Fan Li scratched his nose, as if smelling a trace of sourness in the air.
Fan Li didn't claim to understand women's hearts, and had no interest in studying Xiang Ning's thoughts.
"There's one thing that Your Majesty can consider."
Xiang Ning saw that Fan Li was evading the question, and inevitably felt somewhat disappointed. But seeing that he seemed to want to talk about serious matters, she hurriedly put on a grave look.
Fan Li said, "Great Chu should recruit Lü Chunqiu."
"Recruit Lü Chunqiu? How is that possible?" Xiang Ning exclaimed in shock. Her thoughts couldn't keep up. She just stared wide-eyed at Fan Li.
"You just said, it would be best for the Lü clan to surrender to Great Ming..."
Fan Li smiled. "Surrendering to Great Ming is only the Lü clan's best choice. Drawing in Lü Chunqiu is the best choice for my Great Chu."
The so-called political strategy isn't about doing what's reasonable and correct, but about doing what's beneficial for oneself. Xiang Ning didn't understand this principle, but Fan Li did.
Xiang Ning gaped, murmuring: "Is this possible? Among the three emperors, I'm the youngest and most naive. Lü Chunqiu's fame resounds the realm, he's the mentor of Confucian scholars. How could I make him submit?"
She did have some self-awareness. Although she hadn't met Emperor Jiajing yet, just seeing Han Emperor Liu Xi today was enough to make Xiang Ning feel inferior.
Han Emperor Liu Xi was truly inept. In the Han State he suffered oppression from Grand Tutor Dong Zhuo. But even so, Liu Xi was still a Unity Realm expert. His combat strength absolutely belonged to the top echelon of the Han pyramid.
It was just that his personal strength seemed slightly inferior to Dong Zhuo, and his influence at court and in the realm was firmly suppressed by Dong Zhuo, thus he became a puppet emperor.
Just as Fan Li was about to say something, he heard the system prompt tone in his mind.
"New mission released: Arm the Realm!"
"Mission description: Cultivate at least one sphere of influence for yourself outside of Great Chu's borders."
"Mission reward: One Substitute Doll."
Fan Li was overjoyed!
Another substitute doll?
This was exactly what he desperately needed!
Fan Li had already discovered that his cultivation speed seemed very slow.
And this slowness wasn't even in comparison to the Fan siblings. After all, the three of them were all monstrous geniuses.
With all the precious pills and medicines the Fan clan could gather, Fan Li's clone cultivated ceaselessly without rest day and night, yet he had only reached the fourth stage of the Tempering Realm.
Practicing bitterly day and night, he had only improved by one stage recently. Just thinking about it made Fan Li's face flush red.
"With another perfect clone from the substitute doll, double the cultivation efficiency. Within one year I have to at least break through to the next great realm!"
"Your Majesty, allow this official to handle recruiting Lü Chunqiu." Hearing Fan Li say this, Xiang Ning rejoiced greatly.
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At critical moments he could still stand out to resolve her worries and troubles. Compared to Han's Grand Tutor Dong Zhuo, Fan Li was still much better.
‘I must mention to the Han Emperor another day not to compare Dong Zhuo and Fan Li.’ Xiang Ning thought smugly.
After making the promise, Fan Li didn't delay either. He immediately sent people with a message, hoping to meet Marquis Wenxin alone.
Fan Li had originally believed that with the gathering of the three emperors at Lü City, Lü Chunqiu would be very busy.
Beyond his expectations, the Lü clan quickly sent back a reply that Lü Chunqiu had time to meet him immediately.
The number one clan under heaven, as well as the richest tycoons under heaven.
Fan Li had originally believed the Lü estate would surely be glittering in gold and jade, with opulence matching the imperial palace. However, unexpectedly, when Fan Li stepped past the gates of the Lü estate, the few buildings before his eyes were all solemn and plain without any gaudy gold and jade ornamentation.
"The Duke's arrival brings honor and glory to this Lü Chunqiu's estate." Lü Chunqiu welcomed Fan Li without any attendants, only accompanied by his daughter Lü Fuchao.
"I have disturbed the Marquis." Fan Li smiled with cupped fists.
