Chapter 684

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

"Power is the most nourishing tonic!"

People who have power will unconsciously become suspicious and doubtful; this is an unavoidable problem.

Otherwise, why would there be the saying "solitary ruler"? The royal family has always been cruel. Even if Lin Xingzhi truly devoted himself to nature, living as an idle cloud and wild crane, under the long nurturing of power he would still change.

It seems those forces guessed wrong; instead of currying favor with Lin Xingzhi, they might as well come curry favor with her.

System:...

Someone actually came to curry favor with the Host — wow, and it's even a honey trap!

The System looked at the handsome man walking toward them and thought: what is wrong with these people's taste? Not to mention finding someone like Lin Xingzhi — clear, handsome, refined, a beauty of jade branches — even an average-looking woman would be better than this.

This, this, this

Looking down on the Host, are they?! Or do they think the Host hasn't seen good things before, and will be bewitched just by seeing a passable man?

"No no no, perhaps he is gifted with extraordinary talent, and his ability is not in his looks."

Pity Shen Yao considers herself to still have some bottom line, and she and Lin Xingzhi aren't truly a plastic couple; she has no time to find someone else to ruin their relationship.

"Wang Fei Niangniang"

"Change the route; there are too many people here, unsuitable for this Wang Fei to travel."

The carriage curtain, lifted by a jade hand, was lowered again; Shen Yao sat steadily in the carriage compartment, letting the servants turn the carriage around and leave.

The man about to walk over and fake a chance encounter:...

The other people hiding in the dark observing:...

Though Zhuying Town is not large in area, every building and scene inside is exquisite and beautiful, complementing the surrounding bamboo forest, making this place appear even more lofty and elegant, with a unique flavor.

"Wang Fei Niangniang, this is naturally formed jade, then hand-carved by an artisan for several days to obtain this jade shoot.

The shoot body is flawless without any mixed colors, and its interior remarkably contains a trace of spiritual charm; it is the treasure of our Formation Flag Pavilion."

Shen Yao listened to the Formation Flag Pavilion shopkeeper prattle on endlessly about how precious this carved jade shoot was, how difficult it was for them — the ultimate purpose merely to have better leverage on the price.

"Since it is so, this Wang Fei will snatch it away; hope the shopkeeper won't mind."

The jade shoot indeed contains some spiritual charm inside; if carefully cultivated for just a few years it can gain sentience and take human form. Left in Formation Flag Pavilion it could only leave things to fate.

Since they are both of demon origin, Shen Yao, having the ability, gave it a boost — she paid the jade shoot's price in full, then left amid the shopkeeper's beaming welcome.

"The Host has her eye on the spirit pearl condensed from the jade shoot, right?" Such an ability is rare; only innate spiritual objects have this method and means.

This jade shoot's strength lies in not being too heavily damaged; even the carving was simple, preserving its original essence to the greatest extent, allowing it to maintain its state of undiminished spiritual charm until Shen Yao acted to help.

Not all demons who haven't gained sentience are this lucky; how much spiritual charm has dissipated in this world? Demons who survive and successfully take form are already one in ten thousand.

Don't be fooled by them finding various demons everywhere they go — compared to humanity's vast numbers, demons are still a rare group.

"Originally this was a win-win for me and it; why make it sound so unpleasant?"

Besides, condensing a spirit pearl is just eating and drinking for this jade shoot demon, but for Shen Yao it is a rare transaction material.

Transmigrating for many years, some mission worlds are rich in supplies, some are barren; what's wrong with Shen Yao collecting various supplies in advance so she can live well in every mission world?

The spirit pearl is something the jade shoot demon doesn't need; Shen Yao also has pills she herself has no use for but are extremely suitable for the jade shoot demon. An exchange between the two — that's what counts as perfect.

System:...

The System was cute and obedient and said no more; after all, the Host always has reasons to shut its mouth.

"Not to mention anything else, this Zhuying Town really has quite a few demons similar to the jade shoot demon."

Shen Yao discovered at a Yao Guan a spiritual plant soaking in a jar; it looked tall and big, but in reality it only knew how to whimper and cry.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao helplessly spent money to buy this wine jar; although the Yao Guan shopkeeper repeatedly wanted to speak but stopped, completely unable to understand why Wang Fei Niangniang insisted on buying this jar of not-yet-ready aphrodisiac wine — could it be the Wangye has some unspeakable difficulty?

Even Lin Xingzhi, who wasn't there and still got hit by a stray bullet:... He's not him, don't talk nonsense.

The things Shen Yao bought became more and more numerous, more and more miscellaneous; she even bought a headdress inlaid with many gold, silver, and jewels — who would have thought this headdress also contained spiritual charm.

