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"Mother, is this Lyuzhou? What a huge gate!"

Outside the large city gate, the little girl looked at the enormous gate with excitement, dancing with joy.

"Put your hand down, young lady, what kind of behavior is that!" The beautiful woman beside her tapped the girl’s head, scolding her with a stern face, "Don’t make such a fuss, especially when you get into the academy. If you get kicked out because of this, I want to see what you’re going to do then. "

"Is that an exaggeration?" The little girl stuck out her tongue, "During the Yunzhou examination, the proctors were so gentle, not at all as strict as Mother says."

"What do you know?" The woman glanced at her, "As a woman, it’s not easy to stand out. Even though Lyuzhou Academy does not restrict by gender, the conventional views haven’t changed. When a woman rises to the top, people just can’t stand it.

Otherwise, in the whole of Yunzhou, among so many girls who took the exam, how come only you passed? "

"Could it be... they just weren’t good enough?" The little girl said blankly.

"Nonsense!" The woman glared, "Good enough? Master Su’s daughter is already seventeen, famous throughout Yunzhou for her talent. She’s proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, yet she didn’t pass. Just you did. Do you know why?"

"Because of what?" The little girl was taken aback.

"Of course, because you’re mediocre!" The woman whispered, "Those who stand out too much get deliberately filtered out, and those who are not capable at all naturally can’t be pushed through. They want someone like you, mediocre, to symbolically admit one. It proves the officials’ enlightenment and does not undermine the men’s authority.

You just happened to benefit from this, don’t be so complacent. .."

"Uh..." The girl blinked, her little mouth pouting.

So many days of hard study, and now according to Mother, she just picked up a bargain?

Clearly, the female teacher who taught her said she had an outstanding talent for Art Calculation.

"But... the master is very imposing, and she’s a woman, too. Look, even the City Lord of Yunzhou treats her courteously."

"That’s because she’s delivered significant achievements," the woman sighed. "Our Yunzhou has such a big shipyard, all because of Master Huang’s techniques, bringing us so many business opportunities. With such an accomplishment, it’s heaven-sent for the City Lord who would naturally be courteous to her.

That’s why I support you to learn skills here.

Although I don’t expect you to stand out like the men, if you can learn a few things, at least you will have a chance to establish yourself, do you understand? "

"Oh..." The girl looked down upon hearing this, her excitement suddenly much less than before.

"Where do you hail from? What brings you to the city?"

The city gate guards routinely questioned the mother and daughter.

The woman glanced at the city gate, her heart also filled with emotion. Indeed, this was Lord Chen’s place of fortune; even the gate of Lyuzhou was different from that of Yunzhou. Although both are protected by the Gate God, the scale... was incomparable.

If Chen Qing were here, he would certainly chuckle at how much the woman was overthinking it.

The scale of Lyuzhou’s city gate was large, partly because the Gate Deity was established early, and the first generation Gate Deity was the former Wolf King, who had high qualifications but was old, so he advanced quickly.

Now in Jiangnan, he is the highest-ranking Gate Deity, two ranks above that of Nanyang City, naturally different.

"Ah, honored guard, we are from Yunzhou. This time, the main purpose is to bring my daughter here for the Yin Yang Academy examination," the woman explained.

"Oh?" The guard blinked upon hearing this, his tone becoming much more respectful as he looked at the mother and daughter, "So she’s a female scholar? Do you have the examination permit?"

"Yes, yes, yes..." The woman hurriedly pulled out a document wrapped in Yunzhou brocade. Upon opening it, a Technique seal was visible.

After confirming the document, the guard showed even more respect and said to the girl, "That’s impressive.

You look so young, yet you’ve passed the preliminary test. I remember in Yunzhou, wasn’t it ten thousand participants for the preliminary test, and only fifty were chosen?

Tsk tsk, truly impressive. I have a distant relative in Yunzhou; their twenty-two-year-old has a Chosen Man title, and it seems he didn’t pass the preliminary test this time. "

"Really..." The woman was startled and swallowed hard, "Even a Chosen Man didn’t pass?"

"Indeed," the guard looked at the little girl, "Remarkable indeed. At such a young age, you must seize this opportunity. If you are admitted to the academy, your prospects will be boundless."

The girl’s spirits lifted considerably upon these words.

The woman touched her daughter’s hair, feeling reassured. If the child was fortunate enough to pass this test and enter the academy, she could be at peace, and she herself could at last seek out that irresponsible man.

She had a vague suspicion that the scoundrel probably had a family. As a widow, it wouldn’t be easy for her to approach.

Becoming a concubine was an act of self-degradation; her daughter couldn’t suffer alongside her. She might be foolish as a mother, but she’d bear it on her own.

Not long after the mother and daughter entered the city, a woman in black came to the city outskirts. She wore a mask in broad daylight, which drew attention in the relatively open region of Jiangnan. However, underneath the mask, the woman’s face was marred with scars like centipedes.

The woman stopped a hundred meters away from the city gate, for she could clearly sense that the huge wolf head on the gate was looking right at her!

