Dress up as a sickly person to capture the villain princess!

Not only that, even the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery was infatuated with her and wanted to marry her home as his lady.

Now that I see him, his reputation is well-deserved. Although His Highness has not lived in the palace often since he was sixteen years old, he would occasionally stay in the palace for a short period of time.

He never showed any closeness to anyone, not even to the noble ladies in Jinzhou City. His Highness had never made friends with them, except for the little princess.

But now she was whispering so softly that she couldn't bear to disturb Xia Zhiyuan who was sleeping soundly.

"Your Highness, you are joking. Why would Zhiyuan let himself go hungry? It is Your Highness who looks... very haggard."

Xia Zhiyuan sighed softly, as if she was very worried. Her skin was almost sickly pale, and under the flickering candlelight at night, it made people feel pity for her. I felt even more sorry for her.

"These are all my matters. Now... my father's funeral and burial date must wait until the Imperial Observatory gives an exact date."

Zhao Changlin put down his pen. He had already approved the most important memorials. The government's disaster relief funds would be distributed soon. There was also a report on the rampant bandits in the northern mountain strongholds on the table.

"Are you hungry?"

Zhao Changlin opened the letter and looked through the report on it.

She thought of some of her favorite desserts when she was a child, so she paused slightly and thought about calling the palace maid to bring these dishes up so that Zhiyuan could have a taste.

Xia Zhiyuan could see the contents clearly with just a casual glance.

The prefect of Lincang Prefecture has come to report... The bandits in Longya Village are rampant, and have gathered 20,000 bandits... We hope that Your Majesty will send troops to disperse these bandits and rabble.

Longya Village!

Xia Zhiyuan's mind moved. She remembered very clearly that the first thing the hero did after ascending the throne was to lead the army in person to fight against the bandits.

In order to establish his own prestige, the hero gathered several powerful generals under his command, led 20,000 soldiers and horses directly, and 5,000 cavalry were ready to go. In the novel, the hero spent nearly two months to directly flatten Longya Village, which was very impressive.

Therefore, he won the support of the people of Lincang Prefecture and applause from the crowd.

Of course, the above are not the main points.

The key point is that the leader of Longya Village is a woman, who is heroic, strong in martial arts, and can knock down several strong men with one spear. Moreover, in the book, she mostly robs the rich to help the poor, but she is the type who will kill any rich person she sees, without mercy.

That's why it is notorious in Lincang Prefecture. After all, Lincang Prefecture is a famous salt city with several royal salt merchants here.

Most of the people in Lincang Prefecture are wealthy.

Of course, if nothing unexpected happens, the leader of Longya Village is also one of the male protagonist's harem. In the later period, she defeated the enemy with a smaller force and helped the male protagonist defend the border.

He can be said to be an indispensable general for the new emperor.

"Wait a minute, Your Highness... Is that a report about bandits?"

Xia Zhiyuan looked into Zhao Changlin's eyes seriously, and did not answer Zhao Changlin's question. Instead, he asked.

"Well, banditry is rampant in Lincang Prefecture."

“Ji Won…why would you care?”

Zhao Changlin directly spread out the letter. The handwriting on it was neat and formal, but each word revealed a sense of anxiety. There were at least two words "soldier" in a line of words.

“It’s not that I care, but when Zhiyuan was at the Xia family, he heard the story of the leader of Longya Village.”

Rather than hearing it at the Xia family, it would be more accurate to say that she saw it in the original novel, but there is no difference between the two.

As long as His Highness can pay attention to the leader of Longya Village, it will be enough.

Hearing Xia Zhiyuan's initiative to tell him a story, Zhao Changlin relaxed a little, raised his eyes and signaled the palace maid behind him to call for dinner.

……

Looking at the table full of Manchu and Han banquet, Xia Zhiyuan felt dazzled, but Zhao Changlin looked at the last bowl of soup brought by the palace maid and reminded him softly.

"After drinking this medicinal food, your body will be warmer when you sleep at night."

Xia Zhiyuan looked at the bowl of medicinal food in front of him. There were some wolfberries sprinkled on it. He could smell it and it was indeed fresh and sweet.

Reaching out and grabbing the spoon, Xia Zhiyuan scooped up a spoonful of soup, put it to her red lips, and took a sip.

"If what Zhiyuan just said is true, does the leader of Longya Village really have real abilities?"

"If that's the case, then... the people who will be sent out to support us must be experienced fighters."

Zhao Changlin paused with his chopsticks, and several names flashed in his mind one by one. They were several generals stationed near Lincang Prefecture.

The scattered troops in his hands should add up to about 50,000. However, Lincang Prefecture is located in the north, and the northern border has been in war for many years. The 17 Barbarian Tribe Alliance is eyeing it covetously, and the Great Wall border must need reinforcements from time to time.

If we randomly mobilize troops to suppress the bandits, we might... the barbarians will learn of this and launch a surprise attack on the northern border.

Zhao Changlin knew very well that the support troops must not be abused at will, otherwise the world would be in chaos. What's more, the military power of these generals was still in his hands and his father had not taken it back.

My father had sent troops to suppress bandits before, but unfortunately, the war lasted for more than a year and there was still no progress. It was just that Longya Village was not yet a force to be reckoned with at that time.

Moreover, the war in the north has been tense for years.

Therefore, the imperial court only sent troops to suppress the rebellion and did not kill them all. Moreover... my father and the ministers in the court shared the same view and hoped to persuade 20,000 people to surrender and recruit them into the imperial court.

After all, most of the 20,000 people in Longya Village are desperate people from Lincang, and they still have parents and fellow villagers to protect. If we really raise an army to encircle and suppress them... I'm afraid it will bring about even greater disasters.

However, as the foundation of a country, salt merchants are indispensable.

"Your Highness, don't worry. Just handle it as you normally would."

"It's just that Your Highness, the leader of Longya Village is a talented person who can be molded."

"Your Highness, do you understand what Zhi Yuan meant?"

Xia Zhiyuan stretched out his hand and placed it on Zhao Changlin's cheek. This time the two of them switched places. Because they had been staying in the warm bedroom and covered with thick plush blankets, Xia Zhiyuan's body was warm and his palms were warm as well.

However, Zhao Changlin was the opposite. His cheeks were cold, and even the back of His Highness's hand, which he had touched just now, was cold.

Using a little force, Xia Zhiyuan pinched the soft flesh on His Highness's face, but unfortunately... His Highness was too thin, and his fingertips couldn't pinch much.

She was wearing a blue long skirt with a cape waistcoat on top. There was white fluff under the edge of the waistcoat, and her eyes were smiling slightly.

"clear…"

"I'll always remember that."

Zhao Changlin saw Xia Zhiyuan's white fingers out of the corner of his eye, and his heart moved. It had been a long, long time since anyone treated him like this. When was the last time?

Was it when your mother was still alive?

"Then Your Highness should eat more. The night is long. If Your Highness doesn't take care of himself and faints from hunger, he will be embarrassed in front of the ministers."

Hearing her words, Zhao Changlin was amused.

Zhiyuan was the only one in the world who dared to tease her like this, but she did not object and picked up the chopsticks again.