Chapter 943

Yu Yan Chu's single "older sister" made Chen Wuji's pressure suddenly drop.

He really worried that Yu Yan Chu would kick up a fuss in the courtyard; that would be a major trouble.

His every word and deed now are watched by far too many people.

"Husband, these two ladies must be the eldest sister and Sister Hongdou, right?" Yu Yan Chu asked with a clever smile, her voice soft.

Although her smile looked extremely natural, as if just right, that sense of boundaries was extremely clear.

Chen Wuji looked surprised; he hadn't expected her to so accurately recognize Huo Sanniang and Xue Hongdou.

Surely Qin Zhanhong had previously told Yu Yan Chu about all the women in the household.

But just from hearing it, Yu Yan Chu precisely identified who was who; this observational skill is somewhat too strong.

Chen Wuji was about to speak when Huo Sanniang stepped ahead and said: "Princess, your judgment is truly good. However, I cannot accept being called elder sister by the princess; I am indeed the husband's earliest wife, but the husband had already said that we sisters have no distinction between principal wife and concubine, treating all equally."

"If we talk about age, the princess could call me elder sister, but there's no need to discuss anything else—or simply call me San Niang would be better!"

"Please have a seat, both sisters." Yu Yan Chu pulled Huo Sanniang and Xue Hongdou to sit under the grape arbor, saying: "These matters, that little slut Qin Zhanhong had already told me about; otherwise I couldn't have guessed the eldest sister's identity so quickly."

"Although I and Qin Zhanhong didn't grow up together, we've played together since childhood; our relationship is extremely familiar. Eldest sister, you need not be formal because of my princess status; the court is like this, and I, this elder princess, actually have no special status."

"The princess is overly modest; the court remains the court, and the princess is still unattainable to us. I don't know what peach-blossom luck the husband has walked into to actually have the princess marry down." Huo Sanniang said with a light laugh.

Yu Yan Chu smiled and said: "Eldest sister, you need not comfort me; I crawled out of the palace hiding among rotten vegetable leaves—what princess in the world is this destitute? All right, let's not mention this; you two sisters need not treat me as a princess, just treat me as you would Qin Zhanhong; from now on we can be sisters who roll around in the same bed."

Huo Sanniang was stunned for a moment.

She hadn't expected Yu Yan Chu's mouth to utter such fierce, wolfish words.

It seems Qin Zhanhong told her quite a lot.

"I hadn't expected the princess to have such a connection with Xiao Hong; this makes us even closer." Huo Sanniang said with a smile.

"The nickname 'Xiao Hong'... how did I not think of that? It sounds like a maid's name; from now on I'll call her Xiao Hong." Yu Yan Chu exclaimed excitedly, "Eldest sister, you don't know, that dead woman has bullied me a lot; I've wanted to get revenge but never found the chance. I'm also foolish—how did I not think to suppress her with the nickname? Thank you, eldest sister, for pointing it out."

Huo Sanniang said with a shallow smile: "The nickname 'Xiao Hong'—she probably doesn't mind it now; we've always called her that."

"If I were the one calling, it would be different." Yu Yan Chu gave a sly smile, nudged Xue Hongdou beside her, and said: "Sister Hongdou, say a couple of words too—why are you always so quiet?"

Xue Hongdou fidgeted, waving her hands: "I don't know what to say; you... you chat, I'll just listen."

"No one is born not liking to laugh or talk; just relax." Yu Yan Chu took Xue Hongdou's hand, laughing like aunts and uncles preparing to set her up, and said: "Sister Hongdou, your name is truly beautiful."

Upon her saying that, Xue Hongdou became even more flustered, her face turning red: "I... do, do I?"

"Red beans grow in the southern lands, they are the foremost token of longing... moreover, delicate dice hold red beans, deep longing knows whether or not; red beans are what those great literary masters see as the best representation of longing." Yu Yan Chu blurted out.

Xue Hongdou nodded somewhat at a loss: "I've heard the first line."

Chen Wuji watched the three chatting happily, his expression shifting from astonishment to relaxation.

The stone he had lifted in his heart finally settled down.

The elder princess was thoughtful beyond his expectations by countless folds.

Chen Luozi patted Chen Wuji, speaking softly: "Nothing to worry about now; let's go inside and talk."

"Let's go."

Chen Luozi also hadn't known Yu Yan Chu's identity beforehand; he figured it out from listening and also saw that Chen Wuji hadn't shown too much worry.

The two entered the study; Licentiate Yuan swiftly brought in the tea and snacks.

When the door was closed, only Chen Wuji, Chen Luozi, and Chen Li remained in the room.

Apart from Chen Bushi, the heads who had held countless secret meetings in Xishan Village had largely gathered.

Chen Luozi took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Chen Wuji: "This is Yang Jinglve's secret letter; read it first, then I'll tell you the rest."

Chen Wuji made an affirmative sound, used a tea knife to slit the lacquer seal, and took out Yang Yu's letter.

Apart from some polite greetings, the letter only mentioned two matters: confusing the enemy, withdrawing troops, and military farming.

Confusing the enemy and withdrawing troops are one matter; Yang Yu said that leading large forces to continue garrisoning there was unnecessary, daily only increasing losses, so he decided to withdraw over ninety percent of the troops, only ordering Tang Yu to lead eight thousand cavalry to continue holding the original position, while also supporting Chen Wuji's actions in Nanyue Jun.

Furthermore, Yang Yu decided to pull all the troops withdrawn this time to the southern part of San Guan Jun to implement military farming, asking Chen Wuji's opinion; he thought Chen Wuji's military farming strategy at Jie Jia Zui was excellent and decided to emulate it.

The troop withdrawal was within Chen Wuji's expectations.

After confirming that the Court Army would not be moving south in the short term, Chen Wuji immediately sent someone to inform Yang Yu of this and asked for his opinion.

Yang Yu also hedged his bet, watching for nearly a month before proposing the troop withdrawal.

"Although Yang Jinglve is a formidable opponent, he is still upright in character; when he says he'll help, he really does." Chen Wuji joked with a smile.

"When the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold." Chen Luozi said, "With Yang Yu's intelligence, it's impossible for him not to see this."

"These are matters he must consider, but this favor I will still remember." Chen Wuji said, "His establishing military farming at the southern end of San Guan Jun seems to have an ulterior motive, like the old man's intent not being in the wine."

"It's obviously for Insidious Poison." Chen Luozi said, "He has practically said it outright; what do you still have to doubt? If you ask me, the strategies you previously thought of should be used as soon as possible; delaying any further would be too late."

"Moreover, I see Yang Yu's approach as clearly sharing the same idea as yours. He left Tang Yu, whom we know best, in Qiang Land; the meaning is already clear."

Chen Wuji nodded, "Indeed there is some meaning to that; let's talk with him."