Chapter 105: Now I Myself Am the Influence

"Congratulations, Young Master, on receiving another reward."

Although Liu Yuheng was feeling low due to Ye Yu's whereabouts being unknown, she still managed to force a smile to congratulate Pei Shaoqing when he returned to the mansion.

"Many thanks, Madam." Pei Shaoqing was graceful and polite.

Liu Yuheng couldn't help but ask: "Young Master, is there any news today regarding Yu'er's whereabouts?"

"How could it be that fast?" Pei Shaoqing knew she was anxious because she cared, so he said: "Madam, I already sent a letter to the Thousand-Household Office this afternoon, along with a portrait of Young Hero Ye, requesting the Thousand-Household to mobilize the Jing'an Guard across all of Shuzhou to help search. I believe there will be news soon."

He could be considered to have done his utmost; primarily, the Iron Sword Sect had helped him a great deal, and the two sides had a close relationship.

"This concubine truly doesn't know how to thank you, Young Master." Upon hearing this, Liu Yuheng was moved and was about to kneel down on the spot.

"What is Madam doing?" Pei Shaoqing caught her hands, pretending to be displeased: "If Madam continues to be so formal, I shall be annoyed."

Liu Yuheng pursed her lips and said nothing more, but her eyes were filled with gratitude as she looked at Pei Shaoqing.

Pei Shaoqing patted her hand and walked inside.

Zhao Zhilan walked to Liu Yuheng's side and said in a soft, gentle voice: "Mistress, with the Young Master helping with all his might and the Jing'an Guard's eyes and ears spread across the world, I believe we will find the Second Senior Brother's trail soon. Please don't worry too much; your eyes have been swollen for a whole day."

"Sigh, I understand the logic, but it's not as if one can just stop worrying because they want to." Liu Yuheng shook her head, holding Zhao Zhilan's hand and sighing.

After dinner and before sleep, Pei Shaoqing and Xie Qingwu were chatting in bed: "The Emperor wants me to return to the Capital for the Mid-Autumn Festival. It will be inevitable to deal with some people I knew before. My lady, you must accompany me back."

As he spoke, he stroked Xie Qingwu's thigh.

The white Ice Silkworm Silk, thin as a cicada's wing, felt delicate and smooth to the touch, and he could feel the warmth of her legs.

Having removed her makeup and wearing only a bellyband and silk stockings, Xie Qingwu replied: "That is natural. Fortunately, we don't have to stay too long; we can leave after the festival. There are some matters and some people Pei Shaoqing associates with that I don't know about either."

"We'll take it one step at a time. As long as they aren't people very close to me, they won't easily suspect that I am an impostor." Pei Shaoqing's hand slid to her waist.

Xie Qingwu's waist was very slender, yet it did not lack a sense of fleshiness; she had a small belly, and this was the true top-tier quality.

"What about the eldest sister-in-law? You will definitely have to live at home after returning to the Capital. Even if you weren't close to her in the past, you lived under the same roof for so many years after all. She must know some details about you."

Xie Qingwu knitted her delicate brows. What she was most relieved about now was that the eldest brother and the father-in-law were not in the Capital; they were the ones who knew Pei Shaoqing best and would be the most likely to grow suspicious.

Pei Shaoqing's hand slid along her waistline up to the plump bellyband and slipped inside. Listening to Xie Qingwu's soft, melodious moan, he said: "For family members like the eldest sister-in-law and my father and brother, the only way is to reduce contact with them."

"The Capital now believes you were intentionally hiding your talents in the past. Perhaps the eldest sister-in-law and the others even think you were deliberately sullying your reputation for the sake of the Marquis Mansion, and they are blaming themselves for misunderstanding you and failing you in the past, eager to compensate you."

Xie Qingwu was stirred up and felt aroused; her body went limp as she leaned against the headboard, panting lightly. Her small feet, wrapped in white silk and small enough to be held in one hand, nimbly wandered up along Pei Shaoqing's lower legs.

"Then we'll do half and half." Pei Shaoqing used his other hand to catch her mischievous jade feet and toyed with them carefully, pondering as he spoke: "Hiding my talents is true, but having a bad relationship with the family is also true. I will pretend to still be resentful of their past attitudes toward me, holding a grudge and intentionally distancing myself."

