Eternal Empire

Chapter 69 - A Different Attitude

Of course, Liu Lang Dao was not poor.

When Shen Leng opened up the package, he realized that there was a wooden box. After he opened up the wooden box, he saw a thick wad of silver banknotes. Apparently, rich people give gifts in the form of silver banknotes. Shen Leng thought to himself - if he carried a basket of silver ingots on his back and gave it to him, it might look less elegant, but it would have been more gratifying.

In Shang Ping Bank, which was backed by Great Ning officials, one could withdraw money anywhere. Not only could they deposit and withdraw money in that bank, they were able to do so at any other banks that had a business relationship with Shang Ping.

There were bigger and smaller denominations - the smaller ones were worth at least a hundred taels each.

Master Cha took the silver banknotes and counted with her fingers. Thereafter, she wanted to remove her shoes.

"Approximately 10,000 taels of silver."

Shen Leng did not expect Liu Yun Sect to be that generous with them. Logically speaking, even if they helped Meng Changan deal with Liu Lang Dao, which in turn helped Liu Yun Sect get rid of them a lot more easily, it did not warrant such a significant amount of silver.

As a matter of fact, based on the current commodity prices in Great Ning, one tael of silver was enough for a family of three to survive for a month, if they lived frugally.

There were at least 10,000 taels of silver. It was hard to fathom.

Master Cha narrowed her eyes. "Are we rich?"

Shen Leng nodded. "Yeah, super rich."

Master Cha slumped back onto the chair, as though all her energy was drained from her, she had a smile on her face. "I want to eat preserved fruits, chicken, Song Ji's snacks, mandarin fish, and."

Shen Leng took out a piece of 200 taels of silver banknotes and placed it on her hand. "This alone is more than enough to buy you all the food you want till you get tired of them."

He placed the rest of the silver banknotes into the wooden box and gave it to Mr. Shen. "Sir, please keep it properly. Don't use it first. Liu Yun Sect would not give us such a huge amount of money for no reason. If we touch the money, in the future, we might have to pay a bigger sum."

He did not expect Ye Liuyun to run a background check on him, Mr. Shen and Master Cha. All the more, he did not expect Ye Liuyun's motive behind giving him the money was in fact very pure. He was merely gambling with what-ifs.

What if it was true?

Even though when Ye Liuyun reported back to the emperor, he analyzed the information he collected and concluded that Shen Leng had nothing to do with the child from that time, it was impossible for Ye Liuyun to not pay any attention to it. The silver did not belong to him - it belonged to Liu Lang Dao. Using Liu Lang Dao's money to befriend Shen Leng might seem like too big of an investment, but in reality, Ye Liuyun did not make any losses.

How was it possible for a person, who the emperor greatly trusted, to be an i***t?

Ye Liuyun knew that even if Shen Leng shared no relations with the emperor, it would not take him long before he made a name for himself in the military, as long as he did not die.

Shen Leng took the silver banknotes in Master Cha's hands and passed them to Mr. Shen. "Please keep it well. In the future, when we have the chance, we will make a trip to Changan and return it to them."

Mr. Shen nodded.

Master Cha reached out her hand. "My preserved fruit, my chicken, my snacks, my mandarin fish."

Shen Leng took out a money pouch from his big bundle of things and placed it on Master Cha's palm. "How can I bear to not buy any food for you? After I got back to the military camp, I collected the past few months' salary. Before I went to the south, I already became a battalion commander; I have a much higher salary than a squad leader. I'm giving it all to you."

Mr. Shen narrowed his eyes. "Young man, that's not a very good start."

Shen Leng laughed, "There's no point in me keeping it, I have food and clothes back in the camp."

Master Cha covered the money pouch. "This is the money for our future home, how can it be spent so carelessly? We must save.in the future we have to buy a big house, new furniture and a lot, a lot of other things."

