Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 593 Adulterers (6,000 words)

excited!

excited!

excited!

Yu Shuang was originally quite mature and composed. Although she would occasionally joke around with Tian Xuan and Tian Yi, it was just playful banter between girls, and she would never go too far. However, now, perhaps because she had been annoyed by Chen Mingzhe for some time, a rebellious streak had begun to emerge in her heart.

Although he didn't know who the woman Song Yan was leaning against on the bow of the ship was, he couldn't help but be curious about what it would be like if Tianyi and that woman fought. That woman probably couldn't beat Tianyi, right? After all, with Tianyi's current strength, it would be troublesome for her to subdue Tianyi. There were probably only a handful of people in the entire Ning Kingdom who could defeat Tianyi.

If that woman gets bullied, who will Song Yan help?

I have a feeling it's going to be very lively.

Then, as if her conscience had been pricked, she felt that her thoughts were somewhat inappropriate. Song Yan had treated her quite well. Although the two of them did not interact much, when she stayed at the governor's mansion, Song Yan had never mistreated her. Occasionally, when she wanted to buy something, she could withdraw money from the governor's mansion without any trouble. Yunhai Mountain was an extremely poor place, and Yu Shuang did not have much private money.

Is it really appropriate to just watch the show like this? She might have to stay at Song Yan's mansion for a while, and most importantly, she wants to rely on Song Yan to get rid of that annoying Chen Mingzhe. If Song Yan sees the smile on her face and refuses to help, wouldn't that be troublesome?

Lost in thought, the smile on her face quickly vanished.

Ultimately, we can't let Tianyi and that woman fight.

Both Yuheng and Tianxuan are deeply in love with Song Yan. If Tianyi and that woman were to clash, it would affect the family's relationship, which would be disastrous. Moreover, the remaining members of the Luo family, and even the entire Ning Kingdom, still rely on Song Yan, the Prince of Yan, to support them. Putting aside everything else, if Song Yan hadn't personally led the naval forces to intercept the Jurchen reinforcements this time, and those barbarians had actually landed at Langya, who knows how many more people in Ning Kingdom would have suffered.

At the same time, she felt a little resentful towards Song Yan. This guy Song Yan knew Tian Xuan's personality all too well. He was completely obedient to her. If he really fell for any woman, he only needed to tell Tian Xuan, and would she disagree? She would arrange everything perfectly and welcome her into the Prince of Yan's mansion immediately. Why did things have to turn out like this, as if he had been caught cheating?

Despite grumbling to herself, she quickened her pace and hurriedly followed behind Luo Tianyi. She could watch the excitement, but if Luo Tianyi really lost control of his impulse, she would still have to stop him.

However, after getting a little closer, Yu Shuang's face showed some suspicion.

Song Yan leaned against the woman's chest but didn't make any other movements. His eyes were slightly closed, and he was wearing a cotton coat, making him look like he was asleep.

Looking at Luo Tianyi again, after the initial surprise, she quickly regained her composure, and her eyes showed a sense of relief. Although the intimate appearance of her brother-in-law and Qingluan surprised Luo Tianyi, her brother-in-law's safety was more important than anything else.

The large ship gradually docked at the shore.

Batu and Shi Lei disembarked first.

"Greetings, Princess Yongping." Shi Lei bowed to Luo Tianyi.

Batu was not very familiar with the etiquette of the Central Plains. Seeing Shi Lei's actions, he hurriedly followed suit and bowed. Although Luo Tianyi was aloof, she would never show a cold face to the generals and soldiers under Song Yan's command. She always gave them face and returned the bow.

"General Shi, you are too kind. You led your soldiers out to sea to intercept the Jurchen reinforcements and protect the peace of Ningguo. It is I, the princess, who should pay my respects to you generals and soldiers." At this moment, Luo Tianyi spoke in a very gentle voice.

This was something Luo Yuheng had earnestly instructed her to do while holding her hand.

These soldiers and generals all serve their brother-in-law. In addition to the military pay and food provided by their brother-in-law, they should also be given full respect as his relatives. This is how to win people's hearts. Although a gentle word may seem insignificant, for most soldiers who have risen from the bottom, such respect is enough to move them.

In the short term, the impact may be minimal, but in the long run, it becomes a process of rallying morale.

If her family members were to speak coldly, act arrogantly, and readily criticize her brother-in-law while he was fighting alongside the soldiers, it would be easy for them to become disloyal and alienated. Moreover, war is not like the fighting and killing in the martial arts world. Although high-level martial artists are useful, their effectiveness would be greatly diminished. Whether her brother-in-law could return alive from each expedition ultimately depended on whether these soldiers were willing to risk their lives to protect him.

