Chapter 77: Immortal Guidance (Part 1)
"boom"
The sudden loud noise in the room startled the servant in blue guarding the door. He secretly took a look into the room and saw a stack of documents in the room, which were scattered everywhere after being hit by a heavy object.
here we go again.
The servant shrank his neck, retracted his gaze, and stood up straight.
Thought in my heart.
Since the old man came back from the fairy mountain, this unprecedented situation has been happening frequently. In the past few days, he has replaced several paperweights and incense burners in the study.
Ever since the second master disappeared without a trace, the eldest master's temper seems to have gotten much worse.
Yesterday, several of the Second Master's close followers were beaten to death with sticks. Those guys, who usually followed the Second Master and lived a life of luxury and were very powerful in the county town, were covered with their mouths and noses and beaten to death in the Second Master's house.
After his death, he didn't even have a thin coffin. He was directly taken to the charity cemetery outside the city and thrown away.
Maybe something went wrong in the huge Ruyifang business, which made the old man even more angry.
The servant guarding the door glanced fearfully in the direction of the study yard.
I thought of it again.
The atmosphere in the mansion has been heavy these days, and everyone feels insecure, so rumors are spreading secretly among the servants.
It was said that a tycoon had set his eyes on Ruyifang's property, and the thief was so powerful that even the old man who was very successful in Fengming Kingdom was at his wit's end.
However, few servants believed this news.
Because in the county town, the business of all the shops in the huge Ruyifang Market was not affected and was still very bustling.
Oh, by the way, except for the Lingshi shop.
No monk has come to the shop in recent days.
It wasn't like this before.
In the past, monks would show up there every few days, and there was also a group of street urchins in the city who always waited there.
I fantasized about being noticed by a monk, being brought back to the mountains, and becoming a monk myself.
Unfortunately, it has been twenty or thirty years since the spirit stone shop opened, and no lucky person has been chosen.
I guess it was this incident that made the old man in a bad mood?
The blue-clothed servant was thinking so, and he also learned that two or three days ago, the manager of the Lingshi shop had been sent out of the city. Everyone said that these managers were unlucky and were exiled because of the anger.
He became more and more certain of his ideas.
But it's no use thinking about it.
Spirit stones are treasures for the monks. As a mortal like me, I am afraid I may not even see one once in my lifetime, let alone help them solve their problems.
It is better to do your own job well, so as to avoid the nameless anger of the old man being poured on your head again.
As he thought about this, he looked up and saw the housekeeper coming hurriedly. The housekeeper, who was always smiling, now had a gloomy expression, and there seemed to be a hint of panic on his serious face.
This expression had never appeared on the butler's face before. It was like the panic expression that only the lower-level servants who had messed up something on a daily basis would have.
Is this a big deal?
The blue-robed servant stood there silently, looking straight ahead, but out of the corner of his eye he saw the butler push open the door of the study, step in, and then close the door.
Something big must have happened!
The servant thought again.
It is said that this butler has been serving the Liu family for three generations. He is the master's most trusted confidant. Even the head manager of an outsider business dare not disrespect the butler.
Even the usually calm and composed steward looked as if he had lost his parents. It seemed that the Ruyifang Liu family, which seemed to be prosperous, was in real trouble.
With a mentality of wanting to watch the fun and not mind getting involved, as well as a slight worry about the future of his job, the blue-robed servant pricked up his ears and tried to listen to the sounds in the study.
Unfortunately, the study was well soundproofed and he heard nothing.
At this time, in the study.
Liu Ruyi sat on a throne made of low-grade spiritual wood with a slight blush on it.
After not seeing him for many days, Master Liu was still dressed like a scholar.
Her appearance was not at all messy, and her hair at the temples was combed neatly as usual.
But the bloodshot in his eyes revealed his uneasy mind at the moment.
There were also scattered documents on the desk in front of him, a broken porcelain paperweight, and traces of blood on the fine cashmere carpet. The bright red blood dripped along the armrests of the armchair.
The traces of blood light made the blood patterns on the surface of this inferior spiritual wood seem to become brighter.
Following the blood thread and looking upwards, there was a wound of a medium size on the abbot's left hand, which was still bleeding, but Liu Ruyi didn't seem to feel any pain at all.
Maybe I used too much force when I expressed my anger and frustration just now.
The broken paperweight cut the skin of my fingers.
Liu Ruyi, who used to be full of energy and seemed to have everything under control, was eager to make the leap and allow the Liu family to completely achieve a class leap in his generation. But now his attitude has changed.
He just leaned back in the armchair with his hands on the armrests, as if all the strength in his body had been drained by the release of anger just now.
He was panting.
Not in a rush.
But like the last breath of a dying person, each one is deep.
The whole person seems to have lost his luster.
It can be seen that he is very depressed, frustrated, and has a kind of unspoken sadness. The complex emotions mixed together exude a temperament that definitely does not make people feel comfortable.
The butler was standing in front of the desk with his head down. From his perspective, he could just see a circle of white cloth wrapped .
Mourning belt.
That was a mourning belt for Liu Bao.
Although until now, Bao Ye’s body has not been found.
But judging from the two blackened leg bones found in the ashes of the barren hills outside the city and among the charred corpses, the possibility that Master Bao was still alive was extremely slim.
But in the past few days, there has been no news of funerals in the Liu family.
Obviously, compared to spending time organizing the funeral of a second-generation rich man who lived a short life and accomplished nothing, Ruyifang and Liu Ruyi have more important and more difficult problems to deal with.
