Chapter 168
Chapter 168
Zhang Chunhua had always been proud of her figure, confident in her beautiful body. But now, she instinctively lowered her head to look at her own chest and felt a little inadequate. The Demoness's presence was just that intimidating. Qiu Yao'er possessed not only a murderous aura but also an overwhelming presence as a woman.
*But I'm not here to compete with you over figures. I'm here to persuade you. Wisdom is my true strength and charm.*
As Zhang Chong's daughter, she had inherited her father's strategic mind and wisdom. Facing Qiu Yao'er's astonishing presence, Zhang Chunhua steeled herself and reaffirmed the plan in her mind.
"Miss Qiu Yao'er, are you thinking of defeating your brother, Qiu Xiao, or becoming the new lord of Raging Tide City? I can help you. With my assistance, you will become the new young lord of Raging Tide City within half a year! You will ascend to the throne of Raging Tide City within two years. Furthermore, I will help you unify the eastern seas within three years. Within five years, you, a woman, can be ennobled as a marquis in the State of Yue!"
As a strategist, the most important approach was to get straight to the point without unnecessary pleasantries or introductions, using exquisite phrasing. First, overwhelm the opponent with words, saying what they most want to hear, and then persuading them with the rest becomes much easier. After finishing her speech, Zhang Chunhua sat down coolly and waited for the Demoness Qiu Yao'er's reaction.
"Unfortunately, I have no such intention. See our guest out!"
Qiu Yao'er answered bluntly, and Zhang Chunhua was escorted out by two female warriors. She wasn't just thrown out of the room, but out of the fortress itself. Thrown out, Zhang Chunhua stared blankly at the firmly shut gate before her. After a long moment, she muttered a single sentence.
"Huh? What just happened?"
* * *
An hour later, Xu Qianqian appeared before the Demoness Qiu Yao'er. It was said that a woman looks best dressed in white. Dressed in pure white mourning clothes, Xu Qianqian's delicate beauty was even more pronounced, making her look pitiful and fragile. With tears in her eyes, Qianqian looked at Qiu Yao'er and gracefully knelt. It was an incredibly alluring and heart-stirring sight. She spoke in a sorrowful yet coquettish voice, weeping.
"I am the daughter of Xu Guangyun. Because of Shen Lang, my family's fortune was completely ruined, and afterward, my fiancé, Zhang Jin, killed my entire family. A weak woman like me has been driven to a dead end, trapped in a predicament with no escape. I implore you, General Qiu, to save my life! Upon seeing you, General, I was filled with admiration, and both my body and heart have been captured. From this day forward, I will serve you with my body, making and unmaking your bed! Please, General, take pity on me and accept me!"
Xu Qianqian pleaded with all her might. Such a beautiful, delicate appearance and alluring posture. She swayed as if she had no bones in her body, and tears seemed ready to spill from her large, moist eyes at any moment. She had never put this much effort into it, not even when seducing Zhang Jin.
When Xu Qianqian kowtowed to Qiu Yao'er, her hips were raised high and her waist was so slender it looked as if it might break. Just imagine the sight. If that scoundrel Shen Lang had seen this, he would have been too impatient to even take off his pants, instead grabbing scissors to cut a hole and pounce on her. But... the Demoness Qiu Yao'er remained expressionless, her face cold.
"I do not fancy women."
Xu Qianqian was stunned.
*Is that true, or a lie? Everyone says you like women. You don't? Then... what should I do?*
Qiu Yao'er said.
"But I understand your words. I didn't know you were still alive."
Xu Qianqian crawled forward on her knees and hugged Qiu Yao'er's legs.
"General, I've been driven to a dead end. As vast as the world is, there is no place for me to hide. Please, save me."
Her two legs were truly long and straight. Their shape was perfect, and they felt good to the touch. To think a woman's legs could be so firm—it was enough to make one envious and jealous.
"I can take you in. You can live with the other pitiful women."
