Chapter 186: Refusal Despite Desire

Ignoring Yang Shun, the two went to the back yard.
“Lin Dong, you’re really bad.”
Midway, Yun Lan suddenly said this.
Lin Dong was stunned, not quite understanding the meaning of her words.
“If you do this, it might intensify the struggle for the throne,” Yun Lan said calmly.
“Did you guess that Lord Wang is the emperor?” Lin Dong asked in surprise.
Yun Lan nodded. “I thought Yang Shun was just a spoiled little scoundrel. But… if he really knows almost everything as he claims, then only the emperor can control him.”
Lin Dong smiled helplessly. “It’s not that I’m bad—there’s no choice. If the inn wants to continue growing, we must find ways to protect ourselves. As for intensifying the throne struggle, I only know to act according to my capabilities. Whether that will plunge the people into disaster is beyond my understanding; it’s not my concern.”
“Actually, your abilities are already quite significant,” Yun Lan said with a smile. “At least, the most favored eunuch by the emperor is deeply grateful to you. Indirectly, this means you can influence the entire situation in the Great Han Kingdom.”
“Is that so?” Lin Dong touched his chin. Indeed… he had no idea he could influence such a large nation.
Watching Lin Dong so self-satisfied, Yun Lan was both amused and exasperated. She had intended to remind him not to focus too much on worldly gains, but he seemed truly intoxicated by them.
“By the way, since I’m so bad…” Lin Dong suddenly said, “it won’t affect our relationship, right?”
“What relationship?” Yun Lan asked back.
“Friendship…” Lin Dong replied sourly.
“I didn’t meet you today,” Yun Lan said lightly. “So far, I haven’t seen you do anything good.”
True enough!
Lin Dong nodded seriously. Back in Xilan City, he had beaten a thug right away, then fought Dou Changkun at Qiushui Academy, and stripped Fu Zizhou… He really hadn’t done anything good in front of Yun Lan.
After arriving in the back yard, Lin Dong looked at Yun Lan and said with a smile, “How about trying the spiritual array that can quadruple cultivation speed?”
“Mm!” Yun Lan nodded gently.
After setting Yun Lan’s room to quadruple cultivation benefits, Lin Dong naturally wouldn’t travel thousands of miles to Xilan City with the colorful bed. Instead, he went straight back to his room to cultivate. In the afternoon, he heard that Lord Wang and the others had left the inn.
Three days later, good news came to Lin Dong’s door.

Wang Liuzhi, who was in charge of wiping out the thugs in three counties, had returned. After giving a detailed account, Wang Liuzhi gulped down a mouthful of tea and said excitedly, “Boss, starting from today, you’re the emperor of Qiufeng Mansion’s territory.” Lin Dong shook his head. Since Emperor Ruoqianwei had never visited the inn, he hadn’t taken much notice of subduing the thugs in various cities. But now, he felt concerned. The underground emperor of the entire Great Han Kingdom was also a significant threat to the imperial court. The inn couldn’t rely on cultivation advantages to recruit people on a large scale; to have guards, it had to choose from these thugs. Fortunately, just like the inn, subduing a few thugs from a single county wasn’t a big deal for the Great Han Kingdom—only when it spread across the entire country would it draw attention. After thinking carefully for a while, Lin Dong said seriously, “Xiao Liu, you need to be more careful with this from now on. You guys… had better not reveal your identities.” “Why?” Wang Liuzhi widened his eyes. If they couldn’t reveal their identities, what’s the point of being thugs? “A tall tree attracts the wind!” Lin Dong said coldly. “If you stay hidden, even if someone wants to deal with you, they won’t be able to find you right away. If there are any signs, we can prepare in advance.” Wang Liuzhi nodded reluctantly. “By the way, didn’t we say last time there were six thugs worth developing?” Lin Dong asked. “How’s progress?” Wang Liuzhi smiled bitterly. “One of them, while being chased together with Liu Hao, saw Liu Hao get captured by a larger and more violent group, so he ran away. The other five have passed this trial, and with an even tougher one next time, we should be able to see who’s capable.” Lin Dong remained silent. On Zhang Daqian’s end, the beggars from the ten counties under Qiufeng Mansion had already been gathered, and they could basically collect information from various places. If messengers were used to transmit messages, the advantage wasn’t significant. The only thing lacking was a message relay station that could deliver all the information to the counties within a day after it was compiled. This message relay station was undoubtedly the branch stores in each county. Even if all five passed the final test, along with Wang Liuzhi and the others, there would still only be ten people. Leaving aside their abilities, the branch managers could be assembled, but there wouldn’t be enough people to test other candidates—still a serious shortage. After pondering for a long time, Lin Dong said helplessly, “Take a few days off first, then quickly test those five. After that, all of you go to the lower counties. First, select the candidates worth developing, then bring them all to Qiufeng City for centralized testing. Also, find time to buy land and build a new inn.” “Mm!” Wang Liuzhi nodded firmly.

