These fairies want me to deal with them every day.

"It's not just that, is it?"

Wei Tu also became more perceptive.

He said, squinting his eyes.

Miss Ming said softly, "I also know that Lord Wei... has a close relationship with His Majesty, and is a favorite of His Majesty. I have no reason not to be close to him. Of course, all of this is for business..."

Wei Tu remained silent, calmly observing the chessboard devoid of pieces.

At this moment, Miss Ming stood up and gracefully performed a curtsy in front of Wei Tu.

"This humble woman, Ming Xiangrong, greets Lord Wei."

Her appearance was ordinary, but her posture was exceptionally graceful.

Her temperament is poised and elegant, and she is adept at navigating social situations.

For the first time in his life, Wei Tu felt utterly unable to see through someone, as if the person before him wasn't a woman, but a beautifully swaying mist. PS: Time for a nap! Then back to work this afternoon! Hope I sleep well!

40. The Great Shang Dynasty's Dragon Sparrow and the Kingdom of Chechi

Nobody likes being lost in the fog, confused and not knowing where they are going.

In particular, Wei Tu felt that the biggest mystery lay in the woman herself. She seemed to be full of respect and fear towards him, but from her words, he could tell that such feelings were not many, or even very few.

So what gave her such confidence, knowing full well that she was a cultivator with considerable strength?

Is it the power behind her, or does it come from her own body?

These things are impossible to know.

Wei Tu calmly looked at the ordinary-looking woman.

"So you're saying that you weren't there when I was in Chaoge."

At this moment, Ming Xiangrong shook her head, "I was indeed there at the time. I just didn't know who you were then, and it was only later that my information matched up with other people's."

"...But I have no recollection of you whatsoever."

Wei Tu trusted his keen intuition, judgment, and memory. He couldn't possibly have missed such a woman at the time, because in the Shang Kingdom's court, the presence of any other woman besides Ye Bingluan would seem out of place. If he hadn't noticed her, one possibility was that Ming Xiangrong wasn't appearing as Ming Xiangrong at the time.

It might not even look like this.

Ming Xiangrong smiled and said, "Perhaps it's because my appearance is so ordinary compared to His Majesty's that in Lord Wei's eyes, someone as ordinary as me is naturally not worth mentioning."

Wei Tu remained silent.

Ming Xiangrong instructed a servant to bring over a pot of hot tea, which was then poured into the two of their cups.

Ming Xiangrong personally poured tea, and when she filled Wei Tu's cup, she smiled and asked something.

"Is Lord Wei worried that I might have poisoned it?"

Wei Tu shook his head, reached for the cup, took a sip, and savored the lingering fragrance of the tea, its rich aroma filling his mouth.

It's not greasy at all; on the contrary, while being flavorful, it leaves a refreshing and elegant taste.

It is indeed top-notch.

"Miss Ming has told me so much. If she were to use poison, wouldn't that be too arbitrary?"

Having taken precautions and then revealed some information, it's impossible to resort to poisoning again. If someone wanted to eliminate you, they should have been more open and honest, instead of being wary and suspicious.

"Hehe, Lord Wei is indeed intelligent and has the courage to make judgments... Is there anything else Lord Wei would like to know now?"

"Can he know everything?"

"Of course... not really. I'm a businessman, as Lord Wei should understand. And a businessman's greatest principle, his bottom line, is barter. Any intelligence I deem valuable should be rewarded accordingly, or rather... an exchange of intelligence. What do you think, Lord Wei?"

“I think that makes sense. So, I’d like to ask, are you aware of the large-scale caravan that entered Chaoge a few days ago?”

Wei Tu wasn't averse to such transactions, but he wasn't particularly interested either, because he always had ways of obtaining relevant clues.

But that doesn't mean he can give up the convenience he has now.

Humans are always good at making themselves more comfortable, and this is an inescapable part of human nature.

Ming Xiangrong smiled and said, "Of course, this matter caused quite a stir among officials, so even though I wasn't in Chaoge at the time, people were still eager to tell me this information, and... I know quite a bit about it. What does Lord Wei want to know?"

Wei Tu thought for a moment, "Where did these people come from?"

"This requires..."

"Then just tell me what you can tell me."

Ming Xiangrong laughed, "Lord Wei is really impatient."

"I have something to do later, so it's better to be straightforward."

"I think so... but Lord Wei, are you really not prepared to pay any price?"

Ming Xiangrong seemed to be stirring something up, as if she wanted Wei Tu to give her something in return.

