Dugu Qun, Dugu Liang, and He Wanli visited and, upon learning the situation, their brows furrowed.
"This brat is so devious!" Dugu Liang, enraged, his eyes blazing.
He had always believed Liang Xiao was the reason for his dismissal by the foolish emperor, and now Liang Xiao was plotting against his allies!
"Minister Dugu, Minister He, this brat even dares to send people to open bookstores all over Jiangnan. Every single one of these bookstores will compete with our local ones, printing vast quantities of books..." Ouyang Ji said with difficulty.
The three men's expressions changed.
Acquiring Liang Xiao's books would be a tremendous financial undertaking!
Dugu Qun said in a deep voice, "Minister Ouyang, I will ask you only one question: Is he truly selling these books at a loss?"
"At the highest price of three hundred wen per book, it's absolutely impossible to profit!" Ouyang Ji nodded gravely.
Dugu Qun sneered, "Could it be that the Dingguo Marquis's mansion is helping him?"
"The Dingguo Marquis's mansion!" Everyone almost choked.
"If it's that old fox Gongsun Ye, then everything makes sense!" Ouyang Ping realized with sudden clarity.
He Wanli cursed, "This old scoundrel, he's half in the grave, his household has no male heir, and he still dares to stir up trouble. He'll be childless before long!"
Dugu Qun, furious, laughed instead, "Then let's join forces and get the Duanmu family to join us. We'll drag the Dingguo Marquis's mansion down with us! Without the Dingguo Marquis's mansion, that foolish emperor will lose a pillar of support, and won't he have to obediently accept our arrangements then?"
He Wanli nodded, "Recently, some merchants have been acquiring land, and the purchase prices are close to market value. We can take this opportunity to sell some of our own, and the funds can be used to assist the Ouyang family."
After much discussion, the Dugu family and He Wanli promised to each provide the Ouyang family with one million taels of silver each, and then they would approach Duanmu Chao to get the Duanmu family to also contribute one million taels.
The Dugu family had only recently been forced by Liang Xiao to donate three million, and now, lacking sufficient cash, they could only continue to sell land.
In the imperial study, Ning Xuejun handed a secret letter to Xiao Qing, "Your Highness, I don't know why the Dugu family, the He family, and the Ouyang family are all selling land. Our shadow guards, disguised as merchants, can seize this opportunity to acquire it."
"These old scoundrels must be trying to raise money to force my elder brother to his death. There's really nothing we can do about them, alas..." Xiao Qing said, then couldn't help but chuckle.
Selling land was a boon to Xiao Qing, as these lands were priced even lower than stipulated by the decree for land acquisition.
In a military camp somewhere in Jinling, an elder with white hair and a stern face was reviewing official documents submitted by Shi Liuyun. He suddenly sneezed.
"Marquis, please take care of your rest..." Shi Liuyun and other generals expressed their concern.
This elder was none other than the current Dingguo Marquis, Gongsun Ye!
Gongsun Ye grumbled, "Someone must be cursing me. Could it be that unfilial daughter?"
Shi Liuyun and the others flinched, maintaining a tacit silence.
They were well aware of the feud between Gongsun Ye and his daughter, Gongsun Jing.
Despite Gongsun Ye's displeased expression, the fact that his daughter had become a zither saint was something he took immense pride in. Anyone who dared to interfere in his family affairs was likely to be severely reprimanded!
Classic entrapment, tricking them into taking the bait, and then seamlessly passing all the military affairs onto them. The old fox was cunning!
"That unfilial daughter actually gave my family's Setting Sun Bow to Liang Xiao?" Gongsun Ye pouted.
Shi Liuyun nodded, "I heard that Marquis Anguo could indeed draw the Setting Sun Bow and shot down the enemy's temporary commander, Lü Ma'er, and also killed a 'Brocade Robe Commander'!"
"Brocade Robe Commander? You mean that eunuch who was causing trouble all over the southwest? It's good that he's dead, serving justice!" Gongsun Ye laughed heartily, his resentment over the gratuitous gift of the Setting Sun Bow somewhat abating.