She took half of the silver within the pouch and returned the rest to Shen Leng. "You are already a Class Seventh pin battalion commander. You will have to socialize with other people, you can't constantly let other people pay for you. You need to treat them back as well."

Shen Leng took the money pouch. He did not reject it.

He took out a pretty jewelry box from his bundle and gave it to Master Cha. "When I was in Hujian, I used the gold to make a golden hairpin for you. The remaining is in the box too. Do you like it?"

Master Cha excitedly opened the jewelry box. The golden hairpin was shiny. The top of the hairpin was a beautiful flower. It was big enough.

Mr. Shen leaned in and took a look. His mouth twitched. "Flower, huh. The taste of a fifty year old."

Master Cha scoffed. "Looks really nice!"

She took the hairpin out and carefully placed it on her head. Thereafter, she immediately took it down and placed it back into the jewelry box. "I will wear it next time."

After that, she blushed for no reason.

Shen Leng took out Mr. Shen's gift. "This is the best white tea in Hujian. Please give it a try."

Mr. Shen was somewhat overwhelmed with emotions. When he took the tea leaves from him, his hands were trembling slightly. He opened one of the boxes and smelled before exhaling a long breath. Thereafter, he closed the box and gave it back to Shen Leng. "Take it first, I have three cans of good tea here, that is slightly better than your white tea. Take it one with you and give it to Zhuang Yong, that fella."

Shen Leng shook his head. "I bought it for you."

Mr. Shen had a stern look on his face. "Don't worry, I will take it back."

Shen Leng replied, "It's not the same. Sir, keep it."

Mr. Shen laughed. He realized that perhaps he was truly old, he did not know why it became easier and easier for him to feel touched. He started tearing up and his nose was aching.

"Alright, I'll keep it."

He hugged the box of tea leaves. He opened it up and smelled it before covering the lid. He opened it up once more and smelled it before covering the lid again.

Of course, it was not that Mr. Shen had never had good tea before. In his eyes, Hu Jian's white tea was not considered to be that valuable. When he was at Bai Ta Temple in Yunxiao city, Prince Liu and the princess, together with Prince Lius' subordinates had given him innumerable top-notch tea leaves. But this was different - it was a gift from Leng. Anything given by Leng was unreasonably better than anything else.

He was very thoughtful when it came to Uncle Chen's gift as well - it was a walking stick made from yellow pear wood. Presently, Uncle Chen's leg made it inconvenient for him to walk around. Hence, he needed it. Apart from that, he received two new sets of clothes.

Hugging his gitfts, Uncle Chen's eyes were filled with tears.

He could not help but think back to the time when Leng left Yulin town; he had given Leng all his copper coins at that time. Of course, his heart ached. After Leng left, he felt regretful. However, when he looked at Leng, who was standing before him, he felt that it was not right of him to feel regretful at that time.

Mr. Shen asked, "During this trip, what did you buy for yourself?"

Shen Leng stared blankly for a bit before scratching his head. "I forgot."

He got up. "I'm going to take a shower. I stink."

Mr. Shen stood up. "I'm going to buy vegetables!"

Master Cha looked at him. There was a rare delicate and pitiful look in her eyes. Mr. Shen's heart melted. "Forget it.let's go out and eat."

At the same time, in the Navy's camp.

A guest knocked on Mu Xiaofeng's door. The person looked like he was about 30 years old. It was a warm-looking man. After he saw Mu Xiaofeng, he cupped his fist. "Greetings, general."

Earlier on, Mu Xiaofeng received news that Bai Shangnian was sending someone over. After he let the man in, he casually shut the door tightly.

"I am Zhang Baihe. Not long ago, I received orders from the general. Perhaps General's men are too idle, or I myself am too unoccupied, hence general told me to come here to convey a message to you.

Zhang Baihe looked at the woman who was standing next to the table. He thought to himself about how extraordinary the son of the Great Scholar must be - he managed to bring a woman into the military camp. She was very beautiful, apart from the fact that she looked icily arrogant.

