Ten thousand years was enough to change the fate of many people, and for many people, this was a period of ups and downs.
How many rich and powerful nobles were reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye amid the cries, screams, and curses?
How many nobles, who usually spent thousands of gold in brothels, fell into dejection in the blink of an eye?
How many young ladies, who usually looked down on others, became the playthings of the lowly people they looked down on, and were wantonly toyed with and retaliated against?
There were also those noblewomen who usually scoffed at brothels, but in the blink of an eye, they were punished to receive guests in the brothels. The guests almost broke the doorsill, wanting to see how the noblewomen, who usually had their eyes on the top of their heads, looked like when they were receiving pleasure. They didn't care if they were still so high and mighty, and they didn't care if the price was exorbitantly high. In short, they came with the mentality of revenge. And these noblewomen, who used to cry all day and wash their faces with tears, became numb in the end. In order to survive, they learned to welcome guests with a smile. By the time they started to welcome guests with a smile, the doorsill gradually became deserted, and everyone lost interest in them.
Thus, they once again fell into a state of uneasiness and fear. They were criminals and had no freedom. No one would feed them for free. Once they lost their value, what awaited them was to be forced labor or to be refined into elixirs. So they thought of ways to show off in order to survive, but the more they did so, the less interest the guests had in them.
Of course, there were some who couldn't stand the humiliation, and committed suicide early on. But they were the minority. For most people, it was better to live than to die. There were almost none who could be like Marshal Zhou Zhao's wife, who committed suicide before being humiliated.
And these people, on the other hand, were the ones who weren't greatly affected by the general situation. Those who were greatly affected had long been killed.
Under the ups and downs of the general situation, the scenes after the gold and jade tiles were destroyed were common. Those who took advantage of the situation, stirring up the winds and clouds.
None of this had anything to do with the Netherworld Citadel Manor. In this storm, the Netherworld Citadel Manor was completely marginalized. Compared to before, Miao Yi also maintained an unusual low profile, and didn't take the initiative to stir up trouble. In Yang Qing's words, he was taking advantage of the situation to stay out of it, accumulate his strength, and bide his time, waiting for the future.
This was exactly what Miao Yi wanted. Right now, he didn't have the qualifications to aspire to a higher level. The difference in strength was too great.
However, the internal affairs of the Netherworld Governor's Office weren't the same. The hundred thousand troops below him had more or less been promoted. Whenever they had something to report, Miao Yi would immediately be promoted. After all, as the Governor, he could make the decision for such a small promotion. Furthermore, he had the support of the Heavenly Empress, Xiahou Chengyu, so it wasn't a big deal at all. Besides, no one in the Fourth Army was in the mood to pull him back. They just treated it as the internal affairs of the Netherworld Army.
Over the past ten thousand years, Silver Armor's level could no longer be seen below.
"Sir, Vice Domain Chief Xu has returned and requests an audience!"
Miao Yi was receiving guests in the main hall when Yang Zhaoqing came in from outside to report to him.
The visitor was an old man with white hair and beard. His name was Sun Yong, and he was the steward of Sheng Muxue, the third son-in-law of Kou Tianwang.
In his early years, this man was a lone bandit. Later on, he was recruited by Sheng Muxue's father and became the steward of the Sheng family. Sheng Muxue's father used to be Kou Lingxu's trusted subordinate, and died in battle while following Kou Lingxu to conquer the world. When Sheng Muxue's father died, Sheng Muxue's mother followed suit. Since Sheng Muxue was still young, he was basically brought up by the steward, Sun Yong. After marrying Kou Yu, Sheng Muxue remained the same and didn't lust for power.
Meanwhile, after Miao Yi led the Netherworld Army and established a stable foothold on Planet Yiyue, Yun Zhiqiu from the Kou family would visit her adoptive father regularly. When she visited, she couldn't avoid sending gifts. The Kou family would make sure to arrange everything. Although the gifts weren't expensive, the sincerity would always be there. After that, Sheng Muxue would send the steward, Sun Yong, to return the gifts regularly. Of the entire Kou family, Sheng Muxue was the only one who did so. The rest of the family basically only went in and out. It wasn't because they were stingy, but because they kept an appropriate distance from the Kou family.
Of course, Yun Zhiqiu wasn't the only one who paid the Kou family a visit. As long as they were friends, Yun Zhiqiu would pay them a visit. Yun Zhiqiu was in frequent contact with the Heavenly Queen, Xiahou Chengyu, and had a pretty good relationship with her. Yun Zhiqiu had even paid the Xiahou family a visit countless times. His reason for visiting was that his husband, Miao Yi, and Xiahou Longcheng were good brothers. Back then, Miao Yi had received generous gifts from the Xiahou family during his wedding. In the end, even the Heavenly Old Man, Xiahou Tuo, had personally received him several times, much to the surprise of the entire Xiahou family.
Not only did Xiahou Tuo's actions cause many to look at Yun Zhiqiu, but if there was any conflict between the headquarters stationed in the phantom market and the Pavilion of Faith and Justice, Cao Man would have to give him some face if Yun Zhiqiu were to step in.
On the other hand, Yun Zhiqiu made use of his relationship with Guang Mei 'er to enter the House of Heavenly King of Guang's residence and further befriended the Princess Consort Mei Niang. After spending some time together, he managed to win the Princess Consort's favor. He also took the opportunity to meet the Lord of Heavenly King Guang a few times.
