Chapter 9
The capital of the Yan Kingdom was square, with the royal palace located at the very center. The residences of the royal family, generals, ministers, and high-ranking officials were arranged around the royal palace according to their rank.
The Ministry of Rites of the Great Yan Kingdom divided the entire royal city into four sections, centered on the royal palace. There were also explicit laws stipulating that no one other than a high-ranking official could reside in the first section, no one other than a middle-ranking official could reside in the second section, and no one other than a lower-ranking official or a person with official rank could reside in the third section.
The four quarters were inhabited mostly by commoners with modest means or those who had enough to eat and wear, as well as wealthy merchants who had paid to register their household there. Beyond the four quarters were the homes of the poor and lowly, including prostitutes, actors, cooks, and other low-class people, as well as ordinary merchants.
Anyone who violates the laws of the four realms and resides outside the realms without authorization will be expelled from the four realms and never allowed to enter the capital of Yan again. Therefore, in the state of Yan, one can know a person's social status by observing where they live.
If someone wanted to change their social status, men could only rely on academic achievements, while women could only rely on marriage.
If countless people outside the Four Realms want to live inside the Four Realms, then countless people in the Three Realms and the Two Realms yearn to live in the One Realm.
The senior doctors who already reside in Yihuan all want to maintain their social status and remain at the top of the pyramid forever.
So how can they achieve their goals?
To curry favor with the masters in the palace?
No, it's not.
What they had to do was to curry favor with the people in the jade-stairs mansion guarded by the golden lion in the southeast of the city.
That was the residence of Prime Minister Yuan Su, and also the core of the powerful Yuan family.
Every day, long queues of people seeking an audience and bringing gifts would gather before the jade steps of the Yuan Mansion, but very few would actually be lucky enough to step onto those jade steps bestowed by the late emperor.
Today, an exquisite and grand sedan chair passed by the crowd and stopped in front of the jade steps. The steward of the Yuan family, who rarely appeared, personally stepped forward to open the sedan chair curtain and helped a pale-faced and frail-looking young man down.
"Steward Yuan." The young man frowned slightly, his handsome face filled with worry. He hurriedly stepped onto the jade steps and entered the Yuan residence, supported by a servant.
The visitors waiting in line outside watched from afar, but none of them dared to express their dissatisfaction with the boy who cut in line.
That's His Highness the Crown Prince!
Upon hearing the servant's report, the old man with the cane stood up but did not go out to greet him. Only after Crown Prince Yuwen Jing had passed through the exquisite pavilions and towers and reached the outside of the living room did he take two steps forward, cup his hands in greeting, and say, "This old minister, Yuan Su, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"Prime Minister, please rise." Yuwen Jing's weak voice revealed a hint of anxiety: "Prime Minister, has Sister Qiong returned?"
Yuan Su stood up, his aged face showing little emotion, and replied with two words: "Never."
"Why doesn't Your Excellency send someone to fetch her immediately?! Sister Qiong has been gone for half a month and hasn't returned yet. Aren't you worried, Your Excellency?" Yuwen Jing's refined and handsome features were filled with anxiety. He refused to sit down even when the eunuch who had come with him offered to do so. "Your Excellency, please go and fetch Sister Qiong quickly!"
"Qiong'er went to Shenshou Temple to pray for His Majesty, the Empress, and Your Highness the Crown Prince. She will naturally return when the time comes, so Your Highness need not worry."
Yuan Su raised his hand to signal the servants to serve tea, and personally stepped forward to help the Crown Prince sit down.
Yuwen Jing sat down absentmindedly in his chair. After hesitating for a while, he finally couldn't help but stand up again and said to Yuan Su, "I have heard that Sister Qiong has had an accident and there has been no news of her! Prime Minister, you should send someone to check on her!"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Yuan Su looked back at him, his gaze indifferent, his tone calm: "Don't listen to unfounded rumors, don't believe them, and certainly don't spread them. Your anxiety is precisely what makes you fall into the trap of those spreading rumors."
A treacherous scheme?
Yuwen Jing looked up blankly and met Yuan Su Hui's unwavering eyes, which were as calm as an ancient pool. His panicked heart gradually calmed down.
