The Jade Emperor Ming was very familiar with the Three Immortals Island. The external arrays did not block him, and he directly entered the island.
As he entered the grand hall, he heard the laughter and playful noises of several girls.
Of the two who laughed the loudest, it was his twin sisters, Bai Xiao and Qiong Xiao. The one who did not make a sound was probably his eldest sister, Yun Xiao, and there was a voice that was a bit unfamiliar to him. After listening carefully for a while, he suddenly realized that it was the steed of the Goddess Nüwa, Qingluan.
Qingluan and the three Xiao have a very good relationship. The three Xiao have always been respectful to the Goddess Nüwa, who is the elder sister. If there was no Tongshtian Master, they would have long joined the Goddess Nüwa's sect.
At this moment, he heard Qingluan speaking confidently, "When the King of the Jinghe River left, he sat in a four-wheeled carriage with a look of emotion and even waved to A Yu, saying 'Thank you' and 'Thanks'!"
At this time, the grand hall was not only filled with Qingluan and the three Xiao, but also with the mounts of the three Xiao.
Qingluan's allegiance to Nuwa, which safeguards her entire lineage, has not been significantly affected by the heavy kill during the Dragon and Phoenix Initial Trial, thanks to Nuwa's usual affection for female immortals. Many of the rides of Xie Ji, Yun Xiao and other immortals are Qingluan. However, those are Qingluan's younger generation.
At this moment, Yun Xiao's mount, Qingluan, transformed into a young girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was eating fruits while listening intently to her grandmother tell stories with enthusiasm. Beside her were two half-grown maids. The one who appeared slightly more composed was Qiong Xiao's mount, Honghu, and the one who was cute and lovely was Bai Xiao's mount, Flower Plume Bird. They were all from the lineage of flying birds.
The story of the King of the Jinghe River is suitable for all ages. Whether one has rich experience or not, everyone can find their own humorous points in the story.
Both the young ladies and maids were laughing uncontrollably. Even Yun Xiao, who was usually quiet and indifferent, couldn't help but laugh softly at the story.
Qingluan continued, "I'll tell you, A Yu is especially interesting, and her maid is quite amusing too. The other day, the goddess heard her maid arguing with another maid. What did they say? One said, 'My young miss's brother dares to eat dung!' And the other one replied without thinking, 'My young miss's brother dares to as well!'"
Qingluan was laughing so hard that she was almost rolling on the ground, patting her thigh as she did so.
Bai Xiao was laughing uncontrollably. Yun Xiao whispered a few vulgar words, but from her eyes, it was clear that she also found it quite amusing. The three young maids exchanged glances and covered their mouths to suppress their laughter. Qiong Xiao was the most exaggerated, imitating Qingluan's tone and pointing at the empty space in the grand hall, as if Zhao Gongming was standing there: "My brother also dares to eat dung! Hahahaha——"
The hall was filled with joyous laughter.
Zhao Gongming, who was preparing to push open the door outside the hall:
He suddenly realized that his sister wasn't as cute as he thought.
Returning to the Nanjun with Biaozi, Deng Chan Yu first held a grand ritual for the transference of souls.
The few magical artifacts of Lu Yu, Li Qig's Fazhao Fan, were useless. In a battle, there was no time to spare, and if they were destroyed, they were gone for good.
Zhou Xin's headache bell remained in Nanjun, and this provided the perfect opportunity to exorcise all the resentful souls within it.
If the deceased go to the cycle of rebirth without resentment, they usually can be reborn as humans. If they carry resentment, it's not predictable; they could go to the human realm or any of the other five realms.
Deng Chan Yu held a ritual, including the common people who died in Nanjun during these days, and a total of 140,000 dead souls were exorcised. After that, she and Jiazi went to treat the patients in the vicinity who were affected by the epidemic.
After all, it's about making a great vow. Whether one can do it well is one thing, and whether one chooses to do it is another.
