2767 The Overstuffed Flower Mink Mouse!
Luo Lan was certain that once Jin Qianxun saw these spiritual ingredients and fey, he would understand what she was trying to say. Saying too much would not only be meaningless but could also cause news of their interaction to spread.
Luo Lan did this after thinking through her own considerations.
Firstly, Luo Lan had set her sights on the Sky Beyond the Clouds. If there were any changes to the structure of the Startling Lines Continent, Luo Lan would have to refocus her efforts on managing the Iron Hammer Federation.
Moreover, the new ruler of the Great Lush Federation might not be as intelligent and understanding as Jin Qianxun.
Luo Lan had built up a chemistry with Jin Qianxun and gotten used to his way of doing things. If the new ruler of the Great Lush Federation liked to cause trouble, Luo Lan would have to waste a lot of effort handling him.
A person who was chosen by Lin Yuan would not be obvious about any trouble they were trying to cause. It would be much more challenging to try to handle someone who was trying to cause trouble from the shadows.
Fei Xing thought about this for a moment. But she could not figure out what the spiritual ingredients and fey could be. Since she could not figure it out, she could only ask, “Your Majesty, I hope you will tell me clearly what the spiritual ingredients and fey you would like my sister to prepare so I tell her to get them ready immediately!
“She might have married and moved to the Great Lush Federation, but she is still a member of the Iron Hammer Federation’s Turquoise Tribe and will do what is best for the federation!”
Luo Lan nodded noncommittally.
Back then, this was exactly the reason for picking someone from the Turquoise Tribe to marry into the Jin family. If the member of the Turquoise Tribe who married into the Jin family was unable to work for the Iron Hammer Federation, the marriage alliance would be meaningless.
“The spiritual ingredients and fey I want you to prepare are common. They are the Flower Mink Mouse and a large amount of quince blossom buds. There must be enough quince blossom buds to overstuff the Flower Mink Mouse!”
The Flower Mink Mouse was a fey that was common in the Startling Lines Continent. It was the evolved version of the Flower Branch Mouse.
There were very few people who formed contracts with the Flower Mink Mouse. It had a special habit, which was an insatiable appetite. It was especially weak toward quince blossom flower buds.
The quince blossoms happened to be in full bloom, and there were many Flower Mink Mice with exploded stomachs littered below the quince blossom trees.
Quince blossoms could be found in wild forests and reproduced easily.
Fei Xing knew that there was no way the Flower Mink Mouse and quince blossoms were meant to be gifts.
After pondering for a moment, Fei Xing understood Luo Lan’s intention of telling her sister to present the quince blossoms and Flower Mink Mouse to Jin Qianxun.
When a Flower Mink Mouse saw the quince blossoms, it would begin consuming them in a frenzy and eventually become so bloated that its stomach exploded and it died.
Luo Lan was trying to warn Jin Qianxun not to become like the Flower Mink Mouse over the matter of the harbor’s ownership.
It was said that the human heart was never content, just like a snake that tried to swallow an elephant.
Fei Xing was unsure if her sister would be implicated because of this matter. But even if she did end up implicated, this was a task that her sister needed to complete.
Fei Xing started to leave the hall.
At that moment, she heard Luo Lan say, “You have always had a more agile and intelligent mind than others. You must pay more attention to the management of the court! You are better suited than the others to manage the court meetings. I hope that you will work hard from now on so as not to disappoint me.”
Luo Lan waved at Fei Xing to signal she should pass down her order as quickly as possible.
Fei Xing’s expression did not falter as she departed the hall. But once she exited the hall, her body started to tremble uncontrollably.
Fei Xing could read between the lines of Luo Lan’s remark. Luo Lan intended to rely heavily on her in the future—her words were a clear message!
Luo Lan had been intentionally distributing power and authority in the last few years. Now, she was giving away the authority to manage court meetings.
If she obtained the authority to manage court meetings, she would be second only to Luo Lan when it came to power and authority in the Iron Hammer Federation.
Fei Xing was not stationed next to Luo Lan from the beginning. Rather, she had captured opportunity after opportunity and had been promoted after Luo Lan noticed her abilities.
Luo Lan let out a sigh after Fei Xing left. She saw Jin Qianxun as exceedingly important.
Someone as smart as him would not be so impulsive as to act foolishly.
