For some reason, he could never get angry at Er Zhu Lin, even though he knew she was being unreasonable and difficult. He could never bring himself to lose his temper with her.
"Why do you have to force yourself? You don't like me. You like power. How about I make you Grand Tutor?" Mo Qi said after a moment's hesitation.
"I like you. I didn't know it before, but now I can tell you with certainty, I like you. I've seen everything you've done for Zi Luo. What woman wouldn't like a man who is so loyal, righteous, and full of life?" Er Zhu Lin said.
Mo Qi still didn't believe her, because she said it too casually, just like she had said she wanted to be the King's woman.
"Uh, the imperial decree has already been issued, and it can't be changed just like that. Next time, after we conquer the Jin Kingdom and return to your own territory, we will bestow rewards again. We'll figure something out then," Mo Qi said.
He would use a delaying tactic for now, just to placate her.
After Mo Qi finished speaking, he turned to leave.
However, how could Er Zhu Lin let him go so easily?
She immediately grabbed his hand and said, "Then you are not allowed to go to the Queen's place during this time, or I will fight you to the death."
Oh, threatening me?
Doesn't the last person who threatened me turn into a pile of bones?
"Then I can't live here either," Mo Qi said.
"You live here, and I'll go live next door with Ting Ting," Er Zhu Lin said.
Everything was so clearly arranged. What right did she have?
"Al... alright."
At this time, in the Liang Kingdom, in the Liang King's study, Zi Luo was reporting her journey and what she had seen and heard.
First, she told the Liang King that her Immortal Severing Disease had been cured.
The Liang King was overjoyed and circled Zi Luo, "This is wonderful! Oh, my daughter, you are truly different. This is wonderful! You don't have to die. I don't know what to say. Let's hold a banquet for all the officials for three days and three nights."
Zi Luo sighed softly, "There's no need for that. Who should we be most grateful to now? It's the person who cured me!"
The Liang King slapped his forehead, "Yes, look at my head, I'm so muddled. Immediately issue an imperial decree to reward him! Reward him with an official position and reward him with Meteorite Coins."
Zi Luo pouted playfully, "Father! He won't need it. Besides, have you forgotten what you promised back then?"
"Didn't you disagree back then?" the Liang King retorted, glaring at her.
"But," Zi Luo suddenly blushed, "since the reward has been issued, and he has fulfilled it, and it's a done deal, I think we should honor our promise. You are the ruler of a nation, your word is as good as gold. How can you treat it lightly?"
"That's true," the Liang King nodded, then suddenly smiled, "Your state is not right. Could it be that you've developed feelings for each other from spending so much time together?"
"You could say that," Zi Luo did not evade, responding with a blush.
By admitting this, it would be easier to discuss the subsequent matters.
"Then... since that's the case, Father agrees. Let's take him as the驸马 (son-in-law of the king)." The Liang King said.
Zi Luo shook her head again, "I'm afraid it won't be easy."
The Liang King slammed his hand on the table, "Not easy? Is he rebelling? He's unwilling to become the驸马? Does he want to ascend to heaven?"
Seeing his agitated state, Zi Luo went forward to appease him and pulled the Liang King to sit down, "Father, it's not like that. It's because he is also a ruler of a nation! How can he become a son-in-law who marries into the family?"
The Liang King was shocked. A ruler of a nation with such advanced medical skills? He had never heard of such a person!
He looked at Zi Luo with a bewildered expression.
Zi Luo smiled, "Haven't you heard? The Wei Kingdom has changed hands. The new king is called Mo... is called Ye Yun. He is the third son of the former Hongye Kingdom. His goal is to reclaim the Hongye Kingdom."
"Oh?" The Liang King fell into thought. "I've heard about him recently, but I didn't expect him to have so much time that he even cured your illness."
Zi Luo continued, "His goal is to reclaim the Hongye Kingdom, and we belong to the Hongye Kingdom. Father, look at this..."
"You're hesitating. Speak your mind," the Liang King said, looking at her.
Zi Luo thought for a moment and said, "It's just that he wants to cooperate with us to jointly attack Gonggong."
"Gonggong is no longer in control of the Hongye Kingdom; it's Lian Min. Gonggong has ascended to heaven," the Liang King said. "However, if Lian Min is in trouble, Gonggong will definitely not stand idly by. Therefore, I don't want to get involved in this mess. If he wants to go, let him go by himself. Don't drag me down."
This... was it a failure?
Zi Luo was unwilling and continued, "But, if you don't agree to ally with him, then he might very well consider us enemies. Think about it, Father, if you wanted to attack the Hongye Kingdom, wouldn't you have to attack the Wei Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom first?"
The Liang King suddenly stood up again, "Am I afraid of him? Let him come if he wants. I'll make sure he never returns. What's there to be afraid of from a stray dog?"
"No, Father, we are absolutely no match for him," Zi Luo said.
"Don't boost the enemy's morale and dampen your own. Is it because you like him that you want me to submit to him? I'm telling you, don't confuse the priorities. At any time, personal affections cannot come first," the Liang King stared at Zi Luo, saying with slight anger.
"But we can't go back on our word either, or we'll be ridiculed by the officials and the people of the world," Zi Luo said.
"Go back on our word? Tell me how we are supposed to fulfill the promise? If he destroys my kingdom, I'll still marry my daughter to him?" the Liang King said angrily.
