Well done! Let this fellow flirt with his flowery words—he deserved a lesson!

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan couldn’t bear the scalding heat any longer. He hurriedly spat the hot tea into his inner sleeve, not noticing the glances exchanged between the other two, only repeatedly gasping for air with his mouth open.

Feng Miaojun finally covered her small mouth in feigned surprise: “Oh my! That was boiling tea! Are you hurt, my lord?”

The tea was his toast, and downing it in one gulp was his own choice—Xiao Yan truly couldn’t blame her. He could only respond with a swollen tongue: “It’s… it’s fine.” His entire mouth felt cooked, and the sensation could only be described in three words:

Spicy hot pot.

The eight-treasure cabinet was right beside her. Feng Miaojun reached in and rummaged around, somehow pulling out an ice box. The box had two layers: ice blocks in the inner layer, with cold-preserving talismans lining the middle layer to ensure the ice remained rock-hard when taken out.

Only after Xiao Yan stuffed two ice cubes into his mouth did his expression show signs of “being saved.”

Yun Ya turned to Feng Miaojun and said: “Make a note, after we get off the carriage, I want cold-soaked spiced noodle strips.”

She responded with a crisp “Yes.”

The State Preceptor truly knew how to kick someone when they were down, still formally mocking him at this moment! Having lost so much face in front of the beautiful young woman he’d just met, Xiao Yan’s expression turned rather unpleasant. Fortunately, after he sucked on the ice cubes, Yun Ya tossed him a jar of ointment: “Use this.”

When the medicinal cream was applied to his mouth, the cooling sensation persisted, immediately reducing the pain by more than half. After a short while, the mucous membrane in his mouth regenerated its epithelial layer.

By this time, however, Yun Ya was already questioning him: “His Majesty personally leading the expedition—whose terrible idea was that?” He pondered briefly, “I suppose not the Crown Prince’s, as he was sent early to suppress An Xia.”

Xiao Yan, still somewhat unclear in speech, replied: “It was Father’s impulse. The court officials opposed it, and even the Crown Prince tried to dissuade him several times, but Father flew into a rage, so we had to drop the matter.” The Wei King was over fifty years old, already exceeding the average lifespan of ordinary people these days, and was inevitably anxious to add another glorious achievement before settling into his twilight years.

The conquest of An Xia country had already happened seven or eight years ago—how many more seven or eight-year periods did the Wei King have to expand his territory?

“Oh?” A cold light flashed in Yun Ya’s eyes. “That depends on how he tried to dissuade him.”

“The Crown Prince also didn’t want Father to lead the campaign personally—that way, he could return from An Xia and claim the main achievement.” The main battlefield was here, so naturally, the Crown Prince would prefer to establish his merit here. The An Xia region was remote—what did it matter how many brilliant victories he won there?

Wouldn’t he still just be playing a supporting role?

Feng Miaojun sat obediently beside Yun Ya with her head lowered but at the mention of “An Xia,” her beautiful eyes flickered briefly, unnoticed by anyone.

Wei Crown Prince Xiao Jing had been sent to An Xia—why? And from Xiao Yan’s implications, he had departed quite early.

“How is his progress there?”

“He has already passed through central An Xia and is advancing toward the Chikan Plains in the southeast.” Xiao Yan shook his head. “However, the army’s advance has been very difficult. Remnant An Xia forces have repeatedly ambushed them. In just this past month, they’ve fought three battles, and even when they make camp, cavalry raiders frequently attack. Strange—in previous years, we never saw them fight so desperately. Could these remnants have reached some agreement with the Kingdom of Yao?”

Yun Ya took a sip of clear tea: “This time, Fu Lingchuan has accompanied Princess Changle northward to attend the marriage alliance between Yao and Jin.”

Xiao Yan’s expression changed: “You mean Fu Lingchuan and Yao-Jin have joined forces?”

Yun Ya nodded: “Correct.”

