Transmigration: I, the Dragon Overlord, start by protecting my beautiful bride!

"How long have I been asleep?" The first thing Long Aotian did after waking up was to ask about the time.

“It’s been almost a day and a night.” Just as Shen Juanxin was about to speak, Jiang Beichuan answered first.

"Did you deliver the letter I asked you to?" Long Aotian asked Jiang Beichuan.

"Yes, of course it was sent!" Jiang Beichuan patted his chest and replied, "But sir, even with the fastest horse in Qianzhou City, it would still take three days and three nights to get from here to Jingcheng. The letter might not arrive in time..."

Long Aotian also sighed and said, "It's alright, let's just do our best and leave the rest to fate."

Before leaving the courtyard that day, he had a premonition that something bad was going to happen. So he instructed Jiang Beichuan in advance to write a letter to the Huayi Mansion in Jingcheng as soon as the matter was over, reminding Dong Fuguang not to present poisonous herbs to the emperor.

Although he had acted promptly enough, unfortunately, this isn't the information age anymore. Even a simple sentence takes three or four days to arrive. He really misses the days when smartphones were available.

"I'm a little hungry, is there anything to eat?" Long Aotian said, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back.

"I'll go heat up your food." Upon hearing this, Shen Juanxin immediately got up to heat up his food.

Looking at his wife's virtuous figure, Long Aotian felt very gratified; his efforts had not been in vain.

"Ouch, Kitagawa, why does my back hurt so much?"

“Sir, you’d better not move around too much,” Jiang Beichuan said. “Miss Shi said that your wounds were almost healed, but you fought with those gambling den guys and tore them open again.”

"hiss……"

Long Aotian gasped, wondering why there was no anesthetic here.

If only we had anesthesia, or if that's not possible, some painkillers would be fine too...

"By the way, where is Miss Shi?"

"She's gone. She said she's going to find her master's remains for a proper burial." Jiang Beichuan said this with a somewhat forlorn expression.

"Indeed, she is a kind and compassionate girl." Long Aotian nodded in approval.

"By the way, I killed Jiang Shou. What did Lord Qianxun say about that?" Long Aotian remembered something important. "And what about Wang Bao, who was fighting so fiercely with Lin Boguang at this gate that day? What happened to him?"

"I was just about to tell you about this when you woke up, sir!" Jiang Beichuan said, unable to hide his excitement. "Lin Boguang was utterly annihilated by Chief Inspector Wang Bao, and the last one escaped through the West Gate. The gambling den owner who cooperated with him also confessed all the shady dealings he had done over the years!"

"Luo Qianxun took the opportunity to arrest a lot of people, solving a problem that had been bothering the higher-ups for a long time. He was rewarded with a lot of gold and silver, but these were still minor. More importantly, he made the higher-ups see his abilities, and it was only a matter of time before he was promoted and transferred to a more central position."

Upon hearing this, Long Aotian sighed and said, "Sure enough, no matter where we go, the workplace culture remains the same. Luo Qianxun doesn't even know where he is. As a result, all the credit for all the hard work and exhaustion we've put in has gone to him."

"Hey, aren't all those people up there like that?" Jiang Beichuan was already used to it.

Leaving aside these major achievements, even minor ones, as long as they benefit them, they either automatically share the spoils or claim all the credit for themselves. He was already used to these guys' ways.

“However, sir, you don’t need to be too angry.” Jiang Beichuan comforted him, “At least Lin Boguang shouldn’t be causing us any more trouble for now. Moreover, Luo Qianxun also said that although you killed Chief Inspector Jiang, it was because he escaped from the Black Prison and wanted to take revenge on you first, so he will not pursue any responsibility on your behalf, and he will take care of the detailed report.”

"Mm." Long Aotian nodded expressionlessly. This was simply using his sword to wipe away the blood.

It's comforting, but there's nothing to be happy about.

"Oh right, and last time, didn't we kill Wang Wu and Wang Liu?" After saying so much bad news, Jiang Beichuan finally decided to share some good news.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"Luo Qianxun said that he has already had your report written, and now we are just waiting for the higher-ups to process it. The reward should be delivered to you, sir, soon," Jiang Beichuan said with a smile.

