Chapter 155: Quietly Inheriting the Title (Part Two)

Therefore, the current Emperor wrote two imperial edicts. One granted Yang Xin the title of First-Class Defender General of the State, without any demotion in rank; the other granted him the title of Fifth-Class Cloud-Riding Commandant, which directly demoted the peerage by five ranks. If Yang Xin could resolve the matter, he would be a First-Class Defender General; if he could not, he would be reduced to a Fifth-Class Cloud-Riding Commandant.

In the Emperor's own words: "The most terrifying thing is giving people hope! But giving hope and then snatching it away is the most vicious thing of all!"

Yang Xin came to a sudden realization that he had committed an empiricist error, and said softly, "Please wait a moment, Eunuch."

Yang Xin directly had someone fetch brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone, and on the spot wrote down the crude method for manufacturing penicillin. Having finished, and acting on the principle of seeing a good deed through to the end, Yang Xin also wrote down the folk method for treating smallpox using cowpox, expressing his hope that this formula would allow the Emperor to let bygones be bygones and wipe the slate clean regarding the Ningguo and Rongguo Mansions' former allegiance to the Crown Prince.

Eunuch Dai was overjoyed in his heart, marveling at this buy-one-get-one-free bonus. When the Emperor granted Yang Xin his title, he had already mentally wiped the slate clean regarding the Rong Mansion's past support of the Crown Prince, but Yang Xin did not know this—or perhaps, even if he knew, he did not care. By doing this, Yang Xin was clearly handing Eunuch Dai a great merit.

Yang Xin's offering of treasures from a medical perspective was brilliantly executed, as it did not involve various conflicting interests and could achieve a win-win outcome for everyone. Who never falls ill or faces disaster? With a miraculous medicine handed over, Yang Xin instantly secured a place in the Emperor's heart. Even if he hadn't, for the sake of Baozhu, Eunuch Dai would have made sure Yang Xin remained favored by the Emperor.

"Ahem! The imperial edict has arrived!" An imperial edict composed in rhythmic parallel prose was read out with rising and falling intonations by Eunuch Dai. Yang Xin did not kneel to receive the edict at all; instead, he activated an illusion technique, making Eunuch Dai and Jia She believe that he had respectfully received the edict according to proper protocol.

Normally, the arrival of an imperial edict required the entire mansion to turn out and receive it, but Yang Xin hoped to keep everything as simple as possible to avoid turning the whole Rong Mansion upside down. Eunuch Dai's primary purpose in coming was to obtain the manufacturing process for penicillin. Once the process was in hand, alongside Baozhu and a substantial merit...

Since Yang Xin said to keep it simple, they kept it simple. Eunuch Dai quickly finished reading the edict and handed it over to Yang Xin. An open, above-board conferment of peerage imbued with imperial grace was thus completed as quietly as a shady transaction between underworld gangs.

However, Eunuch Dai cared not a whit. He turned and fled as if chased by a wild dog, eager to return to the imperial palace at top speed to report his success.

"Safe journey, Eunuch." Just as Eunuch Dai reached the doorway, Yang Xin quietly slipped a book into his hand. Eunuch Dai's expression tightened; he hurriedly tucked the book into his bosom and then stepped out of the Rongguo Mansion.

What Yang Xin gave Eunuch Dai was the *Sunflower Manual*, or rather, just the first three levels. If Eunuch Dai wanted the remaining six levels, it would not be as simple as it was today. Moreover, Yang Xin had noticed that the martial arts of this world were in a state of decline. Across the entire capital, not a single decent martial arts expert could be found, yet there were immortal figures like the Fairy of Disenchantment, as well as divine figures like ancestral spirits.

Distributing the martial arts manual was also a probe into this world. Having finished these trivial matters, Yang Xin glanced at the imperial edict. He realized that even though he had studied some classical prose in the world of *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*, this damn parallel-prose imperial edict was completely beyond his comprehension. Still, Yang Xin didn't take the edict too seriously; all he wanted was moral righteousness and legitimacy.

"Well, when the time comes, I'll father another son and have him made a First-Class Defender General. Then my Rong Mansion will boast three generals from a single household, with a father and two sons all serving as Defenders of the State..." Yang Xin tossed the imperial edict in the air while letting out a sigh of relief in his heart. "Jia Lian, oh Jia Lian, I have certainly lived up to you. A First-Class Defender General—from now on, all your actions will be fully justified and proper."

"Give it to me!" Jia She reached out with a large hand.

"What? The edict? Here you go!" Yang Xin made a motion as if to toss the imperial edict to Jia She.

"I'm talking about Baozhu! The Pearl of the Vast Sea! You prodigal fool, you could have sent that fellow surnamed Dai packing with a few dozen taels of silver, yet you went and gave him a priceless pearl." Jia She spoke in a tone that mixed exasperation at his son's failure to meet expectations with extreme reluctance. If Eunuch Dai hadn't brought so many men with him, Jia She would have been tempted to rob him outright.

"Oh, the pearl..." Yang Xin casually tossed another one to Jia She.

