Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Murong Jie was stunned by the substance in Lu Yunqi's words. He froze for a long moment, then furrowed his brow slightly and asked, "Did you come up with this yourself?"

Lu Yunqi let out a scoff and replied, "How could that be? It's just the wisdom of those who came before."

"What predecessors?" Murong Jie considered himself well-read. During those days when no one paid him any attention, he spent every day immersed in the imperial library, yet he had never come across anything about this so-called Great Unity.

The noble class chased pleasure and luxury, poor farm boys had no way to get ahead, and the great scholarly lineage was co-opted by the aristocratic clans and the imperial family. Who would ever talk about this so-called Great Unity?

And who would be pleased to see it?

They just wanted to lord over everyone else and revel in the groveling of the common folk.

Lu Yunqi grinned cheekily and let out a little laugh. "Hey, what's with that look? You don't actually think I came up with that, do you? Do I look like the kind of useless fool who could say something like that?"

Murong Jie snapped out of his daze, thinking to himself—yes, who was Lu Yunqi? Didn't he already know him well enough?

He knew him inside and out—reading him was easier than reading his own mind.

But then again, that wasn't quite right either. Lately, his actions had gone beyond anything Murong Jie thought he understood about him.

Take the porridge distribution—that's not something the old Lu Yunqi would ever have done.

Murong Jie felt a flicker of contemplation, but he said nothing. The hatred he harbored for Lu Yunqi wasn't about to vanish just because he'd changed his ways for a few days.

Lu Yunqi, however, threw an arm around his shoulder, leaned in and whispered right in his ear, "I've got a lot more where that came from. You want to hear more? Like, 'Use bronze as a mirror to straighten your clothes; use people as a mirror to see your own gains and losses.' Or, 'To set a heart for heaven and earth, to set a path for the people, to carry on the lost teachings of the sages, and to open a path of peace for all ages.' And then there's..."

As a liberal arts major, reciting stuff from memory was a piece of cake for him.

After he'd rattled off a bunch of them, Murong Jie finally looked at him with a slightly different look in his eyes and asked, "Where did you learn all this?"

Murong Jie let out a sly chuckle and said, "What if I told you I studied in another world? Would you believe me? What if I said I swapped out Lu Yunqi's original soul? Would you believe that too?"

Murong Jie had actually started to think a little better of him after hearing all that, but now his face went cold. "Are you messing with me?"

Lu Yunqi: ...Fine, fine. Stubborn as a rock in a shithouse—stinking and hard-headed!

Though honestly, it was to be expected. He'd been trying to conquer this bastard for ten lifetimes. If he'd suddenly changed his opinion of him, that would've been a real ghost story.

Just then, the carriage slowed to a halt, and Liu Bao called out from outside the carriage, "Young Lord, we've arrived at the estate."

Lu Yunqi lifted the curtain, hopped down from the carriage, and fanned himself with his fan. "Murong Jie, come on, get down! Take a look around—isn't this way more impressive than your Murong family's imperial palace?"

Murong Jie stepped down slowly and cast his gaze into the distance. Sure enough, the Lu family estate stunned him.

Though he couldn't say it was as solemn as the imperial palace, the pavilions and towers, little bridges over streams, rockeries and lakes, the buildings ringing the lake were exquisite and stunning. The place was even twice the size of the imperial palace.

Murong Jie thought to himself that the Lu family really couldn't be bothered to hide their ambitions. If not for the sheer size of Lu Tong's military forces, the emperor probably would've had his head chopped off long ago.

Lu Yunqi grabbed Murong Jie's hand and pointed ahead. "Come on, let me give you a tour."

Say what you want, but the Lu family estate was genuinely gorgeous. In Lu Yunqi's own words, the first time he came, he thought he'd walked into a luxury version of the Summer Palace.

At least when he'd been to the Summer Palace, he hadn't seen jade carvings in the water or gold trim on the doors and windows, or pure white swans swimming in crystal-clear ponds.

And Lu Tong had even named the estate Ziqi Manor. The imperial palace was called the Forbidden City—"Zi" was the honorific for the imperial star, short for the Purple Star of the Emperor.

After walking the whole perimeter of Ziqi Manor, the entire morning was gone, and that was only because Lu Yunqi took the shortcuts.

When they finished, Lu Yunqi asked him, "So? What do you think?"

Murong Jie's face was expressionless. "What feeling about what?"

Lu Yunqi said, "I'm asking how you feel about seeing my Lu family estate. Isn't it way more comfortable than being cooped up in your Murong family's palace?"

Murong Jie simply replied with an "Oh," but that single "oh" was loaded with meaning.

Lu Yunqi wasn't dumb—he knew exactly what that "oh" meant. He clicked his tongue and said, "Hey, if you've got something to say, just say it. Are you trying to say the Lu family's intentions are as clear as day to everyone, that they harbor treasonous designs?"

Murong Jie stayed silent, but Lu Yunqi threw his arm around his shoulder and said, "Listen to me. Sure, the Lu family might have treasonous ambitions, but my father only has one son—me. And you and I are already betrothed. Once I give you a son, won't this empire eventually be ours? So you don't need to hide anything from me. It's not like we're strangers, right?"

He then nudged Murong Jie with his butt, signaling that they were on the same boat.

Murong Jie finally reached his limit. "Lu Yunqi, who exactly do you plan to have bear your child? I know you like both men and women, but you don't have to say such shameless things in front of me. What would a child you have with someone else have to do with me?"

