Chapter 141

"What? Ye Tao was attacked, injured, and is unconscious…" After a quick glance at the top two lines of the intelligence document Zeng Man sent, intense emotion seized her body, and Tan Weixin fainted.

Such a major event couldn't be concealed from the Princess, and Zeng Man didn't intend to. But he hadn't expected that the Princess's concern for Ye Tao would reach such a point. Naturally, the imperial physicians stationed by Tan Weixin's side were thrown into a flurry. Fortunately, the Princess had merely suffered from a sudden surge of anger, and her pulse quickly stabilized. It was thought that there wouldn't be any major issues.

Tan Weixin woke up several hours later. Her face was a little pale, but she firmly ordered, "Sisi, bring me that document from earlier."

Sisi looked at Tan Weixin worriedly, then at her companion Qiao'er, but ultimately obediently handed the document to Tan Weixin.

Tan Weixin no longer needed deep breaths to indicate that she was steadying her emotions. Now that she was mentally prepared, she wouldn't act like she had before. Her fingers skimmed over the white paper, and the events happening far away leaped into her mind line by line. It was coincidence, but also inevitable… Ye Tao, and of course, she herself, were bound to attract the attention and focus of those with ulterior motives. As for the events that had occurred, it could only be said that they were a combination of several coincidences. Ye Tao's trip to Ninghe Town and his desire to visit Bao Shantang made her feel somewhat warm. The fact that they had extracted from the prisoner that the Daoming Sect had come to Dongping for information rather than revenge, and that Ninghe Town was just a front, coinciding with such an event, could only be attributed to Ye Tao and Mo Leng both acting according to their own personalities, and just happening to intersect in the special circumstances of Ninghe Town.

After Ye Tao was injured and fell unconscious, Feng Zi and Bi Xiaoqing went almost crazy. One used medicine, the other used torture. After they extracted some information from the prisoner's mouth, they directed the arriving guards to wipe out Wang Family Village. Although Mo Leng had already retreated with his men, after they controlled Wang Family Village, they conducted an extremely detailed investigation of everyone who had been in contact with the Xiling people in recent days, and gathered a considerable amount of useful information. They quickly notified the Internal Affairs Guards about Xiling's intention to find evidence to control officials. This not only allowed them to wait for their prey and capture several Xiling spies, but also allowed Zeng Man and the current head of the Internal Affairs Guards to use the intelligence to round up those who, even if they were coerced, had objectively become traitors, or to turn some of them into double agents who could transmit some false information. After gaining some solid evidence, they even destroyed two important strongholds established by Xiling in Dongping in the following days, dealt with a total of thirty Xiling spies, and seized a large amount of money and goods. Although the evidence Mo Leng was looking for hadn't been found yet, the situation was already quite good. Even if they only eliminated two of the Eagle Hall's Four Heroes, this achievement was enough to make the sacrificed guards die with honor.

Ye Tao being unconscious was now the worst news… Tan Weixin wouldn't disregard those who had sacrificed themselves for Ye Tao, but to her, Ye Tao was definitely a special existence.

After reading the document back and forth several times, Tan Weixin sat up from the bed. She quietly ordered, "Sisi, call Chief Steward Liu."

Liu Yong was not surprised to receive the order from Tan Weixin to prepare a carriage to go to Ninghe Town. He could see that Tan Weixin was very determined. Knowing the Princess's stubbornness, he naturally wouldn't try to dissuade her, as that would be futile. Instead, he suggested that the Princess speak to the Emperor about it. In addition, it would be best if they could bring Dai Qiuyan along. Tan Weixin naturally agreed to these suggestions wholeheartedly.

The moment she heard the news that Ye Tao had been injured and was unconscious, Dai Qiuyan was somewhat dazed. Dai Qiuyan gently bit her lower lip, trying hard not to cry. She immediately had the Ye residence's servants send the news to Ye Laogeng and Guan Haishan, who were overseeing the progress of the construction on the iron mine site. As for herself, she quickly packed her bags, preparing to go to the Princess's residence and travel to Ninghe Town with Tan Weixin.

Tan Weixin's plan to rush to Ninghe Town to visit Ye Tao really surprised everyone in the Tan family. It wasn't that there was anything inappropriate about it, but Tan Weixin's own weak body made everyone very uneasy. Tan Weishi's unexpectedly offering to go with her sister to take care of her was seen by Tan Xiaopei and Zhuo Xiu as a good idea.

