The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 59 Xue Pan Completed the Mission

In the imperial palace, inside the warm room.

Jin Shang stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, looking at the snowflakes falling outside. He picked up a snowflake and watched it melt into water in the blink of an eye. He asked slowly:

"Shouzhong, what do you think the reason why Zhan Niansi came here to pay taxes in such a grand manner is?"

The eunuch who was standing quietly in the corner, half hunched over, with his eyes downcast and staring at the tip of his shoes, immediately replied respectfully:

"In my opinion, he probably wants to get a talisman to protect himself, so that he, his in-law, won't be implicated if the Xue family falls in the future."

When the emperor heard this, he laughed and said:
"There are still many discerning people in this world!"

"It's a pity that more people are blinded by money and remain stubborn."

Xia Shouzhong just lowered his head and looked at the ground without saying a word, but he heard the emperor ask again:
"The Xue family also has a stake in his business, so why wouldn't the Xue family want to turn against him?"

Xia Shouzhong knew that the emperor was hoping for a lucky break, but he still didn't dare to say anything. He just said:

"I think it's unlikely."

"The Xue family, in order to protect their own wealth, made a fool of themselves by splitting up the family. They thought that they could protect themselves by throwing out the main family lineage. They had already decided to fight to the end."

"The main branch of the Xue family is now an orphan and a widow, and the head of the family, Xue Pan, is a playboy. I'm afraid his family is still unaware of the crisis!"

"I have also received news that another branch of the Xue family is now active in the court, looking for another backer. At this time, it is impossible to use this method to disperse the family's financial resources."

After hearing this, the emperor immediately raised his eyebrows and asked in a cold voice:
"Nowadays, are there still powerful people who dare to recruit the Xue family?"

Xia Shouzhong lowered his head even more, and said hesitantly:
"Of course the powerful and wealthy wouldn't dare to do that, but the Xue family is now mainly offering their support to... civil officials."

After hearing this, the emperor became even angrier, his face gloomy and he said nothing.

Xia Shouzhong was waiting nearby, silent as a cicada.

After a long time, he felt that the anger in the Lord slowly dissipated and returned to the original topic.

"Since Zhan Niansi has seen the problems of the Xue family, why doesn't he just cancel the marriage?"

Xia Shouzhong was in charge of the Jinyi Tiqi, and had already investigated everything thoroughly. He immediately replied:
"I had someone investigate Zhan Niansi's behavior after he came to Beijing, and found that all the businesses he set up were done with the help of the four kings and eight dukes' families."

"The honeycomb coal was made together with Ningguo Mansion and Baolinghou Mansion. The wine business also borrowed the power of Ningguo Mansion and Rong Mansion."

"If he breaks off the engagement and loses the support of the Xue family, it will definitely not be easy for him to borrow the power of these greedy parasites given his status."

"I think if he doesn't cancel the engagement, he must be reluctant to give up this help."

"But he is a smart man. He knows that the Xue family's ship will sink sooner or later, and he doesn't want to drown with it, so he took the initiative to pay taxes, thinking of currying favor with the court."

The emperor sneered after hearing this:

"He is also a man who is caught between two sides."

Hearing the displeasure in the emperor's tone, Xia Shouzhong asked in a low voice:

"Would you like me to have someone give him a warning?"

The emperor waved his hand and said indifferently:

"That's not necessary."

"If we really get to the bottom of everything, all the civil and military officials in this court are of the same kind."

"Let's just leave him alone and see what he does next."

"After all, they are paying full taxes to the court now!"

"This alone is better than too many dignitaries and civil officials."

Hearing the emperor's bad tone, Xia Shouzhong did not dare to interrupt. He just lowered his head and continued to look at the ground, studying the patterns on the floor tiles. Then he heard the emperor's order:

"Send a message to that idiot who dares not collect taxes. If this happens again, they must collect the taxes. Otherwise..."

Xia Shouzhong hurriedly bowed in response, stood up and went out to ask someone to pass the message, while at the same time keeping the name Zhan Niansi in mind.

