Time was morning. Passing through the porch and entering the side hall, Yinping saw a girl in a goose-yellow dress. It was Zhao Xiaosong, who was directing some servants of the Princess Manor to move several large boxes, repeatedly urging them not to be careless and break the items.

As soon as they met, the other party smiled: "Sister Yue, you're here."

"Yes, this is..."

"Oh, there are a few big vases at home. The princess found them unsightly and asked to replace them. By the way, Sister Yue, Her Highness is waiting for you. I'll take you there."

Zhao Xiaosong was the granddaughter of the famous minister Zhao Ding. When the Jurchens broke through Lin'an, she boarded the dragon boat with the princess. Later, on the dragon boat, she killed Qin Hui with the Eldest Princess, which was a life-saving grace for her. Now she has become the princess's close maid, serving the princess's daily life and managing many important affairs in the mansion. Yinping was quite familiar with her. The two chatted for a few words and went all the way inside.

Passing through the next door was the Princess Manor's inner courtyard drill ground. Two teams of armored soldiers were training under the sun. One team was male soldiers, and the other team was all women - these were the female servants in the Princess Manor, most of whom were widows who lost their families in the Jurchen's search of the mountains and seas. In addition to their work, the mansion also required them to carry out some fighting training. At this time, everyone was yelling and sweating while holding knives and sticks, and the person responsible for training them was a gray-robed Taoist nun carrying a long sword.

Noticing the passing figure, the Taoist nun turned her head, then slightly bowed. A mellow, even a little hoarse, but quite charming voice came: "Miss Yue."

Yinping also saluted: "Realist Qingyi."

The two were also old acquaintances.

This Realist Qingyi, Luo Shouwei, was originally a Taoist of the Zhengyi sect. When the Jurchens came to kill, she crossed south with her father and brothers. Later, when the Jurchens killed across the Yangtze River defense line, her father Luo Si and brother Luo Shoujing both died defending the city, so Luo Shouwei stayed in the army. Later, Li Pin was moved by her deeds, found Luo Shouwei, helped her preserve the Zhengyi sect's classics, and introduced her to Zhou Junwu.

When the new emperor arrived in Fuzhou and joined forces with the Eldest Princess, Zhou Pei rescued a large number of broken-family women. When selecting female officials, she conscripted Luo Shouwei, who was outstanding in swordsmanship, and Yue Yinping, who was proficient in the Five Steps Thirteen Spears, and asked them to compile a set of formations and training methods suitable for women to kill enemies. Taoism was originally proficient in formations, and Yinping was a direct descendant of Zhou Tong. The two had a period of working together at that time.

After greeting each other, after a while, Yinping saw the Eldest Princess writing at her desk in the study behind. She was wearing plain home clothes, sitting behind her desk, holding a pen in one hand and constantly tapping the abacus with the other.

"Sit wherever you like first, eat something. I'll be done here soon."

The two were no longer strangers. After the words were spoken, Yinping was arranged by Zhao Xiaosong to sit down in the room, and also brought a plate of snacks. Yinping sat there, admiring the Eldest Princess's fingers that were almost turning into afterimages. In the Princess Manor, this Eldest Princess's mathematical attainments were amazing. She could calculate the results of some large numbers of additions and subtractions at a glance. No matter how complicated the account books were, they could not escape her scrutiny. Zhao Xiaosong, on the other hand, was from a scholarly family and had a photographic memory of various classics and stories. Although Yinping's brain was not bad, she could only feel inferior compared to these two.

If she also had such skills, then she could go back to help her father manage the Weiwei Army's accounts. According to her father, what was most important in fighting a war was, in the end, money.

After a while, the Eldest Princess verified the numbers on the account books, summoned Zhao Xiaosong, outlined a few numbers on the accounts with her, and gave a few instructions in a low voice. Zhao Xiaosong nodded, packed up the account books and went out. Zhou Pei then got up and came over to Yinping's side.

"In the past half month, has there been any progress on the Zhong Ergui case in Houguan County?"

She was dressed in loose and generous white linen home clothes. Walking closer, she seemed kind. Yinping shook her head.

"What we know now is still the same as before. It was a setup made by that female pirate named Chen Shuangran, but the person hasn't been caught yet, and the evidence is hard to find."

"I heard that your two siblings have recently defeated all opponents in Fuzhou, and you are very prestigious."

"Actually, it's mostly Yue Yun, that little rascal, who is hitting people."