Upon hearing this news, Long Aotian's eyes lit up for once, and he quickly reached out and pressed Jiang Beichuan's shoulder, asking, "Beichuan, how much is the bounty for Wang Wu?"

Kitagawa immediately replied, "1200 taels of silver!"

Upon hearing this, Long Aotian was practically floating on air. "1200 taels of silver, tsk tsk tsk, our good days are about to begin!"

Jiang Beichuan, however, said calmly from the side, "My lord, although the reward is 1,200 taels, you will actually receive no more than 500 taels."

Upon hearing this, Long Aotian was startled and quickly turned his head, asking, "Why is that?"

“Deduct it.” Jiang Beichuan raised his hand and began to list, “The Night Guard trained you, right? You used the Night Guard’s identity, right? So you have to hand over thirty percent of the total!”

"Holy crap!" Long Aotian's face twisted in pain.

"Were any of your men injured? If no one was injured or killed, that's good. Otherwise, the medical expenses and resettlement costs will all have to come from this bounty!"

Long Aotian agreed with this. If his subordinates were injured or killed while on a mission with him, they should indeed be paid for their medical treatment and resettlement. Otherwise, who would dare to work for him in the future?

But then he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Fortunately, there shouldn't be that, right? After all, we were all working together on the whole mission."

But he had barely finished speaking when he saw Jiang Beichuan standing awkwardly to the side.

"Sir, our injuries were all treated by Miss Shi, and she hasn't taken a single penny from us yet. Shouldn't we..."

Hearing this, Long Aotian felt a little embarrassed and immediately said, "Of course, of course."

However, after all that calculation, there's actually not much to earn from completing the Impermanence Ranking tasks.

They risked their lives to complete the task, only to have their money divided up like this. Aside from potentially benefiting their future careers, this money is less valuable than their lives...

"By the way, sir," Jiang Beichuan said, seeing Long Aotian deep in thought, "Do you still remember Ye Yan, the chief inspector's superior?"

Long Aotian sat on the bed and nodded. "What's wrong with him?"

Jiang Beichuan leaned closer and said, "I heard he took that herb to Jingcheng to curry favor, but he hasn't returned yet..."

“Hmmm…” Long Aotian pondered without speaking.

"My lord, what if that herb is truly poisonous?" Jiang Beichuan suddenly said with some worry, "If the Emperor were to use that medicine, wouldn't..."

Long Aotian thought for a while, mentally reviewing the whole incident.

The Huayi Mansion was the first to receive this news, and while Wang Wu's killing of Miss Shi's master seemed like an accident, upon closer examination, it was actually inextricably linked to His Highness the Crown Prince...

After all, if this matter goes wrong, it can be used as an excuse to severely damage the power of the Huayi Mansion. Moreover, with the emperor's death, the current crown prince will surely ascend the throne.

According to Shen Congxin's memory, the Celestial Empire is now beset by internal and external troubles.

The court was divided into two major factions: the faction led by Prime Minister Jin Qianduo and the faction led by the Crown Prince.

This prime minister has a lot of money and is a well-known veteran of two dynasties. He is deeply rooted and has a large army. Many of the officials in the six ministries of the court are his students.

The crown prince is young and lacks a solid foundation. He is not very familiar with the political intrigues of emperors. Only the eunuchs who have been by his side since childhood and some old ministers are still loyal to him.

hiss~

This celestial empire seems poised for a storm...

However, this seems to only benefit Long Aotian. After all, the one with a greater chance of winning now is clearly the Prime Minister Qian Jinduo, and he is currently claiming to be a member of the Dongfuguang faction of Huayi Mansion.

The most serious consequence of this was that they actually changed dynasties.

Even so, he still managed to cling tightly to the powerful figure.

but……

Before things are settled, Dong Fuguang's invitation to the Huayi Mansion in Jingcheng should perhaps be put on hold for now, lest any unforeseen circumstances implicate him...