Chapter 140: Smooth Heart
The night was deep and lights were on inside and outside the mansion.

The whole family is having dinner.

It was indeed a large family. The large courtyard in front was already full of people, all of whom were the bad guys who had been busy running around these days. Shangguan Yunque and Fu Anya were accompanying Xiao Yan.

The latter also poured wine and drank a few glasses. After a few simple words, the atmosphere became more lively. The bad guys relaxed for a rare time and started to force Shangguan Yunque and Fu An to drink heavily. Even Xiao Yan was drunk before he was able to turn back.

But as soon as we entered the backyard hall, the atmosphere became quiet.

Ji Ruxue sat very politely, and it was obvious that she didn't want to start eating until Xiao Yan came back. When the latter came in, she glanced at him, her cheeks flushed a little under the light, and then she smiled inexplicably and tilted her head, letting the shadow cover half of her face, hiding the smile.

Just now, Xiao Yan was hugging her and whispering in the room. Before he could say anything, his elder sister rushed in rashly. She had a deep impression of the way Xiao Yan left reluctantly at that time. After all, she rarely saw Xiao Yan looking so frustrated.

As for the reckless sister, she was eating with wooden chopsticks, holding a chicken leg in one hand, and her look of relish was indeed very appetizing. No joke, sister seemed to have a different attitude towards food, a way of eating with a holy mission, as if she was broadcasting her eating.

As for Jiang Chen, he was just trimming his nails leisurely. He looked up at Xiao Yan, and then took the chopsticks and knocked on the top of the sister's head lightly.

"Can you please behave yourself? You don't act like a lady."

"I'm not a lady..." Sister's cheeks were puffy. She wiped the oil from the corners of her mouth, but she looked up and saw Xiao Yan. She treated him like a host and said, "Don't be polite. Come and take your seat. We're waiting for you."

If she hadn't been holding a half-eaten chicken leg in her hand, several people would have believed it.

Xiao Yan smiled indifferently, and then looked at the maid next to him: "When the dishes are served, please go down and eat together. You have all worked hard to serve me these days, so don't wait until too late to eat today. I asked the steward to set up a separate table, go quickly, before the food gets cold."

The maids sent by the Jiedushi Mansion were very well-behaved. They knew that he wanted to make some space alone, so they all bowed and said, "My lord, please enjoy your meal slowly..."

Now, the hall became even quieter.

Xiao Yan calmly held up the cup and said with a smile: "Today, Xiao is hosting a reception for... three girls. I hope you won't think my hospitality is not good enough."

"You're so talkative." The surrendered minister rolled his eyes at him.

Ji Ruxue chuckled, raised her glass as well, and took the initiative to respond, "Thank you, Xiao Lang, for your hospitality."

"Um... er ye xi xiao lang kuan, dai..." The elder sister burped and said incoherently.

They were sitting next to each other, a young girl and they seemed to be in unison. Xiao Yan also smiled and drank with them, they really looked like a family.

The surrendered minister was stunned for a moment, turned his head away indifferently, and drank the wine, but he felt very unhappy for some reason. It was obvious that Xiao Yan had a kind of affection for Ji Ruxue that others could not have, and she could feel it completely.

So she snorted in her heart, what was this a big deal, could she be jealous of this little girl?

Please, how could she, a dignified corpse ancestor and a ghost doctor, fall into such an emotion that only ordinary people could have? She was just teasing that boy for fun. Xiao Yan was just a "cauldron" that was a perfect match for her, nothing more.

Yes, that’s all!

'Mei Jia' surrendered minister thought so.

Over there, Ji Ruxue said softly, "Of the tens of thousands of Mobei captives in Yuyang, nearly a thousand have been killed or injured in the past two months. Tian Daocheng has followed your instructions and asked them to rebuild the city, open up wasteland, mine, and dredge water conservancy projects. The loss of manpower is very severe, but overall, it can still be suppressed. They don't have the confidence to resist the Lulong Army that stayed."

After that, she pondered for a moment and added, "According to my observation, Tian Daocheng should be quite loyal to you. He carried out your instructions meticulously without any mistakes. But I don't have much experience, so I'm afraid you need to go and see for yourself..."

"It's okay, I trust your judgment." Xiao Yan said.

The surrendered minister was fine at first, but after hearing these words, he became a little displeased and gave Xiao Yan a subtle slap.

But the latter obviously didn't see it, or rather, he was deliberately avoiding the gaze of the surrendered minister, as if he was a little guilty and unnatural. Obviously, Xiao Yan was still a little troubled by being caught with the queen.

He couldn't possibly say that sleeping with the queen was part of the plan, could he?
He couldn't even say, "There's no way, the dragon robe was too tempting, I just couldn't resist it." If that was the case, he had no doubt that the surrendered minister would immediately get a dragon robe and play a different kind of plot temptation.