Thinking of her aunt's words, Luo Tianyi looked at Shi Lei again and saw that he indeed had a simple and honest smile on his face, even looking flattered. A smile also appeared on Luo Tianyi's lips as she looked at Batu: "General Batu, you are too formal. You are Nahetuya's father, and Nahetuya is my sister. We are family. You are the elder, so how can an elder bow to a junior?"

Batu's face, covered in a thick beard, immediately broke into a wide smile.

Batu knew very well that these so-called elders were worthless. They were only elders to you, and if they didn't, you were just a defector from the Jurchen side.

Clearly, Luo Tianyi was giving him face; the terms "family" and "elders" made Batu quite satisfied.

Even Yu Shuang glanced at Luo Tianyi with slight surprise, perhaps not expecting Luo Tianyi to say such a thing. It seemed that Luo Tianyi had grown a lot during her absence and was no longer the straightforward and silly girl she used to be. Yu Shuang felt a little gratified.

After a brief pause, Luo Tianyi asked again, "Generals Batu and Shi Lei, how did the expedition go? How many soldiers were killed or wounded?"

"Replying to Your Highness," Shi Lei addressed her as Your Highness, "our Yan army has won a great victory in this campaign."

"The Yang family's more than a thousand ships were all destroyed, and more than 40,000 enemy heads were captured." Shi Lei's eyes were shining, as if he was recalling the scene of two hundred Hongyi cannons roaring in unison. He turned to look at the ships docked in the harbor behind him. The harbor was not very large and could not accommodate so many ships, so some ships were lined up along the riverbank: "Most of the enemy heads have been brought back, and we are preparing to rebuild a Jingguan (a mound of heads) on the border between the Jurchens and Pingyang."

"It's a pity that many Jurchens were blown to bits, their heads blown off, and their bodies were never recovered."

Shi Lei's voice was full of regret.

Yu Shuang was speechless. What was there to regret?

As expected of soldiers trained by Song Yan, they all have a special fondness for human heads and mounds of skulls.

"As for our casualties, apart from the loss of a small boat, no soldiers died in battle. However, quite a few people, although they had trained on the Cangshui River before, still couldn't adapt to the waves and got seasick and fell ill after getting on the ship." Shi Lei spread his hands, looking helpless.

What was supposed to be a perfect battle was marred by the fainting of a soldier.

Luo Tianyi breathed a slight sigh of relief; the fact that there were no casualties was the best news.

Thinking this, Luo Tianyi's gaze involuntarily fell on the bow of the boat. Her brother-in-law was still leaning against Qingluan, who didn't seem to have any intention of getting up, though her expression was slightly helpless. Noticing Luo Tianyi's gaze, Batu and Shi Lei exchanged a glance, inwardly cursing their bad luck. They should have woken the general up sooner; now they'd been caught in the act.

Then she thought that the general's hobbies were already terrible, and if he were to add a homosexual fetish now, who knows what kind of rumors would spread. If someone could restrain him, it would actually be a good thing.

Perhaps this is the difference between a roughneck like Shi Lei Batu and women like Yu Shuang and Luo Tianyi. In Shi Lei Batu's eyes, Qingluan was a man simply because he was dressed in men's clothing, without any doubt whatsoever. As for Qingluan's muscular chest, it wasn't surprising at all; their chest muscles were even more exaggerated than those of the women. Even the golden hairpin on Qingluan's head just seemed to match his effeminate demeanor.

Thinking this, Shi Lei couldn't help but cautiously say, "Your Highness, please don't misunderstand. The Prince didn't do anything. He was just too tired these days. When the war ended and we were returning, he fell asleep at the bow of the ship. That pretty boy happened to be right behind him and leaned against him."

"However, Your Highness should still have a good talk with the Prince when you get back. Don't get too close to these pretty boys. It won't sound good if word gets out."

pretty boy?

Upon hearing this, Yu Shuang and Luo Tianyi were speechless. Although she was dressed as a man, they couldn't tell that she was such a beautiful woman. They really didn't understand what the purpose of their eyes was.

Luo Tianyi let out a slight breath and forced a smile: "The two generals have misunderstood. That young lady is named Qingluan. She is my brother-in-law's servant and not some gigolo."

"In that case, we mustn't let Miss Qingluan hear this. She is very strong, only slightly weaker than me."

Upon hearing this, Batu and Shi Lei's expressions immediately froze.

They probably remembered their rambling and mumbling on the boat, wondering if that pretty boy... oops, I mean, the girl heard them? They knew the princess's strength, but they were only slightly weaker than her, so the two of them probably couldn't beat her.

With a smile, Luo Tianyi walked towards the large ship. When she reached the water's edge, she lightly touched the ground with her toes, her body floated up, and she landed silently on the bow of the ship.

Qingluan blinked and looked at Luo Tianyi: "This was just an accident. The Prince of Yan was just exhausted and fell asleep, and happened to fall on me."

Luo Tianyi's smile deepened. An accident? Perhaps it was indeed an accident at first.

