Tao and Heaven

Chapter 60: Conferring the title of Marquis Wen
The Zhao family couldn't possibly know that I had a foundation in Taoism.

Gu Wen was so sure.

The fact that he can stand here at this moment and not be discovered by the Zhao family is already telling.

Put yourself in the Zhao family's shoes and they won't care what an ordinary person does on a daily basis, as long as he moves under their noses. In their eyes, Gu Wen is just a family slave who can be crushed to death in a blink of an eye.

But now, Gu Wen has grown into a tiger descending from the mountain. He has reached the peak of the second level of Taoism and is about to forge the third level of perfect Taoism. He is a military strategist and has a complete system of skills including body protection, body movements, and healing.

Ranked tenth on the human list and fifth on the earth list.

If the Zhao family knew any of the above, they would probably want to send all 100,000 imperial guards over, instead of just sending a few imperial guards for surveillance, as these imperial guards could still be bribed.

However, when it comes to offerings, Gu Wen suddenly thought of something, the first time he met Yu Hua.

"Yu Hua gave me a life-saving pill, saying that if I didn't take it, I might not live past the age of thirty, and I had been in poor health before that."

Gu Wen often felt palpitations and fatigue when he recalled the past, and his eyes became colder.

It wasn’t enough that they took away my immortal fate, they didn’t even intend to save my life in the first place.

He thought that his murderous intent towards the Zhao family had reached its limit and his knowledge of the Zhao family as beasts was enough, but he didn't expect that the other party would always keep refreshing his bottom line.

No matter how cruel a person is, he wouldn't be as cruel as the Zhao family, right?
Gu Wen hid his emotions so well that the two sect geniuses around him didn't notice.

They probably couldn't understand Gu Wen's feelings. A person who struggled to get up from the mud, the closer he got to the storm, the calmer he became. The inner peace was hard to detect even with a mind reader.

Murong Suyue was puzzled and said, "The Dao Emperor is famous for his alchemy skills. He once ranked first on the Earth Ranking for his alchemy skills. He should be able to refine an elixir that can replenish the Dao Foundation. Why would you risk looking for a genius with a Dao Foundation? Do you really think they are the only ones who have a True Lord?"

She found it hard to believe that anyone who could enter the land of immortals did not have some background.

"Our sect has always been selling intelligence, and we have kept clear records of all kinds of things. Recently, the sect has sent a message for you to come over."

He Huan looked around, then closed the distance between them. Murong Suyue simply sat with her knees hugged due to her large build.

The night wind blew, and his voice was very low.

"The original guardian of the Yuqing Sect of the Sanqing Dao Sect was not named Zhao. The Zhao family robbed him."

Murong Suyue's eyes widened and she said, "How can the matter of protecting the Dao be so vague? It can be changed just like that, or someone else comes to snatch it."

He Huan replied: "We have no way of knowing the specific process, but it is not difficult to guess. It is nothing more than wiping out the original Dao-protecting family, and then leaving the only son to coerce and bribe. The Zhao family seized the opportunity to protect the Dao, and turned around to negotiate with Dao Zong. Isn't it good enough if they reach an agreement?"

"Isn't Emperor Daojun afraid that the Three Pure Ones will overturn the table?"

Murong Suyue was even more unconvinced.

He Huan laughed and said, "Can't the Dao Emperor pay a high price to bribe the current head of the Three Pure Ones? Besides, the Zhao family is indeed very powerful in the land of immortality. Even if they are dismantled by the major sects, no one can contend with them alone."

"What do you think, Brother Hongchen?"

"I?"

Gu Wen chuckled and said, "I stood and watched, watching him build a red building and entertain guests."

Then, it was not just that his building collapsed, but that the inner treasury was burned to ashes and the bones of the officials were trampled on the streets.

He turned his head to look at the Dragon Bridge, wondering if the fire could burn it completely.

After chatting for a while, the three said goodbye to each other.

During this time, Gu Wen learned another thing. He had previously given the medicinal materials to He Huan, who promised to help him find an alchemist to make them into pills. When he asked about it, He Huan handed the matter over to Murong Suyue, asking her to go to Longqiao to find Lu Chan.

He robbed someone of their things and then asked someone to find Lu Chan to make an elixir for him, because she was the best alchemist besides Emperor Daojun.

