The Rise of a Family: Starting from Daily Intelligence - Chapter 382 (Patreon)

Chapter 382: Storm in the Prince’s Residence, Secrets, and Opening New Lands

Jingzhou.

With the news of the Fu clan’s promotion to a seventh-rank clan spreading far and wide, the mulberry estate that Liu Meizhen managed outside the city saw visitors every day. When the banquet hall finally emptied, only Liu Meizhen remained seated at the main seat.

She wore a deep-crimson, luxurious gown. Her features were dignified and elegant, brows like painted strokes—yet a touch of fatigue showed between them.

After sending off the last guest, Cuizhi gently pushed open the hall doors. Dressed in light green, bright-eyed and quick, she tiptoed behind Liu Meizhen and set both hands upon her temples, kneading lightly.

“Mother, you’ve worked hard. You’ve been running around for this banquet these past few days without even a moment’s rest. Now that it’s over, you should really take a good break.”

Liu Meizhen shook her head.

With the Fu clan promoted to seventh rank, they would henceforth be eligible to administer a prefecture. For the Fu clan, this was the true beginning.

“Cuizhi, bring me the gift list from the guests.”

“Yes.”

Cuizhi took a list from her sleeve and handed it over.

Liu Meizhen scanned it—then her brows knit.

“Cuizhi, no one from the Prince’s Residence came?”

“I heard the Seventh Commandery Prince is away, the princess consort is bedridden, and Ningning is pregnant. Perhaps there’s no one to manage affairs, or they’re short-handed. Being a day or two late isn’t unheard of.”

Liu Meizhen didn’t buy it.

Before this, she had deliberately leaked their promotion to a seventh-rank clan to fan the flames—there was no way the Prince’s Residence didn’t know. Even if Ningning was with child and inconvenient to move, had the son-in-law become pregnant as well?

Besides, her eldest son also served in the Prince’s Residence.

Her instincts told her something was off.

Just as she was about to tell Cuizhi to investigate, the Shadow Gate Mask stirred. She cut herself off at once. Cuizhi, seeing this, withdrew with quick wits. Liu Meizhen turned and returned to the secret room. After sealing the formation, she sent a hand seal into the Shadow Gate Mask.

Hum!

Fu Changsheng’s voice sounded. “Meizhen, it seems Ningning has run into some trouble in the Prince’s Residence. Please find out what’s going on. If Ningning has truly been wronged there, bring her straight back.”

The voice faded.

Liu Meizhen frowned slightly, sitting silently in the secret room as if recalling something.

After a while, she murmured, “Could it be ahead of schedule…”

When she finished, her expression hardened. She swiftly put on a Cloak of Invisibility, left the mulberry estate, and, reaching a deserted stretch, mounted the Two-Headed Green-Eyed Python and sped east.

Liu Meizhen was an alchemist by trade; the python had been well-fed. Since Fu Changsheng had given it to her, it had advanced from quasi–third tier to late third tier. She herself had broken through to mid-stage Purple Mansion. On the left head of the Two-Headed Green-Eyed Python, small bulges had formed by the jaws—faint signs of a potential flood-dragon transformation.

The python flew with great speed. In less than an hour it reached a nondescript rocky hill several hundred li from the estate.

Sweeping her spiritual sense around and finding no one nearby, Liu Meizhen took out an ancient token. With a hand seal, light flared from the token and sank into the hill ahead.

Hum!

The air shivered, and a gap opened.

Her figure flickered—and vanished.

Several hours later, Liu Meizhen slipped back out of the gap. By the time she returned to the mulberry estate, daylight had broken.

“Cuizhi, go to the Prince’s Residence and deliver this casket to Ningning yourself. Also, take this letter to Fange’er. The road is long—ride the Two-Headed Green-Eyed Python.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Seeing Liu Meizhen’s grave look, Cuizhi knew the casket must contain something far from ordinary, and that some incident had likely befallen the Prince’s Residence. She nodded quickly.

Cuizhi had already opened her Niwan Palace and connected her upper and lower dantians; she was readying to break through to the Purple Mansion, so her cultivation wasn’t low. With a late third-tier Two-Headed Green-Eyed Python escorting, even if someone harbored ill intent, most would think twice.

The Prince’s Residence lay a thousand li from the mulberry estate. Even for the python, it took several days.

