CHAPTER 729: CHAPTER 596: THE TRUE FAMILY HEAD

On their way back, Ye Lingyue finally returned to Mercenary City without any mishap.

"Finally back." No sooner had Ye Lingyue arrived at the gates of Mercenary City than she eagerly alighted from the horse carriage.

"Looking at you, even though Emperor City is considered one of the mainland’s famous capitals, it seems it can’t compare to a remote Mountain City."

Earth Venerate also got off the carriage following Ye Lingyue.

After all, she was a Beiqing person and had once been a Princess of Beiqing; she inevitably took Ye Lingyue’s words to heart.

"Earth Venerate, that’s not quite right. A golden nest and a silver nest are not as good as one’s own dog nest. No matter how prosperous and wonderful Emperor City is, it is still others’ territory. Over there, I have to always be careful to guard against the scheming from Dan Palace and Emperor Beiqing. Here, this is my world," Ye Lingyue said as she rubbed her legs and feet. After the lengthy carriage ride, her whole body was stiff.

She had given Xue Pianran the antidote, but she was also very aware that even though it was taken, Xue Pianran was destined to be a monstrosity for life.

Along the way, Ye Lingyue also inquired about Xue Pianran’s background from Feng Xun.

Feng Xun pondered for a moment and only told her that Xue Pianran’s birth mother might be from one of the Three Sects, the Yaochi Immortal Pavilion.

Because the Nirvana Heart Lotus that Xue Pianran possessed was a unique Spiritual Flower from Yaochi Immortal Pavilion.

Thus, Ye Lingyue could roughly guess why Chen Hongru had warned her so seriously.

Hence, on the journey here, Ye Lingyue had been cautious and vigilant, preventing the people of Xue Pianran from catching up to them. However, what surprised her was that neither the people from Dan Palace nor Xue Pianran’s pursuers appeared.

Ye Lingyue naturally didn’t know that this was because Elder Ying was treating Chen Mu, which delayed the prime opportunity to track them.

Living on tenterhooks was invariably not something Ye Lingyue enjoyed.

Especially Yaochi Immortal Pavilion, with whom Ye Lingyue had already offended before, and they would sooner or later come knocking on her door.

Ye Lingyue thought to herself that she needed to find a way to intensify her cultivation. If she could break through to the Second Layer of Heaven and Earth Tribulation or reach Fang Venerate Level, then even if she faced the people from the Three Sects head-on, she would still have a chance to fend them off.

She hadn’t engaged in proper cultivation for quite a while. Perhaps it was time to enter the Chaos Heaven and Earth Array again and spar with those Earth Evils.

When the carriage arrived outside the City Lord’s Mansion, a joyful noise greeted them.

Ye Lingyue had already notified Lan Cai’er and Yan Jiu along with others that she would be returning today.

Outside the City Lord’s Mansion, everyone had been eagerly awaiting her arrival.

"Sister Yue, you’re finally back, I’ve missed you so much!" Long Baobao stood at the very front. As soon as he saw Ye Lingyue, the little lad’s eyes lit up instantly.

He rushed forward like a little bird.

Just as he was about to pounce into Ye Lingyue’s arms, Feng Xun stepped forward to block him, wearing a pleasant smile.

"Young Master Long, do you only miss your Sister Yue and not care about the rest of us at all?" Feng Xun said, then with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, he narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, giving Long Baobao a side glance.

Long Baobao, having his thoughts exposed, blushed on his plump face.

"Of course, I miss everyone. I miss Sister Yue, Little Zhiyo, Brother Prince Feng, and all of you," he said.

"Little Zhiyo misses you too, so you have a good catch up with it. And, don’t call me Prince Feng anymore; I was thrown out of Feng Residence," Feng Xun said, then picked up a drowsy Little Zhiyo and stuffed it into Long Baobao’s arms.

Feng Xun’s words left everyone dumbfounded.

Especially Lan Cai’er, who first paused, then let out a loud exclamation.