The current emperor is a man who clearly distinguishes between rewards and punishments. He will reward those who have made contributions. Since he is willing to collect taxes from him, it is probably a recognition of his achievements. Even if the Xue family falls in the future, he will not be implicated much.

But how much his merits can offset his sins will depend on his future performance.

The more taxes you pay, the greater your contribution will naturally be.

If he really paid the liquor tax honestly from now on, the emperor would be reluctant to replace him and let other cunning people take the position.

Who knows, after abandoning the Xue family, they might even support him to take the throne!

Soon, Zhan Ershisi got the news.

Ambassador Song went to work despite being ill. He braved the heavy snow and personally led people to the Zhan family's winery to collect taxes.

If an outsider encountered a situation where the tax collector came to collect taxes, he would most likely be in big trouble. He would have to find ways to curry favor with the tax collector and find out which god he had offended. But in the Zhan family's case, the situation was reversed.

Ambassador Song had gauze wrapped on his head and looked miserable, but he still had to smile and speak nice words to Zhan 24 in a servile manner.

"Oh, Master Zhan, my old illness relapsed a few days ago, which delayed my official duties. As a result, you were unable to pay the tax. It was a wasted trip."

"I feel deeply guilty, so I came here in person today to avoid wasting your time any further."

As soon as he saw his expression, Zhan Ershisi knew that his previous plan had paid off. He just didn't know whether it was the reaction from the Political Affairs Hall or the palace, so he pulled Ambassador Song aside and said with a smile:
"Ambassador Song now knows who is behind me?"

Ambassador Song smiled flatteringly and said:
"If you had said earlier that it was the order of the old Prince Zhongshun, then it would have been over. I would have obeyed you long ago!"

Prince Zhongshun?

How could it be him?
This man is the current emperor's younger brother and also his loyal dog.

Zhan Ershisi's mind raced and he understood that this must be the palace's intention. However, it was inconvenient to use the imperial edict directly, so he borrowed the title of Prince Zhongshun.

After realizing this, Zhan Ershisi laughed and patted Ambassador Song on the shoulder, saying meaningfully:
"This kind of thing is best kept between you and me. Ambassador Song, please don't say too much."

Ambassador Song was startled, nodded hastily, and swore:

"Master Zhan, rest assured. I have always kept my mouth shut. I don't even talk in my sleep."

"This relationship, once you have spoken of it, has reached my ears. If it is leaked to the outside, I will jump into the river myself!"

Mr. Zhan patted his shoulder with satisfaction and took out a silver note worth one hundred taels and handed it to him.

"Oh, that won't work. I dare not take your money!"

Zhan Ershisi stuffed the banknotes into his arms and said angrily:
"Tsk, how can people in the officialdom work for nothing?"

"We will have the opportunity to interact with each other in the future. Ambassador Song, just keep it. If you have any news, remember to let someone know."

Ambassador Song pretended to refuse, but finally couldn't stand Mr. Zhan's enthusiasm, so he had to put the banknote into his arms with a smile.

The tax collection work went smoothly afterwards and was completed quickly. Ambassador Song issued a receipt for tax payment to Zhan 24, stamped it with his seal, and prepared to leave.

"It's cold and snowy today, Ambassador Song might as well stay and have a few glasses of wine before leaving."

Zhan 24 invited him warmly, but was politely declined by Ambassador Song.

"I have official business to attend to, so it is inconvenient for me to stay. If Master Zhan doesn't mind, I will host a banquet at Chunfeng Tower to entertain Master Zhan some other day. I wonder if Master Zhan would be willing to honor me with his presence?"

Zhan Ershi agreed readily, "In that case, let's meet again at Chunfeng Tower."

After watching Ambassador Song and a group of tax collectors carrying the silver box rushing into the snow again, Zhan Ershisi turned around and called Yang Yougong, instructing him:
"When the snow stops, remember to ask Xue Pan, if I plan to turn this Erguotou into tribute wine, who should I go through?"

Now that he knows the attitude of the palace, Master Zhan will of course take a step further towards the direction of the current emperor.

