A farmer has a shrewish wife; he's busy making money every day.

The journey to the capital is long and takes at least half a month.

During this time, Ye Qingxue was not idle either; Liang Xuan brought her a box of books to read on the way.

This includes, but is not limited to, detailed information about various forces in the capital, their personnel interactions, and the methods used by the business to handle various affairs.

Of course, the most important thing is to be familiar with the process of selecting wine in the palace.

Although Liang Xuan has the cunning nature of a businessman, he is a good partner. Ye Qingxue could tell that he was trying his best to tell her some important rules in the capital so that she would not make a mistake or offend some people she should not offend.

Of course, Liang Xuan didn't explain that fantastical world of immortals and heroes to him.

Ye Qingxue wasn't sure if he didn't know, or if he felt that this matter had nothing to do with her and there was no need to tell her, or if he was deliberately hiding it from her.

But none of that matters.

Ye Qingxue looked at the thick box of books in front of her and felt overwhelmed.

It feels like I've gone back to my childhood, to the days of memorizing lessons in my past life.

But before it was about grades, now it's about life and death.

If she wanted to venture into the heart of the capital, she couldn't afford to make a single wrong step, or she might face certain death.

However, through these books, she actually learned some things besides the wine selection process.

In the capital, the most powerful family was the Duke's Mansion. The Duke of Lu, who lived there, was formerly the General Longyang. After Emperor Wu ascended the throne, he led troops to guard the border and ensured peace for more than ten years, preventing the enemy from invading.

He can be considered a great contributor to the Wu Dynasty.

After his abdication, he was granted the title of Duke, and his Longyang Army was taken over by his second son, who took over his duty of guarding the frontier.

Their spirit of dedicating themselves to the country for generations is witnessed by the people throughout the nation, thus earning them the highest prestige, the greatest favor, and the most immense power.

Ye Qingxue just couldn't understand why the Duke of Lu didn't pass the position of general to his eldest son, but instead passed it to his second son.

But this was someone else's business, so Ye Qingxue could only keep her questions to herself.

All you need to know is that, apart from the Empress, the most influential person in the capital right now is the Duke of Lu.

Next, let's look at the section about commerce.

Among the merchants in the capital, two leading companies stand out, wielding immense prestige and influence. Apart from the imperial palace, they control almost the entire flow of funds in the capital.

These are the Fuyang Trading Company, controlled by the Xiao family, and the Liangcheng Trading Company, controlled by the Liang family.

It was only when Ye Qingxue saw this that she realized how powerful Liang Xuan's business was. Liang Xuan was the third young master of his family and one of the heirs of this Liangcheng Business.

This made her feel somewhat ashamed.

Such a person actually agreed to her outrageous demands, which must have been thanks to his 100% goodwill towards her. Otherwise, with his power, he could have easily captured her and forced her to brew wine.

After all, she had no power or influence.

This spirit field system is really useful; I won't criticize it anymore.

Ye Qingxue thought to herself as she continued to analyze the power dynamics in the capital.

As for the Fuyang Trading Company, the booklet describes it in detail, but it mostly focuses on how they frequently antagonize the Liangcheng Trading Company, with the two sides being irreconcilable enemies, nothing particularly special.

There was one place that caught Ye Qingxue's attention.

It says that the Fuyang Trading Company has a manager who is extremely eloquent, a master of flattery, sycophancy, and pandering. He often manages to seize upon the client's pain points and has snatched many large orders from the Liangcheng Trading Company. He is someone the Liang family greatly fears.

This wasn't the key point that caught Ye Qingxue's attention. The key point was the description of this person in the booklet. His surname was Ye, and he had a handsome face, but what was particularly striking was the large mole on his temple. He had a wife and two children, and it was said that he was a treasure that Master Xiao had found in an unknown town.

This description... it's so similar to Ye Qingxue's uncle, Ye Xiu!

In her predecessor's memories, she only vaguely saw her uncle's appearance when she was a child. She couldn't remember his face very clearly, but the large mole on his temple frightened her for a long time.

One wife and two sons...

Tsk, the more I think about it, the more it seems to make sense.

Ye Qingxue made a mental note of this person. If he really was her uncle, then she would have to be careful. After all, before Ye Xiu left the deserted village, he had tried every means to take money from their third branch of the family.

He's definitely not someone to mess with.

We need to be careful.

Unlike ordinary dynasties that prioritized agriculture over commerce, the Wu Dynasty was much more developed in commerce than in agriculture.

It can be said that controlling money means controlling the power of discourse.

These two most prestigious merchant houses are so well-known that even officials of the third rank have to show them respect.

This made Ye Qingxue somewhat itchy. It was fine as long as she didn't get involved in power, but once these things were exposed to her, given her ambition, how could she be content not to get involved?

Of course, she doesn't have that ability yet; she can only take it one step at a time.

Then I opened another booklet labeled "Official".

The document contained detailed information on officials of the Wu Dynasty, ranging from the first rank to the ninth rank, which made Ye Qingxue marvel at how much information this wealthy merchant possessed.

Ye Qingxue memorized the names and appearances of the people on each page. She would pay special attention to memorizing some of the most unpredictable and morally questionable princes or ministers of the Six Ministries to avoid being bothered.

As she carried the load, she grew tired. It was cold outside, but the heater inside the car was so warm that it made her feel lazy.

Winter is the perfect season for sleeping. It's fine to make her earn money, but when it comes to carrying things, she can't resist the temptation to sleep.

My head started to droop again, and my eyelids kept drooping uncontrollably.

Just as her head was about to hit the edge of the table, Ye Qingxue was suddenly awakened by a shout of killing.

"Chase them! They're right ahead!"

"quick!"

Ye Qingxue sat up abruptly.

What happened? Was it the person who chased her down in Qingshui County that day?

Are they those semi-cultivators? They've come to attack!

Ye Qingxue's drowsiness was instantly swept away. She slowly circulated her internal energy, and her eyes shone with a sharp light.

She could sense someone rapidly approaching the back door of her carriage, and the smell of blood was growing stronger.

With a bang, the back door of the carriage was suddenly flung open, and a cold air rushed in. A figure swiftly slipped onto the carriage and closed the door with lightning speed.

Ye Qingxue tensed up instantly, drew her knife from her waist, and was about to stab him.

The man turned around abruptly and grabbed her wrist, stopping her movement.

A strangely strong internal force entered her body through her wrist, dispersing the qi within her body and leaving her completely powerless.

In a split second, her wrist was twisted behind her back, and the blade was pointed at her own neck.

That person came with murderous intent.

Ye Qingxue broke out in a cold sweat; death was imminent.

At the critical moment, the blade stopped at Ye Qingxue's neck, unable to advance even an inch.

Ye Qingxue looked up and met a pair of familiar eyes.

Her pupils contracted sharply, and Ye Qingxue opened her mouth, exclaiming in surprise.

"Zhao Ciyan?"