No title, no marriage? Do you think I'm some kind of lapdog?

"What?!"

"So fast!"

Su Chuang immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and three forces had already crossed his mind:

The second prince, the Xiongnu, and those who lurked in the shadows and wanted him dead.

We must save them.

With Xu Mengran's death, the military power in the southern border region will inevitably be in chaos, and he will lose a potential ally in the court.

"Let's go down and explore further."

He instantly came up with a solution, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard, an intelligence organization hidden in the shadows, could not be revealed!

"Liu Guochao, report to the Emperor immediately!"

He rose, drew his sword, and spoke in a voice as cold as iron.

"Feng Feng, muster your men—remember, this mission is not to kill the enemy, but to delay them."

What he wanted was time, favors, and, more importantly, to expose the person hiding in the shadows.

"Here you go!"

Knowing the situation was urgent, the two immediately sprang into action.

Holding his waist knife, Su Chuang, under Zhao Yun's protection, rode one of the few warhorses of the patrol army straight to Shili Slope.

……

"kill!"

At this moment, shouts and cries of battle filled the air at Shili Slope.

"Those petty scoundrels are hiding their true colors!"

Xu Mengran rode a white horse, her phoenix eyes filled with murderous intent.

His armor was silver, yet it reflected a red light.

"The master has ordered that Xu Mengran be abducted and killed here!"

"Our envoy also intends to do so!"

"Then let's join forces?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking!"

The four masked leaders instantly reached an agreement.

"You think I'm afraid of you!"

Xu Mengran was completely unafraid. After instructing one of her lieutenants to break through and relay the message, she...

He resolutely raised his spear, spurred his horse, and charged straight at the leader in the center.

"what!"

With a scream, the leader collapsed and stopped breathing.

"Brothers, be careful! This woman has the strength of an S-rank warrior!"

"Truly worthy of being called the Twin Jewels of the Great Qian Dynasty!"

"Joint effort to crush them!"

"Incapacitate them, then humiliate them, even if they're just a corpse!"

Another leader, whose eyes were as small as a mouse's, immediately shouted loudly!

"kill!"

Upon hearing the sound, the man in black, as if injected with adrenaline, lunged at Xu Mengran recklessly.

"drink!"

Xu Mengran brandished her spear and led her guards in a fierce resistance.

Unfortunately, they were outnumbered.

"Is today my death day, Xu Mengran?"

"I'm just not reconciled, I want to see you one more time... Chuang..."

Xu Mengran looked up at the sky and sighed.

"Hmm? Is this a mirage before I died?"

Her eyes were slightly misty, as if she could see Su Chuang's figure.

"It can't be him, he can't ride a horse..."

Xu Mengran shook her head, denying the scene before her eyes.

"Brothers! Kill them!"

"Protect General Xu!"

Su Chuang finally arrived at the last minute.

"Split into three teams, cut off their forces, and prevent them from encircling us."

He shouted, except for Zhao Yun who was protecting him.

Led by Feng Feng, the remaining patrolmen charged toward the men in black.

The pressure on Xu Mengran and the others, who were in the center of the battlefield, instantly eased.

"As expected, there was more than one group..."

Su Chuang reined in his horse on the slope and coldly surveyed the battlefield.

They discovered that among the men in black were Hunnic scimitar users, and on the other side, someone was secretly using a standard military crossbow.

[Congratulations, host, you have arrived at the checkpoint and triggered the hidden mission: Breaking the Stalemate at Shili Slope]

[Mission Objective: Defeat the enemy and protect Xu Mengran]

[Reward: S-level business talent – ​​Mi Zhu, and initial capital of 100,000 taels]

A glint flashed in Su Chuang's eyes. Mi Zhu... had arrived just in time.

"Zilong, my martial arts skills are mediocre, so you must protect me well."

Seeing that the situation was under control, Su Chuang remained calm and did not intend to display his martial arts skills.

After all, no one took him seriously when he demonstrated his martial arts skills the first two times.

"Here you go!"

