“That sounds feasible. However, those veterans are people who had been working in the field for a long time. Money isn"t their main concern and if we really want to headhunt them, we need to put in a lot more effort. On top of that, these people are people with huge influences. They might also be people who are backed by factions like the Phoenix King Valley. If we wish to enter the market, it won"t be as easy as opening a restaurant. After all, when opening a restaurant, we merely need some good dishes and services. When setting up a merchant or auction house business, we need connections and influence.” Ying Lan might feel that Bai Luochu"s plan was good, but he raised up the problems they would face.
Bai Luochu might have suffered a little setback after hearing the comments, but she wasn"t too discouraged. She immediately instructed Ying Lan, “Since that is the case, we will push back this plan for now. Right now, we need to continue the expansion of our influence. You are right, in this world, strength rules supreme.”
“This subordinate understands. However, this subordinate has one more thing to discuss with Mistress. I don"t know if I should say it…”
Bai Luochu chuckled in response, “If I say you shouldn"t, are you not going to say it? Speak. In the future, you don"t have to ask for permission to talk about such matters. The friends.h.i.+p between the two of us stretches across two lifetimes. Why are you feeling so embarra.s.sed?”
Ying Lan was a little embarra.s.sed by Bai Luochu"s words. He knew that his mistress wasn"t a person who paid attention to formality. Right now, he appeared to be overly rigid.
“This subordinate noticed several secret guards stationed around the general"s residence these few days. All of them are pretty formidable and this servant is only able to detect their approximate location. They never moved about and they remained there obediently. This subordinate mistook them for wooden blocks by accident. Right now, this subordinate thinks that the general residence might be targeted by someone and Mistress might attract some attention by traveling out so frequently. After considering it, this subordinate thinks that it will be safer if I look for Mistress in the general"s residence.”
Bai Luochu lowered her head to drink a cup of tea and replied, “I have also detected them recently, but I am still uncertain if they are friends or foes. But from the looks of it, these people have never made a move against me. They should be the spies planted by the various factions with the objective of getting information about me. Do not forget that I am not just an orphan of the general"s residence now. I am also the renowned Divine Physician Bai of the Cloud Water Nation. The engagement between me and Pei Wuchen is not well known throughout the capital but the high ranking officials probably know a thing or two. Moreover the old emperor rejected the alliance marriage with the Phoenix King Valley not too long ago. These officials probably want to look for the correct side to stand on by observing me.”
“Mistress might be right, but this subordinate is still worried. The Phoenix King Valley Elder is still in the capital. I"m afraid that he...” Ying Lan didn"t finish his statement.
Bai Luochu wanted to refuse his proposal but he realized that he made sense. In the end, she agreed.
In the next few days, Ying Lan made constant trips to the general"s residence. Since the two of them didn"t need to hide their ident.i.ty, Ying Lan didn"t use the secret tunnel. It was also part of Ying Lan"s plan to protect Bai Luochu. Now that the Palace of Brilliance Resurgence had made a name for itself, if Ying Lan were to declare his support for Bai Luochu, it would be an added layer of protection. If there were people who wanted to make a move on her, they had to consider the consequences of his retaliation.
Ying Lan didn"t expect that his actions would provide protection for Bai Luochu. It also gave her a surprise.
It had been days since the Phoenix King Valley had departed, Pei Rumo"s secret guard who was sent to watch over Bai Luochu had been stationed outside the general"s residence for a long time. In the beginning, he would notice that Bai Luochu would frequently visit the Remote Paddy Inn. He a.s.sumed that she had to look for her food outside due to her unfair treatment in the residence. However, a man started to visit the residence after she stopped going to the Remote Paddy Inn. The guard became curious and his imagination ran wild. Who could the man be? Is he trying to show his affection for her?
Over time, the secret guard noticed something strange. When Young Lady Luo Chu saw the man out, he looked extremely respectful when speaking to her. The secret guard became suspicious and stalked Ying Lan back to the Remote Paddy Inn. Isn"t this the restaurant Young Lady Luo Chu would visit? Is he related to this restaurant?
As a secret guard, he had a much higher salary than an ordinary guard and it was natural for him to investigate everything thoroughly before reporting back.
This was the mindset of the secret guard. As such, he investigated Ying Lan"s background and immediately found something strange.
The real owner of this Remote Paddy Inn wasn"t that innkeeper. The real owner was that man who had been frequently visiting the general"s residence. This man"s name was Ying Lan. He might seem like a businessman, but he was actually the leader of the Palace of Brilliance Resurgence.
Palace of Brilliance Resurgence... why did this name sound so familiar? That secret guard was usually tasked with missions that required him to leave the city. He wasn"t by Pei Rumo"s side during the disciples exhibition and he had only heard of the name of the Palace of Brilliance Resurgence from the mouth of his comrades.
After thinking about it for a long time, he finally recalled that the Palace of Brilliance Resurgence was a newly established faction. They even stomped on the Phoenix King Valley"s face during the exhibition.
A leader of a newly established faction and an orphan girl with multiple ident.i.ties? What was going to happen when these two individuals gathered together? The secret guard used his spirit qi to ignite the paper used for transmitting information. When he saw this paper turning into ashes, the secret guard made a decision in his heart.
It seems like it is time to return to the residence to report back to Master.