Chapter 54: A Bad Idea

Under the gazes of the three women, Xiao Rui felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles.

It wasn’t that he was too timid, but rather the female benefactors were too enthusiastic.

“Miss Zhuge, convincing His Majesty to let you form a female army would be very difficult,” Xiao Rui organized his words and responded. “Our words have no influence and can’t sway my father’s decisions. But I know of someone. If he pleaded with my father, my father would seriously consider it and there would be a fifty percent chance he would agree.”

“Who?” Xiao Qingqing asked quickly.

Zhuge Liuying stared at Xiao Rui and said, “My father, right? And this so-called fifty percent chance is just either agreeing or not agreeing!”

Xiao Rui nodded awkwardly, making Xiao Qingqing grit her teeth in anger, wishing she could bite him.

“Marquis Zhuge did not consent either. He even scolded Sister Liuying for causing trouble,” Zhang Ruoxi explained from the side.

Xiao Rui smiled. Naturally, he knew they would not agree. If they had agreed, it wouldn’t be so difficult now.

“Ah…” Zhuge Liuying sighed softly, looking extremely disappointed. She had always prided herself on being no less capable than men since childhood and had high ambitions. Yet, because she was a woman, she often met with setbacks. It was just so unfair!

Seeing her dejection, Xiao Rui suddenly felt moved. Every era had its limitations. No matter how brilliant and talented you were, sometimes you still had to wither away within the inner chambers. This was indeed a very sad thing.

But what could he do?

Unless he became the emperor and waved his hand with an edict: “Approved.”

Hey, that was just wishful thinking.

“Actually, my father is not entirely unwilling to agree,” Zhuge Liuying said suddenly. “He kept me in the capital and made a bet with me. If I win, he will speak to His Majesty on my behalf and request that I be allowed to form a female army camp.”

“Oh? What bet?” Xiao Rui asked curiously.

Zhuge Liuying hesitated, actually feeling too embarrassed to say.

Now it was Xiao Qingqing’s and Zhang Ruoxi’s turn to be curious. Zhang Ruoxi asked, “Sister Liuying, what did you bet with Uncle Zhuge?”

“Yes, why haven’t you mentioned it before?” Xiao Qingqing asked.

Zhuge Liuying sighed, hesitated for a moment, and said, “My father gave me one year to find someone younger than me who can defeat me in martial arts.”

“Ugh…” Xiao Qingqing rolled her eyes. “The Marquis deliberately set an impossible condition for you. How could someone younger be your match?”

Zhuge Liuying was nineteen years old, and her martial arts had already reached the peak of the Second Realm. She had been carefully taught by the Champion Marquis, making her combat abilities extraordinary. Even those of the same level were no match for her.

Xiao Rui asked, “The world is vast. There must be someone more skilled than you.”

Zhuge Liuying seemed to have some unspeakable difficulty and changed the subject. “Let’s not talk about this. Your Highness, do you really have no ideas?”

Xiao Rui apologized, “To make my father agree, we must show him the advantages of a female army camp. Even the Heroine Army of the Great Yan Kingdom was personally established and continuously selected by Emperor Wuying. They painstakingly chose only the most outstanding women. So finding such an advantage is very difficult.”

However, Xiao Rui narrowed his eyes and asked in return, “Miss Zhuge, what is your goal in forming a female army camp?”

“Naturally, to serve the country,” Zhuge Liuying said without much thought. “Also, to prove a point. Who says women are inferior to men?”

Xiao Rui smiled. “Since it’s to serve the country and to show that women are not inferior to men, why not change direction and start from a different angle?”

“What do you mean?” Zhuge Liuying asked curiously. The other two women also blinked their big eyes, sparkling with curiosity like curious babies.

Xiao Rui really wanted to pat their heads. Such good girls. Of course, he didn’t dare.

“You all know about the Eastern Depot and the Brocade Guard that His Majesty recently established, right?” Xiao Rui said. “Especially the Eastern Depot, which specializes in investigation and espionage. Are men as skilled in such matters as women? A simple honey trap could make the enemy spill all the truth.”

Zhuge Liuying and the other two women frowned deeply.

Many forces did train female assassins. As Xiao Rui said, women naturally had advantages in certain areas. Fighting wars was men’s business, but gathering intelligence was something men were far less capable of than women. Sometimes, women could be even more ruthless than men.