The person the leader remembers best is never the one who does the best job, but the one who often hangs around under his nose.

Although everyone in the palace already knows about Zhan Ershisi, if he doesn’t make his presence felt frequently, he will be forgotten in no time.

So what Zhan Ershisi has to do now is to let his name appear repeatedly in the ears of the man in the palace, so that he will get used to this name and remember this name.

There are rules for purchasing in the palace. It does not mean that everything can become tribute for the imperial use, nor does it mean that if something is good enough, it must be enjoyed by the nobles in the palace.

This rule was not set by the emperor himself, but by the eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department.

They had the power to decide whether the emperor could have fresh vegetables for every meal, drink top-quality tea, or taste delicacies from all over the world. They could also make the concubines in the harem use inferior rouge and powder and adulterated spices.

It can be said that as long as this group of people are conquered, Erguotou liquor can appear in the imperial kitchen.

Anyway, this wine is not restricted by seasons, it is available all year round, the quality is high, and it tastes good.

It doesn't matter what kind of wine you drink in the palace!

Why can’t you drink and make some money at the same time!

Yang Yougong agreed and went to prepare it without mentioning it.

As for Baochai, after receiving the news, she prepared to find an opportunity to go to Ningguo Mansion.

But now, because of the clothing business, Ningguo Mansion has a constant stream of female guests every day. Youshi and the other four women are so busy that they have no time to receive guests.

Baochai had no choice but to wait patiently.

Just when she was feeling anxious for several days, fortunately it snowed heavily that day, forcing the female guest to go back home. She then became interested again and wanted to come over to his house for a reunion.

Coincidentally, because of the heavy snow, the plum blossoms in Huifang Garden of Ningguo Mansion bloomed, and Youshi sent someone to the mansion to invite Lady Jia and other female relatives to go and appreciate the flowers together.

Now, she didn't even have to find an excuse.

While Baochai and everyone else were heading to Ningguo Mansion, she asked Hongye to deliver a letter to Master Zhan, inviting him to come over for a reunion.

When Mr. Zhan got the news, he went to visit him immediately.

Because the clothing business was so prosperous, Xiangling and the second sister's two concubines often stayed in Ningguo Mansion at night. Master Zhan was lonely and couldn't sleep at home, so he often came to drink and play with Brother Zhen and nephew Rong, and stayed in Ningguo Mansion at night.

Originally, Brother Zhen planned to build a small courtyard in the mansion for the three of them to live in, but Master Zhan did not want to trouble Brother Zhen too much, so he insisted on continuing to live in Jia Rong's small courtyard room.

Anyway, the room is big enough for three people to lie on one bed.

Rong'er and his wife wanted to make friends with Master Zhan, and they tried to persuade him, so Brother Zhen had to give up.

Xiangling and her second sister both knew that their master had a disease similar to that of a widower. Even if they knew certain things, they would only help to push it from behind and would not dare to leak the news.

As a result, Mr. Zhan became more and more reluctant to leave Ningguo Mansion, and spent more time staying in Ningguo Mansion than in his own house.

Now that the two families are close friends, there is no need for Mr. Zhan to visit Lian Bing. He can just go straight in and head to Huifang Garden.

After arriving at the garden and seeing the female relatives from afar, Master Zhan stopped and asked someone to go over and report the news.

When the girls heard this, they all started to laugh. Wang Xifeng then made a naughty expression at Baochai and said,
"Hey, look who came here just because of the smell?"

When married women such as Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang heard this, they also looked at Aunt Baochai and smiled.

Seeing that even Lady Jia was laughing, the other girls laughed even more happily.

Baochai blushed slightly, bowed and said:

"Old lady, don't listen to the nonsense of the second sister-in-law. Brother Zhan often has business dealings with Brother Zhen, but he is not here just for Baochai."

Grandmother Jia smiled and said:
"Whether he came for you or not doesn't matter. The key is that he is standing there now. Do you really want to go over and meet him?"

Baochai blushed and nodded, "Since you have seen me, it would be impolite not to see me. Let Baochai go and entertain you, and then continue to serve the old lady when she comes back."

