Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Good Talent
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
After feeding her a small half-bowl of red date porridge, Zhu Minglang remembered something and felt that he should report it to Li Yunzi.
“I saw your sister at the academy,” Zhu Minglang said.
“Who?” Li Yunzi asked.
“Do you have many sisters?” Zhu Minglang asked, puzzled.
“What did she say to you?” Li Yunzi said.
“The first time, I saw her at the bridgehead, she was buying peaches next to me. I thought she was you, so I spoke to her, but she didn’t say much. Later, I saw her in the Book Pavilion, where she disguised herself as you, and I was deceived,” Zhu Minglang recounted the events to Li Yunzi.
Zhu Minglang later learned that people at the Dragon Taming Academy all knew of Nan Lingsha, but not many had actually seen her, with many saying she had the beauty to bring down a nation.
In the nearby Foundry and marketplace, not many knew of Nan Lingsha, and no one had seen her. Only when Zhu Minglang tested Nan Ye did Nan Ye seem to know the situation surrounding Li Yunzi and Nan Lingsha.
Nan Ye was naturally from the Nan Family and seemed to have a high status, as if he alone knew of the relationship between Li Yunzi and Nan Lingsha.
“They’ve all seen her,” Li Yunzi seemed to understand something, nodded her head, and after a while, said, “They shouldn’t have taken part…”
After saying this, Li Yunzi herself seemed a bit lost, with a tinge of melancholy between her eyebrows.
Participated?
Zhu Minglang couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of the two words Li Yunzi had said.
“Do you suspect your sister and the Nan Family are also the ones plotting against you?” Zhu Minglang asked, surprised.
“I have many enemies,” Li Yunzi said.
Zhu Minglang didn’t know much about Li Yunzi’s family, so naturally, he couldn’t help her analyze the situation. Then there was the foxy woman who called Li Yunzi ‘sister’ in the dungeon.
She seemed to have been killed by Luo Xiao, so what was her true identity? From what he could tell, she used to be someone close to Li Yunzi, and this person was most likely just an executor. So who was the mastermind behind the scenes?
Many enemies, does this mean during her times in Wutu when she was overthrown and framed, many people were involved? Close relatives, old enemies, distant enemies?
On further thought, Li Yunzi originally had many subordinates, her own Army Guard, and extraordinary Divine Power. How could she be reduced to a prisoner by an ordinary woman? The situation was much more complex than what Zhu Minglang had seen.
“How can I help you?” Zhu Minglang asked.
“Take good care of yourself,” Li Yunzi said.
Zhu Minglang scratched his head awkwardly.
“Some of my enemies are still lurking in the shadows, and they will likely target you. You will need to be even more careful going forward,” Li Yunzi seriously told Zhu Minglang.
Zhu Minglang nodded.
Luo Xiao apparently already knew who the man sharing a dungeon with Li
Yunzi was. To Zhu Minglang, he was a major problem, and those who did not wish to see Li Yunzi rise again would undoubtedly exploit the situation to the fullest!
Li Yunzi’s situation within her family seemed to be improving, while Zhu Minglang, on the other hand, was likely becoming her weak point.
At this moment, Zhu Minglang remembered what Nan Lingsha had said.
The best way for the wound to heal for Li Yunzi was for her to transform herself.
“You don’t need to worry about me; I will manage. As for you, in the future, try to do less of this self-harming. Passing out like that when there’s no one as upright as me to take care of you is very dangerous,” Zhu Minglang also took the opportunity to remind Li Yunzi of this.
Li Yunzi chewed slowly on the red date flesh in her porridge, her beautiful eyes looking elsewhere, probably feeling that there was a hint of hypocrisy in Zhu Minglang’s words.
At this time, footsteps were heard in the courtyard.
It was Zheng Yu. He had actually come by earlier, but considering the two needed some private time, Zheng Yu purposely strolled around the streets to reassure the residents of Rong Valley City.
“Female Monarch.”
“Brother Zhu.”
Zheng Yu maintained the courtesy of a scholar, meticulous every time.
“Brother Zheng, what brings you here?” Zhu Minglang’s response was much more casual, as he never considered himself a scholar.
“The resources the Female Monarch brought this time are very plentiful. Although not fully distributed yet, I estimate it’s enough for eight thousand households for a season. Zhang Tuo, the leader, is also a man with ideas. He discussed with me and thinks that the surplus food and clothes should not be given directly to the Wutu people. It’s better to teach them how to fish than to simply give them fish. Using the organizational cohesion and crisis awareness they still have, we could hire some of them to mine iron ore in the North
Mountain behind Dongxu Fortress City and then settle the wages daily,” Zheng Yu said.
Food would eventually run out.
What if next year’s harvest were also poor?
