Zhu Lihe continued: “Lubo City was not designated as the capital of New Xia only because of some… geopolitical reasons. Our Queen recognized the opportunity for growth and thus established the capital in Wuser. But this doesn’t mean the royal court will abandon Lubo City. After all, it’s the ancestral land of An Xia. For this reason alone, the royal court will focus on developing Lubo City.”
The other young men were half-believing, but Feng Miaojun raised her eyebrows, finding it quite interesting: this young man had guessed her plans.
Previously, she had refused to return to Lubo City because it was surrounded by powerful families at that time—going there would have been like walking into a trap, unable to leave the capital. Now things had changed; New Xia’s powerful families were about to be subdued, and military power returning to the royal court. The threats from the northwest had suddenly disappeared, and Lubo City’s importance was once again prominent. Even if it was no longer the capital, its advantage as a northwestern stronghold remained unchanged. Feng Miaojun intended to develop it into a secondary capital.
Zhu Lihe was right—it was the ancestral land of An Xia, a two-hundred-year-old ancient capital. Judging from General Hong’s dissatisfaction with her lingering in Wuser City, nostalgic An Xia people had deep feelings for their former capital.
It was a pure land in the hearts of all An Xia people, a bright moon in their memories. Feng Miaojun certainly planned to develop Lubo City well, which was also a way to compensate for those sentiments.
But she hadn’t mentioned this idea to anyone yet, and unexpectedly, the son of a border general had keenly perceived the changing political winds.
This was also a talent worth cultivating.
“Let’s talk about the trade routes in the southwest,” Zhu Lihe changed direction. “We’ve signed an agreement with the Wei Kingdom. Although we can’t directly trade with them, Puling Kingdom has opened several markets, so Wei’s goods will be transported from there. No matter where they’re shipped to, Lingxiu City is the first stop. Don’t you think there’s profit to be made?”
Feng Miaojun was listening attentively when a figure passed in front of her elegant booth—coincidentally another handsome young man. It seemed the second floor was fully seated, as the attendant greeted him apologetically: “Sir, perhaps you’d like to go to the tea house next door for some tea and enjoy some music?”
Xianmanlou had set up a tea house specifically for waiting customers, offering storytelling, music, and performances to keep them entertained.
The young man was about to agree when a pleasant female voice came from the private booth: “If Fellow Daoist Xu doesn’t mind, why not join me for a chat?”
He turned his head. This was indeed a fine booth with an excellent view—the occupant must have arrived very early or was of high status.
Having his surname revealed so directly, he didn’t hesitate much and responded with a “Sure” before walking in.
Downstairs, Yu Linlang glanced up in this direction once more.
The young man had just lifted the pearl curtain and entered when he was stunned.
Suddenly encountering such a beauty, he was completely unprepared. After a moment, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: “Hello, how did you know my…”
“Your surname is Xu, given name Huancheng, and you’re the nephew of the Lord of Fengyang City in the Taoyuan Realm. Am I wrong?”
“No, completely correct.” Xu Huancheng felt uncomfortable under her smiling gaze, his fair face quickly flushing red. “Who are you?”
“Five-hundred-year-old sea serpent fang, hmm?” Feng Miaojun had a good memory and recognized him at a glance. This young man had been buying materials for magical tools at the market on Luofu Island when he encountered a fraudster and almost lost eighty spirit stones. It was she who had spoken up to expose the scam.
Xu Huancheng blinked, thinking for a full five seconds: “It’s you! How did you…” His face showed sudden realization. “Oh!”
He finally understood that she was in disguise—this pure-hearted young man was quite entertaining all by himself.
“Thank you, Miss Feng!”
So he still remembered her surname. Feng Miaojun looked at him, her mood unusually relaxed: “You’re welcome. It’s rare to meet again in a foreign land—we must have a predestined connection. Shouldn’t you treat me to a meal?”
“I should, I definitely should!” Feng Miaojun had helped him once, so by all standards of decency, he should thank her.
Feng Miaojun called over an attendant to add another set of dishes, then asked him: “Taoyuan Realm is tens of thousands of miles away. What brings you to Wuser?”
“Traveling. I heard New Xia established its capital here. It’s beautiful, so I wanted to see it.”
Feng Miaojun pursed her lips: “I thought Taoyuan Realm wanted to establish diplomatic relations with New Xia and sent you as an envoy.”
“Too far.” Taoyuan Realm was on the Southern Continent, separated from New Xia by the Forbidden Sea, seven or eight small countries, and the vast Jin Kingdom. Therefore, there was no reason for the two sides to establish relations.
“How has Fengyang City been these past two years? Still peaceful?”
“All of Taoyuan Realm is peaceful.” Having been seated for a while, Xu Huancheng gradually relaxed, his speech becoming more fluent. Facing a beauty with such a powerful presence was quite pressuring.
“Yan Kingdom is also friendly toward Taoyuan Realm?” She picked up some bamboo shoots in red oil with her chopsticks. “That’s rare. I thought Yan Kingdom wanted to invade everyone.”
“Yan Kingdom and Taoyuan Realm exchange goods with each other, having agreed to a hundred years of friendship.” Xu Huancheng smiled shyly, and Feng Miaojun suddenly noticed he had dimples. “They won’t attack us.”
Feng Miaojun’s eyes flickered slightly, mentally raising a question mark. In terms of prosperity, both Xi Kingdom and Pu Kingdom had experienced several periods of turmoil, with dynastic changes and natural disasters. Unlike them, Taoyuan Realm had always been a free city-state, prosperous and developed, accumulating untold wealth. As for location, Taoyuan Realm had a long coastline, fertile soil, and no barren lands like the White Elephant Mountain Range, making it very suitable for habitation. But it was in eastern Yan Kingdom, bordering the sea—inescapable, like Yan Kingdom’s backyard.
Given the Yan Kingdom’s strength and ambition, why hadn’t they first annexed the Taoyuan Realm to seize its wealth and population before expanding outward?
Was it because the Taoyuan Realm had numerous cultivator sects? This might be a reason but certainly not the main one. Other major countries even had State Preceptors and the protection of elemental power, so why did the Yan Kingdom show such strong interest in others, wasn’t this making things unnecessarily difficult?
Next, Feng Miaojun inquired about Fengyang City’s climate, policies, and population over the past two years. The answers all made her secretly breathe a sigh of relief. She had invited Xu Huancheng in mainly because her adoptive mother and the Feng business were now rooted in Taoyuan Realm, with their headquarters in Fengyang City. As long as the Taoyuan Realm remained prosperous overall, the Feng business could thrive under its protection.
She had naturally sent people to gather intelligence on Taoyuan Realm, but firstly, the distance was too great for timely information, and secondly, Fu Lingchuan had too many eyes and ears in the palace, making it difficult for messages to reach her hands. Now that she had learned about the general situation of the entire Taoyuan Realm and knew that there would be no war troubles in the future, she could finally set her mind at ease.
What merchants feared most was the outbreak of war. Hadn’t the Feng business fled from the Wei Kingdom to the Yao Kingdom, and then sailed overseas from the Yao Kingdom to the Taoyuan Realm, all to escape war and focus on honest business?