Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 139 Bumping into each other on the street
Inside Bozhou City.

After a simple disguise, Lin Xuan and Qing Luan walked hand in hand into this familiar alley.

His identity was special, and countless people in Bozhou City were watching him. For Qingluan's safety, he could not appear by her side in his true form.

As Lin Xuan walked into the alley, a wave of emotion surged within him.

This unassuming alley holds many of his memories.

If Aro were not a datura, this memory would only be beautiful.

In the old courtyard, Tian Qingluan thought of A Luo, and her mood became somewhat depressed. She whispered, "A Luo... is she really a spy for Nanzhao?"

Even now, she still cannot reconcile the innocent and naive A'Luo with the cruel and ruthless Nanzhao spies.

Lin Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and said in a low voice, "She is not only a secret agent of Nanzhao, but also a high-ranking figure in the Secret Service."

Tian Qingluan finally couldn't contain her curiosity and asked, "How did you know?"

Lin Xuan said, "When we attacked the Yang family, I saw her among the people in the Nanzhao Secret Service. She told you that you were going back to your hometown to visit relatives, but in fact she was going back to the Nanzhao Secret Service..."

Tian Qingluan sighed softly and did not ask any further questions.

She could sense that his pain was far greater than hers.

After a long while, the two left the alley.

Lin Xuan held her hand and walked a short distance before suddenly stopping.

He pulled Qingluan to a jewelry stall on the street, pretending to select jewelry, but his eyes were glancing at the crowd behind him.

Just now, he had a feeling that he was being secretly watched.

The streets were bustling with people, and everything seemed normal.

If someone is indeed spying on him, then either the other party is a powerful sorcerer, whose mental strength is very likely even greater than his.

Either the other party is a top-tier spy with extremely strong tracking and counter-tracking capabilities, or he needs to further determine which situation it is.

Lin Xuan bought a beautiful wooden hairpin from a small stall and put it in Qingluan's hair.

Although the wooden hairpin only cost ten coins, Tian Qingluan was still very happy.

Anything given to me by him, even a wooden hairpin worth ten coins, is more valuable than any expensive jewelry.

She took Lin Xuan's arm affectionately and disappeared into the crowd on the street.

At the entrance of an alley on the street, a woman in black stood with her back pressed against the wall, her forehead covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

What a keen sense!

He almost discovered me just now!

This person must be a top-tier spy with an extremely strong counter-tracking awareness. Even a high-level mage wouldn't be able to keep an eye on something ten feet behind them while shopping with a woman...

As he walked toward the street stalls, tilting his head slightly, she immediately hid herself.

If she hadn't happened to pass by this alley, she would have been discovered.

Fortunately, she had already made a clear judgment about the man's identity.

After breaking through to the fifth rank, her tracking ability improved significantly.

Being able to detect her tracking and react quickly, with such keen counter-tracking awareness, he must have received relevant training and be a top-level spy cultivated by a powerful intelligence organization.

On the mainland, there are only two spy organizations with this capability.

One was the Nanzhao Secret Service, and the other was the Yong Kingdom's Night-Pacifying Service.

He couldn't possibly be from the Secret Service. Now, the only people in the Secret Service who could have detected her following him are the Director and Sister Black Lotus. So there's only one answer left.

This person is from the Jingye Division of the Yong Kingdom.

How could Qingluan know the top secret agent of the Yong Kingdom's Jingye Division, and be so intimate with him? The two looked exactly like lovers in the throes of passion, and she hadn't seen that genuine smile on Qingluan's face in a long time...

She stared in the direction they had disappeared, her fists clenched tightly in her sleeves, the knuckles making a crisp sound.

His body was barely cold when she was being so intimate with another man!
A feeling of betrayal welled up inside me!

She took a deep breath, her anger still burning, but she didn't dare to chase after them.

That person's counter-tracking ability is too strong, and they are already on guard. If she rashly chases after them, she is very likely to be exposed.

She gritted her teeth, turned around, and walked back the way she came.

The feeling of being followed never returned until I returned to Tianji.

If it wasn't Lin Xuan's imagination, then the other party had given up.

Inside the courtyard, Lin Xuan looked at Qingluan and instructed her, "It's best if you don't go out for a while. If anything happens, send someone to the Jingbian Division to let me know, and I'll go with you."

Tian Qingluan sensed something was wrong and asked, "What happened?"

Lin Xuan shook his head and said, "I don't know yet, but if the Tian family becomes a royal merchant, the An and Song families probably won't give up easily. I'm worried they'll set their sights on the Tian family..."