Grandmother Jia was overjoyed when she heard this, and she waved her hands and said:

"You can go and attend the social event, and don't come back. I have so many people here, and I don't need you to serve me."

Everyone burst into laughter and shouted:

"What a nice socializing, what a nice word."

"Look, look, someone's face is blushing...haha..."

Xiangling smiled and tried to smooth things over:

"Okay, sisters, stop laughing, or we'll see how we'll retaliate on your engagement day."

He gently pushed Baochai from behind and urged:
"Sister, don't keep the master waiting for too long. Go over quickly."

Baochai blushed and walked quickly out of the crowd, and walked towards Master Zhan amid the laughter of everyone.

From afar, everyone saw Master Zhan and Baochai standing one step away from each other, greeting each other, and then walking side by side towards the depths of Huifang Garden. They were all filled with envy.

Easy to ask for priceless treasures, rare lovers.

In the eyes of everyone, although Mr. Zhan is a little bit lustful, he is definitely a rare and ideal husband.

Not to mention that he is tall and handsome, he is also cheerful and generous, and has created so many profitable businesses. His talents are also top-notch. In addition, he has a huge family fortune and has very good relations with various powerful families. It is obvious that he has a promising future.

Except for women like Daiyu who are devoted to their childhood sweetheart, most people envy Baochai and are happy to see what happens between the two of them.

Of course, besides Daiyu, there was another person who was very unhappy about this matter.

That is the Phoenix Egg Treasure Second Master!
As a little bee, I will naturally go wherever there is the scent of flowers.

All the sisters in Rongguo Mansion came to Ningguo Mansion to appreciate the flowers. How could he, who always cherished flowers, not come?

These men are all scumbags. The more a woman ignores him, the more he wants to hook her up.

Since Baochai entered the mansion, she has been restrained and polite to him and kept her distance from him because of Mr. Zhan's instructions. She is not as friendly as the other sisters. As a result, she has attracted Mr. Bao and made him bewildered and he keeps thinking about running to Lixiang Courtyard all day long.

After arriving at Huifang Garden today, Baoyu once again circled around Baochai, but Baochai's attitude towards him was always lukewarm, which made him feel very unhappy. He even annoyed Lin Daiyu because of this. He apologized a lot, but Lin Daiyu's expression did not improve.

Now, seeing Mr. Zhan coming, Sister Baochai, who had always been stern and graceful, finally smiled with a hint of blush on her face, which immediately made Baoyu's eyes widen.

After Baochai and Mr. Zhan left side by side, Baoyu became confused and distraught, and no longer had any interest in appreciating the flowers.

He didn't even notice Lin Daiyu's livid face, and just lowered his head and walked back.

As the local host, Keqing hurried forward to hold Baoyu, fearing that he would disturb Master Zhan's good deeds.

"Uncle Bao, what's wrong? I didn't entertain you well enough."

Baoyu shook his head silently, his expression gloomy, and he had no interest in talking.

Xiren hurried over, helped Baoyu up, and said with a smile:

"Second Master may be a little tired, I will take him back to the mansion first."

Grandmother Jia also felt sorry for her grandson, so she decided to stop appreciating the flowers and take her grandson back home.

Keqing smiled and said to Lady Jia:

"Since Uncle Bao is tired, let's arrange for him to rest in his room. We are all family after all, and we will definitely take good care of him."

Seeing that all the girls had finally gotten together and were having a good time, Jia's grandmother was reluctant to let them go. She also knew that Qin was a very responsible person, and seeing that she would be at peace with Baoyu, she nodded and agreed.

So Keqing took Baoyu to the guest room in her courtyard. Xue Pan also came with them today, but a rough man like him was good at playing with women, but not at appreciating flowers. When he was bored, he saw Baoyu was about to leave, so he followed him and left.

He has been playing very close to Baoyu recently and they often go in and out together, so no one is on guard against him.

When they arrived at the backyard, Keqing arranged a room for Baoyu, but Baoyu was picky and dissatisfied with everything. In the end, she had no choice but to arrange a room for him in Keqing's room.