Jin Qianxun had to have thought deeply and carefully before acting. He also had to have already made preparations to face the associated risks.
Luo Lan hoped that her warning would help Jin Qianxun to see the light.
A supervisor who had received authority should not make independent decisions. It was possible that Jin Qianxun had forgotten this after becoming accustomed to being a ruler.
…
In the evening, Jin Qianxun finished his harbor patrol, a routine he diligently performed to oversee the ongoing construction. His regular checks had become a recent habit, ensuring the harbor’s smooth operation.
Observing the boats arriving and departing from the harbor, Jin Qianxun experienced a sense of elevation, as if he were overseeing everything from a vantage point.
The Island Whales, representing different federations, paid their dues and docked in the harbor. Those who utilized these majestic creatures always took a moment to acknowledge him.
The newfound respect and admiration directed toward Jin Qianxun were sensations he had never experienced before.
It was because he had all these federation managers clustering around him that Jin Qianxun’s mindset began to change slowly.
Jin Qianxun did not employ members of the Jin family while governing the Great Lush Federation because he did not want Lin Yuan to think he was abusing his power for selfish reasons. Instead, he selected excellent managers from various secret aristocratic families who together served as advisors for court meetings.
But it went without saying that Jin Qianxun remained the true and ultimate decision-maker. He would never allow the authority he had jumped through hoops to obtain to leave his hands.
“Your Majesty, another large batch of resources has been invested into the harbor. According to news from the envoys, the harbor is about to be expanded to include the entire outer sea. This will make the harbor even larger than the Great Lush Federation’s six major cities combined!
“May I be so brash as to ask if we will truly have full control over such a harbor? With the continuous stream of resources that we’ve invested into the harbor in the past few years, we could have rebuilt the Great Lush Federation four times! Your Majesty, I don’t think you should hope to have sole control over the harbor.”
This nephew always had a clear grasp of the perspectives of different matters.
However, what his nephew had just said was not something that Jin Qianxun wanted to hear.
Jin Qianxun frowned and yelled, “The issue of the harbor has been mentioned at the imperial meeting more than three times, and a decision has been made. You don’t need to be unnecessarily worried! Leave now. I will go through these documents on my own. You can come back when you have something to report to me!”
When Jin Zhanming heard what Jin Qianxun said, he pursed his lips but did not say anything else. Instead, he left Jin Qianxun’s private room and began standing guard outside.
Jin Zhanming was well aware of Jin Qianxun’s state and guessed that Jin Qianxun would react in such a way after hearing his suggestion.
However, Jin Zhanming had been keeping these words to himself for a long time.
The function he served by Jin Qianxun’s side was to give him some advice during special situations.
The larger the harbor became, the less secure Jin Zhanming felt.
Jin Qianxun had always remained pleasant toward him.
Such a reaction from Jin Qianxun meant that he also shared the same foreboding. However, he intended to take the risk and take a gamble.
With this thought, Jin Zhanming sighed.
A truly dumb person could be given a wake-up call. But if an intelligent person chose to stake everything on a final dice throw, such a person would not turn back unless there was something they were truly worried about!
When Jin Qianxun was alone in his private room, he continuously poured tea for himself. He finished a large pot of tea in a little over ten minutes.
Jin Qianxun placed the teacup heavily down on the table as Lin Yuan’s face flashed through his mind.
Lin Yuan was aware of all that he did.
Lin Yuan was always decisive in his actions and never dragged his feet.
Most times, he was generous and never held back when he invested resources. He also enabled people like Jin Qianxun to truly be able to rule over federations.
But behind all of this, he drew up plans for the federations’ development. The leaders he chose needed to follow the paths he had set to develop their federations.
One of the reasons Jin Qianxun wanted so badly to take control of the harbor was that its existence had allowed him to regain his pride. He greatly enjoyed the feeling of being flattered and fawned on by the other federation envoys.
Furthermore, it was true that the harbor was located within the Great Lush Federation.
However, the harbor had never been developed before Lin Yuan took control of the Great Lush Federation.
Jin Qianxun could not help but be afraid each time he was alone.