Xiao Yan still felt that Jiang Chen, this extremely aggressive queen, was a bit tricky to deal with. He couldn't be too harsh on her. She did help him a lot, so there was no reason to just send her away with a "charming smile", and he couldn't just ignore her after a "one shot".

Sometimes his bottom line is very low, but in most cases, he still sticks to his principles.

Cooperation is relative, not a one-size-fits-all approach. The surrendered minister makes him feel comfortable, and he cannot make this royal sister feel dissatisfied. At least before the two of them have any conflicts of interest, he cannot be a heartless person who turns his back on his loved ones.

By then he has gone crazy, and there will be no queen willing to travel thousands of miles to save him.

Seeing that Xiao Yan avoided his sight, occasionally took care of her, and mostly chatted and laughed with Ji Ruxue, Jiang Chen couldn't help but grit his teeth and wanted to get up and leave angrily, but suddenly his charming eyes blinked and a mischievous smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Miao Chengtian sent a letter saying that the first batch of war horses sold to the Wu Kingdom in Huainan has been transferred from Caozhou to the south. The buyer is Zhu Jin, the deputy commander of the Wu Kingdom's eastern camps. This batch includes 400 war horses and 300 pack horses. Zhu Jin is willing to deliver them with a shipload of grain and more than 2,000 pieces of cloth. He also said that the premium does not matter, but he hopes that the business between the two companies can be long-term..."

"Huainan is so rich?" Xiao Yan was shocked.

Ji Ruxue shook her head: "That's what the letter said, it should be true."

Xiao Yan pondered for a moment. Zhu Jin was a well-known person in this era. He also had a cousin named Zhu Xuan. In the early years, the two brothers occupied Shandong and were sworn brothers with Zhu Wen. The three of them were from the same hometown and had the same surname. During the days when they jointly resisted the remnants of Huang Chao, the three of them were as close as wearing the same pants.

But the good days did not last long. After Zhu Wen destroyed the remnants of Huang Chao, he immediately drew his sword against his former brothers. He spent nearly ten years to annex Shandong and killed Zhu Xuan. Zhu Jin lost his brother and had to go south to join the Kingdom of Wu. However, he hated Zhu Wen all these years and launched northern expeditions almost every year. He was one of the biggest troubles for Daliang.

Xiao Yan has information about the Bad People and Huanyinfang, so he naturally knows Zhu Jin very well. As the third in command of the Huainan Wu State, he does have the confidence and strength to make this business last for a long time...

"In that case, you can write a reply for me later..." When it came to serious matters, Xiao Yan immediately became interested, but before he finished speaking, he suddenly paused.

Ji Ruxue was shocked to see his face was frozen, and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I suddenly remembered that today is clearly a welcome party for you, why are you always talking about these trivial matters... Let's talk about it after dinner. I will write a letter by hand then and ask Miao Chengtian to deliver it to Zhu Jin on my behalf." Xiao Yan smiled calmly and comforted him.

"it is good."

The girl nodded understandingly and did not forget to pick up some food for her elder sister.

When Xiao Yan saw her turn away, his expression changed slightly, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent. He looked angrily at the surrendered minister beside him.

The latter tilted his head, biting chopsticks in the corner of his mouth, blinked half of his peach blossom eyes at him, with a mischievous look on his face.

Under the table, a bare jade foot hooked Xiao Yan's calf, and then, in Xiao Yan's angry look, it suddenly swam upwards to the key point.

Immediately, there was a reaction.

The surrendered minister bit the tip of the wooden chopsticks and smiled triumphantly.

Xiao Yan looked at her fiercely, the candlelight in his eyes flickering constantly, which was a little scary.

The royal sister seemed to be sure that he would not dare to act rashly, and she raised her chin slightly, showing her fair jade neck, just like a proud swan. But she didn't want to let this boy who ignored her get too comfortable, and after teasing him, she slyly blinked and wanted to move down.

Suddenly, a slightly rough big hand grabbed her delicate ankle.

"!"

The surrendered minister didn't expect that this guy would actually dare to do it, and he almost gasped in shock, then his face changed, and he quickly put the food into his bowl and started eating. Under the table, she kept pulling her jade feet, but no matter how hard she tried, the big hands were as strong as ever and didn't move.

Xiao Yan remained calm. His original intention was to scare this royal sister and make her stop while she was ahead. But now, he didn't want to stop while she was ahead. The round touch from his fingertips was very comfortable. The jade foot was small and delicate in his hand, and the calf was very symmetrical and slender, which was worth playing with.

Jiang Chen felt a constant itchy and strange sensation, and his cheeks turned red as if blood was about to drip out. He buried his head, staring at the food in the bowl, as if he wanted to see through the bowl with his eyes.

Over there, Ji Ruxue suddenly felt that the atmosphere became weird. She frowned and glanced at the surrendered minister opposite her. Then she looked at Xiao Yan, who was calm and composed, and was startled.