However, given the long duration, Qingluan would have had opportunities to leave if she wanted to. But in order not to wake her brother-in-law and to give him a chance to rest, she maintained this posture... Perhaps even she herself did not realize that this former squad leader of the Imperial City Guard had some affection for her brother-in-law.

These romantic entanglements are piling up.

Later, when my sister comes back, I should tell her. Although she won't stop those vixens from getting close to my brother-in-law like before, she's not very good at handling these kinds of things.

With a slightly helpless sigh, Luo Tianyi maintained her smile: "Miss Qingluan, there's no need to worry. Batu and General Shi Lei have already explained, and you've taken good care of my brother-in-law these past few days."

As he spoke, Luo Tianyi squatted down, looking at his brother-in-law's familiar face, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips: "You're quite the sleepyhead; you've probably slept for two days straight." In Yu Shuang's imagination, the conflict between Luo Tianyi and Qingluan had not occurred; the two even got along quite well, which made Yu Shuang somewhat incredulous.

“We have about a day and a half,” Qingluan said helplessly. “The soldiers know how hard Your Highness has worked, so they raced the boats at breakneck speed on the return journey, saving half a day so Your Highness could rest a bit earlier.” After a brief pause, Qingluan continued, “Could you please do me a favor, Princess, and take your brother-in-law with you? My legs are a little numb…”

Luo Tianyi couldn't help but burst out laughing. Maintaining the same posture for a day and a half must have made her legs go numb. Her brother-in-law was sleeping comfortably, but poor Qingluan was suffering.

She didn't pick up her brother-in-law directly. Although his weight was nothing to her, he was, after all, the Prince of Yan, and she had to consider his reputation in front of the soldiers. Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, she didn't want to disturb him, but she still reached out her hand, grabbed his shoulder, and gently shook him: "Brother-in-law, it's time to wake up."

"Go home."

Even Luo Tianyi himself probably didn't realize that he was getting more and more comfortable calling him "brother-in-law."

Swaying, Song Yan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyelids slowly opened. When she saw the land in the distance, she realized that they had returned to port.

I got up and couldn't help but yawn. I stretched my arms and felt completely relaxed. I couldn't help but curse myself inwardly. This time I really fell into a deep sleep and even forgot the vigilance I had when I was drunk and slept.

Unfortunately, perhaps because he placed too much emphasis on the two epoch-making weapons, the Hongyi cannon and the musket, Song Yan spent most of his time in the arsenal during this period. In the afternoons, he would also take time to train the navy, and in the evenings, he would teach at the academy. Even though Song Yan was physically strong, he was starting to feel the strain on his mind.

Seeing Qingluan still sitting on the ground, unable to stand up, he looked even more embarrassed. No wonder he felt a warm, soft feeling behind him when he got up; he had probably been sleeping against Qingluan the whole way.

Luo Tianyi smiled and helped Qingluan up. Her legs were a little unsteady, but Qingluan was a martial artist with considerable strength. After circulating her inner energy a few times, the numbness in her legs gradually dissipated.

"Sorry." Song Yan scratched his hair, looking embarrassed.

"It's nothing, just a small matter." Qingluan returned to her expressionless demeanor, responding coldly and indifferently.

Only then did Song Yan notice Yu Shuang, and his eyes showed a hint of surprise: "Miss Yu Shuang, when did you return? Have you taken care of things at Yunhai Mountain?"

"I just got back not long ago. As for what happened on Yunhai Mountain... well, let's not talk about it for now." Yu Shuang smiled gently and shook her head: "You should think about how to settle things here first."

Looking back at the ships on both sides of the Cangshui River and the mountains of heads piled on the decks, Song Yan felt somewhat helpless. Batu and Shi Lei, those two bastards, had instigated the soldiers on the ships to remove the heads of all the dead Jurchens and Japanese pirates. It was a rather gruesome sight.

If the people of Huangqiao County saw this, they would probably be so frightened that they wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

Now, although Song Yan had woken up, her head was still buzzing and she had little strength. She was too lazy to deal with these things: "Forget it, I'll just stay here for now."

“Some constables will be transferred from Huangqiao County to guard the ships. All the soldiers who went out to sea will rest in Huangqiao County and return to Pingyang tomorrow.”

"Furthermore, who is currently the magistrate of Huangqiao County?"

Although Luo Tianyi has grown, she is ultimately unaware of such things.

Yu Shuang was completely unaware of this.

As for Batu and Shi Lei, they were both roughnecks, good at leading soldiers into battle, but they never cared who held official positions in the local area.

Qingluan, however, only hesitated for a moment before speaking: "It's a young man named Hong Qidong."

"After the prince purged the original officials of Pingyang City, under the management of the princess, he selected scholars from Pingyang City to serve as officials."

