The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 159 Being a little muddle-headed can actually lead to a longer life.
Although Zhou Yanfu was only in his early forties, he also found it difficult to endure marching for four or five hours every day.

However, Li Jingxiao was the commander-in-chief of the army, and Zhou Yanfu also knew that Li Jingxiao had come to Liaodong.

Dealing with the Tatars is only a secondary task; dealing with that tiger demon is the real priority.

Now that the trouble in Goryeo's West Sea Road has been quelled, it means that not only was the tiger demon subdued, but it was even killed.

Along with hundreds of lesser demons, they were either beheaded or driven away.

Their fear of Li Jingxiao naturally intensified.

They dared not mention their unpleasant experiences while on the march.

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, he looked at Li Jingxiao expectantly.

Li Jingxiao could only suppress his desire to return to the capital to see his wife as soon as possible.

Seeing that it was getting late, we decided to find a suitable place to set up camp.

The following afternoon, they arrived safely at one of Rongguo Mansion's estates outside the pass.

A servant of the Jia family had already sent a fast horse to inform the estate.

From afar, they could see the two brothers, Wu Jinxiao and Wu Jinyi, leading dozens of villagers and hundreds of servants.

They lit dozens of makeshift stoves, stewed more than twenty sheep, and steamed a large amount of flatbread.

Once the army arrives, we can enjoy hot mutton soup and flatbread.

Fortunately, the Ning and Rong prefectures together have 16 estates outside the pass.

There was no difficulty in providing accommodation, food, and horse feed for more than 3,000 people.

However, Li Jingxiao did not allow the army to stay in the manor.

Instead, they continued to set up camp and lived in the military camp.

As for food and drink, Jia Rong paid for everything.

Since he wasn't spending his own money, Li Jingxiao naturally wouldn't spend the money of the Ning and Rong mansions to save the court money.

Jia Zheng thought Li Jingxiao was being too formal, but after Li Jingxiao pulled him aside and whispered a few words to him, the old scholar finally understood.

Not only did he return to his seat with a smile, but he also remained silent and cheerful as Li Jingxiao spent 30% more money to purchase supplies for the army.

Zhou Yanfu and a commander of the Eastern Depot were also just eating and drinking without any involvement.

It was just about the two beautiful women, Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong, serving Li Jingxiao his meals, one on each side.

Even if they didn't say it, they couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

I've never heard of a general leading a large army on a campaign, and he even brings maids with him.

Even the presence of women in military camps was considered unlucky by many.

Jia Zheng had complained to Jia Lian about this before.

However, after Jia Lian went to ask Jia Rong about it, he was so frightened that his heart almost stopped beating.

When he returned and told Jia Zheng, the old scholar was also dumbfounded.

Then, with great disbelief, she asked, "Lian'er, could it be that Rong'er is covering for Jingyou by making up stories about the Fox Fairy and the Willow Fairy?"

Jia Lian hurriedly shook his head, his expression a mixture of excitement and worry, and whispered, "Master, it's better to believe it than to ask Jingyou in person."

Moreover, when her nephew asked Rong'er repeatedly, Rong'er patted her chest and said...

At Zhenjiang Fort, he personally witnessed the two women fighting Jingyou. One of them was skilled with a long sword and could transform into a black wind, flying more than ten feet in a single leap.

A person skilled with a long whip can also leap across rooftops and scale walls, moving swiftly and gracefully.

It also opened its mouth and blew out a cloud of white mist, which instantly turned the area within several feet into a vast expanse of white ice crystals.

If this isn't a deity, then who is it?
Moreover, Rong'er said that Jingyou paid a considerable price for these two immortals.

We invited this expert from beyond the Great Wall, specifically to deal with the King of Goryeo's Seohaedo.

When the Jin Yang Jun was pacified, the people of the Left Garrison Command cleaned up and buried three to five hundred demon corpses.

Several large pits were dug before the bodies of these demons were buried.

Afterwards, no one knows what conditions Jingyou offered, but these two immortals have now become Jingyou's personal guards.

Only then did they return to the capital together.

Jia Zheng's face turned pale. Since Jia Rong had said so, the possibility of him being lied to was very low.

From then on, Jia Zheng never cared why Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong were with Li Jingxiao again.

Zhou Yanfu and the people from the Eastern Depot did manage to find out some information.

Like Jia Zheng, they only knew that Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong were highly skilled people, but they didn't know whether they were fox spirits and snake demons.

As for asking the two of them to inquire with the people around Chu Xiangqian, they naturally didn't have that much courage.

I don't know if Li Jingxiao will be angry if he finds out.

If these two women were truly monsters transformed into humans, killing the uncle and nephew wouldn't be difficult at all.

So sometimes being a little confused isn't a bad thing.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Li Jingxiao finished his morning exercise and was wiping the sweat from his forehead with a towel when...

Then Erfu walked over quickly, cupped his hands and said, "Sir, Wu Erzhuangtou from Rongguo Mansion has brought a lot of local specialties, saying they are a gift for Second Madam."

Please, Madam, have a taste.

Li Jingxiao nodded. The two brothers, Wu Jinxiao and Wu Jinyi, each managed eight estates of the Ningguo Prefecture in Liaodong.

