Chapter 98
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
Because of the two consecutive funerals, the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Yu house was very low-key . There were neither lanterns nor festoons nor did they set up a stage to sing . Except for the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion banquet that Concubine Mei set up, there was no trace of a lively atmosphere .
Just after Yu Linglong had dinner on this day, a little maid came to report that Concubine Mei asked to see her .
Yu Linglong asked Tong Hua and others to remove the food from the table and called for Concubine Mei to come in .
Concubine Mei was wearing a red apricot-red hibiscus coat, draped in an ocher-colored thin cotton cape, and wore a silver hairpin with magpie and plum on her head .
As soon as she entered the room, Concubine Mei called the woman behind her, put an eight-inch food box on the table, smiled, and said to Yu Linglong: “This is the five-color moon cake I specially ordered the kitchen to prepare for the Fourth Lady . Fourth Lady, try it, how does it taste?”
Yu Linglong nodded faintly and called Ling’er: “Take it first . ”
Ling’er took the food box out, and Concubine Mei also sent her out . Seeing that there was no one in the room, Concubine Mei came forward, took out a new cl.u.s.ter of five-color purses from her sleeve, and put them into Yu Linglong’s hand with a smile .
“Fourth Lady, I just collected the rent for a few shops in Jiexia . This is your 30% . ”
Scanning the purse on the table, Yu Linglong smiled slightly . It seemed that Concubine Mei was really a shrewd person, and she had obtained the accountant authority in the Yu house so quickly .
Seeing Yu Linglong’s expression of satisfaction, Concubine Mei moved forward again and asked with a smile, “Fourth Lady, you are really a clever planner . Last time, how did you find the Sixth Lady’s red hair ornaments?”
If even Jiang Yuezhen couldn’t find it, how did Yu Linglong know?
Yu Linglong didn’t look up at her, lowered her head and took a sip of tea, and then slowly said, “If I let you know what method I used, I won’t be eligible to take 30% of the profits . ”
A set of red hair ornaments looked like nothing, but if you wanted to find such a set of jewelry in the huge Yu house, and then take the opportunity to plot Jiang Yuezhen, this matter would be more involved .
Ever since Lady Yu pa.s.sed away, Yu Linglong had been working to infiltrate the Yu Mansion . With the silver and jewelry sent by Mu Shi earlier, she asked Xuan Cao and Ma Changgeng to draw up relationships and inquire about it . They were placed in key parts such as the warehouse, account room, kitchen, sewing room, and tea room, even the coal room and stables .
Don’t underestimate these little servants . In the Yu house, their information was very useful . For example, what kind of food the mistress of which yard ate, what tea she drank, what clothes she wore, as long as Yu Linglong wanted to know it, someone would tell her . When the mistress went out, where she went, and when she came back; the servants of the stable and the porter naturally knew better than anyone else .
With these sources of information, all the actions of the entire Yu Mansion were under Yu Linglong’s monitoring . Since the day she decided to help Concubine Mei gain the power of the house, Yu Linglong had been looking for Jiang Yuezhen’s omissions and Mu Shi’s dowry . The list was naturally the best breakthrough .
In the warehouse of the Yu house, there were a lot of things that are said to be less, but not too much . People who didn’t know the details even if they have accounts looked messy from the outside and didn’t know where to start . But the working women who worked in the warehouse all the year-round were different . They collected and moved things in the warehouse all day long, and they were more familiar with every property that was in and out of the warehouse .
For example, for the red-and-gold hair ornaments, the account book only recorded the box of silk that was brought in from the Sixth Lady, who didn’t care to look at what was at the bottom of the box . There was only a careful woman, who was afraid of it being gnawed by a mouse, who deliberately dug out the boxes to inspect, only then found the box of red-and-gold hair ornaments .
Such a trivial matter, even Mama Tian who was in charge of the warehouse couldn’t think of it, but the humble woman knew the whereabouts of these hair ornaments .
This was the big role of little people .
As for several other things, they were all in this situation . The mistresses of the Yu house only knew that they didn’t know how to find them, and if they didn’t know how to find things, how could they find things?
However, Yu Linglong didn’t intend to tell Concubine Mei about this kind of thing . If Concubine Mei knew the trick, she would naturally follow suit and gradually get out of Yu Linglong’s control .
Seeing Yu Linglong refused to say it, Concubine Mei smiled happily and changed the subject wittily: “Fourth Lady, I haven’t been managing for long, and there are many things that are unfamiliar . I hope the Fourth Lady can take care of them . ”
Although she now had the power of a housekeeper, General Yu also trusted her very much, but the Yu Mansion was a big family after all . She was just a little concubine, who was neither famous nor powerful . She wanted to gain a firm foothold in the Yu Mansion, and besides General Yu, she still needed stronger support .
