Li Qingge looked slightly surprised. "How did you know... Oh!"
She remembered. Before the Chief Administrator of Xiazhou departed Shihuan City, she had asked the father and son whether a bamboo cylinder had been among Sun Fuping's effects.
That was a long time ago. This youth had an astonishing memory and a remarkably sharp mind, quite unlike the rash, blunt persona he projected to the world.
Indeed, once he left Governor-General He's side, he didn't seem rash at all anymore.
"Yes, that's the one."
He Lingchuan thought for a moment. "How do you know it's truly in Nian Zanli's hands rather than seized by the Grand Marshal in Wuzhou?"
Back when internal strife erupted in the Yuan Kingdom, Grand Marshal Dong Haoming had been the first to rebel. Nian Zanli held back his troops and waited to see which way the wind blew, only rising in revolt after He Chunhua memorialized the capital. Yet both of them had been closely tied to Sun Fuping.
"I investigated Wuzhou thoroughly. It isn't with the Grand Marshal," Li Qingge stated with certainty. "Furthermore, Nian Zanli used that very object when he extorted Songyang Mansion. So I can be sure it's in his hands."
"If he knows he can blackmail you with it, why would he ever return it?"
Li Qingge smiled wryly. "That is precisely the problem."
"From what I've seen, Nian Zanli isn't having an easy time in Lingxu City either. Does Your Ladyship have no leverage over him?"
"I tried several times, but the man is entirely obstinate—he refuses to give it back no matter what I say. I was afraid that if I pushed too hard, he would simply destroy the bamboo cylinder. I could seek outside help, but this matter cannot be brought into the open; otherwise, it would merely be driving away a tiger only to let in a wolf..." She offered a faint, bitter smile. "After all, this is Lingxu City, not the Yuan Kingdom. I have no home advantage here."
Her meaning was plain: she could not readily turn to other mighty figures, lest she invite a patron god who proved impossible to dismiss.
"Is Your Ladyship so trusting of me?" He Lingchuan asked. "Aren't you afraid I'll keep the cylinder for myself once I get it?"
Li Qingge gave a gentle, captivating smile. "The Eldest Young Master is not that sort of person."
He Lingchuan smiled as well and put away the inner armor vest. "What did Nian Zanli come to Lingxu City to achieve?"
Li Qingge had lent him the purple-gold pestle to deal with Bai Ziqi and sent her people to deliver the Dragon-Torture Pillar to Wange Marsh on his behalf. Thus, he owed her at least two massive favors and was obliged to repay them.
"The Battle of the Han River cost him heavy casualties, and his plan to coordinate with Grand Marshal Dong Haoming to attack Xiazhou fell through. It seems this has become a knot in his heart, which in turn caused Lingxu City to treat him rather coldly."
At this, He Lingchuan nodded.
He was no longer the ignorant youth of months ago by the Han River who knew nothing of the northern demon kingdom. His travels through the vassal demon kingdoms and his several brushes with death had granted him a deeper understanding of Beijia, especially Lingxu City. He was no longer peering at flowers through a fog.
If He Chunhua had been as acutely aware of Lingxu City's attitude toward Nian Zanli back when the rebellion began, their strategic choices would surely have undergone a massive shift.
"Over the past two months, Nian Zanli has spent vast sums in Lingxu City bribing officials high and low, hoping to find prominent figures who might lobby the Demon Emperor."
"Did it work?" He Lingchuan asked with keen interest.
"It did. I caught wind of a rumor that he managed to enlist National Preceptor Qingyang as his advocate."
He Lingchuan's eyes flickered. "National Preceptor Qingyang? I remember that before the Battle of the Han River, Nian Zanli petitioned National Preceptor Shuangye to allocate origin power. Why switch allegiance to National Preceptor Qingyang now?"
"Perhaps because of the catastrophic losses in the Battle of the Han River?" Li Qingge did not state it outright, but He Lingchuan understood immediately.
