The whole family is obsessed with love? The princess woke them up one after another.

Qi Zhiyu nodded obediently: "Mother, don't worry. I won't get myself killed in here."

Princess Rui squeezed Qi Zhiyu's hand: "There are quite a few things to prepare before going out."

"We need to prepare early."

Princess Rui was worried that her child would suffer if he went out.

Naturally, preparations should be made in advance.

While Qi Zhiyu and the others were busy, King Wu and Qi Yanhe were also not idle; they had made all the necessary preparations.

This time, we absolutely cannot let Qi Zhiyu come back.

The King of Wu was always on tenterhooks.

He was worried that he wouldn't be able to catch Qi Zhiyu with that thing.

Only after Qi Yan and the Third Princess left the capital did the King of Wu finally feel completely at ease.

If the timing weren't so bad, he would have loved to rush into the palace and show his father, the emperor.

What kind of person is Qi Zhiyu, whom the Emperor favors?

The art of governing a country is something that should be given to the ruler of a country.

However, after learning the news, Qi Zhiyu went to find it herself instead of reporting it to her biased grandfather.

It is clear that in Qi Zhiyu's heart, the throne was far more important than Emperor Kangwu!

The King of Wu felt a sense of satisfaction at his revenge.

What will his father's reaction be when he finds out the truth?

He, on the contrary, is looking forward to that day!

almost.

Qi Zhiyu went out this time and never came back.

At that time, when Father Emperor is at his most grief-stricken, we will reveal Qi Zhiyu's true purpose for leaving.

Father...won't you think I'm unfairly favoring Qi Zhiyu?

The more King Wu thought about it, the more excited he became. He had already made all the arrangements on his side and was just waiting for Qi Yan to cooperate with the other side.

They went through the process many times this time, and there's absolutely no problem.

Qi Zhiyu, who was on the mind of the King of Wu, is now heading towards the border alone on horseback.

She was absolutely disgusted.

The destination was so obvious, it was practically slapping her in the face to tell her that Qi Yan and the King of Wu were plotting against her.

She really didn't know whether King Wu and Qi Yan were brainless or if they had enough confidence.

Qi Zhiyu wasn't in a hurry along the way, since the Third Princess was delicate and wouldn't walk fast anyway.

Even so, Qi Zhiyu arrived at the border earlier than the Third Princess and the others.

It has to be said that conditions at the border are truly harsh.

Not only is the land barren, but the terrain here is also unstable.

Qi Zhiyu entered the city, led her horse, and strolled leisurely through the streets.

The shops, buildings, and ground on the street were all dusty and gloomy.

The people's spirits are not bad. Although the area is poor, judging from their condition, they still feel that there is hope for the future.

It seems that the imperial uncle guarding this place is truly a capable ruler.

Qi Zhiyu strolled leisurely to her destination.

The houses here are nothing compared to those in the capital; they are far too simple.

Qi Zhiyu stepped forward, but the guards at the door immediately stopped her.

The guard didn't speak, but the aura he had honed on the battlefield was enough to scare away any bystanders.

Qi Zhiyu immediately took out a letter.

The guard glanced at it and saw the familiar wax seal on it, so he quickly and respectfully accepted it: "Please wait a moment, young lady."

Qi Zhiyu nodded.

The guard immediately jogged inside to deliver the message.

A short while later, the gates of the mansion swung open, and a tall, handsome man strode out: "Is this my eldest niece?"

"Let me see, I haven't seen my eldest niece yet."

Qi Zhiyu looked at the scholarly-looking man in front of her and smiled slightly: "Royal Uncle".

Upon seeing Qi Zhiyu, Prince Xin couldn't help but exclaim, "My imperial brother's daughter is indeed beautiful!"

"Quickly, come inside with Uncle. You must be exhausted from the journey!"

Prince Xin led Qi Zhiyu inside, and people naturally led away the horses and settled them properly.

"I'll have someone prepare hot water for you, so you can wash up first," Prince Xin said with a smile.

"No need, Imperial Uncle, let's talk about business first," Qi Zhiyu said.

Prince Xin was taken aback, and quickly and discreetly sized up Qi Zhiyu.

In his letter, the Emperor mentioned that he should listen to his niece, Chen'an, in everything he does.

He still harbored a sliver of uncertainty.

After all, the letter stated that Qi Zhiyu had only just come of age.

But Qi Zhiyu's composure now dispelled the uncertainty in his heart.

What my elder brother said is indeed true.

He first listened to what his eldest niece had to say.

"Alright, let's go to the study." Prince Xin led Qi Zhiyu to the study.

The maids had already prepared tea and snacks, and after setting them out, they all withdrew.

After taking a sip of tea, Qi Zhiyu asked, "Uncle, guarding this pass these past few years must have been quite a challenge, right?"

Prince Xin was taken aback; he hadn't expected Qi Zhiyu to ask this question.

"There's nothing easy or difficult about it," Prince Xin smiled. "This pass happens to be the border between the three kingdoms."

"With me guarding it, there's Northern Yunnan on one side and the Qi Kingdom on the other."

"If it weren't for my defensive line, the warlike Northern Dian would surely have invaded the Qi Kingdom."

It wasn't that he looked down on the Qi Kingdom, but rather that the Qi Kingdom's strength on the battlefield was quite average.

It was only because of that special iron ore that the Qi Kingdom was able to gain an advantage on the battlefield.

He guards this place, partly to protect the border of Da Rui, and partly to indirectly protect the Qi Kingdom.

In this way, Qi State will continue to trade cold iron with Da Rui.

With the help of the cold iron, the soldiers of Da Rui finally had good weapons and armor.

However, Qi Guo was extremely stingy, and he was very dissatisfied with the quantity of cold iron... in any case.

"Actually, the terrain here isn't ideal for our operations," Qi Zhiyu said. "If we included the surrounding cities of Qi, resisting Northern Dian would be much easier."

Prince Xin shook his head and said, "Impossible."

"My dear niece, you don't understand, the Qi Kingdom will never trust us to cooperate."

"Not to mention letting our soldiers use those few cities to fight against Northern Yunnan."

That's why he's been able to keep maneuvering like this.

If it were anyone else in charge, who knows how many soldiers and civilians would have died on the border.

Qi Zhiyu laughed: "Uncle, if those cities become ours, wouldn't our soldiers be able to come and go as they please?"

King Xin: "..."

Have you been working too hard lately?

Why is my hearing suddenly not working well?

Prince Xin rubbed his ears and asked uncertainly, "My dear niece, what did you just say?"

"I'm too old to hear clearly."

Qi Zhiyu chuckled and said, "Uncle, you heard me right."

"I came here this time specifically for those cities in the Qi Kingdom."

Prince Xin stared at Qi Zhiyu in disbelief.

What is she saying?

Is the problem with her, or with him?

Prince Xin immediately took out the letter that Prince Rui had just given him from his bosom, his eyes falling on the last sentence with a few words enlarged: "Listen to my daughter!"

Prince Xin swallowed hard: "Chen'an, do you know what you're saying?"

Qi Zhiyu smiled slightly: "Uncle, I've come all this way, do you think I came here just for fun?"

"If I don't collect something, wouldn't my trip have been a waste?"