With wives as numerous as clouds and soldiers as numerous as a million, you say he's a useless

"Young Master, it seems the Ninth Princess is determined to go to Liuzhou with you. What should we do?" Zhu Yu asked after returning to the Young Master's residence.

Ye Chengan said, "I have done everything I can. Now it is up to Ye Jinglan and his wife to work on things. I hope they can successfully change the emperor's mind and stop Zhao Xuefu from getting engaged to me."

"Of course, if even the efforts of Ye Jinglan and his wife fail to achieve the desired results, then I will have to prepare for the worst..."

"What?" Zhuyu asked.

Ye Cheng'an said, word by word, "On the way to Liuzhou, I made Zhao Xuefu unable to bear it any longer, and forced her to take the initiative to annul our engagement!"

Zhu Yu frowned. "But the Ninth Princess doesn't even care that you, young master, spend so much time in brothels. What could you possibly do to anger her?"

Ye Cheng'an smiled faintly, "She doesn't care if I stay in brothels all the time because she has no feelings for me, and even if I do, it won't affect her. But what if I use a different method and it affects her?"

"What does the eldest young master mean..." Zhu Yu's eyes lit up, "You're going to pretend to be a lecher, taking advantage of the princess at every turn, until she can't stand it anymore!?"

"Smart." Ye Cheng'an glanced at Zhu Yu with admiration. "By the way, take a few men and take all the congratulatory gifts that I robbed from Su Wanrou's faction of officials today, which I originally intended to present to Ye Jinyu, and exchange them for cash."

"I earned 110,000 taels of silver at the Thousand Heroes Banquet, plus 120,000 taels of silver from killing Su Jingyuan and the Tiger Roar Camp, and 100,000 taels from selling my assets... I only have 330,000 taels of silver in my hands now."

"That sounds like a lot of money, but the problem is that everything will have to start from scratch in Liuzhou. 330,000 taels of silver is just a drop in the ocean..."

"Once we get to Liuzhou, I'll have to figure out how to make money!"

"Also, have Uncle Zhong buy me more seeds. Once we get to Liuzhou, we'll need to stockpile grain and build high walls..."

As Ye Cheng'an began preparing for his trip to Liuzhou, Ye Jinglan's order forbidding officials from seeing him off had already reached the ears of every courtier in the northern border.

This infuriated all the conscientious officials in the court.

Han Zhaolie, in particular, exclaimed, "Your Highness's actions are simply outrageous! The eldest son is of noble lineage and holds the title of the eldest legitimate son, yet he is treated like this, worse than a stray dog..."

"Chief Secretary, no, I, Han, must finally restrain myself from wielding my sword!"

Han Zhaolie gripped his knife angrily, "Honestly, sometimes I really want to rebel! Lead my brothers to pull Ye Jinglan off the throne and install the eldest son as the new king!"

"Shh." Upon hearing this, Pei Heng quickly covered Han Zhaolie's mouth. "Do you think I don't want to do this? But don't forget, the Northern Border isn't just our Northern Border, it's also the Imperial Court's Northern Border!"

"The court sent the Ninth Princess here to see if there was any opportunity to take advantage of the situation and annex the Northern Territory. If trouble were to break out in the Northern Territory now... I'm afraid that the prince, the eldest son, and the people of the Northern Territory would all be crushed by the court's army."

"But if we don't resist, we can only watch helplessly as our eldest son is bullied like this by that bastard Ye Jinglan, who rose to power by living off women and having no descendants!" Han Zhaolie was furious.

Pei Heng squinted and said unhurriedly, "Do you really think it's a bad thing for the eldest young master to leave Beian City and go to Liuzhou to govern himself?"

"Don't forget, gold shines wherever it is. Without Su Wanrou and her son interfering in the Northern Border, and without the prince's biased suppression, the eldest young master will surely thrive. He will soon be able to achieve something great."

"With Su Wanrou and her son in power in the Northern Kingdom, chaos is inevitable. It's a good opportunity to let the people of the North see who is the cornerstone supporting the North's survival and development... The eldest son will return sooner or later."