A flicker of indescribable emotion passed through her eyes, but she dared not probe carelessly. After looking twice, she quietly retreated to the docks where she boarded a ship.

"How is it?"

Inside the cabin, there were several dozen women just like the masked woman, their faces covered in black cloths, disfigured and scarred.

The woman who entered flicked out her tongue, and it was just like a snake’s forked tongue, dark purple in color, instantly sending a chill down the spines of the two male guards standing by!

"Based on the lady’s provided information and scent, there’s no mistake, it’s that mother and daughter, they have now entered Lyuzhou City!"

"Oh?" The leading woman frowned upon hearing this, "If that’s the case, why didn’t you follow them?"

"There’s something strange about that city gate in Lyuzhou.

.." the woman whispered, "Not only is it unbelievably tall, but the wolf head on the gate seems to be alive. I could feel its gaze on me from hundreds of feet away. If I had gotten any closer, it would have likely caused an uproar. The rumors say that Lyuzhou’s city gate can recognize demons, and it seems they’re true! "

"Is that so?" Another woman frowned, "Then we might as well make a move on the river!"

"Make a move on the river?" The leading woman scoffed coldly, "Did you not see the situation on the river? The boat that woman was on belongs to Yunzhou’s official fleet. It’s said to be escorting candidates for the Lyuzhou Academy’s exams, guarded not only by the Sea God’s Guard but also by the War God Army specially dispatched from Yunzhou.

From a distance, I noticed that the soldiers on that boat are all vigorous and strong, at least of Fifth Rank Warrior standard, and the leading officers are even at the Third Rank! "

"This Chen Qing is not simple; to have military forces of such caliber at her disposal is no surprise the Imperial Court suffered such a major setback this time!"

"Then how shall we carry out madam’s orders?" the woman beside her asked anxiously.

They all knew well how demanding their lady was with her subordinates.

She never treated anyone poorly, and those who had followed her out of the Earth Dragon Cave in those years were now enjoying the resources only children from aristocratic families could have.

However, the precondition was that they must get the job done.

Their lady was extremely jealous and would do anything to get her hands on any woman who dared to have an affair with Lumings, subjecting them to all kinds of torture.

In previous years, Lumings had not been without protection; he tried all sorts of methods, like entrusting his children or concubines to a certain deputy general or a Magician of great power.

But it was all in vain, because those Earth Serpents who had followed their lady out of the Earth Dragon Cave had extremely difficult-to-guard-against sneaking techniques.

Over the years, they hardly ever failed in any task their lady assigned them. The only time they did was with Mu Hongqing. That Magician was overly cunning and treated Mu Hongqing as a personal disciple, which made it genuinely difficult to act against her.

That time, their lady had furiously devoured fourteen of their sisters!

Merely thinking about that scene possibly happening again made everyone shudder.

"Keep watch!" the leading woman commanded coldly, "The examinations will eventually end. I have heard that in Chen Qing’s power circle, those masters graduating from the Academy are highly valued. That’s why such protection is granted. Even from the Capital City Yin Yang Academy, there are very few women who pass the exams. The likelihood of that little girl failing is even higher. When they return, they’ll most likely be on an ordinary cargo ship, and that’s when we can strike. "

"Elder sister is right..."

The others sighed in relief upon hearing this, none wishing to again witness their lady’s frightening side....

---------------------

"My lord... Minister Pang has sent a reply." Chen Ying reported as she came into Chen Qing’s room.

"That was quick?" Chen Qing frowned, "What did he say?"

"He’s made demands, wants us to return Weichi Peng and release those fifty thousand young soldiers!"

Chen Qing replied in silence, rubbing his fingers, the other hand tapping lightly on the desk.

"Does my lord have any concerns?" Chen Ying asked curiously.

Having known him for so long, she had begun to understand some of Chen Qing’s habits. Whenever he was perplexed by something, he would behave like this.

"The court wanting Weichi Peng and those fifty thousand soldiers back is understandable... but..." Chen Qing narrowed his eyes, "Lumings wants them too..."

"You mean, Lumings... has reached some agreement with Minister Pang?"

"Unlikely..." Chen Qing shook his head, "Minister Pang represents the interests of the entire Sorcerer Family. Now that the civil officials have finally gained the upper hand in the Imperial Court, why would he cooperate with Lumings? What does Lumings have left? Without troops, without prestige, to put it bluntly, he’s nothing more than a fallen dog.

Cooperation would mean sharing the loot and assuming the risk of him betraying halfway through, which is not very beneficial. "

"Then, what does my lord mean?"

"I just can’t figure it out..." Chen Qing frowned, "Lumings shouldn’t be able to cooperate with Minister Pang, but since he’s here, he wouldn’t do nothing, right? How many more days can the Array last?"

Chen Ying: "Five days, if we consider the energy for taking action, then it’s only three days left..."

"It seems we need to force a hand..." Chen Qing stood up, "Notify everyone, we will hold a banquet tonight!"

"Yes..."