Baoyu lay on Keqing's bed and smelled the fragrance, which was so pleasant that his depression was immediately relieved by a little.

After Keqing settled him down, she asked Xiren, Qingwen and four other maids to wait outside the house while she went back to take care of Lady Jia.

As soon as she left, Xue Pan came in. He bowed to Xiren and the others and said with a smile:

"Sisters, I'm here to play with Baoyu again."

The attackers laughed and said:
"The Second Master is asleep now. Master Xue, please come back later."

Xue Pan gave each of them a small ingot of silver, about two or three taels, as usual, and said with a smile:
"Don't I know Baoyu's temper?"

"He's probably sulking right now, how can he sleep?"

"Sisters, why don't you go to the sheltered area outside the courtyard and take a break? I'll go play with him myself."

The four girls knew that Xue Pan and Baoyu had been having a good time recently, and that they had taken advantage of others, so they smiled to themselves and went out in pairs to get some fresh air.

The four of them had been guarding in this room, and couldn't even talk to each other for fear of disturbing Baoyu who was resting in the inner room. Now that they had the chance to go out for some fresh air, they were happy about it.

Seeing the four girls leave, Xue Pan went into the inner room with a smile on his face. He smiled at Baoyu lying on the bed and said with great joy:
"Baoyu, guess what good things my brother brought you today?"

Baoyu had just laid down and had not yet fallen asleep when he saw him come in. He also laughed to himself:
"I think they are just some birds and sparrows. What else can you make out of them?"

Xue Pan came to the bed, sat on the couch, and asked mysteriously:

"Do you know what kind of business the Ning and Rong mansions are doing recently?"

After hearing this, Baoyu immediately lost interest, turned inside, and hummed to the wall:

"Don't tell me these bullshit things. I can't bear to hear them."

Xue Pan knew his temper, so he was not angry. He just smiled and teased him:

"I might as well tell you that it was clothing, and it was women's clothing, very beautiful women's clothing, the kind that you wear next to your skin..."

Baoyu was not interested in other things, let alone making money, but he was very, very interested in this woman's stuff. After hearing what Xue Pan said, he immediately turned over and sat up, his eyes shining, and asked excitedly:

"have you seen?"

"Yes, yes, your sister Xiangling also does this, of course you know it."

"Is that costume really that beautiful?"

"I told my mother that I wanted to see it, but she scolded me. Even my second sister-in-law refused to show it to me."

Xue Pan then said slyly:

"If it wasn't beautiful, how could it attract all the noble ladies in the capital to come and scramble to buy it?"

"But this thing is for women to use close to their bodies, I definitely can't show it to a man like you!"

Seeing that Baoyu was somewhat discouraged, Xue Pan said with a smile:
"I know you've always liked these, so I had a set custom-made for you."

"But let's make it clear that this matter is between you and me, and cannot be known to outsiders, and you must not betray me."

"You could possibly do it?"

Baoyu's mind was full of the beautiful woman's clothes at this moment, so he could not remember anything else. He immediately nodded and agreed, swearing:
"Brother Xue, don't worry. I'm just curious. I've never seen how beautiful this dress is. Once you see it, I'll let you take it back. I won't leak the news."

"Okay, I'll go get it now. Please wait for me. Also, tell your maids not to come in and disturb us."

After the two men had discussed it, Xue Pan immediately went out to get his clothes, while Baoyu called Xiren and the other three in and told them:

"I'll ask Brother Xue to get me something fun. You guys stay away. No matter what happens in the room later, don't come in and disturb us."

The four of them looked at each other, then each took their orders and went out.

With Baoyu's words, the four of them could slack off openly and get the money from Xue Pan, and they were very happy.

Xue Pan quickly took the custom-made clothes and rushed back, entered the room, spread the bag on the bed and opened it.

Baoyu reached out and grabbed the exquisite dress made of palace silk, unfolded it and looked at it for a few seconds. He thought it was indeed very beautiful, but it did not seem to reach the level of beauty that everyone admired. He put it close to his nose and sniffed it. It did not have the soft fragrance of his sisters, so he lost interest and threw it down.

