After exiting the palace, the three Advisors turned around to face Ma Weihan and the others.
"Rotten wood really can't be carved!" Bo Yan snorted, then flung his sleeves and flew off.
Although Zhuang Youwen and Shang Liuhuan didn't say anything, they too flung their sleeves and left with a resentful look on their faces. They seemed to be very unhappy with their cowardice.
When the three Advisors were out of sight, the five of them exchanged glances. Li Yujuan grumbled, "The three of you couldn't even suppress one of them. Now it looks like we're the ones in the wrong. If you guys could help us, we wouldn't have to do this."
Luo Mingguang scoffed, "Ignore them. The three of them are just putting on an act. When they send their gifts at the end of the year, I'm sure they'll all be happy and act like nothing happened."
"That's what pisses me off the most. They're getting benefits, but they can't do anything about it!" Li Yujuan gritted her teeth.
"Sigh! Empyrean Walkers are all the same. They don't have any real power. Even if they give you benefits, they might not be able to accomplish anything. But if you don't, they'll show up in front of the Palace Lord every day and ruin your plans. Just think of it as spending money to avoid disaster! " Ma Weihan let out a long sigh, then quickly looked to his left and right. Trouble came from a loose tongue. He had already learned his lesson.
The five of them exchanged glances and felt the same way. They didn't dare to say anything else and quickly left …
Back in the palace, Miao Yi was left behind to accompany Cheng Aofang. He was a little behind as they strolled around the garden, with Auntie Qing and Auntie Yu following behind.
Suppressing Ninth Hall and Suppressing Tenth Hall's forces were already fully staffed, so Cheng Aofang couldn't help but be concerned about their situation.
"I heard that the new Head Steward under your command is receiving the same treatment as the Suppressing Tenth Hall Master?" Cheng Aofang suddenly asked.
Miao Yi replied, "It's just to make it easier for him to do things for his subordinates."
Cheng Aofang calmly said, "For you to go out of your way to recruit someone from Traversing Moon Palace and give him such preferential treatment, he must be quite capable, right?"
As soon as she said this, Miao Yi immediately grew wary. He was worried that this woman would try to poach him away from his subordinates. If she forcefully issued an official decree, then even he would be hard pressed to stop her. He immediately chuckled, "Of course he's capable! More importantly, he and I are old friends. If it weren't for his appreciation and promotion, I wouldn't be where I am today. "
"Oh," Cheng Aofang replied noncommittally. She glanced at him and changed the topic. "I wonder if Advisor Miao has ever talked behind my back about this consort finding a subordinate to be her husband?"
"Uhh …" Miao Yi felt a little guilty. It would be strange if they hadn't talked about it before. However, he naturally denied it firmly, "No! Absolutely not! "
Cheng Aofang nodded. "Alright! Why don't you swear an oath to prove that you didn't discuss it? "
These words really disgusted Great Hall Master Miao. He did not expect Cheng Aofang to use the same trick he used on Ma Weihan and the others on him.
Damn, you didn't let Ma Weihan and the others swear, but you let me do it. What do you mean? Miao Yi gritted his teeth.
However, just like Ma Weihan and the others, Miao Yi had no choice but to swear this oath. He couldn't find any reason to refuse, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "Your subordinate swears …"
"Forget it!" Cheng Aofang stopped and turned around. She stared at him and said, "Since it's difficult, why force yourself? I've already said it. I'm a woman, and I'm looking for a man to be my husband. Being in love with each other isn't something shameful. I'm not afraid of others gossiping behind my back. "
'You're not trying to trick me, are you?' Miao Yi bowed slightly and said guiltily, "Your subordinate really didn't say anything."
Cheng Aofang changed the topic and said, "You took over seven million low-grade Orbs of Will from Ma Weihan and the others in one go. Do you think you can swallow it all by yourself?" As she said this, she gestured behind Miao Yi with her lips.
Miao Yi turned around and saw that there was no one else besides Auntie Qing and Auntie Yu. He then heard Cheng Aofang say, "The consumption of Orbs of Will in the Red Lotus realm is quite high. Qing and Yu don't have any source of income, so you can keep the title of Advisor to the other Advisors. I've taken such good care of you. Wouldn't it be rude if you didn't think about it? I'm poor! "
The meaning behind her words couldn't be any clearer. She clearly wanted a piece of the pie!
Miao Yi was speechless. 'You're poor? You didn't even have to share half of the loot from the Traversing Water Palace with your subordinates. It all went into your own pocket. Now that you've even taken care of the Traversing Water Palace's vast territory, how much would the two palaces earn every year? There's also crystal coin mines and other resources within the two palaces' territory. All the sects and schools that make a living in your territory would have to pay you some favors. Even the Chamber of Commerce at the Palace Lord's level would have to give you a share. You're still poor? If your annual income is worth less than two million low-grade Orbs of Will, I'll chop off my head and let you kick it like a ball!
Even if you don't do anything every year. Someone who could earn millions of Orbs of Will just by lying down and sleeping like a log was complaining about being poor? Miao Yi cursed her to be a widow for the rest of her life.
"What do you mean, Palace Lord?" Miao Yi probed. He wanted to feign ignorance, but deep down, he was extremely unwilling.
Cheng Aofang didn't beat around the bush. "I don't want much. Just take out a million and give it to the two Aunties later."
"Palace Lord, it's not that I don't want to. The problem is that I don't have that many Orbs of Will right now!" Miao Yi was also complaining about being poor.
Cheng Aofang narrowed her eyes and said, "Don't try that on me. You dare to spend all the income of the two palaces on raising troops, and you still dare to say you don't have money? Today, I didn't say anything. If I were to say that I'm biased, do you think you can swallow those millions of Orbs of Will? Fine! You won't give it to me, right? Don't worry, I won't beg anyone! "
"That's not it! That's not what I meant. What I meant was that I'll think of a way later. "Miao Yi laughed dryly.