Feng Miaojun remembered this as well. Fu Lingchuan taking the false Princess Changle to the Kingdom of Yao was done with the Yan King’s consent. At that time, Wei’s ambitions had already become apparent, so Yao-Jin and the remnant An Xia forces represented by Fu Lingchuan would inevitably join hands against Wei.

At the time, she didn’t understand why Yun Ya hadn’t dealt with Fu Lingchuan and his companion, but now she vaguely guessed a reason.

Because Xiao Yan said: “It seems the Crown Prince has some thorny issues to deal with.”

Yun Ya’s smile lacked warmth: “As Crown Prince, he should chew on some difficult bones to swallow. Otherwise, how can he demonstrate his worthiness and command respect?”

Feng Miaojun poured him another cup of tea. Indeed, this is related to internal power struggles. Yun Ya was deliberately creating trouble for the Crown Prince, using the An Xia remnants to set obstacles for him.

Regarding the internal situation in the Wei Kingdom, she had heard a general outline from Mo Tizhun. The Wei King had three sons: the eldest, Xiao Jing, and the third, Xiao Wu, were raised by the Zheng Queen Consort and shared a close relationship; the second son, Xiao Yan, didn’t get along well with his brothers. However, since his birth mother had died early and his maternal clan was weak, he had been suppressed by the Zheng Queen Consort until he recommended Yun Ya to the Wei King. After Yun Ya was successfully challenged for the position of State Preceptor, Xiao Yan’s position finally stabilized—this last point was known to very few in the world. Mo Tizhun had only recently learned it from some unknown source.

In times of war, talent was both the most valued and most scarce. Yet the Wei Kingdom was exceptionally fortunate—every one of the Xiao family was capable. Xiao Jing had repeatedly established military achievements and gained fame at a young age; Xiao Wu was only seventeen this year but had already won two battles, showing remarkable military talent. As for Xiao Yan, although he didn’t take to the battlefield, he possessed administrative wisdom. In recent years, he had advised the Wei King on policies, reformed taxation, and developed water conservancy, greatly increasing national strength.

This was also why neighboring countries were so wary of Great Wei.

In recent years, Xiao Yan and State Preceptor Yun Ya had grown increasingly close, causing anxiety for the Queen Consort and the Crown Prince, with both sides employing various schemes behind the scenes.

While the brothers competed against each other, the Wei King was pleased to see it. If they were harmonious and agreeable like the Yao royal family, he would have been troubled instead.

Undoubtedly, Xiao Jing’s previous assignment was to dispatch troops to the Chikan Forest to intercept Jin forces crossing the border. The destruction of the Cliff Mountain passage had altered the entire strategic landscape of the Northern Continent. Yao and Jin could no longer quickly exchange troops. If Jin wanted to support their ally, they would have to make a wide northern detour, entering former An Xia territory, bypassing the northern part of the White Elephant Mountain range, and then turning into Yao territory from the Chikan Plains in southern An Xia.

Although transporting troops and supplies this way was circuitous, it was still two months faster than taking the conventional route north of White Elephant Lake.

The only problem was that Jin troops must pass through An Xia, which had already been annexed by Wei. In other words, Jin forces would have to tread on Wei national territory.

After the Cliff Mountain passage was destroyed, the Wei King, with his keen intuition, had already foreseen the compromise plan that Jin troops would adopt. Therefore, he sent the Crown Prince to the Chikan Plains to intercept Jin reinforcements heading to the battlefield.

After all, once An Xia was occupied, it fell under the Crown Prince’s jurisdiction—it was his responsibility to defend the territory, who else could it be? Had Yun Ya foreseen this point all along, specifically sparing Fu Lingchuan and the false Princess Changle near the outskirts of Yao’s capital?

If so, this man’s scheming was terrifyingly deep, seeing three steps ahead with each move.

Next, the two men cleared the table and casually drew a map using clear water, discussing as they went. Feng Miaojun listened quietly for quite some time, finally gaining a general understanding of the current situation.

Since Wei Kingdom had raised an army to invade Yao, more than a month had passed. The situation had evolved from initial rapid advances to now proceeding cautiously, step by step.

The Kingdom of Yao was not an easy bone to chew.