After the caravan's brief rest, they settled down before sunset at a commandery city in the northern part of Yellow Dragon Prefecture.
The commandery city's name was a good one - Dragon Horn.
It suited the name of Yellow Dragon Prefecture quite well.
The group settled down at an inn. The martial artists serving as guards arranged to go drinking that night, and Old Zhao specifically came to invite the young man. The young man merely smiled bitterly and said that just staying alive was already difficult enough right now, and Elder Brother still wanted him to drink? Wasn't that just thinking his life was too long?
Old Zhao laughed awkwardly and said it was his fault. When he came back, he'd bring him a roast chicken as an apology. The young man was easygoing about it, merely smiling as he quietly said, "Elder Brother can go drink, but don't go drinking with prostitutes. Otherwise, if I ever get the chance to meet Sister-in-law, I'll definitely report you!"
Old Zhao laughed and cursed, "Scram, brat!"
The young man did not get angry, merely watching Old Zhao leave with the other martial artists before finally turning and walking back into the inn. However, as he passed through the main hall, he happened to see Lu Qingling drinking alone in a corner.
The young man thought for a moment, then still walked over and sat opposite the woman.
Lu Qingling raised her head, looked at the young man before her, and smiled. "What, trying to scam some wine to drink?"
Though she said that, the woman had already taken out a wine cup and was about to pour wine for the young man opposite her.
The young man reached out and covered the cup with his hand, saying helplessly, "Can you really not tell I'm dying?"
Seeing this, the woman gave up and instead poured herself another cup of wine. After taking a sip, she shook her head. "Doesn't look like it."
The young man looked at the woman before him with interest.
Lu Qingling calmly said, "If you were really about to die, you probably wouldn't be this calm. You should instead be worrying all day long and living in constant fear. Someone like you probably still has a long way to go before dying."
The young man clicked his tongue. "As expected of a descendant of the Lu Family of the Divine Capital. Those experienced eyes of yours are truly impressive. One extra question, what's your relationship with Lu Xin?"
Lu Xin was currently the hottest figure in the Lu Family. Although he was not from the main branch, relying on his talent in business, he had already become famous long ago. The Lu Family was now focusing heavily on cultivating him. Barring accidents, he should become the next family head of the Lu Family.
Of course, the reason Lu Xin, as a merchant, could now be looked upon highly in the Divine Capital was still because this young man was currently in business together with that Lord Warden Commander. The two counted as friends.
For the merchant Lu Xin himself, many people might not care much. But for Lu Xin, the friend of a Lord Warden Commander, no one in the Divine Capital could look down on him.
Lu Qingling was also straightforward. "We come from the same branch of the family. I call his father uncle. We're cousins."
The young man smiled. "As expected."
Lu Qingling smiled as well. "Sir knows my younger brother?"
The young man thought for a moment before saying, "We've met a few times. Not especially close, but calling ourselves half-friends would be fair enough."
Lu Qingling nodded, not doubting him.
Instead, the young man became curious. "What, you believe whatever I say?"
"I don't believe Sir's words, but I trust my own eyes. I've traveled all over and seen quite a lot of people. In business, the most important thing is having discerning eyes. Looking at people and looking at goods are both the same. Sir's bearing is not ordinary. Though you may not necessarily come from some great aristocratic household, your background definitely isn't poor. In fact, looking at your features, you even seem somewhat familiar, though I can't remember where I've seen you before."
Lu Qingling trusted her own eyes. Otherwise, she would never have spoken so directly.
The young man rubbed his cheeks and smiled. "Maybe we really have met before. Though I definitely looked much better back then. Looking neither human nor ghostly like I do now, it's normal you wouldn't recognize me."
Lu Qingling smiled faintly.
"I'm here this time to thank you, and also to say goodbye. You're continuing on to the Divine Capital, but I'll be staying here for a while."
The young man spoke softly.
Lu Qingling raised a brow. "Something to take care of?"
The young man nodded. "You could say that."
After nodding, Lu Qingling did not ask further. Many things should not be questioned too deeply when meeting by chance. Having traveled the world for so long, she naturally understood this principle.
The young man suddenly asked, "I heard all the profits from Miss Lu's tea shipment this time are being donated to the imperial court?"
Lu Qingling did not deny it, speaking frankly. "Not just the profits from this shipment. Rather, all the profits from our branch of the family this month are being donated to the imperial court. The north is at war. Since we can't go ourselves, we should still do something."
The Lu Family was the number one merchant family in Great Liang, with business spread across the world. Though this was only one month's profits from a single branch of the family, it was definitely still an enormous sum.
Lu Qingling added, "And this is only the voluntary action of our branch. The entire Lu Family should also contribute a sum of money to serve as military funding for the imperial court. Quite a few of the Lu Family's retainers who volunteered will also head to the Northern Frontier."
The young man praised, "The Lu Family is truly righteous."
Lu Qingling smiled. "As the saying goes, repay a peach with a plum. When Second Master Lu was humiliated back then, it was that Lord Warden Commander who stood up and sought justice for the Lu Family. The Lu Family remembers that favor, and we intend to repay it."
The young man frowned. "But I heard that it was because that Second Master Lu refused to speak ill of the imperial court that he was humiliated in the first place. Then that Lord Warden Commander intervened afterward. Wouldn't that mean he was the one repaying a favor instead?"
"That Lord Warden Commander may think so, but my Lu Family will not. There is no such thing in this world as something being only natural and proper. Besides, we've all seen everything that Lord Warden Commander has done. Forget everything else, when the Demon Emperor headed south previously, if not for him, who could have stopped him?"
Lu Qingling smiled to herself. "Besides, what's the point of earning so much money? If the imperial court falls, if Great Liang falls, then what use is any of that money?"
The young man thought for a moment, then nodded as well.
Just as Lu Qingling was about to continue speaking, someone suddenly rushed into the inn from outside. After finding Lu Qingling, he whispered a few words into her ear, and her expression immediately became somewhat ugly.
The young man asked, "What happened?"
Lu Qingling looked at the young man and, after thinking about it, still said, "The local authorities say they want to detain this shipment of mine. If I want to take the goods away, I have to hand over a sum of silver equal to the value of the goods. They make it sound nice, saying that with the imperial court collecting taxes now, we should also contribute to the nation. But what's the reality? It's just that the pressure from above is too great. Since they can't get money from the local gentry and wealthy merchants, they're turning their knives on outside merchants instead."
The young man furrowed his brows.
Lu Qingling slapped the table and said coldly, "Go tell them this: the taxes that should be paid, I'll pay every last coin. The taxes that shouldn't be paid, I won't give a single coin. They've actually set their sights on my Divine Capital Lu Family?"
But just after Lu Qingling said this, several people entered the inn. All wore official robes, and one among them was even clad in armor.
The leader was a middle-aged official. Looking at Lu Qingling before him, he sneered, "The Divine Capital Lu Family truly carries quite the reputation! With the nation facing disaster, your Divine Capital Lu Family doesn't think about helping the nation shoulder its burdens, but instead clings desperately to these worldly riches. What's the use of that?"
Once the middle-aged official threw down such an accusation, it truly became difficult for anyone to raise their head in response.
Lu Qingling's face was filled with anger.
Those people remained unconcerned.
However, they did not notice that the young man sitting opposite Lu Qingling had an icy look in his eyes.
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