Dugu

After arriving at the Training Field and warming up a little, Meng Yuan decided to test the might of the Qilin Arm.

Four acupoints in his right arm had now been opened. With True Qi coursing through it, his strength increased further.

He sank into a horse stance, lowered his force into his waist, placed both hands beneath the Stone Roller where it could be lifted, then slowly raised it.

After holding it briefly, he sent the True Qi from his dantian into his right arm. Slowly releasing his left hand, Meng Yuan supported the Stone Roller with his right arm alone, forcibly enduring for more than thirty breaths.

Setting down the Stone Roller and catching his breath, Meng Yuan estimated that his right arm alone now possessed roughly two hundred jin of strength. If he filled it with True Qi, it could probably reach three hundred jin.

The increase was not particularly great, but neither was it small.

Although entering a rank could increase one's strength, physical force was not something that could be quantified. Opening one acupoint did not mean gaining a hundred jin of strength; each person differed.

After opening acupoints, one's strength still depended on one's original physical power, the strength of one's sinews and bones, and how much True Qi those acupoints could bear. Some gained more strength, while others gained less.

Some who had opened their acupoints and entered a rank were even weaker than those who had not.

To put it plainly, a Ninth Rank martial artist was not much different from an ordinary person. They might not even be guaranteed to win in a brawl against one.

But after entering a rank, the body became more coordinated and reactions quicker. The special part was being able to nurture True Qi. Combined with fist and sword techniques, as well as methods for circulating True Qi, surpassing ordinary people was not difficult.

If one could further grasp the eight-character method Master Nie had taught—qi and force as one, intent and qi as one—then one could be considered outstanding even among those of the same rank.

He trained for another morning, yet noon was nearly upon them and there was still no sign of Master Nie!

"Never doing anything proper all day! I can't even find him when I need to borrow money!" Meng Yuan secretly cursed.

During a break, Wu Changsheng and Hu Qian came over to ask as well. The other trainees gathered around curiously, all asking after Master Nie.

Master Nie has truly been lazy lately, without the slightest bearing of a teacher! Meng Yuan criticized inwardly, but when he spoke, he said, "What are you all doing?"

Meng Yuan frowned, looking exceedingly stern. Dissatisfied, he said, "Master Nie has been gone for several days, and now you have no backbone? You must understand that this is Master Nie's test for us, and also his recognition of us! Because Master Nie knows that even if he is not here to watch over us, none of us will slack off, none of us will relax, and we will even train more and train harder! Am I right?"

"Right!" The youths could not stand such provocation and shouted back one after another.

Meng Yuan was deeply gratified. He had intended to pat his backside and leave, but seeing that Hu Qian also looked thoroughly convinced, he put on a solemn expression once more.

"We come from different backgrounds. Some of us were born household slaves, some were refugees. I myself was born into a castrator's family!"

Meng Yuan raised his voice. "I was once a man on the verge of freezing and starving to death. It was the Princess Consort who gave me food, drink, and a house to live in! Though everyone works hard every day, we eat our fill and wear warm clothes! In the future, you will become like me, perhaps even live better than I do! Tell me, who gave us all this?"

Declaring one's loyalty was something that knew neither time nor place.

"The Princess Consort!" the youths replied.

"Who gives us food?" Meng Yuan asked again.

"The Princess Consort!" Their voices grew louder.

"Who gives us clothes?" Meng Yuan asked once more.

"The Princess Consort!"

"Whom do we serve?"

"The Princess Consort!" The youths shouted at the top of their lungs.

Seeing their cohesion emerge and their drive rise, Meng Yuan felt greatly gratified.

Eh? But all at once, Meng Yuan realized—why did that whole string of words sound like he was raising dead warriors?

"Just keep these words in your hearts. Your hearts must be sincere! Do not go shouting them everywhere!" Meng Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and added.

"Yes!" the youths cried.

"All right, all right, keep it down, keep it down." Meng Yuan did not dare linger. Leaving the Training Field, he headed straight for the Drunken Moon Pavilion.

At the Drunken Moon Pavilion, Meng Yuan met Nie Qingqing and said directly, "Sister, I'm out of money."

Seeing how bluntly Meng Yuan got to the point, frank to an absurd degree, Nie Qingqing shook her head with a laugh. "You didn't ask my father for any?"

"Master Nie has been busy with something, I suppose. He hasn't gone to the Training Field for several days," Meng Yuan said.

"Then he is probably busy with the Martial Arts School." Nie Qingqing smiled. "Come. Your sister keeps her word. I certainly will not let you starve."

She summoned a waiter and gave him a few quiet instructions, then moved with lotus-light steps and slowly ascended the stairs.

The Drunken Moon Pavilion stood in a prosperous part of South City, built beside the river.

Based on this location alone, Meng Yuan felt that the Drunken Moon Pavilion could not be Nie Qingqing's business alone. Master Nie likely had someone backing him as well.

The spring breeze was warm, and it was near noon. Many refined guests occupied the second floor.

Most were dressed as scholars, Confucian students, or sons of wealthy families. Some discussed poetry, while others chatted in quiet voices. There were quite a few people, yet the place still felt tranquil.

