Martial Arts: My achievements in Beiliang were so great that they threatened the lord's positio

Looking directly at Lin Xuan, if the other party were to nod even slightly, this supreme Cao Guanzi would probably immediately rush to Qingliang Mountain to demand an explanation from Xu Xiao.

"That's not the case."

Lin Xuan shook his head: "It was my doing."

Cao Guanzi, who had been exuding a murderous aura, immediately lost his composure, though his expression remained somber.

"The general must give an explanation."

** To make a sound.

"My lord, please calm down."

Mu Qing'er calmly explained: "Young Master's actions are actually a smokescreen to mislead Xu Xiao."

Jiang Ni was brought to the Prince's mansion by Xu Xiao when she was a child. If the young master were to ask for her directly, it would surely arouse his suspicion.

"That's why this plan was devised."

His expression softened slightly, but when he looked at the sleeping girl on the bed, he still felt pity: "General, you didn't need to be so harsh. A mere show of force would have sufficed."

"My godfather is not someone to be trifled with."

Lin Xuan shook his head indifferently.

He sat down on the edge of the tatami mat, gently took Jiang Ni's wrist to check her pulse, and after a moment, murmured "Eh."

He made a sound.

He sensed that an extremely powerful and cold aura lingered between Jiang Ni's heart meridian and his internal organs.

But this cold air did not harm its body; on the contrary, it was gentle and slowly repaired the wounds inside its body.

Without much thought, it was obvious that this was Lin Xuan's doing.

"Don't worry, sir."

Mu Qing'er said softly, "Jiang Ni's injuries are nothing more than superficial wounds; she will recover in a few days."

After taking his pulse, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"General, may I take care of the princess?"

He began to speak.

"No."

Lin Xuan shook his head again: "Your Excellency should know that now is far from the right time to restore the country, nor is it the time for you to recognize her."

Now she can only be Jiang Ni, a maid in the General of the North's mansion. This way, she can both keep Xu Xiao calm and protect her.

"Could the princess come with me to train in the Sharpening Hall?"

** Inquired.

"She can become your disciple."

Lin Xuan smiled slightly: "But she must learn swordsmanship from me. This girl has a natural talent for swordsmanship. With time, she should achieve great things in the way of the sword."

"Is the general skilled in swordsmanship?"

**Slightly surprised.

"laugh."

Mu Qing'er covered her mouth and chuckled: "My lord, you do not know, but my young master's swordsmanship is also among the best in the world, it's just that he rarely uses it."

He had no objection to Lin Xuan's arrangements, and Jiang Ni's arrival filled a long-standing void in his heart.

I have only two wishes in this life: to stir up the winds and clouds, to overthrow the imperial court, and to restore the destiny of the Great Chu ancestral temple and the nation.

"Thank you, General."

This supreme Cao official rose and bowed respectfully.

"No need for such formalities."

Lin Xuan waved his hand: "Finding Jiang Ni is not only for you, but also for my own plans."

After staying indoors for a short while, ** he returned to the Sharpening Hall.

Several days later

The snow stopped and the sky cleared.

In the room

The woman, who had been asleep for several days and nights, slowly opened her eyes, all her weariness gone.

She sat up from the couch in a daze, her gaze slowly sweeping over the furnishings in the room, then looking down at herself.

Her dress was clean, her external wounds had mostly healed, and her body not only did not feel cold, but was instead enveloped in warmth.

"Could it be that I'm still dreaming...?"

Jiang Ni muttered to herself, then closed her eyes, intending to lie down again.

She didn't want to wake up from such a rare dream too soon—after all, in her heart, the days in the Zhenbei General's Mansion were nothing short of being in purgatory.

"Don't sleep."

But this moment of peace was soon shattered.

Jiang Ni opened her eyes and saw Da Pan'er standing by the bed with his arms crossed.

"what!"

She screamed, cowered in the corner of the bed, her body trembling, her eyes filled with fear, and her hand instinctively reached into her sleeve.

"Looking for this?"

With a flick of his wrist, the large plate appeared in his hand.

"Give it back to me..."

Jiang Ni's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"I will keep this item for the time being."

The large plate shook its head and put it away.

Although Jiang Ni was unwilling, he had already been subdued by the other party along the way and dared not disobey, so he could only secretly make a note of this.

"Get up."

The order of the market.

Jiang Ni reluctantly got out of bed.

"After lunch, I went to the Sharpening Hall to copy fifty volumes of mid-grade sword manuals and return them before nightfall."

