“This… let this official think again… You may withdraw for now!”
If Wu Ming were here, he would surely see the vermilion serpent atop Li Yu struggling continuously, its judgment disturbed by the dragon aura.
Qingzhu, the old Taoist priest, felt delighted inwardly but still bowed and withdrew.
Li Yu paced for a long time before finally stepping out and entering another courtyard: “Father!”
His father, Li Zhen, was truly the governor of Chufeng Commandery. After the previous Longmen gathering, however, he had suffered severe injuries and was bedridden, unable to manage affairs.
Now lying on a soft chair, a brocade quilt covering his knees, his eyes were dim and somewhat vacant.
Seeing this, tears immediately welled up in Li Yu’s eyes.
“Yu’er…”
At this moment, suddenly hearing his aged father seemed to have something to say, Li Yu quickly leaned closer.
“Official… official rank is only temporary… Your old father… has no other requests, only hoping that you can protect our family… This is the long-term way…”
Due to his old age and frailty, after this sentence, Li Zhen began panting violently again. After a long while, he closed his eyes, shook his hand, clearly unwilling to discuss further.
“Son… obeys!”
With tears in his eyes, Li Yu slowly withdrew. Gazing silently at the dark sky, he remained speechless.
If he had military power at his disposal, he would still have confidence to contend with Wu Zhi, but now…
Thinking about Xing Ju’s move to seize authority, and if the opponent successfully defends the city and gains increased prestige, she might even covet the supreme position!
At that time, even though he was her son-in-law, for the stability of the city, he would have no choice but to take ruthless action.
“Enough! Enough! Sentimentality weakens heroism. What do later generations’ opinions matter? As long as I can protect our family, that’s all…”
Li Yu sighed deeply, a sense of disillusionment arising in his heart.
Outside the city, Wu Ming, who was observing the aura from a high place, also nodded: “The major matter is accomplished! This Li Yu turns out to be a clever man. After this incident, the dragon aura’s karmic connection is settled, leaving residual blessings that can extend fortune to his clan. Perhaps there will be a day of prosperity in the future…”
Throughout history, the path of dragon contention either leads to success or death. To withdraw safely is already a great blessing.
Of course, Wu Ming himself possessed the Su Hou Pearl to suppress fortune, making him different. Even if Wu Zhi’s army were defeated, he could still protect himself, serving as the final insurance.
…
In the fifth year of Peace, November, at the beginning of the month.
Li Yu, the vice-governor of Chufeng Commandery, dispatched his private army and used the governor’s order to open the city gates, welcoming the Southern Feng army inside.
Xing Ju, the commandery’s military commander, resisted with his troops but was killed, and his entire family was exterminated.
With the governor and vice-governor’s commands, the remaining counties of Chufeng also surrendered one after another, submitting household registers, documents, and seals. By month’s end, the entire Chufeng Commandery was firmly under control!
The campaign was launched in October and Chufeng was captured in November! With this military achievement, Wu Zhi’s prestige soared, instantly intimidating dissenters. With the power of two commanderies, she proclaimed herself the Southern Feng Army’s Governor, establishing her own court with great prestige. This not only shook Dingzhou but spread throughout the entire realm.
Her actions of governing a region and commanding the military as a woman, although provoking severe criticism from some traditionalists who felt it was like overturning heaven and earth, also earned admiration from women across the land, with some female cultivators even joining her cause.
By December, another shocking news spread.
Wu Zhi, the Southern Feng Army’s Governor who controlled two commanderies, was about to marry, wedding into a small rural aristocratic family, causing astonishment throughout the entire province!
In Yunping County, Wu’s Fortress.
“Hurry up and hang the lanterns!”
“Prepare the kitchen! All ingredients must be fresh. This time we’ve invited chefs from the commandery city, including masters from several renowned restaurants…”
“Also prepare more red cloth and brocade, allowing for an extra ten percent consumption…”
The entire fortress was decorated with lanterns and streamers. Wu’s steward, Zhao Song, Feng Han, and others were so busy they barely had their feet on the ground.
The master’s wedding! Naturally, it was a grand occasion!
And the bride was none other than Wu Zhi, the Governor of the Southern Feng Army, who ruled both Chufeng and Southern Feng commanderies! This made it even more astonishing.
In fact, when Wu Ming and Wu Qing initially returned and announced this news, Wu’s steward and Feng Han were nearly shocked out of their wits.
“This time our Wu family is marrying in a lady. Officials and aristocrats from the entire province will send congratulations. We must not lose face in etiquette!”
Wu Qing rarely wore noblewoman’s attire, finally showing signs of a lady of the house.
Wu Ming’s marriage, given that his bride was Wu Zhi, naturally stirred the entire Dingzhou’s attention. If not for the rushed timing, guests from other provinces would also have come.
“How is the situation in Dingzhou?”
With everything handled by others, Wu Ming idly asked.
“What else could there be? Prince Ding originally wanted revenge but hadn’t even organized his troops when the news of Wu Zhi’s conquest of Chufeng spread. He could only retreat, merely appealing to the imperial court about Wu Zhi’s unauthorized killing of his heir!”
Wu Qing said carelessly.
“After all, Wu Zhi governing as a woman is still too shocking, potentially offsetting the advantages of both commanderies. People across the realm likely still expect her to fail and are waiting to see her downfall!”
