A heroine nearly falls, five cycles or three

The room was filled with the aroma of smoke through the gilded windows.

The table was covered with brocade, and the fine porcelain plates were filled with fruits and pastries.

The wine jug, forged from gold, is decorated with cranes and carvings on its surface. The matching wine cups are carved with a drunken arhat riding a tiger, making them exquisitely beautiful.

Golden hooks hang the curtains by the bedside, and a soft, fragrant red quilt covers the bed.

Two maids were carrying a woman who was completely weak onto the bed.

The woman had her hair styled in a traditional Chinese updo, and she was strikingly beautiful. She wore an apricot-colored outfit, a dart pouch at her waist, and swift boots, clearly the attire of a chivalrous woman from the martial arts world.

But now, her cheeks were flushed, and a silk ribbon was threaded through the red bead and tied behind her head, just enough to put the red bead in her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue.

Those hands, calloused and unshackled, were rendered powerless by her weak, limp limbs and feverish body.

As the two maids reached out to pull off her boots and untie her belt...

All she could do was glare at him with eyes full of hatred.

"Oh dear, my lady, please don't stare at me like that, it frightens me greatly."

The older maid laughed and said, "We're doing this for your own good, how can you be so ungrateful?"

"Our Zhao family is a prestigious family. Our master received the wine tax revenue for the entire Suzhou and Hangzhou and Hangzhou region from the imperial court. Every year, mountains of gold and silver flow into our home. We own countless mansions, and our resources could last for ten generations."

"Since you've caught the young master's eye, if you tactfully flatter him tonight and please him, he may reward you however he pleases, and you'll be set for life."

"If things go even more smoothly, perhaps you could become a concubine, and in the future you'd be surrounded by a throng of servants whenever you go out. Wouldn't that be a hundred times better than your life of wandering the martial world, braving wind and rain?"

The younger maidservant said, "Why try to persuade her? Let her glare at you; that's exactly what the young master likes."

"Anyway, the steward gave her the Imperial Consort Enfeebler, which was specially prepared for royalty and noble families to train these chivalrous women from the martial arts world. No matter how fierce her temper was, she couldn't unleash even a fraction of her martial arts skills."

"That guy last time, who claimed to be a renowned master of the Kunlun Sect, was also weak and feeble-boned. He was played with by the young master for several days and then given to those lesser disciples to enjoy. He didn't even manage to harm anyone before he died."

These two maids, being favored by the emperor, usually only did light tasks and had plenty of free time to gossip and chatter.

He had already taken off his shoes and socks, and loosened his belt.

Just as the two maids were about to unbutton her robe, they suddenly heard a crisp "snap" sound behind them.

The two were startled and turned to look.

Chu Tianshu, who had just transmigrated, appeared at the table. He subconsciously bit off a piece of pear flesh from his mouth before he could see the scene in front of him.

He could tell at a glance that the woman on the bed had been drugged with anesthesia or aphrodisiacs.

"It looks like we've stumbled upon a crime scene?"

The two maids, seeing that it was a strange man, were about to call out to him.

Chu Tianshu glanced at them.

The two suddenly felt as if all their strength had been drained away, and they collapsed to their knees, sweating profusely, their limbs trembling uncontrollably.

They had no idea what was happening to them; they were filled with terror and didn't dare look up at the young man.

Even the sight of Chu Tianshu's boots made them tremble even more violently.

After halting the progress of the case, Chu Tianshu glanced at the token screen.

In addition to the world marker, resource list, skill list, and Fortune Bar, an extra line of text appeared on the screen.

[Please find another Youdu Edict to help with its repairs.]

Another Youdu Edict?

Chu Tianshu's heart stirred slightly.

Judging from this, is the other Youdu Edict in this world?

He glanced at the brocade pouch at his waist.

The baby snakes kept inside were obviously not brought over.

But so be it. Although the little snake is good at finding treasures, it probably wouldn't be able to recognize a treasure like the Youdu Edict, given its limited eyesight.

Let's first take a look at the current situation in this world.

Chu Tianshu walked to the bedside, chewing on a pear as he reached out and tapped the female knight's forehead with his finger.

A little force, and it spread throughout the whole body.

The female warrior felt an even stronger tingling sensation throughout her body, an extreme comfort that almost made her moan softly.

The next instant, a strong cool sensation followed her from her forehead to her extremities, making her suddenly shiver and wake up.

"I..."

The female warrior wanted to speak, and subconsciously exerted force with her mouth, but unexpectedly her power had been restored, and her internal energy reached her mouth.

She immediately bit the red bead to pieces, and even the ribbon binding it was bitten off.

Chu Tianshu stepped back and watched as she quickly sat up and spat out the crumbs in her mouth.

Although it is often said that aphrodisiacs are more difficult to counteract than ordinary poisons.

But given Chu Tianshu's current cultivation level, let alone the aphrodisiac, even if she were given a potent neurotoxin...

As long as she's not dead, Chu Tianshu can stabilize her condition and slowly neutralize the poison with a single touch of his finger.

The medicine on the woman was of good quality, but the dosage was not large.

The main reason she was unable to circulate her internal energy was that someone had skillfully sealed her Qihai acupoint.

Chu Tianshu's acupoint release and detoxification naturally allowed her to move freely on the spot.

"I've regained my power?!"

