So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

Ning Yu was sweating profusely, but her voice remained calm and unhurried. "I will have to live in the Xie family in the future. I can't afford to offend everyone. The old lady has been good to me, and I want to do my part."

Xie Xun didn't need her to please anyone, nor did he want her to pretend to be obedient in front of outsiders.

"No need, I'll take care of anything."

She looked up at him, her beautiful fox-like eyes gazing at him with a watery look.

"But you've done so much for me, even going against your family like this, I don't want to put you in a difficult position."

Xie Xun twitched his lips. Last night he was still arguing with his older brother, and now he's starting to think about him again?

He wasn't very happy, but he didn't want to expose her.

Why bother arguing with her? She has to follow him anyway, whether she's willing or not, he doesn't care. Let her make a scene if she wants.

"Don't worry about Grandma changing her mind, she'll chop off your hands and feet."

She thought everyone was as ruthless as him. As long as she got the travel permit, she would leave the Xie family immediately. The East Garden was heavily guarded and it was not easy to go out, but Rong'an Hall was different.

She pretended to be scared and glared at him, "Don't scare me. The old lady has already promised that I can stay by your side."

Xie Xun loved seeing her act coquettishly, so he chuckled and couldn't resist leaning down to give her a big kiss on the lips.

Ning Yu knew this scoundrel could do whatever he wanted anywhere, but this was the old lady's courtyard, so she murmured and pushed him away.

"Stop fooling around."

"Sweetie, let me kiss you for a while, or I'll take you home right now."

A hoarse voice sounded low, carrying a threatening tone. Ning Yu whimpered in pain, and before she could dodge, the back of her head was firmly gripped.

He kissed her fiercely and intensely, as if he wanted to devour her. She couldn't resist, feeling his breath filling her nostrils. She tried to push him away but couldn't budge him. She sobbed and clutched his clothes.

Ning Yu genuinely believed that the rumors circulating in the capital were false. How could someone as lustful as Xie Xun have never had a woman before?

She'd been with him for so long and hadn't seen him with any other women, but he was incredibly lustful, and quite good in bed too.

Sometimes he can make a scene several times a day, and he's not afraid of dying on women.

Ning Yu cursed him inwardly, then suddenly felt a chill run through her body. She quickly lowered her arms and wrapped them around herself, "Don't—don't do anything like that here—"

Xie Xun had a lot of official business to attend to in the afternoon, so it was impossible for him to be acting recklessly here.

You could tell he was somewhat dissatisfied when it ended.

Ning Yu didn't have time to pay attention to him. She glanced at the marks on her undergarment, glared at him angrily, straightened her clothes, and pushed him away.

"Go ahead and get busy."

When are you planning to go back?

Ning Yu leaned limply against him and mumbled, "I'll be going back in a day or two."

She won't go back. Once she gets the travel permit, she'll immediately find a chance to slip away. If she gets taken back to Dongyuan, it will be difficult for her to get out.

Xie Xun glanced at the sky outside, patted her bottom, and said, "Get up."

Ning Yu got off him and saw that he had really left. She was still a little nervous. After seeing him leave Rong'an Hall, she glanced at the head of the guards who was still in the courtyard and slammed the door shut.

She needs to get her money out; she needs to exchange it all for banknotes.

The emperor's illness worsened, and in the afternoon, many imperial physicians and ministers came and went from the palace.

In the imperial study, Xie Xun leaned back in his chair, his eyes slightly closed.

"Go down."

The imperial physician who reported the emperor's condition immediately shut his mouth, bowed, and said, "Yes."

"These are all the battle reports from the border. The passes in Jizhou, Yuzhou, and Mingzhou have all fallen. His Highness the Seventh Prince is no longer at the border."

Upon hearing Wei Rongxuan's voice, Xie Xun opened his eyes and took the folding book handed to him by the eunuch.

The Great Xia and the Upper Liang are currently locked in a fierce battle, and most of the Great Xia's troops have been concentrated in the Qilian Mountains area.

Today, Grand Commander Xie Xun issued an order, commanding 50,000 heavily armored soldiers from Shu Prefecture to reinforce Beishuo Pass, the last pass in the northeast.

Once Beishuo Pass is breached, Beiliang will be able to advance unimpeded and directly attack the twelve cities of Youzhou.

"These princes and grandsons of the emperor are all waiting for news of his passing to come from the palace."

His slightly amused words frightened the other officials in the hall so much that they wished they could close their ears; they dared not listen to such treasonous words.

"Look at the actions of our Seventh Prince. The Muhe clan in the Northeast also wants a piece of the pie."

Everyone knew that once the emperor passed away, the princes would fight tooth and nail for the throne, but no one expected that Grand Commander Xie Xun would bring the matter to the forefront and force them to choose sides.

The court officials below, remembering the decree proposed by the council of elders today, all stood up to express their opinions.

Qi Huizhi listened to these corrupt officials shirking their responsibilities and refusing to launch the attack, and felt contempt for them.

They're a bunch of good-for-nothings when it comes to leading troops into battle. They just rely on their family's influence to do whatever they want all day long, scaring the soldiers so much they'd run away in terror.

What a bunch of idiots! They actually think the governor wants to send people to attack the Seventh Prince. It seems like he wants to force out all those who are on the side of the Seventh Prince and the Crown Prince, and then settle scores with them one by one.

Time passed slowly, and before they knew it, night had fallen. Moonlight shone through the glazed tiles into the palace, casting a silvery frost on the ground.

The ministers slowly emerged from the hall, leaving only a few close associates inside.

Xie Xun brushed aside the memorials on the table, picked up a teacup, took a sip, and his seemingly kind eyes slowly turned cold.

"Look carefully, the people on this list are using excuses to transfer out of the military and political center."

Wei Rongxuan took the list handed to him by the eunuch, glanced at it briefly, hummed in agreement, and then began to talk about the war at the border.

"In my opinion, the Sage cannot hold out for much longer. He must suppress the war on the border and stabilize the internal strife of the Great Xia first."

Xie Xun chuckled lightly, "Then what are we still doing? Let's use Shang Liang to get rid of a few useless trash, wait for the survivors to return to the capital and fight the Crown Prince, and then kill them all. Wouldn't that be better?"

"This is, after all, an internal struggle within the Great Xia Dynasty, and other forces should not get involved."

"The Great Xia has been too comfortable for too many years. It's time to rise up and fight for it. Let them be arrogant for a few days."

Having said that, Xie Xun was too lazy to say anything more. He glanced at the sky outside and got up to leave the palace.

Wei Rongxuan looked at him and said, "It's so late, why go back? Just sleep in the palace. You'll be very busy later."

"You're all alone, so go to sleep by yourself."

What does that mean?

He remembered the woman he had seen at the villa, and curiously stroked his chin. "Who was that woman?"

Xie Xun ignored him and strode out of the bedchamber.

Upon returning to the Xie family ancestral home, the carriage stopped directly at the gate. Xie Xun alighted from the carriage and headed towards Rong'an Hall.

What he didn't expect was that Ning Yu's room was empty and dark.

He looked around the room, his face gradually darkening. Where did he run off to?