Zhou Ming nodded at the cooks, instructing them to remake the same dishes.

He sat down on a nearby chair, casually grabbed a freshly griddled pancake from the table, wrapped half a plate of stir-fried meat with pickled vegetables in it, and began to scarf it down.

The pancake was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Although the stir-fried meat with pickled vegetables wasn't as refined as what the Commanders Residence Kitchen produced, it made up for it with plenty of meat and oil, filling his mouth with fragrance with every bite.

Just as Zhou Ming was eating with his cheeks bulging, the Kitchen door was pushed open, and Dongmei walked in with a fierce Aura.

"Zhou Ming! What did I send you to the Kitchen for? And here you are, eating before everyone else."

Zhou Ming chewed twice, swallowed the pancake in his mouth, wiped the grease from the corners of his mouth, and put on an expression of complete justification:

"Sister Dongmei, I'm just tasting how the cook's food turned out."

"If I don't taste it, how will I know if the dishes suit Young Miss's palate? Whether there is too much or too little salt, or if the heat was too high or too low, you can't tell just by looking, right?"

"You... you..."

Dongmei stammered for a long time without coming up with a retort, and finally let out a heavy snort through her nose, turning her face away.

Yet at the very moment she turned her head, Zhou Ming clearly saw her gaze sweep rapidly over the pancake in his hand, and she swallowed extremely subtly.

That look of being clearly tempted but forcing herself to maintain her composure, acting too proud to look at him more than necessary while being unable to resist stealing glances at the pancake, was just like a tabby cat squatting on a stove, wanting to eat the fish but refusing to meow.

Zhou Ming was laughing so hard inside he felt cramps, but he kept a straight face, put down the pancake, and switched to a serious tone:

"Sister Dongmei, you should try it too. As a man, I can't really tell if these dishes suit Young Miss's palate."

"You are Young Miss's personal head maid; you know her tastes better than anyone. Please help me out and taste it for me."

Dongmei turned around and looked at Zhou Ming suspiciously, likely judging whether there was a trap in his words.

After looking for a moment, she probably felt that he truly wasn't joking.

She looked at the plate of stir-fried meat and the stack of freshly griddled pancakes on the table, snorted, walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

She pulled out a new pair of chopsticks from the holder and placed a bite of stir-fried meat into her mouth.

She chewed twice, her brows slightly furrowed as if she were seriously evaluating it.

Then she chewed a few more times, her brows gradually relaxing, but her chopsticks didn't stop; she picked up another bite.

After eating two or three bites, she probably felt that eating just the meat wasn't satisfying enough, so she picked up a pancake, wrapped a few forkfuls of meat and vegetables in it, and began to eat heartily with her head down.

Zhou Ming pretended not to see her and turned to chat with the cook about the stove temperature.

After the two of them finished eating, the cook had already remade the dishes according to Zhou Ming's instructions.

Dongmei personally packed the newly prepared food into a food box and carried it towards the main hall of the Commanders Residence.

After the meal, Zhou Ming began to wander around the Commanders Residence.

The front office of the Commanders Residence was still busy; messengers on horseback frequently rode into the residence, delivering military reports from all sides to the council hall.

Empress Su Mingyue was clearly still convening the generals for a meeting. The hall was brightly lit, and there were several more markings on the map than yesterday.

The main courtyard of the Commanders Residence was not large, paved with blue bricks. An old locust tree was planted in each of the four corners, their canopies blocking the sun and filtering the midday sunlight into scattered specks of light across the ground.

Zhou Ming, who was strolling around, was stopped by Dongmei, who stated bluntly that Eldest Miss wanted to see him.

When Zhou Ming followed Dongmei into the courtyard, Empress Su Mingyue was standing under a locust tree, facing south, gazing motionless at the horizon.

He stepped forward two paces, bowed to pay his respects, and then quietly retreated to the side, standing with hands hanging down in attendance.

