A princess acknowledged her debt, a bond forged sword intent; light gathered at his fingertip, and he entered the Third Rank
Gu Moran chuckled and leaned forward slightly.
"Little girl, you're too young."
The Daoist schools of the world guide people, while the Daoist schools of Green City Mountain protect the world.
Outside the mountains are the laws of the Great Yan, but once inside the mountains of Jiannan Circuit, the rules are entirely determined by Mount Qingcheng.
On the surface, they are enlightened Daoist masters who have entered the world to cultivate themselves, but behind the scenes they monopolize half of the tea-horse smuggling and murder business in the southwest.
You think it's just the Tubo causing trouble in Bronze Gorge? The Green City Sect's spies have already cast their net.
Meng Jiuning's breathing became heavy, and a chill ran down her spine. "Then what do you plan to do? If the Mount Qingcheng Sect sides with the traitor, the Dali royal family will have no chance of survival!"
What's the rush?
Gu Moran flicked her forehead with his finger, giving her a loud thud that made Meng Jiuning see stars.
"Now that I have taken your account books, I will naturally not stand by and watch my allies be devoured alive."
Three hundred cartloads of raw medicinal herbs departed from the South Gate this morning, personally escorted by Pu Yunshan through the secret passage of Wild Wolf Valley.
Meng Jiuning covered her forehead, stunned for a moment, then let out a long sigh of relief, slumping back in her chair as if her bones had been ripped out.
"At least you still have some conscience..."
She rubbed her flushed forehead and muttered softly.
Just then, two very unnatural footsteps came from the other end of the corridor.
Lin Qingdai and Murong Xue moved over one after the other.
Lin Qingdai rested her right hand on her sword, taking a deep breath with each step to steady herself.
Murong Xue tilted her chin slightly, trying her best to maintain the dignity of a grassland princess, but her trembling knees completely betrayed her weakness at this moment.
As she approached the house, Lin Qingdai slipped and fell forward abruptly.
"Careful!"
Murong Xue reacted quickly, grabbing Lin Qingdai's belt, but she lacked the strength and was instead pulled back by Lin Qingdai, causing her to stumble.
The two of them crashed into the vermilion pillar of the pavilion with a dull thud.
An eerie, deathly silence fell over the room.
With dark circles under her eyes, Meng Jiuning stared blankly at the two delicate bodies pressed against the pillar;
Yun Shuyue peeked out from under her arms, chestnut peel still stuck to her lips, her big eyes blinking with curiosity.
Lin Qingdai's face flushed red instantly. She steadied herself, shoved Murong Xue aside, drew half of her longsword, and gritted her teeth as she awkwardly twirled it in the air.
"Just now... just now I was sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the courtyard. My internal energy was slightly disrupted, and my meridians were slightly twisted, but it's nothing serious."
Murong Xue rubbed her sore elbow, smoothed out the wrinkles on her skirt, and snorted in agreement.
"Good.
It is in our nature to spar in the morning, and I myself have unfortunately suffered some internal injuries.
But what are those two doing, scratching their heads and cheeks so early in the morning?
Yun Shuyue tilted her head, slurped her saliva, and said crisply.
" Sister Murong, your legs are shaking so badly, even faster than the flour sieve in the kitchen!"
"Shut up!"
Lin Qingdai and Murong Xue shouted out in almost unison, their murderous gazes shooting straight at Yun Shuyue.
Startled, Yun Shuyue shrank back, quickly grabbed a rotten chestnut and stuffed it into her mouth, daring not to utter another sound.
Gu Moran leaned back in his chair, watching the spectacle unfold before him, and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
He dusted off his sleeves and stood up.
"Alright, stop pretending to be martial arts masters."
The kitchen has just finished simmering red date, goji berry, and black-boned chicken soup, and I specially instructed the steward to add double the amount of old ginseng.
Upon hearing the words "old ginseng," Lin Qingdai and Murong Xue's faces turned green, and they involuntarily took a step back.
Gu Moran glanced at the four people and slowly stretched.
"After you finish breakfast, please wait in the front hall."
After saying that, Gu Moran strode out and walked towards the front yard. His back was as straight as a pine tree, and he showed no signs of fatigue from staying up all night.
The four women looked at each other in bewilderment.
Meng Jiuning rubbed her throbbing temples, watching Gu Moran's departing figure, and gritted her teeth as she squeezed out a sentence.
"This guy... his bones probably aren't filled with black iron!"
