Chapter 527: Cicada Sheds Its Carapace

After seeing Fang Yi off, Song Qingshu returned to his room and found several women staring at him with teasing smiles.

Feeling awkward, he said, “She came to talk about the Prince Mu Mansion’s matters; she’s

already left.”

“Is that so?” Zhou Zhiruo looked unconvinced. “I don’t care how many women you have outside, but if you want to bring a woman into our household, she must be inspected by us sisters. Only those with good character and intentions should be allowed in; we can’t have impure-hearted women disrupting the peace of the family.”

Song Qingshu broke out in a cold sweat.

If Zhou Zhiruo, with her cunning nature, were to oversee this, his dream of building a large harem might fall apart. Not to mention, would Zhou Zhiruo ever let Zhao Min into the house?

‘Wait, why am I suddenly thinking of her…’

Xia Qingqing, who was nearby, also blushed and couldn’t help but say, “You two can do the inspecting yourselves. Don’t drag me into this. I’m not a part of the Song family, and I will never be.”

The room fell into silence.

Qingshu’s lover, she had once deeply loved Yuan Chengzhi and didn’t want to shame his memory. Therefore, she intended to remain faithful to Yuan Chengzhi in name, and remarriage was something she could never

accept.

This was the only way she could find a perfect balance that she could accept, and Song Qingshu didn’t want to pressure her too much.

Ah Jiu, noticing the sudden awkward atmosphere, rolled her eyes and chuckled lightly, “This arrangement works well. In the future, the women Song Qingshu wants to marry will be screened by Sister Zhou, and the lovers outside will be handled by Qingqing.”

“Oh, Ah Jiu, you’re getting worse!” Xia Qingqing’s face flushed red as she reached out to tickle Ah Jiu’s sides.

“Qingqing, I just thought of a serious question,” Song Qingshu coughed and said solemnly.

“What is it?” Seeing his serious expression, Xia Qingqing’s heart skipped a beat.

“If you don’t enter the Song family, but end up pregnant with my child, will the child take the surname Song or Yuan?” Song Qingshu started off seriously but couldn’t help but laugh toward the end.

“You’re all bullying me.” Xia Qingqing stomped her foot, thinking about having his child, which made her heart flutter. She bit her lip and huffed, “Of course, it would take the surname Yuan!”

Song Qingshu sighed, “That’s so unfair. It’s my hard work; why should he reap the rewards?”

“Bah, what hard work?” Xia Qingqing blushed deeply and spat, “Nothing good ever comes out of your mouth. I’m done talking to you.”

With that, she turned and fled the room.

“I’ll go check on her.” Almost as if planned, Ah Jiu chuckled softly and quickly chased after her, leaving only Song Qingshu and Zhou Zhiruo in the room.

Watching the two women leave, Song Qingshu’s hope of having them all in bed at once faded. But seeing Zhou Zhiruo’s unmatched beauty, he felt excited again. “Zhiruo, now that it’s just the two of us in the room, why don’t we do something we both enjoy?”

Zhou Zhiruo blushed slightly and snorted,

“Those two always gang up on me; they’ve known each other for so long and have a good relationship.”

“It’s true they’ve known each other for a long time, but saying their relationship is good might be an overstatement. They were once bitter rivals. If you feel outnumbered, you could team up with Zhao Min…” Song Qingshu muttered quietly.

“What did you say?” Zhou Zhiruo’s brows furrowed in displeasure.

“I meant that Ah Jiu and Qingqing were just being considerate. Knowing you’re leaving tomorrow, they left me for you to enjoy alone.” Song Qingshu laughed slyly.

“Bah!” Zhou Zhiruo’s face turned red,

“You’re not some precious treasure; who would want you?”

“You’re heading to the White Lotus Sect, and who knows when we’ll see each other again? It’d be a shame not to have a proper farewell.” Song Qingshu’s hands quickly reached for Zhou Zhiruo’s shapely mounds.

“Such a normal thing becomes so vulgar when you say it.” Zhou Zhiruo murmured coyly but didn’t evade his touch. Her body soon softened, her eyes becoming misty. “Mmm~ not here, carry me to the bed…”

*****

After Zhou Zhiruo left, Song Qingshu, with the Golden Serpent Camp, launched a relentless offensive against

the surrounding prefectures.

Many places surrendered without a fight upon hearing that a man who could command the elements had

arrived.

Although a few places resisted stubbornly, the Golden Serpent Camp’s morale was high, and many heroes had come to join them.

They quickly captured these places without much effort.

In less than a month, the area south of the Yellow River and north of the Huai River fell into the hands of the Golden Serpent Camp, splitting the Qing territory in two and making the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions isolated enclaves.

After the previous defeat, where nearly a hundred thousand Qing troops were almost entirely wiped out, and with concerns of Mongolian and Liao invasions, the Qing forces lost their offensive capability and had to station troops along the Yellow River, on high alert to prevent the Golden Serpent Camp from advancing north.

The Golden Serpent Camp, having just seized a large territory, needed time to consolidate their hold, so they paused their attacks.

The two sides settled into a standoff along the Yellow River.

Previously known for his heroic but tragic assassination attempt on Kangxi as a lone martial artist, Song Qingshu now became renowned as a brilliant general, having used a ragtag force of just over ten thousand to defeat the Qing’s one hundred thousand troops, astonishing the world.

His legendary victory against eight thousand elite cavalry of the Northern Route Army at Fox Hill was particularly celebrated and exaggerated in the retelling.

Given his youth, Song Qingshu’s exploits and achievements took on an even more legendary air, making him an idol for countless young men and the dream lover of many noble ladies.

But let’s put that aside for now.

At this moment, Song Qingshu was in the Golden Serpent Camp’s main base, discussing an important matter with Xia Qingqing and Ah Jiu.

“Qingqing, Ah Jiu, the Golden Serpent Camp has stabilized for now, but the Qing side is in complete chaos. I’m afraid I need to make a trip to Yanjing,” Song Qingshu said gravely.

“That won’t do,” Ah Jiu frowned. “The Golden Serpent Camp’s current prosperity relies entirely on your prestige. If you leave now, the foundation you’ve worked so hard to build could collapse overnight.”

Xia Qingqing agreed with Ah Jiu. “Yes, even though the Golden Serpent Camp’s situation looks good on the surface, it’s actually quite unstable, with hidden undercurrents and various factions with their own agendas. If you leave, things could easily go wrong.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already prepared for that.”

Song Qingshu pulled a human skin mask from his sleeve. “I’ll teach you the art of disguise. During this time, you can take turns disguising as me and overseeing the main base. That should solve all the problems.”

Seeing the continued hesitation on their faces, Song Qingshu added, “You both know that the Kangxi in the Forbidden City is a fake. Dongfang Muxue’s ambitions are no less than mine. If I’m not there to keep her in check, who knows what she might do? Losing Kangxi as a key piece would spell big trouble.”

“If you want to ensure Miss Dongfang’s loyalty, you should just bring her into the family,” Ah Jiu teased.

Thinking of Dongfang Muxue’s overwhelming presence and martial skills, Song Qingshu shivered involuntarily, “Heh, when it comes to who would be taking whom, it’s hard to say…”