From the day of Ye Tao's attack until now, three days had passed. The Internal Affairs Guards' proactive actions and results had all been compiled and sent to Danyang. Tan Xiaopei was shocked that Xiling's infiltration of Dongping had become so serious, and he had greater concerns about the safety of his two daughters' trip. In the end, it was decided that in addition to the guards from Tan Weixin and Tan Weishi's own residences, five hundred Blood Kirin soldiers would also be brought along.

Thus, the day after the news arrived in Danyang, Tan Weixin's group set off on the road to Ninghe Town. What reassured everyone slightly was that, according to a report sent by Feng Zi a day later, Ye Tao's life was not in danger, but he was still unconscious and it was unknown when he would wake up. What was even more comforting was that Feng Henian happened to be in Danyang at this time. Feng Henian, who had originally planned to come to find Feng Zi and to treat Tan Weixin again, had his carriage directly join Tan Weixin's convoy. The old man didn't even have a chance to rest.

However, Ninghe Town, and even the entire jurisdiction of the Grand Canal Governor's Office, was not so tense. Ye Tao woke up after being unconscious for four days. Although he was still weak, after consultations between Feng Zi and Luo Ming, they both felt that there shouldn't be any major problems. The work of the Grand Canal Governor's Office was not affected in any way, and all the projects were proceeding in an orderly manner. After Ye Tao was injured and fell unconscious, Shi Xiu nervously asked the staff of the Governor's Office who were staying behind in Sufeng Town, and after learning that the work would not be affected in any way by Ye Tao's absence, Shi Xiu ran back to the construction site. Indeed, nothing had been delayed in these few days. When Tan Weixin's group arrived at Sufeng Town for a short rest, the official who was staying behind proudly reported this to the Princess.

And in Ninghe Town, the atmosphere was even more relaxed. Ye Tao was not greatly affected by Mo Leng's palm strike, not nearly as badly as Zhou Zhi, who had risked his life to push him away and forcefully taken two palms from Mo Leng head-on. However, Zhou Zhi and Meng Tian, who had also fought hard earlier, had only stayed in bed for a day. Zhou Zhi, with his extremely vigorous vitality, had already gotten out of bed and was moving around, seemingly on the road to recovery.

But what about Ye Tao? He was still somewhat drowsy.

The strange thing was here. The most serious injury on Ye Tao's body was not the palm strike he received. Although he had no martial arts foundation at all, and high-level techniques such as using his breath to heal his injuries only made him roll his eyes, with someone like Feng Zi by his side, and Luo Ming, who had extremely rich experience in dealing with internal injuries, he should have been fine after a few days. However, the more serious problem on Ye Tao's body was that when he was "selflessly" rescued by Zhou Zhi, he was knocked against the wall by Zhou Zhi, who had suddenly gathered all his strength, and his head hit the windowsill… Then, he probably had some concussion. Feng Zi and Luo Ming could only let Ye Tao rest.

Zhou Zhi couldn't be more depressed. In these few days, he always felt a little embarrassed. He had indeed saved Ye Tao in that critical moment, but the damage he had caused himself was even greater than Mo Leng's. This kind of accidental event really gave everyone reason to make fun of him. Zhou Zhi and Wu Ping'an had been informed that the Governor would be inviting and recruiting some martial artists to strengthen his guard, in order to prevent similar situations from happening again. After all, the military and martial arts hybrid training that those guards received wasn't very useful in some situations. And the two of them would be the commanders of this part of the guard in the future. For these two young men who had just entered the Governor's Office, this had far exceeded their expectations.

"Little Zhou, don't take it to heart. I'm very grateful that you saved my life." Ye Tao's comfort made Zhou Zhi, who had caused such an accidental event, feel a little better. And when he couldn't do anything else, Zhou Zhi and Wu Ping'an simply put out the news of recruiting guards, taking advantage of the fact that many martial arts comrades were gathering in Ninghe Town.

Ye Tao originally wasn't too interested in these many affairs. His injuries hadn't healed yet, and his mind was a little drowsy, so Ye Tao could only turn the tour into a recuperation and stay in Ninghe Town for the time being. Unexpectedly, after only a few days, Tan Weixin and Dai Qiuyan came, and even the very interesting Tan Weishi followed along eagerly. This kind of treatment probably wouldn't exist in Dongping, or even in the whole world.