Standing before the residence gates, Cuizhi looked up at the towering compound. A faint unease stirred in her heart. The solemn majesty here was a world apart from the estate’s quiet calm—there was even a hint of oppression.

She stepped forward to announce herself, but the gate guards stopped her. One guard looked her up and down with a cold eye, his tone unfriendly. “Who are you?”

Cuizhi frowned but kept her courtesy. “I am Cuizhi, daughter of the seventh-rank Fu clan’s matriarch. My mother learned Sister Ningning is pregnant and sent me to deliver Nurturing Essence Pills and other items for the child.”

Though a seventh-rank clan couldn’t compare to a Prince’s Residence, it was far from a nobody.

Yet when the guards learned who she was, they grew even more wary. A guard said coolly, “The seventh young madam is unwell and sees no one. Your things—I can have the housekeeper-mammy take them in.”

Cuizhi’s name was already in the Fu genealogy. In a sense, she was Ningning’s legitimate younger sister—Ningning too was recorded under Liu Meizhen’s name. Cuizhi tightened her grip on the casket and, raising her voice as people passed, said, “Since my elder sister is unwell, as her younger sister I must pay my respects in person. I’ve come a thousand li from the Yunshan Commandery, yet I can’t even step over the threshold? Is this the Prince’s Residence’s rule?!”

At that, the passers-by—already keen on gossip—slowed down to watch.

Matters of great houses, especially those beyond their usual reach, stirred boundless curiosity. Tongues wagged at once.

“I heard the Seventh Young Master just took a new concubine yesterday. Look—turns out the seventh young madam immediately called for her natal kin. Tsk, just as the rumors say—jealous to the bone.”

“Isn’t that so.”

“They say the seventh young madam has a terrible temper.”

“After her second year of marriage, she relied on the favor the Prince had for the two sons born to her branch, and made scenes day after day, throwing the whole residence into disorder. They say the princess consort nearly suffered qi deviation during practice out of sheer anger.”

“Tsk tsk. Now that her clan’s just been promoted to seventh rank, she can’t wait to bring them over. Who knows what tricks she’ll pull next.”

“If you ask me, the princess consort is too mild. The Seventh Young Master is only a concubine-born son—what standing does the seventh young madam have to make a fuss? In an ordinary household she’d have been sent packing with a divorce letter.”

“…”

Cuizhi had meant to leverage the crowd to force the residence to open its gates—but she had not expected this.

Still, something felt wrong. No matter how mild the princess consort was, she would never allow a concubine-born daughter-in-law to run rampant over her head.

Cuizhi drew a breath and took a step back. “My eldest brother, Fu Yongfan, serves here. Please announce him. I—”

Before she could finish, the guard cut in coldly. “Lord Fu is away on business and not in residence.”

Her elder brother wasn’t here either.

Cuizhi’s heart sank. Her instincts screamed that something had happened inside the residence.

But the residence’s defensive formation was such that even a Golden Core cultivator would struggle to break it. Forcing her way in was impossible. Cuizhi turned away; she would have to find another way.

…

Fuyong Courtyard.

A maidservant came hurrying from the outer gate. After a quick whisper with the head mammy at the courtyard entrance, the mammy’s eyes went cold.

“You wait here.”

She swept into the main chamber like a gust of wind. Lifting the curtain, her steps softened. On the beauty couch, the princess consort reclined, eyes closed as if dozing.

“Madam, someone from the Fu clan is here—the seventh young madam’s younger sister, Cuizhi. Like the seventh young madam, she’s registered under the Fu matriarch’s name, though Cuizhi is an adopted daughter. As per your orders, the guards did not let her in.”

The princess consort slowly opened her eyes. A flash of severity glinted deep within them.

Seeing this, the mammy hurried forward to help her sit up, worry creasing her brows. “Madam, the Fu clan suddenly sending someone—if they sniff out anything amiss, I fear… Should we hasten the plan? The Commandery Prince went to the Eastern Wilds; he could return at any time.”

…

Leaving the gates, Cuizhi had intended to head to nearby Qi Wang City to snoop for news. But after only a few steps, she sensed someone tailing her. Having lived under Liu Meizhen’s tutelage for years, her counter-surveillance instincts were sharp.

She snorted, swept the Cloak of Invisibility over her shoulders, and bolted the opposite way from Qi Wang City.

After a cup of tea, sensing the tail had been shaken, she hid in a remote spot. She set a concealed array, looked down at the letter and casket in her hands, and wavered.