"Does the Prime Minister mean that Consort Xian is deceiving me?"
"So it was Consort Xian who spoke to His Highness."
Yuan Su returned to his seat on the left and looked at the Crown Prince with the kindness and gentleness of an elder: "Then, Your Highness, do you believe her or this old minister?"
The crown prince blurted out, "Of course, I trust the prime minister!"
"Hahaha....."
Yuan Su returned and grasped the end of his cane with both hands, smiling with relief: "Then Your Highness, please return to the palace in peace. Don't be misled by those rumors. If you fall into the trap of those with ill intentions, your mother will be heartbroken."
Yuwen Jing's expression calmed down, and a slight smile appeared on his pale lips.
The Prime Minister was the most loyal and wise man in the court, and the person he trusted most in the world. Since the Prime Minister said that Sister Qiong was unharmed, it must be Consort Xian spreading rumors to slander Sister Qiong and damage her reputation. He couldn't fall for it!
"I know what to do now, and I will never again be so easily swayed by others."
The young prince looked somewhat ashamed.
"I'm going back to the palace right now! I'll pull that woman's tongue out! Cough! Cough! Cough cough cough!"
His tone was somewhat agitated, and Yuwen Jing couldn't help but cough. The eunuch immediately handed him a handkerchief.
"Cough cough cough! Cough cough cough cough! Cough cough..."
After coughing for a while, Yuwen Jing took a few breaths to catch his breath, and an unnatural redness appeared on his face and in his eyes.
"Your Highness, please take care of your health. It's not worth getting angry over those petty people."
Butler Yuan, standing to the side, offered his arm respectfully while bowing.
The Crown Prince gave him an approving look, took his arm, and said to Yuan Su, "Then I will return to the palace first."
"Go back now, and convey my regards to Her Majesty the Empress on behalf of this old minister," Yuan Su replied with a smile.
The crown prince nodded, then coughed lightly and left the living room.
As soon as he left, maids came to sprinkle water, wipe the table, and change the incense. Yuan Su returned, leaning on his cane, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
I wonder how Qiong'er is doing now. The people he sent out were interfered with by other forces, and they haven't found out anything yet.
Now, he could only pray that Joan could use her intelligence to turn everything around.
Thinking of those who dared to harm his granddaughter, Yuan Su's face turned cold.
If this weren't Qiong'er's final trial before her death, he would have definitely dragged these guys out and crushed them to ashes! But for now, he could only let them run wild for a while longer, waiting for Qiong'er to return so he could deal with them personally.
*
On Black Cloud Cliff, thousands of miles away, after Lin Qiang left, Yuan Qiong began searching his room. After searching for a long time, she found nothing except a few strange pictures.
She lay down on the couch, looking at the pictures over and over again, but still couldn't understand their meaning. Finally, she could only put them back in their original place and lie down to recover.
It's been three days and Grandpa still hasn't found her, which means someone is deliberately trying to distract him or something has happened.
She couldn't just wait around any longer. She needed to heal her injuries first, find a way to send a message to her grandfather, and then find out who was behind the big bearded man.
On the other side, Lin Qiang left the village and had just arrived at the back mountain when he heard about Yuan Liu Niang threatening to kill herself.
He checked his pockets; no cigarettes. Frustrated, he grabbed a blade of grass, stuffed it into his mouth, and headed towards the side room where she was.
As soon as they reached the door, they heard Lao Liu's furious roar from inside: "Yuan Liu Niang, you son of a bitch, don't be so stubborn! I'm telling you, if you keep this up, believe me, I'll really kill you!"
"Sigh." Lin Qiang sighed, stepped forward, pushed open the door, and said, "Alright, stop arguing, get out!"
"Big brother! Look at that little girl..." Before the fourth brother could finish speaking, Lin Qiang interrupted him: "Get out!"
"Big brother..."
Didn't you hear me tell you to get out?
Lin Qiang glared at him, and only then did the fourth brother reluctantly lead his men out, leaving the sixth brother, who looked worried, behind in the room.
"Alright, you can get out too."
