Chapter 141: Gathering in Guangyuan

The next day, when Fang Xian left Flying Phoenix Ridge, in addition to giving Feng Ling a Blood Oath Pill and telling her about the Snow Wolf King, he also handed her a large batch of Foundation Strengthening Pills and some Body Casting Pills so that she could cultivate loyal and powerful subordinates.

"You must be careful. Jianmen Pass holds a vital strategic location, facing both the Xia Kingdom and the Man Kingdom. Once a war breaks out, you will likely have to confront the allied forces of both nations. As for the Eldest Princess, we will not visit her for now; we can deal with that later," Feng Ling instructed Fang Xian.

Although they did not truly mind Fang Xian's involvement with the Eldest Princess, the thought that he had purposely taken the imperial civil and military examinations for her sake, and even proposed to the Emperor in front of all the ministers, still left a bitter taste in their mouths.

However, Feng Ling was a sensible and broad-minded woman of strong will. She knew that Fang Xian did this to develop greater power and to secure the future of all the mountain strongholds, so she harbored no genuine blame toward him.

"As long as children like Tian'er can live a good life in the future, all our hardship and fatigue are worth it." With just these words from Fang Xian, Feng Ling was moved almost to tears. Watching his receding figure, she gritted her teeth and hardened her heart, the moisture in her eyes instantly vanishing as she turned to attend to the affairs of the stronghold.

In the forest outside Flying Phoenix Ridge, Big Niu and more than twenty top-tier experts, all changed into ordinary soldier armor, were quietly waiting for Fang Xian's arrival. They were elite warriors carefully selected from the three mountain strongholds to accompany Fang Xian back to the army and help him take command.

With this group of experts, coupled with Li Daqi, Zhou Dadan, and the others, the number of top-tier experts Fang Xian brought from the strongholds reached around thirty. Combined with Wu Ji and the other original top-tier experts within the Martial Guard troops, the number of elite fighters in this army far surpassed that of the four border garrisons.

"Greetings, Brother-in-law." As soon as Fang Xian arrived, Big Niu dismounted and bowed, followed by the rest of the experts. All of them were well aware of Fang Xian's true identity.

"You may address me this way in private, but in public, you must remember to call me General. Regarding your assignments, I have two thoughts in mind: some of you will be assigned to the army as Guerrilla Generals, commanding five thousand men each. The rest will serve as my personal guards, forming my personal security detail and covert ops squad. Think about your preferences, and let me know before we rendezvous with the main army." Fang Xian nodded to the group and then outlined his arrangements for them.

As they galloped forward following Fang Xian, the men pondered their options. Big Niu, however, had a resolute gaze; he did not need to think twice, as he was determined to serve as his brother-in-law's personal guard and stay by his side.

By nightfall, about fifty miles away from Guangyuan City, Fang Xian's party rendezvoused with the main army, which had set up camp in the field. Fang Xian led his group straight into the main encampment, summoned them into the large tent to pay their respects to the Eldest Princess, and then had Li Daqi arrange for them to rest. Among them, twelve individuals, along with Zhou Dadan and Xiong Banxia, were designated to remain by Fang Xian's side as personal guards and covert operatives, with Big Niu appointed as the captain of the personal guard.

"Are these all the top-tier experts you cultivated in the Daba Mountains? Bringing them all out, aren't you afraid of suffering heavy losses?" As a martial artist at the Transformation Realm, the Eldest Princess could naturally perceive the strength of these men. Once everyone had withdrawn, she posed her question to Fang Xian.

"To quickly build combat effectiveness at Jianmen Pass, we must expand the scale of our army. These men are assigned to serve as Guerrilla Generals. If I weren't afraid of causing misunderstandings, I would have brought twenty thousand men here for joint training." In front of Princess Wu Qingluan, Fang Xian did not conceal his relationship with the bandits of the Daba Mountains.

