The more she listened, the more viable it sounded. Li Qingge nodded repeatedly, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.
She had always presented herself with the poise of a great noble house, rarely losing her composure like this.
He Lingchuan flashed her a toothy grin. "However, there is an issue here. As a party involved in the case of the elixir of immortality, I cannot openly be connected to National Preceptor Shuangye. So I cannot go to Nian Zanli to make this exchange in person."
Li Qingge also understood the many twists and turns of officialdom, and replied immediately, "Leave this matter to me. As long as the token given by National Preceptor Shuangye can truly mobilize troops, I don't think Nian Zanli cares who he is making the deal with."
She said firmly, "By obtaining the troop-mobilizing token from National Preceptor Shuangye, Eldest Young Master has already gone above and beyond for me! I can handle the rest of this transaction myself."
He Lingchuan nodded, taking out a command token and two letters from his breast.
The token was dark red, made of an unknown material that felt somewhat pliable to the touch, and was carved in relief with a frosted leaf.
The letters were of the same color, their wax seals stamped with the mark of a frosted leaf as well.
These were the special documents from National Preceptor Shuangye that he had just retrieved from the location specified by Xi Yunhe.
Truth be told, he found this insignia somewhat familiar, though he could not recall where he had seen it before.
"In a few days, Beijia will host an event at the Grass Sea, organized by the Zhongsun clan. National Preceptor Shuangye will definitely be present." He Lingchuan pointed at these three items and said, "Nian Zanli can go directly to National Preceptor Shuangye to verify their authenticity."
No matter how genuine the tokens appeared, nothing would convince Nian Zanli beyond all doubt like National Preceptor Shuangye's personal guarantee.
Li Qingge stowed the three items away, took a deep breath, and suddenly rose from her seat to offer He Lingchuan a deep, graceful bow.
"Thank you, Eldest Young Master."
"What is Your Lordship doing?" He Lingchuan reached forward and caught her elbow with just the right amount of force, preventing Li Qingge from bowing any further. "It won't be too late to thank me after you get the bamboo cylinder back. Nian Zanli might not be entirely honest, either."
"I had thought of many ways, but was held back by the lack of equivalent bargaining chips, and I didn't dare press Nian Zanli too hard." Li Qingge picked up the frost-leaf token on the table. "Now that I have this in hand, when it comes to business negotiations and maneuvers, the Governor of Xunzhou is no match for me!"
She broke into a confident smile. "Eldest Young Master, just await my good news."
Yet she immediately followed up with her next concern: "However, once Nian Zanli borrows troops, it will be a catastrophe for the Yuan Kingdom—and Xiazhou will bear the brunt of it."
"Yes. That is why you must complete this transaction soon, and then proceed with the next step of the plan."
Li Qingge was moved. "You want to..."
She left the rest unsaid, instead making a throat-slashing gesture.
Such a ruthless motion seemed almost playful coming from her.
He Lingchuan shook his head. "We cannot touch him. This is Lingxu City; we cannot make too much noise."
Li Qingge agreed. "Poison, curses—I've thought of them all. But he is a commanding general after all. Even far from his army, he still retains some origin power. Such methods would be far too ineffective against him, and would easily alert the snake in the grass."
He Lingchuan nodded, leaning forward slightly. "Does Nian Zanli have any enemies or adversaries in Lingxu City?"
"Enemies or adversaries? He is an outsider with no substantial conflicts with the dignitaries of Lingxu City." Li Qingge bit her lip in thought. "Though... when National Preceptor Shuangye allocated origin power to Nian Zanli, several elders criticized it quite fiercely. Two of them were senior ministers left behind by the late monarch. Although already retired, the Emperor still seems to take their opinions into account. When Nian Zanli came to Lingxu City to borrow troops this time, they also submitted memorials to the Emperor, stating it must never be permitted. Would that... count as adversaries?"
"If that doesn't count, nothing does," He Lingchuan chuckled. "Does Nian Zanli own any properties in Lingxu City?"
"He has two residences, one large and one small, seven shops, and a restaurant..."
He Lingchuan shook his head, cutting her off. "Any that he sold recently?"
"Yes." Li Qingge had always kept an eye on Nian Zanli's movements and knew a good deal about his commercial dealings. "Nian Zanli has been hiring people in Lingxu City to lobby the Emperor, spending silver like water. The meager sum he extorted from me was nowhere near enough. He originally had three residences; he sold off one a month ago, along with dozens of mu of farmland in the far suburbs, a teahouse, and a merchant guild."
"Where is the residence he sold?"
"Also in the main city district." Otherwise it would not fetch much money, and Nian Zanli wouldn't have bothered selling it.
"Who bought it?"
"A wealthy merchant from out of town bought it to serve as a merchant guild's storefront, and he lives inside it himself. I've been there; there are a lot of people coming and going." Li Qingge looked at him with keen interest. "Do you already have a plan in mind?"
"More or less, but I'll need Your Lordship's cooperation."
"I will do everything I can." Li Qingge poured him a cup of tea, her long eyelashes fluttering. "What would you have me do?"
Those words were spoken with delicate coquetry.
He Lingchuan, however, replied solemnly, "Frame him!"
"Eh?"
He Lingchuan did not elaborate, changing the subject instead. "By the way, has Your Lordship ever heard of 'glazed gold'?"
"Of course." The moment her area of expertise was mentioned, Li Qingge's demeanor instinctively became serious. "It is transparent, as hard as refined gold when solid and as soft as mercury when fluid—truly high-end material. Ancient immortals used it to refine magic artifacts. But the compounding ingredients are very rare now. Songyang Mansion once tried to replicate it, but failed."