"Brother...Sixth Miss is still young, please don't hold it against her if she does something she doesn't know." After saying this, the sixth brother left the house, looking back every few steps.
The side room, which was just packed full, suddenly became empty.
Lin Qiang stepped forward and, under Yuan Liu Niang's wary gaze, pulled up a stool and sat down.
"Alright, put down the knife in your hand. You can't threaten me."
“I know.” Yuan Liuniang still held the knife to her neck: “I can’t threaten you, and I can’t even threaten those bandits. Any one of them could subdue me in one move.”
The reason the fourth brother didn't touch her was simply because the sixth brother was blocking him.
"Yuan Liu Niang, why bother?" Lin Qiang chewed on a blade of grass, asking her in confusion, "I said I wouldn't touch you, and I won't. Just stay on the mountain and help me out. After some time, when things have calmed down down the mountain, I'll think of a way to send you down, okay?"
"Big black beard, how can you say such a thing without shame?" Yuan Liuniang's tears fell instantly.
"If it weren't for you, I would still be the perfectly good sixth young lady of the Yuan family, without this stigma, and without the inability to return home!"
She looked up and glanced around the simple side room, where cobwebs and dust were everywhere, and cried even harder.
"You say Wang Yao is from an official family, so you feel sorry for her. But am I not? Am I just destined to suffer? You're willing to send me down the mountain, so do you expect me to be grateful? Do you think you're doing me a favor? No, this is what you owe me! You're atoning for your sins!"
"It was you, Big Black Beard, who wronged me, Yuan Liuniang, not me, Yuan Liuniang! Now you come to ask me why I did it, what do you think I did?"
What Lin Qiang least wanted to face was a woman's tears.
Yuan Liuniang is right. It was Black Beard who wronged Yuan Liuniang. Since he took over Black Beard's body, he should naturally take on his sins. This logic makes no mistake.
So Lin Qiang looked up and asked, "Then what do you want?"
“Since I can’t go back home, I need to have a respectable identity in this mountain stronghold.” Yuan Liu Niang wiped away her tears and stated her request: “I want a better life, I don’t want to stay here in this ambiguous situation anymore! The people in the stronghold treat me like an outsider, how can I possibly have a good life?!”
"........"
Lin Qiang chewed the grass stalk in his mouth and understood what Yuan Liu Niang meant.
He spat out the straw with a "Pah!" and stood up, saying, "I understand. You just want to join the village as a female bandit, right? That's easy."
"You should stay with Granny Tian and let your leg injury heal first. We'll move to the village next month. I'll teach you kung fu later."
The female protagonist is a nuisance, and also a product of the sins committed by her predecessor. He doesn't like owing people things, so since he's taken over her body, he'll atone for her sins, and that way they're even.
"But whether you can stay in the village in the end depends on your own performance."
"You can teach me kung fu?!" Yuan Liu Niang's eyes lit up instantly. She put down her knife and looked at him expectantly: "You really can teach me kung fu?"
"Yes, I always keep my word. If I've promised you, I will definitely do it."
After saying that, Lin Qiang left the side room and called his brothers back to the village.
Anyway, once Yao'er recovers from her injuries, he plans to help her improve her martial arts skills. Adding Yuan Liuniang to the mix will just be a piece of cake.
As for farming... Yuan Liu Niang's leg was injured so badly, how could she possibly work? We can only get the bandits moving first.
After Lin Qiang led his men back to the village, he thought for a moment and then said to the fourth and sixth brothers, "Go and gather all the brothers in the village at the training ground. Remember to have them bring their weapons. I have something to say to everyone."
"Okay, big brother!" Although the fourth brother didn't understand what the big brother was going to do, he always followed his big brother's lead. Without asking any questions, he pulled the fourth brother to call for help.
Lin Qiang had his tiger-skin chair moved over and placed on the high platform of the martial arts hall. He then sat down on the chair with an imposing air.
More and more bandits gathered below, curiously watching the burly, bearded man on the stage, but dared not utter a word. For some reason, they felt that their leader looked particularly eerie today, making them hesitant to make a sound in his presence.
