Chapter 138: Volume 1, Chapter 138: So I'm Not Imposing Enough Yet

Madam Ming watched her daughter like this and felt an immense headache coming on. She couldn't help but sharpen her tone as she said, "This is a critical juncture. Don't act on impulse. You need to understand that only when your cousin is well can all of us be well."

The anger in Ming Yuhua's heart was on the verge of being uncontrollable. What did her mother mean by that?

All of them could be well, but she alone had betrayed her husband—what good end could she possibly have?

At best, the marital relationship would shatter; at worst, she could be divorced and sent home. What about her future?

Ming Yuhua's last shred of hope was extinguished. She had thought her mother would at least consider her situation, but in the end, she did not.

She lowered her head slightly to conceal the look in her eyes, suppressed her anger, and tried her best to make her tone sound normal before saying, "I don't know anything else. I only overheard my husband speaking with his subordinate about suspecting that the Three Great Camps showed signs of defecting to the Crown Prince."

"What?" Madam Ming said sharply. "Did you truly hear that?"

Ming Yuhua said displeasedly, "If Mother doesn't believe me, then forget it. Why did you even come to find me?"

"I didn't mean it that way. It's just that this matter is extraordinary—you mustn't speak carelessly," Madam Ming said immediately. "Yuhua, think it over carefully again."

Ming Yuhua put on a look of deep thought. Only after a long while did she say, "I'm not mistaken. That's what they said. I also heard my husband mention weapons, but I don't know what kind. I don't understand these things, so that's all I know. As for Aunt asking me to secretly probe my husband's movements, I wouldn't dare. Xiao Shen is a military man—his arms are thicker than my waist. If he found out, he'd probably beat me to death."

Madam Ming frowned upon hearing this. In the end, she persuaded her daughter, "Endure it a bit longer. In the future... if you don't want to stay with him anymore, Mother will bring you home."

Ming Yuhua's heart turned ice-cold. A woman divorced and sent home—even if she returned to her maiden family, what good end could she have? The luckier ones would be sent to a nunnery to live out their remaining days. The more ruthless ones, for the sake of family honor, would likely force their daughters to die.

"I understand. If there's nothing else, Mother should go back. My husband will be returning soon," Ming Yuhua said flatly.

Madam Ming looked at her daughter's cold demeanor and felt somewhat uneasy in her heart. She stood up, wanting to pat her daughter's shoulder, but was gently dodged. Madam Ming's hand froze in midair.

This child still blamed them.

Madam Ming left. Ming Yuhua collapsed onto the table and cried. She had thought she had already cried enough, but seeing her mother like this, she still felt awful.

Xiao Shen finished his affairs outside and returned to see his wife's eyes red like a rabbit's. He couldn't help but click his tongue—

—women were troublesome, always crying over this and that.

He didn't know how to coax people, nor did he have the time for it. He simply scooped her up onto the bed—first give him a child, then they'd talk. Once there was a little cub, she'd have no time to think about all this nonsense.

Ming Yuhua:...

&&&

The Empress indeed submitted a memorial declining to hold this year's birthday banquet, and the Emperor approved.

Rong Luoge received the news without surprise, only thinking that the Empress would likely be angry again in private.

The Empress's birthday banquet was canceled, and since she had voluntarily submitted the memorial, she would naturally be praised by the court officials. It wasn't a total loss.

Following closely, the joint military exercise between the Three Great Camps and the Dragon Guard was about to commence, and everyone turned their attention to this matter.

"It's a pity I can't go watch," Rong Luoge said with some regret.

Han Xinglan held her hand and gently kneaded it in his palm, smiling as he said, "In the future, when you want to watch, I'll let you watch to your heart's content."

Rong Luoge's mouth twitched. She looked at Han Xinglan and said, "I'm not particularly interested. I just wanted to see Your Highness's imposing presence, that's all."

Han Xinglan chuckled. "So I'm not imposing enough yet."

Rong Luoge heard the suggestive undertone in Han Xinglan's words. Her face flushed slightly, and she glared at him.

Han Xinglan was in excellent spirits. He pulled Rong Luoge down onto the large couch and, staring at the colorful canopy above, said, "This military exercise probably won't be peaceful."

Rong Luoge leaned against Han Xinglan's chest. "Do you need my help?"

"Stay in the palace. If something urgent happens, I can be at ease," Han Xinglan said in a low voice.

Rong Luoge nodded. "Alright, don't worry."

Something urgent?

What could be urgent?

Han Xinglan didn't say explicitly. Clearly, the plan hadn't been finalized yet, meaning variables could arise at any time. By asking her to stay in the palace, Rong Luoge could guess that he was worried—during the military exercise, if His Majesty's body couldn't hold out, or if some accident occurred, the stability of the inner palace was also extremely important.

After all, Consort Ming was still in the Hou Gong.

"Have the weapons all been forged? In such a short time, it's very difficult to increase the quantity," Rong Luoge said with a sigh. If they had been given a little more time, Han Xinglan would have had far more room to maneuver, rather than rushing things to market like now. All in all, it was still somewhat imperfect.

Han Xinglan chuckled. He had noticed an amusing pattern—no matter what she did, Luoge always strove for perfection. For instance, the blueprints she gave him were drawn in exceptional detail; the craftsmen could understand them at a glance, and she didn't even need to step in to supervise.

"It's fine. The Three Great Camps were never a monolithic bloc to begin with. They compete with one another in front of His Majesty. Now with Xiao Shen as bait—having earned His Majesty's deep trust through his tribute of projectiles—as long as we give them a glimmer of hope, they'll naturally consider it seriously. Besides, we don't just have blueprints; we can also produce actual items for them to see. That's enough."

Han Xinglan looked at Rong Luoge and explained to her in detail, "Some things lose their appeal when there's too much."

"Scarcity makes things precious?"

"More or less."

Rong Luoge understood somewhat. She gave a light laugh and said, "Then that truly is interesting. You want the Three Great Camps to compete against each other?"

If the items were limited in quantity and the Crown Prince could only provide them to one or two of the camps, the Three Great Camps would inevitably clash, and the Crown Prince could naturally reap the benefits as the fisherman.

Han Xinglan nodded. "I didn't want to take the risk originally, but time is running short. This is the only plan."

"You won't be disappointed," Rong Luoge said. A soldier's ultimate goal was to pursue sharper, more powerful weapons. No soldier would ever refuse such a thing.

"When will there be good news?" Rong Luoge asked. She needed to calculate her own schedule based on when Han Xinglan made his move. The two of them were fighting a coordinated battle—it couldn't rely on tacit understanding alone. She also had to arrange other matters so as not to hold Han Xinglan back.

"Soon. By tomorrow at the latest. The day after tomorrow is the date of the military exercise, and they can't afford to delay either." Han Xinglan deliberately timed it at this juncture to force the Three Great Camps to stop wavering and make a decision in the shortest possible time.

"Then I'll send a letter to Liu Yingying. No matter what, she has to keep things steady on His Majesty's side," Rong Luoge said, exhaling a long breath.

The Empress currently couldn't get close to the Emperor, so when Consort Ming could get close to His Majesty, they also needed someone by His Majesty's side to control the overall situation.

Liu Yingying was the person Rong Luoge had selected back then.