Chapter 57

Chapter 57

And so, Lu Yunqi set up camp at the Southwest Military Base. However, for some reason, Murong Jie didn't seem to have any immediate plans to attack the fortress—he just kept scouting the terrain instead.

Doesn't he already have a map of this area? Why does he keep scouting?

But whatever. Lu Yunqi didn't give a damn about fighting anyway; he just wanted to get his contact point set up here ASAP.

The system gave him a ton of leeway—he could build a contact point of about 3,000 square meters. So with a dramatic wave of his hand, he went ahead and bought the biggest commercial street at the foot of the hill.

Though this place was a total backwater—calling it a commercial street was a stretch; it was really just a slightly busier market.

Lu Yunqi had a ridiculously fancy five-story octagonal pavilion built in the center, covering over 500 square meters and decked out to the nines.

Nobody got why he'd build such a luxurious octagonal pavilion in this godforsaken backwater.

That is, until Murong Jie finally attacked the hill fortress and wiped out all the defenders in three days flat. Then, using some kind of huge contraption Lu Yunqi had never seen, he blew open the valley that had been sealed for over a hundred years—the road that choked off all four directions was suddenly wide open, like a natural moat had been breached.

Everyone was blown away. Turns out, without the hill, this place was actually a flat, open road—not some mountain range blocking the way.

And Lu Yunqi's octagonal pavilion sat right at the entrance of the hill pass—all traffic from every direction had to go straight through his building.

Opening this passage basically connected all the trade routes between Great Jin, the Hu tribes, Great Xia, and even Great Yan.

Seven days after the road opened, the first caravan rolled into Hill County.

Lu Yunqi brought out grain and cloth from the Wanping Wasteland, plus fresh veggies rushed in through the Anywhere Door, and the Western Region merchants were completely blown away.

The Hu merchants eagerly traded their jade and exotic gems with Lu Yunqi, and he was all for it. In just seven days, he'd closed deals worth over a hundred thousand taels of silver.

When Murong Jie finished up at the hill and came back to the octagonal pavilion, he found Lu Yunqi with his big belly, surrounded by chest after chest of flashy jewels.

Murong Jie walked over, pulled Lu Yunqi into his arms, and asked, "Hm? In just a few days, how did this place get so lively? And you made that much money?"

Lu Yunqi looked smug. "Doing business? Piece of cake!"

He pulled out a strand of smooth, pure white Hetian jade from the chest and draped it around Murong Jie's neck himself. "This one's for you. Hmm... 'A gentleman as fair as jade, peerless in this world!'"

Murong Jie wrapped an arm around his waist and asked, "Since when did you get so good at spouting poetry?"

Lu Yunqi said, "Just reciting poetry—if others can do it, so can I! I know more too: 'A gentleman only seen in paintings; here I alone know the way!' 'Standing tall like orchid and jade trees, smiling bright as moonlight filling one's heart!' 'Raising a cup with a disdainful glance at the blue sky, elegant as a jade tree swaying in the wind...'"

As a Chinese lit major, reciting poetry was second nature to him.

But Murong Jie found it pretty pleasing to the ear. "I don't buy it. You're clearly brilliant—no less than Fairy Liuyi—and now that it's all out in the open, why are you still pretending with me? Don't I deserve your trust?"

Lu Yunqi quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no—ah, fine, fine, fine, I confess: I'm Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi, Tao Yuanming! Oh, you're done? How's the cleanup on the battlefield going?"

Murong Jie replied, "Almost done. The King of the Hill killed himself, and I begged for his descendants' lives. The Emperor wanted them wiped out completely. Since I've chosen to spare them, I'll find a way to give them a chance to live. So, I swapped in a few corpses."

Lu Yunqi was a bit taken aback. "Was it done clean? You'd better not get caught."

Murong Jie said, "If I did it, it's spotless. You don't need to worry about me."

Lu Yunqi turned to face Murong Jie, cupping his cheeks. "Why do I feel like you've been in a better mood lately? Are you falling for me too?"

Murong Jie winced from the squeezing and hissed, "Cut it out..."

But Lu Yunqi's eyes stayed locked on him. "Something's off. You're really off. Hey, why are you blushing? Murong Jie, didn't you say you hated me the most? What are you hiding from? Hahaha, keep hiding!"

Murong Jie, flustered and annoyed, scooped Lu Yunqi up and flipped him onto the bed. He meant to press down on him, but remembering his belly, he quickly pulled back.

Still, he wanted to shut up that chattering little mouth, so he leaned in close and kissed him, lips lingering and moving against his.

Lu Yunqi tried to push him away but couldn't, so he just leaned back against the pillow, wrapped his arms around Murong Jie's neck, and kissed him long and deep.

When the kiss ended, Murong Jie said, "You owe me, so you're never allowed to leave me in this life. You have to stay by my side forever. Got it?"

Lu Yunqi grinned mischievously. "Because I owe you three lives? But there's one life in my belly now—three minus one, so that leaves two, right?"

Murong Jie didn't get his twisted logic and bit his lip hard. "You owe me more than you can ever repay in this lifetime! So you can only stay by my side. Understand?"

Lu Yunqi blinked slyly, agreeing out loud while thinking to himself, But what about that corpse the system prepared for me?

And if I stay by your side, will I even survive?

You killed me nine times. In this life... will you kill me again?

On the surface, though, Lu Yunqi smiled brightly. "Where else would I go if not by your side? You're my husband, the father of my baby. Let's live well as a family of three from now on, okay?"

A look of longing appeared on Murong Jie's face. He gave a low "mm" and pressed another kiss to Lu Yunqi's cheek.

But in his heart, he thought, If you dare leave me, no matter where you run—to the ends of the earth—I'll never let you go!

News of Murong Jie's big victory at the hill reached the capital, and the Emperor was over the moon. He proclaimed he'd reward Prince Cang and make him an iron-cap prince with hereditary succession.

This made the eldest prince restless. He paced anxiously around his residence and said to his strategist, "Master, I... what do I do? If Murong Jie really becomes an iron-cap prince, won't the next step be making him crown prince? Master, I already took out my two strongest rivals—why has the most useless one now become my biggest obstacle?"

The strategist waved his feather fan, his eyes turning cold. "Then we make sure... he never makes it back to the capital alive!"

The eldest prince's eyes lit up instantly. "Master, you mean..."

As he spoke, he made a chopping motion with his hand.

==========Author's Note:==========

Still running away with a pot lid over my head...