"General Bai said that it's time to let go of things."

Before waiting for Mu Xiaofeng to respond, the icily arrogant woman spoke in a very cold tone, "Go back and tell General Bai that our young master knows what to do. He does not need the general's reminder. He was already intending to pay the general a visit, but since he sent you here, our young master happened to have a message for you to convey to the general. Please tell it to him when you're back."

Zhang Baihe could feel the overbearing aura emitting from that woman. He thought to himself: So she's someone who was sent by the Great Scholar himself, no wonder she is so overbearing. However, he did not express anything. He humbly lowered his head. "Please go ahead."

"Do not make big losses for small gains."

Mu Liu'er lifted her chin slightly. "Just those words. Master said that General Bai will understand."

Zhang Baihe grunted. "I will tell him just as it is. Since I have already conveyed the message, I will now take my leave.oh, there is one more thing I'd like to remind you, General Mu. The person named Shen Leng has ties to Liu Yun Sect in Changan city. He's part of the secret society. Please be careful, General Mu."

Mu Liu'er scoffed, "Within the secret society in Changan city, Liu Yun Sect is not the only one. Of course, this is not Changan either. Thank you for your reminder. You may leave."

Zhang Baihe cupped his fist once again before turning around and leaving.

Mu Xiaofeng waited for Zhang Baihe to leave before he turned around and looked at Mu Liu'er. He had a ferocious look in his eyes. "Do I need you to answer on my behalf?"

Mu Liu'er was taken aback. She hurriedly lowered her head. "Understood."

Mu Xiaofeng replied, "Did my father send you here because he knows about my injury? He wants you to help me settle the problem on my behalf, is that right?"

"Yes!"

"There's no need for that!"

Mu Xiaofeng suddenly raised his voice, "I will settle my own problem. I don't need you people to be my guardians. I am not useless!"

Mu Liu'er was so scared that she fell to her knees. "Young master, please do not be angry. I'm only here because there is no one by your side who can help you. Mu Jiu, that useless person, could not help you, causing you to be in this predicament."

"Shut up!"

Mu Xiaofeng glared angrily at Mu Liu'er. "Mu Jiu is not useless. He's stronger than you."

Mu Liu'er abruptly lifted her head. But she quickly lowered it once more. "Yes, if you say that he's stronger than me, he must be stronger than me."

Mu Xiaofeng stood there gasping for air. However, he had already lost his temper. What else could he do?

"If you want to stay, you have to remember one thing - my people are not qualified to make decisions for me, even if they're my father or mother. I don't need anyone to teach me what to do. All I need is someone who will listen entirely to what I say. If you can't do that, then go back to Changan city. My father might appreciate you, but it doesn't mean I do."

A flicker of light flashed across Mu Liu'er's eyes. However, she continued to keep her head lowered and said, "I will remember that. I will follow everything you say, young master. I will not speak out of turn or be too meddlesome."

"Good. You are a woman, it's not convenient for you to stay in the camp. If I want to achieve great things, I cannot give others an opportunity to talk about me. Since Zhuang Yong's family is not in the military camp, you cannot be here either. Look for a place to stay in the nearby town. After that, select a few capable people and send them here. Women.hmph, useless.

Mu Liu'er continued to lower her head. Her shoulders were slightly trembling, but she did not say anything.

"In that case, I will take my leave. I will leave some men behind to accompany you. As long as you need me to do anything, feel free to inform them to call for me."

"Ok, go."

Mu Xiaofeng did not even take another look at Mu Liu'er. He was all alone in his room. He slumped back into his chair feeling disappointed. He looked outside of the window expressionlessly and muttered to himself, "You still treat me like a child. You still feel as though I will not survive without you by my side. You even sent people here to help me handle things well, am I right?"

He leaned against the wall, seething with anger. But he was unable to release this anger that was bottled up within him. It felt terrible.