No idea how long it had been, Lei Guo slowly turned around, walked back to that cabinet, put down the sword in his hand, then picked up the teacup, poured two cups of tea, and handed them to Yu Wenye and Shang Ruyi, who was shielded behind him.

Then he said, "Please sit."

Shang Ruyi felt a sudden relief in her chest, and even her breathing became smooth.

Yu Wenye, was this considered a gamble that paid off?

No, it wasn’t a gamble. He knew he would win from the start because he understood Lei Guo too well, and he had enough confidence in himself. So, in this matter, there was no outcome of win or lose, only him achieving the result he wanted.

Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but raise her head and look at the tall figure standing like a mountain in front of her. Although there was only one lamp in the room, her eyes were shining brightly at this moment; even Yu Wenye’s eyes froze when he turned his head to meet her bright gaze.

Shang Ruyi was also stunned and immediately lowered her head.

"..."

Yu Wenye glanced at her again, didn’t say much else, just led her and Lei Guo to the low table to sit down.

The atmosphere in the room was much more relaxed than earlier, but the tension between the three was still tight; especially Lei Guo, who furrowed his brows and said, "Second brother—oh no, Your Highness, is it just you and the Princess entering the city?"

Yu Wenye said, "Yes."

"Then your people—"

"All outside the city."

"That’s too dangerous."

Yu Wenye looked at him for a while and calmly said, "I came to find you; how could it be dangerous?"

He and Lei Guo sat facing each other, looking at each other with eyes full of a bit of comfort, seemingly relieved that his brother hadn’t changed after all; hearing this, Lei Guo’s face lit up with slight joy but was soon consumed by more pain and conflict.

He lowered his head, struggled for a while, and finally said, "It’s me, I apologize to you all."

Yu Wenye said, "A wise bird chooses a tree to perch; besides, it was because Yan Jie failed to hold Taiyuan that you all fell into a desperate situation, and Lei Yu—I don’t blame you."

Lei Guo looked up at him: "Right, the Third Prince, oh no, how is the Third Highness now?"

Yu Wenye said, "He’s already fine."

"..."

"I intercepted Yuan An’s troops near Cangbai Mountain, rescued him, and now he has been moved to a safe place."

Lei Guo nodded, then was a bit surprised and said, "You’ve already defeated Yuan An’s troops?"

"Yes."

"But why is there no news on our side?"

Yu Wenye said, "I wiped out Yuan An and his subordinates, did not let anyone escape, then blocked the news, so it’s right that you don’t know here."

"..."

"That’s why this time, I can attack Taiyuan unexpectedly and not give them preparation time."

Lei Guo was amazed at his swift move, but thinking it was Yu Wenye, it wasn’t too surprising. However, hearing that he wanted to surprise Taiyuan, he immediately frowned: "How do you plan to pull off such surprise?"

Yu Wenye said, "I heard you’re responsible for transporting grain to Taiyuan every four days, and tomorrow is the day."

Lei Guo looked at him and said, "You want to use this opportunity to sneak your troops into Taiyuan and, like Wang Shaoqiu’s previous methods, inside and outside cooperation?"

Yu Wenye nodded: "That’s the best way."

Lei Guo said, "But this method is not feasible."

"...!?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Wenye and Shang Ruyi both showed expressions of surprise, especially Shang Ruyi. She had great faith in Yu Wenye’s military talents; it was not blind admiration but rather the fact that this person indeed had extraordinary military capabilities. This surprise attack on Taiyuan he planned, from the peaceful sit-down with Lei Guo for discussion at this moment, should be feasible.

Why did Lei Guo say it’s not feasible?

Yu Wenye asked, "Why?"

Lei Guo furrowed his brows and said, "To be honest, I know the Third Prince—Third Highness was pursued by a troop dispatched by Wang Shaoqiu, intending to capture his head, striking the hearts of people in Central Pass. I originally wanted to secretly send troops to protect him, but there are people keeping an eye on me in Zhaoyu City; my men simply cannot leave the city."

After saying, he looked at Yu Wenye: "So, what you mentioned, dispatching men to secretly lie in the grain transporter’s troops is simply not feasible."

Yu Wenye and Shang Ruyi immediately exchanged a look.

Indeed, this was something they had considered beforehand, so before entering the city, they spent time surveying a few city gates and found the weakest spot, so as long as both sides act simultaneously, it shouldn’t be a situation that can’t be said as "not feasible."

Unless—

Yu Wenye suddenly asked, "Who’s watching you?"

Lei Guo said, "Someone sent by Western Turks, whose name is—Cha Ci."

"So, how many troops does he have?"

"No troops, just a few guards."

"Just a few guards?"

"Correct,"

At this, Lei Guo’s face became more somber, and even his voice dropped, saying, "But the most important thing isn’t the guards, it’s the birdcage he carries with him."

