The heir, the heir, he's a pushover. Chou Deyao is bold and high-profile, and now that he can openly associate with the Crown Prince, leading Shangjin, this 'pushover' has contributed immensely. He's typically the kind of person who resists softness and responds to hardness; covered in thorns, he only calms down for a while after someone thoroughly breaks them off. But now these thorns have grown sky-high, and this 'pushover' has re-emerged.

"What are you doing?" Chou Deyao sneered. "Don't you pretend with me. Even if Prince of Yan returned, I'd still turn everything upside down. It's good the heir is back. Don't dump this mess on me. That scoundrel Wu Yu from Xiajin is babbling nonsense and acting crazy; he should be dragged down sooner! An eyesore!"

"I'm going to keep doing it." Wu Yu popped out from behind Ji Baiyue, shaking his head and saying, "I'm a scholar! What do you know?! If you're so capable, then teach the lads from Shangjin properly, instead of 'one leg, one leg, and another leg' all the time." He pulled open his robe, revealing his trouser-clad legs, and declared loudly, "Lust's gone to your head, hasn't it?! You want to see my legs so badly, look! I'm just naturally beautiful and hard to give up!"

The disheveled and still panicked young man was almost knocked unconscious by his shout, clutching his chest and coughing uncontrollably.

Wu Yu proudly snorted with his head held high, retracting his earth-shattering beautiful legs. Meng Chen grabbed him by the scruff, "In front of the heir, what 'daddy' are you?"

Wu Yu struggled, but his feet were already off the ground. He was thin and much shorter than Meng Chen. Even if he were more rogue, his neck flushed red with anger as he struggled, "Big-Head Meng! Put me down!"

"Still can't cure that foul mouth of yours!" Meng Chen slapped him on the head, then brought him to Xin Yi's horse, saying, "Young Master, this is Wu Yu from Xiajin, Wu Ziyin. A little hoodlum the Prince brought up back then. Don't let his sharp tongue and slickness fool you; he's actually the same age as the third young master, still very green."

It was clear that this person was skilled in all sorts of clownish antics and roguish behavior, yet he had a baby face comparable to Xiao Jin's. If he didn't open his mouth, he was indeed still very green. But once he opened his mouth——

"Bah!" Wu Yu cursed, "You're the damn little hoodlum! I'm a proper child!" He added, "Put me down! Don't you dare ruin my reputation in front of His Highness!"

With everyone bickering, it was a pity that Xin Yi couldn't speak. He turned his gaze to Chou Deyao, his eyes clear black and white, but truly emanating a fierce intensity.

Chou Deyao was unimpressed in his heart, and equally so on his face. He truly didn't take this 'pushover' seriously, merely saying, "By seniority, it wouldn't be excessive for the heir to call me Uncle-Grandpa. However, since my Shangjin is now separated from Beiyang, it would be improper for the heir to address me that way. So just call me by my name, and I will continue to call you 'His Highness' as well."

The scar on Ji Baiyue's brow bone twitched. He said coldly, "Master Chou, we respect you as an elder, but not for you to act entitled due to your age."

Chou Deyao said, "You probably don't even know how to write the character for 'respect,' but your mouth sure is good at saying it."

The two sides confronted each other, ready to argue to the heavens. The night wind howled through the camp, and the Beiyang Cyan Wolf banner on the slope flapped and rustled, clearly revealing the rift between the three Jins. Xin Yi was silent on his horse, his hand gripping his bow tightening.

Meng Chen's face darkened. He stepped forward, separating Ji Baiyue and Chou Deyao, and said, "Talk inside the tent!"

Ji Baiyue was amenable, but Chou Deyao wasn't so easy to obey. The old man, whose beard was quite long, stiffened his neck, ready to shout a few more words. Unexpectedly, the bowstring of the person on horseback twanged brightly in the night wind, not loud or soft, but clearly stating an attitude.

'Either go inside and talk, or I'll beat you until you roll.'

Chou Deyao's eyes swept over Xin Yi from head to toe, finally acknowledging his presence. Seeing the unfathomable depth in his eyes, he finally sensed that this 'pushover' might no longer be a soft heir. Without another word, he snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves, and walked into the tent.