"So that's what it is. It's nothing serious!"

Xue Pan then encouraged with a smile:
"What can you see when you look at it this way?"

"This dress looks good only when you wear it on yourself."

Baoyu hesitated and said:

"Do we need to let Xiren and the others come in and try them on?"

Xue Pan curled his lips and said:

"I just said before that this kind of thing can't be known to outsiders. Why do you still want to let them come in and try it on?"

"Besides, these clothes are tailor-made for each person."

"The same piece of clothing should only be worn by the person himself. It won't look good if worn by others."

Hearing this, Baoyu lowered his head and looked at the beautiful clothes in his hands, hesitating, "Then these clothes..."

"Of course it's tailor-made for you!"

"Come on, Baoyu, try it on quickly."

"As it happens, there is a mercury mirror here, which will allow you to see the magic of this dress."

"You always say that women are made of water and men are made of mud. With this dress, you can become made of water too!"

Baoyu was originally a weak-willed person, but after being urged by Xue Pan enthusiastically, he finally decided to try the clothes on.

This dress was originally prepared by Xue Pan for Baoyu. It is very close-fitting. However, Baoyu has a flat figure, so clothes that show off his figure are not suitable for him. Therefore, Xue Pan prepared a pure black evening dress for him.

Different from the bright red evening dress that Keqing had worn before, this one was mainly slim-fitting, and the chest design was cancelled, revealing the collarbone and ribs instead. It also had side thigh slits, and with the high heels of the same color, it was also exceptionally attractive.

Xue Pan casually pulled Baoyu's hair back into a ponytail.

When Baoyu looked into the mercury mirror, he immediately saw a different Baoyu.

After the plot ended, Baoyu fell into a deep sleep. In a daze, he came to a place where he saw red railings, white stones, green trees and clear streams. It was a place where few people were seen and no dust even flew by.

Without mentioning how Baoyu wandered around in the Taixu fairyland and how he talked with Fairy Jinghuan, let's just say that Master Zhan took Baochai to wander around Huifang Garden for a while, and when they reached a secluded place, they did their official business and gave the order:
"The master already knows your family's desires."

"The master has made great contributions to your family, but I am afraid that no one in your family can shoulder the heavy responsibility."

Baochai then said calmly:

"Although Baochai is a woman, she believes that she is as capable as any man. Master, please do not look down on me just because my brother is mediocre."

Master Zhan smiled and said:
"From what you said, I know that your gaze is still conditioned by women."

"I know you are a man of great talent and have always been highly valued in your family, but the way things are done in the imperial court is very different from the way things are done in your merchant family."

"You think the court's work is like the story in a play, where officials are vigilant, collect evidence, and then punish people according to the law."

"But in reality, when the imperial court handles things, it often comes down to the charge of a crime first, then the evidence of guilt. They only look at the result, not the process."

"You think that working for the court requires wisdom, intelligence, and ability."

"But in reality, to work for the court, one must be firm in one's stance, loyal, thick-skinned and black-hearted."

"You are just a woman, I'm afraid you can't do such a double-faced thing."

"If we really count, I'm afraid your influence on me is not as great as your brother Xue Pan. At least he is loyal and has no bottom line in doing things. He just follows my orders."

Seeing Baochai's pale face and shattered worldview, Master Zhan refused to let her go and continued to ask:
"You should know that my purpose in this trip is to plot against the four kings and eight dukes, and I will use all means possible."

"If I ask you to betray your aunt who has always loved you, can you do it?"

"If I ask you to frame your good sisters now, can you do it?"

"If you can't even do these things, then you should give up this opportunity to serve the country as soon as possible and do your job honestly. I will guarantee that your family will have no worries about their lives in the future."

Master Zhan was training Baochai when he suddenly felt the stone in his body become hot out of nowhere, as if it had inexplicably received a large amount of energy and was rapidly charging.

