Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1609 Reconciliation
The others were all court ladies aged 22 and above. Most of them would leave before the age of 28 with a generous salary, and only a few who were promoted to the rank of court official would continue to serve after the age of 30.

Currently, the person directly in charge of the Empress's affairs is Lady Song, who is in charge of the Lady Song Bureau and all the female officials in the inner court. Another Lady Zhao in the Lady Song Bureau is mainly responsible for the affairs of the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager.

Specifically regarding Zhu Ling, it was actually Song Shanggong who was in charge. Because Zhu Ling was still living at home and had not yet established her own household, her food, clothing, and shelter were all managed with Zhu Xianxi and his wife. To some extent, she was now undertaking some of the Crown Prince's work—of course, since Zhu Xianxi would finish his own tasks, there wasn't much work actually left for Zhu Ling herself.

After Zhu Xianxi shouted, Zhu Ling was pushed downstairs by Han Shanggong within 10 minutes.

"Here she comes, here she comes, here she comes." Before she could even comb her hair properly, Song Shanggong pushed Zhu Ling in front of Zhu Xianxi.

"Huh? What?" Zhu Ling yawned. "I haven't slept well yet."

"Haven't you already advanced to the Celestial Realm? Why is your daily routine still so irregular?"

"Because... ah," she yawned again, "because I always feel like I haven't slept enough when I get up early, I can't get over it mentally. Hey, Shangluo, you're here too? Did you invite my brother over to play cards?"

"It's not that simple. Shangluo, you go ahead and do your work. We'll handle this."

"Remember to bring me some meat buns! The beef buns from number 14 Chung Ling Street! Six of them, please!"

"Huh?" Shang Luo glanced at Zhu Xianxi—was it really okay to buy something from outside for her to eat?

"Sigh," Zhu Xianxi said, rubbing his forehead. "Then I'll trouble you to go and buy it for her while you're at it. She doesn't like the breakfast here, and we usually don't prepare breakfast for her. She usually eats it when she goes to the Imperial Garden to steam rice cakes in the morning."

Shangluo nodded.

Zhu Xianxi really doesn't like too many people interfering in his life—and there are indeed far fewer people here than in many "middle-class" families.

However, before going to buy steamed buns, he went to find Han Wu first.

As before, Han Wu was on duty at the subway station below Yuxi Palace. Before calling him over, Shang Luo greeted the Dao Ancestor at the gate before going down.

"Why would I make you come and call me personally for something like this?" Han Wu sat up halfway in the recliner. "Couldn't you just make a phone call?"

"I think this matter concerns Han Xingzhi, so it's best to handle it more seriously. After all, you are an elder, right? It doesn't seem appropriate to just call him over?"

"You really are considerate." Han Wu patted his sleeves and stood up. "Then thank you very much. My good-for-nothing nephew... his parents called me last night to talk about this."

Has he eaten yet?

"Not yet. He got scratched by the cat again when he came home from school yesterday, and he's in the hospital now. The doctor said he needs to have his vital signs tested this morning, and told him not to eat."

"Could he really be that unlucky?!"

"This surprises me a bit too. Shangluo, is the person you've offended quite powerful?"

Shangluo shook his head: "Even if it's incredibly powerful, this is still a bit excessive."

"In my opinion, we should just let him go farm, which would save the court the trouble."

Han Xingzhi said the same thing yesterday. "I don't think we can do that," Shangluo rejected his suggestion. "Han Xingzhi has done nothing wrong. This is an unreasonable demand from Rome. Whether we win or lose, I will not let him suffer. It's unnecessary. If you want to farm, why not farm at home? Why let them farm? We should keep the good stuff for ourselves."

"That's true." Han Wu didn't seem to care much about it—after all, it only meant Han Xingzhi didn't get enough to eat, not that he starved to death. Although it was unprecedented suffering for Han Xingzhi, it was commonplace for cultivators. Fasting was much more arduous, and he could at least eat a couple of bites to fill his stomach.

On this point, Han Wu, like Han Xingzhi's parents, decided to let nature take its course. They ultimately hoped that Han Xingzhi could get through this peacefully and avoid getting involved in any deeper disputes.

But this matter is clearly not so easy to resolve anymore.

"Speaking of which," Han Wu asked from the driver's seat of the ball-playing car, "Shangluo, the person representing Yaru to negotiate today, you said it's a dog-headed man?"

"Yes, although they are actually jackals, it wouldn't be wrong to call them kobolds."

"Who is he?"

"Hermanubis is a hybrid god of Hermes and Anubis, a kind of Egyptianized Hermes. Fifth Brother, you probably don't know who Hermes is, just think of him as Venus."

"Was that an old man?"

"He's a brat. But in Roman alchemy, this Hermes is very important."

"The person he offended must be someone of considerable influence."

"You can rest assured about that," Shangluo replied. "We have already prepared for the worst—the worst-case scenario is simply to exorcise the evil spirit from Han Xingzhi. If they don't cooperate with our actions, we can just remove the curse directly. However, if we can accomplish this, his contribution will be immense."

"Made a contribution? Approximately how significant?"

“Hmm,” Shangluo thought for a moment, “It is more a testament to hard work than merit.”

“I understand, we’ll use him as a base, right? Okay, okay.” Han Wu nodded. “I think this is just part of his daily training. He should be a little frugal to look like a true cultivator. Now he can not only train but also gain merit points, which is a good thing. Let him go hungry for now, and we’ll go see that dog-headed man.”

Hermanubis arrived at the West Garden as promised.

It's not unusual for a dog to wander around here; after all, just a few days ago there were two pandas walking around the entrance, and even driving a car.

This dog-headed deity does have some ancient mythological significance—after all, many immortals in ancient times were of such strange shapes.

Hermanubis appeared far more polite. He paid homage to Zhu Xianxi and Shangluo according to the etiquette due to a foreign official before entering to greet Han Wu, who was involved in the negotiations. Also seated there was Ms. Agatha, the lawyer representing the case.

In Zhu Xianxi's conference room, two distinct groups sat on either side. Hermanubis's side had only one person, while this side had three people, including Shang Luo.

"Ahem," he began, "I'm here to mediate. Our suggestion is that you withdraw the lawsuit. Let's just let this matter go, as if it never happened."

"Heh," Shang Luo shook his head, "Now that things have come to this, do you want reconciliation? I'm afraid there's no way."

(End of this chapter)