"But Ninth Princess is going to Liuzhou with the Eldest Young Master. Won't that interfere with the Eldest Young Master's important business...?" Han Zhaolie frowned.

Pei Heng laughed, "Young people's affairs always resolve themselves in ways you can't imagine. Besides, the eldest young master is outstanding in both literature and martial arts. Not to mention the Northern Border, it would be hard to find a man as excellent as the eldest young master in the entire Great Qian. Who knows, one day the princess might be blinded by love and betray the court to stand on the eldest young master's side..."

"But the eldest young master has toiled for the northern border for so many years, I can't bear to see him leave without anyone to see him off," Han Zhaolie said.

Pei Heng chuckled, "Minister Han, what nonsense are you spouting? How could we be going to see off the eldest son? We're clearly going to see off the princess!"

...

One morning three days later.

It was the day Ye Cheng'an was preparing to leave Beian City.

He knew that Ye Jinglan, that old tyrant, had already given an order that no civil or military official in the Northern Border was allowed to see him off. Therefore, when the gates of the mansion opened and there was no one in front of them, he felt no loneliness or melancholy.

All that remained was hatred for Old Deng's cold-blooded ruthlessness.

That's good, so that in the future, his heart will be more steadfast and unshakable.

However, what he did not expect was that not only did Lao Deng forbid the civil and military officials of the Northern Border Court from coming to see him off, but he also allowed Su Wanrou and her son to come and disgust him again when he was about to leave Beian City for Liuzhou!

Today, Su Wanrou was dressed exceptionally elegantly and luxuriously, her face glowing with health, as if she had encountered something wonderful. She looked several years younger.

She appeared before Ye Cheng'an in a magnificent royal gown, accompanied by Ye Jinyu.

"Young Master, your journey is long, and I don't know if we will ever meet again in this life. Please take good care of yourself. Jin Yu and I are in Beian City, and we will miss you very much."

Ye Jinyu also smiled and said, "Yes, elder brother, you can go in peace. I will definitely take good care of the position of heir apparent for you. When I was promoted to heir apparent, you personally witnessed the ceremony. I hope that when I inherit the throne in the future, you can also witness it with your own eyes..."

"Oh, no, brother, you only need twelve thousand troops to go to Liuzhou. Liuzhou borders the Northern Barbarians, and those barbarian soldiers are fierce and have repeatedly invaded our northern territory. It's uncertain whether you can successfully resist their attacks and live to see the day I inherit the throne!"

"Brother, you don't know yet, do you? Father issued a decree yesterday that even if the barbarian troops invade the northern border, no one is allowed to lend you a hand unless you bow your head and ask Father for help and receive approval. Otherwise, it would be disobeying the royal decree... You must regret it now. Why did you defy Father and resign from your position as heir apparent? You must regret going to Liuzhou, right?"

Looking at the smug Su Wanrou and her son, Ye Cheng'an's eyes were filled with icy coldness. Just as he clenched his fists, preparing to lash out, a voice suddenly came from afar.

"Young Master, why aren't you ready to depart yet? I've been waiting for you for so long."

It's Zhao Xuefu!

She actually came!

Are you really prepared to go to Liuzhou with Ye Cheng'an, this abandoned pawn who has already lost power?

Upon seeing Zhao Xuefu's men, Ye Jinyu was completely taken aback, and the smile on her face vanished instantly.

Why? Why is it that no matter how much he pursued and flattered Zhao Xuefu, he couldn't even get a second glance from her, while Ye Chengan did nothing but receive such affection and shared joys and sorrows from her?

He quickly looked to Su Wanrou for help, "Mother, didn't you say that Father had already written a letter to the palace to stop the Ninth Princess and Ye Cheng'an from going to Liuzhou? Why hasn't the court made a move?"

Su Wanrou frowned. She had planned to make Ye Cheng'an leave in a miserable state, so that everyone in the Northern Border would see the consequences of opposing them and their son. But she had overlooked Zhao Xuefu.