"Did you see it?"
The butler stood in the study for nearly ten breaths, keeping his head down and his eyes submissive, before he heard a question.
Hoarse, dry voice.
It was like the sound made by someone who hadn't slept for several days.
The butler shook his head in shame.
He took a look at the abbot's expression and said softly:
"It's already the third day, Master, Governor Hong still refuses to see me, and even refuses to accept my letters. Even with the Second Prince's private seal, they still can't be delivered to the Hong Mansion.
I used my official connections to get an official to come forward a few days ago.
But today...
No official is willing to talk to me anymore, and all the money and goods I sent out in the past few years were returned last night and today.
There is no need to try again, Master."
The butler sighed and said:
“Grandmaster Hong’s meaning is very clear.
When I was leaving the government office today, I saw a newly posted document saying that Your Majesty was deeply concerned about the rampant banditry in the country and had demoted the governors of three counties and mobilized seven of the country's elite troops.
We must suppress bandits and pacify the people in the three counties and twelve prefectures across the country, including the capital.
Wherever there is a rampant bandit problem, as long as there are people who are in contact with the bandits...
Kill without mercy! "
When the butler uttered the last four words, his teeth were chattering.
As Liu Ruyi's most trusted confidant, he certainly knew where the huge amount of wealth earned by Ruyifang over the years had been used.
Of course, he also knew what kind of information was hidden behind this document that seemed to be about protecting the country and the people.
Although Fengming Kingdom is small and weak, with a territory of only three counties and twelve prefectures, and an area not even as large as a province in another world, it also has a complete ruling system.
It is said that the old king, who is already a little confused, may be able to tolerate wealthy merchants monopolizing the country's industries and pursuing personal gains, but it is obvious that he will never allow these wealthy merchants to participate in the inheritance of the throne.
Ruyifang is the "example" used by the old man sitting on the throne to scare others.
To this end, he even sent Governor Hong, a trusted relative of the emperor, to Fengyang County to take charge.
Now, the truth has been revealed.
"What about the Second Prince?"
Liu Ruyi didn't even blink, and there was no fear on her face. She just asked calmly in a dead tone.
"At this point, you still don't make one last effort. Are you planning to just wait for death?"
"The Second Prince..."
The butler pursed his cracked lips, lowered his voice, and said:
"The last piece of news came the day before yesterday. The latest news from the monks of Yunhuo Cave is that there was a riot in Jingji City last night. It is said that the riot started in the second prince's mansion.
The situation over there is unclear for the time being, but Master, although the Second Prince is of noble status and his life is not in danger, he is now afraid that he may not be able to protect himself."
"What a waste."
Liu Ruyi closed her eyes and shook her head. She didn't know whether she was saying that the Second Prince, to whom she had sold herself, was incompetent, or that the butler in front of her was incompetent.
But at this point, Liu Ruyi's mind was still clear.
It shouldn't be like this.
This was completely different from the plan he had planned thousands of times. It was like a sudden unexpected event that disrupted the entire black and white chessboard with its own power.
The originally stable and extremely favorable situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
Where did this accident come from?
Was it the day when his good-for-nothing younger brother was seduced by Old Dog Hong into privately opening a star array?
no!
The matter was serious, but Liu Ruyi was confident that he could handle it. He was familiar with the monks' thoughts and knew how to minimize the impact.
After all, that star formation did not lead to any truly fatal incident.
It is not the root of the problem.
What really disrupted their plan to leap into the dragon gate was...
Fengshan.
Yes, it’s Fengshan!
It was that group of bandits who appeared out of nowhere, like an unreasonable bull, rushing into his plan and messing up everything.
"That person's name is Jiang Xia?"
The abbot asked suddenly without any warning. The butler was stunned for a moment, then he realized that the abbot was talking about the leader of the Fengshan gang.
He nodded and was about to talk in detail about the information he had collected about Jiangxia, but he saw Liu Ruyi, who had dull eyes just now, suddenly stood up.
Without paying any attention to the blood on his fingers, he just picked up the wolf-hair brush at hand and started writing.
Soon, a letter was written.
"boom"
Liu Ruyi threw the brush away, and the ink was scattered all over the carpet. He didn't even look at the letter on the table, but just put his hands behind his back and said to the butler:
"Take my private seal, the seven official seals of Ruyifang, and this letter with you, and go to the capital as quickly as possible to meet the crown prince.
Regardless of success or failure, there is no need to come back.
Consider it as a gift of great wealth today, considering that three generations of your family have served our Liu family and that we are the master and servant. "
Having said this, the abbot paused.
He caressed his low-key and luxurious armchair with great affection. After a few breaths, he withdrew his fingers and said with a sense of loss:
"It took several generations to build a prosperous business like today. Unfortunately, a single mistake can lead to our separation like a dream.
But, even if I just throw it away...
I won’t leave it to you either!”
The butler was confused by the abbot's sigh, but he didn't dare to ask. He felt that the master was not in a good state today, as if he had lost his dream all of a sudden and became depressed.
After watching Liu Ruyi leave the study room without any attachment, the butler stepped forward to take a look.
This sight made his eyes widen.
A few breaths later, under the curious gaze of the blue-robed servant, the head butler walked out of the study, holding something in his pocket, suppressing the surprise on his face.
"You! Yes, it's you!"
The chief steward looked around and said to the servant in blue:
"Go, pack your things, take the servants in the courtyard, prepare fast horses, bring enough dry food, and bring weapons, and follow me out of the city!"