Just as the two men were about to exchange a few more pleasantries, Lü Fuchao cut in. "Why do you talk so old-fashioned when you're so young? Also, you're so weak, only at the fourth stage of the Body Refinement Realm. How did you gain absolute power over Chu's court?"
As soon as she spoke, both Fan Li and Lü Chunqiu felt awkward. Fan Li was embarrassed that Lü Fuchao exposed his cultivation level. No matter who he was facing, his realm was indeed too weak to match his status.
As for Lü Chunqiu's awkwardness, it stemmed from his daughter's audacity in casually revealing the private conversation between father and daughter.
One must know that in Great Han, the powerful minister Dong Zhuo was at the Unity Realm. There were even rumors he was Han's number one expert!
Yet looking at Great Chu's side, a mere fourth stage of the Tempering Body Realm could hold absolute power over the court? Even clearly knowing the Fan clan had deep roots in Great Chu, Lü Chunqiu still felt it unbelievable.
"This young lady is...?" Fan Li looked towards Lü Fuchao.
"My foolish girl has embarrassed the Duke. Please forgive her." Lü Chunqiu hurriedly said: "She's only 15 years old. Duke must not take a child's tactless words seriously."
Before Fan Li could speak, Lü Fuchao said: "Father, he looks no more than a few years older than me, on what basis can he claim seniority over me?"
The two men smiled awkwardly hearing this.
The hospitality Lü Chunqiu showed Fan Li wasn't the same as when he welcomed Emperor Jiajing in the estate's main hall.
There was an inner lake in the Lü estate. On the lakeshore was a pavilion named Listening to the Tides.
Servants laid out fragrant tea and refreshments. Fan Li took a seat with Lü Chunqiu in the Listening to the Tides Pavilion.
"Father, why did Chu's treacherous minister come looking for you?" Lü Fuchao sat by her father's side, softly whispering.
Lü Chunqiu broke out in a cold sweat!
He lowered his voice. "Watch that mouth of yours, be careful of being overheard."
But Lü Fuchao said: "The winds here are strong. With his low cultivation realm, sitting more than two zhang away, he can't possibly hear us."
Fan Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He didn't know why, but Fan Li discovered his six senses were extremely acute. Despite the strong winds and long distance, he could clearly hear the conversation between father and daughter.
"Father, I'll bet with you that Fan Li definitely didn't come to recruit us." Lü Fuchao said again.
"Oh? How do you know that?" Lü Chunqiu softly asked.
"Because Great Chu is too weak!" Although Lü Fuchao spoke softly, her tone was matter-of-fact. "They should understand their own limits. With that little Chu emperor Xiang Ning? And this Tempering Realm Duke before us? On what basis could they dare recruit my Lü clan?"
Lü Chunqiu smiled wryly upon hearing this, also feeling that his daughter made sense. It seemed that after all these years of guiding Confucian and Taoist cultivators, his daughter had also learned quite a bit of real knowledge from observing by his side.
"Rulers like Emperor Jiajing are already rare enough throughout the realm. I'm afraid nowadays Great Chu has no one with the boldness and aspiration to recruit this Marquis Wenxin." Lü Chunqiu confidently said this. Naturally, he also kept his voice extremely soft.
Recalling that Fan Li had been sitting there all along, he felt bad about neglecting his guest. Thus Lü Chunqiu took the initiative to speak. "For what reason has the Duke graced us with his presence today?"
The father and daughter pair whispering criticisms behind his back had left Fan Li neither crying nor laughing.
He directly got to the point: "Nothing else. I specially came to recruit Marquis Wenxin to join Great Chu. As long as Marquis Wenxin agrees, I, the Duke, can guarantee that in Great Chu, the Marquis' position will definitely be second to only two, above tens of thousands."
"Cough cough cough!!!" Lü Fuchao who was drinking tea erupted into a violent fit of coughs upon hearing this.
Lü Chunqiu was also dumbstruck, somewhat unbelieving of what he just heard. He couldn't help asking, "Did the Duke just say... second to only two people, above tens of thousands?"
"Could it be the Duke misspoke? If my clan surrendered to Great Chu, I would naturally be under the Chu Emperor right?"
Fan Li raised his head proudly, "The Marquis would naturally be under His Majesty, but above His Majesty there is still me!"