Hiss

Just what kind of hidden holy land is Zhuying Town? How can there be so many spiritual objects, and they all happen to have undiminished spiritual light, waiting for Shen Yao to extend a helping hand.

"Perhaps in the dark there is Heaven's will?" The System's words were uncertain; in its heart it muttered that it was definitely this world's Heavenly Dao playing tricks.

This world is abnormal; under the framework of human-demon romance, certain issues become exceptionally prominent.

Why does it feel like the Host's lending a hand is more like butting in? Maybe these spiritual objects are waiting for a destined person, just like those storybooks say — rescued unintentionally by a rich young master or noble young lady, with nothing to repay, they can only pledge their bodies.

Shen Yao:... Widely circulated versions of gratitude stories?

Just which big brain created this delusional scene for this world? Does it have to be this absurd?

"Also, it's not that absurd, right? Aren't storybooks all written like this?" At most the first meeting is a bit more beautiful, the location changed to some other residence — exquisite or crude — and avoiding those money-stinking coins, it's enough to move countless boudoir misses to tears.

"Exactly, so these are all poor scholars' fantasies, beautiful dreams unrealizable in reality, only to be tasted vicariously in storybooks."

Shen Yao's merciless critique left the System speechless; after all, although some words are unpleasant, they are very real — the main audience of these storybooks aren't those naive misses with nothing to do and leisure time to kill? Talented men love beautiful women; they are the consumer main force.

"Now that I've run into them, they're my transaction partners; whatever destined path lies behind them, for now let's just trade with me first."

Shen Yao has no hobby of changing people's or demons' fates, and cares even less about the outcomes of those she's traded with; taking care of the present without violating her heart — the rest has nothing to do with her.

"Eh? How's that black fish demon?" Almost forgot this unlucky bastard of Yuan Shui.

"Pretty good; once Changsheng Daozhang finishes his business, he'll personally send it back to Yuan Shui."

This is of course not the black fish demon's own request, but Lin Chengjing was curious about the black fish demon's treasure and wanted to go see what exactly it had.

Changsheng Daozhang now values Lin Chengjing extremely highly; not to mention his treasure disciple wanting to make a trip to Yuan Shui — even if he wanted the stars and moon from the sky, he'd find a way to break off a piece for his disciple to taste the saltiness.

"Oh, then that's not bad. Since it's safe and sound, there's no need to pay attention."

The Black Fish Demon has Changsheng Daozhang's protection; no matter how it's handled, its life won't be endangered.

Moreover, Lin Chengjing is currently very interested in the Black Fish Demon's treasures. As long as the Black Fish Demon returns smoothly to the Yuan Shui, those demon-slaying villains probably won't be able to do anything to it.

After all, behind the Yuan Shui stands the even larger Run River; who would dare easily offend these aquatic Great Demons?

After mentioning the Black Fish Demon in passing, Shen Yao returned to the residence to rest with her harvest full of spirit-charm items.

These items that possess spirit-charm inherently don't require special handling, but they must be constantly nurtured and their spirit-charm kept from dissipating. Therefore, Shen Yao had people place the items separately in a Xian Le space, and she would occasionally go over to help.

Back to Lin Xingzhi's side: the received scholars were endless.

The aforementioned Zheng Xiong was merely one of them. Lin Xingzhi gave him attention according to his persona, then tossed the matter to the back of his mind. Unexpectedly, this Zheng Xiong was quite persistent, coming to seek advice with poems every so often, which displeased Lin Xingzhi greatly.

"Then refuse his visits. Lin Xingzhi is a Prince; he cannot let these people overlook his prominent identity because his behavior is too approachable."

"This scholar Zheng has the background of Jiangning City behind him; we must wait a bit longer." Lin Xingzhi scratched his nose, indicating that in recent years Jiangning City has produced quite a few talents.

The Court also sees clique formation, especially among scholars from the same place; they naturally form new ally groups to attack and seize for shared interests.

Relying on the imperial examinations, Jiangning City has risen abruptly, becoming a very useful knife in the Court. The Emperor usually gives them extra face.

Now Lin Xingzhi feels the trouble isn't Scholar Zheng, but the backing group behind him. Before figuring out what they want to gain from him, Lin Xingzhi can't just kick Scholar Zheng out directly.

Shen Yao suddenly understood, and at the same time felt even more heartache for Lin Xingzhi's difficulty.

Truly hard work. Outside, he must work hard on affairs and also consider everything thoroughly. As expected, a glorious appearance is just a deceptive facade; in reality, everyone is a little bitter gourd.

Little bitter gourd Lin Xingzhi urgently wanted his own wife's careful comfort. Since touring, the depression in his heart has mostly been relieved by relying on himself and his wife. When he returns to the Jingcheng, he must bargain well with the Emperor.

…………

"Truly worthy of Brother Zheng, relying on a few sour poems to gain Prince Jing's favor, making us all look like we were self-indulgently sentimental."

