Chapter 490

After four years of being together day and night, how could there be no feelings?

Xi Que is the only person in the palace whom Shuang Jiang can truly trust as her close sister.

Although Her Highness comforted Xi Que that even after marriage, she could still come to the palace often,

it's simply not the same.

Once Xi Que is married, she will be the mistress of the household, with a multitude of responsibilities waiting for her to manage. After General Meng returns to the military camp, she will need to attend to her mother-in-law even more attentively.

How would there still be so much time to frequently visit the palace?@@novelbin@@

“Let's ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‍go!”

Jiang Xinyue descended the stone steps: “Princess Third should be awake by now.”

The little princess is already over a year old and exceptionally clingy, especially to Jiang Xinyue. If she wakes up and doesn’t see her mother, she will definitely throw a tantrum.

The emperor dotes on the little princess the most, and due to her attachment, he has recently been holding her while reviewing memorials.

The officials below have become accustomed to seeing handprints and drool stains on the memorials.

“Has Su Yanran arrived in Jin Kingdom yet?”

In order to distract herself from the sadness of Xi Que’s marriage, Jiang Xinyue once again immersed herself in the memorials.

Seeing her arrive, the emperor seized the opportunity to take a break, carrying Princess Third to the side hall: “Off we go! Little Princess Yuan and Father Emperor will build a nine-story tower together, okay?”

The nine-story tower is a wooden block toy that Princes Fourth and Crown have enjoyed immensely. They frequently pull Prince Seventh to play with them, leading their father to believe that the three boys are deliberately excluding his precious princess. Determined to win the admiration of his sons, the emperor is set on constructing the tallest tower with Princess Third, so that the three brats can look up to their little sister.

“Eeee-yayaya... eee...”

Princess Third waved her soft, fragrant hands, straining towards Jiang Xinyue, clearly wanting her mother to hold her.

“Shen Minglan, behave! Go play with Father Emperor.”

With a father who indulges her endlessly—granting her the stars without even hesitating for the moon—Jiang Xinyue felt compelled to be stricter with her.

Little Minglan pouted, tears glistening in her gem-like eyes, ready to spill over at any moment. But fearing her mother’s anger, she dared not cry out loud.

The emperor, unable to bear it any longer, cradled his precious little princess: “Oh, little darling, don’t cry! Mommy is busy, so let’s come back later to play with her, okay?”

Shen Minglan stealthily glanced at her stern mother and then at her kind father, her tears threatening to overflow. Finally, with a quivering lip, she nodded.

Shuang Jiang, watching all this, felt a pang of distress: “Your Highness, the little princess adores you so much that she clings to you. You...”

“I do it for her own good. Her personality is a perfect match to mine. If not guided properly, she will become a little tyrant. Her brothers will be at her mercy.”

Jiang Xinyue doesn’t wish for her daughter to inherit her calculating nature, striving for everything through cunning. She finds that too exhausting and unfair.

Her daughter should be the most honorable princess in Great Yan. She can be strong or gentle, but not devious.

For she doesn’t need to be. Her father, mother, and brothers will provide her with whatever she desires.

In short, her daughter, Jiang Xinyue's child, is born to enjoy a life of luxury. She doesn’t need to resort to any tricks.

With Jin Kingdom vanquished, Great Yan will be the sole powerhouse, unifying the nation. There will be no need for her to marry into another kingdom.

In Jin Kingdom—

Helian Chi had been staring at the eastern army defense map on his table for two hours: “What do you all think? Is this map genuine or fake?”

The ministers below glanced at each other, unable to reach a consensus, only spouting useless commentary: “Since this map was brought back by the Empress, we should ask her for confirmation about its authenticity.”

“Didn’t our people hypnotize Great Yan’s emperor? We’ve never failed before; it should be real, right?”

“Unfortunately, all the spies we had in Great Yan’s palace were ousted after the informant incident. Now, if something happens in there, we can only rely on outside news.”

“If the Empress says it's real, then it probably is, since we weren’t there.”

“This map is definitely real.”

An official who accompanied Su Yanran to Great Yan provided evidence: “At the banquet when Great Yan’s emperor sent us off, he was utterly ridiculous, and their Empress was also hypnotized, terrified every night. This is something we all witnessed and heard with our own ears; there can’t be any deceit.”

A hypnotized person can only act as the hypnotist commands.

When the Empress asked Great Yan’s emperor for the military layout, could he have refused?

Under hypnosis, he was nothing more than a puppet!

“Your Majesty! The spies expelled from Great Yan’s palace have sent news that the emperor recently suddenly ordered the execution of Jiang Xinyue for no reason. It seems our Empress was telling the truth.”

The emperor and empress of Great Yan were under their control.

Excited, Helian Chi declared: “Someone like Shi Ruojun dares to challenge me—summon our Jin army and prepare to attack Yen Edge.”

That woman, described as a stubborn stone in a filthy pit, dared to ridicule Jin Kingdom’s royal family at their border and stir up chaos among the deposed emperor’s followers. She will pay for this.

“Does Your Majesty intend to lead the charge?”

Raising from his throne, Helian Chi declared: “Of course! Once Great Yan is destroyed, Jin Kingdom will rule the land, eternity’s legacy firm and true. I, too, will be remembered in history, hailed as the greatest ruler, the first emperor to unify the world. This battle, I must personally lead.”

Future historians will undoubtedly praise me for my valor and genius, documenting me as the most exemplary ruler in centuries of Jin history.

Leading an imperial campaign only adds to the legendary aura surrounding my achievements.

“Halt!”

In the biting cold, a group of spirited female soldiers whipped the air, driving a Jin Kingdom reconnaissance team that had sneaked into Yen Edge back across the border: “You filthy mongrels, dare to plunder and murder in our Yen Edge again, and we’ll twist off your dog heads.”

They were a special strike team personally led by General Shi, consisting entirely of women. There were a total of 300, divided into six squads, each with fifty members and a leader. General Shi issued orders only to the six squad leaders.

These women volunteered from all over Great Yan, each sharing the same ideals as Shi Ruojun. Many of them already had martial arts skills close to the esteemed general before undergoing months of rigorous training.

As such, General Shi allowed these six squads to patrol the city independently,

Their mission was to drive away all Jin Kingdom raiding teams that had breached into Great Yan’s territory and refuse to vacate local residences.

Under General Shi’s governance, Yen Edge has improved drastically; thriving where it once had been a desolate town.

“Captain! We’ve captured a lone Jin soldier.”

“Take him back!”

The soldiers bound the captive with rope: “Stay still.”

Nobody noticed the cunning gleam in the captive’s lowered eyes.