Nie Qingqing invited Meng Yuan to sit in a corner. Soon, a servant brought over assorted pastries, fruits, candied preserves, and a pot of wine.

"Sister Qingqing, I heard you say earlier that Master Nie was busy with the Martial Arts School. Does he have a Martial Arts School business too?" Meng Yuan had long seen that with Master Nie's temperament, he would never obediently hole up in the Prince's Residence.

Moreover, Master Nie had once said that he had run with the Princess Consort's elder brother. They had likely risked their lives together, which was why the Princess Consort did not restrain Master Nie much, and Xun Mei treated him with the courtesy due an elder.

So it was only natural for Master Nie to run some business outside.

"He runs it together with Uncle Zhang. It has been open for several years, and business is fairly good." Nie Qingqing clearly knew the details. She added, "The Martial Arts School recruits people with some family means. Their path differs from yours, who train bitterly. They focus on medicinal baths, with tempering the body as a supplement."

Meng Yuan understood. Master Nie did not earn poor people's money. The Martial Arts School accepted those with spare money and those unable to endure day-and-night hard training, so medicinal baths were their main method.

In that case, the profits must be excellent! Meng Yuan grew intensely envious. Master Nie made money without even thinking to bring him along.

"Does Master Nie still need help? I have a whole family to support and am desperately short of money. Please, Sister, point me toward a clear road." Meng Yuan did not conceal anything, speaking with utter sincerity.

Hearing such blunt words, Nie Qingqing smiled as she poured wine. "Do not rush. Drink first."

Meng Yuan took the wine cup and drained it in one gulp. Just as he was about to ask further, he saw a group of people crowding around a young man in splendid robes as they came upstairs.

The young man was about seventeen or eighteen, fat-faced and big-eared, with an extremely fortunate appearance. He lightly waved a folding fan in his hand, seemingly determined to force out an air of literary elegance and romantic flair.

Among his attendants were two men with sharp eyes and sabers at their waists. They were likely ranked martial artists, though only Ninth Rank.

There were also four men dressed as scholars, likely freeloading companions there to flatter and amuse him. Several servant boys followed behind them, and one was actually a familiar face: Liu He, who had been driven from the Training Field.

The Drunken Moon Pavilion's host led the group toward a private room, but the young nobleman refused. He insisted on sitting beside the river in the Great Hall, claiming that the sight of the river would surely send his poetic inspiration soaring.

Liu He was clearly perceptive. He immediately led the way and wiped down the table, working even more diligently than the pavilion's own waiters.

Meng Yuan glanced over and saw Liu He fawning with all his heart, yet the young nobleman did not spare him a second look.

"Do you know them, Sister? Are they regular guests?" Meng Yuan sat in the corner, and Liu He had not noticed him.

"You actually do not recognize him?" Nie Qingqing smiled.

The moment Meng Yuan heard that, he understood. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Prince Xin's Young Lord?"

Nie Qingqing smiled and nodded.

The imperial surname of Qing Kingdom was Dugu Clan. Legend said that the founding ancestor had neither father nor mother, but had been born of Heaven and raised by Earth, thus taking the surname Dugu.

There was another rumor that the founding ancestor had come from a Buddhist temple and changed his surname to Dugu after returning to secular life.

Of course, the official account was that he was descended from some great Confucian scholar of the dynasty before the previous one.

Prince Xin was the current emperor's biological uncle, a man in his forties who had once been granted a fief elsewhere.

Later, after his first wife died of illness, Prince Xin was somehow sent to Songhe Prefecture. It was here that the emperor bestowed a marriage upon him, yet after so many years with his new wife, he had not produced a single son or daughter.

This Young Lord was born to Prince Xin's first wife and was Prince Xin's only flesh and blood.

Meng Yuan had spent nearly two months in the Prince's Residence, but he knew very little about its affairs. Training hard day and night was one reason; another was that he had no one to ask.

"The Young Lord is named Dugu Kang. Their generation all uses names taken from the constellations. The Young Lord is honest and kind; outsiders all praise his pure nature." Nie Qingqing spoke with a quiet smile.

So-called pure nature generally meant being simple and unadorned.

"Pure nature?" Meng Yuan asked in surprise, not understanding.

Nie Qingqing smiled and nodded.

Meng Yuan understood. So-called pure nature was not exactly a compliment. It probably meant that the Young Lord's brain was not very useful.

But as a descendant of the Imperial Clan, even a fool had a fool's fortune.

Seeing that Nie Qingqing was willing to speak, Meng Yuan poured wine as he asked, "The Princess Consort and Prince Xin are at odds. Steward Liu is from the Princess Consort's hometown, so why is Steward Liu's son serving as the Young Lord's attendant?"

Meng Yuan had first assumed a premise.

Sure enough, Nie Qingqing clearly accepted his premise that the Princess Consort and Prince Xin were at odds. She smiled faintly. "Steward Liu came from refugees. Though he bears the title of steward, he has little knowledge or insight. He merely handles matters that Xun Mei and the others find inconvenient to touch. There are countless people in this world who want to climb a high branch but cannot tell what is what. There is nothing strange about it."

So the Princess Consort and Prince Xin truly were at odds! And from Nie Qingqing's words, the Princess Consort was the real high branch.