Wei Tu smiled and looked at Ming Xiangrong, "What do you want?"

Ming Xiangrong thought for a moment, "I am very interested in things that ordinary people can't get their hands on, regardless of their value."

"Even ordinary people don't have my underwear."

"...Let's skip this one."

Ming Xiangrong's smile gradually faded, and she subtly took a sip of tea, clearly showing some resistance to this level of sarcasm.

Wei Tu squinted, not at all ashamed.

"So, Miss Ming, just tell me directly. I want to see what value this information is worth, since it's free."

"It's very simple. These merchants are said to come from a country in the southwest, but what country is it? I have some clues, but... the clues are very precious, so I can't tell Lord Wei. Their purpose is also very simple: to propose marriage for their king. As for the details of the conditions... I can't reveal more. In short, whether they are ordinary people or kings, they all have reasons that they cannot resist such conditions."

"They're willing to invest heavily."

Wei Tu said this.

Ming Xiangrong smiled as she looked at Wei Tu, "So, Lord Wei, aren't you going to the palace yet? Aren't you afraid that if you wait a little longer, His Majesty will really agree?"

Wei Tu smiled and said, "What reason do I have to interfere with the choice of a ruler of a country?"

Ming Xiangrong shook her head. "No, you will definitely interfere, because in a woman's heart, there are some things that transcend all interests. Lord Wei, what do you think they are?"

Wei Tu put down his teacup and stood up.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Miss Ming. I'll take my leave now."

Ming Xiangrong also stood up. "I still have many things to take care of today, so I won't see Lord Wei off. Please forgive me."

Wei Tu nodded, turned around, and left the pavilion and corridor.

Ming Xiangrong, who had been standing by the chessboard, sat down again and gently stroked the teacup in her hand.

"There's no use being so cautious about some things, Wei Tu."

Wei Tu's way of entering the palace was very simple. He didn't need to inform anyone, because it was useless here. In the eyes of these guards, unless you were a member of the royal family or a minister of the court, without the emperor's summons, no matter how many tokens you had, it would be useless.

So Wei Tu decided not to bother with that. He used a little trick to make sure there were no people around the palace, leaving a large, quiet space.

Occasionally, imperial guards would patrol by, but it was almost impossible for them to discover Wei Tu's presence.

When Wei Tu arrived at the entrance of the palace, he overheard people talking inside.

"Your Majesty, I heard that those barbarians have made a mess of the villa, and they keep talking about wanting women... and there are snakes and strange insects everywhere... It's really terrible."

Wei Tu recognized the voice; it belonged to one of Ye Bingluan's personal maids.

Soon after, another woman's voice came through.

"Have the guards keep a close watch on them and prevent them from going out and causing trouble. Fulfill their requests, except for those involving women. Do they think they can take whatever they want just because they brought some treasures? Do they think they can lay a finger on the people of my Great Shang?"

That's Ye Bingluan's voice.

“But Your Majesty… those people have terrible tempers. If it weren’t for Your Majesty’s decree, they might have already started fighting with the guards several times over. Why don’t we send them away quickly?”

Ye Bingluan replied, "It's not that easy. It's easy to invite a god but hard to send him away... Besides, it was I who contacted them for that item. I'm just wondering what price they'll have to pay to get it."

"That's a bit difficult... They said they don't need money or anything like that, they don't know how to manage cities, and soldiers are even more useless... The only thing they want is..."

"Hehe, so it's me, right? You don't need to worry about this..."

"Anyway, the Wei State Preceptor will take care of His Majesty's affairs, right?"

"You little rascal..."

"When will the Grand Preceptor of Wei become Empress Wei? Your Majesty, we are all looking forward to it!"

"Get out of here, you brat!"

"hey-hey……"

The door opened.

The palace maid left with a smile.

The woman in the dragon robe, her cheeks flushed, withdrew her eye roll.

She sat back down in her chair. There were many memorials on the table, but she had no interest in reading them now, as most of them were addressed to these uninvited guests.

She doesn't have a good way to handle this yet.

He sighed.

But then she couldn't help but mutter a complaint under her breath.

"You dead man, I wrote to you so long ago, and you still haven't come..."

"How can you write letters to the dead? By sending them messages in dreams?"

"That dead person must be... um?"

Ye Bingluan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned her head and found that a smiling figure was already standing beside her, looking down at her.

Ye Bingluan was startled and almost fell off her chair, but luckily she managed to grab the table.

She looked at Wei Tu with lingering fear, then confirmed it.

Indeed, the dead man arrived silently.