And Yu Linglong, who was smart and cruel, was the best candidate .
Concubine Mei knew deeply that even though Yu Linglong had helped her sit in the position of a housekeeper, she still needed Yu Linglong’s long-term support if she wanted to secure this seat .
Therefore, as soon as she got the rent for the shop, she immediately sent it to Yu Linglong to fulfill her promise to Yu Linglong . In fact, she wanted to get more help .
Yu Linglong saw through her at a glance, but she didn’t reveal it but said indifferently: “Don’t worry . Since I helped you, I will naturally take care of it . ”
This was what Concubine Mei wanted . After receiving Yu Linglong’s affirmative answer, she relaxed, and after chatting, Concubine Mei left .
After Concubine Mei left, Xuan Cao, who was guarding the door, entered the room . Yu Linglong motioned to her to pick up the purse on the table: “See how much money is in it . ”
Xuan Cao unlocked the purse, drew a few silver notes from it, and handed them to Yu Linglong .
Yu Linglong glanced at it and saw that there were two pieces of five hundred taels on the top, and four pieces of two hundred taels at the back, which happened to be 1,800 taels .
Yu Linglong nodded, it was as she expected . The Yu house was not a big family, and it was not bad to have these silver taels .
Xuan Cao collected the cash receipts and said, “Miss, what do you plan to do with the cash?”
Yu Linglong thought for a while, and said, “Let’s buy a shop or a field . It’s a good idea . ”
She had already bought a few houses, and although they were not big houses, they were enough . As for the silver coins on hand, she didn’t plan to save them up and grow mold, but the silver was too small and there was not enough business, so she thought it was more reliable to buy some real estate .
Xuan Cao nodded: “I have been asking the young ladies these days if there is a good field, that would be the best . ”
Yu Linglong smiled faintly: “How is it so easy to find the right one? Speak slowly . ”
As soon as the news that Yu Linglong wanted to buy land was released, within two days, a woman from the village came to report that there was a small village in the eastern outskirts of the capital, surrounded by five hills, and a fish pond and fruit trees . The master wanted to leave the capital, so he wanted to take action .
Yu Linglong heard it and thought it was pretty good . She asked Xuan Cao to reward the lady with a slap of money and took her to see for herself the next day .
Because she wanted to look at the fields, Yu Linglong didn’t ride a horse . She ordered the stable to prepare an ordinary black wagon, for only Ling’er and the woman who led the way and set off for the suburbs .
It was deep autumn, and there were a lot of fallen leaves on the road . The area was spa.r.s.ely populated, and when she left the main road, the fallen leaves under her feet became thicker, and pa.s.sers-by gradually disappeared .
After more than half an hour, Yu Linglong felt something was wrong . She raised the curtain and asked the woman outside: “How long will it take?”
The woman seemed to be taken aback, and hurriedly lowered her head and said, “It’s not far ahead . ”
Yu Linglong watched her words flicker . She suddenly became a little wary . Before she said anything, the woman suddenly clutched her stomach and said in pain: “That…Fourth Lady, I need to relieve myself, and I will be back soon—”
Seeing that the woman turned around and was about to run into the woods, Yu Linglong immediately shouted: “Ling’er, go and catch her!”
Ling’er jumped out of the carriage in response and caught up with the escaping woman in three steps . Regardless of the woman’s begging for mercy, she grabbed her hand and pushed her to Yu Linglong .
Yu Linglong asked the driver to stop the car . Her cold, beautiful eyes looked straight at the woman who led the way, and said coldly: “Tell me, who asked you to lie to me!”
The woman was so crushed by Ling’er that she couldn’t move . Her mouth kept sizzling with pain, but she said, “n.o.body, I really want to relieve myself, oh, please be gentle, it hurts me so much—”
At this moment, Ling’er suddenly shouted: “Miss!”
A large group of officers and soldiers in military uniforms suddenly appeared in front of her . There were about hundreds of people, all holding steel knives, and they rushed towards Yu Linglong’s carriage .
The leading officers and soldiers waved the knives in their hands high and said loudly: “We have been given orders . There are rebels in the carriage, and both men and women will be killed on the spot!”
In the bleak mountain road in autumn, the dense steel knives glowed sharply, and they shot at Yu Linglong coldly . [Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse . com]
Yu Linglong squinted her eyes slightly . It was the first time she encountered such a severe situation in such a long time since she had been in ancient times . Hundreds of heavily armed officers and soldiers surrounded her, wanting to chop her into flesh in an instant .
Ling’er was already scared to death, but she still tried to support her not to fall . The woman took advantage of Ling’er’s moment of slack and suddenly broke free from her hand, stumbled towards the officers and soldiers, shouting as she ran . Said: “Uncle Yu’s family ordered me to come, you must not kill me—”
In the clang of spears, Yu Linglong heard these words clearly . She took a deep breath, and her beautiful eyes suddenly shot out an icy light .