Once everyone had arrived, Lin Qiang looked down and saw that the bandits were indeed very obedient and had all taken their weapons. Some had hoes, some had shovels, and others had flat, long sticks—all sorts of weapons were available. Only the fourth and sixth brothers actually carried broadswords, along with a bald man whose name he couldn't recall.
"......."
Okay.
Lin Qiang gained a new understanding of the village's poverty; he guessed that these tools were probably stolen from the villagers at the foot of the mountain.
"Brothers!"
Lin Qiang stood up from his chair and spoke loudly in a rough voice.
"After my father died, thanks to the respect of my brothers, I became the chief of our Black Cloud Stronghold. I, Shi Hei, am a rough man and not very good at speaking, but I have always been grateful to all my brothers! The day I became the chief, I secretly swore in my heart that I would make sure my brothers lived a good life!"
"We are born into this world as men, each bearing a great responsibility bestowed upon us by Heaven! How can we just huddle on Black Wind Cliff every day, living a life of idleness and darkness? A true man should live a life of style, a life of brilliance, a life of value! We cannot be looked down upon! I, Shi Hei, promise my brothers that as long as you work hard for me from now on, I will make sure every brother in Black Cloud Village has money to spend and can get married! So that when people mention Black Cloud Village, they will no longer call us bandits, but will instead call us heroes!"
Lin Qiang's signature big brother speech ignited the naive bandits, who looked at him with fervent enthusiasm!
"Follow the boss!" someone shouted first, and the rest of the men immediately realized what was going on and yelled, "Boss!"
"The boss!"
"The boss!"
"The boss!"
"Um."
Lin Qiang nodded, raised his hand and pressed down, and the people below immediately fell silent.
"A true man who wishes to accomplish something must first solve the problem of food and clothing! Food determines whether we can survive!" He looked around at the people below: "Since we have decided to stop being bandits and become heroes, we can no longer rob villagers for no reason! And if we don't rob villagers, how can we survive?"
"Yeah, what would we eat if we didn't rob people?"
The bandits below began whispering among themselves, discussing the matter.
A moment later, someone mustered up the courage to shout, "Boss, we can go hunting!"
"right!"
As soon as someone started talking, someone else immediately chimed in, "I can go catch fish!"
"I can go catch birds!"
Some people even said, "I can go and perform!"
"Hahahaha..."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Lin Qiang grinned and leaned forward, saying, "I know your talents, brothers. But doing that occasionally is fine, but hunting and performing every day is too hard! As the eldest brother, how can I let my brothers suffer like that?"
The boss is such a good person!
For the first time, the bandits felt the care from the organization.
"So, after thinking about it, I've decided to lead everyone in growing food!"
"Grow grain? Can grain be grown on the mountain? What kind?"
A group of people started chattering away again, drowning out even the birdsong in the mountains.
"The fourth brother discovered a valley in the back mountain that is very suitable for planting."
As Lin Qiang spoke, he glanced admiringly at Lao Si, who immediately puffed out his chest proudly.
"Think about it, everyone. If we plant crops all over Black Wind Cliff, our ancestors can live here for generations, marry, have children, and live a peaceful life. We can also train by the mountain and become legends in these thousands of miles of Black Wind Mountains, reaching the pinnacle of life, and being sung about by storytellers, leaving a lasting legacy!"
Who doesn't want to get married and have children?
Who doesn't want to be remembered for generations?
I dream about it!
"Farming!"
"Farming!"
"Farming!"
"Let's go! Let's go farm!" Lin Qiang waved his hand, and the group of people, as if injected with chicken blood, headed towards the back mountain in a grand and energetic manner.
Not far away, Yuan Qiong, who had witnessed the whole thing from Lin Qiang's room window, was completely dumbfounded.
Who can tell her how to farm in a way that will make her famous for generations?
How can anyone believe such a ridiculous lie?
Where's your brain?
Was it squeezed out of the door?
She thought about it seriously for a moment, then silently took out the blueprints that she had just put back in their place.
She needs to examine it carefully to see if there's really some hidden secret inside...
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the [nutrient solution]:
Even the guy in the bunk above who's terrible at naming things has named 20 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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