I am a living immortal.

The old man sighed as he spoke.

Su Mu looked at the old man's expression and asked, "Judging from your expression, the Zheng family doesn't seem to be a bad family."

"Haha." The old man laughed twice.

"I don't know if what you said is bad or not, young man. Compared to other families, the Zheng family is not bad. I was only a teenager when the Zheng family rose to prominence. At that time, the world had just come to peace. Although Jiading Prefecture was not damaged, it was a very chaotic period. It was common to go hungry. When the world is in chaos, the officials are even more chaotic. Those big families who stored up grain would not give it to us to help. At that time, most of the fields in Jiading Prefecture were controlled by the wealthy families, and the taxation was also chaotic."

"Officials and businessmen are colluding, and they still have the final say on how much to pay."

"At the end of the year, after paying grain taxes and all sorts of other things, I only had enough land to eat once a day on my dozen acres of land."

"This is what it looked like before the Zheng family came."

"However, the Zheng family was completely different. I still admire them to this day. As outsiders, they were able to gain a foothold in Jiading Prefecture. Their arrival was not a big deal. There were many small families like the Zheng family in the local area at that time. The local aristocratic families looked down on these small families and did not take them seriously at all."

"Plus, the situation was chaotic at the time, and the government didn't have much deterrent power."

"So, the former Duke of Zheng has a unique opportunity. However, if it has always been a small family, it won't matter. Those noble families won't do anything. But as long as there is any sign of threat, these local noble families will not let it go, right?" Su Mu asked.

"Yes, so this is thanks to the chaotic situation at the time. The government's deterrent power declined, and rebels arose everywhere. Everyone was in danger at the time. This also gave the Zheng family an opportunity to rise up unnoticed. The Zheng family took advantage of the situation and attached themselves to a rebel group."

"Because the situation is unclear, the major families in Jiading Prefecture want to maintain stability. Although they are supporting the rebels, the support is very small."

"With this peck and drink, the gap is narrowing."

"And this time, the Zheng family won the gamble. That rebel army swept across the world and quickly unified most of the region. They went from being a rebel to a legitimate dynasty, and the legitimate prince became a remnant of the previous dynasty."

"Those rebels and those supporting the rebels became the real rebels."

"When Jiading Prefecture heard the news, they panicked. Common sense would have dictated that these families supporting the rebels would be liquidated, but the Zheng family used this as an excuse to target the other prominent families. These families were horrified to discover that such a family existed. The Zheng family agreed to help eliminate the aftermath of their support for the rebels, and these families, in return, offered substantial benefits."

"The Zheng family has completely established its foothold with this."

"The Jiading Prefecture aristocratic families don't know that the newly enthroned emperor is already overwhelmed by the complex emotions he faces. Internally, there are various interest groups, and the outside world is not completely unified. He simply has no ability to manage this area. This is mainly due to the illusion caused by the emperor's initial overwhelming attitude."

"The Zheng family knew how chaotic and weak the situation was at the time, but they didn't think it was a bad thing. They could take advantage of the opportunity to gain more say."

"Instead, it was the Zheng family, who had established themselves, that tied Jiading Prefecture to their own boat. By the time the current emperor came to his senses, the Zheng family had already used Jiading Prefecture to pull in other states and become a behemoth."

"At this time, the situation has reversed, and it has become that the current emperor needs the Zheng family and the Southern Group behind the Zheng family."

After hearing this, Su Mu understood: "A special situation, coupled with luck, courage, insight, and the most critical information gap, has created the current state of the Duke of Zheng's Mansion."

Of course, some aristocratic families also reacted later, but the Zheng family was no longer the small family that was at the mercy of others before. Moreover, internal marriages and conflicts of interest became inevitable.

Even now, although the Zheng family has declined, their connections are still there. It doesn't matter if they can't become officials. They have money and connections, and are still a giant in Jiading Prefecture.

Of course, it also stopped at Jiading Prefecture.

So the old man was very sad...

Su Mu also sighed after hearing this. He didn't know what Duke Zheng had experienced to make him become what he is now. Maybe it was because he became more confused as he got older, or because he didn't want to die as he got older and more powerful.

In fact, from the two people we met in the desert, we can see that the Zheng family has a very good education.

Suddenly, Su Mu looked at the ordinary old man in front of her: "I wonder who you are? How do you know so much?"

"Me? I'm just an ordinary manager. Well, I've heard the story. Thank you for the good tea, young man. It's time for me to get busy. Please go ahead." The old man pounded his thighs, which were a little numb from sitting for so long, and stood up staggeringly.

Su Mu also stood up and watched the old man leave.

Looking at the small table, purple clay teapot and cups in front of him, it would be hard to believe that this was just an ordinary steward.

But I drank the tea and listened to the story, which satisfied my gossipy heart. It didn't matter who it was anymore.

Su Mu packed up and left.

While walking on the ridge of the field, many people looked up and respectfully called out "Manager", and the old man nodded and began to patrol. The old man had a very high prestige in the local area. Many people didn't know why, and even the big families had to be polite to him when they saw him.

When Su Mu returned to the courtyard, Shenlong was drinking tea amidst a bunch of strange visions. Seeing Su Mu, he smiled and said, "How rare! I thought you would stay in this courtyard until the end of spring."

"Not really."

"Do you know what I've been doing these days?" Mirage Dragon winked at Su Mu, as if saying, ask quickly... ask quickly.

After sighing, he asked helplessly, "What have you done these days?"

"Hey... I'm asking about a place, a very interesting place."

"Where?" Su Mu scooped a bucket of water and sprinkled it under the crabapple tree and asked. This time he was really curious. What place was there that even the mirage dragon found interesting?

"Ghost Market of Youxu."

Su Mu paused scooping water and looked at the mirage dragon, waiting for his next words.

"I don't know if he's still there, but he should be somewhere in a tributary of the West Sea. Jiading Prefecture has a dense network of waterways, and there are many ship merchants. I contacted them with the help of local noble families.

"But as long-term shipowners, we've all encountered some strange things. We've encountered ghost walls, thick fog, strange fish, and will-o'-the-wisp fire. It's not uncommon to see some of these things being true and some being false. It's not easy to tell the difference between the true and the false."

"Get to the point, have you found it?"

"Found it." Mirage Dragon nodded.