Protect Our Patriarch

……

Wu Xue'ning was speechless, rolling her eyes secretly.

In recent decades, since Prince An took charge of the nation, he had diligently handled every matter, leading to a thriving national strength. Meanwhile, the Ancestor seemed to have nothing to do.

Bored out of his mind, the Ancestor began to get jealous over trivial matters, especially towards Master Wang Shouzhe, whom he constantly complained about, expressing various dissatisfactions.

"And Xue'ning, I noticed you've been in frequent contact with An Ye. You should be mindful of your status. It won't be long before Yi Luo and An Ye get married," Emperor Longchang advised earnestly. "Our Wu Clan marrying a princess to their Wang Clan is already a great honor for them. Don't you dare send another one."

Wu Xue'ning blushed instantly, stomping her foot in frustration, "Grandfather, what nonsense are you talking about? An Ye and I, we... we are just friends. It's normal for us to correspond."

In terms of seniority, Emperor Longchang was her great-grandfather. However, during this trip, the Emperor insisted on pretending to be a "commoner." Since he didn't look particularly old, calling him grandfather seemed more appropriate.

What left Wu Xue'ning speechless was that her great-grandfather claimed to be traveling incognito, but in reality, he was just playing around. From Qing'an Commandery to Lingbei Commandery, he had been playing the game of pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger.

Whenever they encountered injustice or unpleasant situations, he would either send Old Yao to cause trouble or have Wu Xue'ning act as bait. Then, step by step, they would lure the other party into revealing their true colors, using dirty tricks to oppress the "weak." At the most critical moment, he would suddenly reverse the situation, turning the tables completely.

Every time he revealed his identity as the Emperor, watching those local tyrants and villains scared out of their wits, begging for mercy with tears streaming down their faces, he couldn't be more delighted.

He was utterly addicted to it.

In just a few months, her great-grandfather had dealt with five local tyrant Basalt clans, eight city guards, and even the Commandery Governor of Lingbei Commandery was almost implicated.

Her great-grandfather proudly claimed, "Since I'm idle anyway, I might as well inspect the grassroots clan environment that I usually can't reach, help 'Prince An' clean up the clan tumors across the land, and make use of the residual influence of an outdated Emperor."

But Wu Xue'ning privately overheard her great-grandfather telling Old Yao, "Old Yao, I feel like I've wasted my life. Turns out traveling incognito is so much fun, and pretending to be weak to take down the strong is so satisfying. No wonder that Wang Shouzhe fellow always hides his strength and buys all sorts of stealth treasures to pretend to be weak. He enjoys this too~"

"If there's a top villain in this world, it must be Wang Shouzhe. So, for my last stop, I must meet that Wang Shouzhe properly."

This left Wu Xue'ning both amused and exasperated.

What exactly did Master Wang Shouzhe do to her great-grandfather? Why couldn't he stop talking about him, and mostly not in a good way? The resentment was almost palpable.

The riverboat sailed swiftly downstream.

In just half a day, they reached the confluence of the An River and the Great Swamp.

Since ancient times, the An River and the Great Swamp have been inseparable, connected as one. Every rainy season, a large amount of water flows into the Great Swamp, turning it into a vast ocean-like expanse.

During the dry season each year, the water in the Great Swamp gradually recedes, forming a massive wetland environment.

However, Wang Shouzhe's An River management plan also included the management and development of the Great Swamp. He built a massive river embankment, stretching for hundreds of miles, along the natural curve of the An River, forcibly separating it from the Great Swamp.

Then, several massive sluice gates were constructed within the embankment to control the flow of water from the An River into the Great Swamp.

In addition to this.

Wang Shouzhe and Taishi Ankang gathered hundreds of thousands of laborers, recruited a large number of clan experts, and even mobilized part of the army to carry out large-scale dredging and excavation in the Great Swamp, building embankments and planting a large number of trees on them, with the aim of significantly increasing the water storage capacity of the Great Swamp.

Moreover, this plan was not something that could be accomplished in just ten or eight years, or even a hundred years.

Emperor Longchang did not quite agree with this enormous, labor-intensive, and costly plan. He thought it would be better to open up more land for cultivation or use the money to launch a campaign in the Southern Border, potentially establishing a new commandery.

Thinking of the Southern Border, Emperor Longchang's expression darkened.