"Brother-in-law Feng, you must be joking. If you’re not going to be Prince Feng anymore, what are we going to do?"

In fact, the subtext of Lan Cai’er’s words was, what about your money? And what about my business?

"I’ve already had Housekeeper Mu introduce the Rainbow Five Treasures Brew to Beiqing. I believe it won’t be long before you receive many large orders. As for me, I’ll be taken care of by Ling Yue from now on." Feng Xun said with a smile.

"What! You want to live off a woman, that’s not right. A man should have his own career. Ling Yue, you can’t spoil him." Lan Cai’er heard this and felt dizzy.

Yan Jiu was rather helpless at his own woman’s reaction, and he wrapped his arms around Lan Cai’er, giving her a light knock on the forehead.

"My dear, you never showed such concern for your husband’s business as City Lord. Are you really worried that Feng Xun will be out of money? Don’t forget, the title of Prince Feng is just that, a title. The Phoenix Token is the true symbol of power in the Feng Residence. As long as Feng Xun possesses the Phoenix Token, he still controls the core assets of the Feng Residence."

What Yan Jiu said was also known to both Earth Venerate and Feng Xun. It’s just that Feng Lan, who was in Beiqing, had only just found out.

"You mean the daily routine of being the Feng Residence Master is to examine and audit these accounts?"

Since there had been no wars in Beiqing over the years, and Chen Tuo was not willing to relinquish military power for the time being,

Feng Lan, after waking up and having nothing to do, began to take over the affairs of the Feng Residence at the suggestion of Housekeeper Mu.

Little did he know that just by looking through the piled-high business affairs in the accounting room, Feng Lan would feel dizzy.

It was understandable, as Feng Lan was a War General. Although he had also studied martial arts and military strategy from a young age and fought on battlefields, he was quite unfamiliar with accounts.

"Yes, my lord. In the years that you were away and when you were out at war, these accounts were initially handled by the Princess. After the Princess left, they were managed by the young master. What you see here is only what they have to check daily. There are also monthly accounts to review, and at the end of the year, there are annual accounts."

Feng Lan was at a loss for words.

He casually flipped through the ledgers and, looking at the dense words, suddenly asked.

"That woman, Princess Qingfeng, she could understand such complicated accounts?"

"The Princess was not only capable of understanding them, but she was also an expert. As a woman of the house, she managed the entire Feng Residence in just five or six years, even during the time she was pregnant, she still reviewed the accounts every day, working tirelessly," Housekeeper Mu recalled Princess Qingfeng with moistened old eyes.

He was Grand Tutor Mu of the former Emperor and had instructed both Princess Qingshuang and Princess Qingfeng before retiring to his hometown.

Outsiders always said that Princess Qingfeng was unruly, like a wild monkey, rarely sitting in the imperial study for more than an hour.

But Grand Tutor Mu knew that it was because Princess Qingfeng was quick to learn, catching on with just a hint. She didn’t want to linger in the imperial study because she was afraid of learning too fast and making Princess Qingshuang feel inadequate.

Why would such a considerate and kind Princess, who once shared a deep affection with her lord, come to so despise her after the lord returned unexpectedly after many years?

Feng Lan didn’t speak.

He stared at those ledgers, and in his mind, a blurry image of Qing Feng appeared. He seemed to see a heavily pregnant woman sitting amidst piles of ledgers, rubbing her eyes, diligently writing down every detail.

"My lord, the Princess has passed away, and now only you and the young master remain in the Feng Residence. No matter what wrongs the young master has done, please let him come back. Look, the Phoenix Token is still with the young master," Housekeeper Mu pleaded earnestly.

"The Phoenix Token? You mean the heirloom of the Feng Residence! That little rascal, I knew there was something off about his departure, he even took the heirloom with him." Feng Lan suddenly had a reason. Yes, he needed to find Feng Xun, no, to be exact, he needed to get the Phoenix Token back!