Martial Arts Universe: With a single command, 100,000 iron cavalry will sweep across the martial wor

With the reduction of heavy taxes, the city gradually became more prosperous, attracting merchants from all over and causing the city's population to increase rapidly.

During this period, Su Qingfeng also brewed distilled liquor, which became very popular and brought him a considerable income.

-

Inside the residence of Lord Wu Xiang, Su Yan watched Su Qingfeng fiddling with the bottles and jars and asked:

"Dad, isn't your soap ready yet?"

"We'll have to wait, don't rush."

Su Qingfeng glanced at her daughter, a little helpless—this was the sixth time she had asked. Yan'er was now very lively, quite different from her former quiet self.

Over the past month, Su Qingfeng had finally gotten to know Yan'er better, but Jingni remained the same. She was always indifferent, and after a few words, all that was left were "yes," "okay," and "I know," as if the two of them lived in different worlds. Su Qingfeng didn't know how to approach her.

He dared not sneak into Jingni's room at night—with her Grandmaster-level cultivation, he feared he would be detected before he even got close.

"Princess, it's time to go to your studies."

A'Zhu approached and bowed to Su Yan as a reminder.

A'Zhu stole a glance at Wu Xiangjun beside her, her heart trembling with fear. She knew very well that the Murong family had been almost completely wiped out by this Wu Xiangjun. Now, there were still bounties being offered everywhere in the martial arts world to kill Murong Fu, and A'Zhu understood that Wu Xiangjun was behind it all.

After she and Abi were kidnapped, they were handed over to the young princess, Su Yan. Although the two were extremely unwilling to serve this young princess, Wu Xiangjun Su Qingfeng had threatened them—if they didn't obediently become maids, they might really be thrown into a brothel. They had no choice but to swallow their anger and stay by Su Yan's side.

Su Yan stared at Su Qingfeng expectantly and asked:

"Dad, I understand everything. I can write all those characters too, can I stop learning them?"

Su Qingfeng smiled and said to her:

"Go ask your mother. If she agrees, then I agree."

He was actually hoping this little girl would leave as soon as possible. The batch of soap he had was still more than an hour away from setting, and if Su Yan kept bothering him, he would be driven crazy by her annoyance.

"Well... never mind, I'll just go back to school." Su Yan pouted.

"Who goes there? Assassins! Protect the Emperor and the Princess!"

Just then, more than a dozen masked men in black suddenly attacked, heading straight for Su Qingfeng's location. The surrounding guards reacted swiftly, immediately surrounding Su Qingfeng and Su Yan and protecting them.

"Kill this corrupt official and act on behalf of Heaven!"

"Go! Take Lord Wu Xiang's life!"

"Kill this villain who bullies men and women!"

……

The masked men roared and charged at Su Qingfeng, each one filled with hatred as if they were seeing their father's killer, and they fought fiercely with the guards.

Su Qingfeng, holding Su Yan's hand, stared expressionlessly at the group of assassins. This was the fourth group to attempt an assassination this month. He still hadn't figured out who was behind it all, but he suspected the Murong family was behind it—Murong Fu's father was actually alive, and that old fox was lurking in the shadows, plotting something.

Su Yan looked at the assassins, but wasn't afraid. She was already used to being assassinated. However, judging from their relatively low skill level, she felt they were being used.

A'Zhu hid to the side, her heart filled with complex emotions. Since Su Qingfeng arrived in Gusu City, the lives of the local people had improved considerably. Taxes were light, with only a small amount of grain tax payable, far lower than in other cities, sometimes only a tenth of what was levied elsewhere. If Su Qingfeng had truly been killed by assassins, the successor city lord would likely never have treated the people so kindly again.

But thinking of Su Qingfeng's ruthless treatment of the Murong family, A'Zhu secretly hoped the assassin would succeed. At this moment, her mind was in turmoil, unsure whether this person deserved to die.

"Crossbowmen, prepare—fire!"

At the command of the guard commander, crossbow bolts rained down.

Swish swish swish——

"Capture them alive."

As the rain of arrows ceased, more than a dozen masked men lay dead on the ground. Seeing that some of them were still breathing, Su Qingfeng immediately ordered his guards to subdue all the surviving assassins.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Su Qingfeng turned to A'Zhu, whose expression was constantly changing, and asked in a cold voice:

"Ah Zhu, are you disappointed that I didn't die?"

