Chapter 627

She had always presented herself with the demeanor of a noble lady from a prestigious family and rarely lost her composure like this.

He Lingchuan flashed a toothy grin at her: "However, there is a problem here. As a party involved in the Elixir of Immortality case, I cannot be seen in public having any connection with National Preceptor Frostleaf. Therefore, I cannot go to Nian Zanli myself to make this exchange."

Li Qingge also understood the many twists and turns of officialdom and immediately said: "Leave this matter to me. As long as the token provided by National Preceptor Frostleaf can truly mobilize the army, I don't think Nian Zanli will care who he is trading with."

She said firmly: "To be able to obtain the troop-mobilizing token from National Preceptor Frostleaf, Young Master has already done everything he could for me! I can complete the follow-up of this transaction myself."

He Lingchuan nodded and pulled a token and two letters from his robe.

The token was dark red in color, and he didn't know what material it was made of; it felt somewhat soft to the touch, with a frost leaf embossed on it.

The letters were of the same color, and the wax seal on the closure also bore the mark in the shape of a frost leaf.

This was the special item from National Preceptor Frostleaf that he had just retrieved from the location Xi Yunhe had instructed.

Speaking of which, he always felt this mark looked a little familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

"In a few days, Beijia will have an event in the Grass Sea, hosted by the Zhongsun family. National Preceptor Frostleaf will definitely be there," He Lingchuan said, pointing to the three items. "Nian Zanli can go to National Preceptor Frostleaf and verify their authenticity directly."

No matter how genuine the token is, it is not as good as a personal guarantee from National Preceptor Frostleaf; only then will Nian Zanli be convinced beyond doubt.

Li Qingge put the three items away, took a deep breath, suddenly rose from her seat, and bowed gracefully to He Lingchuan.

"Thank you, Young Master."

"What is the Lady doing?" He Lingchuan reached forward and supported her elbow, using just the right amount of force so that Li Qingge could not bow further. "It won't be too late to thank me after you get the bamboo tube back; Nian Zanli may not be that honest either."

"I have thought of many ways, but I have always suffered from a lack of equivalent bargaining chips, and I didn't dare to push Nian Zanli too hard," Li Qingge said, picking up the frost leaf token from the table. "Now that I have this thing in hand, when it comes to business negotiations and tactics, the Xunzhou Governor is no match for me!"

She bloomed with a confident smile: "Young Master, just wait for my good news."

But she immediately had the next question: "However, once Nian Zanli borrows the troops, it will be a huge disaster for the Yuan Nation, especially since Xiazhou will bear the brunt of it."

"Yes. So you must complete this transaction in the near future, and then proceed to the next step of the plan."

Li Qingge was moved: "You want to..."

The rest of her words were left unsaid, but she made a throat-slitting gesture.

Such a ruthless gesture, yet when she did it, it had a touch of playfulness.

He Lingchuan shook his head: "We cannot touch him; this is Lingxu City, we cannot cause too much of a stir."

Li Qingge also said: "Poisoning, cursing—I have thought of them all. But he is a commanding general after all; even if he is far from his army, he still retains some primordial power. These methods are too ineffective against him, and it's easy to alert the enemy."

He Lingchuan nodded and leaned forward slightly: "Does Nian Zanli have any enemies or rivals in Lingxu City?"

"Enemies or rivals? He is an outsider; he doesn't have any substantial conflicts with these powerful figures in Lingxu City," Li Qingge bit her lip and thought carefully. "However... when National Preceptor Frostleaf allocated primordial power to Nian Zanli, several elders criticized it particularly harshly. Two of them were auxiliary ministers left behind by the late monarch; although they have already retired, the Emperor seems to want to refer to their opinions as well. When Nian Zanli came to Lingxu City to borrow troops this time, they also submitted a petition to the Emperor, saying it must absolutely not be done. Does this—count as being rivals?"

"If that doesn't count, then nothing counts," He Lingchuan laughed. "Then does Nian Zanli have any property in Lingxu City?"

"He has two houses, one large and one small, seven shops, and one restaurant..."

He Lingchuan shook his head and interrupted: "Are there any that were just sold recently?"

"Yes." Li Qingge had been paying attention to Nian Zanli's movements and knew a lot about his business activities. "Nian Zanli hired people in Lingxu City to lobby the Emperor, and the money he spent flowed like water; the little bit he extorted from me was not enough at all. He originally had three houses; a month ago, he sold one, and also sold dozens of acres of farmland in the far suburbs, a teahouse, and a chamber of commerce."

"Where is the house that was sold?"

"It's also in the main city area." Otherwise, it wouldn't be worth much, and Nian Zanli wouldn't have bothered to sell it.

"Who bought it?"

"A wealthy merchant from out of town bought it, used it as the storefront for their chamber of commerce, and lives inside it as well. I've been there; there are many people coming and going." Li Qingge looked at him excitedly. "Do you already have a draft in mind?"

"You could say that, but I need the Lady to cooperate."

"I will give it my all." Li Qingge poured him a cup of tea, her long eyelashes fluttering. "What do you want me to do?"

These words were spoken in a charming and seductive way.

He Lingchuan, however, said solemnly: "Frame him!"

"Hmm?"

He Lingchuan did not elaborate, but changed the subject: "By the way, has the Lady ever heard of 'Glazed Gold'?"

"Of course." Once the topic turned to her professional field, Li Qingge's attitude subconsciously straightened. "Transparent, hard as refined gold when cold, soft as mercury when warm—it's a high-end commodity. Ancient immortals used it to refine magic treasures. But the refining materials are very rare now; Songyang Mansion once tried to replicate it and failed."