Yu Weiwu!
As soon as the woman ran in front of the officers and soldiers, she was chopped on her shoulder with a spear mercilessly . She suddenly let out a scream of horror and fell softly to the ground without moving .
Countless pairs of black official boots stepped on the woman’s corpse and rushed directly to Yu Linglong!
Yu Linglong quickly tore off the front and back of her skirt and threw it to the faces of the officers and soldiers rushing to the front . Taking advantage of the time when the officers and soldiers slammed the cloth, she dragged Ling’er onto the top of the carriage .
After getting rid of the obstructive long skirt, Yu Linglong looked around and immediately pulled Ling’er over and threw it directly towards the big tree on the roadside: “Ling’er, hold on!”
Ling’er subconsciously grabbed the first branch she touched in her hand . As soon as she stabilized her body, she immediately turned to the carriage, and the voice of her shouting had a little bit of crying: “Miss!”
Yu Linglong threw her on the tree, but let herself miss the best time to escape .
The officers and men who rushed up frightened the horse pulling the cart . In a blink of an eye, the horse came back to his senses, flying with all four hooves, and rushing out headlessly .
Yu Linglong squatted slightly, firmly grasping the top of the carriage with one hand, and holding a cold dagger in the other, facing the pretty faces of hundreds of officers and soldiers without the slightest fear .
Isn’t it just a group of stupid soldiers with spears? What’s so scary?
The horse rushed from left to right in the crowd, but could not rush out . Numerous knives and guns slashed at the horse’s body . Soon, the blood-covered horse fell to the ground and could no longer stand up .
As the horse fell, the heavy carriage collapsed . Just before the carriage collapsed, Yu Linglong kicked her feet, and her slender figure dexterously bounced towards the tree closest to her .
Suddenly a spear with a red ta.s.sel was stretched out from the oblique spike, and the sharp spear pointed directly at Yu Linglong’s waist . Yu Linglong reacted so quickly, and her slender waist twisted in the air, abruptly avoiding the sharp one . She kicked her right foot on the body of the long spear and leaped to the tree with great power .
It’s just that this change was too sudden, and when the spear hit her right foot, the strength in the air was exhausted . Yu Linglong’s hand was just enough to grab a thin branch, and she fell straight down!
Yu Linglong screamed badly in her heart . Before she fell into the crowd, a black shadow pa.s.sed over her head . In a flash, she felt that her waist was tight, and she was actually lifted into the tree .
This series of actions only took place among the sparks . Before Yu Linglong could recover, a familiar voice sounded in her ears .
“Last time you saved me . This time I will save your life, so we’ll be even . ”
Looking to the side, Yu Linglong met a pair of narrow, amber-like eyes with endless evil, sweeping her soft cheeks like a storm .
Stepping firmly on a thick branch with the soles of her feet, Yu Linglong immediately pushed him away without hesitation, and said coldly: “It’s you!”
Feng Xuanyuan was dressed in a blue cloth robe, and except for the dark blue belt around his waist, there was no trace of decoration on his body . Such an ordinary costume did not reduce the sharp edges of his body . At this moment, he stepped on a thin branch, and his long figure swayed slightly with the trembling of the branch, but it seemed that he didn’t care about the danger of falling down the tree at all . His long, black hair was flying in the wind, and the brown mole between his eyebrows was eye-catching .
As if he didn’t even hear the frantic shouts of the officers and soldiers under the tree, Feng Xuanyuan took a step closer to Yu Linglong, and a smile suddenly appeared in the corner of his slender eyes .
“So many officers and soldiers are chasing you! What happened, have you rebelled?”
Yu Linglong snorted coldly and did not answer his ironic questioning . Instead, she looked in Ling’er’s direction, seeming to be aware of her gaze . Feng Xuanyuan said leisurely: “My subordinate took that little girl away . Don’t worry, she is safe now . ”
Yu Linglong was a little relieved . She lowered her head and looked to her feet through the withered and yellow leaves . She saw hundreds of officers and soldiers surrounding the big tree where they were standing, and the shiny silver spears were desperately stabbed in her direction in vain . Yu Linglong was too high from the ground, and even if they jumped to their feet, they couldn’t reach them .
Seeing this situation, Yu Linglong frowned slightly . Although for the time being, the two of them are safe, this confrontation was not good at all . It seemed that Yu Weiwu had been cruel this time and must kill her .
Yu Linglong squinted her beautiful eyes, and quickly looked at the surrounding environment, trying to find a way to stand out from the encirclement, but Feng Xuanyuan beside her didn’t seem to take this matter to heart at all . His narrow eyes always looked at her with interest, seeing how neat and free she looked .