"Birdcage?"

At this moment, the one who spoke was not Yu Wenye, but Shang Ruyi, who had not uttered a word since entering the room. As soon as she spoke, the two men turned their heads to look at her, especially Yu Wenye, who knew Shang Ruyi well. Although she wasn’t one to speak less, she never spoke casually at critical moments, especially when discussing serious matters.

Once she spoke, there must be a reason.

So he looked at Shang Ruyi and said, "Do you know this?"

Shang Ruyi slightly furrowed her brows and said, "When I was a child, I traveled the Turkic lands with my father and encountered this sort of thing."

"What is it?"

"That type of bird is a tool they use to deliver messages, called ’Ah Da’, which means ’danger’ in Turkic. Generally speaking, they send a person to a relatively unstable place, and if danger arises, this person will immediately smash the birdcage, allowing the bird inside to fly out. Because this bird is particularly small, smaller than a sparrow, and very fast in flight, it’s difficult for an ordinary person to catch it, hence it can’t be intercepted."

"..."

"These birds are specially trained so that once they escape their cage, they will immediately fly back to their owner’s side."

"..."

"Once this bird returns, it signifies that the person carrying the birdcage has encountered danger."

"..."

"In other words—"

As she spoke, she looked at Lei Guo.

Lei Guo was also somewhat surprised, widening his eyes to look at her. After a while, with a hint of admiration, he sighed softly and said, "No wonder, my cousin sister always sparsely praises you— praises Princess Qin."

"..."

"The Princess is indeed knowledgeable and insightful, not inferior to men."

Upon hearing Lei Yu praise her, Shang Ruyi felt a mix of happiness and a sense of loss.

She managed a smile and said, "You flatter me."

Yu Wenye also gave Shang Ruyi a glance, his eyes showing a hint of subtle amusement, but he said nothing and merely looked again at Lei Guo, who nodded and said, "Everything is just as the Princess said."

"..."

"The Western Turks have not dispatched many men to guard Qi County. I suppose it’s because of my cousin sister, so they relatively trust me. However, they still can’t fully trust me, thus sending someone like this."

"..."

"With him there, your plan to coordinate internally and externally to capture Taiyuan is simply impossible."

Yu Wenye furrowed his brows in thought for a while and then said, "Where is this person now?"

Upon mentioning this, Lei Guo’s eyes darkened, and a trace of anger flashed across his face as he said, "This person enjoys nightly gatherings and drinking games, gathering various fine wines at night and having beauties presented by the city to entertain in the county government’s grand hall. Now he’s even turned the county government into a song and dance venue."

"..."

"Even when indulging, he always carries the birdcage with him, along with his guards who never leave his side. Additionally, he doesn’t allow my men to approach him, nor do any armed soldiers."

"..."

"So—"

"So,"

Yu Wenye continued, suddenly changing his tone, "there are not many Western Turkic forces within Taiyuan City."

"...!?"

This time, both Lei Guo and Shang Ruyi were taken aback, widening their eyes at him, puzzled as to why, when talking about the tricky affairs in Qi County, he was concerned with Taiyuan instead.

But upon reconsideration, Shang Ruyi began to realize.

She said, "You mean, if they had enough troops, they wouldn’t make such complicated arrangements. They would simply dispatch a team to take over Qi County, simple and thorough, without so much concern."

Yu Wenye nodded, "Exactly."

"..."

"So, increasing their forces in Taiyuan is inevitable."

Shang Ruyi nodded. Previously at Tongguan, Chu Zhengfei had informed them that the Western Turks were planning to reinforce Taiyuan, and now it seems this news was indeed true.

Yu Wenye said, "Since Chu Zhengfei told us this news, it’s been almost ten days, and given the speed of the Turkic Cavalry, they might be arriving soon."

Saying this, he slightly furrowed his brows, seeming to calculate more carefully.

Then he said, "Probably, within these two days."

Upon hearing this, Lei Guo couldn’t help but gasp.

It means, after these two days, the reinforcement of Western Turkic soldiers in Taiyuan will be complete. By then, never mind whether they can infiltrate Taiyuan via Qi County, when the Western Turks send more troops to Qi County, they won’t even be able to stay there.

Therefore, they must deal with the people in Qi County before the Western Turks achieve reinforcement in Taiyuan, and then secretly insert their forces into Taiyuan City through the guise of transporting provisions.

Then, coordinate internally and externally to take Taiyuan!

In other words, they must take down that Cha Ci, along with the Ah Da in his birdcage.

But how to do it?

Just as the room grew heavy with silence, Shang Ruyi suddenly raised her head to look at Lei Guo and said, "You just mentioned that Cha Ci engages in nightly drinking games in the county government, but doesn’t mind women entering his vicinity, correct?"