Chapter 611: The Ko Family's Gift

Before them lay an expansive lake, its surface shimmering.

“Wow!” A lake on Qilin Mountain, and not a small one! “Is it deep?”

“Four or five zhang at least,” Fu Shanyue mused, stroking his chin. “It would be great for fishing here, or…” He mimed a swimming motion.

“A good spot,” He Lingchuan smiled too.

The reeds by the lake were tall, and the bushes on the bank were dense. If he entered the water here, no one would be able to track him. Water escape was truly more convenient than anything; it could also block spiritual detection. Wuxin Guards wanted to tail him, didn’t they? He’d give them a bit of a challenge.

“The Emperor actually granted you a manor with a back door—no, a back lake.”

Fu Shanyue burst into laughter. “The Emperor is busy with myriad affairs; how could he delve into such details? How many peaks and manors like this are there in Lingxu City? How could the Emperor count them one by one?” He added, “I heard that the original owner’s two servants once lost children here, and later they found out it was a catfish demon in the lake that had been eating people.”

“Was it caught?”

“It took half a year to catch,” Fu Shanyue said, throwing a stone into the water. Unexpectedly, the surface rippled as if something beneath had been startled. “There's fresh water flowing down from the mountain; this lake will never dry up.”

He Lingchuan stroked his chin. “In that case, it wouldn't be good if someone escaped in through the water. We should place some guards in the lake too.”

“Find some monsters?”

He Lingchuan smiled. “Leave it to me, I happen to know some.”

Over the past three days, rumors had ample time to spread. Prince Huan’s murder and arson at Pan Mountain Manor were witnessed by countless people—not just commoners, but also spies and informants from various families, who reported back clearly. As a result, the news was not only known among Lingxu City's upper crust but had also spread beyond the region. More critically, the Emperor immediately granted Fu Shanyue a grand residence. Everyone knew this was an appeasement, an apology. No matter how it was embellished, it proved that Prince Huan was at fault and the imperial family admitted their mistake. To make even the Emperor silently apologize—heh! The name of the Crown Prince of Chiyan once again resounded throughout Lingxu City.

Thus, on the day Pianxiang Manor reopened, the ancient residence, silent for seven years, became a bustling hub, with dignitaries gathering to congratulate the Crown Prince of Chiyan on his new home. Fu Shanyue was the main attraction, and the spotlight was on him. Naturally, He Lingchuan was happy to take it easy. No matter how boisterous the front hall and backyard were, he only needed to hide in the kitchen and enjoy food and drink.

Fu Shanyue's newly hired cooks included three skilled in hot dishes, one in cold dishes, and another plump female cook who was exceptional at brewing wine and making pastries. He Lingchuan spoke a few kind words to her and immediately received two large plates full of various pastries. The hawthorn cakes melted in his mouth. He Lingchuan ate two in a row and inexplicably thought of Madam Ying. Back in Blackwater City, he and He Yue often secretly ate the cook's pastries. The cook knew this too and would often secretly leave a bowl of pastries for the two brothers in the back pantry, though the taste was far inferior to what He Lingchuan was eating now.

It had been a long time since he last saw He Yue. That lad must be the second-in-command at the Dunyu Governor's Residence now. He wondered if the garden Madam Ying had put so much effort into creating was repaired yet. He Lingchuan sighed, and the hawthorn cake in his hand suddenly lost its appeal. Recalling his days as the young master of Blackwater City, the happiness then was simple, and the worries were merely simple troubles. Barely a year had passed, yet it felt like a lifetime ago.

The cook grew anxious. “Young master, is it not good?”

He Lingchuan replied seriously, “It's acceptable; there's still room for improvement.”

“Perhaps it’s cold then,” the cook mused, then took out another pale, palm-sized pastry from the back pantry, clearly not for guests. “Please wait.”

“...” Do all cooks have a secret back pantry for their private stashes? She bustled about in the kitchen for a moment and soon emerged with the steaming hot pastry. “Here, try the lard cake.”

He Lingchuan picked up a piece and tasted it: it was sticky, soft, and the lard mixed with osmanthus was fragrant but not greasy, particularly satisfying to eat in autumn.

“Delicious. This isn’t for guests, is it?”

“No, it’s not for guests. It’s made from a fresh batch of osmanthus flowers harvested from the old osmanthus tree in the manor. There's too little to serve out.” Osmanthus flowers need to be air-dried and stored carefully, which takes time.

Over the past three or four days, He Lingchuan had become familiar with the place. He was approachable, so the kitchen staff didn’t treat him as an outsider and gossiped while they worked. He Lingchuan ate and listened, learning that two more scandals had successively broken out in Lingxu City in recent days.

First, Assistant Minister Jia Qingmin was implicated in corruption. The Grand Judge submitted a memorial, leading to his dismissal and investigation.

“How much did he embezzle?”

“Two million taels, they say?” the cook whispered, though everyone within ten feet could hear her.

“Two million taels, for such a high-ranking official, doesn’t seem like a lot, does it?” That’s only two billion large coins. Elsewhere, it might be sensational, but people in Lingxu City were worldly; this figure wasn’t particularly astonishing for an official there. The cooks were somewhat disappointed. “I heard the Ke family—yes, the one as wealthy as the four seas—spent almost nine hundred thousand taels on a broken sword not long ago.”

