This is it.
Lu Ming led the group to a river mouth in the southwest, where they saw a huge iron chain tethering a cargo ship of considerable size!
Although the cargo ship wasn't as magnificent as the three-masted ships of Jiangnan today, it was definitely a large cargo ship capable of carrying over three hundred people. Upon seeing the ship, Zhou Hanyang immediately smiled, "The Duke is truly well-prepared."
Lu Ming said calmly, "Although the southwest of Nanming Prefecture is also near the river, the terrain is too bad, making it difficult for goods to travel here. Therefore, the main port is in the north. Most of the time, contraband is secretly transported here. After the fog incident, almost everyone in the surrounding area died, and Nanming Prefecture reopened. I estimated that there should be no one here, and that turned out to be true. This proves that Chen Qing is not very familiar with the terrain of Jiangnan and is definitely not from a hidden family in Jiangnan as previously speculated."
"What does Your Excellency, the Duke, think?" the Provincial Governor asked curiously.
"He's most likely a kid who's had some kind of fortuitous encounter." Lu Ming squinted. "The thing in his hand should be related to ancient times."
Perhaps it is related to the Dragon Palace.
Thinking of this, Lu Ming's heart burned even hotter!
"Your Excellency, Duke." Just as everyone was discussing, an untimely, cold voice interrupted them.
Zhou Hanyang looked over and immediately felt a headache coming on; it was Mu Hongqing.
To be honest, what he fears most right now is Mu Hongqing causing trouble. Although the Duke didn't pursue the matter no matter how outrageous Mu Hongqing's words were in the past, which shows that the Duke has a great capacity for tolerance, people's patience is limited. If he gets angry, he doesn't know how to break up the fight.
"Is there something you need?" Lu Ming looked at Mu Hongqing with the same gentle expression, as if he would never get angry.
"The Duke has been infiltrating Chen Qing's faction for so long without being discovered, so he must not have joined any pantheon, right?"
Lu Ming shook his head. "No. Chen Qing's power seems chaotic, but that magical Divine Path system manages all walks of life in an orderly manner. I dare not easily brand myself with that divine system's mark. I think Chen Qing should be able to monitor all people at any time through that thing."
"Then how did you get your ship?" Mu Hongqing asked quietly. "As far as I know, within Chen Qing's faction, you can only make money by joining a certain pantheon. Merchants worship the Sea God, farmers worship the Mountain God, and soldiers worship the Battle God. Joining the Yin-Yang Academy requires becoming Chen Qing's disciple. No one can escape Chen Qing's supervision. Without joining a pantheon, you're shut out by Hundred Trades. This is a restriction within Chen Qing's faction. If that's the case, how did the penniless Duke manage to acquire such a large ship?"
When Lu Ming was tricked, he went alone, so he wouldn't have been carrying a lot of gold and silver valuables. Moreover, according to the interesting stories his apprentice told him, gold and silver are not worth much in Jiangnan.
Lu Ming was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected the other person to care about this. Avoiding the other person's gaze, his heart skipped a beat, and he said calmly, "A friend helped me."
"Friends?" Mu Hongqing laughed, "You said before that the Duke of Qi joined Chen Qing's faction. You don't even dare to contact the Duke of Qi, so you dare to ask some drinking buddies in Jiangnan for favors? Given your cautious nature, that's impossible. Let me guess: You were injured and in trouble, but you still have the ability to protect yourself in Yunzhou. To be on the safe side, you blended in with the refugees. Because you are good-looking and quite skilled in martial arts, you caught the eye of a widow with a child."
"Shut up!!!" Lu Ming suddenly looked at Mu Hongqing, his eyes filled with coldness for the first time!
Zhou Hanyang and the Provincial Governor were terrified, breaking out in a cold sweat. Zhou Hanyang quickly stepped forward to stand between them, first saying to Lu Ming, "Your Excellency, please calm down." Then he turned and glared at Mu Hongqing, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Nonsense?" Mu Hongqing sneered, "Your Duke has been keeping that sachet at his waist like a treasure for days. The pattern on the sachet is crooked and crooked; it's obviously made by a child. Is that so hard to guess?"
The moment he finished speaking, Mu Hongqing stopped talking and was lifted up by the neck!
Zhou Hanyang was startled. Although he had angrily rebuked Mu Hongqing, he was actually protecting Mu Hongqing. He never expected that the Duke could bypass him so quickly that he couldn't react at all!
He felt that if the attack had been made against him, he wouldn't have reacted at all; he would have been a lamb to the slaughter.
Is this the difference between the First Duke and himself?
"Don't show off your cleverness." Lu Ming looked coldly at Mu Hongqing: "If your cleverness were useful, you wouldn't have failed to protect your own sister back then."
boom!
A murderous aura surged forth, and an extremely ominous power erupted from Mu Hongqing's body, enveloping the two of them. Mu Hongqing's aura became like that of a demon, staring intently at Lu Ming as if he wished he could devour him alive!
Is this Mu Hongqing's technique?
Zhou Hanyang didn't dare to get close for a moment. It was the first time he had seen it, although he had heard of it before. It was said to be a very dangerous technique. The Yin-Yang Academy had strictly forbidden Mu Hongqing from using it when there were many people around. This also meant that even when the zombies were besieging the city, he only dared to use ordinary basic techniques.
This sinister, bone-chilling power caused Zhou Hanyang, who was several meters away, to instinctively take a step back.
"Want to die together with me?" Lu Ming sneered, "You dare to challenge me?"