"Well, you still shouldn't participate. How will you find a husband in the future?"

"Your Highness..."

Zhou Pei said a few words, directing the topic to marriage, and Yinping smiled helplessly, begging for mercy. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably feel constrained by the Eldest Princess's majesty, but firstly, the Yue family's position was different, and secondly, the two had already had a lot of contact when they settled in Fuzhou. Zhou Pei, Luo Shouwei, Zhao Xiaosong, Yinping and others had long had the experience of chatting about poetry and books on typhoon nights, and even recommending romance novels to each other. Zhou Pei was majestic to the outside world, but in private, she was actually quite easy-going.

"Don't take it lightly, Yinping. In the future, it's going to be said that anyone associated with my Princess Manor is either a widow or an old maid. Look at you. You are, after all, a female official in my Princess Manor. And look at Zhao Xiaosong. She recently said that she is determined not to get married, and wants to inherit Zhao Ding's legacy and restore the Central Plains... It's driving me crazy. And there's that Luo Shouwei. Sooner or later, someone will say that I, the Eldest Princess, am a pervert and broke up other people's marriages."

"Hehe." Yinping smiled bitterly, not participating in the topic, "It's just that I haven't met the right person..."

Among the few people, Yinping also knew Zhao Xiaosong's thoughts. She was naturally intelligent, had a photographic memory since she was a child, and was sent on the boat by Zhao Ding to serve the Eldest Princess. Originally, it was a way to avoid disaster and seek survival, but after saving Zhou Pei, she was able to handle many things in an orderly manner, and gradually, she herself felt that this ability was interesting.

The two talked privately, and Zhao Xiaosong said: "...Those Confucian books that I recited in the past are also useful now, and I understand those obscure great principles even better in my heart. I want to be able to do earth-shattering things like a man for the rest of my life!"

Among the few people, Zhao Xiaosong was the youngest, but in Yinping's view, her ambition was the greatest. She was an extremely remarkable person.

As for Realist Qingyi, Luo Shouwei, everyone knew that she had a period of time with Li Pin. Li Pin was a great scholar of the time, and he already had wives and concubines at home, but since the Jurchens first went south, he had been displaced several times. The first time was the escape of thousands of miles after being seriously injured when Taiyuan City was broken, the second time was the Humiliation of Jingkang, and later when Lin'an City was broken, he followed Junwu in continuous escapes.

During these three displacements, his family members died or scattered. After arriving in Fuzhou, an old wife at home could no longer get out of bed, and there was also a little daughter who limped in the war and was usually raised in the backyard and rarely seen. With his status, it would not have been difficult to marry any kind of woman, but he was busy with his studies and had no heart for this matter. However, during the period of helping Luo Shouwei organize the Zhengyi sect's classics, Luo Shouwei took care of various housework for him, and even got along well with the old wife and daughter in the backyard.

Taoists of the Zhengyi sect are allowed to marry. Yinping and others once thought that Luo Shouwei might become their "Shi Niang" (master's wife), but real life was not so smooth. Last year, the two had a quarrel, and Luo Shouwei ran to the Princess Manor in a fit of anger to be Zhou Pei's internal martial arts officer and bodyguard. Yinping and others asked Li Pin, and Li Pin said frankly and simply: "We said something heavy in the heat of the moment, and we broke up."

The female officials around her were either widows or old maids, and even those who had some marriage prospects were separated. Unbearable rumors from outside had long existed. Although these were some trivial matters, Zhou Pei also looked helpless when she mentioned them. However, it was useless to say more about these things. She sat with Yinping and then talked about her and Yue Yun's yearning for roaming the green forests:

"Although I have learned a few tricks from you and Realist Qingyi, I can't use them at all when I really have to fight someone. If that weren't the case, I would really like to hold a three-foot-long sword and go with you to see what the martial arts world in the city is like."

When she said this, there was a longing in her eyes, while Yinping wrinkled her nose and shook her head desperately.

"Novels are all lies, Your Highness," she said. "I'm telling you, don't look at how unrestrained the martial arts world in the city is said to be in those martial arts novels. In reality, the most common thing in the city is troublesome people. Look at Zhong Ergui. Wasn't he forced to death by those people? Back then, when Prime Minister Qin was splashed with dung, wasn't it also like that! And also, just the other day, we encountered something..."

Zhou Pei smiled: "Tell me, tell me."

"The reason for the matter was that the other night, at the night market in Yinqiao Fang, my little brother met two extremely vicious villains, and then they fought. Later, there was no winner, and the two villains ran away..."

