A lowly soldier becomes king, I slaughter my way through the late Tang Dynasty!

Bianliang.

"The Empress has returned to the palace!"

"The Empress is unharmed!"

The good news spread within the palace walls.

When the news reached Shi Chonggui's ears, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately became nervous.

"Are you really alright? You weren't... humiliated, were you?"

The eunuch knelt down and kowtowed.

"Zhao Hongyin, the fourth commander of the imperial guards who escorted the Empress back, reported that the Empress was only hit by an arrow and was not humiliated."

Fortunately, he was protected by General Li Rui and escaped unharmed; he is currently out of danger.

Shi Zhonggui was startled upon hearing this.

"Li Rui? What does that have to do with him?"

The eunuch was somewhat apprehensive and only recounted what he had heard.

Shi Zhonggui's face immediately darkened.

He flicked his sleeve and said.

"Lead the way, I'm going to visit the Empress."

Inside the Crimson Purple Palace.

Feng Yao had already changed into palace attire, looking noble and elegant.

His lips were still somewhat pale, giving him a slightly sickly appearance.

Shi Zhonggui walked over slowly, revealing a warm smile.

"I heard you were injured? Are you alright?"

Feng Yao smiled faintly.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am now fully recovered."

Shi Chonggui nodded and couldn't wait to ask.

"I heard you went north with Li Rui early this morning? What were you doing there? Why did you encounter bandits? And how did you escape?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of displeasure flashed across Feng Yao's beautiful face.

"Is Your Majesty conducting an interrogation?"

Shi Zhonggui laughed heartily and waved his hand.

"What interrogation? I'm just asking for clarification."

Feng Yao maintained a faint smile and spoke calmly.

"I just wanted to go out of the city for a spring outing, and I happened to meet Li Rui, so I asked him to come along and act as my bodyguard."

"We encountered refugees and bandits on the road. If it weren't for General Li Rui risking his life to protect me, I fear I would not have survived."

Shi Zhonggui narrowed his eyes.

Clearly, they were not satisfied with this answer.

Finally, he stopped pretending.

They got straight to the point.

"Have you been humiliated?"

Feng Yao's delicate body trembled, and anger flashed in her eyes.

She nearly died outside, but managed to escape back to the palace with great difficulty.

When her husband, Shi Chonggui, came to visit, he only asked one question about her injuries.

But he only had one thing on his mind.

Was she insulted?

It concerns the dignity of the imperial family, and is indeed a major matter.

But Feng Yao is first and foremost a woman, and only then is she the empress of the Shi family!

How could she bear such questioning?

"Ha, with General Li Rui's careful protection, of course not."

Feng Yao spoke calmly, but her heart was already burning with anger.

But Shi Zhonggui was still not satisfied!

The question he wanted to ask was about Li Rui!

Although Shi Chonggui had never met Li Rui, he had heard about him through various channels.

This man was tall and handsome, with sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, and a face as beautiful as jade.

With a hidden sharpness between his brows and a commanding presence in every gesture, he is a rare young talent.

Such a young man, with the empress in an unknown, desolate wilderness.

I stayed there all night!

Moreover.

Feng Yao is an absolute beauty!

Both are attractive, what if they can't resist...?

It's hard for Shi Zhonggui not to overthink things.

He asked with a slightly gloomy expression.

"Li Rui, you guarded us all night. Did you fail in any way?"

Feng Yao suddenly looked up and stared directly at Shi Zhonggui.

"Your Majesty may ask directly: Did I have sexual relations with Li Rui?"

The voice just fell.

Shi Zhonggui's expression changed drastically!

But anger comes quickly and goes quickly.

Seeing that Feng Yao showed no fear and appeared to have a clear conscience.

Shi Chonggui coughed lightly, realizing that he had been too hasty and had lost his composure.

"My beloved consort, please don't be offended. I had no such intention; I was just confused because I was concerned."

Feng Yao sneered and turned her head away.

"I am unwell, and I beg Your Majesty to grant me some peace and quiet."

Shi Chonggui stood up unhappily, about to leave.

A fleeting glimpse.

His gaze was fixed on Yunlian, who was serving him.

Shi Chonggui's eyes gradually widened in surprise, and a hint of greed also appeared.