As things stood, the Prince’s Residence would likely never let her in. And since they had already set eyes on her, prying out news would be hard. If she lost what her mother had entrusted to her, it would be worse.

“Seems I can only return to the mulberry estate!”

Since she was powerless here, the best course was to hurry back and report everything to her mother.

Decision made, Cuizhi took down the array, mounted the Two-Headed Green-Eyed Python, and raced home without pause.

Fortunately, no one blocked her along the way.

By the time she returned to the mulberry estate, it was midnight. The matter was urgent; she dared not delay and went in to see Liu Meizhen at once.

“Mother, there’s something fishy in the Prince’s Residence!”

Liu Meizhen’s expression was calm. “Tell me everything you saw, one detail at a time. Don’t skip anything.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Cuizhi had already organized her thoughts on the way back and quickly recounted all of it. When she finished, she said, “Mother, at this rate, I fear only if you go yourself will there be any chance to see Sister Ningning.”

“I won’t see her even if I go.”

Liu Meizhen tapped the table with her index finger in a steady rhythm.

Cuizhi grew anxious. “Mother, in that case, should we inform Father about Sister Ningning?”

Fu Changsheng had many children, but only three daughters; aside from Cuizhi, the adopted one, each was a pearl in his palm. If he learned that Ningning’s situation in the Prince’s Residence was wrong, he might step onto a Teleportation Array at once and force his way in overnight.

Liu Meizhen shook her head. “The Eastern Wilds are in turmoil. Your father cannot leave lightly. I have my own arrangements.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Cuizhi, I’ll be leaving Jingzhou for a time. You’ll manage the mulberry estate.”

…

Not a full ten days later, Yao Yao, Fu Yongyi, and Fu Changlei transmitted from Jingzhou Prefecture to Jingzhou City. Stepping out of the transmission hall, a tide of spiritual energy washed over them.

“This spiritual energy…”

Yao Yao was surprised. It was richer even than the spiritual vein in their fief at Yunshan Commandery.

Looking closer, they saw broad, clean streets lined with shops. Compared to the storefronts in Huainan Prefecture’s Wanning Market, the buildings here were more ancient in style and more grandly crafted—upturned eaves, carved beams, and painted rafters everywhere.

In the distance, the City Lord’s Manor rose to the clouds at the city’s center, its tower-top flickering with faint light, as if declaring the city’s power and majesty to all.

The streets bustled with people, the flow immense. From time to time, a hurried Purple Mansion cultivator flashed by, and occasionally an aura stronger than Purple Mansion could be felt.

“No wonder it’s Jingzhou City!” Yao Yao smacked her tongue inwardly. Compared to the desolation of the Eastern Wilds, this place was another world.

They moved along the street, hawkers’ cries, cultivators’ chatter, and distant drums mingling in their ears.

They had only gone a few steps when a familiar voice called, “Yongyi, Uncle Changlei, Yao Yao!”

It was Fu Yongshang, who had received Fu Changsheng’s message and was already waiting. He wore a blue robe and a fine jade belt, steady and capable between the brows. Though only at Foundation Establishment perfection, among the Fu clan’s “Yong” generation he already stood on his own.

Fu Yongshang greeted the three with a respectful salute. His tone held kinship—and a cautious note besides. After all, the three were now Purple Mansion.

“Was the journey smooth?” he asked with a smile.

Yao Yao nodded. “Very. The Teleportation Array brought us straight to Jingzhou City and saved a lot of time. Yongshang, Jingzhou truly is grand.”

Fu Yongyi added, “Yes—and the spiritual energy is far richer than in our realm back home.”

Fu Yongshang smiled slightly. “Jingzhou City is the heart of Jingzhou Prefecture; of course the qi is dense. Come, I’ll take you to our shop first, and then we’ll discuss the rest.”

He led them onward. Shops lined both sides—spirit herbs, artifacts, and talismans of every kind—lively and prosperous.

After a quarter-hour, Fu Yongshang stopped before an imposing three-story building with upturned eaves and carved beams. The plaque read “Fu Trading House,” the brushwork bold and forceful.

“This is our Fu clan’s shop in Jingzhou City,” Fu Yongshang said, a note of pride in his voice.

Yao Yao looked up. The doorway bustled with customers; business was brisk. Inside, rows of spirit herbs, artifacts, and talismans dazzled the eye.