The big man said firmly, "If you don't finish copying, you won't get dinner."

"Take her to the kitchen."

A maid entered and led Jiang Ni away from the courtyard.

The courtyard was quiet, except for Lin Xuan, who was concentrating on practicing his sword.

Jiang Ni caught a glimpse of him and immediately quickened her pace.

"Is this the Sharpening Hall?"

Following the maid to the Sharpening Garden, Jiang Ni saw Nangong Pu She practicing swordsmanship in the distance. Her heart tightened, but she pretended not to see him.

"Sir, the General has ordered me to bring people to copy fifty volumes of sword manuals."

The maid led Jiang Ni to stand outside the door of the Sharpening Hall.

"Come in."

A moment later, a response came from inside.

Within the general's mansion, few knew of the gentle and refined man residing there, and even fewer knew his true identity.

"Go inside."

The maid said to Jiang Ni.

Jiang Ni stepped into the hall with trepidation, only to find the light dim and the stone chamber gloomy, with only a few candles flickering and casting a thin, faint glow.

After walking a few steps, my eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness and I saw a person sitting cross-legged inside, quietly reading a book.

The man glanced up at Jiang Ni, then looked away, his expression indifferent.

He only asked, "Did the General order you to copy the book?"

"Yes."

Jiang Ni nodded.

For some reason, she felt a strange sense of closeness to this person, and a feeling that she had met him before, but she couldn't quite place him.

"Which book did you copy?"

"A mid-grade sword manual, fifty volumes."

"there."

The man pointed to a bookshelf on one side.

"Thank you, sir."

Jiang Ni gave him a grateful glance, then took out paper and pen, sat cross-legged at the table, and began to copy scroll after scroll.

The man said nothing more, but quietly read the scroll.

As dusk fell, Jiang Ni returned to the Sharpening Hall, looking utterly dejected—it turned out that there was a mistake in the numbers in the sword manual he had copied.

This busy period lasted until late at night.

Day after day, she gradually realized that life at the General of the North's Mansion was not as unbearable as she had imagined.

Lin Xuan did not make things difficult for her anymore. Her daily routine consisted of doing maid chores: washing clothes, cooking, and sweeping. In her spare time, she would go back and forth between the small courtyard and the sharpening hall to copy sword manuals.

However, the general was extremely strict, requiring that there be no mistakes or omissions, and even illegible handwriting had to be rewritten.

Fortunately, the gentleman in blue was still there in the Sharpening Hall.

Although the master was taciturn, Jiang Ni tried to talk to him many times, but he seemed not to hear her, only occasionally pointing out the errors in her copying of the sword manual.

Time slips away quietly.

Jiang Ni gradually adapted to the rhythm of life in the General's Mansion, and her days became quite peaceful.

Big Market

Small plate

And Mu Qing'er and Lin Yunqin

They treated her very kindly, and there was much less open and covert competition.

In particular, they could receive a considerable sum of money every month.

Even Lin Xuan, unlike when he was in the Northern Liang Prince's Mansion, no longer had a stern face all day long; now he often talked with a smile.

End of March

As the snow melts in Yan County and the weather gradually warms, spring plowing begins in various townships and counties.

Next came Xiapi County, where, in addition to the original Doyan Three Guards, more than 100,000 refugees moved in and dozens of new villages were built.

Only the remaining snow in the Shangdang area has not yet melted, and the prefectural government has already dispatched a convoy to carry grain seeds there.

The entire Yan region

Spring is in full bloom

The surging snowmelt rushes out from Dafu Mountain and flows into the Chang River, nourishing the fields on both banks.

Farmers and merchants come and go from the city gates of Yanzhou every day, and the fields are bustling with activity.

In the mansion of the General of the North

Listening to the flowers by the lake

Lin Xuan and Nangong Pu She were exchanging blows. Xiu Dong Chun Lei wielded his twin swords, his white robes fluttering, and his sharp sword energy slashed through the air towards the white-robed man opposite him.

Lin Xuan's Swallow Blade trembled slightly, and with a casual slash, he shattered the blade's light. Then, he took two steps forward, and the Swallow Blade fell straight down.

"laugh"

Nangong Pushe parried with his sword, the blade's energy striking her and sending her flying backward.

His figure landed in the Azure Wave Pool, and the lake surface immediately cracked open with a gap of more than ten feet.

The icy lake water churned to both sides.

Standing atop the waves, Nangong Pushe's blood surged, his cheeks flushed, his eyes wide open, and his chest heaved with each breath, creating a captivating scene.

