The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 247 Getting what you wanted, only to discover it was nothing more than someone else's charity.
Although Wang Boteng's title of "Guanglu Temple Assistant" only referred to wine in the administration of "wine, liquor, and food".

In other words, they were officials specifically tasked with collecting fine wines from Jiangnan for the imperial palace.

But for Wang Boteng, this was already a great honor for his ancestors.

In particular, collecting fine wines for the imperial palace was, to some extent, considered a close advisor to the emperor.

They were qualified to submit a memorial directly to the emperor.

Incidentally, like Zhen Yingjia, he was also responsible for monitoring everything that happened in Jiangnan.

Of course, Zhen Yingjia was the Emperor Emeritus's man, while Wang Boteng had become the Emperor's spy and eyes in Jiangnan.

Although the secret agent's presence was public knowledge, from this moment on, virtually no official in the Jiangnan region dared to offend Wang Boteng without cause.

A typical example of someone with a low-ranking official position but great power.

When Wang Boteng received the imperial edict, he was overjoyed.

Not only did they hold a grand banquet, but they also opened the ancestral hall to report to their ancestors.

As for what everyone says, Wang Boteng is just a good son-in-law.

He gained undeserved credit and the emperor's favor.

Wang Boteng not only didn't care at all, but sometimes he would proudly tell people that he had given birth to a good daughter.

Otherwise, you might as well marry your daughter to the Duke.

Upon hearing this, most of those who were jealous of Wang Boteng were speechless and didn't know how to refute him.

The power within the Wang family truly shifted from the hands of Wang Ziteng, the second son's wife.

It was truly transferred to the hands of Wang Boteng, the eldest son of the family.

Even Wang Ziteng himself reluctantly went to offer his congratulations.

I heard that Wang Boteng got very drunk that day, and when he woke up in the middle of the night, he spent the whole night feeling complicated and emotional.

As for Wang Xifeng, it was only after that that the woman truly submitted to him.

She was extremely gentle with Li Jingxiao and tried every means to serve him well.

However, while the Wang family was enjoying their glory, the Xue family was filled with regret.

Especially Xue Pan and his mother, Aunt Xue.

The Xue family ancestors were imperial merchants, so how could they not know how great the benefits were?

Every time Xue Pan thought about how Wang Boteng had beaten him to it and directly sent Wang Xifeng to Li Jingxiao as a concubine, he felt like slapping himself a few times.

However, after suffering a loss at the hands of his maternal uncle Wang Boteng, this kid has matured quite a bit.

Xue Pan used to act recklessly because he knew in his heart that his second uncle, Prince Teng, held a high official position.

Few people in Jinling City dared to provoke him.

Now, my second uncle has been forced to return to his hometown to farm by Li Jingxiao's words.

Because of Li Jingxiao, the eldest uncle went from a powerless local gentry with only some ancestral prestige to a close minister of the emperor.

Xue Pan was simply simple-minded, and he was indeed a playboy.

But that doesn't mean he's stupid.

Sometimes, when spoiled brats finally figure things out, their insights far surpass those of children from ordinary families.

The saying "a prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold" is more often seen in the homes of the powerful and wealthy.

They were at least a wealthy family.

The so-called "turning back" is just a bad person turning into a good person, and hardly anyone pays attention to it.

Only after turning back and becoming rich and successful can one become a role model in the eyes of most people.

It's just that ordinary people waste ten or twenty years of their lives starting from their teens.

I want to turn back.

It's already too late to try.

Not to mention the lower classes in feudal society, where climbing up was even more difficult.

In modern society, one can still achieve upward social mobility through education and luck.

In ancient times, 99% of people didn't even have the opportunity to study.

In the countryside, being able to become a "local security officer" or "village head" in one's lifetime is already considered a remarkable achievement.
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Before they knew it, Li Jingxiao and his family had been in Jinling for almost two months.

With the year-end approaching, Li Jingxiao has already leveled up to level 89 (6/190).
I gain 27 experience points from the Demon-Sealing Tower every day, and I can reach level 90 in 7 more days.

Li Jingxiao, however, had nothing to do all day and only thought about leveling up or cultivating.

However, Qin Keqing, Yuan Chun, Jing Xi, and others couldn't wait to return to the capital to prepare for the New Year.

Yuan Chun has been in a bad mood these past few days.

When she came to Jinling before, she wanted to visit her elder brother, Jia Zhu.

But Li Jingxiao was always busy leveling up and never mentioned it when he got home.

Yuan Chun mistakenly believed that there was some trouble she was unaware of, so she didn't mention it to Li Jingxiao.

After learning from Qin Keqing that Yuan Chun was in a bad mood, Li Jingxiao didn't hesitate and told others about it.

My family and I are preparing to return to Beijing for the Chinese New Year.

As for the matter of going to Maoshan to gain experience every day after returning to Beijing.

Li Jingxiao didn't pay much attention. At his speed, it only took him about forty minutes to fly from the capital to Maoshan.

Meanwhile, Li Jingxiao's relatives and friends in Jinling learned that he was preparing to return to the capital.

People from the Wang, Xue, Zhen, and Jia families, all twelve branches of the Jinling clan, sent gifts to their door.

