Warm medicine emits fragrance

Li Chenbi returned to Qianzhou with Fan Liuer, and on the way they encountered Yan Qiu and Li Qiuping, who were rushing over with their men.

"Brother Chenbi." He dismounted and strode to the carriage, looking at Li Chenbi as he emerged, and asked, "Is your wife alright?"

Li Chenbi shook his head slightly, then turned his head to look behind him, his face gloomy. "Send men over there and capture them alive."

Yanqiu was relieved to learn that the person was alright and immediately said, "I'll go right away."

Li Qiuping didn't go with them; instead, he rode alongside the carriage, protecting it as it returned to the city.

Li Chenbi returned to the carriage and had just sat down when Fan Liuer came over, wrapped her arms around his arm, and leaned against him.

Li Chenbi turned his head to look at her, his heart softening completely.

He reached out and pulled the person into his arms. "Don't be afraid, I won't let anything happen to you again."

Fan Liuer wasn't afraid; she wasn't afraid when she was with Li Chenbi. She just wanted to lean on him and get close to him. This behavior was completely beyond her control; her body did it instinctively when she saw him coming.

"I'm not afraid anymore," she whispered. "I just want to be close to you."

Li Chenbi paused for a moment while holding her, then tightened his grip on her. He then leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Don't say these things to me outside."

Fan Liuer: "..."

In an instant, all the warm and beautiful atmosphere vanished. She rarely opened up and shared her true feelings, but this person was only thinking about those things.

After a moment of silence, she changed the subject, "Do you know who sent them?"

"I roughly know."

"Who?" Fan Liuer asked curiously.

Li Chenbi didn't want to tell Fan Liuer too much about the treachery and deceit on the battlefield, but now he had new arrangements for Fan Liuer's future and needed to let her know who could be trusted and who should be avoided.

"Yanling".

Fan Liuer looked up at Li Chenbi, "The eldest son of General Yan? You have a grudge against him too?"

Li Chenbi patiently explained to her, "It's only a matter of time before General Yan takes that position. He only has these two sons, and the future crown prince will be chosen from between them."

"I had no intention of getting involved in these matters. Once we take the capital, I plan to return to Xingzhou and live with you. Yanling is eager to win me over, and he became jealous when he saw me getting close to Yanqiu."

Upon hearing this, Fan Liuer exclaimed in surprise, "Then aren't you being forced to take sides?"

Fan Liuer was very worried. Although she had never encountered such a thing before, there were many stories throughout history of princes vying for the position of crown prince, and she had heard quite a few.

Not taking sides is the safest option; you won't offend anyone, and no matter which side wins in the future, you can walk away unscathed.

But if you choose a side, and choose the wrong one, the consequences can be dire.

Fan Liuer wasn't pessimistic about Yanqiu, but there were too many variables in such matters, and no one knew who the final winner would be until the very end.

Her heart, which had just settled down, started racing again.

Given Li Chenbi's usual temperament, if Yanling wins in the end, he definitely won't let Li Chenbi go, and might even torture him before killing him.

"This didn't happen before, but Yan Ling shouldn't have attacked you. Since he dared to do this, I certainly won't let him sit in that position." As he spoke, he looked down at Fan Liuer, saw her worry, and smiled, "Don't be afraid, even if I don't interfere, his chances of winning aren't that great."

"Why?" Fan Liuer pressed.

"People say that a mother's status rises with her son's, but that's only true if the man doesn't have a woman he particularly likes. If he does, then it's the other way around; the son's status rises with his mother's."

"General Yan and his first wife were engaged in an arranged marriage by their parents, and they had no feelings for each other. Madam Yan had long been in love with someone else. After marrying General Yan, she was worried every day and never gave him a kind look. She even had her maids who came with her dowry handle the bedroom affairs. One of them was Yan Ling's mother. After she became pregnant with Yan Ling, she was elevated to the status of a concubine."

"Yanqiu's mother was taken in by General Yan himself. He has been very attentive to her all these years, and no other woman has been added to the household since he took her in."

"General Yan has shown considerable favoritism towards Yanqiu's mother. Otherwise, given Ni Hai's actions over the years, General Yan would have killed him several times over. Even this time, he had to set up a scheme with me so that he could have a suitable reason to explain to Yanqiu's mother."

"Tell me," he asked Fan Liuer, "which child do you prefer, one born without love and the other born with love?"

Fan Liuer understood, but she still felt uneasy. "Then you have to be careful too. Just look at how he sent people to arrest me today. This young master is no pushover."

Li Chenbi smiled, reached out and cupped Fan Liuer's face, then leaned in and kissed her.

"Are you worried about me?"

Fan Liuer rolled her eyes at him. "If I wasn't worried about you, would I have traveled all this way?"

Li Chenbi laughed even more heartily upon hearing this, "Fan Liuer, you love me to death, don't you?"

Fan Liuer was too embarrassed to answer the question and turned her head away.

Li Chenbi snapped back, "At a time like this, what's the big deal if you admit it?"

Fan Liuer stared at him for a couple of seconds before speaking softly, "Didn't you say we shouldn't say these things outside?"

Li Chenbi paused for a moment, then his smile became even more dazzling.

He pulled Fan Liuer into his arms, kissed her hard on the cheek, and then spoke in a hoarse voice in her ear.

"Yes, you should save those words for when you get back and tell me slowly."

His breath tickled my earlobe.

Fan Liuer dodged slightly and nodded gently.

The carriage returned to Qianzhou. This time, Li Chenbi did not take Fan Liuer to his private residence, but instead took her to a money exchange.

Fan Liuer glanced at the bright Li character on the money exchange signboard and knew that this was a property of the Li family.

Having studied management at the Li family mansion for so long, she already had a clear understanding of the Li family's businesses. So, seeing the Li family's businesses in another place didn't surprise her. She was just curious about why Li Chenbi had brought her here.

"Why did you bring me to this money exchange? Am I staying here today?"

"No, not today, no, from now on you will live with me every day."

"Huh?" Fan Liuer didn't quite understand what he meant. "You're not going to the prefect's residence?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Li Chenbi said, leading her into the money exchange.

Upon seeing Li Chenbi appear, the shopkeeper immediately came out from behind the counter. "Sir, what brings you here today?"

Li Chenbi said, "I need to use the inner room. Don't come in and disturb me unless necessary." With that, he led Fan Liuer straight inside.

The shopkeeper dared not follow, only Li Qiuping, Feng Ji, and Chuixue followed.

After entering the room, he told Li Qiuping and Feng Ji to stay outside, and only called Chuixue in.