Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law

"Commander, urgent message from the Celestial Master."

A small soldier from the Celestial Master Army rushed into the hall, pulled an urgent message from his pocket, and a personal soldier stepped forward, took the message, and handed it to Yang Minggui.

Yang Minggui paused slightly. Since Qingzhou was captured, the Celestial Master hadn't sent him any messages or orders. The sudden urgent message instinctively led him to believe something big had happened.

The message was sealed with wax and stamped with a special mark; if anyone had peeked at it mid-way, it would be immediately noticeable.

Yang Minggui opened the urgent message, glanced at it briefly, then his expression tightened, and he began to read seriously. A few moments later, he laughed loudly: "The heavens are helping me, the heavens are helping me..."

Military Advisor Xu Mu cast his gaze over and inquired: "Commander, what has happened?"

Yang Minggui directly handed the read message to Xu Mu: "Military Advisor, good news. Prime Minister Xu Guozhong abuses his power, imprisoning the Emperor in the deep palace, deceiving the sovereign and harming the people. Now Imperial Tutor Liang has arrived in Huai State with the Emperor's blood-written mandate, accusing Xu Guozhong of his crimes. Prince Huai, with the Emperor's blood edict, proclaims righteousness to the world, issuing a proclamation to eliminate the traitor, and the Dukes everywhere are responding, campaigning against Xu Guozhong..."

After Yang Minggui had finished speaking, Military Advisor Xu Mu also read the message, smiling. This indeed was tremendous news for the Celestial Master Army.

The reason the Celestial Master Army currently remains in Qingzhou, holding its position, is partly due to having no ships, and partly due to the risk of being targeted by various Dukes if they advance south.

Now Prince Huai has issued a proclamation against the traitor, with Dukes responding and preparing to enter the capital to support the King, indicating they won't have the time to focus on them, providing an opportunity to move south.

In the urgent message, the Celestial Master also instructed all Commanders to swiftly organize their forces and await orders.

"It seems the Celestial Master will be attacking Fengzhou soon, urging you, Commander, to prepare quickly," said Xu Mu.

Yang Minggui nodded, but soon issues arose; if war breaks out, the construction of the Celestial King Hall will have to be postponed.

Xu Mu seemed to perceive Yang Minggui's concern and said: "Please rest assured, Commander. Our Celestial Master Army is vast and powerful; even if war breaks out, the construction of the Celestial King Hall will not be delayed, as several generals are there to ease your burden."

Upon hearing this, Yang Minggui pondered for a moment, realizing Xu Mu's words held sense. The Celestial Master Army boasts millions of soldiers and thirty-six Commanders; once war breaks out, he can easily delegate the lower-ranking officers to lead the troops, and his absence might not be much of an impact.

Compared to warfare, constructing the Celestial King Hall and quickly reaching the Upper Three Grades is the most crucial task.

"Report—"

As the two were discussing, a personal soldier entered, kneeled on one knee, and said: "Commander, Deputy Commander Bai under General Yuan requests to see you, claiming an important matter to report."

"Let him in."

Soon, Bai Shu arrived in the hall, cupped his hands towards Yang Minggui and Xu Mu, greeted respectfully, and then exaggeratedly reported the events in Pingting County to Yang Minggui.

Upon hearing, Yang Minggui's brow furrowed, and he asked in a deep voice, "Is this really true?"

"If I deceive, I am willing to be struck by heaven's wrath, thundered by the five bolts," said Bai Shu.

The people tend to avoid making such oaths invoking heavenly wrath.

Therefore, Yang Minggui somewhat believed Bai Shu's words.

He was immediately enraged.

Of course, his anger wasn't over He Jinwu's death or Yuan Youchun's complaint; the reason for adopting a foster son was blatantly for his own interests and to win hearts.

He Jinwu's death didn't affect his interests; if it were ordinary times, he would simply send an order for Yuan Youchun to be given some compensation.

His anger was sparked by Chen Mo's involvement in fine salt trading without notifying him, even sending people to plead hardship recently; such deceit fueled his fury.

Just as Yang Minggui was about to issue orders, he caught Xu Mu's gaze, and his words abruptly ceased, redirecting Bai Shu to step down first.

After Bai Shu stepped down, Yang Minggui asked: "Military Advisor, do you have something to say?"

Xu Mu nodded: "Commander, with impending war, it's wise not to stir internal conflict. If word spreads, it will cause you to lose face.

Moreover, these are solely General Yuan's claims; if you act without investigation and heedlessly punish, it will chill the hearts of those below."

"Then what do you suggest, Military Advisor?" asked Yang Minggui.

"Commander should send trusted personnel to Pingting County to investigate and hear their statements. If Chen Mo indeed deceived you, a proper admonition can be given, compelling him to reveal the source of the fine salt. If he refuses, stubbornly resists, then, Commander, you'll have valid reasons to punish him, enough to convince everyone," said Xu Mu.

"And if he hasn't hidden anything?" asked Yang Minggui.

"Then General Yuan has deceived you, and conversely, a slight reprimand towards General Yuan will suffice. General Yuan oversees Qingtian County; despite its rich salt pond, the taxes paid this time surprisingly weren't more than those from General Dai..."