Zhao Yun accepted the order, his eyes scanning his surroundings warily.

Any black-clad men who stumbled upon him by mistake were all killed with a single shot.

Quick, accurate, and ruthless!

"When did Chuang get such powerful guards?"

Xu Mengran naturally sensed Zhao Yun's strength.

Even among S-rank generals, there are differences in strength.

Without exception, Zhao Yun was among the most powerful.

"I am a captain of the Imperial Guard!"

"Traitorous foes, dismount and face your deaths!"

A troop of elite cavalry swept in from the direction of the capital.

In less than fifteen minutes, they dispersed the group of men in black and successfully rescued Xu Mengran.

"Who would have thought that the prince, who used to be unable to even ride a horse steadily, would now dare to lead troops to rescue people?"

Xu Mengran, her silver armor stained with blood, rode her horse to Su Chuang's side.

"No, you are now the son of three dukes of the Great Qian Dynasty, your status is extremely noble!"

Her gaze lingered on the other person's face for a moment, then she suddenly chuckled.

"Hehe... Sister Xu is in trouble, how can I sit idly by and do nothing?"

Su Chuang grinned, revealing his usual nonchalant smile.

He reached out and helped Xu Mengran down from her horse.

When your fingertips inevitably touch the calluses on the other person's palm, you notice a barely perceptible blush creeping up your ears.

"Accompany me to the palace to meet the emperor."

"Someone doesn't want me to return to Beijing... This matter is probably related to your father back then."

Xu Mengran lowered her voice.

The reason she rushed back from the southern border was not only because Emperor Wu had the intention.

More importantly, she heard that Su Chuang and Ye Qingyue's engagement had fallen through.

She knew her chance had come!

She also knew that without Su Chuang's support, Ye Qingyue, this pretty face, was not qualified to be ranked alongside her as one of the two pillars of the Great Qian Dynasty!

"This…"

Su Chuang wanted to refuse, as he just wanted to go back and check on Mi Zhu, whom he had just summoned.

He also intentionally or unintentionally avoided being seen by Lin Ruxue with Xu Mengran.

"Stop holding your mother back, let's go."

Xu Mengran didn't give Su Chuang any time to resist. She directly took his hand and headed towards the capital.

Just as he was about to reach the city gate, a system voice entered Su Chuang's mind.

Mi Zhu has been arranged to go to the capital, carrying a list of tea and silk distribution channels in Jiangnan. He can pay his respects at the Duke of Xinguo's residence in three days.

"good!"

Su Chuang felt reassured and secretly cheered.

The salt and sugar business is in dire need of distribution channels in the Jiangnan region, and this person's arrival is perfectly timed.

He glanced at Xu Mengran again, and suddenly thought:

If we could link the sugarcane production in southern Xinjiang with the distribution channels in southern China...

"Tap tap..."

Beneath the city gate, a large group of people marched out, brushing past Su Chuang and his companions.

The woman in the lead, clad in silver armor and a red cloak, was none other than Ye Qingyue.

Walking beside her was Yue Xinyang.

Their eyes met Su Chuang's. Ye Qingyue slightly raised her chin, while Yue Xinyang made no attempt to hide the hatred in her eyes.

"Oh, so it's the Yue family's pretty boy going to join the army in the northern frontier!"

Su Chuang suddenly smiled, a particularly bright smile, and even raised his hand to wave, as if bidding farewell to an old friend.

"Don't you dare get cocky!"

"I'll be waiting for you in the northern frontier!"

"Anyone who doesn't come is a coward!"

Yue Xinyang rode a fine horse and unleashed a barrage of attacks on Su Chuang!

He didn't forget to hold Ye Qingyue's hand tightly.

"Su Chuang!"

"Remember this: no woman but me will ever be interested in you!"

Ye Qingyue looked at Xu Mengran behind Su Chuang with a hint of jealousy.

"shallow…"

Upon hearing this, Xu Mengran smiled dismissively.

"If Su Chuang is willing, I'm his woman right now!"

"The woman I share a bed with..."