Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 98 Reunion [Thanks to Alliance Leader "keyhalo"]

Lin Xuan spent the entire afternoon helping Wenren Yue organize intelligence at the Jingbian Division.

This gave him a clearer understanding of the powerful chieftains in the southwest.

The Yang family truly lives up to its reputation as the largest chieftain in the southwest; among its members are two patriarchs who hold the highest rank in martial arts.

Although these two are only at the initial stage of the third rank, they can still be considered top experts of their time.

The commander of the Jingye Division was only a third-rank official.

In the Great Yong Dynasty, the number of second-rank experts can be counted on one hand.

Moreover, in addition to the two third-rank ancestors, the Yang family also has tens of thousands of troops, which can be easily expanded to 100,000 in times of war. Among these people are many middle-rank third-rank experts recruited by the Yang family.

An individual's military strength can never rival that of a massive army.

Even a martial arts master at the second rank cannot directly confront a force of thousands of heavily armored soldiers.

Throughout Bozhou, there were countless chieftains, large and small, all of whom were vassals of the Yang family. Here, the Yang family was the true royal family.

Besides the Yang family, there are two other chieftains in the southwest. Although they are slightly weaker than the Yang family, they should not be underestimated.

These two families are the Song family and the An family.

Both families have a third-rank ancestor, but there is only one of them.

Neither the Song nor the An family is as strong as the Yang family, but if the two families join forces, their strength will definitely surpass that of the Yang family.

For centuries, all three families have sought to expand their power and rule the southwest.

However, resources in the southwest are limited, and the expansion of one party's strength will inevitably be accompanied by the contraction of another party's strength.

Therefore, the three families have fought for hundreds of years over territory and people. Sometimes the Yang family would join forces with the An family to fight the Song family, and sometimes the An family would join forces with the Song family to fight the Yang family. At other times, the Yang family and the Song family would join forces to fight the An family.

More often than not, it's a three-way battle, with none of them giving way to the others.

The three companies had been peaceful for decades, but the new salt law reshuffled the salt industry in the southwest. Apart from these three companies, small and medium-sized salt merchants with backward technology and low production capacity suffered a devastating blow. They were either swallowed up by the three companies or submitted to the imperial court.

Only the Tian family of Sizhou, having seized the initiative, not only escaped the impact but their business continued to grow.

Salt profits accounted for nearly half of the national treasury's revenue, and the same was true for these local chieftains.

Without the profits from salt production or with reduced profits, they were unable to maintain their large armies, and the struggle among the three families for these profits had reached a fever pitch.

In just a few months, all three companies suffered heavy losses, with hundreds of people killed or injured on each side...

Lin Xuan silently closed the intelligence report.

You can't blame him; he just wanted to slack off at work, but Wu Baihu insisted on forcing him...

In the afternoon, the two walked home together.

When Lin Xuan pushed open the courtyard gate and saw a figure standing inside, he froze on the spot.

His first thought was, could it be that the mushrooms at noon were not cooked properly and he was hallucinating from poisoning?

Otherwise, how could he have seen Tian Qingluan in Bozhou!
He walked up to Tian Qingluan and couldn't help but reach out and gently pinch her cheek.

It's soft and bouncy; it doesn't feel like an illusion.

Lin Xuan doubted whether the person standing in front of her was A Luo. He had mistaken A Luo for Qing Luan because of the mushroom poisoning.

"Cough cough!"

A cough came from behind him. Lin Xuan turned around and saw A Luo standing not far behind him.

It seems the mushrooms weren't undercooked.

After realizing what was happening, Lin Xuan turned to look at Tian Qingluan, her tone filled with surprise: "Why did you come to Bozhou?"

Tian Qingluan rolled her eyes at him and said, "The Tian family also has business in Bozhou. Can't I come and take a look?"

After a while.

Lin Xuan looked at A Luo and Tian Qingluan on his left and right sides, then at Wenren Yue across from him. The table was finally full again.

Lin Xuan looked at Tian Qingluan and asked, "When did you set off?"

Tian Qingluan did not answer Lin Xuan immediately. Instead, she picked up a few bites of food and savored the familiar taste before speaking, "About three days ago."

Worried about what might have happened to A Luo and Lin Xuan during this time, she left Sizhou alone and traveled day and night. What would normally take ten days by trade route, she arrived in three days.

Aro looked down and asked, "How did you know we were here?"

Tian Qingluan smiled slightly: "I naturally have my own sources of information."

Then, she looked at Lin Xuan and said, "The Tian family's business in Bozhou is just starting out, and I have nowhere to stay. You have a spare room here, so I'll stay here for now..."

Before Lin Xuan could speak, A Luo interjected, "I also have a spare room, Sister Qingluan, why don't you stay with me?"

Tian Qingluan glanced at her, but didn't insist any further, nodding and saying, "Then I'll have to bother you, Sister A'luo."

Alu forced a smile: "I won't bother you..."

Even now, she still can't accept this fact.

Didn't she already admit defeat? How can she go back on her word?
If the current situation remains unchanged from Sizhou, then Tian Qingluan kissed him for nothing—twice for nothing!
I didn't hold it against her because I felt sorry for her.

Who would have thought that she would break her promise? She had just given them her blessings not long ago, and then came chasing after them again just a few days later!

It’s so haunting!

Tian Qingluan went to Lin Xuan's room to rest after eating half of the meal.

For the past three days, she spent almost all her time traveling, except for a short 15-minute rest every two hours.

After seeing Lin Xuan and eating the food she had been longing for, she relaxed and felt waves of fatigue wash over her.

When Lin Xuan entered the room, she was already asleep.

A trace of fatigue still lingered on her face, but a faint smile played on her lips.

Lin Xuan walked to the bedside, sat on the headboard, and quietly looked at her.

He hadn't expected that she would actually follow him.

Compared to A'Luo's carefree life, she had her entire family behind her. It's unknown what kind of mental struggle she went through to make such a decision.

Although she said it was for the shop, they had kissed and hugged, and they had traveled 500 li in three days. Lin Xuan couldn't possibly be so blind to such an excuse.

To meet one girl like that in a lifetime would be considered a perfect life, but he has two by his side. Is this God's compensation for him in his previous life?

If she, a woman, is so brave, how could he possibly back down?
Lin Xuan looked at Tian Qingluan in her sleep, reached out and gently tidied a few stray strands of hair from her forehead.

At that moment, he completely accepted and acknowledged her in his heart.

A'Luo walked in from outside and, seeing this scene, quickly quickened her pace, saying, "Brother Lin, Sister Qingluan is asleep. Let me carry her back to my place to sleep..."

Lin Xuan looked at her and said, "Can you carry her? Let me do it..."

A Luo puffed out her chest and said, "Brother Lin, don't underestimate me. I'm actually quite strong..."

After saying that, she bent down, picked Tian Qingluan up in her arms, smiled slightly at Lin Xuan, and said, "Brother Lin, we're leaving..."

Watching her walk away, Lin Xuan realized he had truly underestimated A Luo…

A Luo carried Tian Qingluan back to her residence, casually tossed her onto the bed, and showed annoyance on her face.

Women are all liars!

Since you've already admitted defeat, why did you chase them all the way to Bozhou and cause them trouble?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She lifted Tian Qingluan's skirt and slapped her hard across her round, white breasts, gritting her teeth and saying, "You untrustworthy woman!"

In her sleep, Tian Qingluan frowned slightly, turned over, hugged A Luo's blanket, and continued to sleep...

(End of this chapter)