"Mother, is this Liuzhou? What a huge gate!"
Outside the enormous city gate, the little girl looked at the huge gate with surprise and delight, dancing with joy.
"Put your hands down, young lady! What kind of behavior is this!" The beautiful woman beside her tapped the girl on the head, scolding her gently. "Don't make such a fuss, especially at the academy. What will you do if you get kicked out because of this?"
"It's not that exaggerated!" The little girl stuck out her tongue. "During the exams in Yunzhou, the proctors were very gentle, not as harsh as Mother described."
"What do you know?" The woman rolled her eyes at her. "Women, it's hard for them to stand out. Although Liuzhou Academy doesn't restrict gender now, societal views haven't changed. People can't stand seeing women rise to the top. Otherwise, out of so many Nüwa taking the exam in Yunzhou, how come you were the only one who passed?"
"Is it possible that they're just not good enough?" the little girl asked, bewildered.
"Nonsense!" the woman glared and said, "You think you're so great? Master Su's daughter is only seventeen years old, a renowned talented woman in Yunzhou, proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and she didn't get it, but you did. Do you know why?"
"Why?" The little girl was taken aback.
"Of course it's because you're neither here nor there!" the woman said in a low voice. "Those who stand out too much are deliberately filtered out, and those who are completely unsuitable are naturally difficult to get through. That's exactly what we need—someone in this middle ground, a symbolic recruitment that proves the officials' open-mindedness without overshadowing the men. You've actually gotten the better deal, so don't be so smug."
The girl was taken aback, and her lips immediately pouted.
I studied so hard for so many days, how come my mother says I got something for nothing?
Even the female tutor who taught him claimed that he had an exceptional talent for divination.
"But... the teacher is very impressive, and she's a woman too. Look how politely the city lord of Yunzhou treats her."
"That's because she's achieved remarkable results," the woman sighed. "Our Yunzhou is able to have such a large shipyard all thanks to Master Huang's miraculous skills. How many business opportunities has she brought to Yunzhou? Such achievements fall from the sky, so of course the city lord is very polite to her. That's why I supported you coming here to learn skills. Although I don't expect you to rise to the top like the men, if you learn some skills, at least you'll have a chance to establish yourself. Do you understand?"
"Oh," the little girl said, lowering her head, her enthusiasm immediately dampened.
"Where are you from? What brings you to the city?"
The guards at the gate routinely questioned the mother and daughter.
The woman glanced at the city gate and sighed inwardly. As expected of the place where Lord Chen made his fortune, even the city gates of Liuzhou were different from those of Yunzhou. Both were protected by the Gate God, but the scale was worlds apart.
If Chen Qing were here, he would definitely smile wryly at how much this woman overthinks things.
The city gates of Liuzhou are large in scale, partly because the gate gods were erected early on, and partly because the first gate god was the Wolf King, who was highly talented but had aged quickly. As a result, he leveled up rapidly and is now the highest-ranking gate god in the Jiangnan region, two ranks higher than the gate god of Nanyang City. Naturally, they are different.
"Ah, sir, we are from Yunzhou. We mainly brought my daughter here to take the Yin-Yang Academy exam."
"Oh?" The soldier guarding the gate was taken aback upon hearing this, and immediately looked at the mother and daughter, his tone becoming much more respectful. "So you're a female teacher, do you have any examination credentials?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The woman quickly took out a document with a cover made of Yunzhou brocade. Upon opening it, she found a magic seal.
After confirming the information, the soldier guarding the gate spoke with increasing respect, looking at the girl and saying, "Incredible! This child looks so young, yet she managed to pass the preliminary exam. I remember there were ten thousand participants in the preliminary exam in Yunzhou, but only fifty were admitted, right? Tsk tsk, truly remarkable. I have a distant relative in Yunzhou whose child is already twenty-two this year. That child has the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination), but I heard he didn't even pass the preliminary exam this time."
"Really?" The woman paused, then swallowed hard. "You didn't even pass the imperial examination?"
"Hey, isn't that right?" the gatekeeper said, looking at the little girl. "That's amazing! At such a young age, you should seize this opportunity. If you get into the academy, your future will be limitless."
Upon hearing this, the girl's previously low spirits immediately lifted.
Hearing this, the woman stroked her daughter's hair with relief. If her child was fortunate enough to pass the exam and be admitted to the academy, she would be at ease, and she could go find that heartless bastard without worry.
She had a vague idea that the dead man must be married, and that it wouldn't be easy for a widow like herself to visit him.
Becoming a concubine is a self-degrading act. A daughter shouldn't suffer along with her. If the mother is foolish, then let the mother bear the consequences herself.
Not long after the mother and daughter entered the city, a woman dressed in black also arrived outside the city. The woman in black was wearing a veil in broad daylight, which was quite eye-catching in the relatively open Jiangnan region. However, under the veil, the woman's face was covered with centipede-like scars.