"You can't put it that way. Brother Zheng comes from Jiangning; you and I aren't unaware of Brother Zheng's true origins. That... the gap between having someone and having no one is vast."

"Pah! During the son-in-law selection back then, we were too reserved, letting Jiang Sheng get a bargain for nothing. Otherwise, today's high office and salary — how could it have fallen to him?"

"Hey, watch your words, watch your words. Don't invite gossip. He can now be called Jiang Ren; we're merely commoner scholars."

"..."

Scholar Zheng's favored status provoked others' dissatisfaction, but everyone still had reason. They knew some words could only be muttered in private, not spoken publicly — at least preserving a shred of face for him.

But far away in the Jingcheng, Jiang Sheng wasn't so lucky. Instead, he became the target of their mockery and ridicule. After all, the current official cannot compare to the current manager; can the Jingcheng's nobles really control us southern scholars?

Jiang Sheng?

This name sounds so familiar?

"Oh oh oh, I remember now. It's that scholar from Jiangning City. Not only did he cling to the powerful (specifically Lin Xingzhi), he even wanted a fox demon to step forward." Result: the chicken flew and the eggs smashed — directly causing a city-wide manhunt spectacle.

Shen Yao pinched her chin. "Aren't these the two Main Characters I served as background for?"

One Male Lead, one Female Lead. Early stage: deeply in love. Late stage: both kick the bucket. Inside also involved human-demon romance, human-human romance, and other messy things.

If memory serves, the fox demon is named Hua Yue. Pretty but not smart, single-mindedly walking the road to death.

"Host, looking at the story, it's reaching the ending. The man went to the Jingcheng." High office and salary, beauty in embrace — isn't this the standard ending?

The only problem is the ending isn't good. Basically total party wipe. Doesn't match the dumpling-making plot often seen in storybooks.

"Yeah, who knows if we can catch the tail end of this play."

The scholar and the fox demon: one scheming for wealth and lust, one with eyes pasted shut. In the end, neither escaped their respective endings. It's just that the Jingcheng's Daoist temples and Buddhist temples will have a headache again. They barely resolved the original trouble by disagreeing, but now someone dares put an intolerable human-demon romance on the table.

Mm

Raising her hand to tap the tabletop, Shen Yao, who had been staying in the room, simply went next door and nourished these spirit-charm-filled items thoroughly before nodding in satisfaction. Good. Still, watching the transaction counterparty makes her more at ease.

Zhuying Town was originally peaceful; it's just that many people here have ulterior motives, forcing Lin Xingzhi to slow his pace and wait until everything is properly handled before leaving.

Among them, Scholar Zheng first became proud, then dejected. Such repeated tug-of-war left the man somewhat numb.

Prince Jing, what is the meaning of this?!

"The literal meaning. Gave him the official post he wanted. Next depends on whether he can hold onto it."

Lin Xingzhi spoke with righteous awe. If Shen Yao didn't know Scholar Zheng's post was precisely in a remote place, she would have been hoodwinked by him.

Lin Xingzhi explained this was forced by circumstances. The Jiangning force is not small. Placing people higher up — when the Court and Emperor later want to deal with them, wouldn't that just add resistance?

"But if this person truly climbs up from the local level, that deep-rooted power, for the Court and Emperor, would only be even more disadvantageous."

After all, whether the base is stable or not is two different things. Some high-ranking powerful people are like flowers in a mirror, moons in water — castles in the air; some are like the roots of a great tree, stable as Mount Tai.

If the former are more, handling becomes very easy, because they fundamentally aren't afraid of things spinning out of control. If the latter are more, the difficulty multiplies several times over, and one must consider many involuntarily implicated people — commonly called 'pull one hair and move the whole body'.

Lin Xingzhi heard this and gave a light laugh, indicating that if truly so, the Court doesn't lose out either. It's not necessary to completely uproot a certain force. The Court needs balance.

Like a growing tree, to make it grow well you must constantly prune, removing all protruding branches.

Otherwise, if one side grows too large and lush, wouldn't that affect the whole tree's growth? Further affecting the tree's appearance and lifespan, causing greater loss.

The Court is the same. Imperial Power is supreme, but it cannot truly be only Imperial Power supreme!

Shen Yao:...

Worthy of those who play with power. So many schemes. Doing one thing requires considering all sides. No wonder they're suspicious and jealous daily. Judging others by themselves, they inevitably suffer some influence.

"Yao Niang sees clearly. Xingzhi is truly wronged. It's merely a subject's duty."

He absolutely won't admit he's a rotten-hearted bad thing. It's all the Emperor and Court's fault. He won't carry the pot.

Lin Xingzhi:... No matter how many schemes, the upright gentleman persona must be held steady.