Under the tree, a courageous soldier had already climbed up the tree with the trunk in his arms . Who knew he hadn’t climbed two meters high, when his forehead was nailed by a silver light flashing through the air, and he fell off without a groan .
Feng Xuanyuan didn’t even turn his head . He was still looking at Yu Linglong with a smile as if he was not the one who flew out the hidden weapon .
Even Yu Linglong only saw the slight movement of his hand behind his back, and the silver light flew straight out, killing the enemy immediately .
Yu Linglong sneered: “What a good skill! But since you have such a skill, how could you be chased and killed in such a mess last time?”
The smile on Feng Xuanyuan’s face swept away, his eyes shot out a cold gaze, and he looked straight at Yu Linglong .
“That was an accident . ”
Yu Linglong snorted coldly and turned her head away with disdain, obviously not believing what he said .
Her contemptuous expression suddenly angered Feng Xuanyuan . He immediately stepped forward, ignoring that the branches under his feet were squeaking and crunching, about to break . He stretched out his big hand and pulled Yu Linglong over .
“You don’t believe it? I will prove it to you!”
Yu Linglong only felt that there was a flower in front of her . Under the bright sunlight, a large cl.u.s.ter of silver sharp awns had flown out together, and a large number of soldiers on the ground suddenly fell .
Yu Linglong glanced at the officers and soldiers struggling on the ground with their wounds, and said with a sneer: “What kind of skill is this?”
These officers and soldiers were as stupid as pigs and dogs, only yelling with spears . No matter how much Feng Xuanyuan killed, he couldn’t prove anything at all .
The big hand holding Yu Linglong’s arm hardened fiercely, Feng Xuanyuan looked at her angrily, gritted his teeth and said, “Do you have to irritate me?”
He was accustomed to the admiration of thousands of people, but she always despised him no matter what . Even if he proved his ability, he still could not win her admiration!
Why, why was this little woman so influential? The less he got her, the more he wanted her . He was almost on the verge of losing control .
Raising her pretty face without fear, Yu Linglong’s complexion was almost transparent and fair in the sun, but she was calm and prestigious: “Irritate you? You are wrong, I just said my opinion! “
In her eyes, he was an out-and-out liar, a madman who had gained a reputation!
Feng Xuanyuan’s long and narrow eyes were full of excitement, and his thin lips were tightly pressed and almost turned into a slit . He glanced at Yu Linglong angrily . Feng Xuanyuan said nothing and suddenly picked up her slender waist . With a kick of his feet, he flew out in the air!
The officers and soldiers under the tree only saw a blue shadow dangling in front of them . In an instant, the tree was empty, and there was no one . Only the withered yellow leaves fell down, scattered all over the sky .
…
Yu Linglong was pinched around her waist by Feng Xuanyuan, only to feel that the scenery on both sides of the road was constantly retreating . The wind rang in her ears, and the strong wind made her pretty face hurt .
She couldn’t help being secretly surprised . She didn’t expect Feng Xuanyuan’s martial arts to be so unfathomable .
Without looking, she also knew that she had escaped the encirclement of those officers and soldiers, but where Feng Xuanyuan was going to take her, she didn’t know .
She didn’t know how long it took, but Feng Xuanyuan finally stopped .
Yu Linglong immediately stretched out her hand and pushed away his imprisoning arm . Feng Xuanyuan’s hand didn’t use force, so she swiftly jumped out of his embrace .
They were on a towering cliff . The ground was covered with gravel, no trees or gra.s.s, only gusts of wind, blowing at the rocks .
With the creaking gravel under her feet, Yu Linglong said coldly, “What are you bringing me here for?”
Feng Xuanyuan looked at her beautiful face, and suddenly asked something that seemed irrelevant .
“Do you know who I am?”
Yu Linglong squeezed the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing her dimples, and said, “You are from the Blue Lotus Cult . ”
Feng Xuanyuan nodded slowly, and looked up at the empty s.p.a.ce beyond the cliff: “Yes, it was here at the beginning that the former leader said to me: Xuanyuan, the revitalization of the Blue Lotus Cult depends on you . ”
Yu Linglong frowned slightly and looked at Feng Xuanyuan inquiringly .
Was he the leader of the Blue Lotus Cult?
Some questions in her heart were easily solved . Why did those people in blue clothes desperately seek survival Feng Xuanyuan when they first met; why was a strange and inexplicable but domineering aura always surging around him; why did he tell her where Gan Lin was hidden without hesitation…
It was all because he was the leader of the Blue Lotus Cult, the leader of the Blue Lotus Cult who leads hundreds of thousands of people .
Yu Linglong took a defensive step back, looking at Feng Xuanyuan with wary eyes, “What am I supposed to do with that information?”