If that day ever comes

Chu Xi's reaction left Gao Yuan stunned; it took a while before the girl finally got off him, her face full of smug satisfaction.

Gao Yuan scratched his head.

"I didn't expect you to react like this; I was afraid I'd scare you."

"Back then, when I was tired from work, I'd read web novels to relax. Once I confirmed I'd transmigrated, I tried all sorts of ways to see if I could activate some kind of system."

"And the result?"

"It seems I didn't get the 'strong female lead' script; there was no system to assist me."

Chu Xi's large eyes blinked playfully as she stood on her tiptoes to look at Gao Yuan, their noses almost touching.

"But I'm not afraid now. With someone like you who has the 'main male protagonist' script, what do I have to fear?"

Gao Yuan gave a little shrug and let out a bitter laugh.

"I'm no protagonist. According to the original plot of this world, I'm just a useless, love-struck villain and cannon fodder. However, my princess wife is indeed the female lead."

"If she's the female lead, then who's the male lead?"

"The current emperor, The Emperor!"

Chu Xi covered her mouth with her small hands, her expression one of extreme shock.

"But that's her biological brother! That's 'German Orthopedics' territory!"

Gao Yuan smiled and patted the girl's shoulder.

"The plot collapsed long ago. Now, we are the protagonists of this world, aren't we?"

Chu Xi adopted a smug expression once more.

"Exactly! With a system-carrying cheater like you around, I've decided to cling to your thigh. Once you become emperor, I'll use your power to act like a tyrant! Wahaha!"

A mischievous thought suddenly occurred to Gao Yuan, and he leaned into the girl's ear.

"How about I appoint you as a Noble Consort?"

The warm, moist breath from the man's nose made the girl's face flush red. She jumped away in a panic, her arms tightly covering her chest.

"You... you pervert! I treat you like a brother, but you're lusting after my body!"

After teasing his fellow transmigrator, Gao Yuan was in high spirits. He left Princess Consort Huang Yueying with Chu Xi and departed.

The man left, leaving the two girls staring at each other. It took a while for Chu Xi to snap out of it and call a maid to arrange a courtyard for Princess Consort Huang Yueying.

Gao Yuan hummed a little tune as he returned home. Seeing that the women appeared normal, he breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling a bit guilty, he sat down to eat, not forgetting to serve food to the four women, acting like a warm-hearted, good husband.

After dinner, Gao Yuan went to continue reading battle reports. Only then did the expressions of the four women turn cold.

"Look at that guilty look on his face..."

"He's going too far now, actually keeping a woman outside."

"I think that Yang Xin is also a vixen, a real hussy, actually helping him keep a woman. And that Wu Zetian, oh, and that Xian Ying who came last time is also a shameless vixen."

Little Chili Pepper was clearly fuming, her cheeks puffed out like buns as she shook Zhao Xiyao's sleeve.

"Sister, you have to manage him properly. If this continues, how will our courtyard even fit everyone?"

Zhao Xiyao merely smiled and patted Mu Qing's hand.

"I think you're overthinking it. If he really had such intentions, he would have just brought the person home. How could we possibly stop him?"

The three women looked at each other and felt that Zhao Xiyao had a point, but Zhao Xiyao stood up again.

"However, I still think we should go take a look. After all, if she's going to join the family later, I won't be at ease without seeing her."

The three women said in unison,

"I'm going too!"

Hearing that Zhao Xiyao had arrived, Chu Xi immediately realized Gao Yuan had been exposed. She massaged her forehead and quickly led Princess Consort Huang Yueying to the main gate to greet them.

The moment they saw Princess Consort Huang Yueying, a single thought occurred to the four women simultaneously:

"How could such an ugly woman be worthy of our husband?"

Seeing that the wariness in their eyes had significantly diminished, Chu Xi finally understood what Gao Yuan meant when he said,

"Yueying's appearance is generally considered ugly in this era."

