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

A few days later, one morning.

Ye Cheng'an was holding the beautiful Mu Yanqi in his arms, preparing to have some "breakfast," when suddenly there was a rapid knocking at the door. "Young Master, wake up! The Nine Cities troops are here again..."

Mu Yanqi quickly stood up and glared angrily at Ye Chengan, as if to say: It's all your fault. I said I would leave after we finished last night, but you insisted that I stay. Now look what happened, we've been blocked at the door.

What will you do if word gets out about what happened between us?

Ye Cheng'an was not in a hurry at all. Instead, he smiled and kissed Mu Yanqi on the cheek, meaning that it was no big deal and he would give her a title once she was discovered.

Mu Yanqi understood what he meant, pinched his chest hard, and then said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "You wish! It is true that I love you, but I will never be confined to the inner quarters. Once the weapons we are trading for arrive, I will leave."

"So, Prime Minister Mu only used me as a tool to temporarily relieve his loneliness? He used me and then ignored me?" Ye Cheng'an bit Mu Yanqi's earlobe, venting his dissatisfaction.

Mu Yanqi gave a soft snort, then quickly covered her mouth, afraid of being discovered by Zhuyu outside the door, and coaxed Ye Cheng'an, "How could that be? I just still have some things to do. Once I've completed my mission, I'll stay by your side forever."

"That's more like it." Ye Cheng'an slapped Mu Yanqi's buttocks again before letting her leave.

Mu Yanqi dressed as quickly as possible and jumped out of Ye Cheng'an's window.

That was so close! I almost got caught in bed with someone cheating!

From now on, she must leave at night and never stay until the next morning. If her affair with Ye Cheng'an is discovered, it will likely cause a great uproar in the Western Regions.

After Mu Yanqi successfully escaped by jumping out of the window, Ye Cheng'an finally dressed and opened the door. "So what if he's here? What's wrong? Your young master has twelve thousand elite Tiger Roar Battalion soldiers under his command. Are you afraid of the Nine Cities Army?"

Zhu Yu did not answer Ye Cheng'an's question, but instead carefully looked around the room, as if searching for something.

"Young master, you were alone in the room the whole time?" Zhu Yu asked, her eyes full of suspicion.

Ye Cheng'an nodded without hesitation, "As you can see."

"But why do I hear what sounds like other people's voices?" Zhu Yu frowned. "Besides, you never used to lock your door when you slept, so why are you being so wary of me lately?"

"This servant is starting to suspect that you're keeping a mistress in a golden cage, young master!"

Zhu Yu's tone was full of resentment, and her eyes were filled with hurt. The eldest young master had clearly said that he would make her his mistress, but she hadn't even gotten to eat the eldest young master's food yet, and now someone else had beaten her to it.

Even though the eldest young master was unwilling to admit it, Zhu Yu was, after all, a martial artist, and quite strong. She was absolutely certain that there was someone in Ye Cheng'an's room just now.

Seeing Zhu Yu's hesitant and timid appearance, Ye Cheng'an had no choice but to coax her, "There really is no one here. If you don't believe me, come to my room tonight. I won't lock the door tonight."

"Just tonight?" Pearl's eyes welled with tears. "Young Master, you wouldn't be doing this on purpose to deceive me..."

"From now on! I mean I won't lock the door anymore. You can come into my room whenever you want!" Ye Cheng'an said hurriedly.

In his heart, Zhu Yu and Zhao Xuefu were not the same.

One was a girl who had been by his side for over a decade, growing up with him, weathering storms together, and remaining 100% loyal and devoted; the other was a spy sent by the imperial court.

Therefore, he could ignore Zhao Xuefu's emotions, but he couldn't bear to see Zhuyu shed tears.

Upon hearing this, Zhuyu finally smiled. "This is what the young master himself said. Tonight, I will stay with you. We haven't slept together in a long time..."

"Oh dear, how could I forget the important matter!" Zhu Yu said, suddenly remembering the Nine Cities' army besieging the city.

These days, Golden Crispy Dragon Wings have become famous in Yong'an City, and there is no market for them. Even the locusts in Juxianglou, which covers the entire city, have been eaten up by diners. Zhao Dingchang has visited several times to buy locusts and has also made up for the money he owed Ye Cheng'an.

Now that the troops from the Nine Cities have come to deliver the locusts, how can we delay?

"Young Master, come with me to see the Nine Cities' troops." Zhu Yu said, pushing Ye Cheng'an toward the city wall.

Shen Jingchuan was already waiting there. Upon seeing Ye Cheng'an, he respectfully bowed and said, "Young Master, the troops of the Nine Cities have delivered all the locusts from within the Nine Cities to Yong'an City as agreed. Should we release the commanders of the Nine Cities to return?"

Ye Cheng'an laughed, "Now that you've gotten what I wanted, what's the point of keeping those good-for-nothings around? Put them all back."

Zhu Yu frowned. "But isn't the eldest young master afraid that they'll unite and impeach you at the royal court after they return?"

Ye Cheng'an sneered, "I have a clear conscience, so why should I fear impeachment? On the contrary, if they know what's good for them, they'll understand who's in charge in Liuzhou after this incident, and they'll go back and behave themselves..."

"On the contrary, if they are reckless and court death, then I would be more than happy to see them!"

Under Ye Cheng'an's orders, Shen Jingchuan ordered the city gates to be opened and received all the locusts from the nine cities.

He ordered the release of Nie Chongshan and the other nine men.

When they saw so many densely packed locusts being transported to Yong'an City, Nie Chongshan and his nine companions were all greatly shocked.

"No way, has Ye Cheng'an gone mad? What does he need so many locusts for?"

"Who knows? I wouldn't take this even if it were free. Perfect, if he wants it, he can keep it; it saves us the time and effort of dealing with it!"

After reuniting with his own people, Nie Chongshan, his face swollen and bruised, glared fiercely at Ye Cheng'an, who stood atop the city wall of Yong'an. He spat out each word through gritted teeth, "Ye Cheng'an, you actually detained officials from the Nine Cities and threatened them to offer 900,000 taels of silver! You wait! I'll go back right now and, together with the officials from the Nine Cities, write a letter to the royal court, demanding that the Prince and Princess convict you!"

Upon hearing Nie Chongshan's words, the other officials echoed, "Yes, the days I spent being detained by Ye Cheng'an were the most humiliating time of my life! I must file a complaint against him before the Prince and Princess!"

"Let's go! There's strength in numbers! If we submit a joint petition, it will surely attract the attention of the royal court! Ye Cheng'an's good days are numbered!!!"

Looking at the nine people who were still unrepentant, Ye Cheng'an's eyes were full of mockery. Even Xiao Heming had become a coward after being taught a lesson by him. These nine people really didn't know their own limitations.

Fine, since they want to play, he'll play along with them.

Incidentally, he was also very curious to see what underhanded tricks Su Wanrou would use to retaliate against him after learning about this...