The Southern Border had always been a thorn in his side, a small blemish in his thousands of years of "perfect emperor career."

He originally thought that once Prince An took charge, he would immediately launch the Southern Border campaign to silence the critics and show those who believed Prince An rose to power by "luck" his capabilities. Additionally, it would allow him to remove the thorn in his side and retire perfectly.

But the plan kept being planned, and now it seemed no one even mentioned the Southern Border campaign anymore.

Could it be that he, Emperor Longchang, would have to leave with this regretful thorn in his heart?

It must be that Wang Shouzhe fellow causing trouble in the shadows. He must be resentful of the times I gave him a hard time, secretly encouraging Prince An to delay the Southern Border campaign.

What is An's intention?

This is putting a spoke in my wheel~~~ He's really gone too far~!

With his mind full of complaints, Emperor Longchang looked at the massive embankment separating the An River from the Great Swamp in the distance, and with his hands behind his back, he sneered and mocked, "Wang Shouzhe's layout is as lousy as his chess game. He only focuses on the immediate benefits and is not good at long-term operations. This Great Swamp development plan is a foolish move. It seems to mitigate some of the flooding in the middle and lower reaches of the An River, but in reality, the investment far exceeds the output, with very low cost-effectiveness, and it risks offending the old monster in the Southern Wilderness."

"Once that old monster goes berserk, let's see how Wang Shouzhe handles it."

After saying this, Emperor Longchang couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

Standing from an observer's perspective and pointing out the flaws in the strategy was indeed satisfying. Previously, Wang Shouzhe used to do this, always liking to comment on national policies and criticize the Emperor's affairs, which left him feeling uneasy.

Now, when he turned the tables and criticized Wang Shouzhe's strategic flaws, he realized that being a critic had its benefits, mainly because it felt good. Especially since many of the terms he used to criticize Wang Shouzhe were learned from Wang Shouzhe's own words, such as long-term operations, development plans, low cost-effectiveness, and so on.

This was called "using his own methods against him," and it would let Wang Shouzhe taste the feeling of being criticized face-to-face.

But just as Emperor Longchang was feeling smug, someone beside him snorted coldly, "I've lived for a hundred and thirty years, and I've heard countless boasts, but it's rare to see someone like you boasting so refreshingly and shamelessly."

The speaker was an elderly man in luxurious clothing not far away.

Emperor Longchang's face turned stern as he looked the elderly man up and down, arrogantly saying, "I'm talking about national affairs. What do you, an old man, know?"

A mere hundred-year-old brat dared to act old in front of the Emperor?

With Emperor Longchang's previous temper, he would have already unleashed his imperial aura.

However, traveling incognito had its own fun. People didn't know he was the Emperor, so he could easily hear things that people wouldn't dare say in front of him before.

At that point, he could use his true talents to make the other party bow down.

That's how real skills were demonstrated~

"I may not be a big shot, but I am the owner of this 'Dingjiang' ship," the old man sneered, "I've never done anything significant in my life, but I've witnessed the Changning Wang's Clan grow from a small ninth-grade clan to its current glory, experiencing an unprecedented miracle."

"If you're going to boast, do it about someone else. But to say that Master Wang Shouzhe doesn't understand long-term planning and only cares about immediate benefits, I can't agree. Not only me, but the countless people whose lives have changed because of it won't agree either."

"An old fool like you, who doesn't know right from wrong, can only end up dragging down the younger generation."

"What? You dare call me an old fool?!"

Emperor Longchang's face turned as black as iron. Just as he was about to roll up his sleeves and exchange a few words with this "old critic," he was held back by Old Yao and Wu Xue'ning on either side.

"Grandfather, we're on someone else's ship now. Please bear with it for a while. It wouldn't be good if we got kicked off," Wu Xue'ning, with a head full of black lines, quickly advised softly.

She used to admire her great-grandfather a lot, partly because he treated her well, and partly because she thought he was amazing, like he could handle anything. But now...

Forget it, let's not talk about it.

With such a commotion on their side, the other people on the ship naturally noticed. Not only the elderly man in luxurious clothing, but even the other traveling merchants looked at Emperor Longchang with disdain and whispered among themselves.

"This guy really thinks highly of himself, not even putting Master Wang Shouzhe in his eyes."