You can't get into the top ten of the Earth List just by relying on illusions. Many people are like Lu Chan, who are good at both.
-
The next morning, a holy envoy arrived at the Gu Mansion with an imperial edict in his hand.

"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims!" "When a country is benevolent, the people are its top priority. You, the merchant Gu Wen of Bianjing City, are kind and generous, and you are able to donate gold and grain to provide relief to the famine-stricken people. The Emperor's grace is not only enough, but also the people who are starving. The governors and officials have heard of this, and I am truly pleased with it."

The title of Marquis, which was supposed to take a year to obtain, was suddenly delivered to Gu Wen ahead of time.

The fact that he was conferred a title of nobility was understandable. After all, Gu Wen had no achievements, and the ministers in the court had been racking their brains to think of achievements for Gu Wen. As for the issue of fiefdom and fiefdom, there was no land to be conferred in Daqian now.

The only option was to ask the local aristocratic families to give up the land, which was another matter that would be worth arguing about for a long time.

It is understandable that it came so quickly. As long as the emperor personally supervised and urged, anything could be completed quickly. Even if it would cause great damage to the social system, it could be completed under the promotion of imperial power.

Gu Wen received the order, and then there was celebration in the mansion. A new plaque was hung high, and the mansion was upgraded to a marquis' mansion.

The number of personal guards also increased to thirty, and there were patrols in almost every place in the palace. These thirty people may not seem like a lot, but they could be divided into ten shifts to monitor one person.

You have to know that the prince has only this number of personal guards. In the eyes of outsiders, it is a sign of the emperor's great favor. Ordinary marquises don't have imperial guards to protect them.

And there was no reason for Gu Wen to keep a low profile and have the servants in the mansion decorate the house with lights and hold a banquet to entertain the guests.

For a time, Gu Wen's name spread throughout the entire city of Bianjing. For a merchant of low social status to be granted a title of nobility was enough to cause a sensation no matter when.

Afterwards, countless aristocratic families who heard the news came and broke down the doorstep. For a while, there was a constant stream of people and cars in front of Gu Wen’s house, and the carriages were lined up for three miles.

The gifts piled up like a mountain, and Gu Wen even found some magical medicines among them.

Gu Wen was smiling as he greeted the guests, when suddenly an old man dressed as a scholar rushed towards him, and was unsurprisingly pinned to the ground by Qin Mian who was standing beside him.

The old scholar was hysterically shouting: "Where is justice, where is the law? There are countless scholars like me who have studied hard for ten years and are frustrated. You are a businessman, a profit-seeking villain, how can you be awarded the title of nobility?"

The atmosphere became quiet. To outsiders, this was undoubtedly a disruption of the party and a stab at someone's sore spot.

Today, Daqian does not judge people by their achievements, but only by their favor.

He knew that it was useless to explain. In the eyes of the scholars and officials, he was now a traitor, and in the eyes of the common people, he was an unforgivable criminal. This was enough to show how unpopular the Zhao family was, and it was also a rebuke from the great god of "rituals" above his head.

Being a businessman is evil in itself, and being a servant standing in a high position will only attract abuse, so Gu Wen didn't like to be famous before.

Just because he was not born noble, he had to be humble all his life, even though he never did evil and often helped the people with his work.

Gu Wen said calmly: "Break his legs and throw him out."

But what kind of virtue does this old scholar have to criticize himself?

The old scholar was wailing outside the door, attracting a group of Confucian scholars to share the same hatred for the enemy. Common people were pointing and talking from a distance, while the nobles within the high walls were singing and dancing in peace.

The banquet continued until the evening with the sound of toasting.

Gu Wen returned to the house, drunk, and the candlelight reflected the shadow of the new guard at the door.

'Hubris is the root of self-destruction.'

Gu Wen blew out the candle, meditated, and his fate vibrated slightly.

【Tian Sui Nineteen Years】

After one year of refining Tiansui, he reached the third level of Luoyue Step. He could fly over the moon as fast as a feather and leap three feet at a time.

One zhang is 3.3 meters, and three zhang is 9.9 meters.

He could fly out of the city wall with just two kicks, and the mere thirty palace guards could not trap him.

Gu Wen murmured to himself, "I wonder when he will leave the palace?"

At this moment, he had never missed Zhao Feng so much.

(End of this chapter)