Marrying a White Snake Wife is Super Cool

Chapter 384: Chapter 215: The Emperor Wants an Audience with You

King Yan, Gu Di, could hardly hide his excitement. "Lord Lu," he said, "you have done so much for my Yan Mansion. Ask for whatever you want. I am not a stingy man."

Lu Yuan replied, "King Yan has treated me with the utmost sincerity, so I will naturally do my best for you! If I need anything, I will certainly ask. For now, I have everything I need and am quite content."

Lu Yuan’s sincerity was palpable. ’After all, I’ll need to rely on the future Emperor Yongle! It’s essential to build a good relationship with him.’

Lu Yuan had successfully farmed a wave of goodwill from King Yan, Gu Di, causing the [Multiplication Factor: 8] above the king’s head to change to [Multiplication Factor: 9].

Of course, just moments ago, Lu Yuan had already obtained the system reward for reaching [Multiplication Factor: 9] with King Yan, Gu Di.

It seemed his efforts had not been in vain. It was just that no one else knew of the benefits Lu Yuan had gained.

The reward was the Pushing Back Diagram, which was completely outside Lu Yuan’s wheelhouse.

With the previous Secret Manuals he’d received, he could tell what they were about just from their names. But this time, it was the Pushing Back Diagram.

The worldly Lu Yuan mused to himself, ’Could it be? A few days ago, I taught my wife some massage techniques. Did the system recognize that and reward me with a book about back rubs?’

’This system is almost too considerate. If I wanted the secret to immortality, I wonder whose system reward I’d have to trigger.’

’This Pushing Back Diagram feels like a rip-off. The great King Yan isn’t some lecher like Duan Zhengchun, the Southern King of the Dali Kingdom. A 9x reward from the future Emperor Yongle, and all I get is a common massage manual you’d find in a red-light district?’

’The system is getting lamer and lamer. I wonder if it’s going to start spitting out junk like Massage Diagrams, Ear Cleaning Techniques, or Foot Reflexology Guides next.’

After a moment of thought, Lu Yuan decided to put it aside for now. His priority was to take good care of the two lords before him.

After having lunch at the Yan Mansion, Lu Yuan bid farewell to King Yan, Gu Di, and the Crown Prince of Yan, Gu Gaochi, and headed back to his villa, humming a tune.

When he returned to the villa, Su Liyan gave Lu Yuan a big hug and asked, "Yuan, is the Crown Prince of Yan’s illness cured?"

Lu Yuan led Su Liyan back to their room and nodded. "I suppose you could say it’s been taken care of. I’ve given the two Human Level Middle Level Elixirs to King Yan."

Su Liyan didn’t understand and asked, "Yuan, what do you mean, ’I suppose’?"

Lu Yuan said, "In any case, I’ve already given him the Elixirs. Whether Gu Gaochi takes them or not is none of my business."

Lu Yuan added, "However, we’ll have to stay in Yandu for a while longer. As long as we’re here, King Yan will feel more at ease."

Lu Yuan wasn’t wrong. If he delivered the Elixirs to the Yan Mansion and then immediately returned to Taiping City with his wife and followers, it would likely arouse King Yan’s suspicions.

Su Liyan missed her family back home, but she wouldn’t say anything to add to Lu Yuan’s worries.

Su Liyan linked her arm through Lu Yuan’s and said, "Yuan, in that case, you should take me sightseeing for a while. We haven’t had a chance to properly explore Yandu yet."

Lu Yuan patted Su Liyan’s head and said readily, "Of course, of course. Wherever my darling wants to go, we’ll go."

"Mhm, you’re the best, Yuan."

During this time, when Lu Yuan wasn’t in his study poring over Secret Manuals, he was taking Su Liyan out to travel and enjoy the sights.

While studying the Secret Manuals in his study, Lu Yuan focused mainly on Celestial Master and Alchemy, and also skimmed a few pages of the Pushing Back Diagram.

In that time, both his Martial Arts and Alchemy skills improved to a certain degree, and he refined a few more Human Level Middle Level Elixirs.

As for the Pushing Back Diagram, which Lu Yuan had initially scorned, he flipped through a few pages and realized it wasn’t a diagram of the human back as he had imagined.

The Pushing Back Diagram was about the art of divination, capable of predicting an individual’s future fortunes and misfortunes, and even the fate of the Empire.

Legend had it that during the Zhen Guan Period of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin—the man who launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident—ordered the astronomer Li Chunfeng and the diviner Yuan Tiangang to calculate the fortune of the Great Tang Dynasty.

To this end, Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang poured their hearts and souls into co-authoring the Pushing Back Diagram.

Based on its predictions, Taizong of Tang was able to avoid calamity and pursue good fortune. Combined with his own personal talents, this allowed the Tang Dynasty to reach a pinnacle of prosperity where vassal states paid annual tribute, a period known to history as the "Reign of Zhen Guan."

Lu Yuan examined the front and back covers of the Pushing Back Diagram, but there was no information about its authors. In other words, Lu Yuan had no way of knowing if this particular copy was truly the one written by Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng.

To Lu Yuan, this was all a bit too esoteric. It was hard to tell if it was actually useful or not.

After all, this wasn’t as simple as reading turtle shells, drawing lots, or just tossing a few copper coins.

The methods recorded in the Pushing Back Diagram were incredibly tedious and complex, with every part interlinked. Unlike other Secret Manuals that could be studied progressively from simple to profound, this was something that would be very difficult to learn in a short amount of time.

When it came to prediction, the slightest deviation could lead to a completely different outcome.

You were either right or wrong, accurate or inaccurate.

There were no ambiguous results.

Therefore, Lu Yuan didn’t focus his studies on the Pushing Back Diagram during this period. Instead, he prioritized improving his own tangible skills.

Aside from his training, Lu Yuan focused on making it up to Su Liyan, accompanying his darling wife on leisurely strolls and outings.

Whenever they went out, he would always notice someone following them from a distance.

This was Yandu, not Taiping City. It was only natural that there would be other people’s eyes and ears around.

Lu Yuan and Su Liyan pretended not to notice they were being followed, continuing to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves as they pleased.