“If there were no method, I wouldn’t be opening my mouth about this.” Song Chuyi watched those Tartar soldiers desperately resisting with cold eyes, her gaze not softening one bit. Her next words came fast and urgent. “It’s just that I’ve helped Young Master so much—what will Young Master use to repay me?”

Was this really an eight-year-old little girl?! Ye Jingchuan’s eyes widened. He himself was only a twelve-year-old half-grown youth. Though he usually clamored about inheriting his father’s mantle to go to battle and kill enemies, he still retained some youthful habits and youthful innocence. Yet before him, this Earl Manor’s young miss who should have been well-fed and well-clothed, who should have been as carefree and worry-free as all the pampered and spoiled young ladies in the capital—whose greatest worry might be overturning her grandmother’s teacup or secretly wearing her mother’s jewelry—was already opening her mouth to speak of court affairs.

But her gaze was firm, and the words that came from her mouth absolutely did not sound like a little girl’s joke. The aura she exuded was actually not much different from his mother’s.

Did the Earl of Changning Manor raise every girl as if she were a future consort? He thought inexplicably, sneaking a glance with his peripheral vision at Song Chuyi standing motionless, coughing several times, not knowing whether he should make a decision.

Song Chuyi waited for a long time without receiving Ye Jingchuan’s answer. She turned her head to look at him fixedly, then smiled again. “Is Young Master thinking of waiting until your retainer arrives before making a decision? I wonder when you secretly snuck into Tongzhou, did he give you good advice?”

Yes, this calamity was caused by Ye Jingchuan himself.

The Prince of Zhennan couldn’t withstand his persistent pestering and threw him to Zijing Pass to be tempered and trained with his uncle. But every day he looked for opportunities to run outside with his troops, occasionally provoking a few Tartar soldiers to play with.

This playing led to trouble. A group of Tartar violent soldiers took advantage of a breach in an already broken section of the city wall to charge into Zijing Pass, rushing all the way into Tongzhou.

So Ye Jingchuan brought people to clean up the mess, still hoping to complete this matter without alarming his elders.

This little girl was truly frighteningly clever. Ye Jingchuan furrowed his brows tightly as he glared at her, rather unconvinced. “How do you know everything?! It’s as if you can divine and calculate.”

It was all thanks to the blessing of living a second life. Song Chuyi had already developed quite a thick face. Unable to say she knew the future, she just smiled and shook her head. “You stationed yourself in Tongzhou in advance, and you adamantly refused to alarm the court or report to the Ministry of War, even refusing to report to the Prince of Zhennan. Combining these several matters, I guessed and guessed correctly.”

The situation outside still hadn’t changed. The battle remained at a stalemate. Although Ye Jingchuan brought many people, those Tartar soldiers were very fierce and persistent, actually holding on for nearly half a shichen without collapsing.

“Send in the archers.” At Song Chuyi’s command, all the windows of the rooms surrounding the granary were pushed open, and bow after bow instantly appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Before Ye Jingchuan could make any other response, Song Chuyi had already waved her hand to order, “Fire!”

Seventeen guards unhesitatingly drew their bows and nocked arrows. Sharp arrows flew out rapidly one after another, shooting steadily, accurately, and ruthlessly into the Tartar men’s bodies.

The situation instantly reversed again. Ye Jingchuan’s people raised their shields and desperately hacked and struck at those Tartar soldiers in a chaotic frenzy.

After the last incident at Emperor Jue Temple, Qin Chuan had specifically led the manor’s guards to practice archery. Now it came in handy at just the right time.

“Now it seems rather impossible for me not to listen to your suggestion.” Ye Jingchuan glanced outside the window and finally completely abandoned his contemptuous and joking attitude. “I just don’t know what favor you want me to help with.”

“Not difficult.” As if she had been waiting for this sentence for a long time, Song Chuyi immediately spoke. “I just want to borrow some manpower from Young Master to help me do two things.”

This little girl was so strange—the things she wanted to do probably wouldn’t be very simple either. But thinking it over, the trouble he’d caused this time was truly large enough. Ye Jingchuan weighed it and still decided to see whether Song Chuyi’s suggestion was worth it. “Then I wonder what method you have to keep both my uncle and me uninvolved?”

“Xing Fu from the Directorate of Ceremonial has troubled your uncle many times already, hasn’t he?” Song Chuyi smiled as she looked at him, her pair of eyes bright and shining, making people dare not look directly at her. “How about pushing the trouble onto him instead?”

This person Xing Fu had received quite a few benefits from Prince Duan, and moreover spent his entire life only doing bad things and never good deeds—truly remarkable.

Because Yuan Hong served as garrison commander of Zijing Pass, several times when he came to the capital on business he was extorted for silver by Xing Fu. Yuan Hong had a violent temper and nearly beat Xing Fu on the spot each time. It was only with the Prince of Zhennan mediating in the middle that nothing happened.

If they could push the trouble onto Xing Fu and make Xing Fu suffer a loss, that would naturally be an excellent thing. Ye Jingchuan grew excited just thinking about it, then became somewhat disappointed. “Where are things so simple? This old fox is extremely trusted by His Majesty, and now holds great power. He even supervises the Three Great Camps. Even my father the Prince has to greet him with a smiling face.”

“No, things are just that simple.” Song Chuyi focused her gaze on Ye Jingchuan, her expression serious. “As long as Young Master listens to me, I guarantee I can make Xing Fu take a great fall. I won’t say he’ll never be able to get back up, but at least he won’t recover his vitality for several years.”

Ye Jingchuan felt he must be insane to listen to these words from a little girl. Yet his intuition told him Song Chuyi wasn’t speaking empty words—she truly had a method.

“In any case, things won’t get any worse.” Song Chuyi saw his hesitation. “If this matter gets out, the Prince will find it very difficult to protect both you and your uncle. One of you will definitely have to be pushed out. Xing Fu, this old fox, has never gotten along well with the Prince. If he does some maneuvering, never mind whether you can go to Fujian to fight the pirates—even staying alive will be difficult.”

She really knew how to step on someone’s painful spot when persuading them. Ye Jingchuan looked at Song Chuyi somewhat complainingly, holding his breath until his face swelled into a big bun face. After thinking for a long time, he finally slapped the table and agreed.

In any case, he wasn’t at a disadvantage. No matter how capable Song Chuyi was, could she make him help pluck the sun from the sky? No matter what, it wouldn’t be a worse loss than being killed by that dead eunuch Xing Fu.

“Just tell me—as long as you don’t make me kill people or commit arson, whatever you want me to do, I agree!” He patted his chest in agreement. “But don’t deceive me either, because although I’m easy to fool, my father and brothers are not!”

That’s right—she almost forgot this innocent youth still had a fox-like Prince Consort elder brother. Song Chuyi laughed, reaching up on tiptoe to clap hands with Ye Jingchuan in oath. “It’s settled then. I guarantee I’ll make Xing Fu carry this blame.”

The battle situation outside was already clear. Most of the Tartar men had been killed, and the few remaining had their hands bound behind their backs, tied tightly with rope and thrown to the ground as prisoners.