For the next several days, Ning Chen was so busy he nearly lost his mind!

By day, he handled military affairs.

By night, he had to go to the palace to attend the bedchamber.

On top of that, he had a whole pile of other business. Trade had reopened between the Wu Kingdom and the Great Xuan, so he had to expand his own businesses too.

Meanwhile, Nie Liang had to be brought back and restored to his former office, to keep the An Emperor safe.

The An Emperor was clever, and she was already getting the hang of affairs of state.

Of course, she owed a lot of that to the Xuan Emperor's patient coaching.

Everything was heading in the right direction.

Meanwhile, word had spread that Ning Chen had entered the capital.

No one was more shocked than Kang Luo.

Yangzhou. The city lord's residence.

Kang Luo stared at the secret letter in his hand. It was a long while before he could take it in.

How long has it been? Ning Chen hasn't just taken Liangzhou. He's already moved into the capital and taken charge.

And the De Emperor and Zong Sibo were so scared they bolted in the night... What a pair of useless trash.

Kang Luo felt the danger closing in.

He had a feeling Ning Chen would come for him next.

After a moment's thought, he wrote a letter and had it rushed to Ning Chen.

King Wen of Bianzhou, Leng Wenyan, took the news even harder than Nanyue did. When word came that Ning Chen had moved into the capital, he was so frightened he knocked over his teacup on the spot.

If the De Emperor had been running things, Leng Wenyan wouldn't have worried in the least.

He knew the De Emperor was a man of big ambitions and small talents. A little ability, but not much. (TL Note: Literally "great ambition, meager talent," an idiom for someone whose aims far outrun his abilities.)

But Ning Chen was another story. Waging war was what he did best, and now he had hundreds…