She had lost count of how many women she had saved. Every time she went to suppress pirates, she almost always rescued pitiful women. Even now, they lived under Qiu Yao'er's protection, cooking, embroidering, or cleaning. Furthermore, a few years ago, she had selected a large number of young girls and had them trained in martial arts. Now, those girls had grown up and become her personal bodyguards.
"But... I want to stay by your side, General. Only then will I feel safe."
Xu Qianqian said in a coquettish voice. She was the very picture of a demure coquette. However, the sight of Xu Qianqian acting coy wasn't particularly displeasing. Qiu Yao'er possessed an extremely powerful presence, capable of crushing any valiant person in an instant. Just before, when Zhang Chunhua had come with the air of a superior strategist, Qiu Yao'er had felt no favor toward her at all. In contrast, Xu Qianqian appeared pitiful and frail, so there was no need or even thought of crushing her.
"What can you do? Do you know how to do laundry and cook?"
"I will learn."
Which meant she couldn't. The Demoness Qiu Yao'er asked again.
"Then do you know how to embroider and sew?"
"I-I will learn that too."
Which also meant she couldn't. The Demoness frowned.
"Then you must at least know how to brew and serve tea."
Xu Qianqian was so ashamed that she answered in a voice that was barely a whisper.
"I... I will learn."
It seemed that her earlier words about making the bed, doing laundry, and cooking were all lies; only her desire to serve by her side was true. The Demoness Qiu Yao'er asked coldly.
"Then what is it that you can actually do?"
"I know how to manage ledgers."
"I only kill and plunder. I have no ledgers to manage."
*What? You have so many subordinates and the goods you seize each time are worth an astronomical amount, yet you don't keep ledgers?*
She really didn't. Qiu Yao'er immediately handed over everything she plundered to her father. She had no interest in wealth at all. She was only interested in fighting, killing, and martial arts.
"Then I can compose poetry and prose."
"I have no interest in those things."
Xu Qianqian's head was starting to ache. She realized she had become a useless fool who couldn't do anything.
"If you don't know this and you don't know that, what do you intend to do by my side? Go and clean."
At Qiu Yao'er's gesture, two female warriors came forward and dragged Xu Qianqian away. There was no room to resist. Qiu Yao'er had no intention of listening to others, so no words could sway her. They took Xu Qianqian to a room, stripped her of her clothes, and changed her into lighter cotton garments. Then they placed a broom in her hand. And just like that, she became the glorious "broom girl," endlessly cleaning inside Qiu Yao'er's fortress. What a huge gap between this and what she had imagined.
*I came here to be a vixen, not a house-elf to sweep and scrub floors.*
Now, as she lifted her head and looked around, she saw a dozen women sweeping the floor in a small courtyard of less than a hundred square meters. All of them were slender and beautiful. It was then that Xu Qianqian realized Qiu Yao'er was the most extravagant person in the world. The number of peerless beauties sweeping the floors in her fortress was in the dozens, perhaps even close to a hundred. This was a luxury that could rival the king of a nation.
But even for a peerless beauty, serving the Demoness was incredibly difficult. Becoming her confidante, an indispensable person by her side, seemed far too hard. Xu Qianqian moved the broom and swept the floor, but it was so clean, as if something had licked it, that there was nothing left to sweep. Xu Qianqian wanted to cry, but she had no tears left.
* * *
The Raging Tide City Lord's Estate.
This place truly deserved to be called a turtle's shell. This massive fortress was built even more sturdily than the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. The fortress was built with almost no consideration for aesthetics, constructed entirely from solid black stone. There were no pavilions or gazebos, no carved railings or jade staircases to be found. Only the citadel with its high walls and watchtowers that doubled as defensive structures stood tall.
The fortress walls were three to four meters thick and over ten meters high, and the outermost cave-like gate was so deep one had to walk seven or eight meters to get inside. This fortress was designed to be difficult to attack from the outside but easy to defend from within. Even if only a thousand men defended this fortress, an army of ten thousand would not be able to breach it. Qiu Tianwei had spent eleven years building this incredibly sturdy fortress, mobilizing tens of thousands of people to finally complete it. Countless slaves had died to build this fortress. Yes, they were slaves who died.