"Oh? Brother Yun couldn't catch them? What are the names of the two villains?"

"Well, one is called 'Hun Yuan Axe' Zhou Xing, and the other, I later heard, should be 'Tiger Shark' Zhan Yunhai." Yinping waved her hand. "The point is not this. The point is that they were fighting very fiercely, and the tables and benches in the surrounding night market inevitably got bumped. My little brother felt bad about it. Even though he was injured after the fight, he went door-to-door to pay compensation. Then there was a shop, I heard it was a family selling steamed rice cakes..."

Yue Yinping said: "This steamed rice cake seller was a fat aunt with a bloated face. She怂恿(sǒng yǒng - instigated) her nephew to come and make trouble. Your Highness, you know, they were asking for sky-high prices. A broken bench cost two taels of silver, and a table was said to be made of Zitan (紫檀 - sandalwood) and cost ten taels. Isn't that nonsense? And also, they said that their family's broken bowl for steamed rice cakes was an heirloom and had to be compensated with a hundred taels! I heard that that kid was even grabbing my little brother and not letting him leave. Your Highness, what would you do if you encountered such a person?"

Zhou Pei smiled: "That's really interesting... With Brother Yun's temper, did he beat him up?"

"No." Yinping shook her head. "My little brother was almost driven to death. I heard he was about to raise his fist to hit him, but that kid instantly lay down on the ground,耍赖 (shuǎ lài - acted shamelessly), saying 'Hit me, you'll have to pay even more if you hit me.' My little brother's face was about to turn red when he told me about this."

"How can there be such a rascal?" Zhou Pei laughed. "Then what happened later? How was it handled?"

"Of course, there's always one thing that overcomes another." Yinping also smiled. "Later, my little brother directly found the officials down below and scared that kid away, and then let the officials and the people in the market set the price of compensation. Putting everything else aside, they set the lowest price for this steamed rice cake family, hahaha."

"Even though it turned into such a mess, you still paid compensation. Brother Yun is still pure and kind."

"Well, if we didn't pay, it wouldn't be a small matter. Dad would抓回去 (zhuā huí qù - capture and take back) him and beat him."

The two chatted idly to this point and laughed for a while. There was movement outside the door, and then Realist Qingyi, Luo Shouwei, came in. After greeting Zhou Pei, Zhou Pei also asked her to sit down next to her.

"Today, I called Yinping here because I secretly found out about something." Zhou Pei sat in the main seat and began to talk about serious matters. "Recently, all kinds of things have been happening inside and outside the palace. Since the unjust case in Houguan County last month, things have been uneasy outside. We estimate that a group of people are secretly planning to do bad things. You know this too."

"...So, according to the information we've obtained in the past few days, there are several places in the city that are very dangerous. The first is my Princess Manor, where someone might come to make trouble; the second is Mr. Li's place. His status is pivotal, and he may have already been targeted by thieves; as for the third, the Zuo family who returned from the southwest might also have some trouble, but we don't need to worry too much about that."

"Because of this kind of news, I've been more concerned and want to arrange some trustworthy people with high martial arts skills to take care of Mr. Li's side. The first people I thought of were Yinping and Brother Yun, but Brother Yun is free-spirited, and recently, because of the Zhong Ergui case, he's been chasing bad guys everywhere. The person I trust the most is Yinping. However, Yinping is not yet married. Although she and Mr. Li have a master-disciple relationship, there's still a difference between men and women, so I thought..."

Zhou Pei paused here, looking around at the two people in the room. Yinping's expression was calm, waiting for her to give orders. Luo Shouwei on the side looked calm, her eyes, nose, and heart aligned.

"So I thought, is it possible to do this? Let Yinping come to my place and be my personal bodyguard. You also understand the safety and security of the mansion, and it shouldn't be difficult to take over. As for Realist Luo, you've also had dealings with Mr. Li before. You can take some soldiers from the mansion and go over there. I think that might be more suitable than Yinping. What do you two think?"

Halfway through her words, Yinping had actually understood what she meant. At this time, her eyes lit up, and she stood up: "Yinping obeys the imperial edict." A glimpse of her gaze then floated towards Luo Shouwei next to her.

Luo Shouwei had also stood up. After a moment, she slowly bowed and saluted: "Shouwei respectfully obeys Your Highness's imperial edict."