Upon hearing this, Azhu hurriedly shook her head: "No...no, I never thought of that."

"These assassins had better not be the path you and Abi led, otherwise, you should know what will happen to you."

A'Zhu was filled with apprehension. What she feared most was that this matter was truly related to A'Bi. A'Bi's expression had indeed been unusual lately. A'Zhu had initially thought that she was thinking of the old members of the Murong family, but now it seemed that it might not be that simple.

Su Qingfeng glanced at A'Zhu with a cold face, then gave the order:

"Take the survivors away for thorough interrogation to find out their origins and how they infiltrated the mansion."

"Yes."

After the guards escorted the assassin away, Su Qingfeng had no interest in checking whether the soap had set. He turned to Su Yan and instructed him:

"Yan'er, lock up Azhu and Abi first. This matter may be related to them, so they should not be allowed to serve you closely for the time being."

Su Yan looked at A Zhu and said seriously:

"A'Zhu, if you did this, confess now and I can still plead with my father for leniency. But if the facts are verified, I will no longer speak up for you."

A'Zhu hurriedly defended herself:

"Your Majesty, this was absolutely not our doing. Please believe us."

Seeing that A'Zhu still wouldn't tell the truth, Su Qingfeng angrily said:

"Guards, lock Azhu and Abi up!"

The assassin was able to infiltrate this place silently, so someone must have secretly led the way. The guards and soldiers in the mansion are all loyal, and the maids brought from the capital would never betray them. After much thought, only A'Zhu and A'Bi are suspected.

"Yes, sir!"

A'Zhu's face turned deathly pale, and she cried out urgently to Su Qingfeng:

"Your Majesty, we would never do such a thing! Please investigate!"

The guards led A'Zhu away as she repeatedly argued back.

Su Yan then asked:

"Father, when will Mother emerge from seclusion? If she is there, she will surely be able to find out who is behind this."

"I am not a martial artist, how would I know for sure? It depends on whether your mother's breakthrough goes smoothly this time."

"That Vermilion Fruit... can it really help Mother successfully break through?"

"Perhaps, but even if she doesn't succeed in breaking through, it will still benefit her body; it can heal any old injuries she sustained."

The Vermilion Fruit that Su Qingfeng gave to Jingni was obtained from opening treasure chests over the past month; he had opened a total of ten.

Eating a single Vermilion Fruit can increase one's cultivation by thirty years. Jing Ni is currently at the mid-stage of the Grandmaster level; if she can use this to break through to the Great Grandmaster level, Su Qingfeng will have made a huge profit.

However, the Vermilion Fruit is only effective for one person after taking the first one; subsequent doses will only heal injuries. Su Qingfeng gave one to Jing Ni and one to Su Yan. After Su Yan took it, her body was much better, and her previous stomach coldness no longer flared up.

Su Yan looked at Su Qingfeng cautiously and asked:

"That's for the best. Father, if it really was Azhu and Abi who led those assassins astray, what would you do with them?"

Su Qingfeng found it somewhat amusing and deliberately said:

"I haven't decided yet, should we just kill him?"

He knew that Su Yan did not want him to kill A Zhu and A Bi. Over the past month, Su Yan had grown very fond of them, and even A Zhu and the others had taught him how to write.

Su Yan smiled and said:

"Let's not kill them. They're not really bad people. It's better to punish them so they won't dare to do it again."

Su Qingfeng patted Su Yan's head:

"Let's wait and see. We'll decide what to do with them after the assassins confess."

"Alright, but when you deal with Azhu and Abi, you must tell me. You can't do it secretly on your own."

"understood."

In a small courtyard of Wu Xiangjun's residence, guards stood watch.

Inside the room, Azhu asked Abi beside her seriously:

"Abi, are you involved with the assassin who tried to kill Lord Wu Xiang today?"

Abi hurriedly shook her head:

"No! I didn't tell them anything!"

Azhu immediately pressed for an answer:

"Them? Who are they? You really are involved in this."

Abi hurriedly explained:

"A'Zhu, I did not betray Lord Wu Xiang. It's just that when I accompanied the young princess out earlier, a stranger handed me a note asking me to provide a map of the manor's defenses. I glanced at it and threw it away, and I didn't even see the person."

"Phew... at least it wasn't you who did it."