"If one were to encounter such a magic artifact, device, or structure, is there any way to break it?"
"Break it?" Li Qingge frowned. "Can you be more specific?"
"The glazed gold is merely an outer shell. I want to retrieve what is inside." He asked this, of course, regarding the eye of the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation.
"An outer shell? How thick?"
"A palm's width," He Lingchuan said. "It can switch freely between liquid and solid states."
"That is a property of glazed gold." Li Qingge thought for a moment. "It also depends on who made it, what their customary methods were, and what ratio was used for the glazed gold."
He Lingchuan gave a wry smile. "Is there no way to break it directly?"
Li Qingge rolled her eyes at him. "Why do you think immortals used it for magic artifacts? Wasn't it precisely because of its remarkable properties? And you just want to break it easily?"
"Right." He Lingchuan rubbed his hands together. "Can Your Lordship find a way?"
Since this fellow had just given her hope of reclaiming the bamboo cylinder, how could Li Qingge refuse him? "Give me time to think it over."
He Lingchuan was overjoyed; needing to think it over meant there was at least a glimmer of hope.
"Let's stay in touch and make long-term plans." He picked up his cup and drained it in one gulp. "Pianxiang Villa, where I live, has been watched very closely lately. Be extremely careful when exchanging messages."
The two left one after the other, separated by a little over a quarter of an hour.
Yet as He Lingchuan went downstairs to depart, someone behind the stairs in the teahouse lobby looked up at his back, lost in thought.
It was an interesting position. Shielded by the stairs, people coming and going would rarely notice it, but anyone sitting behind them could get a clear view of every guest.
Had He Lingchuan turned around to look, he would have discovered that this person was none other than Fang Canran.
The next day, Fu Shan dragged He Lingchuan along to visit the Ke family.
They had sent gifts and invited him when he moved to Pianxiang Villa; shouldn't he return the courtesy?
Naturally, the Ke family lived in the sky, on Tiantong Island—the floating isle closest to the Emperor, second only to Tianxin Island, and the utmost pinnacle for a subject's residence.
To ascend into the sky, one had to first go to Chikan Peak in the very center of the Lower City and be transported via the Jinghong Crossing.
Chikan Peak was a small hill, barely a hundred zhang above sea level. Halfway up the mountain was a massive natural plaza, the so-called "ferry crossing," though the entrance was narrow and heavily fortified, with troops garrisoned directly on site.
Sentry posts stood every three paces and guard posts every five. Only personnel holding special command tokens could enter; commoners were strictly barred.
Because the seven floating isles in the sky and Chikan Peak on the ground formed a unified set of magic artifacts, they had their own mode of teleportation, known as the "Jinghong Crossing."
Distinct from the teleportation formations He Lingchuan had taken on Tianshu Peak, seven stone gates stood neatly arranged on the plaza of Chikan Peak—
Strictly speaking, they were seven gateframes over five zhang tall. Faint blue, translucent ripples of water took the place of gate doors, and it was the first time He Lingchuan had seen ripples of water undulating perpendicular to the ground.
Fu Shan said to him, "Each gate corresponds to a floating isle."
The name of the island was written atop the gateframe.
Just then, an entourage stepped onto the plaza after having their identities verified. Once they passed through the gate, carriages and attendants vanished all at once.
Fu Shan had already shown his Crown Prince token. "Let's go."
Passing through the blue ripples of water, He Lingchuan felt only a slight chill on his body, and the scene before his eyes changed completely.
It was convenient, swift, and caused no discomfort whatsoever, unlike the teleportation formations on Tianshu Peak that left one dizzy.
After all, this was considered the interior of a magic artifact, where the rules differed from the outside world.
Setting foot on an island for the first time, He Lingchuan looked left and right.
It was late autumn. In Lower Lingxu, the autumn wind was bleak and the vegetation was turning yellow; though the hills surrounding the city were ablaze with gold and red, an austere chill already hung over heaven and earth. Yet stepping onto Tiantong Island, He Lingchuan felt not a trace of coolness. Even the breeze caressing his face carried a mild dampness and a delicate fragrance of flowers.
This was the breath of spring.
Turning his head, he indeed saw winter jasmines blooming brilliantly along the edge of the plaza, draping down the low walls like a waterfall.
Yet as he walked out of Tiantong Island's Jinghong Crossing, he saw genuine waterfalls and streams cascading down from the mountain peaks, flanked by a riot of wild mountain blossoms, the cries of black kites, and the chatter of swallows.
Every time he saw He Lingchuan wear the look of a country bumpkin, Fu Shan felt a sense of smug satisfaction. "Tiantong Island is also called the Isle of Flowers; only spring exists here. Whether the Lower City is freezing cold or sweltering hot, up here it is always delightfully warm."
The streets here were even cleaner and smoother than those in the Lower City. The curbs along both sides of the roads were even paved with uniformly sized pebbles, so carriages experienced almost no jolts from the ground.
Everywhere greenery spread in lush profusion, and everywhere flowers clustered in meticulously pruned arrangements.
Here, the roadsides were gardens in themselves, filled with rare and precious trees, sparing anyone the need to visit the estates of the rich to see them.
Emerging from the Jinghong Crossing, one had to cross a stone bridge thirty-three zhang long to reach the main body of Tiantong Island.
Walking along the edge of the stone bridge, He Lingchuan looked down at Lower Lingxu.
Drifting through the clouds, he could see winding streets, densely packed rows of houses, and rivers curving like jade ribbons.
Chapter 612