75: Chapter 75 Strategic Maneuvering

"Xunying, my decision remains the same. From now on, I will retire to the mountains and forests and no longer involve myself in the disputes of the imperial court and the Jianghu. You must assist Crown Prince Qi Xiaobai well and seek a path for the principality!"

Su Fan naturally believed that what Qi Tao said was sincere.

After all, ever since destroying Qi Yuan's Primordial Spirit, Qi Tao had never stepped out of the mountains and forests again.

However, in order not to arouse suspicion from Crown Prince Qi Xiaobai, he still fabricated a lie that "Qi Tao has set sail and traveled to another country."

"Young Master, the Queen Dowager has arrived!"

Upon hearing the subordinate's report, Su Fan quickly swallowed the note, then went out to welcome Jiang Ji.

Like the moon surrounded by stars, Jiang Ji arrived at Xunying Pavilion in a luxurious carriage, flanked by a large crowd of palace maids, eunuchs, and guards.

"Welcome, Queen Dowager."

Everyone bowed in salute.

Su Fan did not want others to discover his illicit affair with the Queen Dowager, so he pretended to be extremely respectful to Jiang Ji in front of everyone.

To his surprise, Jiang Ji waved everyone away and, using the excuse of having important matters to discuss, pulled Su Fan into the room...

As soon as they entered the room and the door closed...

Abandoning any pretense of the graceful and refined demeanor of a noble lady, Jiang Ji impatiently pounced on Su Fan...

...

Afterward, Su Fan straightened his clothes and said to her, "If you don't want people to know, you must not do it. We cannot continue like this in the future."

Jiang Ji lightly flicked her delicate fingers, brushing a strand of hair that had fallen onto her skin from Su Fan, and then smiled with pursed lips, "You say that every time, yet every time you can't help yourself..."

"What man could withstand being seduced by a woman like you?"

Su Fan gave her a speechless look.

Jiang Ji chuckled softly, "I don't seduce other men."

"So you're clinging to me? We cannot become husband and wife. If this were known by the common people, we would be reviled. They only see us as mother and son; this is incest, and if Crown Prince Qi Xiaobai found out, he would go crazy..."

"I'm not trying to be husband and wife with you..."

Jiang Ji looked at him wistfully.

"Then what... Sigh, in any case... don't do this again in the future."

Jiang Ji slowly stood up, pinched Su Fan's cheek, and looked at him with a teasing smile, "It's been almost half a year, what's wrong with coming to see you once? Do you want to stifle me to death? My good son... Young Master Xunying?"

"Stop messing around, I don't want to deal with you!"

Su Fan walked out of the room, feeling depressed. Although he had obtained physical pleasure, he was suffering from condemnation and pain mentally.

This illicit love would sooner or later be discovered by Crown Prince Qi Xiaobai...

At that time, what should he do?

...

[Simulation Year 8, July: The Queen Dowager repeatedly summons you to the sleeping quarters, you refuse. The Queen Dowager comes to Xunying Pavilion to find you, you sneak away.]

[August to September: Crown Prince Qi Xiaobai leads the army on an expedition to suppress the Southern Barbarian rebellion. The Queen Dowager looks for you five more times; you evade her three times, but fail twice.]

[October: Crown Prince Qi Xiaobai leads the army back to the capital. In the same month, the Great Yan Empire captures the last principality of the Cangyue Empire. On the border of the Shanhai Principality, one can see the Great Yan's Red Phoenix flags planted all over the border hills, snapping in the wind...]

[In the imperial court, regarding how to deal with the aggressive expansion of the Great Yan Empire, the officials split into three factions: the pro-war faction, the pro-peace faction, and the pro-surrender faction. The pro-surrender faction proposes that as long as Crown Prince Qi Xiaobai surrenders early, acknowledges the Great Yan Empire as a great Empire, and pays tribute with a large amount of Mermaid Pearls annually, there will naturally be no trouble. The pro-peace faction proposes that the annual tribute of Mermaid Pearls must not exceed one-tenth of the national fiscal revenue. The pro-war faction believes that "it is better to die standing than to live on one's knees." Although the three factions argue, they all acknowledge one fact: that is, no one can rival the Great Yan Empress, Empress Yan Yufei!]

[Simulation Year 9, First Month: The Great Yan Empire changes from a kingdom to an Empire. The Great Yan Empress, Empress Yan Yufei, officially declares war on the Jiuyou Principality.]

