You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 307: Anger turns beauty into beauty
Changsha Prefecture.

Good news keeps coming.

"Report! Vanguard Commander Wang Fuchen reports a victory. Our army has captured Pingxiang, Yuanzhou, Linjiang, and other cities, and has now reached the walls of Nanchang. Nanchang is a large city with thick walls, so we need to make thorough preparations for the siege. Since we set out from Liling to attack Jiangxi, the Qing army has suffered more than 15000 casualties, while our army has suffered more than 4500 casualties. General Wang Fuchen personally killed Zhuo Butai, the Qing governor of Hunan."

"Report! Twenty-one counties in three prefectures of Hubei and Jiangxi have sent surrender documents. They will open the city gates to welcome the royal army as soon as our troops arrive. The letter of loyalty is here. Please read it, Your Highness."

"Report! Thirty-two scholars from Jiangxi, Hubei, and Hunan have come to seek refuge with Your Highness."

……

In high spirits, Wu Sangui, surrounded by his civil and military officials, looked down at the Xiang River. He patted the city bricks and exclaimed, "Heroes of the world are as numerous as carp crossing the river."

Wu Yinglin immediately flattered, "When Father King raises his arm and calls out, the whole world follows suit, which shows the will of the people."

Everyone burst into laughter.

The atmosphere at the scene was instantly joyful.

Since Wu Yingxiong's death, Wu Yinglin has become the heir apparent and will certainly inherit the prince's mantle in the future.

"By the way, has Sichuan replied yet?"

"not yet."

Wu Sangui frowned slightly, thinking to himself that Wang Jinbao had treated him well when he was under his command. Before Wang Jinbao took office as the commander of the Sichuan Green Standard Army, Wu Sangui had even given him a fine horse, precious armor, gold and silver of considerable value.

Besides, with his forces at their peak, Wang Jinbao should probably join the Justice League.

……

After inspecting the city's defenses, Wu Sangui returned to the back residence of the governor's office.

"Yuanyuan, are you getting used to the climate in Changsha?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am fine."

"That's good. We'll be staying in Changsha for a while now. It's inconvenient to command operations from Kunming, so it's more suitable to be based in Changsha."

Chen Yuanyuan skillfully helped them remove their armor and clothes, and then served them tea.

Wu Sangui took a sip.

"What kind of tea is this? It tastes weird."

"Your Highness is busy with official duties and is feeling quite hot-tempered. This is a tea that I specially prepared to cool you down."

"It's rare that you have this kind of heart."

"Only when Your Highness is well will I be well."

Wu Sangui was extremely pleased, so he took the woman, who was vilified by the world as "a woman who would risk everything for a man's sake," into his arms.

"Yuanyuan, I have good news for you. Wu Weiye is dead."

"How did you die?"

"He and Qian Qianyi organized scholars to intercept Jiang Qingyun's boat, and were thrown into the river and drowned on the spot."

"His death was rather hasty."

"Qian and Wu were once famous, but both died at the hands of Chiang Kai-shek. It just goes to show the old saying, 'When a scholar meets a soldier, reason is useless.'"

"Deserved it."

After Wu Sangui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Wu Weiye wrote a poem to vehemently denounce him. The most famous line is "He lost his crown in a fit of rage for a beauty," a powerful and moving rant that has been remembered for centuries.

Embarrassingly, a few years later, Wu Weiye himself also lost his job.

As the saying goes—enlightenment knows no order of timing, and treason knows no early or late stages.
Chen Yuanyuan: "Sanlang, I have a letter here."

"Ok?"

……

Wu Sangui took the letter with suspicion and saw that the outer envelope had been opened, indicating that Chen Yuanyuan had already read it.

Unfold the stationery.

The handwriting, while lacking in grandeur, was undeniably delicate and graceful, clearly written by a woman. Turning directly to the end, I found the signature: Liu Rushi.

"Liu Rushi?"

"Yes."

Wu Sangui quickly finished reading it and cursed, "That bastard!"

Chen Yuanyuan remained silent.

After a while~
Wu Sangui got up and paced back and forth in the room.

"He killed my son and still dared to write to me with the audacity to warn me, saying that Wuchang and Jiujiang were his bottom lines, and that I should not say I was not warned."

