The Villain's Counterattack

When Murong Fu returned to Gusu, everyone came to welcome him. His uncle Wang Erlang and the professors of Gusu College held a welcoming banquet. His wife Li Qingluo and daughter Wang Yuyan attended the banquet, but they sat next to Mrs. Zhong, Gan Baobao.

Zhong Wanchou saw a row of first-rate masters, all of whom were proficient in both civil and military affairs. Although he knew that most of them came for Murong Fu, they were quite courteous to him and were also very excited. Especially when he saw the genius doctor Xue Muhua, he almost bowed down to him. During the meal, he pulled him aside to ask for advice on medical skills, which made Xue Muhua quite satisfied with him.

Today, the Eight Friends of Hangu are all first-rate, with the Murong family as their backing, so they naturally have many unique martial arts skills, but they look down on the so-called martial arts of ordinary people in the martial arts world. He knows very well that his martial arts skills are still better than Zhong Wanchou, and his kung fu is even more exquisite. He has not developed such a low-class behavior as asking for other people's martial arts skills to treat illnesses and injuries as in the original work.

On the contrary, because he had been teaching for many years, he had some of the temperament of a teacher, which made Zhong Wanchou unconsciously humble and ask for advice sincerely. Xue Muhua did not have much aversion to this ugly man. He gave him a few pointers and found that this ugly man had a very good foundation in medicine, which was deeper than 90% of his disciples.

One of them was sincerely asking for advice, and the other was willing to teach. They soon forgot everything around them and concentrated on their own world. After the banquet, they even took the initiative to come to the door and live in Gusu Academy, leaving their wives and daughters to be taken care of by Madam Wang Li Qingluo.

However, he knew that Mrs. Wang's daughter was Murong Fu's fiancée and his definite future wife. His daughter was interested in Murong Fu. If she wanted to marry into the Murong family, she had to please Wang's daughter. Otherwise, she would face difficulties when entering the family, and even Murong Fu's favor could not change that.

When Li Qingluo saw Gan Baobao, there was naturally a heated exchange of words. More than ten years ago, they were rivals in love. Now, one of them fell in love with someone else and found a husband who was more handsome, knowledgeable, and skilled in martial arts than Chun Ge. She even gave birth to a son for him. The other one, because of Murong Fu's manipulation, was canonized by the Emperor of Dali Kingdom and received an imperial decree because of her husband's reputation as a miracle doctor, thus cutting off the possibility of continuing to entangle with the Prince of Zhennan.

Although the rivals were extremely jealous when they met, they would not really tear each other apart in public. After all, he was just a stinky man whom they had given up, a wild man whom they wanted but could not get. Now they have given up the idea, and although there are some grudges in their hearts when they meet again, it will not make them lose their composure.

On the contrary, the two daughters, both of whom were descendants of the Dali Duanshi royal family, fell in love with the same man at the same time, which made them sigh in their hearts, wondering if this was another reincarnation?

However, Murong Fu was not Duan Zhengchun. He had been aiming for three wives and four concubines from the very beginning. Li Qingluo was quite proud of this because the position of the main wife had belonged to her daughter from the very beginning. Gan Baobao came too late, and her daughter was at best a co-wife, or even a concubine, who had to serve tea to her daughter.

Looking at Zhong Wanchou's ugly face again, Li Qingluo straightened her back even more. The husband she had found was a man of both civil and military talents, with a great reputation. He had hundreds of disciples and his appearance was also top-notch. He was extremely good to her and had never lacked for fine clothes and delicious food. Thinking of the environment of Dali's Wanjie Valley, she felt that she was truly living a happy and fulfilling life.

Because of Gusu College, Wang Erlang often interacted with the powerful, inevitably leading Li Qingluo to associate with noblewomen. As Murong Fu's official rank rose, the status of Li Qingluo, his aunt and future mother-in-law, also grew. Status and experience can enhance a person's temperament and perspective, and Li Qingluo was the perfect example. Now, simply by sitting there, she appeared even more noble and dignified than Gan Baobao.

"It's been over ten years since we last met in Dali. You're still as charming as ever, and I'm quite happy for you. Now that you're in Gusu, as the landlord, I'll definitely let you experience the prosperity and civilization of the Central Plains, which is by no means comparable to that remote and desolate place." Li Qingluo immediately turned Gan Baobao into a poor country relative, which made her very upset.

Gan Baobao was no ordinary person either. She smiled sweetly at Li Qingluo and said, "It's been a while since we last met. Sister, you're still as charming as ever. No wonder you can charm so many stinky men. I'm a young woman, and I've been confined to my home all my life, taking care of the household and raising our daughter. Fortunately, my ugly husband was quite capable and earned me an imperial decree. Although it's only for a remote country, it's still a prestigious position. Sister's husband is a man of both civil and military talents, and he's the president of the renowned Gusu Academy in the Central Plains. He associates with great scholars and ordinary people, so he must have earned you some status, right?"

Li Qingluo's mouth twitched slightly. Gan Baobao already considered her husband ugly, but it was difficult for her to continue to use this matter to provoke trouble. As Gan Baobao had said, the Central Plains was no match for the remote and small country of Dali. It wasn't easy to make a name for oneself, and even if one did, it wouldn't be easy to obtain a title for one's wife and children.

How capable is Wang Erlang?

He was indeed not small, and was very good at both civil and military affairs, but he was not a person in officialdom after all. He was not an official himself, nor was he a true scholar. He could not get the emperor's appreciation and canonization, and naturally it was impossible for him to get an imperial edict. No matter how respected he was in front of the noble ladies in Gusu City, his official identity was still just the wife of the dean of a college.