As long as he has the support of the imperial princess, even without the farewell of officials, and even if he is going to Liuzhou, Ye Cheng'an has not yet lost this game!

She gritted her teeth and said, word by word, "The northern border is far from the imperial court. Even at top speed, it would take a certain amount of time to travel back and forth. His Majesty must not have received your father's memorial yet. Don't worry, it won't be long before His Majesty recalls the Ninth Princess and bestows a marriage upon her and you."

Upon hearing this, Ye Jinyu's expression improved considerably. She arrogantly addressed Ye Cheng'an, "Brother, you heard what Mother Consort said. The princess was young and was misled by you, making a mistake for a moment. However, His Majesty and the civil and military officials of the court are not confused. Soon, His Majesty's decree to bestow marriage upon me and the princess will be delivered. Even if the princess leaves with you today, it will only be temporary..."

"The princess can only be mine in the end."

Ye Cheng'an couldn't be happier if Ye Jinyu snatched Zhao Xuefu away from him, so that he would have one less spy with malicious intentions who was constantly watching him.

"I wish my second brother all the best."

Ye Cheng'an spoke from the heart, but Ye Jinyu took it as a provocation. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out each word, "It will definitely happen!"

While he was talking to Ye Cheng'an, the old ministers of the Northern Border who had been hiding in the shadows stepped forward one after another.

The two leading figures were clearly Pei Heng and Han Zhaolie.

Seeing that nearly two-thirds of the court officials had gathered outside the eldest son's residence, Su Wanrou frowned deeply. "Pei Heng, have you all gone mad? The Prince has already ordered that you are not allowed to come and see Ye Cheng'an off, yet you still dare to come..."

"And they were all wearing official robes..."

"Do you know that disobeying the king's decree is a grave crime!"

Before Pei Heng could speak, Han Zhaolie beside him said coldly, "Your Highness has misunderstood. We are not here to see off the eldest son, but clearly to see off the princess!"

The remaining officials echoed, "Yes, Your Highness, the princess is an envoy from the court, going to Liuzhou for an inspection with the eldest son. As officials of the Northern Border, shouldn't we see her off?"

"Not only us, but the Princess and the Crown Prince have also come. Since you're here, shall we bid farewell to the Ninth Princess together?"

"..." Su Wanrou never expected that these court officials would dare to play word games with her, and even wanted her and Jinyu to bid farewell to the Ninth Princess together.

You must know that the Ninth Princess is going to travel with Ye Cheng'an. If they pay their respects, it will be the same as paying respects to Ye Cheng'an!

These damned guys! She really didn't understand. Ye Cheng'an had already been crippled, was going to Liuzhou, and was already a discarded pawn. Why were these people still so stubbornly loyal to him?

Aren't these people afraid of their mother and son taking revenge after Ye Cheng'an leaves?

Seeing that Su Wanrou and her son remained motionless, Han Zhaolie spoke again, "What? Is it disrespectful to the princess that the princess and her consort are unwilling to bid farewell?"

"The princess and her heir have shown disrespect to the princess by openly failing to pay their respects. If this matter were to reach the court..."

Looking at Pei Heng and Han Zhaolie, Ye Cheng'an knew that they hadn't come to see the princess off; they had clearly come to bid him farewell.

In that instant, a warm feeling suddenly rose in his heart. He felt gratified for the original owner's years of dedication. Those who follow the righteous path receive much help, while those who stray from it receive little. Even if the way of heaven is unjust, all living beings under the great path are willing to help him fight for justice!

Su Wanrou and her son tried to kick him while he was down and mock him, but in the end, they only ended up shooting themselves in the foot!

"Yes, stepmother, second brother, the princess, and I are all about to depart. All the officials from the Northern Border have come to see us off, bowing in farewell. Why didn't you two bow?"

"Are you disrespecting the princess? Or are you disrespecting the imperial court?"

"Does Father know that you harbor such rebellious intentions?!"