Although Pei Ze had told Zhao Jingwen to wait until he called him, Zhao Jingwen was not the kind of person who would leave his fate in the hands of others.
He followed Pei Ze to his study, but did not dare barge in. He just waited in the courtyard so that he could see Ye Suijin as soon as she came out from her confrontation with Pei Ze.
After a while, Xiang Da and Ye Mancang appeared at the courtyard gate.
The study was a restricted area, so they did not dare approach casually. They just gestured to Zhao Jingwen from the courtyard.
Zhao Jingwen hurried over and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"
"We went to the gatehouse and saw the lady's personal guards," Ye Mancang said, still not recovering from the shock.
"My god, can you believe it?" Xiang Da was also shocked. "The lady... now controls two prefectures. Her administrative center has already moved to Biyang. Biyang! What a big city. I heard that all her subordinates have also moved there and have big mansions now. The whole Tang Prefecture now belongs to the Ye family!"
The information overwhelmed Zhao Jingwen's mind, leaving him dizzy.
His wife Ye Suijin had galloped to a place beyond his reach when he was not by her side, like a wild horse.
The breathing of all three men was a little unstable because their hearts were beating so fast.
When their heartbeats slowed down, the three men looked at each other.
In the past half year, they had occupied the River Mouth, governed the region, fought bandits, and trained new troops. With no one over their heads, the three of them could act as they pleased.
They felt quite accomplished and could not help being smug and cocky, with a lightness in their bones.
Suddenly, finding out about the earth-shattering changes in the Ye family army while they were away made them feel foolish.
It was like waking up from a dream.
Just then, Xiang Da remembered he was a guest of the Ye family garrison and a captain of the Ye family army.
Ye Mancang remembered he was a son of the Ye family, born a servant.
His grandmother was so capable, yet she had kept the Ye family troops firmly at the River Mouth without letting any information leak to Deng Prefecture.
It made him feel empty inside.
Zhao Jingwen's face tightened as he suddenly asked, "Where did my wife come from?"
The other two: "Huh?"
Zhao Jingwen asked, "Did she come directly from Deng Prefecture? Or from the River Mouth?"
The River Mouth... The River Mouth was where they were stationed.
But...
Ye Mancang said, "Let me go ask again!"
He turned and ran off.
Zhao Jingwen looked to Xiang Da. Xiang Da stared at the bluestone floor, his expression changing unpredictably.
Zhao Jingwen called him, "Ziteng?"
Xiang Da was startled: "Ah?"
Zhao Jingwen asked, "What's wrong? What are you thinking?"
Xiang Da let out a breath, "The lady is really amazing."
Just now they had thought themselves quite amazing, but upon knowing that Ye Suijin had gained two prefectures in just half a year, they instantly felt like little sorcerers seeing a grand wizard.
They were filled with lament and amazement.
The regret was written clearly on Xiang Da's face.
He regretted it.
Zhao Jingwen looked at him intently.
"Ziteng," he said softly, "I have wronged you."
Xiang Da did regret following Zhao Jingwen to mess around behind Ye Suijin's back in a moment of confusion.
Who knows if Zhao Jingwen could resolve this matter?
He really wanted to go to Deng Prefecture and see what the big city of Biyang was like.
What positions did everyone have now? Had they gotten promotions again?
Just as he was about to ask Zhao Jingwen how confident he was in placating his wife, he heard Zhao Jingwen say, "In the future, if my wife harbors any resentment against you, it will be my fault."
Xiang Da was stunned.
He closed his mouth, his face somber, and said no more.
Zhao Jingwen waited for Ye Mancang to come back so he could learn more information. Ye Mancang had not returned yet when Pei Lian arrived first, dressed magnificently with tinkling ornaments, looking very elegant.
Previously, she always assumed a frail appearance, which despite being gentle and beautiful, still lacked some bearing.
It was obvious she was some family's pampered darling.
"Husband," she called out.
"Lian'er," Zhao Jingwen grasped her hands and lowered his head, like a child who had done wrong.
Her husband needed her support right now. Pei Lian gently said, "Don't worry, you have my father and me."