Subsequently, the Dragon Palace of Dongting Lake and the Dragon Palace of Jieshou Lake also sent people to deliver more than a dozen cartloads of gifts ashore.

They were sent to Li Garden.

And just as Li Jingxiao had predicted, the person leading the gift-giving team was Jia Zhu.

When Yuan Chun reunited with her elder brother, she was naturally overjoyed and wept tears of joy.

I saw with my own eyes that my elder brother was still in spirit form, that is, a ghost.

But in reality, they don't look much different from ordinary people.

Only then did I truly feel relieved.

Li Jingxiao is now closer to his brother-in-law.

After all, Jia Zhu had made a lot of contributions to the benefits he obtained from the Dongting Dragon Palace.

When Li Jingxiao hosted a banquet for Xue Pan, Xue Ke, and Wang Ren at Li Garden.

They also served Jia Zhu with monkey spirit wine and spirit dates.

As for Xue Pan, Xue Ke, and Wang Ren, it would be a waste to give them such good food.

However, if Xue Pan really sent Baochai and Baoqin to his home...

Li Jingxiao's attitude is definitely different now.

But Li Jingxiao really couldn't bring himself to like Wang Ren.

Fortunately, to save face, Wang Ren didn't feel that he was being disliked.

After the banquet ended, Jia Zhu wanted to return to Jieshou Lake, but Xue Pan and Wang Ren stopped him.

We visited the Wang and Xue families.

Li Jingxiao directly refused Xue Pan and Wang Ren's invitation.

These two guys are birds of a feather; just thinking about it, if you go out with them, you'll definitely end up at the Qinhuai River.

Li Jingxiao had been in Jinling for quite some time, and he went out every day, sometimes not returning home until evening.

When I was in the sky, I naturally saw the painted boats on the Qinhuai River.

You know what, the ancients can sometimes really surprise modern people.

Li Jingxiao had seen several huge pleasure boats, each over fifty meters long, over ten meters wide, and three stories high.

Li Jingxiao even speculated that if the Qinhuai River hadn't been relatively small, and if the waterway's barbicans and bridges hadn't had height restrictions, it would have been even more impressive.

A boat that is too tall is not good for sailing on a river.

Otherwise, a pleasure boat one or two times larger could be built.

When Li Jingxiao was hiding in the air and observing those pleasure boats, he did see the girls on the boats.

His looks were at best comparable to those of his own concubines.

Of course, Li Jingxiao had only seen her a few times; perhaps there were even more beautiful women he hadn't seen.

But he really had no interest in saving people from suffering. After Jia Zhu left, Yuan Chun was reluctant to part with him, but she still couldn't let go of the resentment she felt towards Jia Zhu for his unexpected misfortune.

I always felt that there must have been some conspiracy and scheming involved in Jia Zhu becoming a ghost cultivator.

Since Jia Zhu himself was convinced it was an accident, Li Jingxiao did not continue the investigation.

Moreover, Li Jingxiao began to understand Jia Zhu's decision to become a live-in son-in-law.

His wife simply couldn't understand how difficult it was to seek the Tao.

No, it's not that simply crossing the threshold into cultivation is an opportunity that ordinary people can only dream of.

Moreover, whether it's cultivating immortality or martial arts, talent is essential.

Just because you want to learn something doesn't mean you can actually achieve something great.

Even if most people cultivate immortality or practice martial arts, they will only be third-rate, second-rate, or even unranked.

Moreover, Yuan Chun never imagined that her husband, who seemed so generous, would so casually pass on various martial arts skills to his wives and concubines.

But when facing outsiders, she is actually incredibly stingy.

They even feel cheated if someone takes advantage of them in the slightest.

Even those closest to him did not actually receive his true inheritance.

However, Li Jingxiao had indeed already planned to pass on the Longevity Technique to the women in his family.

Qin Keqing and Yuan Chun have been practicing the Quanzhen Heart Sutra for two years, although the two women are not particularly diligent in their cultivation.

He only cultivates for a few hours during the day, and occasionally he also cultivates at night when he doesn't have to serve Li Jingxiao.

But this mindset actually aligns with Taoist thinking.

A good state of mind indicates a truly impressive level of internal energy cultivation.

With the addition of Monkey Spirit Wine and Spirit Dates, these items are considered rare treasures in the world of martial arts.

In just two years, in Li Jingxiao's eyes, their cultivation levels were at least no lower than those of Sun Bu'er, one of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen in The Return of the Condor Heroes.

That's already quite remarkable.

However, from the perspective of cultivation, it can only be considered average.

However, once one has a certain foundation in internal energy cultivation, it is indeed possible to switch to cultivating the Longevity and Immortality Technique.

Li Jingxiao only spent a few nights personally protecting the two women.

The two successfully transformed their Quanzhen internal energy into the internal energy of the Longevity and Immortality Technique.

Although the amount of internal energy has decreased, its condensation level has increased by more than one level.

Moreover, upon hearing that one would cultivate this technique and reach mastery, one would immediately understand its benefits.

Not only can it reverse aging, but its appearance can also be fixed in the state it had when it reversed aging.