[Second Month: The Jiuyou Principality is in critical condition on all fronts and seeks help from the Shanhai Principality and a kingdom to the south. The imperial court is in an uproar again regarding whether to send troops to assist the Jiuyou Principality. Crown Prince Qi Xiaobai cannot make up his mind and asks you to make the decision. You decide... to send troops!]

[Third Month: The forces to assist the Jiuyou Principality have not yet finished assembling when the entire territory of the Jiuyou Principality falls!]

[Fourth Month: For unknown reasons, the royal family of the Jiuyou Principality recovers some lost territory.]

[Fourth Month: The Great Qi Empire, located to the north of the Great Yan Empire, suddenly launches an offensive with a million-strong army, attacking the Great Yan Empire on a large scale. The Great Yan Empress, Empress Yan Yufei, is forced to withdraw troops from the Jiuyou Principality to defend.]

[Fourth Month: The royal family of the Jiuyou Principality recovers their entire territory.]

[Fifth Month: The Great Qi Empire withdraws its troops, and the Great Yan Empire remains silent. According to reports from spies, the Great Yan court seems to be embroiled in disputes over whether to attack the Jiuyou Principality or the Great Qi Empire first.]

...

Sixth Month, Xunying Pavilion.

Su Fan sits upright on an ordinary red sandalwood chair with a backrest. Standing by his side is a Martial King Realm powerhouse — Qiu Yuntian.

Standing below him are the envoys from the Great Qi Empire and the Jiuyou Principality.

The envoy from the Great Qi Empire is a strange man with a Red Beard, blue hair, and golden eyes, standing nine feet tall. He is also a Martial King Realm powerhouse, yet he is extremely respectful toward Su Fan.

He holds a red wooden box, opens it, and presents it to Qiu Yuntian, who is beside Su Fan.

"Respected Young Master Xunying, thank you very much for the intelligence you passed on to our Great Qi Empire. Our Great Qi has gained a lot from attacking the Great Yan this time. This is a small token of our appreciation, please accept it!"

Looking at the contents of the box, Su Fan couldn't help but laugh, "What is this?"

Inside the box is a small Spirit Beast, the size of a toad, emitting an orange-gold glow all over its body. Even its eyes are fiery red, and it has two short antennae. It looks quite ugly and occasionally makes "croak" sounds.

The Great Qi envoy explains: "This is a very rare Spirit Beast from our Great Qi's southern frontier, named the Golden Fire Toad. It burrows deep underground, swallows rare metals, and then, after digestion, spits them out. What it spits out is something round like a gold coin, so we also call it the Gold Coin Beast, or the Gold-Spitting Beast. We hope you will like it, Young Master..."

Su Fan laughs upon hearing this, "It seems you understand me well, knowing that I like making money. Good! Then I will accept it!"

After accepting the Golden Fire Toad from the Great Qi envoy, the envoy from the Jiuyou Principality also approaches with a box in his hands.

The moment it is opened, the box suddenly emits a light so bright it almost blinds the eyes.

Inside, the box is full of regular, glowing crystals that look like crystal. The Jiuyou envoy bows and says: "Young Master Xunying, this is the phoenix spirit amber unique to our principality. We present it to you as a token of gratitude, thanking you for relieving the siege on our Jiuyou Principality..."

Su Fan is overjoyed and accepts them as well. Afterward, he hospitably entertains them and presents some East Sea Mermaid Pearls in return.

...

After seeing off the envoys from the two countries.

Qiu Yuntian expresses deep admiration for Su Fan's strategy of maneuvering, cupping his hands and saying: "Young Master, you are truly a dragon among men, I, Qiu, admire you greatly!"

Su Fan sighs, holding his forehead: "The Great Yan Empire has swallowed the Cangyue Empire and seized many pieces of phoenix spirit amber from the Jiuyou Principality. The Phoenix Vein has been nourished, and their momentum is strong. That Emperor Realm powerhouse of the Great Qi is old and frail, and his strength is far inferior to that of the Great Yan. If one day the Great Yan can swallow the Great Qi, we won't even have a chance to struggle..."

"The Great Yan doesn't have that ability, right? Aren't they afraid of bursting from overeating?"

"It's hard to say. It is said that Empress Yan Yufei is no ordinary Emperor Realm powerhouse. But in any case, the Great Yan has no time to attack our principality now, so we will be safe for a period of time..."