The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 553: My best cousin in the world, please fulfill the most lovely wish in the world.

In the 12th year of Daye, Yang Xuyan, the Duke of Liaodong, defeated the rebels in Zhuo County and implemented the baojia system, using the rebel refugees as military settlements to reclaim wasteland. He also established the Beishi Market to the north of Zhuo County, allowing merchants from the Sui Dynasty to trade with foreign ethnic groups.

The construction of the city took three months and 100,000 laborers. Resembling a fortress, it measured 3,000 meters long and 2,000 meters wide, with walls 25 feet high. It was garrisoned by 2,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry. The city boasted numerous shops, particularly those selling salt, pottery, linen, tea, and a variety of fine foods and wines. Ironware was a controlled commodity and could not be sold to foreigners.

If foreigners want to trade, they have to pay a fee, and the market manager will provide a guide to make an appraisal. Most of the items that can be traded are cattle, sheep, and horses. These commodities cannot be put on the market and can only be managed centrally in special ranches outside the city.

The foreigners drove their cattle, sheep and horses to the pasture, where they were registered by their own market managers. They were then given customized wooden signs and exchanged for corresponding chips before entering the North City. In the North City, they used the chips to trade for the daily necessities they wanted. The remaining chips could be exchanged for their own cattle, sheep and horses, or for copper coins, silver and cloth.

The fine salt, exquisite pottery, rich-flavored salted fish and smoked fish produced in Liaodong are deeply loved by nomadic people. Not only are they "good quality and low price", but they are also large in quantity and can satisfy any need. However, dried fruits, fresh fruits, fine wines and the like are things that need to be snapped up, and often they may not be available even at high prices.

Other wealthy families, as long as they have a good relationship with the Duke of Liaodong, have their own stores in Beishi, and all stores can make huge profits and there are no security risks. Beishi is under the jurisdiction of the Duke of Liaodong, and there are always masters in charge all year round, so safety can be guaranteed.

In July, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty left Luoyang for Jiangdu. In the north, he felt more and more insecure. The wealthy families in the north had become so tolerant of him that they forced him to leave the Eastern Capital. Before leaving, he seemed to have accidentally left his little daughter in Liaodong and forgot to take her with him.

At the Liaodong County Duke's Mansion, Yang Xuyan looked at the intelligence in his hand, a mocking smile forming on his lips. "Is this the inertia of history, or is it Fu Cailin testing me? Fu Jun'er, oh Fu Jun'er, who gave you the courage to stir up trouble in the Central Plains with your mere late Xiantian strength?"

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, muttering to himself, "I've already taken out most of Yang Gong's treasure trove, leaving only the fake vault for show. The Evil Emperor's relics are still in the storage space, so there's no fear of discovery. The traps are already set in Luoyang and Chang'an, just waiting to be unleashed. My good uncle has arrived in Jiangdu, and the test of Shilong is about to begin. I wonder if Yu Wenzhi can easily suppress Yangzhou's top expert, who has reached the Grandmaster level."

"Xu boy, Kou boy, after these two years of training, I hope you can soar to the sky in the upcoming storm. Don't let your master's painstaking cultivation go to waste." Yang Xuyan looked up. The door of the study opened wide, and a beautiful girl ran in. "Cousin, cousin, our father went to Jiangdu and forgot Ruyi in Liaodong. You must take charge of this matter."

Seeing the person coming, Yang Xuyan couldn't help but have a headache. Suddenly, an idea came to him and he pointed his finger at her forehead, causing the girl to scream in pain, holding her head and squatting, looking at him secretly with a pitiful look.

Yang Xuyan thought to himself that a character that had never appeared in the original novel could not possibly be the reincarnation of Lingmeng or Lingyue. This woman felt more like a daughter than a cousin. Finally, he said helplessly, "Tell me, what do you want?"

Yang Ruyi jumped up, ran over, hugged Yang Xuyan's arm and shook it, "Cousin, Sister Wanjing and Sister Feng told me that they practice a magical skill that can keep their faces young. This magic skill was passed on to them by you. My dearest cousin, you don't want Ruyi to be old and frail in the future, right?"

Yang Xuyan pinched her delicate little face and smiled slightly, saying, "It's okay. A daughter who is married off is like spilled water. Just let your future husband worry about such troubles. At worst, when you are old, I will strictly forbid you to return to your parents' home."