"When I arrived in Luzhou, I heard that Marquis Anguo used several boxes of Dragon Tooth Arrows to kill countless enemy soldiers. It's simply incredible!" Shi Liuyun marveled.
"Several boxes of Dragon Tooth Arrows, that must be over a thousand arrows! Ten thousand taels gone just like that. What a spendthrift daughter!" Gongsun Ye became angry again.
The generals were speechless.
Their Marquis was sometimes so stingy.
After calming down, Gongsun Ye suddenly frowned again.
He could draw the Setting Sun Bow? Had General Tian manifested?
The wise old marshal quickly sensed something amiss, but did not voice it.
"Did that brat say when he would come to Jinling?"
Inside Luzhou city, Liang Xiao received the imperial decree personally delivered by Ding Wuyi, and expressed his gratitude.
The golden reward had been sent to Liang Residence, and his enfeoffment was still in the northern part of Yanzhou, beyond the borders of Anxi County.
"Marquis of ten thousand households..." the three young girls' eyes flickered.
It seemed that Daqian Kingdom had not produced a Marquis of ten thousand households for decades!
Ding Wuyi said with a serious expression, "Young Master Liang Er has achieved both military and civil success, and this title of Marquis of ten thousand households is well-deserved! Perhaps, one day, you can be like the founding hero, Marquis Dingguo, with an enfeoffment of thirty thousand households!"
Achieved both military and civil success...
Yue Lian and Jian Qinwan heard Ding Wuyi's underlying meaning and their hearts tightened.
Liang Xiao merely smiled slightly and asked, "Have you sent someone to notify the new enfeoffment that I will temporarily not collect taxes?"
In Liang Xiao's opinion, Anxi County was already impoverished. It was better to grant them tax exemption, reduce the people's burden of survival, increase their loyalty, and facilitate his affairs there in the future.
Ding Wuyi nodded, "Your Highness naturally guessed that you would have this thought, and has already sent someone to inform the new enfeoffment. Even if Young Master Liang Er didn't have this idea, Your Highness would have covered it for them. After all, Your Highness understands and pities Young Master Liang Er the most."
After speaking, Ding Wuyi cast a meaningful glance at the three girls behind Liang Xiao, feeling helpless.
He had no other desires. As long as Liang Xiao did not fail his master, and had children with his master, the matters of Liang Xiao taking concubines or becoming a marquis and a minister were trivial and could be compromised.
After all, even his master had compromised. He couldn't let Liang Xiao's own lineage die out.
"That's true, that's true, after all, it's my..." Liang Xiao stopped himself at the last moment, subconsciously refraining from saying "Xiao Shuangzi."
Zhuo Xun, that little sprite, was still standing behind him. It wouldn't be good to scare her!
After Ding Wuyi left, Liang Xiao also took the imperial edict and the Son of Heaven's sword, and set off for Jinling.
In a remote southern land, in a dimly lit military camp's secret chamber, faint candlelight cast two imposing figures on the wall.
"Zuo Wushang, I truly didn't expect you to come crawling back to me," one of the figures said, drinking heartily, their voice muffled by the curtain and filled with immense gloom.
"The others are unreliable. Only you can help me," Zuo Wushang sighed.
The other's response remained cold, "You lost the princess back then, and you refused to be emperor first, causing the dragons to lose their heads and the people to disperse. I advised you to abandon the cause of restoring the kingdom with me, and we could both live as happy, wealthy lords. But you insisted on seeing the restoration through to the end, asking for trouble!"
Zuo Wushang said in a deep voice, "I have found the princess!"
The figure on the wall trembled violently!
"What is the point of fabricating such a lie to gain my assistance? Now that I have changed my identity, possess immense power, wealth rivaling the nation, and hold the highest official position, and can have as much 'One Drunk for a Hundred Years' as I desire, why should I take risks?"
"The princess is truly alive. I swear on my own head!" Zuo Wushang stated resolutely.
The figure trembled again!
"Then why don't you bring the princess to see me? Where have you hidden the princess?"
"She is in Liang Xiao's hands!"
The wine cup in the figure's hand crashed onto the table, spilling the "One Drunk for a Hundred Years" all over the floor.