Zhao Jingwen said in a low voice, "I may need to return to Deng Prefecture first."
Pei Lian asked, "What do you need to go back for?"
It would be just right if that woman from Deng Prefecture kicked up a fuss. They could speak candidly then. They could discuss compensation for her, be it gold, silver, pearls or jade. Her father could certainly take it out.
It would perfectly resolve this matter once and for all. From then on, Zhao Lang would be hers alone.
How perfect that would be.
Zhao Jingwen held her hands tightly. "She is a martial artist. Stay behind me later and do not conflict with her."
Pei Lian felt warmth in her heart. She said, "This is my father's territory, Fang Prefecture. She wouldn't dare make trouble here."
She laughed. "Zhao Lang, I underestimated you. To think you married such an impressive woman. Of course, a man like you wouldn't marry some country bride. I was foolish."
"There are many things beyond my control that are hard to explain in a few words," Zhao Jingwen pleaded. "Later, I will go with her first. I will resolve the matters in Deng Prefecture and then return to reunite with you. Do not conflict with her."
But Pei Lian refused to agree.
She was the young miss of the eminent Sword South Circuit family. Why should she concede?
Zhao Jingwen was anxious.
Ye Suijin had arrived too quickly. It would have been better if she came a few months later after he had gotten Pei Lian pregnant. Everything would have been settled then.
In the end, Pei Lian only said, "Let's see her first, then we'll talk. Oh, where is she?"
The study guards said, "Young miss, the study is restricted. No unauthorized entry without the lord's permission."
Pei Lian could get her way with her father on everything else, but he would not budge on military law.
That was Pei Ze's bottom line. Pei Lian could only huff, "I'll wait here."
It wasn't long before Ye Mancang returned. His face was pale.
Xiang Da and Zhao Jingwen went over to confer with him.
"The River Mouth," Ye Mancang swallowed, "has already been taken over by the lady. She has also garrisoned troops at Gu City. Now both places have soldiers stationed there."
The three men's expressions were very ugly.
Unknowingly, over the past half year, they had come to regard the River Mouth as something belonging to them.
But they had forgotten that they had gone out as Ye family troops and occupied the River Mouth relying on the Ye family army.
Without the original hundred Ye family troops, how could they have subdued the people recruited later?
The River Mouth was not their foundation. The Ye family was.
Pei Lian grumbled, "Why isn't she coming out yet?"
The three men looked towards the study. The doors were closed and they did not know the situation inside.
Ye Suijin knew that in this life and the last, she owed everything to one person.
This person was the Jin Emperor, mocked in history books as the boy emperor.
No matter how badly he messed up ceding the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the barbarians, for the southern powers he was still a hulking presence dominating the Central Plains that no one dared provoke, no matter how thin the camel was compared to a horse.
In her previous and present lives, Deng Prefecture and surrounding areas had remained vacant, yet no major southern power had invaded, precisely because Deng and Tang Prefectures were too close to the capital.
It could be said that Deng and Tang Prefectures were right under the capital's feet.
To occupy these lands meant facing the mighty Jin directly. It was better to leave them as a buffer.
This had enabled the rise of the Ye family army in her previous and present lives.
But to think themselves invincible after gaining two prefectures in a short period of time, to think the heroes of the realm were no more than this, that was a daydreamer's raving.
Pei Ze was not as fortunate as Ye Suijin.
He had carved out his territory from the crevices.
At present, his territory spanned over half of Fang Prefecture, a small part of the southern end of Jun Prefecture, and the Xifeng region of Xiang Prefecture.
In her previous life, Ye Suijin had of course hated all the Pei family - the old Pei man, the Pei children, the bewitching Pei woman.
But under the circumstances at the time, the Ye and Pei families still swallowed their resentment and cooperated with linked hands using Zhao Jingwen as an intermediary.
Was it because Zhao Jingwen was especially charming?
Bah!
It was because their combined strength meant an alliance benefited them both in that situation.
Who cares about feelings between children, tangible benefits were what mattered. Not just the Ye family elders at the time, even if the Pei daughter insisted on marrying beneath her to Pei Ze, and Ye Suijin who shared her husband, they had accepted the alliance with nostrils pinched.