"A'Zhu, do you now believe what Lord Wu Xiang has been saying to the outside world?"

"Abi, deep down you believe it too, don't you? If Murong Fu wasn't a descendant of the Xianbei, why did he occupy Gusu City? And why did he plunder so much gold and silver treasure in the city? What benefit did that bring him?"

"Alas, I often accompany the young princess out, and I've heard the people of Suzhou hate the Murong family to the bone. Now I don't know what to do... And where has the young master run off to again?"

"Stop calling Murong Fu 'Young Master'. He is a Xianbei, and he still dreams of restoring his kingdom. If he succeeds, countless more Han Chinese will die."

Abi asked Azhu with a worried expression.

"I understand. Does this mean Lord Wu Xiang no longer trusts us?"

Azhu sat in the chair, her tone somewhat downcast.

"Lord Wu Xiang has never believed us. After all, we were once maids of the Murong family, even though we were kidnapped."

"But I always feel that Lord Wu Xiang seems to be using us. But we are just maids, what is there for us to be used?"

Suddenly, Abi said to Azhu, "Wouldn't Lord Wuxiang be planning to use us to lure Murong Fu?"

A'Zhu understood Murong Fu well—he would never risk his life for her and A'Bi. In Murong Fu's heart, they were probably less important than the guards around him.

"Perhaps. If that's the case, Lord Wu Xiang will be disappointed. Why would Murong Fu risk his life for two of our little maids?"

Boom boom boom—

Just then, a powerful aura suddenly erupted from Wu Xiangjun's residence, startling Azhu and Abi: Could it be that another formidable assassin had come to the residence?

Su Qingfeng and Su Yan also felt the oppressive aura enveloping the entire mansion and immediately rushed towards Jing Ni's secluded cultivation location. They knew that Jing Ni had successfully broken through to the next level.

Su Yan asked Su Qingfeng excitedly, "Father, did Mother succeed this time? From now on, she will be a Grandmaster."

Su Qingfeng replied with a smile, "It's hard to say yet, go ask your mother first."

The two arrived outside Jing Ni's room and saw that she had emerged from seclusion. Su Qingfeng noticed the smile on Jing Ni's lips and knew that she must have broken through—otherwise, Jing Ni would not be smiling.

"Mother, are you a Grandmaster now?"

Su Yan ran forward and hugged Jing Ni.

Jingni hugged her daughter and smiled, "Hmm, I didn't expect to directly step into the Grandmaster realm this time."

While Su Yan was overjoyed, she couldn't help but tease her father: "That's great! Mother is getting more and more powerful. Unlike my father, who probably can't even beat me now."

Su Qingfeng felt a lump in his throat. Although he was unable to practice martial arts due to blocked meridians, being teased by his daughter like this made him feel like a useless person.

Seeing Su Qingfeng's gloomy expression, Jingni couldn't help but chuckle. She walked up to Su Qingfeng and took his hand:

"Thank you so much this time. Not only did I break through to the Grandmaster level, but all my old injuries were also completely healed."

There's no need for thanks between us.

Su Qingfeng was overjoyed and pulled Jing Ni into his arms. He felt that this time, Jing Ni might really be willing to accept him.

Su Qingfeng held Jingni in his arms, and she didn't struggle, but blushed and turned her head away.

Upon seeing his father embracing his mother, Su Yan quickly exclaimed, "Dad, have you forgotten about me?"

Su Qingfeng smiled and casually picked up Su Yan as well:

"How could I forget my little princess?"

Su Yan pouted, a little smugly, and said, "That's more like it, otherwise I won't allow you to hug my mother again."

Su Qingfeng gently flicked her forehead: "Silly girl, your mother is my wife now. I can hug her whenever I want, and it's none of your business."

"But I can cause trouble."

Su Qingfeng felt a headache coming on—if this little girl really started causing trouble, he and Jingni wouldn't have any peace and quiet. "Fine, you're something else. Tell me, are you plotting something again?"

Su Yan's eyes lit up, and she said with a grin:

"Dad, the martial arts rankings will be announced soon, and I want to go out and have some fun!"

Su Qingfeng immediately shook his head:

"No, you're only six years old, too young. Besides, your martial arts are only at the fourth level of the Acquired Realm; it would be too dangerous for you to go out."

Su Yan retorted, "I'm a nobody? Dad, I'm way better than you!"