"No, no, no, Ruyi doesn't want to grow old, Ruyi wants to be beautiful, Ruyi wants to stay young forever. The best cousin in the world, please fulfill the wish of the cutest Ruyi in the world. Ruyi is willing to cook for you in the evening." The little princess Yang Ruyi looked at Yang Xuyan pitifully, but the latter couldn't help but frown.

"Girl, you are threatening me, right? You must be threatening me. The food you cook is no worse than the poison of the Demon Sect."

"You bad cousin, you always bully Ruyi. Humph, if you don't teach Ruyi martial arts to make her beautiful, Ruyi will never marry and will stay with you forever. She will get old and ugly and hang around in front of you every day." The little princess threatened Yang Xuyan with her hands on her hips, snorting.

Thinking of an old woman with a face full of goosebumps hanging around him all day, Yang Xuyan couldn't help but shudder. "You are quite cruel, girl. There are not many martial arts in the world that can keep one young, but they are all magical skills. Without a certain level of talent, you can't learn them."

Putting aside other things, the Xiaoyao Sect's martial arts have very high requirements for qualifications. The fact that Shi Qingxuan, Shan Wanjing, and Shang Xiuxun were able to practice successfully is largely related to their backgrounds and qualifications, and may also be related to the fact that they themselves are important supporting roles. However, Yang Ruyi is different. This girl did not appear at all in the original novel, so who knows what her qualifications are.

You said she was born into the royal family and her father was Yang Guang, so it’s impossible for her to have poor self-control?

Haha, this girl is not Princess Nanyang. Her father is Yang Guang and her mother is Empress Xiao, a master of the Yingui Sect. Neither of them is a weak person. But Yang Ruyi is an emperor's daughter without a title. Yang Xuyan doesn't even know who her mother is. She has no royal or Yingui Sect martial arts. Although she has a beautiful appearance, it does not mean that she has good aptitude.

What's more, this girl was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and was not keen on practicing martial arts. This time, Shang Xiuxun came to Liaodong with Lu Miaozi to investigate the ranch horse breeds. Yang Xuyan took the opportunity to stimulate her, wanting to guide this emperor's daughter who was forgotten by Yang Guang onto the right path.

If her aptitude is really good, she will be taught the Xiaoyao Sect's martial arts. If her aptitude is not good enough, she will have to practice the Cihang Jingzhai or Yingui Sect's martial arts. These two sects' martial arts can also make people beautiful and keep their appearance young. For example, Bi Xiuxin and Zhu Yuyan now maintain their looks in their twenties and thirties, and they will probably not change until they die.

Seeing that Yang Ruyi was determined to practice martial arts to maintain her beauty, Yang Xuyan asked, "How is your practice of the Beauty Fist I taught you?"

Yang Ruyi curled her lips and said, "Cousin, are you sure what you taught me before was martial arts and not dancing? Can those kinds of coquettish posing tricks really make people more beautiful?"

"The Beauty Fist was created by a female master of the reclusive Xiaoyao Sect. Each move in this style emulates a famous beauty, incorporating the ever-changing charm and demeanor of women over the centuries. The movements can be as graceful as lotus blossoms or as swaying as willows, striking the enemy with grace and charm." Yang Xuyan added, "This style is exquisitely crafted, easy to learn but difficult to master. Like the Shaolin Arhat Fist, it has limitless potential."

Yang Ruyi looked at Yang Xuyan suspiciously, and said unsurely, "My cousin wouldn't lie to me, right? If you lie to me, I'll cook for you every day, and if you can't finish it, I'll cry in front of you."

Yang Xuyan's face turned ashen. This girl's threat was really scary. But when he turned around, he saw Yang Ruyi dancing gracefully, performing every move exactly as he had demonstrated to her.

"How long have you been studying? Have you ever asked Wanjing and Feng'er for advice?"

"It's not some difficult internal technique. Isn't it just the external technique that I can remember after just one look? How long did it take to learn it? An hour? Or half a day? I can't remember."

"Ruyi, you might really be a martial arts genius."

"Hehe, then can I learn martial arts that can keep me young forever?"

"Not yet. Unless you swear to never cook to scare me again, I won't teach you the secret of eternal youth."

"make a deal!"