Xunzi placed great weight on propriety. Back when my standing was unremarkable, some members of the Xun Household tried to suppress me, but I defeated them, directly or indirectly, leaving them no choice but to enter the Ten Cold Ancient Land or the Desolate City Ancient Land. Now that First Mister Xun is in charge, they certainly won't make things difficult for me. Even if the Qing Lord or the Zong and Lei Families want to stir up trouble along the border between the two prefectures, the Xun Household will oppose them.
As Fang Yun thought this over, he felt the tangible benefits of his elevated standing. It was almost as though a dignified Second Saint Family were guarding his nation's gates for him.
To the east lay Fengzhou.
When Fang Yun had met the Qing Lord in Baling City that year, he had struck back at the Qing Kingdom by declaring that he wanted to challenge an entire nation to a literary battle in Fengzhou and seize its territory. Every Qing official had erupted, because Saint Zong was in Fengzhou, and so was the Zong Family.
Next, Fang Yun switched brushes and slowly traced the border between Fengzhou and Xiang Prefecture in red ink. He traced it seven full times before stopping.
Finally, Fang Yun looked west of Dongting Lake. There lay another prefecture of the Qing Kingdom, named Yong Prefecture. With Dongting Lake separating them, however, nothing should happen under normal circumstances.
Still, even with the lake between us, trouble could arise. I'll leave this matter to the Dongting Flood Dragon King, then. If he handles it well, I can trust him a little more in the future. If he handles it poorly, that will be the perfect chance to kill a chicken to warn the monkeys!
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