If he had nothing now, Jin Qianxun would be very willing to take the gamble. But now, the Jin family had become the Great Lush Federation’s royal family, and he was its ruler. Once he lost, everything he had now would vanish.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door of his private room. Jin Zhanming peeked in before saying softly, “Your Majesty, Jin Lü would like to see you. Are you willing to meet with her?”
Jin Lü was Fei Xing’s sister and had the direct bloodline of the Turquoise Tribe. She had changed her last name in accordance with the Great Lush Federation’s customs because she had married into the Jin family.
Jin Lü represented the friendship between the Iron Hammer Federation and the Great Lush Federation.
Given their friendly relations, the Jin family treated Jin Lü extremely well.
Jin Lü was acutely aware of her circumstances. She never forgot about her identity and did not forget about her roots just because she lived in luxury in the Jin family.
Her behavior pleased Jin Qianxun greatly.
Jin Lü was most likely there to see him pass on a message on behalf of the Iron Hammer Federation.
He and Luo Lan had been sending messages to each other through the Thoughts Letter Paper. Why did she not do the same this time?
“Let Jin Lü in. Zhanming, go and brew a pot of tea and prepare some snacks.”
Jin Zhanming left immediately.
It was clear that Jin Qianxun had sent him on a task at such a time because he did not want him to remain in the room.
He could have served the tea and snacks after Jin Qianxun and Jin Lü were done with their conversation.
Jin Zhanming started to make guesses about Jin Lü’s reason for coming at such a time.
Upon entering the room, Jin Lü greeted Jin Qianxun with a smile and a respectful bow. She had come as a representative of the Iron Hammer Federation, adopting the appropriate demeanor befitting an elite of the federation.
Jin Qianxun waved at Jin Lü to indicate that they should sit next to each other to speak.
Jin Lü did not sit down immediately. Instead, she fixed her determined gaze on Jin Qianxun.
“I just went to take a walk around the harbor and found a Flower Mink Mouse as well as some quince blossom buds.”
Jin Lü took out the Flower Mink Mouse and quince blossom buds she had prepared and placed them on the floor.
Quince blossoms had an extremely strong scent, and it was gaudy to place them in the room. But once the Flower Mink Mouse in the cage caught a whiff of the quince blossom buds, it began chittering loudly and gnawing on the bars of the cage. It started to slam its body against the cage, and signs of injury appeared on its thick fur.
Jin Lü ignored the way that the Flower Mink Mouse’s expression changed after it saw the quince blossom buds and opened the cage.
The Flower Mink Mouse charged toward the quince blossoms. In the short span of a few tens of minutes, it began happily and madly stuffing the quince blossoms down its throat. It did not take long for the Flower Mink Mouse to die in front of Jin Lü and Jin Qianxun.
When Jin Lü saw the Flower Mink Mouse’s round and distended belly that was about to burst, she took out a dagger and gently swiped it across the Flower Mink Mouse’s abdomen. All of the quince blossoms spilled out from its stomach.
Jin Lü pulled a frightened expression and began bowing repeatedly to Jin Qianxun. “Your Majesty, I never expected such a thing to happen. I have disrespected you!”
Jin Lü cleaned up the carcass on the ground before bidding goodbye to Jin Qianxun with a solemn expression.
As Jin Lü was walking out of the private room, she bumped into Jin Zhanming, who was standing by the door and carrying a tray of tea and snacks.
Jin Zhanming was very surprised to see Jin Lü leaving. She had only been there for tens of minutes. That was almost too quick!
Just as Jin Zhanming was about to enter the private room, Jin Lü gently pulled him back and shook her head to tell him not to go in now to bother Jin Qianxun.
Jin Zhanming watched Jin Lü’s lips move and saw that she was mouthing the word ‘harbor’.
Jin Lü nodded and did not say anything else.
She had come to see Jin Qianxun about the issue of the harbor and was a representative of Luo Lan’s stance.
Luo Lan would never advise Jin Qianxun to occupy the harbor on his own. It was likely that she was advising him to stop trying to gain selfish profits from the harbor.
Jin Zhanming did not know if Jin Qianxun would give up his desire to gain sole ownership of the harbor after his conversation with Jin Lü.
Having spent considerable time by Jin Qianxun’s side, Jin Zhanming discerned that among the three federation rulers, Luo Lan held the closest rapport with Jin Qianxun. The probability of him attentively heeding and learning from her was significantly higher!
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