Tian Qingluan nodded seriously and said, "I understand."

Lin Xuan felt slightly relieved. As long as she didn't go out during the day, she would be safe. He would come to keep her company at night. Unless the ancestors of both families came, he would be able to sense any danger in advance.

However, the Tian family's strength was ultimately too weak.

Even if they become imperial merchants, those two families probably won't take them seriously.

It would be best to find a way to bring out a powerful member of the Xuanwu tribe to intimidate the enemy. If the High Priest could come, that would be even better...

After kissing Qingluan goodbye, Lin Xuan left through the back door of Tianji.

The back gate of Tianji was directly opposite the back gate of another house. Lin Xuan lightly leaped and flipped over to the backyard of this house.

This place was originally the residence of a member of the Yang family, but it was temporarily requisitioned by Lin Xuan.

Tianji and this place belong to different streets. It takes at least fifteen minutes to walk around from the front gate, and the distance seems far.

Actually, the two backyards are only separated by two doors.

Unless you are extremely familiar with the streets of Bozhou, it is difficult to discover this fact.

In this way, Lin Xuan could come to see her at any time without being noticed.

Back at the Jingbian Division, Lin Xuan entered the duty room and found several more applications from imperial merchants on the table.

He casually flipped through them and found that one of the documents belonged to the An family.

The An family was willing to hand over 35% of the future profits of the Yang family's shops to the imperial court as the price for becoming imperial merchants. After glancing at it, Lin Xuan tore off a piece of paper and wrote a few words on it.

Then, he opened the pigeon coop that the Song family had sent two days earlier, which had been hanging in the duty room, and stuffed the note into the bamboo tube on the pigeon's leg.

Lin Xuan walked to the bedside and released the pigeon.

Not long after, inside the Song family mansion.

Song Qian couldn't wait to untie the bamboo tube on the pigeon's leg and pour out the note inside. When he saw what was written on the note, he slammed his hand on the table and couldn't help but curse, "That old fox An Yunru, he's two-faced! I almost fell for his trick!"

The two families agreed that Yang would give 20% of the profits to the imperial court, and then they would share the Yang family's assets.

The Song family secretly gave up 10%, but unexpectedly, the An family gave up another 5% on top of what the Song family had given up.

Even if the imperial court favors the Song family, this half-percent of profit is enough to make the court change its mind.

Fortunately, they had bribed Lord Chen in advance and learned about the An family's plans beforehand. Those two packs of gold mooncakes were truly worth it.

He crumpled the note into a ball, curled the corners of his mouth, and sneered, "Since your An family broke the rules first, don't blame my Song family for being ruthless!"

……

Inside the Jingbian Division, on Lin Xuan's desk, lay a pile of applications from imperial merchants.

During this period, including An and Song, more than 20 businesses submitted applications.

Aside from a few small businesses that were just there to make up the numbers, only a handful of companies truly had the ability to take over the Yang family's businesses.

Among them, the An family is willing to give up 35% of the profits, the Song family is willing to give up 40%, and the other merchants are willing to give up 20% to 50%, while those who give up more than 50% may be purely motivated by disruptive intentions.

Based on their quote, Lin Xuan set a 40/60 split for the Tian family.

The imperial court has four, and the farmers have six.

Given the same profit margin as the Song family, choosing the Tian family is undoubtedly the better option.

The An and Song families were actually out of the game from the start. Giving them the opportunity to participate was just to shut them up.

Other businesses, while willing to concede more profits, lacked the capacity to do so.

Their own businesses were doing poorly, losing money and closing down year after year. Entrusting such a large business to them would be irresponsible to the imperial court, and others would have reason to suspect that he had taken money.

Among these businesses, the Tian family was not the most financially powerful, but it had the most potential.

Lin Xuan wrote a long analysis report, combining various data and analyzing from multiple perspectives, and finally concluded that the Tian family was the most suitable imperial merchant.

He was just about to have Lu Feng report this decision to the Commander's Office when Lu Feng strode in.

Lin Xuan stood up and said, "Commander Lu, you've come at the right time. I've already made a decision regarding the Imperial Merchants. Please use your telescope to report this to the Commander's Office."

Lu Feng looked at the thick stack of papers on the table and waved his hand, saying, "You can decide for yourself. With so many pages, how long would it take me to write? There's a word limit for telescope communication, and I can't possibly write this much..."