The two women were now incredibly enthusiastic about practicing this divine skill.

They wished they could cultivate tonight and achieve mastery by tomorrow.

To stay forever young, like an 18 or 9-year-old.

But Li Jingxiao believes that around 25 years old is the most beautiful age for a woman.

She doesn't look as innocent as a young girl, but rather has a touch of maturity.

Upon learning of Li Jingxiao's idea, Qin Keqing and Yuan Chun felt much less anxious.

But looking at her own man, who looked to be under eighteen, she felt an even stronger sense of urgency.

So that in the future, we won't both look like we're in our mid-twenties while Li Jingxiao still looks like a young man.

It makes me feel uneasy just thinking about it.

The time I spent cultivating each day has increased from four or five hours to almost 16 hours a day.

So after returning to the capital, the two wives handed over all the household affairs, big and small, to Wang Xifeng and Jingxi.

While Wang Xifeng was overjoyed, she quickly noticed the unusual behavior between the two.

The problem is that Qin Keqing and Yuan Chun spend far too much time cultivating every day.

It's hard not to notice something is wrong.

Li Jingxiao didn't hide it from Wang Xifeng.

Even the You sisters, as well as Baozhu, Ruizhu, Baoqin, and Ping'er.

Soon everyone learned the reason why Qin Keqing and Yuan Chun were so diligent in practicing martial arts.

Now, the women in the family all became very enthusiastic about cultivating their internal strength.

On the contrary, it was Wang Xifeng and Ping'er who, after being persuaded by Li Jingxiao, finally understood the principle of "haste makes waste".

Take the initiative to assume the responsibilities of a housekeeper.

However, Wang Xifeng still felt somewhat uneasy.

In the original story, once this woman gains power, she would never be willing to let go.

But now, the two wives are busy with their spiritual practice.

That's why they gave up the power of the steward. Anyone in their position would understand that the power of the steward is nowhere near as important as cultivation.

However, once Wang Xifeng experienced the power of managing the household, this woman became proactive again.

Ultimately, Wang Xifeng's lust for power and self-expression was indeed stronger than that of Qin Keqing and Yuan Chun.

Moreover, the reality is that she has only been married for a little over a month, and her internal strength is nowhere near that of Qin Keqing and Yuan Chun.

Even Baozhu, Ruizhu, Baoqin, You Erjie, and You Sanjie are far superior to her.

Even before practicing internal energy cultivation, Wang Xifeng spent several days memorizing just the acupoints and some taboos.

It wasn't until a few days ago that, under Li Jingxiao's personal instruction, she and Ping'er began practicing the Quanzhen Heart Sutra together in her boudoir.

Therefore, Wang Xifeng had no choice but to accept reality.

But this woman is actually quite ruthless, even to herself.

While managing the household affairs, she also cultivated herself whenever she had a spare moment.

Now it was Ping'er and Jingxi who were put in charge of a lot of things by her.
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The family returned to the capital in high spirits to prepare for the New Year, but Qin Zhong was somewhat sullen.

When I was 4 years old, I lived with my older sister and brother-in-law, and basically always lived at my brother-in-law's house.

But after the New Year this year, the boy will be 7 years old, and Li Jingxiao himself didn't even realize it.

Qin Keqing then took the initiative to return to her parents' home.

After discussing it with Qin Ye, they said that their younger brother was too old to continue living in the inner quarters.

You can come to practice martial arts during the day from now on, but only in the afternoon.

They could not stay overnight at the Duke of Xingguo's residence.

As for the mornings, he would study at the Qin family's house, and they even planned to hire a scholar or a candidate for the imperial examinations as his teacher.

Only after Li Jingxiao returned from Maoshan in the afternoon did I have time to teach him martial arts.

In reality, it's already good if he gets personal guidance once every ten days or half a month.

It's no wonder Qin Zhong couldn't be happy about this.

Li Jingxiao didn't plan to get involved in this matter, since he was Qin Zhong's brother-in-law.

He is also the eldest brother of Jingxi, Jingyue, and Jingrong.

Like Jia Baoyu, who was seven, eight, or ten years old, he would still get together with his sisters and fool around.

It's alright if they are siblings or cousins.

However, it's unacceptable for cousins ​​to get together, as it could damage the girl's reputation.

In the original novel, Lin Daiyu lost her parents and had to live with her maternal grandmother.

Moreover, Grandmother Jia intentionally let the two little ones grow up together from childhood, treating Lin Daiyu as her 'future granddaughter-in-law'.

Xue Baochai had no hope of being selected as a concubine in the palace, and Xue Pan had killed someone and was sentenced to death by Jia Yuchun.

Legally speaking, Xue Pan is not a real person.

With such a significant hidden danger, no powerful or wealthy family would be interested in Xue Baochai.

No matter how beautiful you are, it's useless; no matter how rich you are, it's useless.

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai were focused on Jia Baoyu.

Li Jingxiao is different; he wouldn't harm his sisters for the sake of his brother-in-law.

Qin Ye was helpless about this and could only tell Qin Keqing that he would find a good teacher for Qin Zhong before the end of the year.
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(End of this chapter)