With that, Xu Mu paced back and forth, then continued: "To my mind, General Yuan certainly suffered at Chen Mo's hands, hence sending someone to seek your judgment. If General Yuan hadn't suffered, he'd handle it himself; surely he'd not report the matters of Ping Court to you if he could resolve it."

Yang Minggui, no fool, understood Xu Mu's insight right away.

If Yuan Youchun could resolve this situation himself, even if Pingting County did have fine salt, he wouldn't report it to me but choose to hold onto the matter himself.

Now, when the situation can't be resolved, he's thinking of me, hoping I will make decisions for him. The matter of fine salt is just a bargaining chip to increase his leverage for me to take charge.

The reason Yuan Youchun is so certain is because Bai Shu's earlier words had an element of exaggeration, and he could obviously tell.

"Good." Yang Minggui struck his left fist into his right palm. Without Xu Mu's guidance, he might have directly supported Yuan Youchun just now, allowing Yuan Youchun's side to dominate.

Following the Military Advisor's method, he can weigh both sides from an observer's perspective, stabilize the situation, and let them restrain each other.

...

Inside the side room.

After drinking the ginger soup fed to her by the young man, Xia Zhining suppressed the odd sensation rising in her heart, took a deep breath, and with her beautiful eyes filled with embarrassment and anger, she said, "You scoundrel, what tricks are you trying to pull?"

Speaking of which, Xia Zhining had experienced Chen Mo's tenderness twice, but each time it was after he had tormented her, pretending to be so gentle.

But this time, he came in acting like a warm-hearted guy, fed her ginger soup, and spoke softly. This sudden gentleness made her extremely uncomfortable, making her believe Chen Mo was planning some kind of trick.

"What trick can I play? I've already told you before, as long as you behave and be honest, I'll treat you well."

Chen Mo put down the empty bowl, saying this, and pulled Xia Zhining into his embrace, directly kissing her on those enchanting red lips.

Being a magistrate's daughter, Xia Zhining didn't have to do any dirty or tiring work, and her skin was already excellent. After becoming a true woman and enjoying pleasures, she became even more delicate, with milk-like smooth skin.

Xia Zhining's heart skipped a beat, feeling an inexplicable sensation within. This time the young man's kiss was different from before; it lacked that rough, invasive feeling and was very gentle, like a normal kiss between lovers.

Logically, she should bite down fiercely now, expressing her resistance, but for some reason, she did not do that.

Instead, she cooperated.

Even in her mind, she was convincing herself that once the debt was paid, she could leave. During this time, she should endure a bit, and she might suffer less. Once her strength surpasses his, she would then... come back for revenge.

Beside her, Xia Zhiqing, who was reading a book, saw this scene and frowned slightly. Her woman's intuition was sharp; she noticed her sister's resistance to Chen Mo was waning.

After a while, they parted lips.

Xia Zhining seemed to lean into Chen Mo's embrace, with one delicate jade hand against his chest. Her long legs stretched out from beneath her black skirt; her thighs were together, and her calves splayed out to the sides.

Her pretty face was flushed like she was drunk, with slightly parted lips, exhaling orchid-like breath, one hand on her skirt, and the gold ring on her middle finger was quite conspicuous.

Chen Mo picked up the hand with the gold ring, stroked Xia Zhining's cheek, and smiled, "Seems like you really like this ring?"

Xia Zhining pushed Chen Mo forcefully and snorted twice, "I just forgot to take it off."

Chen Mo chuckled, said no more, kicked off his shoes, and then cuddled with Xia Zhining on the soft couch, his hand skillfully reaching inside, "Feeling a bit tired, I'll take a nap here."

Xia Zhining grabbed Chen Mo's hand to pull it out, but then he bit on her earlobe and said, "Isn't this better?"

It turned out the young man was gently stroking her belly.

Unexpectedly, the pain from her monthlies actually eased quite a bit.

Xia Zhining's moist rose-petal lips pursed, and she let her hand down, allowing the young man to proceed.

Chen Mo only lay in the side room for a while. He didn't dare fall into an unguarded sleep.

After resting a bit, he left.

Once Chen Mo left, Xia Zhining opened her eyes and under her delicate brows, those clear and bright eyes shone, a joy she couldn't restrain surged in her heart.

This time, that scoundrel came over and didn't say anything to her sister, nor did he try to please her sister, but instead...

Beside her, Xia Zhiqing, who was reading a book, involuntarily tightened her grip on the book, showing a hint of hardly noticeable grievance on her gentle and serene face, afraid her sister would notice and turned her face slightly to the side.

She inexplicably felt somewhat neglected.

...

The next day.

Lu Yuan, who had been away for a long time, finally returned, bringing with him a denunciation edict issued by Prince Huai.

However, the edict did not target the Celestial Master Army, but the current Prime Minister.

"Xu Guozhong deceives the heaven and follows no moral, imprisons the monarch, sullies the palace, harms creatures, acts cruelly and inhumanely. These crimes are abundant. Now, by order of the Emperor, rally righteous troops... to support the Royal Family and save the people. Once the edict arrives, carry it out promptly."