As soon as these words came out, Zhou Pei and Yinping in the room both breathed a sigh of relief. After a few more words, Luo Shouwei first took her leave. Yinping followed behind her, and as she was about to go out, she turned around and smiled at Zhou Pei, giving her a knowing wink with one eye...

After the two of them went out of the room, Zhou Pei went to pour herself a glass of cold water and drank it. Then she sat down in front of the open window and fanned herself with a fan for a while. Looking at the rockery in the backyard, she pondered various matters in the distance in her heart.

Progress is too slow...

In the far reaches of the world, the Jin area, ruled by the female prime minister, after recuperation, has officially begun to plot the northwest; Zou Xu and Dai Mengwei have allied and convened a round of martial arts conferences in Bianliang; in the Fair Party area, the territories of the four kings have gradually become clear. He Wen, after vigorously reforming, has begun to show his strong soldiers and horses, and the others, after failing to attack He Wen, have instead plotted Lin'an and are expected to break through the city soon. Although Zuo Xiuquan has already set off, trying to persuade King Gao to plunder a batch of gold and silver from the city to subsidize the southeast after the city is broken, the actual development may not be so smooth, after all, the big cake that has been drawn has not been cashed in at all, and asking people to pay tribute will inevitably make Gao Chang look down on the southeast in return... Everything can only rely on Zuo Xiuquan's mediation.

The most important southwest, land reform has begun in an orderly manner. Zhou Pei has seen the various land reform steps and subsequent reactions transmitted from the southwest. Every single item is shocking, especially after Zuo Wenhuai's explanation, she and Junwu understood the advantages and disadvantages even more deeply. Junwu sighed and praised the huge power of the southwest, and perhaps privately deepened his idea of carrying out "constitutional monarchy" in the future, but it cannot be done now.

Large-scale enlightenment preparations have not yet been made, and the first set of teams has not been cultivated. Even if we talk about enlightening the people, it is just an empty slogan. What's more, the area where the southeast is located is a special area where enlightenment is the most difficult. The ruggedness of the mountains and the lack of resources have led to the local clan forces being extremely united.

Zhou Pei sometimes thinks, if she could have a set of execution teams like the one in the southwest, today's affairs would never be so difficult; sometimes she would think, if Ning Yi were brought here, I'm afraid he would also be struggling to cope, and it would be difficult to take action, right?

But talking about the difficulties is meaningless. Since her father chose to escape on the dragon boat, the world has entered a chaotic state of fragmentation and the rise of heroes. Now, after sifting through the sand, the opportunists who were just filling the ranks in various forces have successively left the game, and the surviving parties have found their own way forward, but has she found hers?

Her younger brother, according to the ideas transmitted from the southwest, has placed his hopes on maritime trade, and even made the outrageous preparations for the so-called "constitutional monarchy" in his heart, but at this moment, the first batch of seagoing ships has not yet returned, and the accounts are about to reach the bottom. The various large and small families that initially supported the royal family have now become suspicious and distant. The prestige and confidence of the Wu Dynasty are about to be exhausted.

How many families and ministers are truly standing on her side without hesitation... She habitually counted on her fingers again, counting in a low voice.

Her forehead then began to ache again.

Zhao Xiaosong walked in from outside, smiling: "Your Highness, I saw Realist Luo and Sister Yue handing over things."

"Well, Luo Shouwei agreed." Zhou Pei also smiled. "I finally sent one away. I've accumulated some good karma."

"Then, Your Highness, should we also arrange something for Miss Yue? I heard from a friend in the Weiwei Army that General Yue is very worried. Every time Miss Yue goes back, she complains to him, 'Don't wait idly, becoming an old maid, to no avail.'"

Zhou Pei burst out laughing: "Don't just talk about her, what about you? You should also send yourself away soon. Amitabha!"

"That won't work. I still want to work with Her Highness the Princess to achieve great things." Zhao Xiaosong said, "The Princess is a figure like Li Xiuning in the Tang Dynasty. In the future, when you build a women's army, you can't do without me as a follower... And ah, Princess, I'm telling you, I don't look up to any of the men in the world!"

"Good, you don't even look up to His Majesty."

"Uh, His Majesty doesn't look up to me. And Princess, I can't go to the palace with my personality, otherwise I'll be convicted of being talkative and meddlesome, and disrupting the palace affairs..."

"Chatterbox..." Zhou Pei was so angry that she had no strength. After a while, she sighed slightly at her: "Don't wait idly, becoming an old maid, to no avail."

