Ning Wangfu.
Four robust servants carried the seated Ning Wang Zhao Liang on a hollow four-clawed Jiaolong throne, his body steaming with heat, wrapped in a bright yellow embroidered blanket, through the misty corridor and into a hall to take his seat.
Once the hollow Jiaolong throne touched the ground, a bevy of pretty waiting maids immediately approached, pulling out the drawers beneath the throne, incessantly bringing out basins of fragrant medicinal brew with steam rising from the dark brown liquid, pouring it inside.
Zhao Liang slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, and a mist of verdant qi rose from his Dantian. This verdant qi was lush and vibrant in color, enduring and robust, with the vitality of pines and cypresses sprouting new branches.
This verdant qi acted like an invisible shield, locking in the medicinal power rising from beneath the throne, continuously morphing around Zhao Liang...
Zheng Shiquan tiptoed into the hall, spotting the ever-changing faint green light within the fog, waved to dismiss the charming maids surrounding and stood aside with his hands down.
After a while, turbid air with a pungent scent, several feet long, shot out from the mist.
"Has the matter been taken care of?"
Zhao Liang’s indifferent voice sounded in the mist.
Zheng Shiquan bowed, "Reporting to Prince, the people from the White Lotus Sect are en route, led by the White Lotus Sect leader from Jiaodong, Wang Lin. They plan to blend in with the Wokou landing at Zhoushan during the Grain Rain, and once Yang Erlang appears, they will eradicate this great threat for the Prince. After the deed is done, the area north of Xuzhou and Yancheng will belong to Wang Lin’s teaching ground..."
Zhao Liang, "Wang Lin, the ’Fragrance Smelling Sect Hierarch’ and Eastern King of the White Lotus Sect?"
Zheng Shiquan, "Replying to Prince, it is indeed him."
Zhao Liang, "Can this rascal take down Yang Erlang?"
Zheng Shiquan responded, "Replying to Prince, according to the White Lotus Sect, half a year ago on Handan Road, Wang Lin encountered the ’Quanzhen Sword Immortal’ Li Qing and fought fifty exchanges, narrowly defeated by one move."
Zhao Liang, "The words of the White Lotus Sect cannot be fully trusted."
Understanding his intent, Zheng Shiquan bowed again, "Your student will immediately contact the White Lotus Sect and order them to dispatch the Jiangxi bandit head ’Mother Buddha’ Liu Dongjun as well!"
Zhao Liang faintly uttered one word, "Good!"
Zheng Shiquan stood up and pondered for a moment, then added, "Prince, news came this morning that yesterday someone saw Wang Zhi’s ship at Hangzhou Port. Geng Jingzhong is dead, and Wang Zhi might harbor a second heart..."
Zhao Liang asked casually, "What offer did Geng Jingzhong make to Wang Zhi?"
Zheng Shiquan answered, "Lifting the sea ban, Jiangzhe naval forces supreme commander, Zhoushan water fortress."
Zhao Liang, "Send someone to tell him, work hard, what Geng Jingzhong can give, this Prince can also give!"
Zheng Shiquan bowed, "Yes, your student will immediately dispatch someone overseas."
Zhao Liang exhaled gently, his expression a mix of a smile and not: "That young nephew of mine indeed has some fortune on his side, having managed to bring a lost game back to life."
Zheng Shiquan’s mind raced as he hastily responded, "Prince, with Li Gong retiring back to his hometown and Wang Jiangling taking over the great power of the inner court and preparing to implement his ’Single Whip Law,’ and the emperor establishing the new ’Western Inspection Works’ to investigate old cases of local corruption, it has caused people both within the court and outside to become restless and dissatisfied. With the dual approach, once Your Highness raises an army to trace back to the source and clean it up, taking on the grand rule is just around the corner!"
Zhao Liang chuckled leisurely, "The timing is not yet right. Before heaven seeks to take something, it will first give something."
Zheng Shiquan grasped the implication, "I shall send people to instruct the officials in each province to maintain their proper conduct, to endure passively and wait for the right moment."
Zhao Liang: "Very good."
...
In Luoyang, at the Northern Town Prefectural Commissioner’s office.
Wei Heng, dressed in a crimson robe decorated with four-clawed dragons, dismounted and strode into the Northern Town Prefectural Commissioner’s office.
Shen Fa, currently the commander of the Brocade-clad Guards, personally greeted Wei Heng at the gate of the Northern Town Prefectural Commissioner’s office, "Congratulations to Eunuch on opening your office and establishing your headquarters. Your fame will surely be cherished in history and praised by thousands, which is imminent!"
His face was filled with smiles as he greeted from afar with cupped hands, uttering every auspicious phrase he could think of.
Wei Heng also smiled broadly and returned the gesture, then looked around and said with a smile, "All of you, withdraw. I have some private words to discuss with your commander."
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Upon seeing this, a flicker of alarm crossed Shen Fa’s face, but he maintained his smile and waved off the surrounding Brocade-clad Guards and Colonels.
Seeing his gesture, the Brocade-clad Guards and Colonels bowed and, like a receding tide, retreated.
As the last of the Brocade-clad Guards left, Wei Heng’s face, a second ago still brimming with smiles, suddenly turned stern. He seized Shen Fa by the collar, pulling him close, and hissed angrily, "Can’t you control your men? I’ve just taken office, and this is what you stir up for me, trying to pull wool over my eyes?"
Shen Fa, utterly unafraid, retorted with his head held high, "Indeed, I can’t keep them in line. What about it, would you like to help with that? I’d be ever so grateful. Please, don’t worry about my dignity – feel free to crack down on them hard. Kill or cripple them, for all I care."
Wei Heng, red with humiliation and rage, spluttered angrily, "He is still your man from the Brocade-clad Guards."
Shen Fa tactically leaned back, protecting himself from the spit, "A mere cook, he hardly counts as one of my brocade-clad men..."
Wei Heng fumed, "Have you no shame at all?"
Shen Fa carelessly retorted, "What use do I have for that? To be beaten again? You’re a great Quanzhen master, and even you don’t dare to stand up to him. Me, merely at the Qi Sea level, what could I possibly do? Tell me, what could I do? Am I to contend with him, or with the grandees of the court? I’m just a punching bag, anyone displeased can pull me out and give me a beating."
Wei Heng, so angry he could only laugh, "And should I also praise you for your hard work?"
Shen Fa waved his hand grandly, "We’re all our own people here, there’s no need for such courtesy from Eunuch!"
Wei Heng was hopping mad, "Do you really think I am praising you?"