Wu Ming closed his eyes: “E Xu will certainly exploit this point to appear weak, perhaps even deliberately moving closer to the imperial court…”
“I see you’ve got quite the strategist’s demeanor with your feather fan and silk scarf. Are you planning to serve under Wu Zhi’s command?” Wu Qing blinked her eyes: “During the day she manages you, at night you manage her. That’s quite interesting!”
“Conquering the world is something E Xu can handle. As for me, I’ll focus on cultivation…”
Wu Ming stretched lazily, comfortably covering his face with a book.
“Sitting back and reaping the rewards… Not bad either!”
Wu Qing picked up a pastry: “But that Wu Tiehu you recommended, Wu Zhi has fully employed him. He’s already been promoted to the rank of Wei Zheng Zhi Guo Xiao Wei, commanding five hundred soldiers of a regiment, holding the seventh junior rank. I heard she plans to entrust him with the military affairs of Chufeng Commandery. When that decision was made in the military council, she firmly overruled opposition!”
“Tiehu is one of the few capable people our family can offer. Once he achieves merit, naturally he can be promoted. It’s nothing really…”
Wu Ming’s voice came from under the book: “Although we are not afraid, we still need someone to handle external affairs. He represents our family’s face…”
“Right, right! Otherwise, people would really think you’re a good-for-nothing kept man…”
Wu Qing lifted the book from Wu Ming’s face, clearly teasing him: “Congratulations, you’re already famous far and wide…”
“What do I care about the world’s praise or criticism?”
Wu Ming slightly lowered his face, exuding a steady, unchanging aura.
This Daoist aura immediately surprised Wu Qing: “You must be about to break through to the Grandmaster level?”
“With accomplishments ripe, it’s just a matter of turning my palm!”
Wu Ming smiled: “Now allow me to congratulate my elder sister on breaking through the True Man threshold, achieving Yuan Shen and transcending the mundane world!”
“It’s just with a clear heart and the merit of the imperial appointment!”
Wu Qing nodded. At this moment, she had indeed become a True Man!
A family with two True Men! Even some cultivation families couldn’t match this, sufficient to establish a major Dao sect. Such terrifying foundation, if revealed, would instantly silence much external criticism.
However, both Wu siblings disliked seeking attention, so they let it be.
“Imperial appointment as a True Man, indeed impressive, but still slightly inferior to the National Preceptor…”
In Wu Ming’s eyes, Wu Qing now had a vermilion aura internally, and externally a golden-yellow fortune aura continuously flowing in from afar. This was the fortune from the imperial appointment.
“Judging from this, the imperial appointment of a True Man equates to a fifth junior rank in secular terms! For cultivators, converting external fortune to internal consumes about ten times more, so at the internal stage, it’s vermilion, just enough to sustain a True Man!”
“This means that ordinary cultivators, as long as they have talent and proper techniques plus this imperial appointment, have a good chance of becoming a True Man! Although it will consume several years’ worth of fortune from the two commanderies…”
An ordinary commandery’s governor only had golden-yellow fortune. Once a True Man was appointed, it was like establishing another real-power governor. The fortune consumption was astronomical!
If a few more were appointed, even Wu Zhi’s current resources couldn’t sustain it, leading to fortune decline and great calamity!
“National Preceptor?”
Wu Qing chuckled: “The National Preceptor is beyond rank, capable of unlimited fortune extraction, equivalent to a divine artifact changing hands. Wu Zhi would be crazy to give it to me. You could try though…”
“Now is unnecessary! This trivial fortune doesn’t interest me. However, if one day she unifies the realm and I attain the position of a dynasty’s National Preceptor, I might find it somewhat appealing…”
Although the Fusang world was small, Prince Yoshi successfully marched to Kyoto, occupying the entire realm and becoming the ruler of all under heaven, which was much greater than the combined power of two commanderies.
Before Wu Ming left, he used a spell to absorb the new dynasty’s fortune, gaining immense rewards, making even the imperial appointment of a True Man seem insignificant.
“You’re quite confident in Wu Zhi?”
Wu Qing was slightly surprised: “When dragons battle in the wild, their blood stains the heavens black and yellow. Moreover, she has innate disadvantages, easily criticized. Yet you’re so certain?”
“Cannot say… Cannot say…”
Wu Ming smiled and shook his head.
In reality, if he could control the Celestial Throne, what immense fortune and blessings would that bring?
As the saying goes, when one attains Dao, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. As his close associates, Wu Qing and Wu Zhi would certainly gain some fortune blessings too!
Although using yin to control yang easily invites collective attacks, can a single tree burn the entire sea? Can a drop of water stop a forest fire? As long as fortune and merit are sufficient, even unifying the realm and ascending the throne as a female emperor is possible?
However, there was no need to tell Wu Qing this.
“So mysterious…”
Wu Qing muttered discontentedly, then continued: “The wedding day draws near. With dragons and snakes mingling in the commandery, Wu Zhi has already captured several spies. We are also a key target. Should we deploy troops for defense?”
“Deploying troops now? First, it shows weakness; second, it lacks proper justification. With the two of us here, what do we have to fear?”
“Yes, those spies are manageable, but what if they hide among the guests, acting openly and are impossible to guard against…”
Wu Qing sighed.
…
As she and Wu Ming discussed these matters, outside Chufeng Commandery, within a convoy of horse-drawn carriages, two other people were discussing them.
“These Wu siblings are no ordinary people!”
A graceful woman with eyes like flowing water firmly stated.
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