"My lord!!" Zhou Hanyang roared angrily, "No!!"
Lu Ming paused slightly, but ultimately did not make a move. He casually tossed Mu Hongqing away. At this moment, his hand was surrounded by a sinister black aura, the power of which penetrated to the bone and continuously corroded his flesh.
Lu Ming snorted coldly, circulated his qi and blood, and with a flick of his wrist, the black energy was thrown away.
"No matter how complicated the spell, if the power is insufficient, it's ultimately just a mirage!" Lu Ming coldly looked at Mu Hongqing, who was coughing up blood on the ground. "You're still far from enough!"
"Far from it?" Mu Hongqing clutched his chest and sneered, "You think you can protect people just because you're so capable? The same Lu Ming, just like twenty years ago, that mother and daughter won't survive!!"
Lu Ming: "."
"Stop talking!!" Zhou Hanyang quickly stepped forward, this time getting very close to Mu Hongqing and looking at Lu Ming warily.
Lu Ming remained silent. Clearly, Zhou Hanyang was on Mu Hongqing's side. It seemed that Mu Hongqing had gained considerable approval recently.
Seeing Mu Hongqing's mocking gaze, Lu Ming ultimately avoided it.
Seeing that Lu Ming avoided his gaze, Mu Hongqing's smile became even more mocking.
Exactly the same. Exactly the same as it was twenty years ago!
In my memory, I was so exceptionally talented that my father, the most powerful duke in the land, entrusted me to the great sorcerer Mr. Zhou for training in order to prevent me from being persecuted by the mistress of the house. That year, I was fourteen years old when I left the family and traveled the world with the famous sorcerer.
I remember back then, this guy told him to learn skills so that he could protect his mother and sister when he came back.
But when I came back, everything was gone.
The mother was turned into a vase, and the younger sister was even more cruelly mutilated and planted among the flowers and plants, linked to them by a vicious spell.
From that moment on, he knew that the mistress of the Duke of Qin Duke's mansion was someone he had to kill, and that the guy named Lu Ming was not his father at all!!
How pitiful! I wonder which mother and daughter they are, destined to become another addition to the mistress's harem.
Yunzhou
" Yun Niang." An old woman was sitting inside the teahouse, chattering incessantly as she watched the beautiful woman packing up.
"I really don't know what you're thinking. That Di Dahu is a scion of General Di Yun's family, and he's quite famous in the Battle God Army, commanding hundreds of the Fighter Army. So many young women in Yunzhou are eyeing such a fine man, yet he's taken a liking to you and asked me to propose marriage, and you still refuse."
"You said it yourself, what's his status? What's mine?" The proprietress said with a smile, "I'm just a widow with a child in tow, how could I be worthy of a young general like him? You just said he's five years younger than me, do you think that's appropriate?"
"What's wrong with it?" the old lady muttered. "They've practically come to us asking for it!"
"That's just youthful lust." The proprietress rolled her eyes at him. "He's young and impetuous now, after all, he's after my looks. But beauty fades. In a few years, when I'm old and my looks have faded, won't he regret it? With his status, even in ten years, there will be plenty of women wanting to marry him. And me? If I'm betrayed this time, who can I marry? Elder Liu next door?"
"You silly girl!" The old woman glared at her. "Making excuses like this? I think you just can't let go of that lazybones!"
Many people around know about the landlady supporting a lazy bum. With Lord Chen's influence, everyone can live well as long as they're willing to work. How could there be a lazy bum living off a woman? Everyone wonders what Yun Niang sees in him.
"Alright, since you've helped me refuse that offer, I'll bring you some zongzi tomorrow."
"Do I need your little bit of rice dumplings?" The old woman snorted coldly, got up to leave, but sighed as she reached the door, " Yun Niang, I know you're smart. Even if this young general isn't suitable, we need to find someone reliable. We can't afford to wait for that lazy womanizer!"
Without waiting for the proprietress's reply, he walked straight towards the door.
The proprietress glanced at it, a hint of sadness flashing in her eyes.
"Mother." A soft, sweet voice came from upstairs. A rosy-cheeked little girl came down the stairs. "Is that fierce old woman gone?"
"Nonsense!" The landlady slapped the girl on the head. "Where was she being fierce?"
"Waaah," the girl whimpered, covering her head in distress.
"How's your homework going?" the landlady asked, glaring at her.
"I've finished." The girl took out a book from the back and said, "I know all these math problems. Mom, do I really have to go to that academy?"
"What's wrong with going?" the landlady said. "That young scholar from Yunzhou said that the Yin-Yang Academy doesn't care about background. As long as you pass the exam, tuition is waived, and room and board are included. Why not give it a shot? You're still young. In this world, opportunities for women to rise to prominence are already scarce. You have a talent for divination, so you absolutely can't miss this rare opportunity. Maybe one day you can be as prestigious as that Young Master Meng, and then men who want to marry you will be lining up to break down your door!"
"Eh? Hehehe, really?" The little girl covered her face, revealing a lovesick smile, drooling, and no one knew what she was thinking.
The proprietress found it amusing and smacked the other person on the forehead again.
"Mommy's lying!" The little girl stuck out her tongue and ran away. "You just want to go find Uncle Lu!"
"What nonsense are you spouting? Stop right there!"
"Hee hee hee hee!" The little girl nimbly ran upstairs.
The proprietress was left standing there, seething with anger. "This girl is getting more and more outrageous."
But after a while, he looked at the jade pendant left by the man in his hand.
"That heartless bastard, he thinks he can just abandon my mother and me like this? Not so easy!"