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

The carriage had barely left the palace gates and turned onto Chang'an Street when the unexpected happened.

"Whoosh whoosh-"

Seven or eight crossbow bolts shot down from the rooftops on both sides, heading straight for the carriage.

The previously ambiguous atmosphere instantly became tense.

"Clang!"

Zhao Yun reacted with astonishing speed, sweeping his gleaming silver spear in a "whoosh".

He fired three arrows, and just as the fourth was about to pierce the car window, he thrust the tip of his spear, and with a "thud," it pierced through the car bed, pinning the arrow in mid-air.

"There's an assassin!"

Xu Mengran drew her sword with a clang and pulled Su Chuang behind her.

Su Chuang's face turned pale, and he gripped Xu Mengran's sleeve tightly, his body trembling.

But those eyes darted around, scanning out through the cracks in the car window.

Eight masked men in black jumped down; four of them grabbed Zhao Yun, while the other four rushed at the carriage with their knives.

Xu Mengran kicked open the car door, her sword flashing like snow, and instantly engaged the two assassins in battle.

Su Chuang huddled in the corner, seemingly terrified and about to wet himself, but in reality, he was staring intently at the assassin's hand.

One of them had calluses on his hands that were so thick they were almost black – a mark of the northern cavalry, worn down from years of holding the reins.

"clang!"

Xu Mengran knocked away a man's weapon with a single sword strike, then stabbed him in the shoulder with her other hand.

The assassin groaned and fell to the ground, a few copper coins jingling out of his pocket.

Su Chuang glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and sneered inwardly.

The military pay for the northern frontier was in the form of standard copper coins.

Suddenly, several short crossbows flew out from the shadows and accurately pierced the backs of the other three assassins.

The remaining soldiers, seeing the situation was not good, tried to run away, but Zhao Yun was not about to let them go. His spear moved like a dragon, and within three breaths, they were all knocked to the ground.

There was a moment of silence on Chang'an Street, then the people screamed and scattered.

"Chuang, are you alright?"

Xu Mengran sheathed her sword, turned around and helped Su Chuang up.

"N-nothing... Sister Xu, are you... are you hurt?"

Su Chuang's lips were still trembling, and he stammered.

"External injury".

"They are skilled in the military, having practiced swordsmanship for at least ten years."

Xu Mengran glanced at the torn sleeve on her arm, her eyes turning cold.

Su Chuang got out of the car shakily, walked to a corpse, bent down and picked up the copper coin.

It felt cold to the touch.

"Someone doesn't want me to go to the northern frontier."

He spoke in a low voice, so softly that only he could hear it.

……

Inside a secret room in the Duke of Xin's mansion.

Su Chuang sat in the main seat, tapping his fingers on the table.

Jia Xu had somehow already appeared in the shadows, his gray robe hanging there as if it were there.

Yue Fei and Zhao Yun stood on either side of Su Chuang, one holding a spear and the other a sword, like two guardian deities.

Lu Bing emerged from behind the screen, knelt on one knee, and presented a scroll of secret reports with both hands.

The last to enter was Mi Zhu, his sleeves still stained with ink, and a corner of the account book peeking out from his bosom.

"We've all arrived."

"You know what happened today, right?"

Su Chuang stopped tapping on the table.

No one spoke, but their eyes were heavy.

Su Chuang grinned, but the smile lacked warmth.

"Some people are afraid that I'll go to northern Xinjiang, so I have to go even more."

"But how to get there, who to take with us, and who to leave in the capital—we must decide tonight."

He looked up and first saw Yue Fei: "Pengju."

"Your subordinate is here."

"Keep those three hundred Xuanjia Mo Dao guards at the manor hidden, and tell the outside world they are protecting the manor."

"Select one hundred skilled men and infiltrate the personal guard to serve as bodyguards."

Su Chuang paused.

"Here you are."

"As the lord instructed, ninety-seven men have been selected, each capable of fighting ten men."

Yue Fei clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Those three hundred personal guards, officially named the 'Flying Tigers,' will be under your command."

"Once we reach the northern frontier, I will make them invincible!"

Su Chuang stared at Yue Fei, whose eyes flashed with a sharp light: "This humble general will certainly not fail the trust placed in him by our lord."

Su Chuang nodded and turned to Zhao Yun: "Zilong, come north with me and protect me closely."

Zhao Yun gripped his gleaming silver spear tightly: "Wherever my lord is, I will be there."

"You will also have twelve Jinyiwei assassins deployed in the shadows, at your disposal."

"Here you are."