Deng Chan Yu imparted the "Tai Shang Ci Yan Shen Zhou Miao Jing" to the crowd. In her previous life, this was a surefire form of superstition. However, in a world where immortals run rampant, the scriptures indeed have effects. In the future, when ordinary people fall ill, they can recite the scriptures to some extent to reduce suffering and avert disasters.
The herbs given by Shen Nong were also very effective. After being cultivated in the world within the Two Yin Lamp, Bai Hu and Huangqi, among other medicinal plants, almost met the needs of those afflicted by the epidemic.
In the future, these medicinal plants would be cultivated on a large scale in Nanjun, and pharmacists would mix them into Xiaochaihuo soup. With such serious epidemics or plagues, it would also be possible to give effective treatment to the common people.
With herbs, prescriptions, and pharmacists in place, many ordinary people still cannot receive timely treatment. The reason for this is that the current mobilization capability of official institutions is insufficient.
The common people have not received education, and the talent selection mechanism is close to zero.
Yin Shang has righteousness and dignity. There is no need for selection, and talents will come over by themselves to serve.
Ji Chang has many sons, but I lack talents. I can cultivate talents myself!
Deng's family has the worst domestic capabilities. I'll use an unsuitable analogy: their household is essentially like Yuan Shu in the "Dark Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms," where most of their generals have a level of 60 in combat and martial prowess, 20 in intelligence and governance, and 40 in charisma.
In theory, one can handle internal affairs. However, the efficiency is hard to say.
The internal administration system was not functioning well, and Deng Chan Yu and Jia Ji had to work tirelessly. As if the leaks in the roof were met with relentless rain, Nan Bo Marquis E Chongyu, who had survived for a long time under difficult circumstances, heard about the great epidemic in Nanjun. He was nearly dead from illness himself, so he immediately led over a hundred southern feudal lords who still obeyed his commands to launch an attack on Nanjun.
Deng Jiulei led eight thousand cavalry to charge, breaking through three arrays in three days and driving E Chongyu back over one hundred miles. However, many soldiers in Nanjun were ill, resulting in a significant lack of combat power. They could win but not overwhelm their opponents. Both sides quickly entered a stalemate.
While Deng Jiuge was out fighting, Deng Xi was still studying under Li Jing at Chentang Pass. Deng Chan Yu had to step in to handle the daily affairs of Nanjun, from postpartum care for pigs to making tribute to King Zhou. She had to oversee everything, big and small.
She was tired every day.
"General, there is an urgent dispatch from the front lines!" A messenger handed her a letter with red lacquer.
The urgent report came from the western part of Nanjun.
Deng Chan Yu calmly read through the dispatch.
The enemy was a bit unexpected. It was a group of southern feudal lords who were half-hearted and half-minded, colluding with people from Shu to invade the Yong City of the Deng family.
The location of the city of Yong is somewhat similar to the later Shangyong. To the northwest is Xigqi, to the southeast is the Deng family's territory, and to the southwest are mountainous areas. Beyond the mountains lies Shu.
The ancient Ji state, which Emperor Yu of the Xia Dynasty established, was more of an alliance-based political entity rather than a territorial one. In terms of geographical expanse, it was much larger than both the Xia and Shang Dynasties.
By the time of Xia Qi's rule over the world, many tribes had withdrawn from the alliance. By the time of the Shang Dynasty, Liangzhou, which was originally one of the nine states under Emperor Yu of Xia, including southern Shaanxi, Ba, and Shu regions, had become a mere name without actual existence.
Shu, having learned the advanced knowledge of the Han people, developed its own civilization and culture. The troops attacking the Deng family were a force of over ten thousand men dispatched from Jinsha City of Shu.
Deng Chan Yu sighed and said, "It seems like our Deng family is very easy to bully for them. Even a major epidemic is enough to provoke such irrelevant enemies to launch an invasion, crawling over mountains and rivers."
She issued a series of orders: "Deng Ai! Does Nanjun have any Shu merchants? Find one for me. He must be able to speak Yan language!"
"Xiao Qiao, gather the best hunters and trackers from your tribe who are most skilled at climbing mountains and ridges. Additionally, call up five hundred soldiers in my name."
