Douluo Continent: The Peerless Tang Sect, Angels and Rakshasa Return

Chapter 330 348349—The Charming Empress Dowager and the Innocent Younger Sister-in-Law

Considering the possibility of further cooperation with Mingdetang in the future, Qian Lingyun, after careful consideration, decided to earn a little less.

She said, "Master, this is our first time doing business, so I'll make the decision to give you a discount! We'll add noise insulation devices to the five thousand workbenches used at Mingde Hall free of charge!"

"That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Your Highness! If there's anything you need in the future, please feel free to tell me, and I will definitely make things convenient for you!" Jing Hongchen said, cupping her hands in gratitude.

"Since we've offered a discount, the transaction amount must also follow our rules."

"You need to pay half as a deposit, and the other half will be settled upon delivery!"

Qian Lingyun took out a pen and paper and calculated for a moment, then said, "The deposit is one hundred million. Subsequent fees will be settled according to the rare metals. Thank you for your generous offer!"

"That's easy! That's easy!" Jing Hongchen nodded repeatedly, then winked at Lin Jiayi beside her and instructed, "Little Lin, quickly transfer one hundred million gold soul coins to the Crown Princess's account!"

"Oh, oh, oh! Yes, Master. I'll go right away!" Lin Jiayi belatedly replied and hurriedly ran towards the door.

Before long, seeing the "money-bringing boy" return, Qian Lingyun briefly checked the considerable deposit. She nodded slightly, seemingly very satisfied that she had made a small fortune of 100 million yuan just by going out today.

But... unfortunately, she is no longer the saintess of the Holy Spirit Cult who just lazed around doing nothing.

As the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, she had to hand over most of this money to Feng Ling, who would then allocate and distribute it to support her family.

The Holy Spirit Church is a large and complex organization, with thousands of people living there every day, and their daily needs—eating, drinking, and relieving themselves—incur a staggering amount of expenses.

Now, she can directly access more money, but her personal assets have decreased.

For a moment, she even missed the joy of being a saintess, when she could just grab whatever she wanted from the warehouse whenever she was broke.

After signing the order with Jing Hongchen, Qian Lingyun seemed to have thought of something and suddenly spoke:

"Speaking of which, Master, I need to go back from time to time to monitor the order progress. It wouldn't be appropriate without the academy's and Mingde Hall's access passes!"

"?" Jing Hongchen paused slightly, then nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, it's inappropriate, extremely inappropriate!"

"Then I'd like a more advanced pass, one that can let me in and out of the school and Mingde Hall, that wouldn't be too much to ask, would it?" Qian Lingyun asked again.

"Not excessive, not excessive, absolutely not excessive!" Jing Hongchen chuckled as he pulled out his spare access card from his pocket. After slightly modifying some of the permissions, he handed it directly to Qian Lingyun, saying:

"Your Highness, this spare access card allows you free passage through 95% of Mingde Hall. However, for the remaining 5%, you must be accompanied by me or another level-nine Soul Master!"

"Got it!" Qian Lingyun tossed her access card in her hand and replied, "Don't worry, I know the rules. I won't go anywhere I'm not allowed to!"

"Then I'm relieved!" Jing Hongchen breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "So, how much does Her Highness the Crown Princess intend to sell the blueprints for this soul tool?"

"This thing..." Qian Lingyun glanced at the blueprints of the mental shielding soul tool, pondered for a moment, and casually waved her hand, saying:

"Here you go! In the future, if Mingdetang has any new or interesting inventions, just let me know. I'll just take the ones I like and go!"

Jing Hongchen, one of the top experts in soul tools of the Sun Moon Empire, seemed unsurprised by this answer.

After all, at their level, money is just a number in most cases.

He could understand Qian Lingyun's request to barter in the future.

Jing Hongchen casually put away the blueprints and smiled:

"Regardless of the circumstances, today, Mingdetang has profited from the Crown Princess's visit!"

"It's alright, we're all on the same side, let's keep the good stuff in the family! Goodbye!"

After glancing at the time, Qian Lingyun took Xu Tianzhen's leave.

On the way to the dormitory, Xu Tianzhen kept staring at Qian Lingyun with a strange look.

This feeling is absolutely awful...

pat!

Qian Lingyun stopped and turned around to look at her sister-in-law with a hint of helplessness. She frowned and asked, "Why are you staring at me instead of watching where you're going?"

"You're so incredibly amazing!" Xu Tianzhen praised Qian Lingyun three times in a row. That fervent gaze sent a chill down Qian Lingyun's spine, and a strange shiver ran through her. She took a deep breath and vigorously rubbed Xu Tianzhen's head.

"It's not that impressive; it's just a matter of supply and demand in business."

"Oh! That's not what I meant!" Xu Tianzhen shook her head dismissively, then asked curiously, "I wanted to ask you, how do you manage to be so thin at 500 kilograms?!"

Fine, I shouldn't have tried to understand bratty kids with normal thinking!

Qian Lingyun's eyes twitched slightly, and she felt a surge of irritation.

Xu Tianzhen doesn't seem like the kind of person who can keep her mouth shut. If she goes out and talks nonsense, then her 500-kilogram weight will probably become common knowledge!