Moreover, the Great Xia Kingdom’s court did not have any officially registered female spies.

Xiao Rui continued, “Forming a female army camp is difficult. Could you instead form a group of female spies? Take a step back, gradually demonstrate women’s abilities. Over time, when the Champion Marquis and His Majesty see your efforts, everything will fall into place naturally.”

After saying this, Xiao Rui felt some regret. The Eastern Depot and the Brocade Guard were such dark places. If they corrupted Zhuge Liuying, who knew what she would become?

He hoped she wouldn’t agree.

“Good!” The next moment, Zhuge Liuying proved him wrong.

“I’ll give it a try. To serve Great Xia, it doesn’t matter if the methods are different.” After saying this, Zhuge Liuying stood up and clasped her fists. “Thank you, Seventh Highness, for your advice.”

Xiao Rui also hurriedly stood up, embarrassed. “Just an offhand remark, just an offhand remark.”

“Then we won’t bother you further,” Zhuge Liuying said goodbye and briskly left with the other two women.

Xiao Rui watched them leave and suddenly sighed. Wasn’t this pushing someone into a pit of fire? Would the Champion Marquis come after him? How scary!

Meanwhile, something Zhuge Liuying mentioned casually caught Xiao Rui’s attention.

His cheap second brother, Xiao Yiheng, had actually ordered the Ministry of Justice to arrest a group of Black Lotus Sect followers. The Black Lotus Sect would definitely be furious. Would this affect Wei Guang and his wife? It seemed he also needed to go out and check the situation in the capital.

So, he thought of his third brother.

That afternoon, Xiao Rui went to Prince Wu’s Mansion.

Hearing that Xiao Rui had come, Xiao Ze was clearly taken aback. This was his first visit in a long time, quite rare indeed.

Xiao Rui was invited into the main hall by the mansion’s steward and saw Xiao Ze enjoying a song and dance performance.

Hey, this third brother really knew how to cultivate his sentiments, spending every day with music and dance.

“What brings you here?” Xiao Ze casually pointed to the seat beside him and waved his hand, dismissing everyone.

“No visit without a reason,” Xiao Rui quickly took out an IOU. “I’ve been a bit short on money lately, so I came to collect the debt.”

Xiao Ze’s maternal grandfather was the famous Duke Qing, and his uncle served in the Salt Transportation Commission, a position of the Third Realm in charge of salt production and distribution. No need to say more, it was obviously a very lucrative post.

“You rascal, if Father knew, he’d surely have you dragged out and whipped a few times,” Xiao Ze said with a smile and then called the steward to fetch twenty thousand taels.

He asked, “Is that enough?”

Xiao Rui nodded repeatedly. “Enough, enough, hehe…”

“Anything else?” Xiao Ze asked, seeing he wasn’t leaving.

Xiao Rui stated his purpose. “I heard Second Brother arrested a group of Black Lotus Sect members. I came to ask what he found out? What have you found out, Third Brother?”

Xiao Ze immediately sat up straight, narrowing his eyes at Xiao Rui. “Among us brothers, the ninth brother has a restless temperament and has no interest in investigating the Night King or the Black Lotus Sect. As for me, seeking people out is boring; I’d rather listen to music. And you, you still keep to yourself. If you hadn’t come to ask me, I would have thought you weren’t involved either.”

“I really haven’t been involved. We all have Imperial Guards secretly protecting us. If anyone wanted to know our whereabouts, they could just ask. What I do can’t be hidden from my other brothers,” Xiao Rui said casually. “I came out of curiosity. After all, the information I get is quite limited.”

Xiao Ze frowned slightly. He didn’t believe Xiao Rui’s nonsense. Being able to hide in the Imperial Clan Court and secretly stage the “Trial by the King of Hell” showed no simple means.

“Go on, bring the investigation reports,” Xiao Ze said to the steward.

The steward immediately went to do so.

Xiao Ze said, “Although I don’t concern myself with it, my uncle sent people to keep watch. Every day for the past few days, information on the Black Lotus Sect has been delivered. Take a look.”

Xiao Rui instantly felt envious. See, this was the benefit of having connections and money. No need to investigate yourself; you could just lie back and see the results.

So, my son must also become a second-generation layabout!

Huh? My woman…

Oh, I don’t have one.

Then that goal could wait. First, look at the intelligence.