Yunlian is Feng Yao's maid, and he has seen her many times before.

I used to think that this palace maid was of average appearance, but not stunning.

How come I see this today?

Yunlian's skin is moisturized, and her little face is pink and tender, making her very cute!

And surprisingly...

Her eyes and brows were filled with a strong sense of spring.

She's now more charming and cute than ever before!

Shi Chonggui felt a tickle in his heart and laughed.

"My beloved concubine is injured, so she should rest and recuperate properly. Tonight, let this palace maid serve me."

Yunlian looked up in astonishment!

A mix of emotions flashed across her eyes in an instant: panic, resistance, and fear.

She quickly turned to look at Feng Yao, casting a pleading glance at her.

Feng Yao was naturally unwilling as well.

"Your Majesty, I am in dire need of a caring person to attend to me while I am injured."

Shi Chonggui's face darkened.

He felt even more dissatisfied with Feng Yao.

Previously, they had been evasive about Li Rui's issues.

Now he wants to have his way with a mere palace maid, and he's even trying to stop him!

Just as Shi Zhonggui was about to lose his temper.

A eunuch outside the gate reported this.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Princess Jiaxing has come to visit."

Shi Lingxian jogged over quickly, grabbed Feng Yao's hand, and said with a worried expression.

"Are you alright? I heard you were injured? Where are you hurt? Let me see..."

Feng Yao smiled sweetly.

"Don't worry, it's just a minor injury."

Seeing this, Shi Zhonggui couldn't very well lose his temper in front of his sister.

He could only give a few dry words before quickly leaving.

As soon as he left the Crimson Purple Palace, Shi Chonggui said in a depressed mood.

"Go, summon Qingluan to the palace."

The eunuch was stunned.

"Your Majesty, this has been going on for four days in a row, this..."

Shi Zhonggui was furious!

"Even you, you beast, dare to defy the imperial decree?!"

The eunuch hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.

Not long after.

Qingluan, a courtesan from Yichun Courtyard, once again entered the palace to perform a dance for the emperor.

Summoning geishas to the palace for four consecutive days is truly unheard of.

Shi Chonggui's licentious nature.

Following the major victory at the front, the impact is rapidly escalating!

……

The next day.

Li Rui took a break from his busy schedule to check the system.

[Partner already added: Yunlian, currently being rated]

[Appearance: 89/10]

[Appearance: 90 points]

[Background: 60 points]

Moral Character: 96 points

Overall score: 83.75 points, rating: Excellent

Li Rui was stunned.

Yunlian's image actually scores 90 points, given her flat-chested appearance?

After a moment's thought, Li Rui smiled again.

It seems the system also scores by type.

Yunlian is a loli type, so she definitely deserves a high score.

However, a score of 96 in character is enough to prove it.

This girl is wonderful.

[Reward Distribution:]

Iron smelting technology: Top-notch

Map surveying technology: Top-notch

Two top-tier skills!

Li Rui grinned and shook his head with a tsk-tsk expression.

She secretly regretted not being gentler last night.

I made them cry, and it took me ages to soothe them.

I was just thinking about it.

Zhao Kuangyin rushed over.

"General Li, we've found him!"

They have been searching for that band of bandits since yesterday.

The refugees are no problem; once the imperial guards of Bianliang arrive, those who should be wiped out will be wiped out, and those who should be captured will be captured.

It's mainly that gang of bandits!

Li Rui was extremely curious.

How exactly did that ballista end up in the hands of the bandits?

This thing can be leaked out.

There must be someone secretly reselling behind the scenes!

If we can seize this opportunity, we might be able to reap amazing profits!

This is why Li Rui was so proactive, even leading only a hundred men to suppress the bandits.

of course.

It was just a convenient thing to avenge Feng Yao's death.

In addition, Li Rui himself had a rather serious wound on his back.

It's all thanks to this group of people!

Zhao Kuangyin spoke urgently, his brows furrowed.

"This band of mountain bandits is entrenched in the deep mountains and forests. Their numbers are unknown, and their hiding place is extremely secretive."

It's difficult for us to pinpoint their location. If we rush in, we might alert them and fall into an ambush.

After saying that, Zhao Kuangyin spread his hands.

"It would be great if we had a map."