When the womenfolk in the garden were intriguing each other, a low fence of a thatched cottage in the corner of Summer Palace was covered with vines and red and white flowers, which attracted so many bees and butterflies. A waterwheel was erected on the ditch not far away, and it was washed by the water of the ditch at an appropriate speed. The water was tumbling, and the mountain breeze blew by, bringing coolness to the thatched cottage.

Outside the thatched cottage, beside the low fence, Jiang Yashuang was wearing a crimson summer shirt, a golden crown and a jade belt, standing under a large locust tree with lush branches.

The scorching summer sun cast mottled spots of light from the thick branches and leaves, illuminating his face like a beautiful jade. The smile at the corner of his mouth was like a spring breeze, and the piercing gleam in his eyes when he looked around made his eyes darker and brighter, showing his heroic spirit.

While after he stood under the locust tree for a long while, his gentle smile became stiffer, and finally, he couldn’t help raising his head to ask, “You really won’t get down?”

“Absolutely!” A voice full of resentment sounded from the tree, and a corner of a verdant robe could be seen, which was extremely inconspicuous among the green leaves of midsummer. Even so, a white palm stretched out, quickly dragged the corner of the shirt up, and hid it between the branches and leaves, saying decisively, “If you tell anybody I am here, we’re done then. You have your priorities, so please behave yourself!”

“You just fought with Yongfu for a few times. Why do you put on such a face of bitter and deep hatred?” Jiang Yashuang sighed, “You have been beaten by Xing since childhood, so haven’t you been used to it? When Yongfu learned martial arts, my aunt was afraid that she would hurt herself, so she only allowed her to learn some simple skills. She was not allowed to learn swords and guns at all. So, her beating you ten times is not as serious as Xing’s beating you once, right?”

“You know nothing!” Ou Bicheng hurriedly pulled out the branches and leaves, lowered his voice, and yelled at him, “She is not my opponent at all. Every time I won, she asked me to continue to fight with her until she won. I gave up because I got bored with that. I thought she would just laugh at me, but I didn’t expect her to let me acknowledge her as a teacher! What a joke! Even if she is a princess, how can she bully me like that! I can’t defeat you and Xing, but I am not so weak as to acknowledge her as a teacher!”

Jiang Yashuang tried not to laugh and said, “Then you just need to ignore her! Don’t go to the Summer Palace so that she can’t find you!”

He and Princess Yongfu were childhood sweethearts, and they were so close to each other just like siblings, so he naturally knew her capacity. He taught her most of the simple skills by himself! Princess Yongfu was not very talented in this aspect, and she was so spoiled that she could not afford to suffer, so how could she learn very well? Her martial arts were just showy but not practical.

Although Jiang Yashuang didn’t think Ou Bicheng’s martial arts great, he was the son of a military commander at all, so it was easy for him to defeat Yongfu.

While Yongfu had a special status, so how could Ou Bicheng dare to fight against her? Even if he won, he tried his best to show her enough respect. However, in order to please the princess, the guards of Yongfu praised her for her talents and strength against their conscience and said that she was a world-class martial arts wizard.

Yongfu didn’t fully believe that, but she still had a great misunderstanding of her true capacity because of the admiration of the unscrupulous guards. She pondered, “My cousin and Xing must be better than me, but Ou Bicheng…”

Anyway, the princess had so much spare time, so she pestered Ou Bicheng for being his teacher. But how could Ou Bicheng sacrifice so much for a whim of the princess?

He started practicing martial arts with Jiang Yashuang and his own sister Ou Qinglan together, but in the end, even his sister could beat him to the ground easily! It was embarrassing! If he acknowledged a princess who couldn’t even do a standard martial-art squat as a teacher, it would be so shameful! Even if he really dared to abandon his identity and integrity, he still had to consider whether the elders in his family would throw him out of the family!

Hearing Jiang Yashuang’s suggestion, Ou Bicheng said with great anger, “It’s not as easy as you say! She can’t find me but she can find Xing! Since what happened to Cousin Xin, I rubbed Xing up the wrong way then, and she has been trying to get me in trouble… I didn’t do anything wrong! Marriage can’t be forced! I have always regarded Cousin Xin as my sister. It was not that I abandoned her!”