One entity manages eight estates belonging to the Rongguo Mansion.

It's perfectly normal for Wu Jinyi to curry favor with Yuan Chun and, incidentally, with Ke Qing.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let Rong-ge'er entertain them."

Erfu nodded; his master was not someone anyone could just meet.

As Jia Rong is the heir to the Ningguo Mansion, it was already a show of respect for him to entertain Wu Jinyi.

Not long after, when Jia Rong returned to the main tent, he looked thoughtful, which aroused Li Jingxiao's curiosity.

He instructed Erfu to pour tea, "What's wrong?"

Jia Rong hesitated for a moment before saying, "Uncle, I suspect that the Wu brothers have been embezzling money from 16 estates in the Ning and Rong mansions all these years."

Li Jingxiao thought it was something serious, but after listening, he laughed and said, "Don't even mention the Wu brothers, there's also Lai Da and Lai Er from your Ning and Rong families."

And among all the managers, big and small, who hasn't embezzled a little?
Relying on the power of the two prefectures, they inevitably abused their authority to oppress others when engaging in joint business ventures.

Jia Rong was speechless for a moment, then Li Jingxiao continued, "Alright, you haven't taken charge of things yet."

After you return to Beijing, report this to your father and see what he plans to do.

So as not to make things difficult for your father, the old lady of the Rong family, and my mother-in-law.

Perhaps the old lady and her family actually knew all along that the head of the household was dishonest.

They simply kept quiet to maintain appearances for both governments and avoid airing their dirty laundry in public.

This is not something Li Jingxiao is making up.

No matter whose household it is, there are plenty of servants who are dishonest.

It's like a servant taking on a task to go out and buy things; for example, if it's just a few coins for eggs, they'll quote 10 or 20 coins, and that's it.

It was not uncommon for late Qing emperors to pay 2 taels or even 20 taels of silver for an egg.

Ultimately, the people below are just greedy for more or less.

Whether to report 10 coins or 2 ounces for an egg depends entirely on whether the owner is foolish or shrewd.

The reason why the Rongguo Mansion's accounts are unclear is not because Wang Xifeng is not capable.

The one who embezzled the most was actually the matriarch, Madam Wang.

Lady Wang, as both a daughter-in-law and the head of the household, is not clean herself; she only thinks about making money from the Jia family and using it to help her second brother, Prince Teng, get promoted.

How could I possibly ask you to investigate the managers below?
The biological mother of the Lai brothers, Lai Da and Lai Er, is Granny Lai.

This old woman was originally Jia Mu's personal maid, and even a maid who came with her as part of her dowry.

Grandmother Jia rose from a lowly wife to become the matriarch of the Jia family. It's easy to imagine that during that time, the inner quarters were rife with intrigue and backstabbing. Li Jingxiao simply doesn't believe that Grandmother Jia was unaware of the Lai family's true nature—that they were like lice constantly sucking blood from the Jia family.

However, in the eyes of Grandmother Jia, Jia She, and Jia Zheng, the Lai family was at most just embezzling some silver.

As long as they are efficient and obedient, people will turn a blind eye.

Even if the Lai family had the money to build a huge mansion that could rival the Grand View Garden, Grandmother Jia would still be happy.

It can only be said that the difference between the thoughts of the powerful and the ordinary people is so great that ordinary people simply cannot understand it.

Did Emperor Qianlong not know that Heshen and He Zhongtang were corrupt officials?
He certainly knew, but He Zhongtang was not only good at handling affairs, but also good at making money for Qianlong.

To satisfy Emperor Qianlong's ever-expanding material desires in his later years.

Therefore, Heshen's greed was not a big deal in Qianlong's mind.

However, Emperor Qianlong was always on guard against Heshen.

In the Grand Council, Agui, Heshen's dead rival, was always appointed as the leading Grand Councilor.

Liu Yong and Ji Xiaolan were nothing compared to Heshen; they weren't even his mortal enemies.

The one who truly felt the pressure and suffocated the adults was always A-Gui.

Heshen never served as the leading Grand Councilor during the Qianlong era.

When the next emperor takes the throne and Heshen becomes emperor, that will be the time to take his life.

The biggest problem with the Jia family is that they can't control their servants and that the family is declining, with no one in power in the court.

So much so that even the servants lost their fear of the Jia family.

If the steward of the household is found to be embezzling, it will be exposed directly.

The more silver confiscated from the Lai family and other stewards' homes, the more humiliating the slap in the face the Jia family received.

The more powerful and influential people are, the more they lose face and points.

How can someone who can't even control his servants be an official?

Other powerful and influential people would also look down on the Jia family, confirming that the entire Jia family was useless.

Who will want to associate with you in the future?

Even if they do associate with each other, they are mostly sycophants.

Or perhaps they need something from the Jia family, or even use the Jia family as a stepping stone or a stepping stone.

Not only do they throw things away after using them, but they also turn around and step on your foot.

Li Jingxiao dared to confiscate the property of all the stewards of the Xing'an Earl's mansion only because he didn't care about his second uncle's reputation.