Fu Yongshang brought them to the second floor, a suite of elegant private rooms for honored guests. He seated them and ordered spirit tea and pastries.

Having been apart from her mother for years, Yao Yao, once seated, couldn’t help herself. “Yongshang, I want to go to the mulberry estate outside the city first.”

Fu Yongshang shook his head apologetically. “The matriarch is away on business and not at the estate.”

“Did she say what or when she’ll return?”

“She didn’t.”

Yao Yao’s shoulders drooped a little.

Fu Yongshang went on, “But before leaving, the matriarch messaged me. The patriarch has decided to choose a fief in newly opened Wu Province. Of its new commanderies, three are yet ungranted: Liuzhou, Guilin, and Huizhou. The matriarch left word for the three of you to scout Huizhou first. If it’s suitable, you can request an imperial decree for the grant.”

He flicked his sleeve, and a scroll unfurled—part of Wu Province’s terrain map.

“Wu Province used to be sect territory. After the Imperial Court took it, they sealed all information tightly. This terrain map is rough, but it cost me dearly to obtain.”

Fu Changlei’s brows knit. The subtext was clear: the fief would be entrusted to the three of them. Responsibility loomed—he had never taken on something so large.

Fu Yongyi, however, was itching to go. “I hear the extreme west is rich in resources, with many kinds of ore. In that case, Uncle Changlei, Yao Yao—sooner is better than later. Let’s set out.”

If he could discover one or two mines for the clan, then the Purple Mansion materials for Yulian and the others would have a source. His eldest son was already late Foundation Establishment; as a father, he needed to start preparing.

The thought made him all the more eager.

Yao Yao shook her head. “Once the grant is made, we’ll have to set a Mountain-Guarding Array over the fief. I suggest we buy the array here in Jingzhou City first. Otherwise, going back and forth will be a pain.”

From the map, Wu Province was even farther from Jingzhou than their home realm had been.

Fu Yongshang smiled. “No need to worry about that. Wu Province is new, but it already has Teleportation Arrays linking it to Jingzhou. Travel just costs spirit stones. You three go on ahead—leave the array procurement to me.”

Fu Yongshang was a born merchant who had worked the city for decades—he was the right person to handle purchases.

“Very well, we’ll do as you say,” Yao Yao replied, not insisting.

Fu Changlei thought a moment, then drew a list from his sleeve and handed it over. “Yongshang, see whether our shops have these materials.”

A glance showed the list was all talisman-making supplies.

Fu Yongshang thumped his chest. “Rest assured, Uncle Changlei. Even if we don’t have them, I’ll find them. Rest for a bit—I’ll be back within half a day.”

He stood, then remembered to ask if Fu Yongyi and Yao Yao needed anything. Both shook their heads.

When he left, the three sat to meditate.

Sure enough, in less than half a day, Fu Yongshang hurried back upstairs and passed Fu Changlei a storage pouch. “Uncle Changlei, please check if anything’s missing.”

Fu Changlei swept it with his spiritual sense. Materials for the Sky-Shaking Hammers, the Heaven-Binding Talisman, and the later Thunder-Guiding Talisman taught by Fu Changsheng—every item was there. He marveled at Fu Yongshang’s ability to get things done, and at Jingzhou’s abundance; in Huainan Prefecture, even after combing the markets, he had barely scraped together a few common items.

If Jingzhou was like this, the prosperity of the Great Zhou capital defied imagination.

He tapped the pouch; light flashed and a casket drifted over to Fu Yongshang. “These are my third-tier superior talismans. See if they cover the costs on my list.”

In the Fu clan, accounts were always kept to the last stone—public and private strictly separate. That was how the Elders’ Council had set it later, which was why Fu Changsheng maintained a private treasury; even when the clan lacked something, withdrawals from it were clearly recorded.

Fu Yongshang opened the casket and scanned it with spiritual sense, clicking his tongue in admiration. “Your talisman craft is superb, Uncle Changlei. All of these are top quality. We’ll get more than enough spirit stones for them. I’ll credit the surplus to your name.”

After some cordial words, the four ate at Yunxiang House.

At first light the next day, Fu Yongshang personally escorted them to the transmission compound.

There were nearly a hundred halls in the compound, each leading to a different place, each with a Purple Mansion overseer. The newest had “Wu Province” hung above its doorway.

