Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 735 The Role of the Internal Security Bureau

On the large bed in the bedroom, the two embraced tightly, enjoying the tranquility after the storm.

Liu Ye was very satisfied with what had just happened. Although it wasn't his first time sleeping with Duan Mengrou, this time it gave him a completely new feeling. This girl truly lived up to her strong-willed nature; she was never one to back down, even in matters of the bedroom. Although she initially acted like a virgin, she actively cooperated after getting used to it, seemingly unwilling to remain passive, which gave Liu Ye great pleasure. This stubborn yet somewhat naive behavior was a unique kind of enjoyment compared to his other wives and concubines.

Liu Ye held the exhausted and fast asleep Duan Mengrou with a satisfied heart. He reached out and stroked her smooth and delicate shoulders and arms while looking at her shapely figure. His gaze traveled from her chest to her abdomen, and he inadvertently noticed a little bit of bright red peeking out from the outside of her thigh.

What is this? Liu Ye lifted Duan Mengrou's leg and saw a blood-stained stain on the bedding beneath her. He was familiar with this kind of stain; almost all his wives and concubines had it. In ancient times, it was called "fallen blood."

With a buzzing sound, Liu Ye's mind went blank. Wasn't this something that only happened the first time? How could it happen a second time? Could Duan Mengrou's body be anatomically different from ordinary people? He clearly remembered that time he got drunk at the Gao family mansion in Guangzhou, and in his daze, he had slept with a woman. It was definitely not a dream, and the person sleeping next to him afterward was Duan Mengrou. The first time must have happened then.

Could it be that the person you slept with was switched, and the person you slept with afterward was not the same person?

Liu Ye looked at the sleeping Duan Mengrou suspiciously, then shook his head. Duan Mengrou was very strong-willed and shrewd, but not very cunning. She wouldn't do something like using a maid as a substitute to offer herself in his place.

Who cares? He wasn't the one who suffered, and Duan Mengrou was ultimately his woman. Liu Ye didn't bother thinking about it anymore, and fell into a deep sleep while holding Duan Mengrou. That battle just now was a case of "killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of his own," and although he had subdued the defiant Duan Mengrou, he was exhausted.

With Lin Shiyue protecting him, no one bothered him even though it was daytime. Not to mention the maids in the mansion, even the groups of people who came to ask Liu Ye for instructions were turned away after they found out it wasn't urgent. Liu Ye slept comfortably until sunset, until someone even Lin Shiyue couldn't stop appeared and woke him up.

In the study, Liang Xiaoming looked at the radiant Liu Ye with disdain and sneered, "The revolution hasn't even succeeded yet, and you're already so depraved. This is called blatant debauchery! You have so many women, do you really need to be so thirsty?"

Liu Ye took a leisurely sip of tea and chuckled, "That's called romance, something a bookworm like you wouldn't understand. By the way, how's your relationship going since you brought your little lover home? No trouble at home, right?"

When talking about others, Liang Xiaoming spoke with confidence, but when it came to himself, he became timid. His gaze began to dart away, and he stammered, "It's fine, it's fine. Liu Ru is a reasonable woman..."

"Hehe, I'm afraid it's not that Liu Ru is understanding, but that Li Xiangjun is already pregnant with your child, right?" Liu Ye asked leisurely. "She's a little behind me, probably about two months along now?"

Liang Xiaoming stared at his best friend in disbelief, muttering, "I didn't tell anyone, so how did you know?"

"I know more than that. Liu Ru herself has been pregnant for years without any sign of pregnancy, but an outsider beat her to it. She was not satisfied, so she sent Qiu Ju and Dong Mei to serve her in bed, hoping to win back the favor with her own people. After waiting for so many years, she still couldn't get those two maids. Now you are enjoying the blessing of having two women. Are you happy?"

Liang Xiaoming stood up, his face flushed, and pretended to grab the other man's neck: "How did you know? Did you send someone to eavesdrop on my bed?"

Liu Ye nimbly dodged the question and said with a smile, "Do you think I set up the Internal Security Bureau just for show? Zhou Guoxin is a genuine member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He used to do this kind of work. Planting spies in officials' homes is a must for him. Plus, with Wei Zhong, one of the thirteen commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Northern Garrison, guiding him, doing his old job is a piece of cake."

"So what? You've planted all these people in my house?" Liang Xiaoming was both shocked and furious. "If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm not letting this go!"

"Calm down, calm down." Liu Ye held out his palm to signal Liang Xiaoming to stay calm. "This is an indiscriminate mode, not targeting anyone, but no one is exempt, including myself. I've also planted people in Nanyuan..."

Hearing this, Liang Xiaoming calmed down a bit. He asked, puzzled, "You even plant spies in your own home? Are you a psychopath?"

Liu Ye explained, "I have no masochistic tendencies, nor am I interested in prying into your personal life or other people's affairs. Those gossips were just incidental. There are two reasons why we need to place people around all the high-ranking officials: first, to conduct internal checks and prevent the recurrence of someone like Bo Ri Te Chi Na—it's not always possible to be so lucky as to let someone with unclear intentions rise to a high position and then escape unscathed; second, to be on guard against external threats and prevent hostile forces from sending spies to infiltrate Lingao, or even our homes..."

Liang Xiaoming understood. It is only polite to reciprocate. Since they are sending spies to the bandits and Tartars, the other side will naturally send spies to them after they take the Qionghai Army seriously as an opponent.

"So you even planted people in your own South Garden just to secretly guard against potential spies? In that case, you planted people in my house to protect me?"

“That’s right. Li Zicheng and his ilk might not care much about this, but our potential northern adversary, Huang Taiji, is very shrewd. There are countless spies from Liaodong in the capital. After Abatai and Ajige’s crushing defeat, he will definitely raise my rating and send people to infiltrate Lingao. They might already be trying to get me into Nanyuan. Someone as important as you is naturally one of their targets.” Liu Ye explained, “We are now a large and powerful family, and Lingao already has over 100,000 migrant workers, a mixed bag. Although Zhou Guoxin has also set up a network of checks on the periphery, it’s impossible to completely eliminate spies. So, planting spies in advance at home to hold the last line of defense is a good idea.”

Liang Xiaoming scratched his head. "Now that you explain it, it suddenly makes a lot of sense. I misunderstood you."

"We're brothers, I certainly wouldn't harm you." Liu Ye smiled. "You didn't come all this way just to talk about this, did you?"

"Definitely not. I came to you about the issue of armor being deployed to the troops, and the reorganization of the artillery units."