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"Which shameless woman is throwing herself at you this time?"

The beautiful woman spoke softly, yet there was a chill in her words that could penetrate to the bone, sending a shiver down the spine of even the most distinguished national duke of the Great Jin Dynasty...

Many knew that the mistress of the Duke of Qin’s Residence was formidable, but most thought her merely dominant in personality. Only a few knew she truly was powerful!

The Lu Family was a millennium-old lineage, and its power was so great that even the Siao Family did not dare to subdue them with certainty.

At the time of the founding of the kingdom, they were offered positions of nobility.

And Lu Ming was an exceptional member of the Lu Family, rarely seen in hundreds of years.

How many aristocratic families had pledged allegiance to him since the warlord era began?

A War God forged in iron and blood, afraid of his wife?

Without significant capital and strategies, how could Lu Ming be so intimidated by his wife?

"Ah, you’ve changed your taste now," the woman taunted, pulling a sachet from within Lu Ming’s embrace with a sneer, "You even developed an interest in widows, tsk tsk..."

"I have not done anything inappropriate..." Lu Ming frowned, "I was simply relying on that mother and daughter for cover while in distress."

"A widow, willing to take you in for a year? Is it just out of kindness?"

"What she thinks has nothing to do with me," Lu Ming replied, frowning. "You didn’t come here just to argue with me over a widow, did you?"

"I care a lot," the woman said, stroking Lu Ming’s handsome face, "You know that. Since you don’t care, all the better. Whatever I choose to do to them, I presume you won’t mind, right?"

Lu Ming: "...."

"Enough, let’s talk business!" Seeing Lu Ming’s complexion worsening, the woman did not say more. She stood up, stretching languidly, "This time, you’ve taken on too much. If this plot fails again, you should know the consequences!"

Lu Ming bowed his head at her words...

How could he not understand this principle?

The Lu Family’s assets had been accumulated over thousands of years.

With the Siao Family as emperors of the Great Jin Dynasty, his control over such a vast force was as unstable as oil in a raging fire.

Yet, no matter how much the Siao Family distrusted him, they dared not make a move, knowing that with his influence and the strength of the Lu Family, he could seize half of the Great Jin’s territory in an instant!

But now things were different...

The entire Golden Dragon Guard, numbering three hundred thousand, had been decimated, most of whom were soldiers of the Lu Family, followed by a disaster in the West Sea.

For the sake of setting up in the Dragon Palace, he had stationed heavy troops in the West Sea, even arranging his most outstanding eldest son to be there.

Furthermore, when the ancient turmoil arose, he had managed to secure the position of commander of the Jiangnan campaign.

The timing, location, and support were perfect!

But man’s plans are no match for the heavens’, and he never imagined that his years of planning would end up being orchestrated by Siao Mingyue!

However, he was not entirely out of options. During his year in Jiangnan, he drifted aimlessly until the War God Army reached Yunzhou. The miraculous divine path spread across Yunzhou, and the surrounding world began to change at the hands of a young man.

This time, he was sure: the young man named Chen Qing was the real Reincarnator!

Previously in the Capital City, upon hearing that the youth could see through the Illusion Technique of Thousand-Faced Fox, he began to speculate.

That’s why he recommended Chen Qing at the Imperial Court—he wanted a closer look.

Now it seemed, his decision to recruit Chen Qing had not been misguided.

His mistake was acting too late. He had not expected that once in Jiangnan, the youth would thrive so quickly, amassing such power in just a few years!

It was more frightening than the King of Qin at the outset!

Yet fortunately, this youth possessed a secret even more wondrous than that of the King of Qin’s, but he lacked the King of Qin’s patience. With his hasty pace, he left countless flaws!

This was also his opportunity.

Upon learning that merchant ships could travel from Jiangnan to the Capital City with the aid of a divine seal, he secretly sent a message to the very person he least wanted to inform...

"The Pang Family is a dangerous adversary; Minister Pang won’t hold out much longer," the woman said softly with a laugh.

"I trust your methods..." Lu Ming replied calmly.

Minister Pang was the head of the Pang Family.

Upon his death, the Technique on his body would activate, immediately identifying the killer.

