The number one spendthrift woman in the capital actually brings glory to her entire family?

Chapter 406 A Balance of Kindness and Strictness Should Be Used

"Brother, this is war! How can war be without death? If you can't defeat them, you can only be killed. How many battles have you led your men through? Do you think 100,000 men are 100,000 chickens and ducks? You can break their arms, but you're going to kill them outright? If you keep going like this, you'll become a tyrant. What kind of world will you conquer then? Now you should use both kindness and severity. I'll handle this kind of thing. Don't do this again. I've released those people. I don't want you to become a bloodthirsty tyrant..."

As Sikong Jin spoke, Di Beizun's expression darkened slightly, but it softened somewhat as he heard the rest of the sentence.

"You won't blame me for acting on my own initiative, will you?"

"If this had happened to anyone else, I would have already beheaded them, Ajin!"

Di Beizun made no attempt to hide his anger, his entire being enveloped in a layer of frost.

Sikong Jin sighed softly, raised her eyebrows slightly, glanced at him, smiled, tilted her head back and drank a cup of wine before continuing, "What about my tens of thousands of troops? What are the casualties?"

"They were positioned at the very back during the siege. What do you think will happen?"

Di Beizun glanced at her coldly, picked up his wine, and drank a cup as well.

Sikong Jin raised her hand and touched her nose, looking at him with interest. "What's wrong? You're reluctant to use my people?"

Hearing her smiling words, Di Beizun raised his eyelids and glanced at her casually, then reached out to pick up the wine pot and pour wine, too lazy to tease her anymore.

Seeing that he was looking down and ignoring her, Sikong Jin immediately raised her hand to touch her nose, picked up her chopsticks, and put a dish into his bowl. Her tone softened, "What's wrong? I've come all this way to see you, and this is how you treat me? Don't you miss me?"

As she spoke, Sikong Jin slightly narrowed her bright, star-like eyes, their soft, diamond-like light shimmering as she locked her gaze with keen interest onto Di Beizun's captivatingly handsome face—

Why do I feel more and more noble, aloof and beautiful the more I look at him? He is even more charming than when I last saw him, and he exudes a kingly charm.

However, as soon as she finished speaking, Di Beizun raised his head in an instant, a dark light flashing in his unfathomable eyes, and stared intently at Sikong Jin serving him food and pouring him wine, without saying a word.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Sikong Jin could only take a breath, sip her wine, and say calmly, "Fine, whether you miss me or not, I admit I really miss you."

"It's been a long time, and you still don't know what restraint is."

Emperor Beizun glanced at her, picked up his chopsticks and served her food, a hint of undisguised tenderness flashing in his calm eyes, and his tone softened, "When the army broke through Yingzhou City, I originally wanted to go directly to you and let Feng Yang lead the army to continue south, but knowing the situation in Hezhou City, I was not at ease, so I still had to personally lead the expedition."

"What you said makes me feel good, but why didn't you say you missed me in your letters? Were you doing it on purpose?"

Sikong Jin didn't bother to pretend to be reserved; feeling annoyed and confused, she simply asked directly.

Upon hearing this, Di Beizun was taken aback. His cold and aloof face stiffened for a moment, and his deep eyes darkened as he stared at Sikong Jin.

He shouldn't treat her with the mindset of an ordinary person. Look at her now, how does she resemble a normal woman?

Emperor Beizun did not answer her question, but poured her another cup of wine. "This time, come south with me. Your troops should have joined General Meng and the others. Once the blockade is formed, we will head straight for Tiansheng Imperial City and take it. Then this great battle will have been worthwhile."

"What if we can't win it?"

Sikong Jin asked a question, then drank another cup. She grabbed a clean bowl from the side, picked up the wine jar, and poured the wine directly into the bowl. "Forget it, let's not talk about such unlucky things before the battle. It's been a long time. Let's have a good drink tonight. We can talk about these things tomorrow."

"Ajin, drink less in the future. I have never seen a woman like you."

Di Beizun wanted to stop her, but she raised her hand to dodge him, gave him a disapproving look, and after a moment of silence, replied, "Drinking can warm the body, and even more so, it can warm the heart and embolden the courage. Without it, I can't do it."

Upon hearing this, Di Beizun was momentarily stunned. He narrowed his eyes, quietly watching her with an uncontrollable glint in them. His slender fingers, which had reached out to stop her, suddenly froze in mid-air…

"I often think, if you were the Emperor of our Great Yong, or if I were a subject of your Great Zhou, it would save us so much trouble."

Sikong Jin took a light breath, raised her hand to rub her temples, frowned as she took a few sips of water, and then looked up at him. A faint smile suddenly appeared on her handsome face. "Emperor Bei Zun, why couldn't I have come sooner and met you a few years earlier? Otherwise, you might be the supreme ruler of the world now, and I wouldn't have to worry about these things..."

"Since you know that, why did you refuse so readily when I asked you to return to the Great Zhou with me? Did you really dislike me that much?"

Di Beizun stared intently at her with deep, unfathomable eyes and asked in a low voice.

“How could I possibly reject you? Your Majesty, I had my eye on you for a long time! Don’t you understand my situation back then? Besides, going to the Great Zhou with you and becoming one of your concubines is absolutely unacceptable to me, Sikong Jin.”

Sikong Jin no longer wanted to hide anything. She paused, downed the wine in her bowl, and said calmly, "I can compromise and back down on certain things. I'm fine with suffering a little loss when it comes to my family and friends. But when it comes to love, I will never back down. If you want me, you have to give me everything you have. That's the problem here. It's male chauvinism. Men can have multiple wives and concubines, but women can't."

"I never imagined that my harem would have any other concubines besides my Empress. Ajin, you are too strong-willed and stubborn. Men are born to be relied upon by women. If you ask me, I will naturally not refuse."

Di Beizun's tone was unusually serious, his deep eyes fixed on Sikong Jin, the emotions hidden in his eyes could no longer be concealed, "Otherwise, why do you think I would go to such lengths to cooperate with your plans? Those damned old stubborns in the court have petitioned me to take concubines and choose an empress many times. Every time, I have to demote or kill a few of them to temporarily suppress their thoughts. If it weren't for you, my next target after taking over Nanliang would be your Dayong. At that time, Xifeng Lie was attacking your Dayong. You are a smart man, you should know what I mean."