“She always has a good relationship with Cousin Xin, so she must feel sorry for her haggardness these days. It’s common that girls sometimes are unreasonable. Don’t think about it too much.” Jiang Yashuang frowned slightly, comforting him, “I’ll talk to Yongfu for you… Let her not make so much trouble for you then.”

Ou Bicheng breathed a sigh of relief, “She always listens to you, so you have to talk to her seriously!”

“Then can you come down and talk?”

“No! In case someone sees me and tells her, she will come here and pester me. After you talk to her, we won’t have time to get down to business then.” Ou Bicheng thought for a while and shook his head, saying, “Although there is water sound here, it’s not difficult for us to talk like this with your sharp ears. So why bother to let me go down?”

Jiang Yashuang said helplessly, “It’s nothing difficult for me, but you can’t hear me if I don’t raise my voice. What we’ll talk about next…”

Ou Bicheng said with a sad face, “Then you call the servants here. Isn’t Commandery Princess Qiu in the Palace? Ask her to pester Yongfu so that I can feel at ease, okay?”

“She has another appointment today. I will send Yongfu away if she comes here. You know she always listens to me.” Jiang Yashuang tried to persuade Ou Bicheng to go down the tree, and then they sat down beside the stone table under the tree. Because they feared that they would not have time to talk after Princess Yongfu came to disturb them, they both spoke bluntly. “Is Marquess Qin’s illness serious? If it is not good, we must inform the Major General in the fastest way!”

Speaking of business, Ou Bicheng turned serious immediately, no longer looking helpless and willful as when he talked about Princess Yongfu on the tree.

Jiang Yashuang’s eyes also became deeper, “He is sick. That’s true. With my grandfather’s self-discipline, since it was not a victory banquet for the overall situation, how could he get drunk? However, the imperial doctor guaranteed that he could work as usual in eight or nine days, and half a month at most.”

Ou Bicheng breathed a sigh of relief, “So, it’s not serious, right? Then there is no need to inform the Major General at all costs.”

“But it can just halt the progression of the disease!” Jiang Yashuang said with a touch of complexity on his face, “My grandmother told me secretly that this time my grandfather relapsed into the old disease that he had suffered from when he was ready for battle. If he wants to be cured completely, he has to ignore everything and be carefully nursed for a year or a half!”

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“How long does it take to relapse? What will happen when it relapses?” Ou Bicheng’s face suddenly changed upon hearing this!

Jiang Yashuang was expressionless, “If it is suppressed this time, it is estimated that he will be safe for three to five years. What will happen if he relapses again is hard to say.”

Different from his care for his grandfather in his indifferent tone, Ou Bicheng’s consideration of Marquess Qin’s illness was entirely based on the situation. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the words, and nodded, “Then the time is enough for the fight for the position of Crown Prince.”

“But I want to make a quick fight and let the overall situation settle as soon as possible so that my grandfather can start recuperating in advance.” Jiang Yashuang said in a deep voice, “After all, you know, although my grandfather is physically strong, he is old!”

Observing the faint anxiety in his heart, Ou Bicheng said with a serious face, “Everyone expects to settle it as soon as possible. But it’s just a big deal. More haste, less speed. We’d better do it in a safe way!”

Ou Bicheng knew that Jiang Yashuang was brought up by Marquess Qin and they loved each other so much, so he softened his tone for fear that Jiang Yashuang would not listen to him, “Regarding to the more and more intense actions on both sides, the fight won’t last for three or five years, and it may not be delayed to the time when Marquess Qin relapses. He can recuperate in advance certainly. If we fall short because of your eagerness, we will waste all the efforts of him!”

Jiang Yashuang glanced at him, “I’m telling you the truth. You know the card in our hands. It can’t be used whenever it is possible. It must be used in a critical moment. If it can’t achieve an immediate effect after it is used, it is equivalent to a big waste! Compared to the most critical thing, three to five years… It’s hard to say!”

Ou Bicheng understood him then, “The Western Army… Although there should still be old people who are thinking of General Ruan and General Qiu, Kuang Shihan is the one in charge now.”