Taking a deep breath, Qian Lingyun's eyes lit up with a sudden idea. She glanced around mysteriously, then quietly leaned close to Xu Tianzhen's ear and whispered:

"You might not believe it, but I just used my soul power to break that machine, so most of what it reports is false!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Xu Tianzhen frowned deeply. She circled Qian Lingyun several times, seemingly deep in thought.

After a moment, she patted her hands together, then exclaimed in sudden realization, "I knew it! You clearly don't have much flesh besides those two big mounds in your chest and back, how could you be so heavy!"

"By the way, could you tell me how I can be like you..." Xu Tianzhen looked at Qian Lingyun's magnificent figure with envy, and it took her a while to come up with a word:

"Just like you... upright! Yes, upright!"

"This…"

Qian Lingyun looked down at her past self with some embarrassment.

Yes, it is indeed very upright!

She can't even see her toes when she looks down! Although she's not quite on par with top stars like Hu Mei and Ma Xiaotao, she's still more than capable of standing out from the crowd.

"You're still young, I'm afraid..." Qian Lingyun was somewhat speechless, after all, she had learned her own growth method from Hu Mei's unreliable approach.

Teaching it directly to Xu Tianzhen might not be the right thing to do!

"What are you talking about, Your Majesty? You're just a bit older than me by seniority; in terms of actual age, I'm actually older than you!"

On this day, fifteen-year-old Princess Taiping, Xu Tianzhen, protested indignantly against fourteen-year-old Qian Lingyun, a "human weapon".

Upon hearing this, Qian Lingyun suddenly realized that although she felt she was quite old, the bone age of her body did seem to be quite young!

That's all right now!

Freed from her psychological burden, Qian Lingyun extended her right hand and frankly offered her price: "V me for 50, and I'll personally tell you the secret to growing up!"

"Is this secret reliable?!" Xu Tianzhen asked.

It wasn't that she was heartbroken about the money; although she was a big spender, she had many brothers!

I can get some from this place and some from that place, I can never spend all the money!

The main reason she was worried was that the secret was unreliable!

"It has to be reliable!" Qian Lingyun tossed out a photo of Hu Mei, enthusiastically promoting, "Look, this is the founder of the secret!"

"Wow! That's...amazing!" Xu Tianzhen swallowed hard, staring at the size of the car, which far exceeded that of a G-Class. She then pleaded, "Sister-in-law! We're family, right? Can you sell it to me cheaper? You can even give it to me for free!"

Free?!

Goodness, at such a young age, he's already learning to freeload!

Seriously, so cool!

"Tsk, I just can't do anything with you!" Qian Lingyun sighed, feigning helplessness, and coaxed, "Fine, I can give it to you for free, but you have to promise that you'll do whatever I say here! No messing around!"

"Deal! I knew my sister-in-law was the best!" Xu Tianzhen happily agreed, then hugged Qian Lingyun's arm affectionately.

Looking at this awkward and arrogant ghost, Qian Lingyun inexplicably thought of the little golden retriever who was still eating, drinking and playing happily next to the clone!

How about we introduce these two guys to each other sometime?

No way! One is troublesome enough, two might tear the palace down!

But despite saying that, Qian Lingyun did not actually do it.

Her clone had already found Qian Renxue, who was reading in the study, with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

When Qian Renxue saw a girl who looked almost exactly like her, she was so astonished that she couldn't close her mouth.

Qian Renxue pinched her thigh hard under the table, making sure she wasn't dreaming before she came to her senses.

"Yun'er, she is..." Qian Renxue pointed at the arrogant-looking Three-Eyed Golden Lion, but couldn't finish her sentence for a long time.

She sensed a familiar aura emanating from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion; it seemed as if she had seen it somewhere before, but… she truly didn’t remember ever seeing someone who looked exactly like her.

"She's the Emperor Beast of the Star Dou Great Forest, how about it, remember her?" 'Qian Lingyun' asked with her arms crossed, quite teasingly.

"You mean... she's that imperial mythical beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?!"

Teng sound.

Qian Renxue stood up from her chair, took a few steps forward, and carefully examined the beautiful face of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, which was just like her own.

"Of course it's me! Is there another Imperial Beast in the world?" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion arrogantly raised its head, glaring at Qian Renxue in her disguise, and replied unfriendly:

"You're so ugly, and your skills aren't much better! Tell me! How did you manage to marry my sister Yun? Did you use some dirty tricks to coerce or seduce her?!"

"Huh!?" Qian Renxue was stunned. She looked at Qian Lingyun with a puzzled expression, her lips moving slightly.

The lip movements seemed to be asking, "She's just a child who's over ten thousand years old! What did you say to her? How did she become like this?!"

Qian Lingyun did not answer Qian Renxue's question directly, but gently touched the cheek of the three-eyed golden lion, as if she were caressing some exquisite work of art, revealing a dazzling sense of tranquility.

After a long while, she raised her head, pointed at Qian Renxue with her slender index finger, and introduced her to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion: "She's the one who went to the Star Dou Great Forest with me back then. How about it, do you remember now?"