Borrowing the influence of the Xiahou and Guang families, Yun Zhiqiu paid a visit to Bluemoon's old enemy, King Hao Tian's residence. There, he met the housekeeper, Su Yun, and after a few interactions, he became friends with her. Putting aside how valuable this' friend 'was, at least Su Yun had expressed goodwill on the surface and met Hao Defang a few times.
Needless to say, the Kou family visited the Xiahou, Guang, and Hao families as well. In the end, Yun Zhiqiu took advantage of the situation to bite off the last tough nut to crack — the Ying family!
Since the other families were already on the same page, the Ying family obviously couldn't afford to be too stingy, so Yun Zhiqiu finally got along with the housekeeper, Zuo Er.
After prying open the doors of those families, it was much easier for Yun Zhiqiu to make connections with the other families. There was no one else with a higher status than those families. Regardless of whether they were willing to get close to Miao Yi or not, at least on the surface, they would all get along with Yun Zhiqiu.
At this point, most of the high-ranking officials in the imperial court had established connections with Yun Zhiqiu. As for the lower levels, there were simply too many of them. Yun Zhiqiu couldn't bribe all of them, so he could only deal with the upper levels.
No matter how much genuine affection there was between these connections, when the lower levels heard of this relationship, without receiving any orders from the higher levels, no one dared to cause trouble for the Netherworld Presidential Manor. At the very least, the neighboring garrisons in the Netherworld Realm wouldn't come looking for trouble for no reason.
After establishing these relationships on the surface, it was much easier for Xu Tangran to secretly lead the Virtuous Assembly Hall. The Virtuous Assembly Hall was originally under Yun Zhiqiu's direct control. Whenever the business of the Virtuous Assembly Hall ran into some trouble, Yun Zhiqiu would find someone to mediate. For example, when a high-ranking official ran into some trouble in their territory, Yun Zhiqiu would contact the wife of that high-ranking official and ask for a favor.
They often interacted with each other. Regardless of whether the wives of high-ranking officials were truly friends with Yun Zhiqiu or not, Yun Zhiqiu knew how to conduct herself well. Even if Yun Zhiqiu came looking for her, it wouldn't be easy for her to reject her. In addition, Yun Zhiqiu would help them out. If they couldn't handle a small matter, it would seem like they were losing face. As such, if it wasn't anything major, they would always inform their subordinates. How could their subordinates not give their superiors some face? Just like that, many of Virtuous Assembly Hall's troubles were resolved.
With Yun Zhiqiu's help, Xu Tangran, who was the executor of Virtuous Assembly Hall, had a much easier time handling many matters. Over the years, Virtuous Assembly Hall's secret business had grown considerably. It provided Miao Yi with an enormous financial support, far surpassing Quiet Spring's income. At the same time, it also provided Miao Yi with various sources of information.
With such a huge amount of wealth, Yun Zhiqiu had a much easier time building relationships. She would secretly send generous gifts to all the noblewomen who were in trouble. Under this virtuous cycle, the noblewomen's impression of Yun Zhiqiu grew better and better.
It could be said that over the years, Yun Zhiqiu could come and go as she pleased. As long as there weren't any major incidents, no one would dare to make things difficult for her. Both the legal and the underworld had to give her some face. After all, Virtuous Assembly Hall was no pushover. Xu Tangran could be very vicious when he was angry, and Yun Zhiqiu had already massacred quite a few of the careless ones.
What's more, she still had the rebel forces under Miao Yi's control behind her back. Not to mention the black and white armies that Miao Yi held in his hands. There were some blind sects that were directly annihilated by Miao Yi's men in disguise, and not a single soul was spared.
In short, during this period, Miao Yi didn't expect the external environment to be good to him. He only hoped that fewer people would cause trouble for him. He couldn't act rashly. After all, his past deeds were clear for all to see. He had no choice but to ask Yun Zhiqiu to run errands for him. If he had anyone else, it wouldn't be enough to show his sincerity. At the same time, he sent Bluemoon and other experts to protect him.
And Yun Zhiqiu's social skills had indeed exceeded his expectations.
"Milord, you have official matters to attend to. This old man will take his leave first." When he heard that Xu Tangran had returned, Sun Yong immediately stood up and politely excused himself.
Miao Yi had heard Long Xin mention Sun Yong before. Long Xin said that this person wasn't simple. After so many years of Sheng Papa's death, Sun Yong still managed to convince Sheng Muxue to marry Kou Lingxu's daughter. This fact alone was not to be underestimated. Thus, Miao Yi didn't dare to be arrogant in front of Sun Yong. He stood up and said, "Steward Sun is always in a hurry. Why don't you stay for a few days before leaving?"
Sun Yong smiled humbly. "This old man has other matters to attend to. I will accompany Young Master another day to trouble you."
"Since you have matters to attend to, then I won't force you." Miao Yi cupped his fists and said, "Zhaoqing, please send me off."
"Please!" Yang Zhaoqing politely invited him.
Sun Yong thanked him again and again before leaving with Yang Zhaoqing. Miao Yi followed him to the gates of the inner courtyard.
At this moment, snowflakes were drifting down from the sky, blanketing the ground in a thick layer of white. Standing outside the gates, Xu Tangran sent Sun Yong off with his gaze, then came over and bowed. "Milord!"
Miao Yi waved his hand, indicating for him to leave. Yan Xiu appeared out of nowhere, draping a shiny black fur robe over Miao Yi's shoulders. He silently followed behind Miao Yi.
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