“Enough, if there’s nothing to do, go out and enjoy yourself for a few days,” Lin Dong ordered. “Before leaving, each of you take ten thousand taels of silver from the counter. The backyard of the inn is just like that in Qiufeng City; it would be best to buy the house behind here in Xilan City and renovate it as well. As for the size of the inn, two floors are enough—larger is a waste.”
“Ten thousand taels?” Wang Liuzhi shook his head. “There’s no need for that much.”
“You still need silver to handle various matters. Bring more just in case. Also, recruit good workers to stay there so we can open the inn at any time.”
Wang Liuzhi nodded and left the room excitedly, leaving Lin Dong to worry alone.
At present, the inn had nothing lacking. He already had over four hundred thousand taels of silver in his pocket, and there were no official obstacles. If problems arose in the families of various counties, he could simply send a few disciples from Huo Yuan. What was lacking was manpower.
Unfortunately, this couldn’t be rushed. To determine whether someone was loyal, it took a lot of time to build a relationship, gradually test them through various situations, and then guide their loyalty toward the inn—a slow and laborious process.
With no other solutions in mind, Lin Dong had no choice but to give up. Thankfully, it was just a matter of a slower start. Once he had more loyal subordinates, more people could be selected at once.
Practicing cultivation, cooking his own meals three times a day, occasionally chatting with Yun Lan, or going out for a stroll—life was simple yet not boring. Seven days later, guessing that Emperor Qianwei and his entourage would soon arrive in Xilan City, Lin Dong made his way there in the middle of the night through the storage room.
Without alerting anyone, he climbed over the wall from the backyard and used his Mysterious Step to rush toward the county yamen.
Upon arriving at the county yamen, his dantian was still filled with abundant spiritual energy—clearly dozens of times stronger than when he last sneaked into it.
He slipped inside and made his way to the back courtyard. Without much hesitation, Lin Dong immediately identified the room on the left where a dim candlelight still burned.
He knocked on the door, and an old, deep voice came from inside instantly: “Who is it?”
“Just here for some tea!” Lin Dong said with a smile.
“Manager Lin?” After a gasp of surprise, the door was quickly opened, and Fu Chunjian stood there, looking delighted.
“Dean Fu, I’ve come to ask for your help,” Lin Dong said with a bow.
“Ask me for help?” Fu Chunjian was stunned for a moment before stepping aside slightly. “Come in and sit.”
Lin Dong nodded. It had been months since he last visited, but Fu Chunjian’s room remained simple, with nothing particularly interesting aside from two large bookshelves.

Sitting down by the desk and glancing at the pile of documents, Lin Dong shook his head in silence. He had been there twice, and Fu Chunjian was always busy with work deep into the night. Given Zhou Zhengye’s respect for Fu Chunjian, he must be even busier every day. These two officials had it harder than laborers.

Pouring a cup of tea for Lin Dong, Fu Chunjian sat down across from him and asked, “Shopkeeper Lin, what brings you to seek my help?”

“Well…,” Lin Dong scratched his head, organizing his thoughts before speaking, “I obtained a bed recently that can help people fall asleep quickly. The longer someone uses it, the better the effect. It’s been over a month since I last encountered such a customer.”

Fu Chunjian was utterly confused—what did this have to do with seeking his help?

“This customer…,” Lin Dong said meaningfully, “came to Qiufeng Mansion as a visitor. One of them is in Xilan City.”

Fu Chunjian stood up in shock, exclaiming, “Are you saying this customer is Emperor Qianwei?”

Lin Dong nodded. “I guessed it from the way he talked about old friends, which is why I came to ask President Fu for help. He originally planned to return to the capital, but after learning that the bed could be delivered to Xilan City, he decided to come back again.”

“Shopkeeper Lin…,” Fu Chunjian said with a wry smile, “how long do you want him to stay in Xilan City?”

“At least a month!” Lin Dong replied without hesitation.

“You’ve given me a tough problem…” Fu Chunjian frowned. “Ten or eight days might be manageable, but a month… Even if he wants to stay, it’s unlikely the capital will allow it.”

“That depends on President Fu’s tactics,” Lin Dong said meaningfully. “By playing hard to get, giving him hope of reconciling with President Fu while always keeping just out of reach, we can keep him hanging around. I believe a month shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“Playing hard to get?” Fu Chunjian was amused yet puzzled—this metaphor was a bit reckless.

“For this matter, Lin Dong relies entirely on President Fu,” Lin Dong said with a bow.

Fu Chunjian nodded helplessly. “To be honest, it’s not just him. As I get older, I too miss my old friends. One reason I refuse even to meet him is out of anger, but more importantly, I want him to remain guilty toward me.”

“President Fu wants him to make amends through Zhou, the county magistrate, right?” Lin Dong had considered the reasons behind Fu Chunjian’s actions, so he smiled and said, “The disciple of an old friend—Emperor Qianwei likely won’t dismiss him lightly.”

“At his age, coupled with his status, the word ‘guilt’ is certainly something he wouldn’t want to take into the imperial tomb. But it doesn’t matter. If it weren’t for being on the verge of exhaustion, he wouldn’t have remembered me, his old friend. Whether it’s guilt or being a friend’s disciple, his main duties won’t progress much in three to five years. Pushing too quickly will only make those duties a target for criticism.” Fu Chunjian’s gaze grew somewhat distracted. No matter what kind of person Emperor Qianwei was, after all, they had been master and servant for over a decade.