Seeing that Lu Feng didn't care at all, Lin Xuan put the report into an envelope and said, "Then when you return to the capital, please submit it to the Commandery for me." Since the court had entrusted this matter to him, he had to take it seriously and at least ensure that the procedures were impeccable.

Lu Feng accepted the envelope, took out a palm-sized brocade box from his sleeve, and said, "I have something else to discuss with you. Here, take this."

Lin Xuan took the brocade box and asked in confusion, "This is..."

Lu Feng's face showed a rare expression of envy as he said, "This is His Majesty's reward. Not many people receive such a gift from His Majesty. This means you have caught His Majesty's eye. Open it and take a look..."

Lin Xuan opened the brocade box and saw two white pills.

A refreshing fragrance instantly filled the entire duty room.

Just smelling the fragrance made Lin Xuan feel refreshed, and even the internal energy within his body was drawn in and began to circulate on its own.

Lin Xuan exclaimed in surprise, "This is..."

Lu Feng explained, "These are Qi Gathering Pills. One pill can be exchanged for a luxurious mansion in the capital. Countless martial arts geniuses in the capital would spend a fortune and still not be able to obtain even one. His Majesty has bestowed two upon you at once, which shows how highly he values ​​you..."

Even though Lin Xuan possessed the alchemy heritage of the Jiuli tribe, he had never heard of such an elixir.

He looked at Lu Feng and asked in confusion, "What is the effect of this pill?"

Lu Feng explained, "Breaking through the limitations of one's physical constitution and breaking the upper limit of the speed of true qi circulation in a short period of time is of great benefit to the cultivation of the middle third rank. Depending on the difference in talent, one Qi Gathering Pill can be equivalent to several months or even several years of hard training for a sixth-rank martial artist."

Lin Xuan was truly shocked this time.

The Jiuli tribe's alchemy and medicine-making skills are unparalleled on the continent. Bone-tempering liquid and marrow-cleansing liquid both originated from the Jiuli tribe, but their elixirs are only effective for those of the lower three ranks.

As far as Lin Xuan knew, the Jiuli tribe did not yet possess any elixirs that could accelerate cultivation to the middle third rank.

Lu Feng, assuming Lin Xuan doubted the effects of the Qi Gathering Pill, smiled and said, "There's no need to doubt its efficacy. Many people have already verified it. Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to obtain one myself..."

Lin Xuan wasn't doubting it; although he had never heard of this pill, he was not lacking in the ability to identify elixirs.

Just by smelling the fragrance of the elixir, one's true energy can circulate on its own.

If you take it, won't your internal energy circulation speed take off?
There are actually elixirs in the world that can aid in the cultivation of intermediate-level cultivators. Truly, there are always people more capable than you, and there are always higher realms to conquer. The Jiuli tribe has been living in seclusion for too long, and in the art of alchemy, they have already been surpassed by others...

Lu Feng reminded him, "You'd better set aside at least a day before taking this pill, and then fully circulate the Zhenyue Gong until the effects wear off. Only in this way can you avoid wasting the pill that His Majesty personally refined..."

Lin Xuan was startled again: "This elixir, was it personally refined by His Majesty?"

Lu Feng nodded and said, "This elixir was created by His Majesty. No one in the world but His Majesty can refine it. Now you know why this elixir is so precious. Only by making great contributions to the court can one receive such a reward from His Majesty..."

Lin Xuan suppressed the shock in his heart, clasped his hands and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"

At this moment, Lu Feng continued, "The matters in the Southwest have been mostly arranged, and it's time for me to return to the capital to report. Everything here is now in your hands. The Bozhou Thousand-Household Garrison and the two guard posts are at your disposal. If you encounter any problems that you cannot handle, you can send a message to the Commandery, and the Commandery will order the Southern Garrison Command to assist you..."

In Jingbian Commandery, the Sixteen Guards held a position above the Thousand-Household Commander, but below the Garrison Commander.

They did not have the direct authority to command the town government, but the Sixteen Guards, when stationed outside, represented the Commandery, and the town government had an obligation to assist them.

Not long after, at the gate of Jingbian Si.

Lin Xuan clasped his hands in a fist salute to Lu Feng and said, "Commander Lu, have a safe journey!"

Lu Feng mounted his horse, smiled at Lin Xuan, and said, "See you in the capital!"

After seeing Lu Feng off, Lin Xuan returned to the Jingbian Division, leaned back in a large, comfortable chair, and slowly closed his eyes.

Although he was still in Jingbian Division in Bozhou, his state of mind was completely different from a few months ago.