He was afraid that something strange would happen outside and cause trouble, so he quickly ended his speech:

"The master can assign you tasks at any time. As long as you are mentally prepared and are willing to go through fire and water for an order from the master, and do anything, then you can come to the master to receive the task."

After saying this, Zhan Ershisi hurriedly left Ningguo Mansion, returned home, and began to study the sudden changes in the stone in his body.

The energy obtained by this stone was basically charged when he took in important women in the past, so he always thought that this thing was an improper dual cultivation prop. But today he did nothing, but he inexplicably obtained this huge wave of energy.

Could it be that when he was training Baochai, he triggered some hidden plot?

Just as he was wondering, Xue Pan sent someone to bring him a message saying that his mission had been completed.

What is his mission?
Zhan Ershisi took a breath when he thought about it. This stone was indeed not serious!

It turns out that today is the day when Baoyu dreamt of traveling to the fairyland of Taixu, and Xue Pan took advantage of the opportunity to sneak in. No wonder he got so many benefits out of the blue!
But he was so far away from Baoyu, yet he reaped such a rich harvest. So, it is likely that more energy was dissipated into thin air, and what he gained was probably only a tiny fraction of what he had gained!
Zhan Ershisi beat his chest and stamped his feet, regretting deeply. If he had known this would happen, he would... He certainly couldn't do it himself, but he could invite Xue Pan and Baoyu to be guests at his home!
Being close to the water, you can definitely absorb a lot more.

I don’t know if this burst of energy will end in one wave, or if there will be more later.

After sighing for a while, Zhan Ershisi could only blame himself for being a good gentleman with too high moral integrity, which led to such a loss. Then he asked Yang Yougong to send a message to Xue Pan, asking him to bring Baoyu to his house as a guest when he was free.

At the same time, he was also very curious about where the dissipated energy went.

Was it taken away by someone?

What exactly is this energy?
Why does it seem different from the energy he got from the golden hairpin?

Could it be that this energy also has male and female?
After eating Qin Keqing, he already felt that his body actually had an upper limit to its strengthening. Unless he shed his mortal body and achieved an immortal body, he would not be able to escape the limits of a human warrior.

The energy obtained from Keqing can not only nourish the body and strengthen the strength, but also nourish the soul and make the soul substantial.

But the energy obtained from Baoyu seems to be different.

His own strength and physique were still at the level of a human warrior and had not grown any further, while his soul had not undergone any qualitative change either.

So what is the energy that Baoyu has strengthened?

It would be impossible to get the answer to such things just by imagining, so he had to think about the stone again to see if charging a large piece of it would bring him any new abilities.

After Xiangling and several other experimental subjects volunteered to sacrifice themselves for science, Zhan 24 finally figured it out and discovered that after the experiments, several subjects actually showed rare signs of their bodies being strengthened.

In the past, after Master Zhan had beaten them up, he could still recover quickly with the help of the stones, but the women were just mortals and could not endure long battles, so they often suffered.

But now, he found that these experimental subjects seemed to have been buffed and performed exceptionally strongly.

He also discovered that the women, who were already very beautiful, seemed even more attractive.

The most obvious one is the oldest one among them, Mrs. You. She was nearly 30 years old. Although she took good care of herself, her health was obviously not as good as others. But now, not only did she look more energetic, but even the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and forehead had disappeared.

She just thought that this effect was achieved by the passion of love and the harmony of yin and yang. Only someone with a very keen observation ability like Zhan Ershisi could distinguish the difference.

However, he couldn't figure out for the time being whether it was his body that was strengthened by the stone, causing him to turn into Tang Monk's flesh, so that he could indirectly nourish others?

Or was it because the effect of the stone was too strong and he couldn't digest it in a short time, so it overflowed through his body fluids?
Master Zhan made a rough judgment that the "dual cultivation energy" absorbed by the gold hairpin should be the strengthening of the body and soul of the host, Master Zhan, but the "precious jade energy" absorbed by the precious jade can expand the scope of application of the dual cultivation energy and also have an effect on Master Zhan's dual cultivation object.

