Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 437 An unexpected gain
Lu Xingzhou inquired carefully about their conversation and pondered, "Jiang Duxu knows quite a lot; he didn't tell us everything."

"Hmm. For example, how he knew that the heavenly tribulation had been tampered with, and who the other party was, he hasn't been willing to explain these things in detail yet."

“It’s normal that we don’t have a close relationship… He’s trying to have his cake and eat it too.” Lu Xingzhou smiled. “It’s okay, I’ll talk to him about it later. Trying to have your cake and eat it too isn’t that easy.”

Ye Tinglan said, "I can't directly agree to this cooperation he proposed because it's difficult to achieve. I can't just try to break through any barriers; what if his method doesn't work?"

"So at least let him verbally explain his methods first, and you can analyze how effective they will be."

"Well, in fact, as long as it's said verbally, we at this level have a sense of whether it's effective or not, and we don't need any analysis."

“That makes it even more secure. I was worried…” Lu Xingzhou was only halfway through his sentence when Ye Tinglan suddenly jumped up from his arms and hurriedly straightened her clothes.

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

The next moment, they sensed someone rapidly approaching them, as swift as a shooting star.

A figure flashed by, and Yang Dechang appeared in the room, bowing respectfully: "Sir..."

Old Yang couldn't bring himself to call her "Young Master." He stared wide-eyed at Ye Tinglan standing next to Lu Xingzhou. Her veil had long been removed, and her beautiful face was as radiant as a sunset. No matter how she tried to hide it, she couldn't conceal the tender feelings she had just shared with the young man.

Even though you're standing right next to him, your expression suggests you just sat down next to him, or even jumped up... There are still a few dumplings left on the table; it looks like a young couple having a tender chat after dinner.

"What do you mean, 'grandfather'?" Lu Xingzhou said calmly. "Old Yang, remember to knock on the door next time, don't just walk through the window."

"Ah...oh, oh." Edward Yang's mind was still blank.

I thought you were having a family reunion with Miss Sheng and Miss Pei, and Anuo was there too, but what is this?

National Division?

This must be the Imperial Advisor!
Although Old Yang had never seen the Imperial Preceptor remove his veil and wear ordinary clothes, he still looked like the Imperial Preceptor no matter how you looked at him... Old Yang suspected that he was not awake yet, and even more so that he was about to die.

As a result, Lu Xingzhou calmly put his arm around Ye Tinglan's waist and said, "Old Yang, let me introduce you. This is my wife whom I'm currently arranging a marriage with. She comes from the Tianyao Holy Land."

Yang Dechang suddenly realized that Lu Xingzhou did indeed have a fourth potential marriage partner, who was said to be the junior sister of the Imperial Advisor.

Oh, so it's her. No wonder she has such a similar air to the Imperial Advisor. Never mind then, she couldn't possibly be the Imperial Advisor anyway.

As Lu Xingzhou spoke, Ye Tinglan's tense body relaxed, and she sat back down with his help, asking curiously, "Husband, who is this...?"

The word "husband" delighted Lu Xingzhou, who secretly glanced at Ye Tinglan. Ye Tinglan's face burned, and she glared back fiercely.

"Ahem." Lu Xingzhou sat up straight: "This is Mr. Yang Dechang, the retainer of the Huo family."

“Oh, Edward Yang, I’ve heard of him.” Ye Tinglan said, “He’s the old retainer of the Huo family. He’s a martial arts master trained by the Huo family since very early years, and he’s a third-rank master trained by the family. It’s said that he reached the pinnacle of the third rank this year.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Edward Yang bowed repeatedly, “Just as the young mistress said.”

"What young mistress? Who's your young mistress!"

"Yes, yes. The young mistress is right."

Ye Tinglan angrily turned her head away.

He was quite surprised. This was a very important elder of the Huo family. The Huo family had sent elders like him to do so many dirty deeds... It seemed that he had completely sided with Lu Xingzhou. Look at his sycophantic behavior.

