Chapter 42: Chapter 42 – Coming Clean.

Xiulan surfaced from the ice-cold water with an unnecessary gasp. She was swimming in a small lake that sat in the mountains overlooking her canal. The mountains were not close, but the canal was large enough to be visible from here.

Xiulan looked over the construction with anticipation. Thousands of workers moved in and around the construction digging and adding stone pillars for support. The Spillwater branch had become wildly successful. It was not producing as much profit as the Temple Gorge branch yet but only because so much money was being reinvested by Meirong to build new storage buildings and other infrastructure.

Xiulan had not taken any of her lovers with her to the mountain lake. They were all busy and the twins were lurking around to act as guards and to take care of any needs she had.

Princess Lijuan had however come with her. She had chosen not to swim but was sitting at their pavilion munching on fruit and cold meats. Xiulan even had some spirit fish brought up on ice from silver bay.

Xiulan had been hoping that the private setting would make the Princess more forthright in what she wanted from Xiulan. So far that had not worked. Xiulan decided that it was time to be more direct.

Qi Shen, under protest, had agreed to leave the Princess alone at the lake. After all the Princess was at a much higher cultivation level than anyone in the interior. Xiulan had insisted upon it because she was swimming naked.

She swam towards the pavilion and slowly got out of the lake. She took her time and watched carefully for any kind of reaction from the Princess. The Princess watched with open appreciation but there was no desperate lust in her eyes. She was not looking for sex then, or at least that was not her primary motivation.

Xiulan approached her chair and wrapped a towel around herself. She wrapped another around her head to dry her hair and keep the wet strands out of her eyes.

Xiulan sat facing the princess and paused to eat a sliver of spirit fish with some chopsticks.

Xiulan then huffed out, “fine I’ll ask. Why are you here Princess? The royal family does not need to worry about the petty money I am making here in the interior.”

The Princess smiled, replying, “I was wondering how long you would let me just hang around. I have truly enjoyed this little holiday. At first, I just wanted to confirm the reports about you and the Combine. Also, if my estimations are correct then once this canal is finished then your profits will not be so small.”

Xiulan chuckled, “I am making plenty of gold but surly nothing compared to the royal family.”

The Princess shook her head and sighed, “there is no lack of gold in the royal palace but that does not mean that every family member has access to the royal reserves.”

Xiulan was starting to see the situation more clearly now, “So you want me to back your play for the throne.”

The Princess exclaimed, “it is always easy to have conversations with smart people.”

Xiulan asked, “Why are you even trying to take the throne? Seems like an awful lot of responsibilities. With your cultivation you could do just about anything, you could probably join a mainland sect.”

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The Princess winced, “I was going to but as a Princess every sect saw me as a way to make an ally out of the Kingdom through marriage. Even my father wanted to marry me off. When I refused, he moved me to a post monitoring the interior as punishment. Besides that, I truly do want what is best for the people. My eldest brother is the current crown prince, and he would be a disaster to the masses if he took power.”

Xiulan connected some dots and stated, “your father is dying then?”

The Princess nodded, “He has, at most, a few years. He is at the golden core stage, but he has not been able to advance past the first level. His life span is drawing to an end and every year it becomes less likely that he will surpass the bottleneck in his training.”

Xiulan sighed, “well I can imagine what you will use the money for Princess. Coups are expensive and most of the army will probably not back you. What I do not yet understand is what my gold will buy me. I am, after all, a merchant, and I do not just hand out gold for free.”

Princess Lijuan pouted, “I thought helping a damsel in distress like me would be enough. However, if it is not then I am willing to offer you a very permissive government for your future business endeavours. I can tell you right now that if my brother comes to power then he will not tolerate the economic hegemony you are creating. Besides that, I will grant you a license to run a bank in the Kingdom.”

Xiulan blinked and then laughed, “you have been paying attention Princess. How did you know that I wanted to open a bank?”

The Princess stood and approached Xiulan. She touched her cheek and leaned into her ear, “it is the easiest way to make money once you reach a critical mass of gold. Lending it out would allow you to acquire many new business interests at once. Besides after watching you for the last few weeks I know what you are like.”

The Princess leaned in for a kiss but before her lips met Xiulan’s Qi Shen interrupted with a shout, “Princess I hunted some spirit elk for you.”

Princess Lijuan was annoyed and whispered, “I told him to stay away, how am I supposed to seduce you now.”

Xiulan chuckled and patted the Princess’s hand, “looks like you will have to deal with your romantic entanglements before we start our affair. You must know that Qi Shen is in love with you.”

The man in question came around a boulder and did not manage to disguise his distress when he saw how close the Princess was to Xiulan.

The Princess seemed shocked, “I did not. It seems I have not been observant enough. I will let him down gently.”

Xiulan said, “with a man like that it does not matter how gentle you are. His pride will be hurt. Good luck though. There is always the hope that he will take rejection well.”

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