Lu Yunqi said, "Why are you so thick-headed? I'm talking about me giving birth! Me! Personally! Out of my own belly!"

Then, thinking better of it, he added, "I mean... out of my own rear end! What goes in must come out the same way—I get that much."

Murong Jie: ...

He looked at Lu Yunqi with utter disbelief. "Lu Yunqi, have you recently... should you go see a doctor or something? There's this kind of madness that makes people lose their grip on reality."

Lu Yunqi rolled his eyes at him, thinking, You can't explain things to an ordinary man like you!

I'm a proper omega, damn it!

He dragged Murong Jie to the main courtyard of Ziqi Manor. Originally called Dade Courtyard, Lu Yunqi thought the name was ugly and changed it to Provence Garden.

The reason wasn't anything fancy—he just missed the tomatoes from his hometown.

As for why a tomato from Holland had a French name, he couldn't be bothered to argue with a tomato about it.

In the Provence Garden, a row of servants stood waiting. The moment they saw Lu Yunqi arrive, they all bowed in greeting.

Lu Yunqi said, "I'm just staying one night. Don't bother with me—go do whatever you need to do."

The steward of Ziqi Manor acknowledged with a "Yes, Young Lord."

After dismissing them, Lu Yunqi waved Murong Jie over. "Let's stay here tonight! I know you don't want to sleep with me, so I won't force you tonight. But..."

He let out a sly chuckle. "If you're willing, then that's a whole other story."

Murong Jie gave him a cold glance, his lashes lowering to hide the emotions in his eyes.

Lu Yunqi stepped forward and draped an arm over his shoulder. "Are you about to say that even if you died of pent-up frustration, your dick exploded, you'd never touch me? Oh, little Murong, don't be so absolute about everything. Some things—once you get a taste, you might just get hooked."

Murong Jie deliberately moved a few steps away. "Don't worry, I haven't sunk that low."

Lu Yunqi sighed. "I know you can hold out. Whatever, get some rest. I've got other things to do."

He'd come today to set up an Anywhere Door for his supervisor, Du Ze. This was a year of disaster and famine—only the capital and the wealthy southern areas had grain.

And the south was dealing with floods, so it wouldn't be long before more refugees poured into the capital.

Lu Yunqi went by himself to the eastern side courtyard and set up an Anywhere Door in the main room of the side courtyard.

Once it was done, he headed straight to the Wanping Wasteland and called Du Ze and his crew over.

Du Ze, as an NPC, was also quite interested in the era of Great Xia. He brought two strength-focused NPCs, greeted Lu Yunqi, and then hitched up a carriage and headed to the market.

The Lu family's compound was very large, and this was the most secluded side courtyard. Usually, no one came here, so there was no need to worry about anyone discovering their presence.

Even if someone did find them, it wouldn't be a big deal. Du Ze carried Lu Yunqi's jade pendant, and with that pendant, he could go anywhere in the estate without issue.

Du Ze purchased a big load of grain, flour, cloth, and other supplies for the Wanping Wasteland, while Lu Yunqi went to the west side of the estate, where they were already handing out porridge.

Lu Yunqi went over to check it out and found that there were actually a few refugees with loyalty ratings above ninety percent.

One of them was wearing a ragged long robe, probably a scholar, and he had delicate features and was quite handsome.

Lu Yunqi stepped forward, tapped Liu Bao on the shoulder, who was keeping order, and pointed at the scholar, saying, "Go ask around and find out his name, and see if he wants to work."

Liu Bao shot a look at the scholar and grinned right away, saying, "Got it, got it. Hold on, Young Master, I'll go find out for you!"

Lu Yunqi: ???

Hey, what exactly do you think you get?

Liu Bao quickly led the scholar over, and the scholar turned red the second he saw Lu Yunqi, obviously because Liu Bao had said something.

Liu Bao said happily, "I asked around, Young Master. He's Yuan Pingya, twenty-one, and he passed the county exam last year. His hometown got hit by a disaster, and his whole family died in it. It's just him and his six-year-old brother left."

Lu Yunqi nodded and said, "Ah, poor guy. Little Yuan, you willing to work for me?"

Yuan Pingya looked a little shy, and he immediately bowed to Lu Yunqi and said, "I'll do whatever you say, Young Master. As long as you're willing to give me and my brother a roof over our heads and three meals a day, you... can do whatever you like."

Lu Yunqi: ...

Hold on, dude, are you getting the wrong idea?

Lu Yunqi cleared his throat and said, "Uh, okay. Take your brother and go inside with Liu Bao for now."

Then he told Liu Bao, "Get them both cleaned up and changed first. They're way too dirty like this."

If the refugees at Wanping Wasteland still looked half-human, then the ones who'd trekked thousands of miles to the capital were basically grimy and looked like beggars.

Liu Bao replied, "Got it, Young Master. Mr. Yuan, right this way?"

Yuan Pingya led his brother into the courtyard, and Lu Yunqi had his servants round up the other refugees with loyalty above ninety percent that he'd had his eye on, temporarily putting them to work in the estate until he had a full cartload, then he'd haul them all to Wanping Wasteland at once.

After that, he turned and headed back to the main courtyard, and looked up to see Liu Bao bringing the scholar and his brother over.

The scholar had changed into clean, plain white clothes, with his black hair tied up in a simple hairpin. Once the grime was washed off, his naturally fair skin showed through, and he really did have a certain charm.