Lin Xuan reluctantly looked away, sheathed his sword, and casually tossed it to Jiang Ni beside him.

Nangong Pushe regulated his breathing, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and leaped back to the shore from the lake.

"How much force did you use?"

She asked.

"One-tenth."

Lin Xuan raised his eyebrows.

Nangong Pu She felt depressed.

Although the Nine Stops Technique is rumored to be able to sever the Finger Profound Realm, it was completely ineffective against Lin Xuan, whose cultivation had been suppressed to the Finger Profound Realm.

He fought ten matches in three days and lost every single one.

She couldn't even force Lin Xuan to reveal his true strength.

Even though this man's cultivation was limited to the Finger Profound Realm, it was still unfathomable.

Don't be discouraged.

Lin Xuan comforted him, saying, "With the Nine Stops technique, ordinary cultivators at the Profound Realm are indeed no match for you."

"but,"

He changed the subject, "How could your young master be compared to those ordinary esoteric scholars?"

Jiang Ni muttered to himself from the side.

"If you wish to defeat me in the Realm of Profound Understanding,"

Lin Xuan smiled slightly: "You need to practice at least up to fourteen stops."

Nangong Pushe's lips twitched slightly, a sense of powerlessness welling up inside him.

As cultivation progresses...

She became increasingly aware of how terrifying the man before her was.

It's not just about the depth of internal strength, but also the vast difference in their levels of swordsmanship.

"General, please have some tea."

Jiang Ni cleverly served tea, which Lin Xuan accepted and sat down in the chair.

Have you finished copying the hundred-volume sword manual today?

He asked.

"All have been copied."

Jiang Ni carefully took out the wooden box from behind him and took out the transcribed sword manual.

Lin Xuan quickly flipped through the pages, finishing them in a short while, and then said, "I'll copy another hundred volumes tomorrow."

"ah."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ni immediately looked dejected and muttered softly, "Could you copy less...?"

What do you think?

"Fine, I'll just keep copying."

She shrugged and had no choice but to walk to the knife-sharpening hall alone.

Lin Xuan handed the sword manual to Nangong Pu She: "Take a look, see if you find anything?"

Nangong Pushe took it. At first glance, he only thought the handwriting was neat and elegant. But upon closer inspection, he realized that there seemed to be a hidden secret in the ink.

"It's sword energy."

After a moment's hesitation, she spoke hesitantly.

"Exactly."

Lin Xuan nodded.

Lin Xuan replied with a smile, "Jiang Ni is indeed a promising talent for swordsmanship."

"Why didn't you teach her sword techniques from the beginning?"

Nangong Pushe looked slightly puzzled.

"To teach swordsmanship directly is ultimately a step down from the best."

He shook his head slightly: "I had her copy the sword manuals stored in the Sharpening Hall every day, precisely to broaden her horizons and cultivate her sword intent."

"That's a good idea."

Nangong Pushe chimed in, "However, it might not be suitable for ordinary people."

"If you don't work harder, you might be overtaken by Jiang Ni in the future."

Lin Xuan joked, "Don't secretly wipe away your tears later."

"Well, actually there are ways to improve faster. If you want to speed things up, you might as well come to my room tonight."

Nangong Pushe's eyes flashed with disdain: "Do you think I don't know what you're up to?"

"What idea?"

Lin Xuan said calmly, "Don't mistake my good intentions for scheming."

"Who would believe you?"

Nangong Pushe snorted lightly, picked up two long swords, and turned to head towards the sword-sharpening hall.

"Did you run into a wall?"

The large plate approached with a smile.

"Where did the nail come from?"

He reached out and pulled the person to his side: "This general has never encountered a snag before."

"But right now I'm craving some grapes."

"Hehe, your servant will go wash you right away."

The large plate deftly broke free and gracefully walked towards the backyard.

There was no major battle in Yanzhou this year. Last year's battle severely weakened the Northern Python, making it difficult for it to invade the south again in the short term.

Most of the cavalry from Yan have been transferred to the Duanlong Pass area, where they harass the northern border while simultaneously using the Duoyan Three Guards as a base to wipe out the Hu and Qiang tribes on the grasslands.

The construction of the city was overseen by Luo Wentong, the prefect of Shangdang, while the campaign was led by Zhang Wei, the deputy prefect.

The agricultural affairs department was responsible for overseeing spring planting within the prefecture, so Lin Xuan, the prefect of Yan Prefecture, was quite idle.