Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 335 - 284: Yingyun Sincere Earl Jingan_1

Chapter 335: Chapter 284: Yingyun Sincere Earl Jingan_1

The next morning, Li Xuan received the imperial envoy and a whole heap of imperial rewards and gifts.

As expected, the Court had conferred upon him the hereditary title of Earl, with a rank equivalent to ’The Emperor’s Heavenly Fortune Earl Jingan’, a highly significant reward. Henceforth, he and his descendants will be nobles sharing the fate of the nation. (Note: In the Ming Dynasty, the title of Earl exceeds rank, in this book it is set as the third-rank official)

Ever since the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, a hereditary title was given only for military merits and close imperial relatives.

Even though Li Xuan had considerably contributed this time, bringing peace to south Zhili, and even averting a great calamity in Jiangnan, he technically did not meet the criteria for a noble title.

But because this matter relates to the Xiao Mausoleum and the second Prince, and he killed the successor of Jianling, thereby resolving a significant concern of the royal family, the Emperor insisted.

Of course, the official position of the Court does not mention half a word about ’Emperor Jianling’. Both Zhenru and Yu Yanjun were simply demonized males and females of the Maitreya Teaching.

So although Cabinet Ministers and Nobles who knew the truth had significant objections, they didn’t make great efforts to oppose it.

The ’Hereditary Earl’ is only half a rank higher than his previous title of ’The Hereditary Vice Commander of the Weisuo Institute’, but it is far more valuable. There are many ’Hereditary Vice Commanders of the Weisuo Institute’ in the Jin Dynasty, but there are fewer than seventy Earls in total.

Previously, Li Xuan wasn’t able to take on the roles of both the Fumo Duyu and the Vice Commander at the same time. But now both offices can pay his salary.

Furthermore, the salary and subsidies he has received from both the Liudao Division and the Court already surpass Jiang Hanyun, with an estimated total of two to three hundred thousand taels a year.

In addition to the salary, he also has a large amount of tax-exempted land, totaling one hundred acres. Five nearby mountains were also assigned to him, along with two residences in southern Beijing.

Besides this, an Earl also has a slew of privileges - like retaining one’s private army. Each Earl is entitled to keep about three hundred private soldiers.

When the imperial envoy departed, Li Xuan immediately donned the absolute authority of the Feiyu Suit gifted by Emperor Jingtai on top of his own Liudao Fumo Armor, and flaunted it in front of his elder brother Li Yan who had just returned home to rest.

After the latter was reinstated to his original position and promoted to the position of the Naval Commanding General at Dasheng Pass, which was tens of miles away from Nanjing City and much closer than Zhenjiang, he returned home more frequently of late.

But Li Yan stared hard at him and questioned, "Younger Brother, why is there a bruise on your left eye? Who fought with you? Tell me, and I might be able to help you get your revenge."

Li Xuan immediately turned black, thinking that this man always touched his sore spot, and he was going to be friendless in the future.

He touched his left eye again, thinking to himself that the punch from Jiang Hanyun was quite fierce. If it wasn’t for the protection of his ’Kuiniu Luminous Armor’, and his quick response, his eye might have been destroyed.

But after Jiang Hanyun’s punch, Li Xuan had tried to apply various miracle cures to remove the bruise but to no avail.

"He came back from Jiang’s residence like that yesterday. He must have been beaten by Xiaowei Jiang. One of the two young men he brought back, the fat one named Peng, hasn’t woken up until now and is still twitching in the guest room."

Next to Li Xuan, Leng Yurou didn’t miss a beat. While she was revealing the embarrassment of the three people, she was also looking at the imperial reward list: "I have checked it, there isn’t much valuable, the only thing that could be useful to you are those twenty ’Sāmadhi Ding Yuan Pills’. However, for you, this kind of pill is only slightly stronger than the Liudao Renyuan Elixir, so its effect is limited."

Li Xuan was prepared for this. Now that he had been conferred the title of Earl, he did not expect any surprises in the rewards.

However, next, Leng Yurou took out three black metal ingots from a box and changed her tone: "However, the Emperor did care for you and gave you this."

Li Xuan’s eyebrows lifted slightly: "What is it?"

"It’s ’Black Meteor’, which comes from outer space. Once it is coated on the surface of the metal, it can not only resist fire and lightning, but also greatly enhance the toughness of almost all metals, and to some extent, it can even isolate cold power."

Leng Yurou explained, "This is something that only the Court has, and it is almost non-existent on the market. Knowing about the battle at Xiao Mausoleum, you were forced to retire your Fumo Vajra from the Under Palace, so it was specially bestowed upon you. If at that time your Vajra was coated with this, even if it’s as powerful as the Drought Demon, you could hold out for a while. That’s why I said the Emperor is considerate."

After she finishes, she held those three metal ingots and walked towards the backyard: "I have a technique called ’Infiltrating Steel’ that will help you coat your ’Black Meteor’, and also manage a cooling system. However, this will need a processing fee of twenty thousand taels. If you’re willing, let your Fumo Vajra follow me, it will take approximately two days."

Li Xuan’s heart constricted in response. The silver the Court and Liudao Division had awarded him was precisely twenty-two thousand taels. Was Sister Leng watching his money every day?

Begrudgingly, money that needs to be spent still has to be spent. After struggling for a bit, Li Xuan obediently let his Fumo Vajra follow Leng Yurou.

He was also worried that he would confront similar situations in the future, where Fumo Vajra would become useless.