They even took the opportunity to tarnish the reputations of their second uncle and aunt.

As a posthumous child, he took back the power and title from his family, but his second uncle and aunt had no objections. Li Jingxiao, however, did not believe it.

Keeping those managers around is just asking for trouble.

Didn't you notice that he didn't even stay at the Marquis of Xing'an's residence? The reason was that he was afraid that if something went wrong, he would die suddenly and inexplicably.

Li Jingxiao offered Jia Rong a few words of advice, picking out the things that could be said.

This left Jia Rong completely stunned.

Unexpectedly, the reason why the servants and stewards in the household were corrupt was because the Ning and Rong mansions had fallen into decline and the servants had lost their sense of fear.

But upon closer reflection, Jia Rong had to admit that Li Jingxiao was indeed right.

Take Jia Rong himself as an example. Ever since he became the eighth-rank official in charge of the Left Garrison Command and also served as the clerk of the Palace Guard Commandery,

Not to mention the Ningguo Mansion, even the stewards of the Rongguo Mansion were much more polite to him than before.

Jia Rong couldn't help but sigh, but his resolve only grew stronger; he was determined to cling to Li Jingxiao's coattails from now on.

Li Jingxiao and Jia Rong had been chatting for so long that they naturally didn't have time to continue giving the young man pointers.

He waved Jia Rong away, and also wanted to see if the boy would tell Jia Zheng and Jia Lian what he had just said.

I'm sure Jia Zheng and Jia Lian's expressions will be quite interesting then.

Thinking of this, Li Jingxiao smiled and continued to meditate and practice the Lightning Thunder Fist.

On the march, you can get about 150 proficiency points every day.

Dacheng (1985/1)
The lightning power that had been nurtured within his body had grown from a trace to several dozen times its original strength.

Moreover, wisps of purple energy could be faintly seen within this lightning power.

If Shi Delong, who also practices the Lightning Thunder Fist, knew this, he would definitely be so envious he would cry.

After being expelled from the main tent, Jia Rong pondered for a long time, and indeed, it was just as Li Jingxiao had expected.

However, he didn't go to Jia Zheng, but instead went to Jia Lian.

After exchanging pleasantries, Jia Rong recounted the events, and Jia Lian's face immediately darkened.

He is not like Jia Rong.

The affairs of the Rongguo Mansion's inner quarters are far more complicated than those of the Ningguo Mansion.

Jia Zhen inherited the title, though he was only a third-rank general. However, his father became a Taoist priest and did not care about the affairs of the Ningguo Mansion at all.

Therefore, Jia Zhen had absolute authority in Ningguo Mansion. Although Jia Rong was severely suppressed by Jia Zhen, he did not have to worry about his own brothers fighting with him for the family property.

There was much less filth.

But the Rongguo Mansion was different.

Jia She was the heir to the title, but under the pretext of filial piety, Grandmother Jia took away his power to run the household and handed it over to Jia Zheng and Lady Wang.

The second wife's name was not proper, so naturally she was devoted to being filial to Grandmother Jia.

To put it bluntly, the mother and son teamed up to bully Jia She, the head of the family.

Then, they gradually nurtured Madam Wang's ambition.

It's hard to say whether Wang Xifeng's miscarriage was related to Madam Wang.

Even though Jia Lian was a playboy, he knew his position was very awkward, which is why he tried his best to curry favor with his second uncle.

She was willing to run errands for Jia Zheng.

Now that bastard Jia Rong has actually exposed the troublesome affairs of the Ning and Rong mansions in front of Li Jingxiao.

Most importantly, Li Jingxiao, an outsider, understands things better than anyone else.

This made Jia Lian feel embarrassed and ashamed, and he was also worried that Li Jingxiao would look down on the Jia family.

Thinking of this, Jia Lian couldn't help but think to himself, no wonder Jingyou, who is clearly the son-in-law of the Rong family, only has Rong'er, this silly boy, by his side to serve him.

It turned out that he had already figured it out; there were too many troublesome things happening in the Rong family.

If you provoke them, you'll only end up doing more harm than good.

It would be better to take the relatively simple Ningguo Mansion with me, so I put Rong-ge'er by my side as a servant.

Jia Lian even thought with fear in his heart.

Li Jingxiao has been in charge of the Left Garrison Command for so long, and he himself is like a god.

He might already know that his own father, Jia She, and the border generals from Datong and Xuanfu were colluding to smuggle essential supplies to the grasslands.

Just thinking about what would happen if the emperor found out made Jia Lian turn pale and break out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, they soon realized that if the matter had been reported, there would have been a reason for it to go unnoticed.

Even if the emperor is wary of Li Jingxiao, he will at most not punish the Jia family.

However, the border generals in Datong and Xuanfu could secretly dispose of people with just an imperial edict.

For a moment, Jia Lian couldn't help but feel fortunate that the Emperor Emeritus had arranged for his younger sister, Yuan Chun, to marry Jing You.

Otherwise, the Rongguo Mansion might have already been stripped of its officials and titles, or even had its property confiscated.

Thinking of this, Jia Lian could no longer sit still.

They took Jia Rong and went to find Jia Zheng.

(End of this chapter)