This was the fundamental reason why Xue Chang refused to expose it in advance but only promised to help the Empress at the critical moment even if he was determined to cooperate with her. It was not only because this famous prime minister wanted to take his personal revenge while keeping his reputation, but more because he was worried about the Western Army!

As for political power, Xue Chang and the Empress’s party could surely win the Empress Dowager’s Party after joining hands.

The problem was that the military card of the Empress Dowager’s party Kuang Shihan bore an unshakable hatred of killing his father towards Qiu Yelan, the Jiang Family’s daughter-in-law! Therefore, even if the Empress Dowager’s party fell into an absolute disadvantage, he would still be on their side.

In case he ignored the western savages and led his troops back for a desperate fight… With his biting the hand of General Ruan who fed him, the Empress’s party all agreed that he could definitely do this kind of crazy thing after discussion.

The Western Army was an elite force, so only the Northern Army could resist it!

When Kuang Shihan came to Jing City and gained the initiative, the Jiang Family would definitely not allow the Northern Army to keep still. But if the Northern Army took action, what about Beihu then?

Even if these two alien races didn’t fish in troubled waters, after the Western Army and the Northern Army, the two elite forces, got great loss out of the civil war, who else could defend the country and protect the people then?

At that time, even if the Empress’s party helped the Seventh Princes to ascend the throne, Darui would definitely turn from prosperity to decline or even breakdown. It was definitely not the result the Empress’s party wanted!

“It’s not time for the Western Army to take action now. After all, my brother is still in the period of mourning!” Jiang Yashuang sighed, “The day when the mourning period ends is at the end of the year, and people had better not go west in that season! And I’m still hesitating whether to let my brother go for the Western Army after the mourning period or not. After all, he is the only son of my father-in-law… If something happens, I don’t know how to face my wife then!”

Using Qiu Jinglan to handle Kuang Shihan was the strategy that the Jiang Family decided after knowing Qiu Jinglan’s birth. Nobody was more suitable than him. As the son of the former Duke of Xihe, the grandson of General Ruan and the heir of the Ruan Family, he could awaken the roots of the Ruan Family and the Qiu Family in the Western Army to the biggest extent. He was talented, capable and handsome, so he was the best candidate as the young master for all the old officials, old slaves, and old ministers in the world.

The most important thing was that it was also Qiu Jinglan’s own goal. So, he would try his best.

The Jiang Family used him to handle Kuang Shihuang to directly shake the foundation of the Empress Dowager’s party, and it could yield twice the result with half the effort. He also wanted to avenge himself and regain what belonged to him. With the help of the Jiang Family, it could also yield twice the result with half the effort. It was win-win cooperation, especially on the basis of the marriage of Qiu Yelan and Jiang Yashuang.

Jiang Yashuang and Qiu Jinglan had discussed several times in private about going for the Western Army. Of course, they kept it from Qiu Yelan each time.

However, after Qiu Jinglan set out, Qiu Yelan would know it sooner or later.

She had only one brother, and they had a hard time recognizing each other. Based on Jiang Yashuang’s understanding of his wife, Qiu Yelan would rather give up taking revenge than let her brother take the risk!

So, he hesitated, “Our manpower over there….”

“Nobody is useful!” Ou Bicheng immediately shook his head, “They can just inquire about news and convey it. Even the best one of them is just the deputy general of Kuang Shihan. How can they get involved in the military power of the Western Army? No one can do it except Qiu Jinglan, even you! And how did your father-in-law die? How can he not take revenge for the death of his father? Maybe some people won’t do that, but Qiu Jinglan… By the way, you described him like that, and you think which kind of person he is?”

Jiang Yashuang didn’t speak. His brother-in-law, under the guise of his brilliant talent and gentleness, was unimaginably cruel and deep. How could such a person give up revenge?

“I will think about it again.” He knew that, but thinking of Qiu Yelan’s terrible appearance after Qiu Jinglan was assassinated, Jiang Yashuang still felt upset. “He won’t leave for the Western Army until at least next year… As for now, my grandfather’s disease can be controlled for the time being, so there shouldn’t be any trouble in the overall situation.”

“However, the fight is just between Prince of Zhou and the Seventh Prince now and they seem to be just playing house… It’s time to change!”