It would inform the Pang Family of the family head’s passing while also revealing the enemy, a capability most noble families possessed, which is why offending a Sorcerer Family is generally avoided.

And the Pang Family was even less safe to offend— their curse technique was the most feared by the Martial Families. Once they went mad, even the Lu Family could not withstand their onslaught.

Now that the Lu Family had suffered heavy losses, if they also offended the Pang Family to death, and with the additional crime of plotting against the Chief of Staff, the Lu Family’s... annihilation was not impossible...

But Lumings was not worried, his wife was first-rate in assassination techniques, and even more so in torturing people!

The sister of Mu Hongqing had been mutilated into a human pig, and for decades, she suffered in the garden, yet still lived...

As long as she willed it, even Minister Pang, skinned alive, could survive for decades...

"Then I really should thank my husband for his trust," the woman said with a deranged laugh. "The moment you sent me the message, I knew, you were planning to risk it all in one final gamble. With that in mind, not to mention the Pang Family, I would dare to strike at the Crown Prince as well."

Upon hearing this, Lumings’s face twitched— obviously, his own wife was mocking him for the years he had been fooled while supporting the Crown Prince.

"I indeed did not expect... that Siao Mingyue... could devise such a deep plot."

"What’s so deep about that?" the woman laughed. "With the Thousand-Faced Fox incident, there were only a few who could be the mastermind behind the scenes in the Capital City. Duke of Wei is in the north and can’t reach this far, the Emperor would not kill his own Empress. Although he’s insincere, it’s clearly unnecessary.

Many suspected our family at the time, but we knew it had nothing to do with us.

So, who else could it be besides her, Siao Mingyue? "

"With the Crown Prince’s pus-filled standards and Siao Mingyue capable of colluding with the Thousand-Faced Fox, you should have been suspicious long ago. It can only be said... that greed has blinded you!"

"That’s about right..." Lumings sighed.

"You gave up on our son!"

"I had no choice; the Dragon Palace has secret medicine that can save the child."

"Is that so?" The woman smiled faintly. "From the beginning, you never intended to involve me in this matter; your plan wasn’t to use the undying medicine to revive your favorites, was it?"

Lumings: "If I really cared about those women, I wouldn’t have let you torture them to death."

"That’s because you had no choice..." the woman laughed. "What I want to do, can you stop me? I tortured them to death, and you just didn’t dare to turn against me, not that you didn’t want to!!"

Lumings: "....."

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

"My lord, all preparations are complete, but Lumings... doesn’t seem to be making any moves."

Inside the Government Office hall, Chen Ying reported respectfully, causing Chen Qing to slightly furrow his brows.

Lumings’s methods don’t seem to be that simple.

Initially, it was believed that this desperate Duke of the nation would aggressively kill Minister Pang, then use his own prestige to, in the name of the Imperial Court, control Weichi Peng’s fifty-thousand-strong army, create chaos, and then, if Chen Qing could not suppress it immediately, those harboring thoughts against him, like the Princess Royale, Wei Guogong, and Elder Shen, would probably not be able to hold back from acting!

If they captured him at that time, he could become one of the quadrilateral powers and renegotiate how to divide the Dragon Palace...

While the other party was watching Chen Qing, Chen Qing was also watching them.

The alliance of the four sides— relying solely on the effect of the Array was not enough to intimidate those cunning old foxes, but Lumings carried enough weight.

If he could kill or capture the most prominent Duke, not only would it be immensely intimidating, but it would also be completely legitimate in name!

After all, Lumings had killed an Imperial Court Chief of Staff, and Chen Qing, nominally, was still an external minister of the Imperial Court— to kill such a traitor was righteous and just!

But now... there was no movement at all...

Could it be that Lumings had other cards to play?

Chen Qing frowned instantly. The maintenance time for the barrier was limited; they must achieve this alliance within a limited timeframe to make the four sides cease fire.

From then on, Chen Qing’s prestige would greatly increase across the land, and the Way of the Spirits would have the opportunity to spread.

But if Lumings delayed any further, and Chen Qing couldn’t produce a shocking move in a short time, this alliance meeting... might face some trouble!