"Judging by his demeanor, he seems like someone used to living in luxury. Maybe he just went bankrupt and had to come out to do some business to make ends meet."

"Sigh~ There are plenty of people in the world who talk big but are clueless when it comes to doing real work."

"This old wastrel should go to Ping'an Town and Xin'an Town to see how Master Wang Shouzhe manages things and leads everyone to prosperity."

"You're out of date! Ping'an Town has been completely relocated and is now purely the Wang Clan's main residence. The population is mainly concentrated in newly developed areas like Xin'an Town, Xinping Town, Wanghai Town, and Dongxia Town."

"Even the original Dingpu Ferry has become the Wang Clan's private commercial ferry. Traveling merchants can do business there, but unless there's a special reason, they can't enter the Wang Clan's main residence. It's impossible to travel from Dingpu Ferry through the Wang Clan's inner residence to Zhouxuan Pass like before."

"However, the Wang Clan has built a new ferry in Xinping Town, called Xinping Ferry, which has replaced most of the functions of the original Dingpu Ferry. Our 'Dingjiang' ship's destination this time is Xinping Ferry."

Although Emperor Longchang's face turned black from being ridiculed by a group of commoners, he ultimately held back.

These people were just grassroots cultivators. For him, a dignified Emperor, to flip out over a verbal dispute with them would be too undignified.

However.

Emperor Longchang did gain some useful information, such as Ping'an Town becoming the Wang Clan's private residence, and the original residents being relocated to Xinping Town and Xin'an Town.

These were the places where corruption and problems were most likely to arise in clans.

Over the past few months, Emperor Longchang had dealt with several clans that had oppressed the common people to the point of making their lives miserable.

If it wasn't too excessive, he would fine them and order them to rectify the situation. But if it caused public outrage and made people's lives unbearable, Emperor Longchang would have to show the Emperor's might and unleash a thunderous wrath.

Based on his estimation, Wang Shouzhe shouldn't have fallen to the level of oppressing the common people, but just because he wouldn't, it didn't mean that every executor under him wouldn't engage in shady dealings.

Even he, a dignified Emperor, couldn't ensure that every official under him was free from corruption and that every clerk was diligent in their duties. How could Wang Shouzhe, that young brat, do it?

Therefore, he didn't expect to find any major issues. He just wanted to catch some minor faults of Wang Shouzhe and make a fuss about it, to give him a hard time.

To let him know the Emperor's might and capabilities, and not to look down on everyone all the time...

For a moment, Emperor Longchang's mood soared again, eager to reach that Xinping Ferry and catch Wang Shouzhe's mistakes.

The "Dingjiang" cargo ship sailed swiftly downstream, and in just a few days, it docked at Xinping Ferry.

Xinping Ferry was only a few dozen miles from the estuary and had been in operation for just over a decade. As a newly built ferry, it was filled with the Wang Clan's ingenious designs, leaving ample room for future development.

The ferry was built large and luxurious, with enough space to accommodate numerous ships at the same time. Nearby, many large shipyards and docks had been newly constructed for ship repairs.

The warehouses at the port stretched endlessly, as far as the eye could see.

Even Emperor Longchang couldn't help but frown slightly at the sight of the prosperous Xinping Ferry.

The number of ships coming and going here daily must be no less than several hundred.

"Grandfather, look at those strange-looking ships with big bellies and odd wheels on the sides," Wu Xue'ning suddenly noticed a few ships slowly approaching from another direction and was immediately intrigued, her face full of excitement.

"Those are the Wang Clan's large paddle-wheel coastal cargo ships, which can compensate for the lack of wind power when the wind direction is unfavorable, ensuring the timeliness of sea transportation," someone nearby explained with a smile, seeing the young girl's curious expression. "Besides these paddle-wheel cargo ships, the Wang Clan also has ironclad hidden-wheel ships and small fast ships, each with its own unique use. I heard they're powered by some combination of steam and formations."

"I know that," Wu Xue'ning suddenly remembered, "An Ye told me before that boiling water produces steam, and using steam can generate strong and lasting power~"

"An Ye also mentioned that the Wang Clan's research department has been working on steam power, and he was quite interested in it, spending several years in that department after graduating from the clan school."

Hearing her mention An Ye repeatedly, Emperor Longchang's expression grew increasingly displeased, and he felt a bit anxious.