"I have an army of 150,000, how many Niru does he have?"

Seeing the furious Wu Sangui, Chen Yuanyuan gently walked over and comforted him.

"Sanlang, don't get angry, anger will harm your health."

"Sanlang, should I reply?" "Yes, tell him that I intend to compete with him for control of the Central Plains. It is still unknown who will emerge victorious."

"Yes."

With just this one sentence, Chen Yuanyuan could tell that Wu Sangui was feeling guilty. She thought to herself that the psychological trauma left by the prince during his years guarding Shanhaiguan would probably never be healed in this lifetime.

……

As usual, the two spent some intimate time together, and Wu Sangui left satisfied. This was the greatest value of Chen Yuanyuan, who had no children, in the Prince's mansion.

Marriage, in its essence, is nothing more than a carefully crafted transaction.

Her personal maid helped Chen Yuanyuan down from the bed and tied up her loose hair. Chen Yuanyuan then sat barefoot in front of the dressing table and wrote a reply.

The maid who was combing her hair said indignantly, "Miss, Liu Rushi is truly a persistent ghost."

Chen Yuanyuan laughed and said, "She has played fierce and chivalrous women all her life. After playing the role for so long, she actually started to believe it herself. I really didn't expect that she would dare to give orders now."

“My young lady is so kind-hearted. If it were Kou Baimen, he would have burned the letter long ago and pretended he didn’t see it.”

Chen Yuanyuan smiled gently.

"Alright, let's apply the cream."

"Yes."

……

After closing all the doors and windows, the maid loosened her belt, and a thin gauze jacket slipped off.

"Miss, you are so beautiful."

Chen Yuanyuan ignored the maid's flattery; her thoughts had already flown back to more than a decade ago, to the battle for the title of courtesan on the banks of the Qinhuai River, where gold paved the road, silver set the steps, flower petals rained down, scholars filled the crowd, and the Qinhuai River bore witness.

Chen Yuanyuan was gentle, Liu Rushi was strong-willed, and Kou Baimen was beautiful.
They used all their skills—poetry, songs, folk arts, and dance—to compete openly and covertly.

Later, the sisters went their separate ways, each pursuing their own path; some died, some were injured, and some withered away.

Now, more than a decade later, the old friend has contacted her again. The maid said there was no need to pay attention, but she knew that this was another battle for the title of courtesan.

It appears to be a power struggle, but in reality, it's about mutually enhancing each other's status.

The courtesan is the passageway!

It is a conduit between a powerful prince with a large army and a young, fierce minister.

A decorated sedan chair carried by many people~
Women from the Qinhuai River understand this principle best.

Chen Yuanyuan opened her arms and let the maid apply the expensive but lead-contaminated whitening cream evenly all over her body before putting her clothes back on.

"Choose the best hairpin."

"Yes."

Before long, the maidservant arrived carrying a hairpin worth a thousand taels of silver.

"Give the messenger 20 taels of silver as a reward, and also reward him with a fine set of clothes. Have him send the hairpin and the letter back to the capital and inquire after Sister Liu."

"Yes."

The maidservant hurriedly left.

Looking out the window at the scenery, Chen Yuanyuan sighed that after so many years, she had found the feeling of the courtesan competition from back then.

I never expected that my best friend, who had been out of the public eye for so many years, would actually hook up with the most powerful man in the empire.

The Grand Secretary was indeed arrogant and domineering.

The prince was no less impressive.

Sisters are inherently indifferent; why bother to cherish each other?

Let them fight! In the end, it's just a contest of all aspects that relies on men.

……

Before dinner.

The maid was sullen.

"Miss, I still don't understand. Liu Rushi is so old and has already had a child, while the Grand Secretary is so young. Why would he take a liking to her?"

"She's a good actress."

How good can it be?

"She was really into the role."

The maid seemed to understand but not quite.

Chen Yuanyuan said with a hint of sarcasm, "It's not that I'm slandering her behind her back, but she has a good daughter who can lend her a helping hand in crucial moments."

The maid was so surprised she couldn't close her mouth.

This is truly a case of "there are no cowards under Xiangji Temple, and no good people along the Qinhuai River."

(End of this chapter)