"Consort, do you truly believe that chaos is coming to this world?" At the same time, the Princess knew that Fang Xian had constantly been worried about the advent of troubled times, though she remained somewhat skeptical.

"At the shortest, one year; at the longest, two or three years—troubled times will surely arrive. Therefore, we must make preparations in advance, striving only to preserve ourselves amid the chaos and spare our children from suffering through it in the future," Fang Xian nodded, his expression grave. However, the only thing he concealed from Wu Qingluan was his ambition to vie for supremacy in the troubled world.

If he were to speak of such ambitions now, Wu Qingluan might perceive him as harboring rebellious intentions, creating a rift between them. Once the turbulent era truly arrived, and he then displayed his grand ambitions, he believed she would readily accept it.

The next day, the army arrived outside the walls of Guangyuan City. While they did not enter the city, Fang Xian, the Eldest Princess, and their entourage did. Xia Rongxin, the Governor of Guangyuan Commandery, Guo Changfa, the Commander of the Guangyuan Garrison, and numerous other high-ranking officials had personally come out of the city to welcome the Princess and her consort.

Considering that future affairs at Jianmen Pass would require strong support from Guangyuan Commandery, Fang Xian and Wu Qingluan decided to enter the city to meet with the local officials, establishing familiarity to make future dealings smoother.

Xia Rongxin had long since received a letter from his son, Xia Zhenghong, informing him of his close relationship with Consort Fang Xian. Therefore, the welcoming banquet was grand and magnificent. Moreover, the identities of their guests were extraordinary; neither Eldest Princess Xia Qingluan nor Consort Fang Xian was an ordinary person.

Furthermore, Consort Fang Xian was no ordinary imperial son-in-law. He was not merely marrying a princess; rather, he had taken a princess as his wife, and on top of that, he was the newly crowned top scholar in both civil and military examinations, with a boundless future ahead of him.

Of course, it was said that Consort Fang Xian was also a renowned divine doctor in Wudu, having even cured the Crown Prince's terminal illness. For this reason alone, no one would dare to slight him wherever he went.

Yet, nobody knew that Fang Xian had once been a bandit at Qingyun Stronghold. Currently, that secret was strictly confined to the Ninth Prince's faction. However, after Fang Xian became the top scholar and left Wudu, the previous conflicts between them had been temporarily shelved.

Although Fang Xian had saved Crown Prince Wu Yunxian, Wu Qingdi had recently announced the abolition of the Crown Prince's title, instead enfeoffing him as the Prince of Hejian. Before Fang Xian and the others left the capital, the Prince of Hejian, Wu Yunxian, had already taken his consort and their children to assume his fiefdom in Hejian Prefecture.

Consequently, Wu Yunxian had lost all possibility of competing for the supreme throne. As a result, the dark struggles within the imperial court had shifted to the Third Prince Wu Yunfeng, the Fifth Prince Wu Yunhua, and the Ninth Prince Wu Yuntian. Until a victor emerged among them, no one would be foolish enough to go out of their way to target Wu Yunxian.

"The arrival of the Eldest Princess and Top Scholar Fang brings great honor to Guangyuan Commandery. With Consort Fang safeguarding Jianmen Pass from now on, our Guangyuan City can rest easy," Xia Rongxin stepped forward, offering a bow and a smile.

"Governor is too polite. Passing through Guangyuan City, we made it a special point to pay our respects to you. Furthermore, when I participated in the civil and military imperial examinations in Wudu, Brother Zhenghong and I formed a deep bond, close as brothers. At the same time, entrusted by him, I have brought letters for you and your esteemed wife from Brother Xia," Princess Wu Qingluan merely nodded and smiled, leaving Fang Xian to step forward and handle the response.

Hearing Fang Xian's words, Xia Rongxin was overjoyed. Fang Xian's statement clearly indicated to the officials of Guangyuan Commandery that he and Xia Zhenghong were sworn brothers, which naturally implied that he was close to the Xia family and would become a powerful supporter for them in the future.