Chapter 896: My Ex-Fiancé Who Didn't Have a Wedding Ceremony (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

Shen Tang has a very good attitude.

Even with a Damocles' sword hanging over her head, and her neighbor, the Northern Desert, about to become a major threat, she still had to go about her business. A person has to work every day to live. If she didn't work, if she didn't earn a single bite to eat, she wouldn't be able to support her large family, and she would starve to death.

She's a cold-blooded, workaholic lord who sees nothing but work, including Qi Shan being squeezed out by her enemy group and failing to even snatch a seed-planting machine. By the time Qi Shan realized what was happening, not a single feather was left.

"And what about a seed planter?"

Shen Tang signed and stamped the document expressionlessly: "Didn't I ask you for a batch of craftsmen before? Among them are fifty-six Mohist disciples. The one in charge, Bei Zhoukou, accidentally opened the Mohist Temple. I guided her to create two Mohist tokens, 'Universal Love' and 'Non-Aggression,' and a group of Mohists gained 'Qi,' which we'll temporarily name 'Mo Qi.' Zhoukou has even managed to create something as outrageous as an excavator, so what's impossible about a seed planter? Calm down."

Why didn't Qi Shan know?

Because the news didn't even reach his ears in time.

After he arrived, he first toyed with Qin Li, then fought with Qin Li to settle their old grudge, and didn't forget to show off a little, wanting to use everyone's pseudonyms to attend the New Year's team building event at the Pantheon branch. He's so busy, how could he have time to care about any seed-planting machine?

Qi Shan: "..."

Shen Tang quickly read through a letter, then wrote a comment at the end with a cold expression and practiced movements as if he had been killing fish at RT-Mart for ten years: "Others can make great strides when they go to other places, but you risk dying there. I'm afraid that if I don't keep an eye on you, you'll be killed by an enemy you've made a grudge against at some unknown time. It's safer to keep you under my watchful eye."

If we don't rely on seeders to boost sales, there's no need to rush to grab them.

Qi Shan scoffed: "Which enemy could take my life?"

Shen Tang: "Then can you outmaneuver Xun Zhen and the others?"

Holding military power can ensure a stable position, but to control local areas, one still needs to send one's own people to supervise and deter them.

Shen Tang will definitely send several trusted confidants to various regions, but the candidates have not yet been finalized. Regardless of who is chosen, they are all strong-willed and unwilling to lag behind their colleagues in any aspect of their political achievements. Most importantly, in addition to their in-kind salaries, civil officials receive a semi-annual bonus for national fortune, officially called the Spring and Winter Bonuses, which are linked to their performance in those six months. Without war, political achievements are the main source of national fortune.

What could be a more tangible indicator of an official's achievements than ensuring that the people under their jurisdiction are well-fed, their clothes are patched, there are no starving corpses on the roadsides, and government granaries are overflowing with grain? While things like building water conservancy projects, roads, and bridges, maintaining order, and improving the people's living conditions are all important, ensuring they are well-fed is even more crucial. Only when the people are well-fed can they have the energy to think about anything else.

Seeders must be snapped up quickly, and high-quality grain seeds must be secured.

Praying for good is good, but it only leads to offending everyone.

He single-handedly bullied most of his colleagues in the industry.

Qi Shan: "..."

Shen Tang sighed and closed the book: "Of all people to offend, you had to offend Wu Hui too. Don't you know that one of them, master and apprentice, is in charge of everyone's salary and the other is in charge of the most important grain? Look at how Qian Shuhe and Wei Yuanyuan usually look down on everyone, but would they dare to be disrespectful to them? Your master doesn't even have a penny in his pocket, and he is relying on Wu Hui to bribe him."

Qi Shan: "..."

He really hadn't considered these things. No, he'd only been absent for a year, so why did he feel like he was falling behind? The thought of being outdone by Chu Wuhui made him incredibly anxious.

Had he known this would happen, he would have sent Yu Weiheng's information to the Council of Gods instead of seeking trouble with Chu Wuhui. His style was to plot slowly and strike decisively when the enemy was at its weakest. But alas, there's no going back, and Qi Shan could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger.

The assembly of gods is important in some ways, but not in others; in fact, no one has the spare energy to focus on it. The vast majority of manpower is devoted to recruitment, and the number of resumes received has already exceeded ten thousand.

Using the shortest amount of time to select the most useful people, even employing all three skills ("three hearts and two minds") is still insufficient. We haven't even overcome the current difficulties, so who cares about the Divine Assembly? The only energy we had was when Qi Shan delivered scrolls of books.

Qin Li frowned as he looked at the scroll of books before him.

What is this?

Its wary stance made it seem as if Qi Shan had poisoned it.

Qi Shan: "Memorize the intelligence, and don't give anything away."

Why is Qi Shan able to commit fraud for so many years and still succeed repeatedly?

The secret is right here!

Qin Li carefully opened the scroll. The first line began with his name and courtesy name, followed by the date and details of what he did at the Gods' Assembly. The content was so detailed and fascinating that it was even more convoluted and unpredictable than half of Qin Li's own life.