"So you don't intend to repair the father-son relationship and borrow the influence of the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion anymore?" Xie Qingwu said with a smile.

"Now, I myself am the influence! Why would I need to borrow someone else's power to act like a fox assuming the tiger's might?" Pei Shaoqing said wildly.

Besides, even if he pretended to be at odds with his family, no one would dare not treat him as the Young Master of the Weiyuan Marquis house. He could still borrow the influence of the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion all the same.

"My husband is domineering." Xie Qingwu's beautiful eyes fluttered as she turned over and lay on top of him. Her heavy, bountiful assets were flattened and squeezed, spilling slightly from the sides of her bellyband. She said with a radiant smile: "Not relying on the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion, nor the Anning Earl Mansion, our Pingyang Baron Mansion stands as a house of its own."

The two of them doing this actually happened to align with the Emperor's wishes by mistake; after all, the Emperor was only supporting Pei Shaoqing heavily because of the discord between the Pei father and son.

"Noble as a Baron of Pingyang, yet still pressed down under a woman." Pei Shaoqing wailed in a mock manner.

Xie Qingwu was very uninhibited in bed: "And what if this concubine rides on her husband's head and runs wild?"

"As long as you aren't peeing on me, it's fine." Pei Shaoqing said.

Xie Qingwu spat at him with a shy expression.

Pei Shaoqing was dumbfounded, drinking water and thinking of the spring.

"My Lord! My Lord!" Li Jiangjun knocked on the window.

Pei Shaoqing poked his head out and asked the outside of the room in a bad mood: "What is it? I'm busy."

"The cat sent to the Capital has sent word back; the intelligence line is completely clear," Li Jiangjun said excitedly.

With this intelligence line successfully established, it proved that this method could be adopted in other places in the future.

Its importance and status as Li Jiangjun would be greatly enhanced; perhaps it would command all the cats in the world in the future.

Pei and Li sharing the world—this is no dream!

My Lord, please call me Emperor Meow!

Pei Shaoqing had not yet noticed the expanding ambition of that little guy Li Jiangjun, and was excited by the good news it brought: "Good, good, good! Li Jiangjun, your cats are all excellent! I am going to the Capital next month; I will bring several carts of dried small fish to reward them along the way."

This matter actually succeeded; it was worth celebrating.

"My Lord! This subject also wishes to go!" Upon hearing this, Li Jiangjun said hurriedly. How could it give the Lord the chance to buy the hearts of its subordinates... the hearts of its cats? Its own subordinates should, of course, be rewarded by Li himself.

Pei Shaoqing replied casually: "Come along, come along."

"Many thanks, My Lord!" Li Jiangjun said, then added: "If there are no further orders, this subject will take his leave."

"Granted." Pei Shaoqing dragged out the sound of his voice.

…………………………

The night was deep. The main hall of the Holy Palace in the Holy City, located within the Tianyao Mountains, was brightly lit, and the high-level members of the Xuan Sect were gathered.

Accompanied by the crisp sound of bells.

Dressed in flowing white, the cold and noble Saintess Yaoguang landed gracefully at the entrance of the main hall like a fairy stepping from the moon. She held her head high and walked inside with bare feet. With every step she took, the bells on her ankles and neck emitted a pleasant sound, as if playing a complete piece of music.

"Yaoguang pays respects to the two Hall Masters and all the Elders."

Saintess Yaoguang bowed slightly, which counted as her salute.

"Saintess, no need for formalities." The Hall Master of the Huang Hall raised a hand.

Everyone stopped talking and stared quietly at Saintess Yaoguang, waiting for her to explain her recent loss of contact.

Saintess Yaoguang's eyes were indifferent. Her pale red jade lips parted slightly, and she said slowly: "After I left the Holy Palace, I headed straight for Tongzhou City, but I never expected that as soon as I entered the borders of Tongzhou, I would be attacked by a masked expert."

In an instant, everyone's expressions turned serious.

"Their strength was above mine, and what they used was the martial arts of the Holy Sect." Saintess Yaoguang's tone was icy.

"What?" An Elder exclaimed.

The others also had grave expressions.

The Saintess Yaoguang continued, "I was wounded by them during the exchange, and in the process, I also lost my Storage Treasure Ring. I had to exhaust all my strength to escape, and for this period of time, I have been hiding in the deep mountains, sleeping in the open and eating in the wind while healing my wounds."