"You are an important official of the country. What am I, someone who eats food but can't do anything? It's only right that I come to see you." Seeing that Ye Tao was safe and sound, Tan Weixin's mood was very light.

What made Tan Weixin even happier was that, after a joint assessment by Feng Henian, Feng Zi, Luo Ming, and the two imperial physicians who had come to Ninghe Town with her, the improved Shengji San (Vitality Powder) formula was indeed beneficial for conditioning her body. As long as she took one bottle of Shengji San a month and slowly absorbed and nourished herself, although her body would never become completely healthy, at most it would only be slightly better than it was before she shielded Tan Weiming from the assassination with her body, even so, it was great news for Tan Weixin. She wasn't embarrassed to ask Feng Henian or Luo Ming whether she could recover to the point where she could have marital relations with Ye Tao, who would definitely be married to her by then, after a few years of conditioning. Perhaps she could, perhaps she would spend her whole life in physical blandness, and Tan Weixin wasn't necessarily so concerned about that. A slightly better body meant that she wouldn't have to constantly fight against climate change every year, using all sorts of ways to simply stay alive, and that she wouldn't have to worry about dying if her emotions became too intense. She could finally cry, laugh, scold, cheer, and enjoy a little more of life. And better physical strength also meant that she could travel to more places, admire more pure and natural scenery, and breathe some air with different scents… In this case, she couldn't help but be in a good mood.

What made her even happier was the new changes in her new business in the capital. Retreating from the mentality of actively influencing the political situation and Dongping's economic development, Tan Weixin focused a lot of attention on the cultural field. Previously, directing stage plays and dramas was just a small test of her skills. Now, she had started up a publishing business.

The technological development of the Ye Family Workshop in the fields of art and printing no longer needed to be pushed forward through Ye Tao's efforts. When Ye Tao successively implemented some technologies and ideas in the workshop and cultivated a series of apprentices, workers, and technicians with a strong interest in art and printing, including Cassandra, the development speed of this part of the workshop was very surprising. Except for the metal precision engraving process, which was firmly controlled by the core team of the Ye Family Workshop and only used to provide anti-counterfeiting bill printing services for Deloitte Accounting, Kyushu Chamber of Commerce, and Qihai Chamber of Commerce, the technology of the printing workshop had slowly penetrated into ordinary life.

Tan Weixin purchased the now quite mature multi-color printing equipment and the exclusive operating rights for this technology within three years from the Ye Family Workshop, and established the Baowentang Bookstore. When Ye Tao first heard the name Baowentang, he had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the first set of books that Tan Weixin printed in Baowentang was the illustrated version of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*… Afterwards, pirated versions poured in. However, Tan Weixin didn't have the time to be a writer, not even a creative blue-collar worker who transcribed the residual impressions of the work in her mind. Her method of creation was much more high-end. She summoned some scholars and storytellers, told them the outline of the story in her mind, and then let them create it, only being responsible for revising and finalizing it. Mr. Jin's voluminous works were enough for the team of writers hired by Baowentang to work on for several years. Afterwards, perhaps because she couldn't use the classic "Heavenly King Covers the Earth Tiger" password to connect with Ye Tao when they met, Tan Weixin instructed Cassandra to create the comic book *Tracks in the Snowy Forest* and published both monochrome and multi-color versions. Cassandra, who was destined to become the ancestor-level figure of the animation industry in this era, had a very high creative enthusiasm…

However, even so, it wasn't enough to fill Tan Weixin's heart with mockery, and she always felt like laughing enough. What really made her feel interesting was that the book piracy industry had also begun to rise. In Dongping, the most famous piracy group was none other than Yunxiaoge (Cloud Pavilion). Within half a month of Baowentang's new books being released, you could definitely see Yunxiaoge's books, which were printed with lower quality, following closely behind like a shadow. Although they didn't have multi-color printing technology, copying the printing plates according to Baowentang's books and using low prices to impact the market was still a very effective way to make money. And in Chunnan Country, similar piracy groups had also appeared: one called Kuaidutang (Quick Reading Hall) and one called Kenshutang (Earnest Book Hall)…

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Uh… Seeing someone say that I'm padding the word count, I don't think my credibility is that bad, right? As far as I remember, I've never padded the word count. Of course, sometimes I get carried away with writing details, which is a personal style issue and not intentional.

This is the third update. It seems like there should be four updates today again. I'll try my best to get the fourth update out before 12 o'clock. If I can't make it, please understand. In short, I guarantee that I won't be in debt.