Dongmei also sensibly remained silent and retreated to the courtyard gate. For a time, only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the locust leaves remained in the courtyard.

After a long while, Empress Su Mingyue finally spoke.

Her voice was very soft, as if she were talking to herself, or perhaps speaking to Zhou Ming:

"An Province has fallen, the Capital has been breached, and Emperor Zhengde has passed away."

Hearing Empress Su Mingyue's words, Zhou Ming did not show any expression of surprise.

On one hand, he already knew the intensity of the battle in An Province from the scale of the fractures in the Causality Web; hundreds of thousands of Causal Chains had snapped overnight, so the outcome of the Capital being breached was already within his expectations.

On the other hand, for an army of the Zongsheng Sect possessing hundreds of thousands of soldiers who Cultivate the Dushi Sutra, it was not surprising.

He did not respond, only waiting quietly for Empress Su Mingyue to continue.

"The remnants of the royal family have already converged with the various armies coming to the rescue in Qing Province."

"Eldest Miss, who among the royal family remnants managed to escape?" Zhou Ming asked straightforwardly.

"5th Prince Liu Bing, 6th Prince Liu Quan, and 9th Prince Liu Ji. Only these three princes escaped."

Zhou Ming's brows raised slightly.

He had perused quite a few ancient texts in the Library regarding the Great Xia royal family and the noble families of various provinces, so he already had a general understanding of the royal family's situation.

Emperor Zhengde had eleven sons in total; now, only three remained alive.

Among these three, the identity of 9th Prince Liu Ji was the most special. His biological mother was the older sister of Old Marquis Su Yongning, and also the eldest legitimate daughter of the Old Duke.

According to the seniority, Empress Su Mingyue should address the 9th Prince as cousin.

That this prince could escape from the Capital, which was surrounded like an iron bucket by hundreds of thousands of sect members, likely involved the secret maneuvering of the Old Duke in the Capital.

"In that case, has the Marquis already converged with the 9th Prince?"

"Yes," Empress Su Mingyue nodded.

"Although there hasn't been any explicit transmission, based on the marching schedule, Father must have encountered the scattered defeated troops from the Capital on the road and followed the trail to find the princes' party."

Zhou Ming lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Eldest Miss, why not take this opportunity to bring the entire You Province under your control?"

Hearing this, Empress Su Mingyue turned around.

She did not speak, but quietly watched Zhou Ming. In those phoenix eyes, there was no surprise, nor any approval; they were as calm as a pool of frozen deep water.

She looked at Zhou Ming, slightly raised her chin, signaling him to continue.

"The army coming to the rescue will converge with the three princes in Qing Province and will inevitably support a new monarch to ascend the throne."

"And this new emperor will certainly be chosen from among these three princes."

"I don't know about the 5th Prince and the 6th Prince, but His Highness the 9th Prince is a natural ally of the Marquis's residence. The Marquis will certainly support the 9th Prince with all his might to inherit the great throne."

"Eldest Miss, if you take complete control of the entire You Province now, using the financial and material resources of the entire province as backing, and then use the excuse of the northern border's military emptiness to expand your forces..."

"First, it can provide the most solid backing for the Marquis to support the 9th Prince in ascending the throne."

"Second, no matter how the court situation changes in the future, the Marquis's residence can handle it with ease."

"Third..."

Zhou Ming paused, looked up at Empress Su Mingyue's expression, and said, "After expanding the military, in the future..."

He did not continue.

Empress Su Mingyue knew what he wanted to say.

From the first time he told her the story of the Empress ascending the throne, to facing her in the military tent and asking her to arm the entire You Province with the Dushi Sutra, and now to this moment.

She knew clearly which words were hidden behind Zhou Ming's "in the future."

As their eyes met, there was still no extra expression on Empress Su Mingyue's face; she only nodded gently, then turned around, looking back towards that gray southern sky.

Zhou Ming watched her gentle nod and knew that his words had aligned with her own thoughts.