"Yeah, yeah, don't wait idly." Zhao Xiaosong nodded, then restrained her smile. "Princess, it's almost time. The several adults you summoned earlier should have been waiting outside for a while. Look."

Zhou Pei also nodded.

The short break was over, and another round of work had arrived.

……

"Damn it, miscalculated!" Zuo Xingzhou, who still had some bandages wrapped around him, cursed bitterly.

It was a little past noon. In a small shop outside Huaiyun Fang, he and Ning Ji sat opposite each other, complaining while gobbling down the dishes that had already been served, while Ning Ji, who claimed to have already eaten, was slowly eating a bowl of ice jelly opposite him.

"Look at you saying that, when have you ever been calculated?"

"Who are you looking down on? Do you think I've been here for so long, and the name 'Hun Yuan Axe' Zhou Xing is really just a fluke? Let me tell you, back then I was holding two axes, in Putian, and I killed from here to there, and then I slashed all the way back from there. It was really, the whole street was a river of blood. I was the blood-handed butcher... um, by the way, why didn't your brother come out?"

"I believe you that it was a river of blood. Look at the blood you splattered the other night. It was all over the street, was it necessary? And those broken lines of yours, I really... He's not free."

"What blood, what lines, you you you, what do you know? Some of that blood was mine, after all, I had to get a little injured. Some of it was chicken blood, duck blood, and pig blood that I had hidden on my body long ago. And lines, do you know what propaganda is? The bad guys in Fuzhou can't come to see me and Yue Yun duel in person, so they're of course listening to word-of-mouth, and the most important thing about word-of-mouth is to be popular. Listen to those lines I designed, simple, direct, and violent. When you repeat them to people, are they powerful and exciting? And that blood, splashing everywhere, when you see it, don't you want to tell people... right? Look at your dumbfounded look, do you understand? Do I have a point? What do you know... You didn't listen to classes in the mountains at all, you学渣(xué zhā - academic scum)... Your brother is pretty aloof."

"I've found out that you dog thing is now full of顺口溜(shùn kǒu liū - catchy rhymes)... Uh, of course he's aloof. He practices flying knives. He doesn't shoot unless he has to, and when he does, he'll镖(biāo - use a throwing weapon) you to death. By the way, don't talk about my brother, what's wrong with your brother?"

"...That's what I mean by miscalculation." Zuo Xingzhou sighed. "Originally, it was designed so that I would duel Yue Yun alone. Yue Yun has a family background and natural strength, so it's normal to not be able to beat him, but look at the lines I designed, and the blood I brought. I can show my ferocity. Although I'm slightly inferior, I'm not afraid of death, and I eventually escape under the encirclement of a gang of lackeys... In this way, my name will definitely be famous. But I didn't expect that he was also nearby. Now a one-on-one duel has turned into a two-on-one. No matter how fierce you act in a two-on-one, others will just repeat that two people were beaten very badly. Damn it, I don't know how it's going to turn out now. I'm afraid it's going to be a disaster... By the way, what's wrong with that four-foot淫魔(yín mó - pervert) of yours?"

In the restaurant, Zuo Xingzhou babbled a lot like a string of firecrackers, cleverly and casually bringing out the last sentence. He then began to eat his rice, generally as if he hadn't said anything at all, extremely gentle to his pride. Ning Ji crossed his arms, originally prepared to say a lot of complaints, but at this time, the sneer was frozen there, and the next expression seemed to be stuck, switching for a long time, unable to switch out.

In front, Zuo Xingzhou didn't look at him, only working hard to eat, eat, eat, extremely gently taking care of his self-esteem.

"By the way, I also made an appointment with Zhan Yunhai to go to Jiuxian Mountain to help him助拳(zhù quán - give support to a fighter) later..." This corner of the restaurant was so quiet for a while. Not knowing when, Zuo Xingzhou raised his head, trying to change the topic as quickly as possible, and the words were still exploding in his mouth like firecrackers. A fist had already reached his face with a bang.

"Damn it..." Zuo Xingzhou rolled onto the ground, chair and all. In front of him, Ning Ji had already climbed onto the table like a tiger, pouncing towards him.

"Damn it, you can't say that, just pretend I didn't mention it—"

"What didn't mention it? 'Hun Yuan Axe' Zhou Xing, you're so arrogant, I, the deputy leader of the martial arts alliance, 'Qitian Xiaosheng' Sun Wukong, will have a showdown with you today to see who is the real number one in the world, don't run—"

"You bastard, I have things to do this afternoon—"