Yao Ling nodded. "I have a bad feeling about all of this. Do we involve ourselves in something dangerous?"

"I'm not too sure myself. We are in the open and the enemy is in the dark, so we are at a disadvantage position."

"You are correct. So tell me more about your plan."

"Previously, I have a thought to build my own power. I need people that we can trust. For example, shadow guard to protect us, also servants and maids that had martial art skills. I also want to build information network," Yao Ying explained the bigger picture. He knew the plan was very grant and it was hard to fulfill in one go. They needed to find the people first and then personally trained them. This couldn't be done in a short amount of time. They also needed preparation.

Yao Ling nodded in understanding. She also agreed with his plan. "That's a sound plan, but to be able to do that… we need a lot of resources. To have our own people to hide in the dark, we can't rely on 'Wang Fu'. We have to do it ourselves. We don't have much money, to begin with."

"That's our main problem. We have to accumulate enough money and then we can start buying people in the slave market."

"Husband… do you think Xiu and Xiao Yu can be trusted?" Yao Ling asked the question that kept bugging her mind. Everything could be done a lot easier if they could have all the helpers that available.

Yao Ying was surprised with the sudden question, but he also understood Yao Ling's concern. Everyone that couldn't be trusted should be removed. If they were really spies, then letting them stay beside them was very dangerous. "They both are kind people. They can be trusted or not, I'm afraid it's a hard question."

"Both of them were given to us by 'Wang Fu' management. I'm afraid our enemies could be inside this household and they planted spies here. Our courtyard is small and only a few people are here, so the others can also be the spies."

Indeed. Beside Xiu and Xiao Yu, there were eight more people in their courtyard. Two maids for cleaning their room, four maids for cleaning the garden, and two servants for doing odd jobs. Any of them could be the spies.

"What should we do?" Yao Ling asked nervously. The feeling of having spies in their courtyard didn't sit well for her. It made her feel uncomfortable.

"We need to let them be for now. We are not powerful enough to remove them. Besides, if we don't have a strong foothold here, they will send us other spies once we remove their spies. It's not a good solution."

"You are right," Yao Ling sighed in disappointment. "Maybe we should test them in order to know which one of them is the spy. How is that sound?"

Yao Ying smirked. "That's the same solution that I came up with." Yao Ying described the plan to Yao Ling, in which she agreed with.

"That's a good plan! Should we do it tomorrow?" Yao Ling asked in excitement.

"The sooner the better." Yao Ying smiled. If they took longer, they couldn't defend themselves from the spies. "We can think about saving up money and buying more people later. Defending ourselves is our first step."

"That's true." Yao Ling nodded in agreement. Then, she sighed, "I just hope that we can trust Xiu and Xiao Yu. I like them both."

"I know." Although they were only together for a few days, they were already quite close. If any of the two of them were a spy, it could hurt them both. "We have to prepare ourselves though. Anything could happen." Yao Ying lifted up Yao Ling's chin and looked at her deeply, "Prepare your heart."

"I will."

Yao Ying could see her dimmed eyes, but they had to face this sooner or later. Xiu and Xiao Yu might not be the spies, however, they needed to make sure first. He just hoped their closest attendants wouldn't betray them and make his wife feel sad.

"Now… where were we?" Yao Ying asked mischievously.

"What do you…" Before Yao Ling could muffle the last word, her lips were sealed by Yao Ying once again. 'Oh… this is what he means,' Yao Ling thought to herself. She felt like she became as pervert as Yao Ying. How she enjoyed his kisses and everything that followed after.

That night they didn't do much – except kissing. Her husband fell asleep in the middle of their heated kisses. She looked at her sleeping husband in disbelief. How could he fall asleep in such condition? She poked his cheek a few times and there was no movement from him. Yao Ling pouted.

She turned around and laid back beside Yao Ying. She sighed in content. Yao Ling understood that Yao Ying was too tired because of General Lin's heavy training. Therefore, she couldn't blame him. She took the initiative to hug his husband and fell asleep in a few seconds.

She felt blissful. This marriage seemed to become more real for her.

***

The next day, Yao Ling woke up earlier. She wanted to send Yao Ying away every morning. While helping him wear his clothes, Yao Ling asked him, "Are we really going to start our plan today?"

Yao Ying nodded. "Yes. Be careful and don't make a mistake!"

Yao Ling nodded. "I know. You should be careful too. I'm afraid they will follow you again today."

Yao Ying smiled. "Don't worry! They are not going to touch me this soon." After saying that, Yao Ying still could see the worry in her eyes. He tried to appease her, "I promise I will be careful." Hearing his promise, Yao Ling felt slightly better. She didn't want Yao Ling to underestimate the enemies or it would bring their downfall.

Before leaving, Yao Ying gave a peck on her lips and it made her slightly blush. Yao Ying enjoyed her bashful expression. He couldn't believe this woman was the same woman who replied his kiss passionately every night. He loved it though.

He looked down at her neck and smiled in satisfaction. She didn't even realize there was a mark there, so she didn't cover it up. 'Good!' Yao Ying thought to himself, while smiling cheekily too himself.

If Yao Ling heard her husband's thought, she probably would die in embarrassment.