This camp was also hastily set up by Ji Baiyue. The tent was pitched quite generously, considered to be giving Chou Deyao, as an elder, some face even in this impoverished place. Unfortunately, Chou Deyao didn't care. He was now focused solely on Shangjin's foreign trade business; anyone asking him to give up even a little was like snatching food from a tiger's mouth, a deadly endeavor.

Even after sitting down, Wu Yu was like sitting on a bed of needles, fidgeting and twisting, unable to keep still.

Xin Yi sat at the head, his face still the youngest. When he lowered his eyes, it was hard to discern the future military commander of Beiyang's aura. The more Chou Deyao looked, the more it didn't sit right with him, feeling that this boy was 'soft' again, completely different from his brothers.

Feeling uncomfortable, he naturally couldn't put on a good face. He rapped hard on the table and said, "Since the heir is here, I'll speak frankly. This trade route in Shangjin was given by the imperial court; we live off imperial grain and fight under the banner of serving the nation and its people. Wu Yu, you son of a bitch, you were as docile as a grandson back then, not daring to fart in front of the Crown Prince. Now that you've seen gold, your guts have grown fat! Xiajin has sixty thousand Beiyang Army soldiers, but only a few are old, weak, sick, and disabled. Is the grain you damn well grow not enough to eat?! You weren't saying that when you sold grain to Xuhang!"

Xin Yi looked up at Wu Yu when he heard this. Wu Yu grinned cheekily, "So, isn't that why it's sold out? What kind of person is Yan Jueshu? How many good prices can he give me?"

"Then why are you pretending to beg?" Chou Deyao's face was livid. "This time, Shangjin won't even give face to the King of Heaven!"

The meaning behind these words was clear: even if Xin Yi returned, it wouldn't make a difference. Don't even think about getting a share of the meat already in someone else's mouth.

To be honest, this time Wu Yu was indeed being a rogue, but Xin Yi now understood very clearly why he was being one.

After hearing Chou Deyao's words, Meng Chen simply said, "Since Shangjin has carved out its own name from Beiyang, then..." He paused for a long time here, still emotionally unable to empathize with Chou Deyao's actions, and said dryly, "Then it doesn't count as Beiyang's territory, and it's right to guard one's food. But the Crown Prince can give you this sweet deal because he can afford it right now. Great Yuan and we are at peace, but heaven's will is unpredictable. If a fight breaks out tomorrow, it'll be a matter of losing face and substance. We've fought with them for half a lifetime, and now you want us brothers to escort their business? Isn't that just inviting hatred?"

"Meng Chen, times aren't like when the Prince was still here." Chou Deyao glanced at Xin Yi, and said in a deep voice, "The Beiyang Army has been fractured. Fight? Who can fight Great Yuan? Does the Emperor have the guts? You're all loyal generals, while I'm ungrateful. But I also have hundreds of thousands of people under me who need to eat. The Prince is gone, and you still damn well think Shangjin's business is easy? Great Yuan, relying on Arslang, still dares to put Beiyang in its eyes. Beiyang doesn't even have a wolf cub left! If not for the Crown Prince, Shangjin would have been eating wind long ago!"

Meng Chen remained silent, while Wu Yu chuckled a few times, "Yeah, hundreds of thousands of people need to eat, and it all relies on your pitiful Chou Family business? The Crown Prince gives you scraps like he's feeding a dog at his door. How many things of great profit can he entrust to you? Don't gild your own face here. You old man really aren't worth that price!"

Chou Deyao kicked over the small table. Wu Yu, eyes unblinking and cheerful, continued, "If I were you, I wouldn't even have the face to show up here! You've got the reputation of being ungrateful, yet you haven't gotten anything rare. And you've accepted this broken favor from the Crown Prince, so when it's time for you to repay it, you won't even have a single hair left! I can't do such a brain-dead thing; how did you grow that head of yours?" Seeing Chou Deyao about to erupt, Wu Yu suddenly slapped the tabletop and sternly said, "Even fragmented, the Beiyang Army is still the Beiyang Army! You're damn well trying to be the Crown Prince's biting dog, and you're still losing Beiyang's face! If you truly still remember the Prince's kindness, you wouldn't do such a despicable thing!" With that, he changed his expression, crossed his arms, and exclaimed, "Ow, ow, ow!"

