"You can go!"

Ning Chen waved a hand and sent Ning Xing and Ning Mao off.

Then he gave Pan Yucheng an order. "Old Pan, have someone keep an eye on Ning Xing and Ning Mao on the quiet."

Pan Yucheng blinked. "My lord prince doesn't trust them?"

Ning Chen's voice was flat. "It's not about trust. Just have someone watch them quietly... What I'm more worried about is those two idiots being used."

Pan Yucheng bowed. "Understood. I'll have them watched closely."

Ning Chen said, "Mm," and was about to say something more when Xiao Yanxi walked in.

"Any news?"

Xiao Yanxi shook her head. "Nothing from the capital. But Xiliang has been a lively place lately."

Ning Chen's brow rose slightly. "Xiliang?"

Xiao Yanxi said, "Tantai Qingyue has found her footing at court. Half of Xiliang's officials, civil and military, have chosen to stand with her.

At court, Tantai Qingyue can now hold her own against the crown prince.

A month ago, the Xiliang crown prince suddenly proposed an alliance with Nanyue, and Tantai Qingyue slapped him across the face in front of the King of Xiliang and all the officials of the court."

"Holy shit......" Ning Chen was stunned. "She slapped the Xiliang crown prince in front of the King of Xiliang and the whole court? And the King of Xiliang didn't have her executed?"

Xiao Yanxi nodded. "She isn't the Tantai Qingyue she used to be. Ever since she went back to Xiliang, she's been busy: winning over court officials, secretly rebuilding the Wind and Cloud Hall, recruiting remarkable people.

Most important of all, saving the people of Linxuan City won her the hearts of the common people, and she's very close to the army's generals.

So even though she slapped the Xiliang crown prince twice in public, the King of Xiliang only gave her a small punishment to serve as a large warning: thirty strokes of the cane, a year's salary forfeit and half a year confined to her residence."

Ning Chen's face went dark. "The King of Xiliang has a death wish. He dares…