Su Xiaoxiao was at most a minor incident and didn't affect Jing Zhe's mood much. He wouldn't eat less than two large bowls of rice at noon.

They went to Su Moyan's room first, where Feng Lianru was helping him pack his luggage. Both of them had smiles on their faces.

After being away for so many days, I am homesick and there is nothing better than returning to Jingzhou.

Moreover, they returned with honors.

"Is Your Highness preparing to depart tomorrow?"

Su Moyan was particularly excited when she saw Jing Zhe.

"Yes, with President Jing taking the title of Martial Arts Alliance Leader, our trip to Jinxi will be a complete success. So let's set off early tomorrow morning and try to get back to Jingzhou before the twelfth lunar month."

Jing Zhe nodded and said, "Your Highness, I cannot go back with you!"

Having heard Jing Zhe mention it before, Su Moyan was already prepared and not surprised.

"President Jing has just become the leader of the martial arts alliance and is extremely busy. I can't offer any help, and I won't stay to cause him any trouble! When President Jing returns to the capital, I will definitely host a banquet to welcome him back!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

The two talked for a while, and Su Moyan took the initiative to ask, "I will be setting off tomorrow, and I don't know when President Jing will be able to return to Jingzhou. Is there anything you want me to tell His Majesty? Or is there anything you need me to do on your behalf? You can tell me."

"Your Highness, there is something I need to discuss..."

After discussing the afternoon's meetings with the three major sects, Jing Zhe was quite confident of success. Now that he was going to Liangzhou, he naturally needed to instruct Su Moyan on how to coordinate with the sects. He also asked Su Moyan to convey a message to Emperor An that if they were to cooperate with the sects, the court would have to provide assistance, so all the instructions needed to be given in advance.

Su Moyan nodded repeatedly in agreement after hearing this.

After lunch, Jing Zhe took a short nap. When he opened his eyes again, he was full of energy and ready to fight at any time.

...

Arriving at Wuxian Pavilion, I found it to be a completely different place from what it used to be.

"President Jing is here?"

"President Jing is amazing!"

"President Jing, come in quickly!"

"..."

Seeing a group of female disciples standing at the door waving at him, Jing Zhe almost thought he had come to the wrong place.

"Make way, make way! If you block the door, how is the young master supposed to get in?"

At that moment, Bai Lu's familiar voice rang out, and Jing Zhe felt as if he were hearing heavenly music.

Upon hearing this, the female disciples reluctantly stepped aside.

"The Qingyun Sect Master Mingji and the Kunlun Mirror Master Pei are both sitting in the front hall. Why aren't you going to help them? What are you doing here making a fuss?"

Bai Lu scolded them again, and the female disciples pursed their lips but still obediently retreated.

"Young master, I'm so sorry to have made you laugh!"

Bai Lu said with a hint of apology.

"It's alright, being enthusiastic is good, being enthusiastic is good!"

Jing Zhe waved his hand and smiled, then asked, "Bai Lu, your master should be going back to Ruzhou with your pavilion master, right? What about you?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Lu's eyes narrowed.

"Well, because Wuxian Garden can't be left unattended, Bailu has to return to Jingzhou alone. Without the Garden Master, she'll be all alone in Jingzhou..."

She then gave Jing Zhe a pitiful look and said, "Young Master, you can't stop going to Wuxian Garden just because the Garden Master isn't here!"

How could that be?

Jing Zhe chuckled and then followed Bai Lu to the front hall, where the Mingji Sect Master and Pei Jingzhu were sitting drinking tea, while Qingqiu and Pei Yunxi sat next to them.

Mu Qingren and Wang Yingqiu sat at the front. When Jing Zhe entered the room, everyone's eyes turned to him.

"Sorry I'm late."

Jing Zhe laughed and said something, then sat down.

The others didn't care much. What Mingji Sect Master and Pei Jingzhu were most concerned about was the cooperation. As soon as Jing Zhe sat down, they asked about it.

Jing Zhe didn't hide anything. Because of their relationship with Qingqiu and Pei Yunxi, Jing Zhe directly promised that as long as it was a branch of Zhang Family Winery and Wenxiangju opened in various parts of Anguo, Qingyunmen and Kunlunjing could send people to set up there first, and Da'an Newspaper could promote it for free.

However, since they have chosen to cooperate, Qingyun Sect and Kunlun Mirror have an inescapable responsibility to help the imperial court if it encounters difficulties.

Sect Master Mingji and Sect Master Pei thought for a moment, then said, "What exactly does President Jing mean by this assistance? Could it be what we discussed this morning, that if a foreign enemy attacks Anguo, our sect will send people to help?"

Master Pei nodded and said, "If that's the case, it's not impossible. After all, the people of the sect are also people of Anguo. If Anguo is destroyed, the sect will have no reason to exist. So, this can be agreed to."

Jing Zhe nodded. "That's only one aspect. There's another, more important aspect: since Sect Master Mingji and Master Pei have cooperated with the imperial court, what about the others…?"

"Is President Jing referring to the Prince of Jin?"

"Hehe, then there's no need to worry. Even if Prince Jin succeeds this time, do you think we'll listen to him?"

"The sect leader of Mingji Sect and Master Pei Jing said."

Hearing them say that, Jing Zhe smiled and nodded, quite satisfied.

"President Jing, according to what you said, wherever there are people, there should be Da'an Newspaper Offices everywhere. And wherever there are Da'an Newspaper Offices, there should naturally be Zhang Family Winery and Wenxiang Residence. Wouldn't our sect have to send a lot of disciples?"

As soon as Sect Master Mingji finished speaking, Jing Zhe immediately replied with a smile: "Actually, Sect Master Mingji can understand it this way: hasn't the imperial court relieved the pressure on Qingyun Sect of many disciples? Moreover, these disciples can provide Qingyun Sect with a steady monthly salary every month, and they can also recruit talented new disciples for Qingyun Sect in various places. This is a good thing!"

"President Jing, I have another question."

"Please speak, Master Pei."

"You said before that the disciples sent to these shops naturally cannot be mediocre. Aren't you afraid that over time, all these shops will be taken over by our sect? Or that the sect will grow stronger and stronger by relying on these shops, and its power will be beyond the control of the imperial court? Doesn't President Jing have any concerns about this?"

Pei Chunjing could think of the same problems that Jing Zhe could think of. In the end, apart from the years of war in Liangzhou, it was difficult for other places in Anguo to experience large-scale foreign invasions. Therefore, sects could actually do very little to help the court.

The imperial court was helping them so much, which was completely unequal. Moreover, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Therefore, he felt that Jing Zhe must have a backup plan!

Jing Zhe chuckled and said, "Sect Master Mingji and Master Pei Jing must both know that Prince Jin deliberately sent his son, the Prince of Jin's heir, to Jingzhou to study in order to show that he would not rebel and to demonstrate his loyalty to Emperor An, right?"

Upon hearing this, the Sect Master of Mingji and the Mirror Master Pei exchanged a glance, then looked at Jing Zhe in silence.

————