"I wonder why this suddenly flared up." Chou Deyao glared fiercely at Wu Yu, then swept his gaze over Meng Chen and Ji Baiyue, finally settling firmly on Xin Yi, saying, "So it's because you remember my eighty thousand men."

The scar on Ji Baiyue's brow bone twitched. A sneer formed on his lips. "Your eighty thousand men?" He spat, "Chou Deyao, your eighty thousand men?"

"If they're not mine, are they yours?!" Chou Deyao suddenly stood up. "Now there are no damn Beiyang Army soldiers anymore; they're all dogs of the imperial court. Nobody is cleaner or nobler than anyone else. Don't put on airs of purity here; weren't your seventy thousand men also split off? Now you're only remembering the ones in my hands!"

"Those are Beiyang Army soldiers!" Ji Baiyue gritted his teeth, standing up to confront him. "Still Beiyang Army soldiers!"

"Self-deception!" Chou Deyao suddenly pointed at Xin Yi. "You bringing this 'pushover' back is nothing more than wanting to reassemble the Beiyang Army and show off for a few more years, but I'll tell you today, it's useless! Back when the Prince stamped his foot, Great Lan would tremble, and wasn't he still played into a trap?!"

Meng Chen also stood up with a clang, looking grim, as if ready to beat someone together with Ji Baiyue.

Wu Yu, with his foul mouth, said from the side, "What's the point of you brawling? Just fight with people! Anyway, we're all Beiyang Army soldiers. Let the imperial court rest easy, seeing how we've all become rotten mud on the frontier, and let them drop their guard. We won't have to waste time here scheming every day, and we can even get together for a game." Saying this, he propped his legs on the table, truly disregarding etiquette, and said familiarly to Xin Yi, "His Highness has grown a lot. The last time I saw you... saw you..." He rubbed his chin, recalling for a long time, before gesturing, "You were still this big."

'This big' my ass. This person was the same age as his third brother, even having some similar flaws and temper.

"See?" Wu Yu propped his head. "Even after coming back, it's not very peaceful."

"Our own brothers," Xin Yi smiled faintly. "It's nothing serious."

When he opened his mouth, nothing else mattered as much as Chou Deyao getting a huge shock.

Xin Yi got up to pour himself a cup of hot water, stood and took a few sips. He then calmly and politely said, seeing the other three watching him, "Please continue, I don't mind."

Ji Baiyue straightened his collar and sat down. Chou Deyao was momentarily confused about what was happening, only biting his tongue, then saying, "How can he speak?!"

"My illness is cured," Xin Yi bluffed without changing his expression. "I can even say a few words."

"But, but, that is—"

"Don't take it too seriously either." Xin Yi finished his water and looked sideways at Chou Deyao. The hatred that had been in his eyes outside the tent was completely gone, not a trace remaining. He said gently, "You're right, I can't manage things. Neither the Beiyang Army nor Shangjin is under my control. My life in the Capital has been quite smooth and comfortable, and I don't really have a say here. However, I just want to ask, Master Chou, how long have you known the Crown Prince?"

His attitude was good, even humble, addressing him as 'you' and 'Master Chou' repeatedly. As the saying goes, 'one doesn't strike a smiling face,' and Chou Deyao truly couldn't bring himself to hit that face. But he couldn't maintain a good temper either, saying stiffly, "A long time ago."

Xin Yi let out a faint "Oh," and placed the cup on the table. He adopted about five-tenths of Bai Jiu's refined demeanor and skill. "That's quite a long time then. No wonder the Crown Prince, when issuing decrees, always has Master Chou in mind."

'It has been a long time,' Chou Deyao thought. 'But is the Crown Prince someone who values sentiment?'