Behind him, Auntie Qing and Auntie Yu pursed their lips and snickered. In his heart, Miao Yi wished for the two of them to be widows together.
Actually, he had a question in his heart. Cheng Aofang had married a few times. Did these two Aunties also follow her in serving as concubines to different men? Alas, it wasn't a good question to ask.
Seeing that he had given in, Cheng Aofang didn't say anything more. She reminded him, "Don't forget about going to the Boundless Nation to participate in the Artifact Appraisal Conference. Make arrangements as soon as possible." After today, she seemed to be even more determined to bring Miao Yi to participate.
"Understood!" Miao Yi could only agree. At first, he thought it was still early, and he didn't know what would happen when the time came. However, when he heard Cheng Aofang mention it again, he knew he had to go. There was no way he could escape.
After leaving Wood Traversing Palace, Miao Yi flew through the air with a helpless expression on his face. He had run all over the place and spent a lot of effort to get his hands on something. Yet, the other party had it easy. With just a word, he had to obediently hand over a million Orbs of Will. The higher the rank, the more oppressive it was!
He could only console himself. Fortunately, he only asked for a million Orbs of Will. If the other party had asked for half, he wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. He would still have to obediently hand over the money. After all, it was his ill-gotten gains!
However, he was not worried about Cheng Aofang asking for the money. He was only worried that Cheng Aofang would not dare to ask for it. If she dared to ask for it, it would be easy. If there was a chance, he could get this woman to do a few big things with him.
When he returned to Suppressing Ninth Hall, Miao Yi immediately barged into Yao Ruoxian's courtyard. When he saw Charcoal snoozing again, Miao Yi felt a little heartache. Now that the situation had stabilized, Yao Ruoxian couldn't stand Charcoal's pestering any longer and began to feed Charcoal Cores again.
Fortunately, Yao Ruoxian knew his financial resources were limited. Currently, he was only dealing with Charcoal and the fifteen smaller mantises. He could still afford to feed them three to four Second Grade Orbs a month.
As for the other seventy mantises the size of dogs, they were starting to see some results. They began to feed them large amounts of Gold Crystals, and there was already a ring of Amber Gold on their tails. According to Yao Ruoxian's estimation, they could produce a fist-sized piece of high-purity Crystal Gold without impurities in a year. They were already starting to make money.
When he found Yao Ruoxian, he told him about the Artifact Appraisal Conference. Miao Yi asked, "Old monster, you refine artifacts as well. Do you want to join in the fun?"
His thoughts were simple. He was unfamiliar with the people and the place, so it would be best if he could bring Yao Ruoxian along.
Unexpectedly, Yao Ruoxian didn't react at all. He said expressionlessly, "Not interested. Scram! Don't bother me! "
Miao Yi couldn't force him to do this. After all, outsiders couldn't figure out what was going on between Yao Ruoxian and the Exquisite Refinement Sect. Miao Yi could only give up on this idea. He went back and dawdled for another half a month before pretending to gather a million Orbs of Will. Then, he sent it to Aunt Qing and Aunt Yu at the Wood Traversing Palace.
Yang Qing didn't disappoint Miao Yi. He handled the affairs of the two Halls appropriately and reported the situation to Miao Yi on a regular basis. Yang Qing would remind Miao Yi of any problems that might arise, as well as any issues that he needed to pay attention to. Furthermore, he was more thoughtful than Miao Yi, so Miao Yi didn't have to worry about the affairs of the two Halls at all. Thus, he had a lot of time to cultivate in peace.
As for the affairs of the palace, Yan Xiu was in charge of the internal affairs, so Qian'Er and Xue'Er didn't have to worry too much. Miao Yi entered into a state of cultivation, and the two ladies stood guard at the entrance of his silent quarters, ready to receive his orders at any time. They accompanied Miao Yi into a state of cultivation as well.
As Miao Yi entered a state of cultivation, a few months passed by very quickly. Soon, he received news from the Wood Traversing Palace that Miao Yi was to await orders there.
After reading through the jade archive, Miao Yi knew that it was time to set off. Cheng Aofang had mentioned before that the Wood Traversing Palace and the Water Traversing Palace were both close to the Boundless Nation. The Overlord, Yue Tianbo, would be coming here after departing from the capital city. Thus, Miao Yi only needed to wait at the Wood Traversing Palace.
"Tell Yang Qing to come see me," said Miao Yi as he sat cross-legged on the bed. He had to inform Yang Qing before he left.
"Understood!" Xue'Er acknowledged the order and left.
Not long after, Xue'Er came back to inform him that Yang Qing had arrived. Only then did Miao Yi stop cultivating and walk out. As soon as he reached the main hall, Yang Qing greeted him with a bow, "Milord!"
"Sit down and we'll talk!" Miao Yi gestured for Yang Qing to sit, then walked over to the main seat. He tugged at the hem of his robe and sat down, saying, "I called you here to inform you that I will be going out for a while. If something happens, you won't be able to find me immediately. So, you should keep an eye on the affairs of the two Halls."
"Understood!" Yang Qing acknowledged. He then cupped his fists and asked, "How long will Milord take before you return?"
"The Boundless Nation is going to hold some sort of Treasure Appraisal Conference. The Palace Lord has ordered me to accompany them there. I don't know exactly how long it will take for me to return, but it's just a conference. I don't think it will take too long …" As he said this, Miao Yi suddenly froze. He noticed that Yang Qing seemed to be in a daze. He couldn't help asking, "Yang Qing, what's wrong?"
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