Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When he woke up the next morning, Murong Jie was already long gone, leaving behind nothing but a rumpled, messy bed.

Inside the bed curtains, besides the lingering scent of the incense, there was also a faint musky smell—the lingering scent of a man's presence, a clear sign of how reckless they'd been last night.

"Heh, bolted out of here that quick, huh?"

Then again, that was to be expected. Murong Jie couldn't stand him, so why would he stay to sleep beside him?

As for Lu Yunqi, he'd had a hell of a night and woke up feeling like a million bucks.

He stretched lazily, and Yun Hua, hearing the stir outside, led two young maids in to help him wash up and change. She couldn't hide the grin on her face.

Lu Yunqi tapped the young maid on the head with his knuckle and asked, "What's so funny? Am I that entertaining?"

Yun Hua chuckled and said, "Master Six already spilled the beans—you asked the Emperor to betroth you to His Highness the Sixth Prince. Now the whole capital's buzzing about it, saying you, Young Lord... are one lucky bastard!"

Lu Yunqi clicked his tongue. "Good news stays home, but bad news travels fast. Lucky my ass—they're probably all calling me a depraved slut who'll screw anything that moves, aren't they?"

Yun Hua thought the rumors were way worse than that. They weren't just cursing the Young Lord—this time even Lord Nine Thousand Years was getting dragged through the mud.

They said Lord Nine Thousand Years spoiled his son rotten, and that the Lu family would eventually be the ruin of that spoiled brat.

But Lu Yunqi couldn't give a damn. He was taking his sweet time with breakfast when he heard a eunuch's shrill voice outside holler: "Imperial edict! His Highness Prince Cang, receive the decree!"

Murong Jie was already on his knees in the courtyard, waiting for the decree. Lu Yunqi shuffled over and dropped to his knees too.

Fu Hai read the decree in a loud voice: "By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: Our sixth son, Prince Cang, is virtuous and upright, gentle and proper in his ways. He has worked tirelessly in court, aided in governance, and been fair in all his dealings; he has upheld virtue, kept peace among his kin, and set an example for the imperial family. We now grant him the Prince Cang mansion, ceremonial regalia, a yearly allowance of ten thousand taels of silver and ten thousand hu of grain, fifty bolts of silk, four chests of assorted jewels, and eighty personal guards. Let it be known throughout the land!"

Murong Jie slowly performed a bow and said, "Your son receives the decree. Thank you, Imperial Father."

But Lu Yunqi grabbed the decree right out of his hands, read through it, and then asked, "Eunuch Fu Hai, did His Majesty say which mansion Prince Cang gets?"

Fu Hai bowed and scraped, saying, "His Majesty said Prince Cang can pick any of the eight empty mansions in the capital. His Majesty also said to make sure the Sixth Prince takes good care of Young Lord Lu, doing his duty as the Young Lord's consort, and there'll be extra rewards for it."

Lu Yunqi went "oh" and pointed at the place next door. "That house across the street looks perfect to me. Fix it up and put my consort in there!"

Fu Hai was stunned and said, "This... Young Lord, that's not exactly by the book! That place across the street was His Majesty's old digs before he took the throne—it's supposed to be the Crown Prince's mansion. But the Sixth Prince..."

"So what? It's just a house. Move in and suddenly he's the Crown Prince? He's my consort—it's a pain for him to live far away. This one's right next door, isn't it?"

Fu Hai buttered him up: "You're spot on, Young Lord. I'll tell His Majesty and do everything I can to get it for you."

Lu Yunqi didn't say another word. He just pulled out a wad of banknotes—five thousand taels—and shoved them into Fu Hai's hands. "Then I'll count on you, Eunuch Fu."

Fu Hai quickly thanked him: "Oh! You're too kind! Don't you worry, Young Lord. I'll handle this for you, no problem."

Once the eunuch with the decree was gone, Lu Yunqi looked at the gifts and ceremonial gear that had been delivered, feeling pretty pleased, and the eighty guards parked outside the mansion. He snorted, "At least the old emperor knows what's good for him!"

A typical prince would have sixty-three attendants. That Murong Jie got seventeen more was entirely due to the influence of the Nine Thousand Years mansion.

He turned to look at Murong Jie, who was still kneeling there, and tilted his head. "Stop kneeling. Go with Liu Bao to the mansion across the way and get your attendants and regalia settled."

Liu Bao looked troubled. "But... Young Lord, that mansion hasn't been officially assigned to us yet. We don't have the keys, so we can't get in!"

Lu Yunqi clicked his tongue. "Are you stupid? Knock down that wall on the east side, build a nice big moon gate, and enter from there. Don't worry—the old emperor will have it arranged by today. We can't have all these people standing around outside the mansion. Hurry up and get to it!"

Liu Bao chuckled twice and replied, "Yes, Young Lord, I'll get right on it!"

Then he looked at Murong Jie. "Prince Cang, please follow me."

Murong Jie's brow furrowed slightly, but in the end he said nothing and followed Liu Bao.

Liu Bao was efficient—he directly demolished the eastern wall and built a beautiful moon arch gate with decorative brickwork, moving all of Murong Jie's gifts and attendants into the mansion.

