✿

is brewing in the Western and Southern border of the empire again, winter is drawing near thus the barbarian in their West started to attack and plunder their border while their southern border is being attacked by their neighboring country who launch a massive military campaign against them. The officials guessed that the barbarians in the West and their neighboring country in the South have conspired to attack the Empire, for their attacks were in synch.

It wasn't a long time ago since the neighboring country in the South send tributes to the Empire and now they have started to rebel against them. The barbarians in the West have been in a political marriages with the Empire to seal their alliance that lasted for a hundred years, why would they attack all of a sudden in this coming season? It's not like they lost a lot of their livestock or have encountered a natural disaster. They have no reasons to attack at all except that they simply want to get back against the Empire for the war they've lost more than a hundred years ago, maybe they want to dominate the Empire once again.

The first prince, Zhu Deming, has become the least favorite of the Emperor. He has become influential and too powerful both in civil and military, of course his root of power is still coming from the military but his power extended to the civil court matters. He became too powerful that he becomes a threat to the dragon throne, his imperial father has become wary of him.

It was no wonder why the Emperor called him back to the capital after successfully protecting the Empire's western border for so long under the pretext of giving him a reward and a title, but in truth, it was to limit his ever growing infulential power. The palace lies in the imperial capital, hence the emperor's power is absolute in here, he has eyes and ears around here and can definitely stop whatever he's planning.

Furthermore, he has forbid him from entering the imperial court though he doesn't have any military campaigns to get busy about anymore, and the Emperor made an excuse that he's supposed to take this as his vacation, ‘a short break’ from work. He's still young and doesn't need to stress himself too much on work.

Zhu Deming must have foreseen the Emperor's plan already when he was called back to the capital yet he can't do anything about it, an emperor's decree cannot be defied or he'll pay with his life. In any case, he wasn't the type to stay still and wait for the executioner to chop off his head with an axe. Zhu Deming took advantage of his ‘unfavorable’ position in the capital and made an indirect close contact with influential officials, and how could he forget about his dear brothers? That scheming Zhu Cheng has given him a headache recently. Of course he would certainly pay him back for his great generosity. Always sticking his nose to his business, aye such a caring brother that he is.

Hence Zhu Cheng recently has gotten into a scandal in the brothel, there was a rampant rumour about him keeping a beautiful prostitute for a mistress and this prostitute was a spy to a neighboring country in the South. Being swayed by a beauty is definitely scoffed by a lot of people, especially if the man is a known-figure in the Empire, what's more if it's a prince?

Moreover, Zhu Cheng's Noble Consort mother got demoted to an Imperial concubine, two rank lower than a noble consort, and is currently confined in the cold palace. The reason?

She was blamed of poisoning the Emperor's current favorite consort, Consort Qiu, who's serving as Zhu Deming's spy. She entered the palace not long ago after the palace banquet, because of her elegant dance, she had successfully seduce the Emperor and is now on the rise in the imperial harem.

All schemes and growing threatening power aside, Zhu Deming is the one must suitable to send to the borders to fight the barbarians in the West. He's been defending the Western border for almost a decade and is yet to suffer a defeat from them. He has been suppressing the barbarians since the day he stepped into the battlefield. Although the Emperor wants to reduce his power and influence by ordering him back to the capital and had stopped giving him military campaigns and duties, right now he has no choice but to hand him the tiger seal for the second time.

It's either he let his first son glorify his name again or let the barbarians invade the Empire, thereby losing his throne altogether.

However, even in this war times, the imperial family still find ways to spite at each other, for the Emperor decreed his fifth son to defend the southern border as the head general instead of any military officials that came from a military family.

Yan Gen doesn't understand this sequence of events, there's no war that happened in the novel, only a war to the throne and not the kind of war that is happening now, he doesn't read it in the forums either. Where did this war came from? Could it be that Yan Gen is not living in the novel but a whole dimensional world?

Even if he transmigrated here and change some events as a result of his arrival, there's no way that he'll trigger such a major event though he has a beauty that can topple cities and empire, there's no way that what is happening now is related to him.

And for the Emperor to send the fifth prince who didn't experience the horrors of the battlefield, it's simply telling him to go and suicide. Sure, Zhu Mingli had experienced murdering people before, assassination, and suppressing a rebellion, but a huge war like this? Yan Gen doesn't know about that. It might be because he doesn't trust his abilities, he's doubting if he really has a male lead halo now? Hell, he also has some doubt of the world he's living in.

In contrast to his anxiety, Zhu Mingli seems very leisurely, not worrying about anything save from being separated from his wife for too long.

Ever since they had *ehem* done that kind of thing between a husband and wife, their relationship has greatly improved or atleast that's how his maidservants see it. Yan Gen doesn't know how to feel about Zhu Mingli. He's his husband now and that's a given. For him, he was just someone who's sponsoring him, someone who's a golden big thigh that he can hold into.

Zhu Mingli was already a rabid dog chasing him before and now he became even worse after they got married and had done the deed. Yan Gen appreciate the wealth he's giving him however, he can't say the same for the attention he's giving him, it was too much it's making him uncomfortable, it was like being strangled by a golden chain.

For Yan Gen to work for him during the night was fine too, as long as he doesn't ‘overwork’ him. After all, Yan Gen is slowly accepting the changes in his body, he took pleasure when they have sex 'but' he can't keep up with Zhu Mingli's stamina so he ended up being overworked by him at the end.

Good thing that he was keep busy at work at this time around, else Yan Gen might spend most of his time in bed everyday, copulating with him during the night and recovering during the day.