Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts-Chapter 464 - She Absolutely Cannot Be the Primary Wife!

Three days after the Xu and Qin family ancestral ritual.

In the Jinyiwei council hall, Xu Ming stood before a long table.

Seated on either side were Guangyin, Li Han, and others.

Normally, Wu Yanhan rarely attended Jinyiwei meetings. She wanted Xu Ming to establish his own authority and did not want others to think she was interfering on his behalf.

But this time, even Wu Yanhan was present—showing just how important today’s discussion was.

“How is the situation?” Xu Ming asked, looking at the assembled officers.

Li Han was the first to reply. “These past few days, our brothers have been searching for the remnants of Prince Shan’s faction, but it’s as if they’ve vanished into thin air—there’s not a single trace of them. We’re still conducting our investigations, but to be honest, unless they make a move, it will be difficult to track them down.”

Guangyin frowned. “It’s strange. Those remnants entered the capital but haven’t caused any disturbances. We even tried tailing a few of them, hoping to let the small fish lead us to the big ones—but suddenly, we lost track of them.”

Hu Li, a Qianfu (Thousand-Man) commander recommended by Emperor Wu, spoke up. “Regardless, those people are all hiding somewhere in Wudu. There’s no way they could have all escaped. Even if some slipped away, it wouldn’t be all of them.”

Zhao Feiyan turned to Xu Ming. “Can we request assistance from the Jiantiansi? They could help locate these remnants.”

The Jiantiansi controlled certain aspects of Wudu’s defensive formations.

If activated, these formations could locate all the infiltrators within the city in less than half a month.

Xu Ming shook his head. “We could use the formations, but the cost outweighs the benefit. The remnants that infiltrated the city are just the tip of the iceberg.

Even if we root them out this time, then what? The next time they come, are we going to keep begging Jiantiansi for help again?”

It wasn’t impossible to request assistance from Jiantiansi, but Xu Ming didn’t believe any of the current infiltrators were high-profile enough to warrant their involvement.

The highest-ranking remnant, Liu Feng, was currently staying in the diplomatic residence.

“So, Lord Xu, what do you suggest?” Yu Ping’an asked.

He also disagreed with requesting help from Jiantiansi.

The stronger the formation, the more resources it consumed with each activation.

It wasn’t practical to activate it every time there was an infiltration. If they did, they might as well leave the formation running permanently.

According to intelligence from Tingfeng Pavilion, the infiltrators were mostly low-level operatives. Even if they were caught, they likely wouldn’t provide any valuable intelligence.

Xu Ming sighed. “The Jinyiwei should strengthen patrols. We’ll have to wait for them to make a move.

Liu Feng is already under surveillance—if they don’t want him dead, they won’t act recklessly.

And since ‘Mr. Liu’ has come here, leaving won’t be so easy. His presence has surely caught His Majesty’s attention.”

Everyone nodded. At the moment, this was the only viable course of action. freewebnoveℓ.com

“Alright, everyone, get back to your duties. If nothing unexpected happens, we should already be receiving reports from various counties and commanderies across Wu.”

Since its establishment, the Jinyiwei had not been limited to operating solely within the capital.

Wudu was vast, but the Jinyiwei had over 8,000 members. If they were all stationed in the capital, there wouldn’t be enough work for them—patrolling the streets certainly didn’t require that many men, especially since street patrols were technically the responsibility of Jingzhao Bureau.

The Jinyiwei had nationwide jurisdiction.

Local officials across Wu’s commanderies could send reports directly to the Jinyiwei.

Most of these reports were accusations against local superiors.

Once the Jinyiwei received a report, they would send agents to investigate.

It didn’t require a large deployment—just four or five agents, operating like an inspection team.

At present, thanks to the existence of the Jinyiwei, governance across Wu’s commanderies and counties had become significantly more upright.

After all, this newly forged blade had only just been crafted—no one wanted to be the first to be cut down by it.

But a blade must eventually taste blood.

Otherwise, people might start thinking that the Jinyiwei were merely for show.

Beyond this, Emperor Wu was even considering establishing subordinate branches of the Jinyiwei at the provincial and county levels for further oversight and control.

In short, the days of corrupt officials were about to get much more difficult.

After leaving the council hall, Yu Ping’an and the others went to handle the reports and complaints. Only Wu Yanhan remained behind.

“How’s the situation? Any news from His Majesty?” Xu Ming asked.

Several days had passed. By now, after Liu Feng and the Chu princess had spoken with Emperor Wu, there should have been some preliminary response or action.

Just as Xu Ming finished speaking, Wu Yanhan gave him a long, almost resentful look.

Xu Ming felt a bit uneasy under her gaze. “What’s wrong?”

Wu Yanhan finally spoke. “As far as I know, Chu has already sent a marriage proposal to my father. They have formally expressed their desire to marry the princess to you.”

Xu Ming was momentarily stunned. “Isn’t that what we already knew?”

Wu Yanhan’s tone grew sharper, laced with jealousy. “The difference is—Chu has stated that you don’t have to marry into their royal family. Instead, their princess will directly marry into Wu.”

Xu Ming: “...”

For a moment, he was speechless.

After a long pause, he finally spoke. “What exactly is Chu trying to do? Why do they keep targeting me?”

He truly couldn’t understand.

He wasn’t a royal.

For someone of the Chu princess’s status to marry into Wu, there was only one possible groom—the crown prince. Meaning, the only person eligible to marry Tang Ningzhi should have been Wu Yanhan.

The problem was... Wu Yanhan was a woman.

“You sure you’re not secretly pleased?” Wu Yanhan shot him a sidelong glare.

Xu Ming responded righteously, “Absolutely not!”

“Hmph!” Wu Yanhan turned away, unconvinced.

“I still think this isn’t very likely,” Xu Ming said as he stepped forward to reassure her.

After all, this was a situation where he wouldn’t have to marry into Chu, and the princess would instead be sent to Wu—any man would see this as a blessing from the heavens. It was natural for Wu Yanhan to feel a sense of crisis.

“Think about it. Chu’s status is equal to Wu’s. Even if their king has lost his mind, the millions of people in Chu wouldn’t accept this,” Xu Ming pointed out the most fundamental issue.

“You don’t need to explain it to me. For the sake of Wu, I wouldn’t stop you from marrying her... but—”

Wu Yanhan turned around, meeting Xu Ming’s eyes with a serious expression.

“She absolutely cannot be your primary wife!”

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