Chapter 326: 249: Great Family, Great Business, Expenses Exceeding Income

Chapter 326: Chapter 249: Great Family, Great Business, Expenses Exceeding Income

Temples adorned with gold, a lotus tent warm enough to winter through the spring nights.

Spring nights are short and the day rises high; henceforth the emperor rises late for morning court

…

From the day of his marriage, three months had swiftly passed.

In the early morning, a thin mist began to form,

Xinglong City gradually awakened from its silence—the city gates opened and the streets began to fill with people, soon bustling with traffic.

...

At that moment, a short, chubby, middle-aged man with dark complexion emerged from the second floor of the Bright Tower in the center of Xinglong City.

He cast out a flying sword and, controlling it, soared out as a sword rainbow, speeding toward the south of the city.

Before long, the sword rainbow circled halfway and swiftly descended in front of a large, deep residence.

“Elder, may you always be safe.”

Next to the great gate of the residence, a sharp and capable young man immediately rushed forward upon seeing Zhao Degang’s arrival, and bowed respectfully.

“Xiao Liu, go inside and report that I need to see your family head on an urgent matter,” Zhao Degang said with a solemn face, waving his hand as he instructed.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuliu’s face showed difficulty, and pointing at the sun rising in the east, he faltered, “Elder, please forgive me. As you see, it is still early. If I disturb the lord at this hour, I fear… Maybe it would be better if you could wait at Xilan Hall for a short while.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Degang suddenly realized, and came to his senses, “Ah, I’ve been so busy I nearly forgot the rules set by the lady. Very well, I shall go to Xilan Hall to enjoy some tea and rest a while.”

“Thank you for your consideration, elder. Please come inside,”

said Zhao Wuliu, earnestly leading Zhao Degang into the mansion.

Zhao Sheng had been married to Dong Miaozhen for three months, following the principle that the man presides over external affairs and the woman over internal affairs.

The day after the wedding, Zhao Sheng entrusted all finances and personnel matters to his wife.

Dong Miaozhen was the daughter of the Wangu Family after all, with immeasurable dowry value beyond the servants and maids that came with her, numbering over a thousand.

On the Zhao’s side, the number of attendants provided to Zhao Sheng was also at least a thousand people.

With the assistance of these more than two thousand people, the vast industry of Zhao Mansion rapidly found support; rules within the mansion were quickly established.

Within a few months, Dong Miaozhen not only managed Zhao Mansion in an orderly fashion, but she also earned the sincere respect and awe from everyone in the mansion.

Interestingly, although there were many rules in Zhao Mansion, one “unwritten rule” was more important than all others: “Do not disturb the lord when he is sound asleep!”

The genuine meaning of this phrase is understood by those experienced, and needs no further explanation here.

The sun was three poles high,

and in Xilan Hall, Zhao Degang leisurely enjoyed his tea.

At that moment, a listless Zhao Sheng entered from the outside, casually asking as he walked in, “Lord Gang, what matter requires such urgent attention from me?”

“Qingyang, the Clan Elder Council just reported a major piece of intelligence. I felt it was crucial to inform you immediately, so I came straight here after the meeting,” Zhao Degang said with a chuckle.

As Zhao Sheng sat down at the head seat, his expression suddenly turned serious, “What is so urgent? Don’t you know that the most important thing for me right now is to have a son?”

“Having a son is not a matter that can’t be delayed for a few days. I trust the lady will not blame me.” Zhao Degang said with a sheepish smile.

Zhao Sheng blurted out, “You don’t understand… Ah, why am I discussing this with you? Get to the main point,” he hurriedly returned to the matter at hand.

Seeing this, Zhao Degang secretly chuckled twice, then resumed a serious expression and spoke gravely yet excitedly, “You guessed right. The family has received confirmed intelligence that a large Mystic Iron Ore indeed exists within the Ren Family’s territory.”

Zhao Sheng laughed, “Haha! A lot of Nine Returns Iron has recently appeared from the Ren Family. I suspected something shady was going on. Now it appears the Ren Family indeed wants to make a fortune in silence. Too bad, such a treasure is too big to keep a secret or to protect by the Ren Family alone.”

Nine Returns Iron, being a top-grade type of Iron Essence, is very rare and only a large Mystic Iron Ore can produce it in small quantities.

The Ren Family mentioned by both men is a recently emerging Foundation Establishment Family near Xinglong Origin.

Just as the Zhao Family had developed Lush Peach Mountain 800 years ago, the Ren Family had also successfully taken over a Gold Line Spirit Vein during the territorial wars 300 years ago, thereby establishing a solid foundation for their family.

After finishing his speech, Zhao Sheng queried further, “What does the Clan Elder Council think? To monopolize it, or to share a few profits among them?”

Zhao Degang’s expression turned stern as he coldly responded, “The Family Head decided we should take over the Ren Family. The large Mystic Iron Ore must be monopolized, leaving the scraps for others.”

Having said this, he didn’t wait for Zhao Sheng to ask further questions and immediately informed him of the entire plan.

It turned out that the Zhao family planned to remain in the shadows, only allowing the Gong Family and Three Mountains Dao, two affiliated forces through marital alliances, to overtly attack the Ren Family.

“Have you found a suitable ‘victim’ yet?” Zhao Sheng asked.

“Just found one. Two hundred years ago, the Ren Family exterminated a small Zhou family. The descendants of this family are now in our hands.”

“Which lineage did you choose?”

“One from the Ren Character Pulse, Generation Yun. They will be relocated to the Ren Family’s territory along with two thousand of their earthly kin. Officially, they will have no relations with us.”

Zhao Sheng was not surprised by his family’s cunning strategies.

A family that wants to continuously grow and expand obviously needs more people and more land.

However, in the Central Continent Cultivation World, every force must abide by the “rules” and cannot act recklessly.

Thus, sometimes wearing several cloaks is important, and even more crucial is the idea of “having a proper justification.”

“Since the Clan Elder Council has already arranged everything, why were you in such a rush to come here?” Zhao Sheng tapped on the armrest, his face showing puzzlement.

Zhao Degang immediately began to loudly lament, “Oh, Mr. Thirteen! You yourself are rich as can be, so of course, you don’t care. But don’t forget, this branch has so many clanspeople to support. Everyone’s purse is empty, and they’re as poor as church mice!”