Qin Li: "..."

If he weren't the protagonist, Qin Li would have cheered, but since it was him, and it was Qi Shan who had arranged this "life resume" for him, his hands were trembling. He took several deep breaths, barely suppressing the urge to slap someone again.

"Qi Yuanliang, very good, you are very good!"

The veins on Qin Li's forehead were bulging.

Qi Shan delivered the goods and then slipped away to the next house.

In the world of gods, there are those who have multiple identities. They only need to remember their respective character biographies, which are very consistent with their personalities. The stories described are so biographical that even the original gods themselves would be bewildered and wonder if they had amnesia. They are easy to remember. There are those who don't have multiple identities but still want to join in the fun or to make up the numbers, like Shen Tang, who uses Qi Shan's virtual identity—Tan Qingguang.

The book was an extremely thick volume.

As Shen Tang read, she exclaimed in amazement, "Yuan Liang, you are the master of time management! If you do the math, you've only been in the Pantheon for a little over ten years, yet you've accomplished what others do in a dozen lifetimes. It's really hard for the Pantheon to find out that you're receiving a salary without working."

Others are receiving salaries without working, just loafing around and not doing any work.

The higher-ups can find out the problem with a simple investigation.

Qi Shan was paid a salary without working, ensuring that each of his alternate accounts was very active and had an impressive resume and record. The real person whose identity was being used was also unwittingly acting as his substitute. With the loose management system of the Gods Association, Qi Shan would log in and check in from time to time under different alternate accounts... Heh, it would be really strange if they could find out.

Praying for good is not shameful, but rather an honor.

"By the way, when is the meeting?" Shen Tang had been so busy lately that she almost forgot to ask when the team building event was scheduled.

Qi Shan casually replied, "Thirty."

Shen Tang paused, her hand still holding the pen that was making annotations: "What?"

Qi Shan repeated: "Thirty."

Shen Tang was dumbfounded: "..."

As the year draws to a close, each day grows harder to bear. I used to be able to stop writing seven days or two weeks in advance, but now, with only two days left until the New Year, there's no sign of me catching my breath. All I have left this year is a 30th—New Year's Eve.

Enraged, Shen Tang snapped the specially made copper pen in half!

Gritting his teeth: "Who's a decent person who holds a meeting on New Year's Eve?"

The Pantheon is a cult and must be banned and suppressed!

Upon hearing this, the others launched a barrage of criticism, and when they learned that Qi Shan had chosen the date, they were filled with rage, wishing they could drown him in their spittle. Qi Shan, however, had developed an impenetrable thick skin.

"Come on, you all look so angry, as if you have loving wives and young children waiting for you at home. Don't you realize that you usually sleep alone, wrapped in your blankets? On New Year's Eve, you can at least get a free meal at the Pantheon, while you only get leftovers when you get home?" The parents here can't even afford to send a couple, so what difference does it make where they eat? I don't understand what's with all the anger.

Qin Li's hand holding the pipe was trembling.

I resisted the urge to slap Qi Shan's foul mouth until it was ripped apart.

Shen Tang held his final writing ceremony on the morning of New Year's Eve.

“Which decent company only gives half a day of annual leave… The ’Retirement Ceremony,’ thirty letters, opening on the first day of the new year, all for the sake of a sense of ceremony…” Shen Tang couldn’t help but mutter to herself. Qin Li and the others couldn’t bear to look at her and looked away, because at this moment she was disguised, wearing Qi Shan’s virtual identity, becoming the ordinary-looking Tan Shao. “The annual party and team building went to a cult’s lair, it’s really…”

Aside from Qin Li, everyone else habitually filtered out the unfamiliar words Shen Tang used, reviewed the character biographies, and then set off. Chu Yao and Cui Xiao stayed behind to guard the house, while Qi Shan transformed Ning Yan's "Zixu" and "Wuyou" into the likenesses of Shen Tang and Qin Li, and gathered a few trusted confidants to impersonate other people.

Although the main camp is safe, and the aristocratic families have been repeatedly warned and are behaving themselves, there are currently no major internal threats. However, the Gods' Council is holding a meeting in a neighboring town, and many troublesome individuals have infiltrated the area. If they manage to sneak into the tents to gather information, that would be a nuisance. Just in case, it's best to maintain a semblance of disguise. If things really go wrong, they're in the neighboring town; a simple signal fire will be enough to send them back.

Moreover, Shen Tang also stationed a large number of troops in the neighboring town.

This area had long been incorporated into the fifth ring road of the capital city by her.

Construction had been underway for over three months, and thanks to the formidable infrastructure capabilities of the Martial Warriors, a large-scale reconstruction was being carried out on the existing site. Looking around, the houses were neatly arranged, the roads were wide, and the main road could accommodate six two-horse carriages side-by-side.

Shen Tang set up the interview and recruitment location here again. The tens of thousands of people who came to submit their resumes boosted the local development. The temporary market was full of festive atmosphere. It was not exactly crowded with people and bustling with traffic, but it was also a far cry from the desolate scene of six months ago when nine out of ten houses were empty.