"If one encounters such a magic treasure, device, or structure, is there any way to break it?"

"Break it?" Li Qingge frowned. "Can you be more specific?"

"The Glazed Gold is just an outer shell; I want to take out what's inside." His question, of course, had to do with the eye of the Spirit-Gathering Array.

"Outer shell? How thick is it?"

"A palm's width," He Lingchuan said. "It can switch freely between liquid and solid states."

"That is the characteristic of Glazed Gold," Li Qingge thought for a moment. "It also depends on who the manufacturer is, what their usual methods are, and what ratio of Glazed Gold was used."

He Lingchuan gave a bitter smile: "Is there no way to break it directly?"

Li Qingge rolled her eyes at him: "Why did the immortals use it to make magic treasures? Isn't it because of its remarkable properties? You want to break it just like that?"

"Yes," He Lingchuan rubbed his hands. "Can the Lady think of a way?"

This fellow had just given her hope of retrieving the bamboo tube; how could Li Qingge refuse him? "Let me think carefully."

He Lingchuan was overjoyed; needing to think carefully meant there was at least a glimmer of hope.

"Keep in touch, and we'll plan for the long term." He grabbed his cup and drank it in one gulp. "The Pianxiang Shanzhuang where I live has been watched very closely lately; be very careful with our communications."

The two left one after the other, separated by more than a quarter of an hour.

But when He Lingchuan also went downstairs to leave, a person behind the stairwell in the teahouse lobby looked up at his back, lost in thought.

This was an interesting position; with the stairs blocking the view, others coming and going usually wouldn't notice this place, but the person sitting behind it could see every guest clearly.

If He Lingchuan could have looked back clearly, he would have discovered that this person was none other than Fang Canran.

￥￥￥￥￥

The next day, Fushan Yue dragged He Lingchuan to visit the Ke family.

They had sent gifts and invited him when he moved into Pianxiang Shanzhuang; shouldn't he return the courtesy? Of course, the Ke family lived in the sky, specifically on Tiantongdao, which was the floating island closest to the Emperor, second only to Tianxin Island, and the pinnacle of a subject's residence.

To go to the sky, one had to first go to Chikan Peak in the center of the lower city and use the "Startling Swan Crossing" to teleport.

Chikan Peak was also a small hill, no more than a hundred zhang high. The mountainside was a natural giant plaza, which was the so-called "ferry," but the entrance was narrow, the fortifications were strict, and troops were stationed directly there.

Here, there were sentries every three steps and guards every five; only personnel holding special tokens could enter, and civilians were not to disturb.

Because the seven islands in the sky and Chikan Peak on the ground were a complete set of magic treasures, they had their own way of teleporting, which was the "Startling Swan Crossing."

Different from the teleportation array He Lingchuan had taken at Tianchu Peak, seven stone gates stood neatly on the plaza of Chikan Peak—

Strictly speaking, they were seven door frames over five zhang high, with pale blue translucent water ripples replacing the door panels. It was also He Lingchuan's first time seeing water ripples undulating vertically to the ground.

Fushan Yue said to him: "Each gate corresponds to a floating island."

The name of the island was written on top of the door frame.

Just then, a team of people walked onto the plaza after verifying their identities. When they passed through the gate, both the carriage and the attendants disappeared.

Fushan Yue had already shown his Crown Prince token: "Let's go."

Passing through the blue water ripples, He Lingchuan only felt a slight coolness on his body, and the scene before his eyes changed completely.

Convenient, fast, and without any discomfort; unlike taking the teleportation array at Tianchu Peak, which would make one dizzy.

After all, this was considered the interior of a magic treasure, and the rules were different from the outside world.

Landing on the island for the first time, He Lingchuan looked around.

It was late autumn, and the autumn wind in the lower city of Lingxu was bleak, with the grass and trees gradually turning yellow. Although the mountains in the suburbs were golden and red, the world already had an air of desolation. But when He Lingchuan stepped onto Tiantongdao, he couldn't feel a trace of coolness; even the breeze brushing his face carried a faint dampness and a shallow floral fragrance.

This was the breath of spring.

As soon as he turned his head, he indeed saw the winter jasmine on the edge of the plaza blooming brightly, hanging down from the low wall like a flowing waterfall.

But when he walked out of the Startling Swan Crossing on Tiantongdao, he saw real waterfalls and springs pouring down from the peaks, with mountain flowers blooming on both sides and the sounds of birds chirping.

Every time he saw He Lingchuan show a country bumpkin expression, Fushan Yue felt very satisfied: "Tiantongdao is also called the Island of Flowers; here, it is only spring. No matter if the lower city is freezing cold or scorching hot, it is warm and pleasant up here."

The streets here were even cleaner and flatter than in the lower city, and the roadsides were even paved with uniform pebbles as curbs, so one could hardly feel the bumps from the road surface when the carriage passed.

Everywhere there were sparse grass and trees, and everywhere there were meticulously pruned clusters of flowers.

Here, the roadside was a garden, and there were many precious tree species; one didn't need to go to a rich man's house to see them.

Coming out of the Startling Swan Crossing, one had to walk along a stone beam thirty-three zhang long to reach the main body of Tiantongdao.

He Lingchuan walked on the edge of the stone beam, and looking down, he could see the lower city of Lingxu City.

Through the floating clouds, he could see winding streets, houses standing like scales, and rivers like jade belts.

(End of chapter)