Chapter 175: Giving Gifts and Fishing

Xia Qingqing went in alone, and Li Xian and the female guards stared at each other. After waiting for about half an hour, Xia Qingqing finally walked out, her eyes red.

Upon seeing Li Xian, she grabbed his sleeve and started walking out without saying a word.

Li Xian found this a bit strange; this was clearly not Xia Qingqing’s usual behavior. It wasn’t until they had left the palace that Xia Qingqing finally revealed a shocking truth to Li Xian—the poisoner was someone from within the palace, not the First Prince, Second Prince, or even the Third Prince. The Third Prince was young, but it might have been someone around him, like… Hua Guifei!

The Emperor knew about this, the Empress knew about this, and Li Yulong and others knew about it too. In such a situation, the best approach was… not to investigate!

The Emperor, seeing that his time was up and that the Great Xia Kingdom was collapsing, finally chose to give up his identity as Emperor and become a tolerant father before his death.

Thus, the matter was buried.

In the carriage, Xia Qingqing lay in Li Xian’s arms, convulsing and silently crying. This was the sorrow of being born into royalty; almost every royal family member could not escape such a fate. Power, greed, and desire led one’s heart to corruption.

After returning home, Li Xian did not see Yang Zhong but did not pay much attention, thinking that Yang Zhong must be in seclusion or cultivating magic tools.

Before Li Xian could catch his breath, someone sent him a letter. The envelope clearly read: “Dear Brother Xian, from Shangguan Yong.”

“Damn it, ‘Dear Brother’ is becoming an exclusive title for me!” Li Xian laughed helplessly, opened the letter, and found it very simple. It basically said something like, “Long time no see, a bit nostalgic, hearing that Brother Xian has arrived, we brothers have prepared a banquet at ‘Yun Zhi Jian,’ let’s meet tomorrow night.”

“Brothers? Nostalgic about the past? I don’t miss it at all!” Li Xian chuckled, “Fine, tomorrow night I’ll go and see what kind of tricks you’re up to.”

The night passed quietly. The next morning, after breakfast, Li Yulong gave Li Xian a task: to visit the current Chancellor Kong Xiang and the current Grand Marshal Fu Minghui; additionally, “on the way,” visit the Wang family. Finally, don’t forget Li Xian’s two “good brothers” Zhang Quanjia, the Minister of Revenue Zhang Yuan, and Shangguan Yong’s family, General Shangguan Guang.

“Father, do we really need to visit the Wang family? Is this a mistake?”

“If I tell you to go, then go. Stop asking so many questions. Remember, take gifts, one spirit stone for each family.”

“What? Spirit stone? You want me to give these people spirit stones? No way!” Everything else was fine, but not spirit stones.

What is a spirit stone? It’s the key energy for cultivation! Many people, when their cultivation reaches a critical point, either rely on self-cultivation to break through the bottleneck or use spirit medicines; but as they say, “medicine is three parts poison,” using spirit medicines to break through also has some side effects. The best way is to use a spirit stone, which allows one to break through by utilizing the pure spiritual energy of the heavens and earth.

Therefore, the price of a spirit stone is about… 500,000 taels of gold! This price is inflated by powerful cultivators in the Golden Elixir stage and even the Nascent Soul stage. Unfortunately, gold can only be used for burial, while spirit stones are needed by everyone. Gold can be reused, but a spirit stone can only be used once.

In reality, even at 500,000 taels of gold, spirit stones are still more valuable than the market can handle.

Li Yulong angrily tapped Li Xian on the head, “What are you thinking in that head of yours? It’s just a spirit stone. You have a stable supply now, so you need to make the most of its effects.”

“The Great Xia Kingdom is collapsing soon, and a spirit stone can bring you countless benefits.

Aren’t you trying to build a business empire? You need to open up trade, right! How can you conduct trade in a chaotic Great Xia?”

“I know your goals are ambitious, and you’ve already expanded your business to the surrounding countries; but the Great Xia Kingdom is your foundation. If you travel by sea, that will always be the sea tribes’ domain. What if they turn hostile? Can your cannonballs even reach the seabed? Your big ship will be as fragile as a wooden box on the sea!

Moreover, compared to foreigners or the sea tribes, the people of Great Xia always have a bit of affection for each other; at least everyone is in the same boat. In the future, if you want to fight external enemies, will you be fighting alone, or will you join forces with others?”

“Harmony brings wealth, my child; don’t mind our various conflicts and even hatred, we are all in the same boat, and we all share common interests. This can’t be changed.”

“Go now, stop frowning, even if you’re forcing a smile, smile for me.”

Li Xian immediately “understood,” “I see, then send two spirit stones to each family.”

Li Yulong tapped Li Xian on the head again, “Do you know how to fish?”

“What does fishing have to do with this?”

“One spirit stone is enough; this is the bait. You can’t feed the fish too much, or they won’t bite. One spirit stone has its significance. First, it shows that we have spirit stones; second, it shows that we are willing to communicate; third, it shows strength. If they want spirit stones, they must cooperate with us.

Two spirit stones, however, are more like an apology.

This gift… it has to be calculated carefully. It’s enough if it’s suitable; giving too much could backfire.”

Li Xian was stunned, “Giving gifts is this complicated? No, this isn’t called giving gifts, this is called fishing.”

“Enough, go on. The order cannot be changed. It must be Kong Xiang, Fu Minghui, Wang Chuan, Zhang Yuan, and Shangguan Guang.”

After being scolded, Li Xian quickly took a few guards, including Song Xing, and started working on their connections. First, they went to Kong Xiang’s house, where Li Xian met Kong Yingzhi. The two of them exchanged fake smiles and spoke disjointed, irrelevant words. In the end, Kong Xiang smiled after seeing the gift and sent Li Xian off.

Next, Li Xian went to Fu Minghui’s place. Fu Minghui was no longer the Emperor’s Chief of Guards or the Minister of Justice, but now held the prestigious title of Grand Marshal, a first-rank official. Although this title didn’t hold much practical power, his status still commanded respect.

When Li Xian saw Fu Minghui, the first thing Fu Minghui said was, “Li Xian, I heard you ransomed all the captives from the State of Cai. When will you release them?”

Li Xian sighed, “Sir, a month ago, there was a rebellion in Zhongshan County. These fine young men charged to the front and died in battle. They were truly brave.”

Fu Minghui was taken aback, unable to speak for a moment. He pointed at Li Xian but couldn’t get a word out. In the end, he coldly signaled his guards to escort him out. However, as Li Xian left the gates, a few guards did thank him.

Li Xian then “conveniently” went to the Wang family. From Fu Minghui’s place to the Wang family, it was a two-li distance, full of twists and turns, quite the “convenient” route.

Wang Chuan, the head of the Wang family, father of the Empress, and Minister of Rites, personally received Li Xian, with his son Wang Ping accompanying him.

Li Xian presented the gift: “Uncle Wang, I came today to apologize for my past rashness.”

Before Wang Chuan could speak, Wang Ping shot Li Xian a furious look. “Was your behavior really rash back then?!”

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