Hong Chenglüe had betrayed Nian Zanli during the battle, and Hong Chenglüe had been sent by National Preceptor Shuangye. That had likely left a grudge in Nian Zanli's heart.
"Did National Preceptor Qingyang sway the sovereign?"
"It seemed the Emperor's stance was softening—"
He Lingchuan felt a chill. National Preceptor Qingyang's influence was formidable indeed. Yuan Kingdom's Xiazhou had barely caught its breath after the battle; was it about to suffer the scourge of war once more?
As a transmigrator, he held no deep affection for the Yuan Kingdom, yet he did not wish to see its people plunged into misery and devastation.
To his surprise, Li Qingge continued, "However, right around that time, the elixir of immortality case suddenly blew wide open, and Qingfu Temple exploded. Although on the surface it had nothing to do with the Azure Palace..."
"...the clues pointed covertly right toward it, and the celestial gods were furious?" He Lingchuan chuckled. "With the gods displeased, the Emperor could hardly entertain National Preceptor Qingyang's advice."
"Precisely. Thus, Nian Zanli's plan was shelved. He spent all that money and courted all those people, only to draw water with a sieve!"
He Lingchuan understood now. No wonder Nian Zanli had looked so haggard and sullen when he saw him at the Dun Garden auction.
It turned out the man had been hitting a brick wall at every turn.
Who would have guessed that by investigating the elixir of immortality case, He Lingchuan had inadvertently ruined Nian Zanli's scheme to borrow troops?
Two things that seemed worlds apart had ended up intersecting after all.
His father really ought to award him an honorary banner; otherwise, Beijia's iron hooves would have trampled Xiazhou's soil before long.
"He wanted to borrow men and momentum from Beijia to turn the tables, so he blackmailed Songyang Mansion for funds and supplies." The smile faded from Li Qingge's face. "I enjoy roaming the realm, but I am still a daughter of the Yuan Kingdom. How could I aid him in attacking my motherland?"
He Lingchuan lowered his gaze, silently impressed.
Li Qingge spoke only of herself with every word, yet from start to finish she was reminding He Lingchuan that Yuan people must help Yuan people. Helping her retrieve the bamboo cylinder meant helping protect his homeland from the flames of war.
Framed under such a grand banner of righteousness, He Lingchuan found it difficult to refuse.
Li Qingge added, "Xiazhou was already weak and weary, and after a year of turmoil from the war, its vitality remains severely depleted, far from recovered. When I passed through the outskirts of Dunyu last time, the common folk were still struggling to survive. Elders over fifty had lost all their teeth, yet they couldn't even get a bowl of porridge." She shook her head. "If we can stop Nian Zanli here, it will also be a great service to your father."
He Lingchuan took on a solemn expression. "Setting aside such grand patriotic righteousness, Your Ladyship has helped me multiple times. It is only right that I repay the favor. However, I am a newcomer who hasn't been in Lingxu City for ten days. Does Your Ladyship truly believe I can be of help?"
Favors worked on reciprocity; only by giving and taking could connections grow stronger.
"The Eldest Young Master is now a close friend of the crown prince, an envoy of Chiyan, and famous throughout Lingxu on account of the elixir of immortality case and the embassy explosion." Li Qingge rested her chin on her hand. "The fact that Nian Zanli took the initiative to send you a gift proves he considers you worth courting."
She leaned slightly toward him. "Did you know that the Demon King of Chiyan is on good terms with the Xuluo Kingdom?"
Both Xuluo and the Jeweled Tree Kingdom bordered the Yuan Kingdom.
"I had no idea," He Lingchuan answered truthfully. "Three months ago, I couldn't even name all of Beijia's vassal demon kingdoms. But regarding Nian Zanli, I will do my best."
Li Qingge rose at once and gave a graceful, sweeping curtsy. "Your noble righteousness touches me deeply, Young Master. Qingge cannot thank you enough."