She immediately realized that Xiao Yan seemed to be only concerned with talking to her during this dinner. She was also caught up in an inexplicable atmosphere and forgot about this matter for a moment, so she hurriedly winked at Xiao Yan: Have you been too negligent of the corpse ancestor?

Xiao Yan raised his eyebrows and asked: Why do you say that?

Ji Ruxue bit her lip, feeling that she was at fault. She understood how much help Jiang Chen had given Xiao Yan. At least, his role in his life was far greater than that of her, Ji Ruxue. How could she allow this to create a rift between them?
So, she filled a glass with wine and stood up, holding the glass: "Corpse Ancestor..."

"Ok?"

The surrendered minister looked up suddenly, his face still flushed.

Ji Ruxue was a little surprised, but when she thought about the surrender minister who had just drunk several glasses of wine by himself, she thought that Corpse Ancestor was not good at drinking, so she held the cup with both hands in a serious manner and said apologetically: "In Luoyang in the past, Corpse Ancestor saved my life from danger. At that time, I had just entered the martial arts world and never had the opportunity to express my gratitude to Corpse Ancestor in person. Thinking about it today, I feel very ashamed..."

The girl had obviously grown up a lot. When she first met Xiao Yan in Caozhou, she was basically cold to everyone, not to mention having no knowledge of the ways of the world. At that time, she rarely smiled at Xiao Yan, and even felt a little inferior, inferior to her status.

She always seems to be alone, alone in her own world, and doesn't want to get close to others.

But now, she has been able to be calm and composed, and can talk freely and not lose to anyone, whether she is talking to a superior like Shuliduo who has his own authority, or to a senior in the martial arts world who has been famous for a long time like Jiangchen.

The surrendered minister was rarely at a disadvantage. His voice was stuttering and his face looked a little unnatural. At the same time, he gritted his teeth secretly and stared at Xiao Yan inconspicuously. There seemed to be fire in his peach blossom eyes.

Xiao Yan let go of his hand at the right time.

The royal sister then coughed hastily and ended the conversation: "In the future, I hope you and Sister Xue'er can take care of each other."

After she finished speaking, she felt annoyed again. What kind of mutual care was there between her and Ji Ruxue?

I've really been confused by this guy named Xiao!

The girl was very happy and let out a long sigh, as if she had resolved a knot in her heart. She glanced at Xiao Yan with her cold face, revealing a little bit of the cuteness that a girl should have, with a smile in her almond eyes, as if asking: How is it?
Xiao Yan smiled and pondered for a moment before he stood up with his cup in hand, laughing loudly and saying:
"Today, I will get drunk!"

From the outer courtyard, the noisy laughter of a group of bad guys could be heard.

"Get drunk and then you'll rest!"

My elder sister was patting her round belly with a grunt, feeling a little full, so she also raised a glass of wine.

"drink!"

In a moment, the little head with pigtails fell on the table.

------

Late at night, Xiao Yan specially sent the bad guys who were on duty and therefore not drunk, to help the drunkards back to their respective places. Only then did he go back, reeking of alcohol, amid Shangguan Yunque's drunken words of reluctance.

From behind, there was a faint voice of Shangguan Yunque calling out.

"Xiao Lang, my loyalty to you is evident to all heaven and earth... Ugh..."

Too drunk.

For some reason, Xiao Yan was very happy today. The sense of restraint he had always felt was much loosened today. It was rare for him to feel so happy. To be honest, he couldn't even remember the last time he felt so happy.

Last life? Or the life before that?
In short, I haven't felt this kind of mood for a long time, free of worries, and I can only do it when I'm drunk.

He sat alone on the steps, watching the waning moon gradually being covered by thin clouds as winter approached. Gusts of cold wind came and blew away his drunkenness.

At that moment, Xiao Yan figured out the reason why he was so relaxed today.

Now, he has power and strength, and no one in the entire Hebei province can suppress him. Why shouldn't he be content?
But it is not enough, far from enough.

In this world, there are too many people and too many things that can make him unhappy.

authority.

But it is not limited to Hebei.

……

"What are you thinking?"

A familiar fragrance came from behind, and Ji Ruxue stood beside Xiao Yan with wet hair.

The latter looked back, obviously stunned.

The girl was a little shy and didn't know what to say for a moment, so she just whispered unnaturally: "I saw there was hot water, so I took a bath..."

As she spoke, she glanced at Xiao Yan's expression, which became more and more shy, but not disgusted, and shame was evident on the tips of her ears.

But after a long time, Xiao Yan stood up and tucked her collar.

"It's too cold, go back to the house early."

After saying that, regardless of her surprise, he took Ji Ruxue back to the room, and then walked out alone.

The girl was unusually angry this time, and she looked at his back, whispering in dissatisfaction.

"After the New Year, I will be sixteen..."

------

With a creaking sound, moonlight shone into the room.

On the couch, Jiang Chen sneered.

"Aren't you very capable? Get out. I don't want to bother with you."

"Corpse Ancestor, I'm sorry."

"Ugh... bastard!"

(End of this chapter)