So far, there had been no precedent for two princesses marrying the same person in the royal family.

He couldn't let Wang Shouzhe gain such a huge advantage.

Half an hour later, Emperor Longchang's expression turned even uglier.

Because it was their first time in the Wang Clan's territory, and they hadn't applied for the Wang Clan's internal pass, they naturally faced various inquiries and questioning from the relevant personnel.

Moreover, due to Emperor Longchang's uncooperative attitude and Old Yao's sneaky attempt to bribe, the three of them were almost treated as vagrants and sent back on the spot.

Just as Emperor Longchang was about to lose his temper and reveal his identity, saying, "I'm not playing anymore, I'm laying my cards on the table, let Wang Shouzhe come to see me," the owner of the "Dingjiang" ship saw the situation and reluctantly vouched for them.

Knowing they were unfamiliar with Changning Garrison, the owner of the "Dingjiang" ship even led them out of the checkpoint, explaining the Wang Clan's various rules along the way to prevent them from causing trouble blindly.

Once they were out of the checkpoint, before Old Yao could express his gratitude, the owner of the "Dingjiang" ship patted Emperor Longchang on the shoulder and sighed, "Old brother, I took a risk vouching for you. Within the Wang Clan's jurisdiction, you mustn't break the law and drag me down with you."

Emperor Longchang's eyes widened.

Goodness~ How many years had it been? How many years since someone dared to pat him on the shoulder?

But before he could finish being shocked, the owner of the "Dingjiang" ship earnestly said, "Old brother, why are you glaring? You've fallen on hard times, and you still don't know to curb your temper. You'll suffer in the future. I only helped you because I saw how hard it is for someone your age to be out here doing business. Others might not be as kind-hearted as I am."

Saying this, he estimated Emperor Longchang's cultivation level and encouraged him, "But I see you're a Lingtai Realm cultivator, quite a talent. The Wang Clan is thriving now, and as long as you're willing to work hard, you can still support your family."

"Who told you I've fallen on hard times? My family is doing just fine~" Emperor Longchang, with his hands behind his back, grumbled, "And I'll break the law just to show you. I'll give you a vivid lesson, teaching you never to vouch for someone lightly. I might even be a spy~~"

Wu Xue'ning, standing nearby, held her forehead and turned away, not wanting to acknowledge this great-grandfather.

Someone kindly vouched for you, and you really want to cause trouble? Great-grandfather is truly becoming more childish and willful as he ages.

"Haha, you won't." The owner of the "Dingjiang" ship laughed, "Despite your temper and your old-fashioned ways, you're not a bad person at heart, let alone a spy. I've traveled far and wide for over a hundred years, and back in Ping'an Town, I helped the Wang Clan catch many spies and wanted criminals. My eyes are sharp."

Sharp, my foot!

Emperor Longchang rolled his eyes in annoyance.

If your eyes were sharp, how come you didn't see that I'm an Emperor? How come you didn't see that Wang Shouzhe is a cunning villain?

"Alright, I'm busy. You three can look for opportunities in Xinping Town. If it doesn't work out, you can join the Wang Clan's engineering team and do some odd jobs. Lingtai Realm cultivators can earn quite a bit." The owner of the "Dingjiang" ship patted his shoulder again, gave some advice, and then left, "If you encounter any difficulties, just mention my name."

"I'm 'Dongfang Cangqiong.'"

Dongfang Cangqiong?

Emperor Longchang's expression froze.

Is it now fashionable for the lower society of the Great Qian to have such bombastic names? And how many times did that old man pat my shoulder?

"Master, this Xinping Ferry is grand, like a small city," Old Yao said, "Let's find an inn to stay in first, and then plan our next move."

"Yes, let's settle down first and then slowly find Wang Shouzhe's faults." Emperor Longchang nodded in agreement.

"Grandfather, Master Wang Shouzhe is a good person. Why do you always have to go against him?" Wu Xue'ning couldn't stand it anymore and pouted.

"A good person? Xue'ning girl, don't be fooled by the Wang Clan." Emperor Longchang retorted, "Look at him, entering a clan's jurisdiction requires thorough checks and temporary passes, like a country within a country. What's he planning? To close the doors and crown himself Emperor? Hmph~ Ambitious fellow."

Then.

Emperor Longchang began to find faults and ask questions in the Wang Clan's territory.