With this realization as a premise, the atmosphere of the meeting became very harmonious, especially after the four women discovered that this blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl was highly proficient in mechanics.

At this moment, they also understood why Gao Yuan had sent Princess Consort Huang Yueying to Chu Xi.

The current head of the Yang Family's reputation for creating novel gadgets had already spread throughout the Diannan Circuit. If it weren't for Gao Yuan's protection, she likely would have been targeted long ago.

In the Governors Residence, Gao Yuan finished reviewing all the battle reports and finally reached a conclusion—there was a traitor in the imperial court.

The Northern Liang Army's strikes had been extremely precise, seizing the weak points of the Qian Army and using Cavalry for breakthroughs. The Great Qian court was now in a very passive position.

The enemy had a large number of Cavalry, giving them the mobility advantage to strike wherever they pleased, while the Great Qian side could only hold fast in their cities, with no possibility of launching a proactive counter-offensive.

It wasn't that Great Qian lacked Cavalry, but rather that the Cavalry were currently tied down. Great Qian's most elite Cavalry were the Left and Right Valiant Cavalry Guards.

However, the Left Valiant Cavalry Guard was currently in the Jinyang area resisting the attacks of Li Zonghan and the Turks, while the Right Valiant Cavalry Guard was in Hebei resisting Lu Kuan and Chang Xingrong.

Once again, Gao Yuan felt an obsession with Cavalry. Unfortunately, the conditions in the Southwest weren't right. To scrape together a Cavalry unit over these years, he could be said to have poured his heart and soul into it.

Previously, Gao Yuan thought that raising horses just required grass. After transmigrating and actually owning warhorses, he discovered it wasn't like that at all.

Feeding a warhorse was much more expensive than supporting a person. Warhorses didn't just eat grass; they also needed grain, bean cakes, salt, and even eggs. It was almost like raising an ancestor.

No wonder people said that owning a warhorse in ancient times was similar to owning a Ferrari in later generations; the maintenance costs were not a bit lower than a Ferrari's.

Most importantly, a cavalryman couldn't have just one horse. An elite Cavalry unit required at least two horses per person, which meant double the cost.

The cost of the cavalrymen themselves was not small either; each had to be physically strong and skilled in riding and archery, and their equipment had to be top-notch.

Take the Cavalry under Gao Yuan's command, for example. Their standard equipment consisted of mingguang armor, white wax wood spears, iron maces, broadswords, and mounted crossbows—it was entirely fueled by money.

After finishing all the battle reports, Gao Yuan returned to his courtyard with a heavy heart, his mind constantly occupied by the warfare in the Central Plains.

At the dinner table, Zhao Xiyao noticed Gao Yuan's unusual state.

"What's wrong, Lover? Are military affairs too taxing?"

Gao Yuan only then noticed the worried gazes of the four women and gave a relaxed smile.

"No, I'm just a bit concerned. Now that the Central Plains are in chaos and the flames of war are everywhere, the court seems to be struggling. I wonder what will become of the Great Qian empire?"

Zhao Xiyao didn't seem as anxious as before; instead, she took Gao Yuan's large hand in hers.

"If Third Brother truly loses the empire, it's because he was incompetent. If..."

The woman seemed to hesitate for a moment, then lightly gritted her teeth and spoke words that were truly earth-shattering.

"If he truly reaches that day, Lover, then you should take it."

Gao Yuan was very surprised. He hadn't expected Zhao Xiyao to say such a thing. One must know that in any timeline, a princess of a former dynasty is an extremely awkward existence and certainly cannot become an Empress.

Because if a former princess becomes Empress, then the Crown Prince would carry the bloodline of the previous dynasty's emperor. What would the founding meritorious officials of the new dynasty think?

One could imagine how much determination it took for Zhao Xiyao to say those words.

Gao Yuan held the woman's soft hand back and gave a playful smile.

"If that day truly comes, I'll support our Zhao Xiyaos informal address to be the Empress Regnant. As for me, I'll just wait to be a kept man."