“Can those be compared?” the cook replied. “Gold, jewels, and artifacts aren’t included, by the way. And do you know about Golden Hook Casino, the most prosperous one east of Shuimen?”

“Yes, I… a friend of mine went there recently and said it was very well-managed!” The speaker gave a dry laugh. “Very well-managed, everyone speaks nicely!”

“That’s a golden goose; they say the Jia family is the owner behind it.”

Everyone uttered a long “Ohh.”

“Also, the prospective son-in-law of Third Master Hu of Tianxiang Island recently became involved in a scandal…”

After eating a few pieces of pastry here, He Lingchuan had already heard several pieces of gossip. He asked the cook, “Is Lingxu City usually this lively, with big news every few days?”

“It’s hard to say,” the cook chuckled. “It’s been extremely lively recently; table talk has turned into a string of stories.”

As He Lingchuan savored the sweet taste, Jiao Yu suddenly ran over from somewhere, holding something in its mouth, and placed it before him. It was a stack of invitations. “For you.”

“Mine?” He Lingchuan opened them as he ate. Indeed, they were for him. Evidently, more dignitaries had noticed “He Xiao” than a few days prior. He Lingchuan looked at them and asked, “Do you know the Assistant Minister was investigated?”

“Of course,” Jiao Yu replied as if it were obvious. “The Grand Judge had been investigating the Jia family for half a month; the Emperor only ordered their arrest these past two days.”

“These two days?” He Lingchuan mused thoughtfully. Over the past three or four days, hadn’t there been quite a lot of events—big, small, and in-between—happening in Lingxu City? Even the buzz around the elixir of immortality case and Prince Huan’s arson and murder incident had been considerably diluted. Who was creating this smokescreen?

He put these thoughts aside and first looked at the invitations in his hand. Most of these were invitations to various family-hosted events. On the floating island, there were almost daily banquets, gatherings, operas, hunts, and so on—a tradition cultivated over many years, into which even monsters had long integrated, considering it fashionable.

He Lingchuan flipped through a few, then uttered an exclamation and picked up one invitation: “From the Ke family?”

This gilded invitation was from the Ke family. Yes, the Ke family, the super-rich of Lingxu, who owned mines. He Lingchuan had originally planned to find an opportunity to visit the Ke family through Old Ge or other intermediaries, but he hadn't expected them to invite him directly. He and the Ke family truly shared a telepathic connection, a mutual pursuit.

“Why would the Ke family invite me?” The invitation also included a gift list, and the items listed were all very expensive. They wouldn't send gold beads or agate, considering them vulgar. The first item was a potted sculpture. He Lingchuan had someone bring over the potted sculpture. It depicted a rockery and a greenhouse, with exquisite craftsmanship. Through the greenhouse windows, he could see something inside, both colorful and green. He Lingchuan tried reaching inside to probe. Oh? He pulled out a fruit vine.

A real, lush green vine, two fingers thick, was laden with fruit. The red berries, at first glance, resembled strawberries but had a peculiar fragrance. Like... cream?

The tiger approached and sniffed a few times. “It’s ripe, edible.”

He Lingchuan immediately tossed a red berry to it. Jiao Yu swallowed it in one gulp, smacking its lips. “Seems I didn’t taste anything.”

He Lingchuan tasted one himself; it was exceptionally sweet, a top-grade berry. He reached in again, and this time, he actually pulled out a jade melon.

The cook, wanting to join the fun, came over with her cleaver raised. “Let me!”

The melon was larger than a football. With a few swift cuts, it was opened. He Lingchuan took a piece to eat; it was as sweet as honey, as pleasant as nectar, and incredibly juicy, though a bit chilling to eat in autumn.

“Hey, don’t be shy, everyone come and have some.” At his call, the recently idle cooks and kitchen helpers quickly came over, smiling as they each took a piece.

“This thing, isn’t it like carrying a personal orchard?” He Lingchuan examined the rockery greenhouse. “Tsk, it doesn’t even come with instructions.” The squirrel appeared from somewhere, jumped onto the table, and pointed to two lines of small text on the side of the rockery greenhouse. Aren’t they right here? Overlooking the obvious.

“Sow seeds, water, bear fruit in two days.”

“So you can grow your own produce?” Plant whatever you want to eat, and it ripens in two days. At a time when the world's spiritual energy was weakening, this treasure was indeed marvelous. The tiger asked, “Does it not require profound crystals to activate?”

“Heh, perhaps.” While normal people wouldn't use precious profound crystals to grow fruit, it didn't mean the powerful elites of Lingxu City wouldn't. Especially since the Ke family owned profound crystal mines themselves; what difference did profound crystals make to them compared to copper or iron? Weren't they all dug from underground? He Lingchuan blindly guessed that the flow of time within this treasure was faster than outside. He just wondered if it needed fertilizer.

He picked up the gift list and looked down. The next two items, like the rockery greenhouse, were indeed the kind of treasures wealthy people would give: beautiful and amusing but not very practical. Compared to this rockery greenhouse, He Lingchuan would rather the Ke family send him Golden Cola; he wouldn’t find it vulgar, as he was short on money now.

However, the fourth item was truly valuable. Jiao Yu was also surprised when it saw it: “The Ke family actually sent you a boat?”

“A pleasure boat!” He Lingchuan corrected it. “It’s clearly a pleasure boat!”