Jia She immediately snatched it up in a flurry, scrambling like a dog seeing a bone, and then began rubbing and stroking it meticulously.

"My Lord Father would do best not to display this Pearl of the Vast Sea in public." Yang Xin raised an eyebrow, glanced in the direction of the Rongxi Hall, and then looked at Jia She with an amused expression. "Tell me, if Rongxi Hall finds out that My Lord Father possesses such a pearl, won't they rack their brains to snatch it away?"

"They wouldn't dare!" Jia She roared fiercely, adopting a posture of reckless bravado. Yet, no matter how Yang Xin looked at it, he could sense that Jia She was putting up a bold front while feeling utterly hollow and unconfident.

"Right, you might as well take this too. Wu Xinden has been crippled by me; even if he isn't dead, he's disabled. You should put someone of your own people in charge as the Chief Steward of the estate's treasury." With that, Yang Xin tossed the treasury keys to Jia She.

"Isn't the Second Branch managing the household affairs?" Jia She asked, puzzled.

"From this moment on, they aren't. I am the master of the Rongguo Mansion now. My Lord Father can spend the estate's money however he pleases—just keep a ledger. If anyone tries to stop you, pin everything on me." Yang Xin didn't mind making the Rongguo Mansion even more chaotic, so he simply handed the treasury keys to Jia She to add fuel to the fire.

Jia She could clearly sense that Jia Lian had changed, becoming someone unfamiliar, but Jia She loved it. In Jia She's eyes, Jia Lian was the most filial son—didn't he hand over the priceless Pearl of the Vast Sea without a second thought, give him the treasury keys, and tell him he could spend the estate's money however he liked? Of course, Jia She did not know that the estate's funds had already been hollowed out and embezzled by Elder Madame Wang. When Jia She discovered there was no money left in the common coffers, tomorrow promised to be a very lively day indeed.

Tomorrow was indeed very lively, though not because Jia She discovered the coffers were empty, but because of Wang Xifeng.

Jia, Shi, and Elder Madame Wang had their eyes set on Lin Daiyu's dowry and the property of the Lin clan, so the moment Yang Xin stepped out of the mansion, they broke with tradition and came out to see him off.

Never underestimate the temptation of jewelry for women. In the span of a single night, Wang Xifeng and Ping'er had genuinely cultivated a sense of *qi*, generating a wisp of inner energy within their bodies and successfully mastering the basics of Mount Hua's internal cultivation method.

True to his word, right in front of everyone, Yang Xin solemnly placed two glass beads—one large and one small—into the hands of Wang Xifeng and Ping'er respectively. The weather was fine, and under the sunlight, the two glass beads flashed with rings of multicolored light. Wang Xifeng's triumphant smile stretched almost to her ears.

Wang Xifeng was just about to flaunt them all around when she caught sight of the crowd—especially the eyes of Madame Jia, Shi, and Elder Madame Wang, which were burning with envy, jealousy, and a reddish tinge of hatred. Instantly realizing that flashing one's wealth invites covetousness, Wang Xifeng hurriedly tucked the Pearl of the Vast Sea into her bosom and even demanded Ping'er's bead back, under the fine-sounding pretext of "keeping it safe for her."

Yang Xin turned a blind eye to everyone's burning gazes and even produced a small glass mirror. In this era, glass mirrors did not yet exist; people only had bronze mirrors. The appearance of the glass mirror struck everyone as miraculous, intensifying the fires of jealousy in their hearts even further.

Yet Yang Xin ignored all of this and said to Wang Xifeng, "Practice for at least one shichen every day. When I return from Yangzhou, if you haven't been lazy, I'll reward you with a mirror. If you have been lazy, well then, I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to present this item to the Old Dowry—"

Yang Xin did this on purpose. He intentionally provoked a conflict between Wang Xifeng and Madame Jia, Shi, while also using another method to urge and spur Wang Xifeng into practicing her martial arts. For a woman from a wealthy background like Wang Xifeng, Yang Xin could only prescribe the right medicine for the ailment.

People were naturally inclined this way: the less someone supervised them, the more lazy they became. Take Wang Xifeng, for example—even with someone urging her, she might not necessarily cultivate. But if Madame Jia and Lady Wang tried every conceivable scheme to prevent Wang Xifeng from practicing, then Wang Xifeng would likely find a way to cultivate out of sheer spite.

Madame Jia's eyes widened, filled with eager anticipation as she stared at the mirror in Yang Xin's hand. With her exceptionally strong desire for control, she couldn't possibly wait that long; Yang Xin's trip to Yangzhou would take at least a month. At that moment, Madame Jia was as anxious as if a cat were scratching at her heart, and she was just about to use the banner of "filial piety" to forcefully take the glass mirror from Yang Xin's hand. However, Yang Xin gave her no chance to speak at all, simply turning and walking away with Lin Daiyu in tow.

Consequently, Wang Xifeng instantly became the target of public criticism. She might not have had the glass mirror, but she had the pearl—the Pearl of the Vast Sea, and such a large one at that. Just think how much it must be worth!

Everyone's eyes seemed to blaze with fire, shining like searchlights as they glared fixedly at Wang Xifeng...