It makes sense... If they see Lu Xingzhou as the Seventh Young Master Huo Shang, then among the Huo family's sons, any normal person would choose Lu Xingzhou. What are the others anyway? Even if "Huo Shang" doesn't become the heir apparent, he's already a viscount with a promising official position; it's a win-win situation no matter which way they bet.

Of course, such an old man would only choose to side with one particular young master, making it quite difficult to get him to completely betray the Huo family. This is also one of the advantages of Lu Xingzhou consistently using Huo Shang's name in matters concerning the Huo family; it seems that Lu Xingzhou can win over more than just Yang Dechang.

"Old Yang, sit down and have some dumplings." Lu Xingzhou spoke as if he were treating someone like family.

This made Yang Dechang even happier. The Huo family's sons were really not very capable and were arrogant. None of them were as kind and gentle as Lu Xingzhou.

He wasn't too polite and sat down across from him, but he didn't eat the dumplings. He laughed and said, "Young master, Huo Da and Huo Er got into a fight at the family banquet today. In the end, it was only by the old Marquis's personal intervention that the two scoundrels were separated. The Marquis has strictly ordered that this matter not be told to outsiders. I think you must want to know."

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "It was bound to happen sooner or later. But doing this on the Winter Solstice Festival, Huo Xingyuan must be furious."

“Of course,” Yang Dechang said with a smile. “But what’s even more interesting is that under normal circumstances, Huo Xingyuan should have immediately ordered Huo Zhang to pack up and go to the northern frontier. But this time it’s awkward because Huo Zhang is in charge of foreign trade in the northern frontier and there is still a lot of work to be done. With your words hanging over him, young master, Huo Xingyuan can’t just replace him with someone else. He can only urge him to speed up the process.”

Lu Xingzhou's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his voice: "Old Yang, it's your turn to step up."

Yang Dechang replied in a low voice, "That's precisely why I came to see you, young master, to see if it's a suitable opportunity."

"The timing is perfect, but have you figured out the issue of the Grand Offering?"

“Young Master is astute. I deliberately caused a mishap at the forbidden alchemy furnace, resulting in its explosion. The Grand Elder, though far away, arrived with his divine sense in an instant and suppressed the explosion. Note that he suppressed it, not merely prevented it from causing harm.” Yang Dechang whispered, “What does this mean, Young Master?”

Ye Tinglan blurted out: "Super Grade".

"Young Madam is very knowledgeable." Yang Dechang gave a thumbs up: "His move must be of the highest grade; a first grade cannot achieve this." Ye Tinglan and Lu Xingzhou exchanged a glance. The Huo family really did have a top-grade talent hidden away; it was the right decision not to act rashly before.

Unaware of the enemy, suddenly encountering a super-grade, or even two super-grades including Huo Liancheng who is in seclusion, could cause many expectations to collapse.

"So, where did this Supreme Grand Master come from? Old Yang, do you have a clue?" Lu Xingzhou asked.

"I really don't know. This Grand Master only came last year. At the time, we thought he was a first-rank official, so we made him Grand Master. Although we had some complaints, we were convinced. Who would have thought that he was actually a super-rank official, a top-tier figure who looks down on the world? How could he be willing to be a servant in the home of a prince? That doesn't make sense."

Lu Xingzhou asked, "Do you think it's related to coveting the alchemy furnace?"

Yang Dechang was well aware of the matter concerning the alchemy furnace, and there was nothing he could hide from it.

Yang Dechang thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "If he's after the alchemy furnace, why not just steal it? When he came last year, the Grand Tutor hadn't even broken through to the Super Grade yet, and he still hasn't now. With his strength, he could just snatch it and leave; who in the Huo family could do anything to him?"

Lu Xingzhou muttered to himself, "Gu Zhanting already knows about the Huo family's alchemy furnace..."

