sinovels Chapter 236 - 181: Taking Stock of Assets
Chapter 236 - 181: Taking Stock of Assets
Zhao Liangde’s mansion was on Celestial Gate Mountain, in one of its prime locations. The next day, Fang Qingyuan brought Jinbao, followed by several Qi Cultivation Disciples, to the gates of the Zhao Mansion.
Now that Fang Qingyuan was a person of status, it was one thing to be alone when traveling outside, but on Celestial Gate Mountain, within the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect, it would be inappropriate for him to continue acting as a lone wolf.
Therefore, the Ministry of Affairs had assigned several Qi Cultivation Disciples to Fang Qingyuan to take care of his daily needs.
At first, Fang Qingyuan wasn’t used to having people following him. Wherever he went, these Qi Cultivation Disciples would follow. But after half a day of getting used to it, Fang Qingyuan calmly accepted the arrangement.
This was a rule of the Ministry of Affairs, and Fang Qingyuan had no intention of overturning it for now. He had to respect tradition to put the people of the Ministry of Affairs at ease.
Following behind Fang Qingyuan were two men and two women. The men were handsome, and the women were beautiful; their appearances were absolutely top-notch.
In Fang Qingyuan’s view, these four were like his personal executive assistants. It was a good thing Jinbao was sentient; otherwise, the Ministry of Affairs would have had to assign Fang Qingyuan a Cultivator specialized in driving Camel Beasts.
When they arrived at the gates of the Zhao Mansion, before they could even knock, people came out to greet them. Fang Qingyuan looked over and saw Hou Ruoyun leading a large group out to welcome him.
This gesture from Hou Ruoyun somewhat dispelled the impact of yesterday’s incident. After Hou Ruoyun had left the day before, the story of her causing a scene at the Ministry of Affairs had spread all over Celestial Gate Mountain, and who knew how many people were secretly laughing at Fang Qingyuan.
Now, with Fang Qingyuan choosing to pay a visit and Hou Ruoyun personally coming out to greet him, the message to the outside world was clear: there was no rift between them, and the previous rumors were all baseless.
Fang Qingyuan had the four people following him hand their gifts to the Zhao Mansion’s Steward, then said to Hou Ruoyun:
"I came in a hurry and didn’t have any impressive gifts to bring. During my travels, I happened to acquire a few bolts of fine Spiritual Silk and Brocade. I’ve brought them today, and I hope Sister-in-law will accept them."
Accepting the gifts, Hou Ruoyun was clearly more pleased. Although the bolts of Spiritual Silk and Brocade were valuable, she didn’t really care about them. What she cared about was Fang Qingyuan’s attitude—his attitude toward the Zhao Family.
"Junior Brother Qingyuan, please come in and sit. I happen to have many things I want to ask you. Now that you’re here, treat it as your own home. Please, don’t stand on ceremony."
Hearing Hou Ruoyun’s words, an impulse stirred within Fang Qingyuan. ’Since you put it that way, I won’t hold back. Senior Brother Liangde... my apologies.’
......
Half a day later, Fang Qingyuan led his entourage out of the Zhao Mansion. Hou Ruoyun’s face was slightly flushed, her emotions still in turmoil.
Just moments before, right in front of Hou Ruoyun, Fang Qingyuan had dragged several Cultivators out from the Zhao Mansion, restrained them with his techniques, and had them taken to the sect’s prison cells.
This ruthless and merciless move instantly silenced the previously chattering members of the Zhao Family. And though Hou Ruoyun didn’t look pleased, her actions showed she supported Fang Qingyuan’s decision.
Hou Ruoyun hadn’t returned to the Zhao Family for many years, so her words didn’t carry much weight there anymore. The authority in the Zhao Family had originally belonged to Zhao Liangde’s main branch, but not long after he fell into a coma, the other elders had jumped out to vie for power and profit.
Yesterday, when Hou Ruoyun had rushed to demand an explanation from Fang Qingyuan, she had been incited by these same people. And behind them, the shadows of Qu Jianyan and Ling Ziqing could be vaguely seen.
But this matter was not something to be dug into too deeply. Fang Qingyuan couldn’t just grab these people and march them over to confront Qu Jianyan and Ling Ziqing on the spot.
He just had to counter their moves as they came. This time, he used this pretext to seize the few who had jumped out. Firstly, this cleared some obstacles for Hou Ruoyun, smoothing her path to taking control of the Zhao Mansion.
Secondly, Fang Qingyuan wanted to see if Qu Jianyan and Ling Ziqing would step forward for these people. If they didn’t dare, then he would have cost them some face. If they did force the issue, he had other moves waiting for them.
For now, Fang Qingyuan had successfully coaxed Hou Ruoyun, Zhao Liangde’s primary wife, into temporarily taking his side.
He would provide Hou Ruoyun with all kinds of support, allowing her to borrow his power to contend with the old guard of the Zhao Mansion for control of the Zhao Family.
In return, Hou Ruoyun would provide him with moral backing, letting the broadest foundation of the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect—the Qi Cultivation Cultivators—know that his position as Chief of the Miscellaneous Affairs Peak was legitimate and morally unimpeachable.
Otherwise, without Hou Ruoyun’s support, Fang Qingyuan worried that members of the Zhao Family would periodically show up to wail and accuse him of being ungrateful, of failing to live up to the guidance Zhao Liangde had given him.
Of course, this honeymoon period with Hou Ruoyun would only last until Zhao Liangde woke up. At that point, if he didn’t give up his position, Hou Ruoyun would likely become his enemy.
But for now, it didn’t matter. ’Zhao Liangde shows no signs of waking. I’ll just take it one step at a time. After all, who can say for sure what the future holds?’
.....
After leaving the Zhao Mansion, Fang Qingyuan returned to the Ministry of Affairs. He currently had no residence on Celestial Gate Mountain, so he would probably be living in the Ministry of Affairs for a long time to come.
The Ministry of Affairs had wanted to clear out a mansion for Fang Qingyuan, but he refused. How could living outside be as safe as living in the Ministry of Affairs? ’Although,’ Fang Qingyuan thought, ’under Lechuan’s watch, it’s unlikely anyone would try to kill me just for taking the position of Chief of the Miscellaneous Affairs Peak.’