The female knight was both surprised and delighted. She knelt down and clasped her hands in thanks to Chu Tianshu, saying, "Yu Danxia the Qingcheng Sect thanks you, young hero, and benefactor!"

Chu Tianshu said, "Tie your belt first."

It turned out that her chest was quite high and full, and after her belt was untied, she knelt down in excitement, almost causing her clothes to burst open.

Yu Danxia realized what was happening, hurriedly tightened her clothes, tied her waistband, and put on her boots, but her face flushed again.

Chu Tianshu sat at the table and rummaged through the snacks on it.

Crispy glutinous rice cakes and cheese sugar cakes are both milky and extremely sweet.

The fruits and vegetables were quite fresh; there were grapes, plums, and peaches.

However, those peaches weren't much bigger than plums.

Chu Tianshu pinched one in his hand and played with it, then casually asked a few questions.

It turns out that Yu Danxia had also received some true swordsmanship instruction in Qingcheng Mountain. After being widowed for three years, she was restless and thought about the current turmoil and unrest in the world. So she came to Suzhou and Hangzhou to visit her relatives and wanted to bring them to Qingcheng.

Unexpectedly, upon arriving in Suzhou and Hangzhou and Hangzhou, he learned that his relative's tavern had been unable to pay its liquor tax in recent years and wanted to convert it into a restaurant. However, he was pressured to pay the outstanding taxes and forced to sell his daughter. This whole ordeal had led to the destruction of his family.

Enraged, Yu Danxia wanted to confront the Zhao family, who were in charge of the wine tax in Suzhou and Hangzhou.

They originally thought that because of their connection to the Qingcheng Sect, the Zhao family wouldn't dare to do anything.

Unexpectedly, the young master of the Zhao family, upon seeing her once in the living room, demanded to remove her straw hat to see her true face, and a fight broke out between the two.

Yu Danxia was no match for the Zhao family steward and was captured and brought to this side room, supposedly for Young Master Zhao's enjoyment tonight.

"Is the Zhao family in charge of liquor tax?"

Chu Tianshu asked curiously, "Isn't the liquor tax under the government's jurisdiction?"

Yu Danxia paused for a moment, then said, "The method of tax farming has existed since ancient times."

"The Yuan Dynasty today is unprecedented in its tax farming practices and the extent of its decentralization..."

The so-called tax-inclusive method is also called "buying a tax."

This refers to the government calculating approximately how much tax a certain area would need to pay in a year and then collecting that amount from local powerful families.

After local powerful families paid this tax, they would receive the power delegated by the government to collect taxes from merchants at all levels to compensate for their losses.

This method, from the perspective of the imperial court, seemed to save the cost of setting up tax collection agencies while still receiving sufficient tax revenue, which was very advantageous.

In reality, once local powerful families took over the tax collection, they could stop paying taxes according to the rates stipulated by national law and arbitrarily increase taxes to extort money.

The tax laws of the Yuan Dynasty were already complex, and the number of tax-inclusive items far exceeded that of previous dynasties.

In various places, taxes were levied on alcohol, salt, rivers, bridges, ferry crossings, gathering firewood in the mountains, and fishing in the rivers.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Yuan, someone even offered to pay the court one million taels of silver to monopolize the salt tax of the entire country, but this was abandoned because the Liao prime minister at the time strongly opposed it.

The Great Yuan Dynasty has now been established for sixty years.

Tax farming has become a common practice in various regions, and some families have even inherited the practice for generations. Even if they do not hold official positions, it is as good as being an official.

After all, in officialdom, Han Chinese and Southerners always had to give way to each other, while the majority of local powerful families were Han Chinese.

Therefore, many gentry praised and exclaimed that, "Since ancient times, no dynasty has been as benevolent as our Great Yuan!"

Unfortunately, this tolerant Great Yuan, having only been established for sixty years, is already showing signs of turmoil.

During those sixty years, Kublai Khan himself ruled for more than twenty years.

The remaining thirty-odd years were shared by seven emperors.

The current emperor is the Di Ba emperor of the Great Yuan.

Moreover, since the Yuan Dynasty established its rule, uprisings have been almost constant in various regions.

A few years ago, the Mongol Yuan dynasty was embroiled in internal strife, including a major battle between the two

Seeing the opportunity, ambitious people from all over the country rose up in rebellion one after another, and more than a dozen people declared themselves kings in various places.

Some claim to be descendants of the Great Song, some claim to be reincarnations of Buddha, and some even claim to be descendants of the Tang Dynasty.

Various sects and gangs in the martial arts world were also gradually drawn into the matter.

Even many reclusive masters sought successors or devoted themselves to supporting the dragon.

"Recently, a major event has occurred in Suzhou and Hangzhou."

Yu Danxia said, "The Meteor Gods and Devils, whose name has been renowned throughout the martial arts world for over sixty years, is said to have felt that his lifespan was coming to an end and could not bear to see his divine skills lost, so he chose this place to select a successor and impart his Chuangong to him."

"The sons of high-ranking officials, the elite disciples of many renowned families across the land, and outstanding young heroes all flocked to this place."

Chu Tianshu's eyebrows twitched. "Counting sixty years?!"

A cycle of sixty years is a whole year.

He asked, "How many decades has this Meteor Gods and Devils been famous for?"

Yu Danxia hesitated and said, "According to rumors in the martial arts world, this senior is already five Jiazi (60 years old), or some say three Jiazi. He should be at least three Jiazi?"

(End of this chapter)