"Then you must know the Crown Prince," Xin Yi smiled, good-naturedly saying, "He has a good temperament, often follows the Empress Dowager in Buddhist rites, and is compassionate. He can't stand to see anyone suffer even a bit of injustice in his presence, and he treats me well in the Capital, greeting me in every matter." As he said this, he saw Chou Deyao's brows gradually furrow, clearly unable to listen to such foolishness, so he stopped smiling and changed his tone. "Of course, inwardly, he's still no good."

Chou Deyao's eyelids twitched, watching Xin Yi's expression change.

"I've returned this time, first, to burn incense and kowtow for my brothers, and second, to give Master Chou a reminder. You were an able man for my royal father, and even if you've drawn apart, I still consider you an elder. The Capital has been restless lately. Prince of Qin is at the forefront, and the Crown Prince is behind, pushing decrees. I'm not entirely clear what's going on, but Master Chou and the Crown Prince are old acquaintances, so you can probably guess some things, no? The Crown Prince certainly has a remarkable resolve to cut off his own arm, which is admirable. But this won't scare his opponents; instead, it might make his own people disheartened." Xin Yi's dimple appeared. "Look at Prince of Qin's seniority. He blew up the Emperor's hall, yet didn't lose face even in burial. Unfortunately, he was still stirring up trouble in the Capital before, with a son to inherit. Now, he's completely and thoroughly cut off, not even a title left. This isn't heavenly might; this is the Crown Prince's cunning. The Chou Family now has many descendants, and their fortune is on the rise. I'm just afraid that if a little filth emerges in the future, your family will also be cleanly wiped out, not a single one left."

Chou Deyao's mad-dog-like rage was so utterly crushed by Xin Yi's gentle words that he couldn't even howl a single sound, only saying, "How do you know he can——"

"Even if the Crown Prince cannot, I also have this plan."

Chou Deyao's eyes immediately widened.

The gentleness faded completely from Xin Yi's eyes, leaving behind only the bleakness of scorched earth; he said.

"Master Chou, if you become someone else's blade, for sentiment or for righteousness, I cannot keep you. My bones are malicious; I will not use open and honest methods, but rather favor despicable and shameless means. If Master Chou thrives, I will tuck my tail and retreat. But if Master Chou shows even a hint of decline, I won't wait for the Crown Prince; I'll find ways to sever the roots of the Chou Family myself. I am the remaining root of misfortune that wasn't fully exterminated, and I understand the principle of 'cutting down to the last root' best. If Master Chou wishes to sever ties with Beiyang's affection, then please do so."

Chou Deyao's anger gradually subsided, replaced by a cunning ruthlessness that was more characteristic of him. He said, "The easiest thing is the mouth. You want to rely on those three to sever the roots of the Chou family? Don't forget whose jurisdiction Shangjin falls under. A greenhorn spouting empty words, even if his tail reaches the sky, cannot stop what adults do."

"You just said it," Xin Yi said with a deep, smiling voice, "wasn't Prince of Yan also squeezed until only a 'pushover' was left?"

Back then, even with three hundred thousand Beiyang Army soldiers, the Prince of Yan's Manor couldn't be saved. How could Shangjin, with its eighty thousand men, dare to swear it wouldn't suffer an even worse fate? The Capital is a beast that devours people, leaving no skin or bones. Who can guarantee whose safety? Have you not seen Prince of Ping, so capable and rebelling, who in a blink couldn't even save Shanyin, and so it was burned to ashes? In this world, even the Emperor's sons are being sent to the Yellow Springs one by one. Who dares say the next blade won't be aimed at their own heads?

Bai Jiu went through all this trouble for Xin Yi to return. Besides visiting a grave, he couldn't go back empty-handed. Bai Jiu supported him, but he couldn't rely on Bai Jiu's backing his entire life. He wanted to stand tall against the Emperor and the Crown Prince, to walk side-by-side with Bai Jiu with his back straight. He couldn't allow himself to wallow in despair.

Peel back the rabbit's skin, and beneath it was clearly a snarling wolf cub.

Wu Yu clapped his hands repeatedly on the side, and even after Meng Chen gave him an elbow, he couldn't stop laughing.