Starting with the relocated households.

"Sir, I heard your family has been residents of Ping'an Town for generations. Was there any injustice during the relocation? Any forced demolitions? If you have any complaints, feel free to tell me."

"Injustice? They compensated us five times the price. How could there be any injustice? Is your family relocating too? Let me tell you, one must have a conscience. The Wang Clan treats people so well, you can't bully them."

"Hey, hey, hey~ Old man, are you a spy? Everyone knows the Wang Clan's relocation compensation is extremely generous, and the relocated households are all wealthy."

Emperor Longchang asked several people and received similar answers until he encountered a middle-aged man with a lazy demeanor, who finally gave a different answer, "Injustice? I have it. I'm so wronged~! The Wang Clan is too deceitful, forcibly demolishing my house and requisitioning my twenty acres of farmland."

"Come, come, come, tell me your problems," Emperor Longchang suddenly became excited.

After all this trouble, he finally found a weak point of the Wang Clan.

"Of course, I'm wronged. The Wang Clan only compensates my family four thousand Top Gold or replaces it with three hundred acres of farmland and a house in Xinping Town," the man shouted, "I want to report them. The Wang Clan is oppressing the common people."

Emperor Longchang's face darkened, "So much, and you're not satisfied? How much compensation do you want?"

"At least twenty thousand Top Gold or a thousand acres of farmland."

"Get lost!"

Emperor Longchang directly kicked the rascal away.

The three of them split up and secretly visited many relocated households but never found an answer that satisfied him. Instead, they repeatedly felt the Wang Clan's generosity and the humanity shown during the relocation process.

Only a very few had complaints about the Wang Clan, but each of them was a troublemaker that even Emperor Longchang couldn't help but want to beat up, so they didn't count.

Their actions also alerted the Wang Clan's internal defense mechanism.

Soon, a capture team surrounded the inn where they were staying.

Naturally, Emperor Longchang was unwilling to be captured. He silently tore open a space rift with his Lingxu Realm power and "escaped" to the Ping'an Town area, leaving Old Yao and Wu Xue'ning behind, looking at each other.

Should they escape or not?

Forget it, forget it~ Let's just surrender. They really didn't want to accompany the Emperor in his antics anymore.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the unwilling Emperor Longchang arrived at the Wang Clan School.

He had already scouted out the location of the Wang Clan School. Originally, if they hadn't been "captured," their next stop would have been the Wang Clan School.

The Wang Clan School was a place of mixed reviews.

Some said it was a "holy land," while others said it was a "hell."

But whether it was a holy land or hell, Emperor Longchang wanted to see it with his own eyes. After all, he had heard from the Wang Clan's correspondence that the five little wolf cubs he cherished were studying at the school...

It had been thirty years, and they still hadn't graduated.

He also wanted to see what tricks the legendary Wang Clan School was up to.

For a dignified Emperor, sneaking into the Wang Clan School was naturally not difficult. Once inside, he slightly moved his vast divine sense and found the five little wolf cubs.

Upon seeing the five little wolf cubs... no, they couldn't be called little wolf cubs anymore; they were now half-grown.

After thirty years, the five of them had all advanced to the fifth rank, and their bodies were much larger than before, squatting down and taller than a person.

For a moment, memories flooded Emperor Longchang's mind, and a hint of nostalgia appeared in his eyes.

"Huh?"

Emperor Longchang suddenly noticed that they seemed to be being punished, each looking aggrieved, lined up to have their paws smacked by a teacher with a ruler.

"You five, after all these years, how can you still fail the graduation exam? Failing is one thing, but you dared to cheat!" The elderly teacher's expression was furious, scolding them harshly, "I'm so disappointed in you!"

Seeing this, an uncontrollable anger surged in Emperor Longchang's heart.

He flashed over and stopped the teacher's ruler, angrily saying, "Even I can't bear to hit them, and you, old man, stop it!"

The teacher was momentarily stunned, then angrily retorted, "Who are you, old man? They're my students, and if they make mistakes, they must be punished. Even Master Wang Shouzhe can't interfere."

Master Wang Shouzhe?

Hearing this, Emperor Longchang's anger grew even more, and he immediately shouted, "I was just looking for trouble with him! Bring him here. I need to ask why he allows people to hit my little wolf cubs?"