Ye Tinglan nodded. This was the only solution; this Super Rank was actually one of Gu Zhanting's men.

Ironically, everyone was initially considering exposing the Huo family's hidden alchemy furnace to alienate Gu Zhanting from the Huo family, but in reality, Gu Zhanting already knew.

Since we knew this beforehand, it means...

Lu Xingzhou blurted out, "Gu Zhanting's injury is fake, at least for now! He should be fully recovered by now!"

Ye Tinglan was also shocked.

If Gu Zhanting was faking his injury, then all the trouble he went through to treat his illness and show his immense respect for alchemy was just for show… and that “person” could only be Ye Tinglan.

"It's not just about feigning weakness and playing dumb; there's more to it." Lu Xingzhou stood up and paced back and forth a few times. "He's researching medicine, and before that, there was the altar researching demon blood exchange... There's another purpose here. To break the Qian Yuan?"

Yang Dechang stared dumbfounded at the young couple's interaction, suddenly realizing he had no idea where he was or what he was doing.

Weren't we talking about the Huo family? Why are you all bringing up Gu Zhanting?

Are you planning a rebellion?
But then Lu Xingzhou stopped pacing, turned around and gave him a friendly smile: "Old Yang..."

Edward Yang shuddered.

“You did a good job. This is none of your business anymore. The Huo family’s affairs are the Huo family’s affairs. Go back and continue your gossip with Huo Qi.”

Yang Dechang rose with trepidation and bowed, saying, "Yes."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Old Yang, you've been at the third rank for so long. Since the Huo family is refining pills, why didn't they help you advance to the second rank? Don't they want to force you to grow too fast?"

"Pulling up seedlings to help them grow" is nonsense. Yang Dechang already has a full beard, and he's cultivated for quite some time now, so he's been quite diligent. All he lacks is a breakthrough pill to help him break through his current cultivation level. A second-grade breakthrough pill is very valuable to ordinary people, but it's nothing to the Huo family. Yet Yang Dechang is still stuck at the third grade.

Yang Dechang also had some resentment: "These things are all rewards for meritorious service, which is understandable. Originally, my merits were almost there, but I was wronged by Huo Lu's killing last time, and it has been put on hold ever since."

Lu Xingzhou handed over a small bottle: "I don't usually keep this on hand, this is just one pill."

Yang Dechang was overjoyed. One pill was enough. Who would use multiple Breakthrough Pills?
Although it was perfectly normal for the Huo family to reward meritorious service, Lu Xingzhou's generosity at this moment still completely stunned Old Yang. His hands trembled slightly as he accepted the bottle and bowed deeply: "I am willing to die for you, young master."

"No need to die for him, just live well. Don't easily reveal what we just talked about, it's related to your own life."

Yang Dechang replied solemnly, "Your subordinate understands."

"Well, let's go."

Yang Dechang excitedly left with the Breakthrough Pill in his pocket. Ye Tinglan watched his retreating figure and sighed, "This move of yours has proven incredibly useful..."

“An unexpected bonus. I originally only wanted to target the Huo family…” Lu Xingzhou chuckled as he put his arm around her waist. “But I think the most important thing is that ‘Young Madam’ and someone else’s ‘Husband’.”

"roll."

"Shout again."

"Do not."

Lu Xingzhou swept her into his arms, kissed her neck, and his hands had already climbed up Tianyao Peak, using the same kneading technique he had just used on her: "Shout or not?"

"What time is this? Why are you thinking about this..." Ye Tinglan quickly became breathless, gently pushing his hand, but she couldn't move it. A tingling and itchy feeling came from her neck, which became more and more comfortable, and her eyes gradually became languid.

"Is there any point in worrying about that kind of thing? If you know, you should set off firecrackers." Lu Xingzhou raised his voice: "Shout it again, and I'll start thinking. Otherwise, I'll just give up."

Ye Tinglan gasped for breath, finally surrendering: "Husband... my lord..."

(End of this chapter)