"We are both of the Yuan Kingdom; why speak so formally?" He Lingchuan tossed her own words back to her. "However, having just arrived in Lingxu, I am short on hands."
"Whatever you require, Young Master, simply ask." Li Qingge's voice was gentle as she toasted him with a cup of wine. She continued, "Songyang Mansion has several clever individuals in Lingxu City who have operated here for over three years. Feel free to use them as you see fit, Young Master."
He Lingchuan raised a brow. "Your Ladyship began managing business in Lingxu City so long ago?"
"We opened our first branch here five years ago."
"A swift expansion indeed," He Lingchuan remarked with a smile. "When I visited Dun Garden a few days ago, that Misty Mountain folding screen was truly magnificent." It had been quite the eye-catcher too; passing guests couldn't help taking extra glances, and Songyang Mansion's inscription and hallmark sat right in the lower-left corner.
Could just any petty merchant put up an advertisement in General Jinjiao's Dun Garden?
Lingxu City had developed for six hundred years, and its commercial landscape was largely entrenched. For Songyang Mansion to carve out a foothold in such a short time showed that Li Qingge was remarkably capable.
Frowning slightly, she showed a hint of distress. "All that hard work finally yielded some results, yet the timing is terrible. Nian Zanli needed to grease palms all over Lingxu City, so he treated my establishment like a private bank, demanding money and goods every few days."
He Lingchuan picked up a slice of pine nut fish and chewed it slowly. "Treating Songyang Mansion as nothing more than a cash cow—he truly underestimates Your Ladyship."
In his view, Li Qingge's talent for earning money was secondary.
To take an obvious example: Songyang Mansion had opened a branch in the northern demon kingdom's capital years ago, when relations between Yuan and Beijia were already severely strained. Songyang Mansion was a Daoist order that originated in Yuan, and Li Qingge was a marquis of Yuan, yet the Yuan court had simply turned a blind eye to her openly conducting business in both realms.
Meanwhile, Li Qingge's husband had been executed for colluding with the enemy and treason.
From any perspective, she didn't seem like someone who could stay untainted and uninvolved.
Yet she had pulled it off. Not only was Songyang Mansion unaffected, but its business grew ever larger.
Any ordinary merchant would have lost their head several times over.
He Lingchuan ventured a bold guess: did this woman have some private agreement with the Yuan court?
Li Qingge did not falsely demur, her slender brows knitting together. "Nian Zanli stayed in Xunzhou for years and rarely returned to Shihuan. I suspect he knows little about Songyang Mansion or about me, and Sun Fuping didn't disclose much to him either. For now, he merely extorts some money from me. But now that he has the bamboo cylinder, he will likely invest the effort to investigate. After that... things could become troublesome."
He Lingchuan said gravely, "Allow me to devise a plan."
"One more thing: be careful not to let Nian Zanli destroy the bamboo cylinder. Don't even let him pull out the stopper."
He Lingchuan nodded in agreement. He could roughly guess what was inside that bamboo cylinder.
"By the way, I have a newly made plaything here. Would you care to test it out, Young Master?"
A plaything? A new toy to test?
He Lingchuan quickly banished any peculiar thoughts from his mind. "Of course, absolutely."
Li Qingge retrieved a small box. "This is a Tracking Bee. From the name, you can probably guess what it does, yes?"
The box was octagonal, resembling a case for a pocket watch. The filigree patterns on the lid formed the shape of a bee, giving the whole piece an antique, delicate elegance.
Since it was called a "Tracking Bee," He Lingchuan had assumed a pair of little bees would fly out the moment the box opened. But nothing did.
Inside lay something resembling a compass, with a sandalwood face marked with scales and characters. In the center sat two small needles, one long and one short.
Isn't this just... a compass? Fancy box notwithstanding.
"Fascinating. How does it work?" He Lingchuan asked. Li Qingge was truly meticulous; even when calling in a favor, she never forgot to offer tangible benefits.
She turned the box over, and He Lingchuan saw a concealed compartment on the back.
Chapter 572