percent of the entire magician population in Great Jin!"

Lumings nodded with satisfaction, pointing to the sky and said, "This is just a facade. The Capital City’s spellcraft array consumed such vast resources and human effort.

At the time, it nearly emptied the national treasury, and even then, it required the financial aid from many families and took several years to be barely completed.

For the subsequent ten years, it was still undergoing continuous improvements and supplementation, costing a million gold annually to maintain. "

"And Chen Qing, how long has it been since he took over from the Princess Royale? Less than a month, right?" Lumings looked at Mu Hongqing. "As a connoisseur, Educational Governor, do you think it’s possible?"

Mu Hongqing fell silent. He was an honest man, and even with his disciple at Chen Qing’s side, he couldn’t brazenly talk nonsense and say it was possible. In the end, he could only shake his head as Lumings suggested.

"That would be it..." Lumings nodded. "Chen Qing’s move is both audacious and foolish. In my view, it is not worth the risk. Once exposed, he’ll be immediately devoured by the encircling tigers and wolves, and that... is our opportunity!"

"Our opportunity?" Mu Hongqing said with a smirk. "How does it become the Duke’s opportunity? Even if, as you say, Chen Qing’s display is a facade, and he is destined to be devoured by the invited forces, leaving nothing behind, what does it have to do with us?"

"Now, can you win over the Princess Royale or the monster from the West Sea? Or could you make Duke of Wei pledge loyalty to you? Or have the Imperial Court see you as its leader?"

Each question hit painfully on the mark, and those around couldn’t help but cover their foreheads.

Who talks like this? They didn’t even know how to begin advising.

But without mentioning it... as unpleasant as these words were, they weren’t wrong...

The fact was that with Duke of Qin not having recovered, and with less than thirty thousand troops under their command, they were even less than Chen Qing. What could they use to share in the bounty with those tigers and wolves?

"Naturally, there is an opportunity..." Lumings, however, remained composed, as if he hadn’t taken Mu Hongqing’s sarcasm seriously at all.

"Sir, what are your thoughts?" Not daring to let Mu Hongqing speak any further, Zhou Hanyang hastily inquired.

"Weichi Peng, and the fifty thousand Imperial Army!"

"Hmm?"

The crowd was taken aback, while Mu Hongqing’s eyes flashed. This man... indeed did not let any opportunity slip.

Almost instantly, Mu Hongqing understood Lumings’ plan.

Although Chen Qing had defeated the Imperial Army, he hadn’t inflicted a severe blow but instead took prisoners. This achievement, while impressive, also left a lingering threat!

"What does the Duke of Qin mean by that?" Zhou Hanyang asked excitedly.

"Exactly that!" Lumings said with a smile.

"Weichi Peng is among the best in the world. If he can rescue the fifty thousand troops, and add our own forces to them, the combined strength of eighty thousand noble soldiers, and with Weichi Peng and I joining forces, when the time is right, don’t we stand a chance? "

Mu Hongqing: "....."

"Chen Qing is strong, I know this better than anyone, considering I spent quite some time in Yunzhou. The Princess Royale and others will have to exert effort to take down Chen Qing. With the mantis stalking the cicada and the oriole behind, it’s time to repay our Great Jin Princess!"