Outside Shuanyue City, on the wide imperial road, a plain-looking carriage, surrounded by a large number of soldiers on all sides, was slowly moving forward.
Inside the carriage sat Chu Chen and Princess Xinyue, who were ordered to oversee the experimental fields.
"We shouldn't be assassinated by assassins again when we leave the city this time, right?"
Princess Xinyue wrapped her arms around Chu Chen's waist, nestled in his embrace, and looked out the carriage window with the curtain lifted, speaking lazily.
"With so many soldiers accompanying you, how could anyone be so blind as to offend the lovely Princess like you?"
Chu Chen put an arm around Princess Xinyue's slender waist and chuckled.
"Hmph, naturally! You should see whose soldiers these are!"
Princess Xinyue said proudly.
"But I laid the foundation for this army for you."
Chu Chen playfully flicked Princess Xinyue's nose.
"Tsk, you only trained five hundred of them. The remaining five hundred were trained by my personal guard captain, Wang Biao."
"And they were trained according to the methods I left behind, weren't they?"
"Mmm~"
Princess Xinyue pondered for a moment, rolled her eyes, and let Chu Chen figure it out himself. She had nothing to say.
After a while, perhaps out of boredom, Princess Xinyue asked, "Chu Chen, are your sweet potatoes and corn really that easy to plant and grow?"
Chu Chen replied with a hint of annoyance, "Of course. I wouldn't dare deceive His Majesty about such an important matter, or I'd be beheaded. I don't have an immunity token."
"But in all my years, I've never heard of these two high-yield crops. Where did you get them?"
Princess Xinyue was very curious, her eyes fixed on Chu Chen, blinking as if they could speak.
"I found them by the roadside," Chu Chen replied perfunctorily.
"Hmph, can you find such miraculous agricultural crops by the roadside? Then why can't I? Why can't others? Why only you?"
"If you don't want to answer, just say so. You're trying to trick me again. I'm not the same person I used to be, and I'm not so easily fooled by you!"
Princess Xinyue was displeased that Chu Chen still treated her as the spoiled and ignorant girl she once was.
"Alright, I didn't exactly find them," Chu Chen spread his hands helplessly and said, "But I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because it's a secret!"
"What secret can't even I be told? We're already, you know, boyfriend and girlfriend, and you still can't tell me?"
Princess Xinyue became even more unhappy.
Seeing her pouting, Chu Chen found her appearance very easy to bully and very cute, and he couldn't resist teasing her a little more.
He chuckled, "A secret is a secret precisely because it cannot be told, and no one else can know. Otherwise, how could it be called a secret?"
"Most importantly..."
"What is it?"
Princess Xinyue looked at him expectantly, thinking Chu Chen would finally reveal the secret.
"Most importantly, secrets make men more charming!"
Chu Chen burst into laughter, revealing the riddle he had been holding back.
Expecting to share a secret, only to be met with another riddle, Princess Xinyue was so angry she punched Chu Chen's chest with her little fists. "You say secrets make men more charming, you shameless, brazen thing, bah! I'll beat you to death, you bad guy!"
"Ouch, murder of a husband!"
Chu Chen feigned pain, acting as if he were dying.
Princess Xinyue was startled and was about to check if she had used too much force. But then she thought, how could Chu Chen, a martial arts cultivator, be harmed by her mere Body Tempering Realm strength?
She turned her head away and snorted, "I hope it hurts like hell!"
"Would you really bear to?"
Chu Chen mischievously hugged her from behind.
"Why wouldn't I bear it? There are plenty of good men in the world besides you."
Princess Xinyue didn't struggle, leaning slightly into Chu Chen's embrace.
"But a man with the talent to govern a nation, and who is as young and handsome as I am, is one of a kind."
Chu Chen's lips curved slightly as he deliberately leaned close to her ear and whispered.
Feeling the hot breath behind her ear, Princess Xinyue's face flushed. She didn't answer, seemingly too shy to speak.
"Moreover, I wasn't wrong just now. Secrets make men more charming. For example, Princess Xinyue, aren't you curious about how I have so many abilities?"
"And why do I know so much, and where does it all come from? Aren't these questions and the mystery that surrounds them what attracted you?"
Seeing that Princess Xinyue's ears were already red, Chu Chen knew when to stop. He pulled away slightly and smiled faintly.
Princess Xinyue didn't turn around. After calming her racing heart, she turned to face Chu Chen.
After a moment of thought, she said, "Mmm~ It seems that's true."
"But if that's the case, won't you, you bad guy, also attract other women?"
Having agreed with Chu Chen's statement, Princess Xinyue's mind was sharp and she thought of this problem. She looked at him warily. "I'm warning you, now that you have me, you can't be fickle. Otherwise, I'll castrate you!"
"How could I? I would never actively provoke other women, and I firmly believe that after our wedding night, you wouldn't bear to castrate me."
Chu Chen first shook his head, then grinned mischievously.
Having read a large number of books and caught up on a lot of knowledge in the past three months, Princess Xinyue naturally understood his meaning.
Such bold words made her too shy to speak to Chu Chen, the lecher.
"I need to rest for a bit. Wake me up when we arrive."
With that, Princess Xinyue lay down on the main seat of the carriage and kicked Chu Chen away.
Chu Chen had no choice but to sit on the side seat of the carriage, leaning against the carriage wall and gazing at the scenery outside the window, lost in thought.
This trip outside the city for the experimental planting of sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes was originally Chu Chen's sole responsibility.
However, Princess Xinyue, who had been confined for three months, insisted on coming along.
To prevent any further assassination attempts, Chu Chen suggested that Princess Xinyue bring her entire contingent of troops.
If there were no assassins, it would serve as field training. If there were assassins, a force of fifteen hundred men would be enough to deter most attacks.
Three hundred personal guards, five hundred reserve guards, and five hundred newly recruited soldiers, totaling thirteen hundred men.
They were all led by Captain Wang Biao, responsible for Princess Xinyue's safety on this trip.
"Really, I only planned to bring twenty members of the dark division, but now it's become so ostentatious."
Chu Chen mused, glancing at Princess Xinyue, who had closed her eyes and seemed to be falling asleep.
"Fine. Since we're bringing over a thousand soldiers, I might as well use Princess Xinyue's name to investigate cases of corruption and collusion between officials and merchants!"
Recalling the intelligence gathered by the dark division, Chu Chen's gaze turned cold.