After everything was arranged, Liu Bao respectfully bowed to Murong Jie. "Your Highness, please rest well. This servant will take his leave now."

Murong Jie said nothing. Only after Liu Bao had left did he circle around to the back courtyard, and in a low voice said toward the rockery, "Come out."

A young man in black emerged from behind the fake rocks and bowed to him. "Master."

Murong Jie asked, "How are the matters I assigned you progressing?"

The young man in black replied, "Rest assured, Master. Five thousand elite cavalry from Yuezhi stand ready. At your command, we can take the Hexi Corridor!"

Murong Jie nodded. "Good. In three days, take the Hexi Corridor. No need to push forward—just hold the position."

The young man acknowledged the order but didn't leave. Murong Jie asked, "Is there something else?"

The young man hesitated, then said, "Master... are the rumors in the capital... true?"

Murong Jie frowned slightly, thinking that the rumors outside were probably not very flattering.

Seeing that he didn't answer, the young man said angrily, "I'll go kill that Lu Yunqi right now to avenge you, Master!"

Murong Jie stopped him. "Don't cause trouble at a time like this!"

And besides... things aren't what you imagine. I wasn't humiliated either...

Come to think of it, Lu Yunqi really was sick. He'd gone through all that trouble just to have himself brutalized. Perhaps the man was simply born a pervert with such proclivities.

But last night...

No one knew that his Nine-Death Survival Skill, having tempered his body, made him immune to all poisons. Not just that little aphrodisiac incense—even something as deadly as crane's crest poison could barely affect him.

The reason he'd yielded wasn't because of that man's threats. Even he himself didn't know his original intention.

Perhaps, like that man, he too was simply born a pervert with such proclivities.

At this moment, Lu Yunqi still had no idea that the tactics he'd devised to disgust Murong Jie were actually rewards to him.

He had already returned to his Wanping Wasteland and stood gazing at the one mu of cultivated land, lost in thought. The NPC was still holding the lawnmower, cutting grass, and waved at him from afar when it saw him. "Master, one mu of land has been cultivated, but we have no seeds. What should we plant next?"

Lu Yunqi looked at the neatly tilled land the NPC had prepared and smiled. "Not bad, not bad. Let me see what to plant."

He hadn't expected to be able to cultivate that much land.

With that, he opened the system, and a prompt sounded: "Congratulations, Host, on completing the task of having the NPC cultivate one mu of wasteland. Your current land holdings are two mu. You have received the task reward: Hongyan 99 strawberry seeds. The farming tools market is now open."

Lu Yunqi opened the farming tools market, expecting to see things like hoes and shovels. But the moment he opened it, he was stunned—everything was modern equipment!

Lawnmowers, drones, drip irrigation technology, soilless cultivation, plastic greenhouses, seedling beds, and more.

Looking at this dazzling array of modern agricultural equipment, could he possibly establish a modern farm here?

Lu Yunqi excitedly browsed through the tools, but he only had one NPC for now, so he couldn't use that many things yet. He'd have to exchange for them gradually later.

He wondered if these tools were time-limited. If they were, using them might be inconvenient.

But that's not a big problem. As long as he has enough points and system coins, he can exchange for and use tools as much as he wants.

However, Lu Yunqi became curious and asked, "Xiao Tong, why are there so many modern tools now? Didn't you say modern tools cannot exist in ancient times?"

The system sprite, Xiao Jiu, popped out and replied, "Master, well, do you want the truth or a lie?"

Lu Yunqi: ???

Now he was sure the system had totally played him.

Lu Yunqi gritted his teeth. "Spill it!"

Xiao Jiu snickered and said, "The reason this system has never been chosen is because it's just really hard to complete. Not only does this system have zero connection to the quest target in this world, but mainly because it's actually... a long haul!"

Lu Yunqi fumed, "Aren't you the Idle Lad Planting System? Why is it a long haul now? I want to file a complaint against you for system fraud!"

Xiao Jiu replied, "That doesn't count as fraud—you really are idle! All you gotta do is give orders, and you barely lift a finger, right? With so many NPCs, as long as you do quests, someone will naturally help you complete the planting tasks. Isn't that what being idle means?"

Lu Yunqi had no comeback, so he asked, "Then where's the long haul part?"

Xiao Jiu sighed and said, "Do you know that among the three thousand worlds, only our timeline is the most backward? The civilizations in other timelines have already developed to at least level 0.7-1.0, and some have even reached level 1.2. Only this timeline is still at level 0.4. It must at least develop to level 0.7 civilization to pass, otherwise the entire timeline will be erased. The Heavenly Dao of this timeline secretly stashed a cheat code in the world quest guide, and the Great Master turned a blind eye. But he cannot interfere with the chooser's decisions. In the previous tens of thousands of attempts, this insignificant system was never chosen. Only you, my dear master! You are the first and only one!"

Lu Yunqi: ... Is it too late to back out now?

==========Author's Note:==========

Lu Yunqi: Forget it! I'm going back to slack off!

Please give me flowers, please give me flowers~~~