Yun Shuyue, holding the bowl of rotten chestnuts, nodded in deep agreement.
On the long table in the front hall, official document receipts were neatly stacked three feet high.
The morning breeze blew in through the carved window lattice, making the yellow hemp paper on the table rustle. It was covered with large seals stamped urgently in cinnabar.
Meng Jiuning walked to the desk with sore and weak steps.
She spent the entire night calculating the messy accounts of the Tea and Horse Bureau. Her eyes were dark and her temples were throbbing. She reached out and flipped open the top layer of blue cloth covering.
The cover was peeled off, revealing the order document bearing the double red seals of the governor's office and the chamber of commerce.
"Three hundred cartloads of raw medicinal herbs... eighty boxes of hemostatic powder, two hundred jars of ginger and cinnamon paste for dispelling cold, fifty boxes of gold leaf powder for wound healing..."
Meng Jiuning followed the ink stain downwards, her fingertips tracing the rough edges of the mulberry paper.
Below the shipping manifest, the route outlined in red is clearly visible.
The convoy quietly set off from the south gate of Yi Prefecture, instead of taking the flat official road, it went straight into the secret passage of Wild Wolf Valley on the west side of Bronze Gorge, just around the three passes where the Tubo light cavalry usually set up ambushes.
On the very last page of the ledger, it was clearly written in small, vermilion characters:
Each wagon was equipped with a double-layered, tanned cowhide moisture-proof canopy, and the drivers and guards were compensated double the amount for any deaths in action, as stipulated in written agreements.
All the money was withdrawn directly from the private treasury of Prince Yi's Residence, without using any of the funds under the name of Dali.
Meng Jiuning pressed the pages, her knuckles slightly bent.
The man kept Dali oversight of the three copper mines in Dali, and he even haggled over the tariffs on the southern route for twenty years. He was nothing short of a ruthless, exploitative merchant.
Before dawn, the life-saving medicine and guards had already been secretly sent out of the city gate.
He didn't ask her for a single penny, not even for the losses incurred on the trade route, the bribes along the way, or the money to buy the lives of the brothers who died or were injured.
"What a jerk..."
Meng Jiuning cursed under her breath, but a sour, hot feeling welled up in her nose.
She grew up in the palace and had seen too many high-ranking officials who spouted benevolence and morality but then turned around and sold off Dali for nothing.
I have also witnessed the brutal acts of Tubo envoys who greeted me with smiles but then set fire to villages at night.
Only the dandy king in front of him could not say a good word. He held a knife to someone's neck and demanded a price, but secretly he was paving a safe way to survive.
A soft sound came from behind the screen as the porcelain lid tapped against a teacup.
Gu Moran was leaning against the rosewood couch, holding half a mint leaf in his hand, casually tossing it into the tea.
Meng Jiuning turned around, straightened her skirt, clasped her hands in front of her abdomen, and bowed deeply to the carved screen that concealed her figure.
She bowed extremely low, her movements so precise and flawless that it was the highest form of courtesy the Dali royal family used when paying homage to their benefactor.
" Dali Meng Jiuning thanks Your Highness for saving her life."
Behind the screen, a faint blue light suddenly appeared in the void in front of Gu Moran.
A pale blue light curtain unfolded in mid-air, and characters leaped and flew rapidly.
[Congratulations, host.]
[The target " Meng Jiuning " has completely lost her guard, and her favorability has increased to 60 points.]
[Achieved Destiny Bond Node: Sincere Entrustment]
[Currently distributing phase rewards: Obtain " Pure Yang Limitless Sword Intent " (Volume 2)].
[Initiating cultivation technique -- Host's martial arts cultivation has broken through a bottleneck, advancing from the Fourth Rank Peak to the Third Rank Lower Stage.]
[Hint: By combining " Divine Finger Flick " and " Pure Yang Sword Intent," the host has mastered the ultimate technique: Turn Finger into Sword.]
[Thanks to: Dan Ge's certified master x2, sereinwz, Doujiao's inspiration capsule, Chu Yi's update reminder x2, Chen Qing's update reminder + flower, Qing Han, Yan Yan, Nai Zi, Xing Chen's flower, Xiao Xing's milk tea, lehh06's like, and everyone else for their love and support!]
[I've seen some comments saying the male lead's life is too smooth, and he needs the later "Son of Destiny" to put pressure on him? Give me some suggestions! ❥(ゝω·✿ฺ)]