In fact, Ye Liuyun himself was pretty confused.
But thinking back to how Xing'Er looked all mysterious this morning, he had his suspicions.
"Hmph, don't get cocky!"
Seeing Ye Liuyun like this, Lu Quan quickly adjusted his attitude.
Even if his strength improved and his rank got promoted—
He was still a Lord Hundred Households, nothing to be afraid of. Besides, he'd been entrenched in this position for years, so he wasn't worried Ye Liuyun had the guts to turn and get revenge.
"Don't think your wife can bail you out forever. The rank of Lord Hundred Households is your ceiling. As for Lord Thousand Households—you can forget about it for life."
In the Great Qian Dynasty, being Lord Thousand Households meant you could attend morning court—that required not just connections, but also real ability, and a hefty bit of luck.
Lu Quan figured Ye Liuyun's cultivation was at best equal to his own, a First-class Martial Artist, never considering the guy was already a Postnatal Martial Artist.
"That's none of Lord Lu's concern."
His conveniently acquired father-in-law really didn't have the pull to help him climb higher, but Lord Hundred Households was good enough—for now.
"Heard Lord Lu's been stuck at this rank for nearly ten years, never even a hint of promotion. Maybe this is all you'll amount to, in this lifetime?"
Sarcasm, huh? Two can play at that game.
"If Lord Lu ever gets promoted, I'll book out the Golden Tower for your banquet!"
The moment he said it, Lu Quan was reminded of last night.
Since Ye Liuyun didn't come, Lu Quan had to pay himself. Rich as he was, that amount stung his wallet.
"If I make it to Lord Thousand Households, you won't be the one footing the bill."
By then, others would be scrambling to cozy up.
"Is that so?" Ye Liuyun wasn't surprised; he smiled anyway, "Well, since I'm Lord Hundred Households now—how about you book out the Golden Tower for me, Lord Lu? I've always thought highly of you!"
",,,,"
Lu Quan said nothing.
He just shot Ye Liuyun a glare, then turned and left.
He could tell Ye Liuyun's sharp tongue had leveled up. No point sticking around to lose more ground—better retreat now, and plot revenge later.
"You're really a master strategist, sir—wise and mighty!"
As soon as Lu Quan left, Si Nan hurried to Ye Liuyun's side.
Face smeared in flattery.
"My lord, now you're Lord Hundred Households, what about me—"
Si Nan's current post was Embroidered Uniform Guard Small Banner. A Lord Hundred Households could reassign Commanders, but only three times.
Si Nan wasn't particularly strong, but his knack for reading people was solid—and loyal, too. Reliable on all fronts; Ye Liuyun didn't mind giving him a bump up.
He patted Si Nan's shoulder and said directly—
"Go pick up your official seal."
"Thank you, sir!"
He'd done it! Hearing Ye Liuyun give the word, Si Nan knew the Commander post was his.
His face lit up—he dropped to his knees.
"I'll go through fire and water for you, sir—without hesitation!"
Cliché stuff like that didn't mean much to Ye Liuyun.
He waved his hand, signaling Si Nan to get up.
"My lord!" Si Nan knew his combat skills were so-so, so he had to prove himself in other ways.
Otherwise, after a while, he'd get sidelined for being useless.
"Now that you're Lord Hundred Households, why not use the Commander slots to recruit a couple trusted aides?"
Ye Liuyun could appoint two more Commanders, or transfer others to his banner.
He said nothing, sitting down and tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest.
Si Nan wisely shut his mouth, not disturbing Ye Liuyun's thoughts.
No rush to fill all three Commander positions. But as Si Nan said, now that he was Lord Hundred Households, he couldn't stay hands-on forever.
The tapping of his fingers stopped.
"Go transfer Shi Sheng over."
"Huh?"
Si Nan froze.
Shi Sheng might be a Commander, but his temper made him a liability; no Lord Hundred Households dared take him on, for fear of trouble.
"Just do it!"
Ye Liuyun waved it off, not bothering to explain further.
Regardless of his temper, Shi Sheng's First-class Martial Artist skills put him on par with Lord Hundred Households in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
As for that temper—if a transmigrator with cheat codes couldn't even tame one subordinate, he might as well bash his head into a brick.
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing Ye Liuyun so resolute, Si Nan had nothing more to say and got to work at once.
Seizing the moment—
Ye Liuyun strolled over to check on the Imperial Prison.
,,,
"Lord Ye!"
Just as he arrived, Xiao Yongning, the Commander on duty, came up to greet him.
Beaming from ear to ear.
Clearly, he'd heard Ye Liuyun was now Lord Hundred Households.
"Lord Ye, you honor my humble little jail with your presence!"
Compared to how he'd acted before—night and day difference. Now his smile nearly split his face.
"Hope Commander Xiao doesn't mind me dropping by so often."
"Lord Ye, what are you talking about?"
Xiao Yongning's smile shifted instantly—he replied at once.
"Your arrival gives me face, Lord Ye—why wouldn't I welcome you?"
Everyone around here was good at sucking up.
Knowing Ye Liuyun was Lord Hundred Households now, it didn't matter if it helped—toady up first, ask questions later.
With that, Xiao Yongning promptly kicked one of the men at his side.
"No sense at all—don't you see Lord Ye is here? Why aren't you brewing tea?"
"Yes, sir!"
Watching the whole scene, Ye Liuyun kept an unchanged, faint smile on his face.
See—that's the charm of power. With Lord Hundred Households and you get this; imagine if he made Lord Thousand Households or even Governor, what faces would they pull?
And the higher he climbed, the more he learned about Great Qian Dynasty's secrets.
For instance—Great Qian had a special prison for powerful criminals, called Purgatory.
Inmates there were at least First-class Martial Artists. Unlike the Imperial Prison, where executions were casual, in Purgatory the prisoners faced daily torture, but were kept alive.
Sometimes it was to extract martial arts manuals; sometimes it was because they knew about secret treasures—they wanted answers.
For Ye Liuyun, Purgatory was just one massive talent-entry treasure trove.
Shame, though.
Purgatory wasn't open to just anyone—you needed at least Lord Thousand Households rank to go in.
,,,,,,,