What if the summer heat disaster comes next year, and the winter becomes even colder?
Zheng Yu believed that since the Female Monarch considered them her own people, then the people should not only receive relief but should also work.
Every one of the Wutu people who had suffered from this natural calamity understood how precious it was to be able to work, harvest, and receive payment.
Iron ore was in demand in all the major city-states; selling the iron ore and exchanging it for food and clothing meant Wutu would have an extra layer of security.
“Mm, that’s a good suggestion, but there’s no need to mine those low-grade iron ores. I have a vein map of Wutu; I will send someone to give it to you. You and Zhang Tuo carry out this task, ” Li Yunzi nodded and said.
“I had heard that Wutu contained rare ores, so the Female Monarch has already thought of a path to prosperity for Wutu!” Zheng Yu once again bowed respectfully to express his admiration and respect.
“Flying Bird Camp will withdraw from this place soon. Have Zhang Tuo retain some morally upright individuals to stay in the army. Wutu needs its own army. I will pay these people’s salaries for half a year. After six months, the proceeds from the mines will take over. The Nine Cities of Wu Tu will be exempt from the labor tax for the coming year,” Li Yunzi stated with clear articulation.
“Your servant understands!” Zheng Yu nodded. He had wanted to raise this issue with Li Yunzi, and sure enough, she had already taken it into account.
Having experienced this riot, Wutu was in chaos and needed to be reorganized and more importantly, to recuperate and heal.
Fortunately, everything was developing in a positive direction; Zheng Yu felt extremely relieved.
As long as they didn’t face a disaster with bodies strewn everywhere and widespread carnage, with the army, officials, and people working together, they would ultimately not be devastated by natural calamities again!
Zheng Yu also knew that Li Yunzi needed more rest and did not mention other trivial matters—those were naturally for them, the officials, to handle.
“Zheng Yu is a capable talent,” Zhu Minglang said to Li Yunzi.
On the way here, Zhu Minglang had already told Li Yunzi about Zheng Yu’s water-retention strategy to fend off enemies, and just now, Li Yunzi’s words also showed her intention to make good use of Zheng Yu.
“Yes, he held Rong Valley City, stopped the tragedy of people killing each other, and left us room to maneuver. If he can handle the tasks I assign, let him take charge of the Nine Cities of Wu Tu,” Li Yunzi nodded.
Understanding military strategies, capable of governing a city, aware of the bigger picture while not neglecting the details—Li Yunzi might’ve been able to stop the riot, but the true peaceful living of the people depended on someone like Zheng Yu.
Moreover, civilians killing each other was extremely unfortunate. As one of the rulers of Ancestral Dragon City, if the citizens of Rong Valley City were massacred and she let the killers go free, it would be difficult to explain to the people of Ancestral Dragon City.
The current outcome was already a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune!
Zhu Minglang also felt relieved; at least he could still enjoy the tranquility in the courtyard filled with falling plum blossoms. Any other outcome might have numbed his heart to death.
However, this peace was slightly fleeting.
When it was time to say goodbye, Zhu Minglang suddenly felt a bit of reluctance.
“Then, I will return to the academy,” Zhu Minglang said.
“I won’t appear in the academy. The person you’ll see there won’t be me,” Li Yunzi reminded Zhu Minglang.
Zhu Minglang scratched his head, unsure whether Li Yunzi was upset about the incident where he mistook another person for her, or if she was suggesting that she would not take the initiative to find him.
“Be careful. The person you met at the bridgehead was not by chance,” Li Yunzi hesitated for a moment, but still gave Zhu Minglang another reminder.
‘I???” Zhu Minglang wanted to ask further, but Li Yunzi had already stepped onto the Flying Sword woven from numerous silver threads, leaving Zhu Minglang with a stunningly beautiful silhouette…
Zhu Minglang watched her leave and soon fell deep into thought.
Not by chance?
So their encounter at the bridgehead was her initial test.
And then, another encounter in the Book Pavilion…
At first, Zhu Minglang had even suspected that Li Yunzi might have a split personality; the woman he met at the bridgehead and in the Book Pavilion was just too similar to her, and having been in Ancestral Dragon City for a while, he had never heard that Li Yunzi and Nan Lingsha were twins.
Now it seemed, he was a little too imaginative.
Li Yunzi’s warning to be cautious of Nan Lingsha, was it because she was worried Zhu Minglang would not be able to tell them apart and get tricked again, or did she think Nan Lingsha was still a suspect? For some reason, Zhu Minglang felt that Li Yunzi was wary of Nan Lingsha.
Were their relations not harmonious?
Twins usually share both glories and misfortunes.. Was it because they grew up in separate families, or had some unpleasant events happened between them in the past?
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