Why, of course it was because the benefits of the alliance far outweighed the humiliation and discomfort.
Zhao Jingwen had never been an important factor.
And yet, this reluctant alliance, because of the hidden resentment and rivalry on both sides, had nurtured Zhao Jingwen instead, allowing him to grow and expand his power until he could take control.
Not in this life. Ye Suijin would sell him directly to Pei Lian in exchange for an alliance with Pei Ze.
At this time, in the study, Pei Ze could sympathize with how Guan Zhong must have felt.
For men like them with power, even when women wanted to seduce them, they were timid or flirtatious.
Few women had a gaze as fiery as hers, staring at you directly without dodging or fear. This attitude made men clearly aware that because this woman was their equal in status and ability, she had the confidence and courage to look at them like this.
Pei Ze was not lost in wild fantasies like General Guan, but was sincerely moved by Ye Suijin's words "Let's plan together to take Xiang Prefecture."
He folded the letter of defection and put it in his sleeve, then said solemnly: "Lady Ye is too kind. I accept this congratulatory gift."
He extended his hand: "Please sit."
The two leaders sat down separately as host and guest.
Pei Ze said, "May Lady Ye elaborate on what she just said? I'm all ears."
Ye Suijin said, "I came today firstly to congratulate you on your daughter's wedding. Secondly, to bring you news - Jun Prefecture and Shang Prefecture have both petitioned the capital to swear allegiance."
Pei Ze's expression immediately tightened.
He was not as fortunate as Ye Suijin with Great Jin at his back. The southern forces were still waiting and watching, acting as a buffer.
He survived in the cracks, bordered on all sides by east, west, south and north pressure.
If Shang Prefecture and Jun Prefecture swore allegiance to the new Jin dynasty, they would connect directly with the Hedong Circuit.
Then Pei Ze would be facing the gigantic Jin head-on.
Pei Ze asked, "Is Lady Ye's information reliable?"
Ye Suijin said, "The remnants of the false Liang dynasty are obviously collapsing. The overall situation of the Guannei Circuit battlefields has been initially determined."
She used this to verify the news from Shang Prefecture and Jun Prefecture.
Now that Jin's foundation was stable, those who were waiting and watching previously hurried to bow their heads.
But for Pei Ze, this was definitely not good news.
His expression was hard to look at.
Ye Suijin sighed inwardly.
When the Sword South Circuit mutinied under Wang Rong all those years ago, Pei Ze was only 19, too young. His father died suddenly of illness without making arrangements for the handover between old and new.
Later Pei Ze fled for many years, constantly hunted by Wang Rong. It was not until later, when Wang Rong himself settled in Shu, that he no longer cared about Pei Ze's life and death and stopped pursuing him.
Pei Ze was a true general's son. Unlike the Ye family who had decayed into country squires over generations, he was skilled in military affairs with elite soldiers, even earning Ye Suijin's admiration.
With just two to three thousand troops, he faced Jun Prefecture in the north, Kuizhou, Guizhou, and Xiazhou in the south, Xiang Prefecture in the east, and Jin Prefecture in the west.
Bordering six prefectures, he had carved out territory for himself through sheer ferocity, which was truly valiant.
In this regard, Ye Suijin sincerely admired him.
But he really wasn't good at governing, lacking much political foresight in Ye Suijin's eyes as a former empress.
Perhaps he just didn't have thick enough skin.
He was too attached to the past. After all, the Sword South Circuit was Grand Wei's Sword South Circuit.
Since Ye Suijin had noticed him, how could she let him lose clarity?
"Lord Pei!" she shouted sharply, her eyes blazing, "What are you still hesitating about?"
Pei Ze looked up suddenly at the young Ye Suijin.
Though young and beautiful, her gaze was piercing with a fierce air about her brows, exuding an oppressive aura -
"If you don't swear allegiance now, when will you wait until?"
"Is Lord Pei waiting for the Jin Emperor to issue an edict ordering Shang Prefecture, Jun Prefecture and Deng Prefecture to divide up your Fang Prefecture?"
Pei Ze was shocked and alarmed!