"Ah! It's her! How is that possible?"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion exclaimed in surprise, then shyly hid behind Qian Lingyun, covering its blushing face with its hands.

You know, her face was modeled exactly like Qian Renxue's! She just said Qian Renxue was ugly, wasn't she indirectly insulting herself by saying she was ugly?

Furthermore, she was well aware of Qian Renxue's position in Qian Lingyun's heart. Would her outspokenness just now affect her image in Qian Lingyun's eyes?

With a wave of her hand, Qian Renxue used her soul power to sever the connection between the inside and outside of the palace. She sighed softly and rubbed her stiff cheek with a finger.

A pale golden halo shimmered, and Qian Renxue revealed her true form. She explained to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, "Look! This is just a disguise!"

"By the way, why did you bring her here?" Qian Renxue turned to ask Qian Lingyun.

"I'm afraid I'll be criticized for being arrogant because I'm the only Crown Princess, so I'll take you a concubine to enrich your harem!" Qian Lingyun picked at her ear with her pinky finger, seemingly unconcerned about the seriousness of the matter.

"What?! Taking a concubine!" Qian Renxue's lips twitched, and her originally bright face darkened. She gave a self-deprecating laugh and questioned in a low voice:

"Qian Lingyun, who do you take me for? Do you think I'm someone you can just take as a concubine...?"

"Huh? Qian Renxue!! Are you sick?! I only asked you to take her as a concubine so we could take care of her and prevent her from running around and getting into trouble. Did I ask you to do anything to her?"

Having been inexplicably provoked by Qian Renxue's sarcastic remarks, Qian Lingyun wasn't going to tolerate her behavior. She walked up to Qian Renxue, grabbed her collar, stood on tiptoe to force herself to look Qian Renxue in the eye, and then asked in a sarcastic tone:

"Or... have you grown bold? You've only been married a few days! You dare to have such thoughts?"

"My dear concubine, you've misunderstood!... I didn't, I'm not!" Qian Renxue's heart skipped a beat. Feeling a little guilty, she gently squeezed Qian Lingyun's wrist and softly comforted her:

"No, no, no, my beloved consort is right! It's all my fault, entirely my fault. I judged you with my own petty mind! Please, Your Highness, forgive my rudeness and don't be angry with me! Getting angry will give you wrinkles!"

"Tch! Such a smooth talker!"

Seeing Qian Renxue's quick surrender, Qian Lingyun didn't bother to argue. She snorted lightly, then curled her lip in disdain and said indifferently, "Remember, I am your Crown Princess, and she is your Crown Prince's concubine. Her current name is Qian Lingyu!"

"Huh? Qian Lingyu? She shares our surname! And is of the same generation as you?" Qian Renxue looked at 'Qian Lingyun' in disbelief, then scrutinized 'Qian Lingyu' for a while, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment.

"Yes, her name is Qian Lingyu. She's from Dongyang City in the Sun Moon Empire. She came to Mingdu for sightseeing and met you by chance on the street. It was love at first sight, and you were mutually attracted!"

"As for me, I also like this girl very much, so I simply took her in as my sworn sister and had her marry into the family to 'serve' you, the Crown Prince."

Loosening Qian Renxue's collar, Qian Lingyun grabbed the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's wrist and pushed her next to Qian Renxue, explaining her idea.

"Tsk tsk tsk! It's such a waste that you don't go into writing storybooks and make a fortune with such a bizarre idea!" Qian Renxue leaned back in her chair and listened helplessly.

She finally understood that Qian Lingyun hadn't come to discuss things with her at all; by bringing Qian Lingyu in directly, she had essentially given her a notification.

Since she couldn't change the final outcome, she might as well just listen patiently and treat it as a storyteller to pass the time.

"Why is she listed as a tourist?" Qian Renxue whispered. "Wouldn't it be better to give her the status of a noble lady?"

"Whom did you steal your kingdom from ten thousand years ago?!"

Qian Lingyun glared fiercely at Qian Renxue, who had interrupted her train of thought, and retorted irritably:

"Your father is still alive! You're marrying the daughter of a powerful duke and then a noblewoman. Aren't you afraid those useless prince brothers will sow discord between you?"

"I'm not afraid! Isn't my beloved concubine here? With her here, one is worth two! With her in charge, everything is as stable as Mount Tai!" Qian Renxue sat up straight, held Qian Lingyun's hand tenderly, and her eyes were full of smiles.

"Hmph! Don't give me that!" 'Qian Lingyun' pouted, but didn't retract her hand. Instead, she continued telepathically, "The main purpose of taking a concubine is to provide this girl with some protection. Otherwise, with her impulsive nature, she's prone to causing trouble!"

"I see!" Qian Renxue's gaze kept lingering on the three-eyed golden lion, and she couldn't help but ask, "How did you persuade her to become my concubine?"

"I didn't try to persuade her at all. As soon as she heard that being a concubine would mean not only good food and drink every day, but also seeing me often, she agreed immediately."

At this point, Qian Lingyun's lips twitched involuntarily a few times!

(End of this chapter)