Jia Xu, without needing Su Chuang to call his name, took half a step forward from the shadows and bowed, saying:

"My lord, I have prepared three strategies."

"explain."

"The best strategy is to use one tiger to devour another, letting Ye Qingyue and Yue Xinyang fight each other."

"The middle strategy was to use a borrowed knife to kill someone, leading the remnants of the Xiongnu to ambush and kill the second prince;"

"The worst course of action is to destroy everything. If things cannot be done, then burn down the General's Mansion at Yumen Pass in the northern frontier."

Jia Xu said this without batting an eye, as if he were talking about what to eat for dinner.

Su Chuang smiled: "Let's test the waters with the middle strategy first."

"Your subject understands."

Jia Xu retreated back into the shadows.

"Ye Qingyue, Yue Xinyang, and the Xiongnu can all be used as weapons."

It was Mi Zhu's turn.

The merchant from Jiangnan unfolded his account book, speaking quickly and steadily.

"Rest assured, my lord."

"The winery can be expanded to the Jiangnan region within the month; three sites have already been found in Suzhou and Hangzhou."

"One hundred thousand copies of the storybook have already been printed, and they will be distributed throughout Jiangbei within seven days."

"The sugar mill will open in three days, and the first batch of refined sugar, 5,000 catties, has been prepared."

He looked up, his eyes shining.

"Based on the current market conditions, we can provide the master with more than 50,000 taels of silver per month."

Su Chuang slammed his hand on the table.

"Alright! The money and supplies are up to you!"

Mi Zhu added another sentence.

"I have opened up three trade routes directly to the northern frontier, and there are three warehouses inside Yumen Pass, so military supplies can be mobilized at any time."

Finally, there's Lu Bing.

He presented the scroll with both hands.

"Intelligence from the Northern Frontier, reported daily. Confirmed:"

"After Ye Qingyue was demoted to General Yangwei, three of her subordinate generals sided with the Second Prince."

"Yue Xinyang was appointed as a colonel, in charge of five hundred cavalrymen, all of whom were former subordinates of the Yue family."

Su Chuang took the secret scroll, glanced at it a few times, and his eyes turned cold.

"Keep an eye on them. Especially the old acquaintances from 'Luofengpo,' don't miss a single one."

Lu Bing lowered his head.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard has infiltrated sixteen military camps in the northern border region and can establish a complete intelligence network within seven days."

"Bang!"

The meeting was only halfway through when the door to the secret room was pushed open.

Xu Mengran burst in dressed in red, her ponytail swinging nimbly.

She glanced at everyone in the room, her gaze settling on Su Chuang's face: "Chuang! I want to go too!"

Su Chuang smiled wryly: "Sister Xu, you are the military supervisor, so naturally you will go with me."

"I'm right."

Xu Mengran walked up to him, bent down, and stared into his eyes.

"The kind of group that sleeps in one tent."

"..."

The room fell silent instantly.

Zhao Yun silently turned his head to look at the corner of the wall, Yue Fei coughed, Jia Xu lowered his head to drink tea, and Mi Zhu flipped through the account books with a rustling sound.

Su Chuang's ears turned slightly red, and he coughed twice.

"Let's get down to business."

"Upon arriving in the northern frontier, Sister Xu, acting as the military supervisor, suppressed Ye Qingyue, and I came to investigate the case."

"Can."

Xu Mengran straightened up and crossed her arms.

"But you must come to my tent every night to 'report on military affairs'."

Su Chuang: "..."

He quickly changed the subject, tapping the table to summarize.

"We will depart in three days."

"Openly, they led 300 Flying Tigers soldiers and 50 servants, making a grand entrance along the official road."

"The Mo Dao Guards, hidden in the shadows, broke into smaller groups and infiltrated the northern frontier in ten batches."

"The Imperial Guards will lead the way, and any spies along the route will be eliminated."

He looked at Jia Xu: "Wenhe is in charge of 'unexpected events'."

Jia Xu nodded: "Your subject understands. Some people will 'just happen' to die suddenly."

"With Zizhong stationed in the capital, the money and provisions must not be cut off."

Mi Zhu cupped his hands in greeting: "Rest assured, my lord."

The others obeyed and left, leaving only Su Chuang sitting alone in the secret room.

The oil lamp crackled and sparked.

Fifteen minutes later, a dark shadow suddenly flashed outside the window.

Lu Bing returned, knelt on one knee, and spoke in a very low voice.

"My lord, we have just intercepted a secret letter. The Second Prince has dispatched thirty assassins to ambush us in 'Soul-Severing Valley'."