"It's quite lively." Shen Tang, wearing Tan Shao's vest, sat by the carriage window, watching the crowds with curiosity, her fatigue from a long day of 996 workdays completely gone. Endless work isn't scary; what's scary is not seeing any reward from it.

The team-building activity was divided into several groups.

Shen Tang was accompanied by Qi Shan, Lin Feng, and Gu Chi.

The group agreed to meet at the meeting place.

The meeting was held in a prestigious family residence in the city, owned by a wealthy household. This family enjoyed organizing literary gatherings, spending lavishly on calligraphy and paintings, inviting various people to appreciate them, and supporting impoverished but promising scholars. Together they would admire flowers and the moon, compose poems, drink wine, sing, practice swordsmanship, and go on outings… Over time, their gatherings gained considerable renown in the neighborhood, and many scholars considered it an honor to attend. Participating in these gatherings allowed them to build extensive networks of connections.

"The connections of the Pantheon are indeed impressive..." On the surface, it was just a normal gathering of literati and scholars. If one did not pay special attention, who would guess that the members attending this gathering were of great importance? Even if someone did notice, by the time they realized it, everyone had already left.

The meeting is still a while away.

According to Qi Shan, no one is allowed to enter before the designated time; even if someone goes, they'll be wasting their time if they can't give the correct password. Shen Tang glanced at the sun and decided to wander around the area first.

"Maybe we can find a bargain."

Shen Tang's recruitment of talented individuals attracted a large gathering of scholars. Bored, they held small gatherings every now and then, engaging in literary and martial arts contests with great enthusiasm. Although the prize might only be a jar of wine, no one wanted to lose. Who knows if Shen Jun had planted people among the onlookers to observe and evaluate them?

Not only do you need to perform, but you also need to be at your best.

With Jiang Sheng and the others returning, the recruitment process accelerated, and people began receiving their interview results—some were selected, some were not. Some were happy, some were sad. Those who were not selected were not in a hurry to leave; after all, such a large-scale gathering of scholars didn't happen every day, and it was good for them to learn from each other. Of course, some forces were also lurking among them, secretly scouting for candidates.

Shen Tang chose a window seat in a tavern to rest.

In the tavern's main hall, dozens of young men dressed in Confucian robes were engaged in a literary contest, quoting classical texts, engaging in lofty discussions, analyzing the situation, and trying to decipher Shen Tang's intentions. Some of their arguments were quite substantial, while others were either translating from Chinese to Chinese or simply stating "Me too."

Shen Tang drank tea and watched the play with great interest.

Gu Chi remembered some of them.

Pointing at them, he whispered, "Kiyomitsu, this man..."

Shen Tang and Lin Feng both turned their heads to listen attentively.

A brief commentary satisfied my curiosity.

“Sir, I feel like there are some strange people here…” Lin Feng sat for a while and then noticed that someone was secretly observing him. There was more than one pair of eyes, which was torture for someone with keen senses. So he moved closer to Chen Tang.

Shen Tang also noticed several barely perceptible streams of literary/martial energy swirling around them. She picked an unlucky fellow, flicked her finger, and unleashed a burst of literary energy that shattered him. Instantly, all the prying eyes receded like a tide: "Of course it's strange to be hiding like this."

Lin Feng watched Shen Tang's actions: "But—"

Wouldn't that be like alerting the enemy?

Shen Tang: "You don't need to show mercy to scoundrels."

Lin Feng made no attempt to conceal his identity today, wearing the Wenxin monogram at his waist. Qi Shan had even removed the disguise she had applied years ago, revealing the engraving of a second-rank upper-level cultivator. To test him under these circumstances was tantamount to harassment, and it was only because Lin Feng was cautious that he didn't retaliate immediately. He picked up a handful of beans and popped them into his mouth, about to ask Gu Chi if he had any new gossip, when he noticed Gu Chi's serious expression. His seemingly casual posture was actually tense, as if he were on guard against something. Shen Tang became wary.

Just as he was about to get up, Gu Chi raised his hand and pressed him down.

He whispered, "Someone we know is here."

Shen Tang suppressed his urge: "An acquaintance?"

What kind of acquaintance could elicit such a reaction from Gu Chi?

The answer to this question was quickly found.

A group of eight people appeared at the entrance of the tavern at some unknown time. The young man in the lead was dressed in plain clothes, but his handsome appearance could not be concealed. However, his face was slightly stiff and he did not look like a living person. Shen Tang guessed that he was wearing an extremely realistic human skin mask.

He was accompanied by both men and women.

Several men kept their auras restrained, one of them—

Shen Tang couldn't even tell how deep the other party was.

The man seemed to notice and looked over as well.

The young man in plain clothes finally fixed his gaze on Gu Chi, his pupils trembling. Several feet apart, they stared at each other in bewilderment.

|ω`)

This is the update from the 20th. If I still have the energy during the day, there should be more updates.

(End of this chapter)