While a fourth-grade spiritual power wouldn't allow one to roam freely throughout the entire southwest, it at least provided some self-defense capabilities.

Given his current status, he doesn't actually need to protect himself.

Neither the Nanzhao secret service nor the An and Song families would dare to lay a hand on him.

Having lived two lives, this was the first time Lin Xuan had tasted the power.

With power in hand, even if the opponent is far stronger than him, he still has to speak carefully.

He could easily help his beloved achieve her dreams with just a thought.

No wonder people throughout history have always yearned for power.

Once you've experienced this feeling, it's hard to give it up.

After letting out a soft sigh, Lin Xuan opened his eyes, sat up straight, and said, "Someone come here."

A guard immediately entered and respectfully asked, "Lord Chen, what are your orders?"

Lin Xuandao: "Have the clerk draft a notice..."

……

Not long after, a notice was posted outside the Jingbian Division.

The imperial court has already decided on the imperial merchant to take over the Yang family's business.

The notice had just been posted when a crowd had already gathered below.

Then came an uproar.

"The Tian family of Sizhou?"

"How could it be them?"

"Where did this Tian family of Sizhou come from?"

"You wouldn't believe it, the Tian family were the first to sell refined salt. Last winter, the fresh vegetables my family bought were also from them. And their refined sugar was of good quality too..."

"Unexpectedly, the imperial court ultimately chose the Tian family..."

"What's so surprising about that? It's impossible for a job as a royal merchant to fall into the hands of the Song or An families, unless the court wants another Yang family to emerge..."

……

After half a month of turmoil, the matter of the imperial merchant has finally come to a conclusion.

The result was both unexpected and seemingly reasonable.

The imperial court recruited imperial merchants because it was being pushed too far by the An and Song families. If they were the imperial court, they would not want these two families to continue to grow stronger, and would likely choose a less powerful force.

That's why they submitted their application to become imperial merchants, clinging to a sliver of hope.

Unexpectedly, the title of Imperial Merchant did not ultimately fall to the chieftain of Bozhou.

The Tian family of Sizhou is a rising star in the southwest. In the past six months, their family business has expanded rapidly, and their wealth is enough to rank them among the top ten in the southwest. However, the family's strength is not strong and they are easy to control. It is not surprising that they have caught the eye of the imperial court.

It is foreseeable that the rise of the Tian family is unstoppable...

……

Song House.

main hall.

Lin Xuan took a sip of tea and said to Song Qian, "I have done all I can. This is the court's decision, and I cannot change it. I feel unworthy to accept those two packets of mooncakes; I will have them sent back in the next couple of days..."

Song Qian quickly said, "Lord Chen, please don't say that. You've already helped us enough. Please keep those two boxes of mooncakes. The Song family will send you more gifts during festivals in the future..."

It was certainly bad news that the Song family did not become imperial merchants.

But this good thing didn't happen to the An family.

For them, this result is not unacceptable.

This Lord Chen did indeed reveal the An family's secrets to them, but the outcome was not something he could decide. The Song family wouldn't be so foolish as to take back what they had already sent out.

Moreover, the small Tian family cannot replace the Yang family.

If the Song family wants to develop in the vicinity of Bozhou in the future, they will need to cultivate a good relationship with this Lord Chen.

It's all his fault for being careless and falling into the An family's trap, thus losing a great opportunity...

at the same time.

An Jia's residence.

For the An family, not obtaining the qualification of imperial merchant was understandable.

Compared to the Song family, they had no advantage whatsoever, because of their connection to Nanzhao, the Dayong court would never trust them.

Fortunately, the Song family didn't gain any advantage either. An Yunru stood in the hall, sighed softly, and said helplessly, "It seems that the imperial court is still wary of us. In order to obtain the qualification of imperial merchant, we did not hesitate to offend the An family, but in the end, others still benefited. I wonder what price the Tian family paid..."

A woman dressed in black sat in the main seat.

Although she wore a veil, it wasn't hard to guess her expression from her indifferent gaze.

Recalling what she saw on the street today, and thinking about how the Tian family defeated many merchants to become imperial merchants, she understood everything.

I misjudged her; this woman only cares about profit.

She obtained her status as a royal merchant in the Tian family by selling her body.

I actually considered her a close sister; looking back now, it's truly laughable...

She took out a jade pendant from her bosom, held it in her palm, and applied slight pressure.

Cracks instantly appeared on the jade plaque engraved with the character "田" (field)...

(End of this chapter)