That night, to celebrate Li Xuan being conferred the title of ’Earl Jingan’, a feast with five hundred tables was set up in the Earl Chengyi’s mansion, and invitations were wildly distributed throughout the city. Almost all the nobles and official families of the entire Nanjing City were present, resulting in the whole mansion, inside and out, being bustling and lively, filled to capacity.

Mrs. Liu was overjoyed the entire night, her face flush with excitement.

This was not only due to Li Xuan being conferred the title of Earl, but also because her own mother was rewarded too being conferred as Gaoming Madam Guo.

"Indeed, ever since Xuan was young, I had recognized that my child was not ordinary."

"I remember a few years ago, someone told me that my son was doomed not to achieve much. But now? My son is none other than Earl Jingan."

"——If he wants to fool around, let him. I know his talents. As long as he sets his heart on the right path, then achievements and meritorious service, marrying and siring children, will come to him as easily as taking something from a bag. Now, didn’t he not only get a noble title but also become the Hufa of Neo-Confucianism?"

"Although Xuan has not settled upon a fiancée yet, I have already found a good girl for him, waiting for the marriage negotiation. Therefore, I’m not going to consider the girl from Assistant Minister of Rites Li’s family. Everything is already settled!"

Surrounded by the flattery and admiration of many ladies, Mrs. Liu felt so elated that she could hardly close her mouth from smiling.

But when it came to Li Xuan’s impending marriage, Mrs. Liu could not help but sigh with regret.

Previously, when Li Xuan was messing around outside, she had been worried about his marriage. However, even after Li Xuan received his noble title, she felt more bothered.

By the way, there were rumors recently that Li Xuan also had ambiguous relationships with Princess Changle.

Meanwhile, Li Xuan was accompanying Li Chengji, toasting to the elders invited to the banquet.

His successful conferment of nobility this time was also due to many connections by Li Chengji, who had owed a few favors, in order to make it go smoothly. Among those present today, over a dozen of his uncles had voiced their support for him in the court.

Li Xuan’s appearance at this time was not particularly commendable, with the bruise on his left eye drawing frequent glances. However, his bright red Four-claw Flying Fish Robe was very eye-catching, shocking many of the guests.

So-called ’Flying Fish’, shaped like a dragon with two horns and four claws, is a gift of attire granted by the Jin Dynasty. It looks similar to the Emperor’s dragon robe, so only the Emperor’s most trusted and valued ministers, both military and civil, as well as eunuchs, are granted this ’Flying Fish Robe’.

Currently, in the whole of Nanjing City, only nine dignitaries have been awarded the ’Flying Fish Robe’ by the Emperor.

As such, wherever Li Xuan passed, the women were eyeing him, barely able to shift their gaze.

Zhang Yue was also green with envy, constantly stealing glances, feeling Li Xuan was particularly dashing.

On the other hand, Peng Fulai was feeble and weak, having just recovered. His entire body was still numb, spasming from time to time, causing him great pain.

He vowed to not fall into Li Xuan’s trap any longer. The Jiang family treated Peng Fulai, their future son-in-law, with great respect. Yet he had been tortured horribly by the Jiang family’s renowned physician.

After Li Xuan finished toasting, Peng Fulai remembered something and said, "Qianzhi, do you remember Xi Xuer from the Xi Ying family? I heard a couple of days ago that their family was arrested and thrown into prison."

"Their family has been imprisoned?" Zhang Yue was shocked and puzzled, "Didn’t Xi Ying die? The Inspectorate reported that he had fallen into the river due to his official duties and died, so the court even conferred upon him the posthumous title of Assistant Minister of Rites."

"That was before. Not long ago, during a search of the remnants of the Jianling faction, the Ministry of Punishments found two letters from Xi Ying in a Zhenru hideaway. Although they were not signed, someone identified it as Xi Ying’s handwriting. Therefore, the court not only revoked all titles conferred upon Xi Ying but also arrested his entire family."

Peng Fulai shook his head, "This is truly tragic! If charged with the crime of rebellion, all men within the offender’s three generations are to be eradicated, and the women are all to be sent to the Ministry of Music. Presumably, before long, we’ll be able to see that woman in the Ministry of Music."

However, Li Xuan showed no concern whatsoever. From beginning to end, he had never put Xi Xuer in his heart.

Truth be told, the downfall of the Xi family to this point was entirely their own doing. Xi Xuer had also plotted against him several times.

Yet Li Xuan was not petty enough to hold a grudge against a woman.

What he really cared about was Jiang Hanyun’s matter. He planned to go to the book collection building the next day to exchange all the methods that could prevent the transformation into a demon.

He didn’t find it appropriate to bother Yue Qianqian and Xue Yunrou with this matter, nor did he feel right asking Mr. and Mrs. Jiang Yunqi directly whether or not this secret method really requires doing that thing.

Therefore, he could only take matters into his own hands.

Just at that moment, Li Xuan caught sight of a flying talisman entering the hall from outside, landing on his hand.

After unfolding it and having a look, Li Xuan’s eyebrows subtly raised.

"Is it from the division?" Recognizing the Liudao Division’s unique broadcast talisman in one glance, Peng Fulai asked, "Is there some urgent matter?"

"It is an order from the supervisor," said Li Xuan, seeming somewhat helpless. "He asked me to escort Princess Changle to Longhu Mountain."

He had thought that he would have some peace and quiet for an extended period of time.

This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om