Seeing this, a spark of ambition lit in Yao Yao’s heart. If their clan could one day build Teleportation Arrays at every stronghold, how ideal would that be?

But as for the arrays’ construction, the court revealed nothing—its confidentiality was stricter even than Purple Mansion resources. Yao Yao silently swore that when the clan grew rich, she would get her father’s leave to dismantle one for research. If she could analyze the structure, they could build their own. Yet the thought struck her as odd—why had no other seventh-rank or higher clan tried?

“Could it be there’s some hidden mechanism that prevents theft?”

Entering the hall, she studied the array more closely. Her brows creased. “So that’s it!”

Even in the court’s own arrays, runes were woven such that if the array were dismantled, it would spontaneously incinerate—clearly to keep clans from copying them.

“Truly…”

The court was plainly using such measures to control the great clans.

Fu Yongshang saluted the master overseeing the array. “Master You, these three clansmen of mine are heading to Wu Province. Please see to it.”

The Fu clan’s promotion to seventh rank had been spread by Liu Meizhen until all Jingzhou knew it. Thus Master You—usually taciturn—was slightly more courteous.

“To activate the Wu Province array, five travelers are needed,” he said. “Of course, if you’re willing to pay for the other two, that’s another matter. Also, transmission to Wu Province is ten thousand lower-grade spirit stones per person.”

Fu Yongshang blinked. That hadn’t been the rule before—and the price was clearly higher. Three people meant thirty thousand stones—not small change for most.

Seeing his surprise, Master You explained, “A new directive from above—effective as of yesterday.”

It was the sort of thing one could confirm with a single inquiry; there was no fooling anyone.

Fu Yongshang’s heart immediately wavered. An extra twenty thousand stones—that was a good month or two of profit for all the shop hands.

He bowed. “Master You, we’ll hold off for the moment and discuss it.”

“Hm.”

Master You inwardly cursed cheapskates. For a mere twenty thousand extra, they had to pinch pennies—when the three were all Purple Mansion. As expected of a clan from the backwaters: even after promotion, they reeked of poverty. He kept none of this on his face, closing his eyes to meditate.

Outside the Wu Province hall, Fu Yongshang sent a voice transmission. “Uncle Changlei, I hear the Lei clan intends to head for Wu Province soon as well. Shall I contact them?”

A Lei daughter had married into the Seventh Commandery Prince’s household; the seventh young master—Ningning’s husband—was her son. The Lei and Fu clans were in-laws of a sort.

Fu Changlei shook his head at once. “Before we came, the patriarch said the Lei clan had also been promoted to a seventh-rank clan, but their fief is undecided. With only three commanderies left in Wu Province, there’s no need to save a mere twenty thousand.”

If they delayed and someone else snatched the matriarch’s favored Huizhou, they would regret it. Once chosen, a commandery would become the Fu clan’s development focus for the next century—no small matter.

Yao Yao and Fu Yongyi both nodded.

Fu Yongshang could only relent. “Very well. Then wait here—I’ll bring two clever shop hands to go with you. Once you arrive in Wu Province, they can run errands.”

As a merchant, Fu Yongshang’s creed was never to waste a coin.

When he left, Yao Yao covered her smile. “No wonder Father trusts Yongshang so much.”

He had handled great sums for years and still kept his original prudence—a rare thing. His years in the marketplace, however, had made it hard to settle his heart for cultivation. Still, with a century of lifespan ahead, there was time.

Lightfoot Technique carried Fu Yongshang swiftly back to the shop. Leaving the elderly clerks to mind the counter, he gathered the younger ones in the rear courtyard. A hand seal lit the warding array; once the light-curtain rose, he said, “Each of you was raised under my eye. You’ve been with me these many years, and I haven’t found you better prospects. Now a great opportunity stands before you. Who among you is willing to go to Wu Province?”

These clerks all hailed from the Fu clan’s Moonwatch Lake Academy, Commerce Hall. Hearing the first half, they were excited. But when he mentioned going to Wu Province, they exchanged looks—and lowered their heads in unison.

Newly established, Wu Province was nowhere near as safe as Jingzhou. Here, the border wards kept Golden Core experts from the extreme west from crossing; aside from small skirmishes, order prevailed. In Wu Province, they would be exposed beneath the sects’ very noses.

The clan had just been promoted to seventh rank. Business was booming. They saw no need to risk their lives in Wu Province.

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