At present, we can only strengthen the physical fitness of the women. I don’t know whether their souls will be further strengthened when their physical fitness reaches the human limit.

This is not something that can be distinguished by a simple experiment, he needs to do more research.

The speed at which these people were strengthened was far from comparable to his, but the fitness effect was slightly better than that of ordinary people, and would not be discovered for a while.

But it is conceivable that as time goes by, after three or five months, even a fool can find the problem.

Master Zhan smacked his lips and decided that he would no longer sleep with women randomly, especially those he didn't trust, otherwise he would easily get into trouble.

Apart from anything else, the fact that it can make people healthier and even rejuvenate them is a crime of possessing a treasure.

Throughout history, many emperors have ruined their countries in pursuit of immortality.

If they knew he had this ability, they would probably try to tempt him with wealth and glory, and if that didn't work, they would capture him and torture him to force him. Even if he wasn't Tang Monk's flesh, most likely the Current Emperor or the Supreme Emperor wouldn't mind having a few bites of human flesh to try.

Alas, it turns out that no matter which world you are in, if you don’t sit at the top, you will only be eaten by others!

Do you want to... usurp the throne and become an emperor in the future?

Zhan Ershisi thought about it and finally felt that even if his current military power was not inferior to Xiang and Lu, it would still be a dead end if he wanted to rebel and become emperor.

Tsk, this isn’t that easy. It turns out that hard work alone isn’t enough. It still depends on whether your own stones can perform well!
Zhan Ershisi showed his love for his beloved baby, asking him about his health, touching and rubbing it, but no magical stone spirit appeared to help him fulfill his wish. He had no choice but to pack up the stone and leave the house.

Now it has become a habit for him to stay overnight at Ningguo Mansion, and he feels uncomfortable staying at home.

That night, the moon was high in the sky and snowflakes were dancing in the air. In Jia Rong's courtyard, a beautiful woman in a cloak and high heels, protected by an umbrella held by her personal maid, walked along the corridor and arrived at Mr. Zhan's door. She gently pushed it open and walked in.

"Who is coming in from outside? Is it my nephew Rong?"

Keqing came to this room many times, and every time Master Zhan would ask this question. Keqing knew that this was Master Zhan's bad taste, so she tried to cooperate with him, thinking of hundreds of reasons and using different excuses to please him every time.

Last time she said:

"Aunt Xiangling and Second Aunt are staying here temporarily. I am honored to be the host and I am afraid that I cannot entertain you well enough. I came to see if you are short of clothes. If you have nothing to wear, you can wear the one Keqing is wearing to keep warm."

This time she said:
"It's cold and windy tonight. I'm worried that you might catch a cold, so I came here to warm your bed."

After hearing this, Zhan Ershi burst into laughter in the inner room and welcomed him:
"Good niece-in-law, you are really filial. Come in quickly, I am in need of help."

Keqing walked around the screen and entered the inner room, where she saw Master Zhan plowing the field. She smiled sweetly, reached out her hand and gently pulled the silk ribbon around her neck. The warm cloak fell freely to her feet and piled on the ground, revealing the bright red evening dress underneath.

The fiery red color of the evening dress, coupled with Keqing's stunning face and hot body, made Keqing look particularly radiant and stunning.

Among these many outfits, Keqing particularly loved this Western-style bright red evening dress, and she wore it eight out of ten times.

Mr. Zhan also likes this one very much. It is easy to put on and take off.

Keqing raised her foot and walked forward with a cat-like gait, walked to the edge of the bed, climbed onto the bed, crawled on her knees behind Master Zhan, pressed herself against him tightly, and helped push the bed.

Soon, Master Zhan finished plowing two acres of land, then he lay down on the bed, hugged his left and right arms, spread his legs, and ordered:

"Keqing, you are already mature soil. You need to learn how to plow the land on your own."

"Come, come, come, do it yourself."

Keqing smiled, jumped up and started working on agricultural automation.

No one likes to read the specific details, so I won’t write them...

Thanks to the book friend "Jin Gege002" for the reward of 100 coins!
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(End of this chapter)