Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 299: Chapter 299: Plot Device

Earlier, news came from Tea Mountain Manor outside the Imperial City: the Xu Family Sisters, Xu Zhiyuan and Xu Zhidi, managed to have their first encounter with Bai Changqing under the warm winter sun.

Where there’s one, there’s two.

After leaving Bai Changqing hanging for a few days, the Xu Family Sisters went fishing by Taohua Creek. At this time of year, a thin layer of ice had just formed on the creek; crack it open and you could bait the hook and start fishing.

The creek wasn’t shallow, and there were plenty of fish inside. The tenant farmers often came here to fish. There’s a local species called "Zhongyang," about a foot long, with few bones and delicious, tender meat. Doctors even said it had nourishing effects, so it was very popular.

The Xu Family Sisters were after this "Zhongyang." A few days ago, they’d tasted it for the first time, and instantly fell in love. Upon hearing the creek nearby had them, they decided to try their hand and see if they could catch any.

But "Zhongyang" wasn’t easy to catch. Before biting, it had a habit of testing—opening its mouth, swirling the water, and creating a suction effect on the bait. It would test many times. Beginners unfamiliar with this fish’s habits would often yank too early and lose the catch.

So, the two sisters got up early and braved a whole Hour of cold wind by the creek, but ended up catching not a single "Zhongyang." Instead, they waited out that old man.

Earlier when they first met, Bai Changqing told the Xu Family Sisters he lived in the residence near Taohua Creek. But it seemed the sisters had forgotten this self-proclaimed charming and mature old man, and, too busy puffing their cheeks with frustration at the fishing failure, didn’t think of Bai Changqing at all.

Bai Changqing, on the other hand, had already heard from his servants that the two young ladies were fishing behind the creek that day. At first, he wanted to wait it out, thinking they’d seek him out and that fishing was just an excuse. But he soon realized he was dead wrong. In fact, the two young ladies were so vexed at not catching any fish they’d started blaming each other, and looked ready to leave.

So they really were just here to fish?

Bai Changqing felt a twinge of embarrassment at his earlier misjudgment, and for a moment, his face grew hot. Experience can get you killed—he’d thought these innocent young ladies were gold-diggers, and that really wasn’t fair.

At the same time, besides "interested," Bai Changqing secretly found himself liking the Xu Family Sisters a bit more.

If Zhu Shou knew what Bai Changqing was thinking, he’d definitely say: This is just the self-importance and secret arrogance of an old man.

Self-important, believing his own insight and wisdom could distinguish real from fake. But because of that secret arrogance, old men like him walked into the traps carefully set for them by the other side—faster than young ones did.

The intelligence report put it like this: The target strode up to the creek, cheerfully expressing what a coincidence it was to run into the Xu Family Sisters again, and "accidentally" asked why they hadn’t caught any fish. As the sisters grumbled and blamed each other, the target proactively offered to try his hand at catching a fish for them.

Shen Hao couldn’t help but smirk at this. He had no experience with romance, but even he knew Bai Changqing showing up and acting this way was basically "delivering himself to their door."

Sure enough, things progressed at a lightning pace after that.

Today, "I happened to pass by a shop and saw some nice rouge, so I bought two tins for you to try."

Tomorrow: "Saw some fine fabrics and thought they’d suit you, so I picked some up to make a pair of dresses. Not sure if you like them."

Honestly, these routines all looked suspiciously familiar to Shen Hao.

It seemed like in both worlds, chasing women always came down to "giving gifts." The more experienced the man, the more he liked this move—maybe because it cost less time, or maybe because material stimulation worked faster, yielded quicker results, than emotional investment.

Shen Hao had no personal experience with this. He was just reading the intelligence note for entertainment. Yet between the lines, he could feel Bai Changqing putting more and more effort into the Xu Family Sisters.

The daily schedule of a Minister of Revenue was tightly arranged—saying he barely touched the ground from busyness might be an exaggeration, but "exhausting" was fair. To get even three to five days off a year was a luxury. But ever since that fishing day, Bai Changqing started spending the night at Tea Mountain Manor every day after his official business was done.

In just one month, Bai Changqing had become close with the Xu Family Sisters. Even the term "Uncle" among them had taken on new meaning—it was no longer just polite address.

Shen Hao closed the intelligence note, feeling like he wanted more. He looked at Wang Jian, who stood in front of him with his hands properly clasped, and grinned. "So what’s the next step?"

"Sir, as Zhu Shou planned, there’s going to be an ’accident’ next to accelerate Bai Changqing’s relationship with the Xu Family Sisters, and to further dispel his doubts about their identities."

"What kind of ’accident’?"

"The Xu Family will offend a group of Loose Cultivators in a business dispute, and someone will attack their home—they’ll lose a couple of servants and the Xu Family will take some wounds. In the end, the Xu Family Sisters will be in mortal danger, and it’ll be Bai Changqing’s turn to take the stage—rescuing the sisters, and using the opportunity to officially connect with the Xu Family Main Branch."

"Details?"

"Zhu Shou didn’t say, but your subordinate can just about guess. It’s probably tricking a batch of Non-tiered Loose Cultivators into attacking the Xu Family. Defensive Arrays and other measures will have been set up at the Xu Family house beforehand. The goal is to drag things out until someone can call for Bai Changqing’s help. The moment he arrives, things get resolved. In the end, maybe a few Xu Family servants and a few Non-tiered Loose Cultivators will die at most.

Heh heh, sir, doesn’t this plot feel just like something out of a drama?"

So cheesy! This is classic "hero saves the beauty," isn’t it?

Shen Hao hesitated—he wanted to suggest Zhu Shou change the setup. But thinking it through, pulling this stunt would definitely "speed up the relationship." At least it’d provide a decent rationale for a romance that was otherwise pretty odd—an old man and a young woman together.

Why would a young girl fall for a greying old uncle?

Because he saved her life, and she married him in gratitude. What, you have a problem with that?

"Zhu Shou really knows how to conjure up a story. You should learn from him in this area."

"Certainly, I’ll consult Lord Zhu as much as possible."

Shen Hao put away the intelligence note, then asked, "How’s the integration of the information channels coming along?"

According to Shen Hao’s plan, the Secret Agent infiltration led by the brokerage and the black market information channels should be merged. That way, efficiency and the speed of analysis and organization could both be increased.

"To answer, sir—the brokerage’s channels have only just been set up, so the integration was quick. I just merged their people into the Four Divisions, with dedicated personnel responsible for that area."

Shen Hao nodded with satisfaction. He’d brought Wang Jian here from Li City precisely because of the guy’s smarts. Not everyone would think to design the intelligence system with four departments—Little Ghost, Ghost Gate, Judge, and Impermanence—before there was even really a framework in place.

Now, the Four Divisions were already taking shape, and their operational efficiency was starting to show. As the Black Water Plan continued, the Four Divisions would definitely become one of Shen Hao’s trump cards.