"I knew the Holy Palace must have already sent people to Tongzhou to look for me, so after my wounds healed, I went to the Tongzhou Branch. There, I met the messenger sent by the Holy Palace to find me, and I asked them to return to the Holy Palace with me."

After saying the last word, she closed her mouth.

"Does the Saintess confirm that the mysterious person who attacked you really used the martial arts of our Holy Sect?" the Hall Master of the Yan Hall asked in a deep voice.

The Saintess Yaoguang nodded with a cold expression and said decisively, "I would absolutely not misidentify it."

"Did you discover any other characteristics of the attacker?" the Hall Master of the Huang Hall asked with a frown.

Yaoguang shook her head, "This person disguised themselves very well; I could only distinguish that they were a man."

"In that case, there is actually someone in our sect who harbors evil intentions toward the Saintess! Or perhaps they are a spy planted by the imperial court," an Elder said.

Another Elder sighed, "We plant spies in the imperial court, and the imperial court naturally also plants pieces among us; this kind of thing cannot be avoided."

"To be able to wound the Saintess, they must be at least a master of the middle stage of the Roaming Dragon Realm, which should also count as high-level within our Holy Sect. Investigate," the Hall Master of the Yan Hall said coldly.

"We must investigate. Investigate the recent movements of all sect members at the middle stage of the Roaming Dragon Realm. Let the Law Enforcement Elder be responsible for this matter," the Hall Master of the Huang Hall said in a deep voice.

The Law Enforcement Elder stood up, "This old man obeys."

"Since the Saintess went to Tongzhou City, why didn't you kill Pei Shaoqing?" the Hall Master of the Yan Hall asked another question.

The Saintess Yaoguang stood with a dignified posture and answered calmly, "Because there was also a Roaming Dragon Realm master by his side protecting him closely. I did not have absolute certainty, and I was also afraid that the mysterious person who ambushed me was still in Tongzhou, so I did not appear publicly to attract their attention."

Speaking to this point, her tone paused, and she continued, "Additionally, I was somewhat muddled by the death of Kaiyang that day. During the time I spent healing in the mountains, I thought about it carefully; it is not appropriate to kill Pei Shaoqing now."

"Oh? What profound insight does the Saintess have regarding this?" The Hall Master of the Huang Hall showed a look of confusion and raised his hand to signal her to speak directly.

The Saintess Yaoguang said the words her master had taught her, "Pei Shaoqing was heavily rewarded for his merits; if we immediately retaliate, we would be slapping the Emperor of Great Zhou in the face. He would inevitably launch a more violent counterattack to wash away the shame, which would only bring more casualties to the Holy Sect."

"According to the Saintess's words, then this grudge is not to be avenged? Where would the face of our Holy Sect be? And what about the morale that has been struck?" an Elder said with an unhappy tone.

The Saintess Yaoguang turned her head coldly to look at them and said in a calm tone, "The Holy Sect has existed for over a thousand years. What we are fighting for is not a single day or night, but a grand cause for eternity. We cannot sacrifice the bright future of the Holy Sect for a moment of gratification and illusory face."

"The Emperor of Great Zhou is old, and in recent years, his strikes against us have clearly lessened; his energy is focused on conquering the Northern Barbarians and dealing with Western Wei. Why should we provoke him at this time? When he passes away, during the transition between the old and the new, I will personally take Pei Shaoqing's dog life."

After hearing this, the crowd began to discuss in low voices.

"I think the Saintess is right; compared to things like face, practical interests are more important."

"It's not that we aren't washing away this shame, it's just postponed."

"The truth behind the death of Saint Son Kaiyang was originally a shame that could not see the light. To insist on avenging him and burying the lives of more people, this old man feels it is not worth it."

The corners of the Saintess Yaoguang's mouth lifted slightly.

The master and mistress are truly amazing; they just used her mouth to lead these old fellows around in circles.

Thinking of the methods of the master and mistress, the dignified and cold Saintess Yaoguang in the Saint Palace felt somewhat flustered.

Subconsciously, she pressed her plump thighs tightly together.

She was truly looking forward to their reward.

The lamp light flickered, reflecting the crimson flush on her cheeks.

(End of this chapter)