Suddenly, I feel that it might be a good thing for Fu Ge'er to quickly support Dayan and give my husband a great title. By then, my daughter will be the queen, my husband will be crowned king, and I will be both the princess and the mother of the queen. Naturally, my status and position will be very different. I guess Duan Zhengchun will also bow to me by then.

The two beautiful women were competing with each other, while on the other side, Xiao Zhong Ling and Wang Yuyan were laughing together. Ever since she knew that she was her cousin's fiancée, the future legal wife and the Queen of the Great Yan Kingdom, Wang Yuyan had been working towards this goal. At the same time, under Murong Fu's guidance, she also knew that as an emperor, it was impossible for him to favor only one person, so she learned many methods from the queens of the harem and tried them many times on those little girls.

When Wang Yuyan first met Zhong Ling, she was so cute and kept calling her cousin "Brother Murong". She knew that this little girl might be a member of her jurisdiction in the future. In addition, maybe it was because of their blood relationship, but she was not averse to the little girl Zhong Ling. On the contrary, she liked her a little. She ignored the fact that her mother and the other mother were fighting, and took care of little Zhong Ling by herself. Soon, she let her call her sister.

Not Sister Wang, not Sister Yuyan, but just called her Sister directly.

But the word "sister" made Li Qingluo and Gan Baobao silent.

Wang Yuyan let Zhong Ling call her that, which was tacitly acknowledging her qualifications to enter the harem of the Murong family of the Great Yan Kingdom. However, the two beautiful women couldn't help but feel a little guilty, because these two little girls were true half-sisters with the same father and mother.

Gan Baobao was not born into a high-class family, and he felt that he was marrying above his station when his daughter married into the Murong family, even if it was just as a wife and concubine. After all, Murong Fu was the head of the famous Murong family in the martial arts world, and a great master who was ranked as high as the leader of the Beggar Gang. He was by no means comparable to his own Wanjie Valley.

You said that Xiao Zhongling has Dali royal blood?

If Princess Zhen'an was still around, it would be impossible for her to give Princess Zhong Ling the status. She herself was not the princess of Dali, and her daughter had always been the only daughter of the master of Wanjie Valley. It would definitely be too high for her to marry into the Murong family with this status.

Li Qingluo knew that her status was not low, especially since she had been close to Madam Murong for more than ten years, and she knew a lot about the details of the Xiaoyao Sect. Not to mention others, she herself knew only Xingxiu Haiding Chunqiu and the Eight Friends of Hangu from Gusu Academy, all of whom were first-class and super-first-class masters.

Through years of inquiries and information revealed intentionally or unintentionally by the Eight Friends of Hangu, she also knew that her father might not be dead. In terms of status, she was still the elder of the Eight Friends of Hangu. But even so, she still reserved her opinion on whether her daughter was worthy of Murong Fu.

If we only look at their status in the martial arts world, the head of the Gusu Murong family and the daughter of the Xiaoyao sect can be considered a good match, but what if we raise their status to the level of the ruler of the Great Yan Kingdom?

Although Li Qingluo knew that her mother was a concubine in the Western Xia Kingdom, her daughter did not have any Western Xia royal blood. If she was just the illegitimate daughter of the Prince of Zhennan in Dali, what was the difference between her and that wild girl named Zhong Ling?

The more he understood the power of the Murong family, including the existence of the overseas Tamra Kingdom, which controlled nearly 30% of the territory of Goryeo and had hundreds of miles of territory in the northern grasslands, the more he felt that he was weaker. Therefore, he did not have much resistance to Murong Fu's plan to start a harem. Because of his previous emotional trauma, he even felt that his nephew Murong Fu was more courageous than the Dali Zhennan King who dared to do but not to take responsibility.

If Duan Zhengchun had been able to subdue Princess Dao Baifeng of Zhennan and bring himself and others into the Zhennan Palace, the situation would have been very different.

However, if that were true, her identity would be no more than a concubine of the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion, or even just a concubine, being tortured by the main wife Dao Baifeng all day long. Her daughter would be inferior to her and would have to live by her mood. She would definitely not be able to live as carefree as she does now.

Suddenly, Li Qingluo felt in a good mood and gave three thumbs up to her choice back then.

"My daughter, being a legal wife requires magnanimity. Helping Brother Fu manage the harem will make him like you more." Li Qingluo's thoughtless words made Wang Yuyan stunned for a moment, then she smiled and clenched her fists firmly, saying, "I will definitely do my best. As my cousin's legal wife, I have been working hard!"

"Sister, what is a legal wife?"

"The legal wife is the housekeeper. She's responsible for all the household affairs, not just the daily necessities of life. She also has to help her cousin solve problems. If she does things well, she's expected to do so, but if she makes mistakes, she'll be held responsible and scolded. Concubines, on the other hand, only need to take care of themselves, be well-behaved, and please their cousin."

"Sister, you've worked so hard. I want to be a concubine, not a wife." When Zhong Ling heard this, she immediately chose a light job.

Li Qingluo and Gan Baobao: ....

Just be happy with yourselves, but this twisted logic seems to make sense, provided that the wife must be a decent person, otherwise the concubine will definitely not have a good life.

So, after all these years of education, is Wang Yuyan a decent person? Li Qingluo was very confident about this, and Murong Fu was even more confident. He seemed to vaguely see some familiar light, quietly nurturing it.