"We can ally with him..."
"That's seeking death." The Liang King was furious and slammed the table, startling Zi Luo. "From now on, do not speak such rebellious words again. If I hear such words again, no matter who it is, they will be executed."
"You're always talking about killing, killing, killing. Do you know how much sin you're creating? If you love killing so much, then kill me too," Zi Luo retorted, not backing down, and shouting.
"You..." The Liang King's veins bulged, his anger uncontrollable. He slapped Zi Luo and said, "Get out!"
Zi Luo left in tears.
After a simple rest, Mo Qi personally led the army to conquer the Jin Kingdom.
At this time, Lian Min had just withdrawn from the Jin Kingdom and gone to the Hongye Kingdom to become king.
The Jin Kingdom was only left with a contingent of troops to garrison it.
Under Mo Qi's advanced equipment and powerful firepower, this army was no match for him and was quickly defeated.
Mo Qi's army advanced unimpeded, breaking through all resistance, and soon entered the royal palace.
After a year, Mo Qi returned to the Jin royal palace. The scene of him taking Er Zhu Lin and her entourage away from here was still vivid in his memory.
As he was thinking about this, Er Zhu Lin arrived.
She came alone. Sun Qian, Ye Qingqing, Wan Yan Ting, and the others remained in the Wei royal palace.
Mo Qi felt very strange, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to wait for your enfeoffment," Er Zhu Lin said with a smile. "Now that the Jin Kingdom has also been conquered, you should fulfill your promise, right?"
Mo Qi felt a headache. He had used a delaying tactic back then, but he hadn't expected her to still be thinking about it.
What should he do now?
"Uh, there's no time," Mo Qi said.
"Why is there no time?"
"Because the army has to set off immediately," Mo Qi said. "We are going to attack the Liang Kingdom."
Actually, he was still waiting for news from Zi Luo.
But after Zi Luo returned, it was like a stone sinking into the sea; there was no more news.
Mo Qi had already expected it: the Liang King would not agree.
The path that needed to be taken still had to be walked.
But if he continued on this path, how would he face Zi Luo in the future?
Alas, the future would have to wait for the future.
Er Zhu Lin was relentless and threw herself into Mo Qi's arms, "Do you not believe me, or do you not believe in virgins? Then you'll know if you try, won't you?"
Mo Qi pushed her away, "No, it's really too late."
Then, he shamefully fled. After fleeing, he immediately went to find Ye Xingchen and said he wanted to set off.
Ye Xingchen frowned, "So urgent?"
Mo Qi said, "Speed is of the essence in warfare. Only by being fast can we achieve surprise and catch the enemy off guard."
"It's not impossible, but is it really that urgent? What is the reason?" Ye Xingchen asked.
"Eagerness for revenge!"
"Alright!"
The army set off and soon entered the territory of the Liang Kingdom.
The new Hongye Kingdom was still invincible, cutting through all obstacles.
This time, Mo Qi accompanied the army and did not adopt the previous two-pronged attack method. The army would attack cities and seize territories, while Mo Qi would strike directly at the heart of the enemy.
Because he was giving Zi Luo time.
He hoped that by the time he reached the Liang capital, Zi Luo would have already persuaded her father.
Even if she hadn't persuaded him, when the army reached the city gates, he would naturally seek peace.
As expected, they advanced like a hot knife through butter, conquering dozens of cities and towns in the Liang Kingdom, and the army was rapidly approaching the capital.
At this time, in the capital, the Liang King began to panic.
But the Liang King still had no intention of surrendering. He still hoped that Lian Min would send troops to support him.
After all, a clown like Ye Yun couldn't come up with any tricks.
Fortunately, when he sent an envoy to Min Du for help, Lian Min readily agreed.
This was because Lian Min had indeed noticed Mo Qi, who was a major threat to him.
A while ago, Gonggong had sent two envoys from the Liuyun Tribe, but only one returned; the other was killed by him. Furthermore, he refused to pay tribute, which was a blatant provocation to the Hongye Kingdom.
It was just that at that time, Lian Min was also busy with his conquests. From the Jin Kingdom to the Hongye Kingdom, he had defeated many competitors along the way. Although Gonggong had tacitly acknowledged him as the successor to the Hongye Kingdom, there were always some people who were not convinced and would cause trouble for him.
During this process, he had also suffered heavy losses.
Fortunately, Gonggong had sent two great generals, Yuan Hongquan and Liu Bai Kuang, to assist him. Otherwise, with Lian Min's current strength, he would not have been able to secure the throne of the Hongye Kingdom.
Currently, he felt that this Ye Yun was very arrogant, but he was far from being worthy of his personal attention.
So, he sent Yuan Hongquan to the Liang King.
The Liang King, in turn, sent Yuan Hongquan to fight.
Yuan Hongquan had no intention of attacking proactively. He guarded Pu Leng Mountain, the only route Mo Qi's army had to pass.
He planned to wait here with superior strength. As long as Mo Qi passed through here, he could kill him.
When he came, he would die. It didn't matter. They were all going to die anyway.
As for himself, he would drink, eat, and play, and then wait for Mo Qi to come and die.
He didn't need to worry about anything else.
At this time, Mo Qi's army had already reached the front of Pu Leng Mountain.
The army stopped.
Ye Xingchen requested that the army cross the mountain on foot.