The woman stopped a hundred meters away from the city gate, because she could clearly feel that the huge wolf head on the gate was looking at her!
A strange look flashed in the woman's eyes, but she dared not test the waters. After glancing at him twice, she quietly retreated and made her way to a boat at the dock.
"How?"
Inside the ship's hold, there were dozens of women, just like the masked woman, their faces covered with black cloths, their faces disfigured and scarred.
The woman who entered stuck out her tongue, which was as black as a snake's tongue, and immediately sent a chill down the spines of the two male guards standing beside her!
"Based on the information and smell provided by the lady, it's definitely the mother and daughter; they've already entered Liuzhou City!"
"Oh?" The woman in the lead frowned upon hearing this. "If that's the case, why didn't you follow?"
"There's something strange about the city gate in Liuzhou," the woman whispered. "Not only is it unbelievably tall, but the wolf head on it looks alive. I can feel it watching me from a hundred feet away. If I get any closer, it might cause chaos. Legend has it that the city gate of Liuzhou can identify demons, and it seems to be true!"
"Like this?" One of the women frowned. "Then it's better to take action on the river!"
"A fight on the river?" The leading woman sneered, "Didn't you see the formation on the river? The boat that woman is on is an official ship from Yunzhou, supposedly escorting students preparing for the entrance exams of the Liuzhou Yin-Yang Academy. Not only are they protected by the Sea God Guard, but also by the Battle God Army specially dispatched by Yunzhou. I took a look from a distance; every soldier on that boat possesses powerful qi and blood, at least at the Fifth Rank martial artist level, and the leading generals are even at the Third Rank!"
"This Chen Qing is no ordinary man; his military strength is truly formidable. No wonder the imperial court suffered such a huge setback this time!"
"Then how can we fulfill Madam's instructions?" the woman beside her asked anxiously.
Everyone knows how harsh their mistress is to her subordinates. She never mistreats anyone. Anyone who came out of the Earth Dragon Cave with her back then now enjoys the resources that only scions of noble families have. However, the premise is that they can do good deeds. The mistress is extremely jealous and will try every means to get her hands on any woman who dares to get involved with Lu Ming and torture her in every way.
In the past, Lu Ming had tried to protect them, using various methods, such as entrusting his children or concubines to a deputy general or a powerful sorcerer, but none of them worked. This was because these Earth Serpent who came out of the Earth Dragon Cave had extremely difficult-to-defend-against sneak attack methods.
Over the years, they have never failed to keep their word as long as the lady gave the order. The only time was with Mu Hongqing. That powerful sorcerer's methods were too strange, and he had been training Mu Hongqing as his personal disciple, so it was really difficult to make a move.
That time, the lady was so angry that she swallowed fourteen of her sisters whole!
The thought of such a scene happening again sent shivers down everyone's spine.
"Keep watch!" the leading woman said coldly. "Exams always come to an end. I've heard that teachers from the Yin-Yang Academy are highly valued within Chen Qing's faction, which is why they receive such protection. Even at the Capital Yin-Yang Academy, very few women can pass the exam. The little girl has an even greater chance of failing. When she returns, she'll most likely be on an ordinary cargo ship, which is when we can make our move."
"Eldest sister is right."
The others breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this; they certainly didn't want to experience the lady's terrifying side again.
"My lord, Minister Pang has replied." Chen Ying reported as she entered Chen Qing's room.
"So fast?" Chen Qing frowned. "What did he say?"
"They made demands: they wanted us to return Yuchi Peng and release the 50,000 soldiers!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qing silently rubbed his fingers together, while his other hand gently tapped the table.
"Does Your Majesty have any concerns?" Chen Ying asked curiously.
Having spent so much time together, she had come to understand some of Chen Qing's habits. Whenever Chen Qing couldn't figure something out, he would look like this.
"It's understandable that the imperial court wants back Yuchi Peng and the 50,000 troops. But," Chen Qing squinted, " Lu Ming wants them too."
"Does Your Excellency mean that Lu Ming has reached a cooperation agreement with Minister Pang?"
"It's not very realistic." Chen Qing shook his head. " Minister Pang represents the interests of the entire sorcerer family. Now that the civil officials have finally gained the upper hand in the court, why would they cooperate with Lu Ming? What does Lu Ming have left now? No soldiers, no prestige. To put it bluntly, he's a spendthrift. Cooperating with him would only result in taking a bigger share of the spoils, and we would also have to bear the risk that he might turn against us halfway through. It's not very meaningful."
"What does Your Majesty mean?"
"I just don't understand," Chen Qing frowned. " Lu Ming shouldn't be able to cooperate with Minister Pang, but since he's here, he can't just sit around doing nothing, can he? How many more days can the magic array last?"
Chen Ying: "Five days, but if you include the energy needed for action, then there are only three days left."
"Looks like I have to push them a bit," Chen Qing stood up. "Notify them all that there will be a banquet tonight!"
"Yes"