From the beginning of its founding, the Great Yan Dynasty had issued a decree forbidding any vassal state from engaging in the slave trade. But in Raging Tide City, there was nothing that couldn't be bought, and slaves were one of the items traded in large quantities. Qiu Tianwei was also extremely tall. He was at least 190 centimeters tall, and with his sharp, handsome features, he didn't look like a pirate at all. However, his face was not one that women would find attractive, as his nose was too long. There's a saying that a long nose is good, but it's only good up to a certain point. If one's nose were long enough to reach their knees, they wouldn't be able to find a wife.
Qiu Tianwei's nose was that long, and it was even crooked. His nose made his otherwise handsome face look extremely odd, and most people found his slightly bizarre appearance intimidating. Furthermore, his eyes were very narrow and long, slanting slightly upwards. If a woman had such eyes, she would have been considered very beautiful, but on a man, they looked extremely strange. In conclusion, he was a very handsome man, but anyone who saw his face would feel a sense of fear and wouldn't dare to approach him. The phrase "born with a peculiar visage" seemed to have been coined for him.
Qiu Tianwei was receiving the Count of Jinhai, Tang Lun, as a guest. Although they had done business together many times, Tang Lun found that when he was in front of Qiu Tianwei, he instinctively couldn't refuse his words. It was because looking at his face was truly uncomfortable. Qiu Tianwei asked.
"You wish to become my in-law? Why would a dignified noble family want to be related by marriage to a pirate?"
The Count of Jinhai, Tang Lun, replied.
"You are no longer a pirate, but the Lord of Raging Tide City, a powerhouse who presides over the order of the seas, are you not? Both the Third Prince and His Highness the Crown Prince wish to establish relations with you. If you are willing, you could even obtain the title of Marquis of Raging Tide in the future."
This was clearly the condition offered by the Crown Prince and the Third Prince. It meant that if Qiu Tianwei pledged his allegiance to one of them, whoever ascended the throne in the future would ennoble him as the Marquis of Raging Tide. Currently, the titles of the vassal states are divided into two categories. One is the hereditary nobility, passed down from ancestors for hundreds of years. These titles were extremely rare, passed down through generations within a family, and would not disappear even after a hundred years.
The other category is the new nobility, and these titles were fluid. For example, if Zhang Chong succeeded in destroying the Count of Xuanwu's Estate this time, he too would be ennobled as a count. In the future, if he entered the Grand Secretariat and became a chancellor, his title could be raised by half a rank, and by the time he retired, the King would ennoble him as a marquis. The previous Grand Secretary, Xiao Xuan, was such a case, having received the title of marquis.
However, the latter titles were merely honorary rewards, hollow titles that did not come with a fief. They received a symbolic stipend, which would decrease with each passing generation. Therefore, the hereditary nobles like the Count of Wu'an, Count of Xuanwu, Count of Jinhai, and Count of Dongjiang, despite only being counts, inwardly looked down on the new nobility. It was like the relationship between shareholders and employees in modern society. Even if one climbed to the position of CEO in a company, they were still just a salaried worker.
Qiu Tianwei asked.
"Do you want my son to marry your daughter?"
"No, I want my son to marry your daughter."
"If it were a matter of marrying your daughter to my son, I could decide on the marriage. But marrying off my daughter is not something I can decide."
"Marquis of Raging Tide, you jest. Is a woman's marriage not decided by her parents?"
How shameless. Calling him Marquis of Raging Tide already.
"My daughter is different from other women."
"I will offer half of Gold Mountain Island as a wedding gift."
At the words of the Count of Jinhai, Tang Lun, the Lord of Raging Tide City, Qiu Tianwei, sneered.
"Didn't you lose the Gold Mountain Island dispute to the Jin Clan?"
"That was merely a written contract. If I refuse to hand over Gold Mountain Island, what can Jin Zhuo do?"