“After resigning from his post in the imperial court more than ten years ago, Jia Yifei, the governor of Pingyang, went into seclusion and began writing books and teaching students in Pingyang. Hong Qidong was one of them. He came from the Hong family of Pingyang and could be considered a member of a prominent family.”

"Originally, the Eldest Princess was going to arrange for Jia Yifei to be a prefect or magistrate, but Jia Yifei took the initiative to approach the Eldest Princess and said that although Hong Qidong was talented, he was arrogant and should be placed in a local area to gain experience so that he could understand the hardships of the people."

No wonder he's an intelligence officer; he knows everything perfectly well.

Is it the Hong family of Pingyang?
Song Yan had a slight impression of this family.

It belongs to one of the minor aristocratic families.

Song Yan's methods for dealing with the wealthy and powerful families in Pingyang were not simply killing. As long as they were willing to cooperate with his policies in Pingyang and had not bullied men or women or taken lives, Song Yan was willing to give them a chance.

The Hong family of Pingyang, on the other hand, were the more cooperative ones.

“Then let’s inform Hong Qidong and ask him to help find a place for the soldiers to stay.” Song Yan said, “I know that Huangqiao is just a county town and may not have that much space, so the conditions don’t need to be too good. Just enough for the brothers to lie down and sleep.”

"Also, prepare some meals."

"It doesn't need to be too fancy, as long as it's hot."

“These days, the brothers have been eating cold rice and dry rations, and their stomachs are starting to feel the strain.”

"Also, summon doctors from Huangqiao County to treat the brothers who are unwell."

Qingluan nodded gently: "Then I'll go and make the arrangements."

She was an intelligence operative, so it wasn't a big deal for her to pass on a message casually.

After Song Yan issued the order, Batu and Shi Lei began to arrange for the soldiers to disembark. However, there was a shortage of ships in Pingyang City at present. In addition, the ships were loaded with Hongyi cannons, so these ships were extremely important. Therefore, a large number of soldiers who were in good health were temporarily stationed here to prevent anyone from sabotaging the ships.

Song Yan, along with Yu Shuang and Luo Tianyi, slowly walked towards the county town.

Along the way, Yu Shuang and Luo Tianyi asked about the naval battle. When they heard from Song Yan that two hundred cannons fired in a single salvo, turning the vast ocean into a sea of ​​fire, the two women were incredulous. They had also seen the Hongyi cannons, but they could hardly imagine that the Hongyi cannons would have such power.

Song Yan understood their thoughts and didn't force them to believe it. Once they saw it with their own eyes, they would probably understand the power of the Hongyi Cannon. Song Yan just smiled and subtly changed the subject: "By the way, Miss Yushuang, now that you're back, you shouldn't leave so easily again, right?"

When it came to her own affairs, Yu Shuang's face showed a hint of helplessness: "If I could, I would certainly not want to leave."

After all, Master Yunhai had raised her.

If it were Chen Yuntian or Chen Mingzhe who were persistent and relentless, she really wouldn't be able to refuse once Master Yunhai gave in.

What does that mean?

Just then, three figures walked towards them from the direction of Huangqiao County's city gate. From a distance, they could be seen as two old men and a young man. Song Yan didn't pay much attention, but Yu Shuang's expression suddenly changed. Her brows furrowed, and even her full figure subconsciously moved a little closer to Song Yan.

Song Yan frowned slightly, glanced at Yu Shuang secretly, but didn't say anything. He just stared at the three people who were rapidly approaching. It was clear that these three were all martial artists with considerable strength. On the surface, the three of them were only taking three steps, and their movements were unhurried. However, each step covered a distance of several meters.

Before long, the three of them stopped not far in front of Song Yan, Yu Shuang, and Luo Tianyi.

The two old men frowned slightly, their gazes unconsciously falling on Song Yan, scrutinizing him from head to toe, as if trying to determine the exact relationship between Song Yan and Yu Shuang.

As for the young man, a hint of anger flashed across his handsome face. After all, he was a young man and not as composed as the two old men. Especially when he saw that Yu Shuang and Song Yan were standing very close together, and when he thought of the scene of the two walking side by side and chatting and laughing, a deep hatred, even murderous intent, flashed in the depths of his eyes.

"Yu Shuang..."

The young master was indeed of noble birth. Although he felt disgust, he maintained the most basic decorum. He took a deep breath and slowly asked, "Could this be the man you have chosen?"

But inside, he couldn't help but roar.

Dog men and women!
Dog men and women!
Dog men and women!
She always looked impatient with me, but now she's chatting and laughing with a lowly peasant. Shameless wretch! They're not even married yet, and they're already so close!

The military is the lowest of professions. He is the young master of the Sword Sect, with such a noble status. Why would Yu Shuang rather go to find a peasant than marry him?

What is it about me that I am inferior to this peasant?
Kill him!
Kill him!
Kill him!
(End of this chapter)