"Just a casual question."
Bai Xiuping replied calmly without changing his expression.
Although he often considered whether to beat this idiot Gongsun Fu to death first.
But it is undeniable that no matter what happens, no matter how reluctant he is, Gongsun Fu will still stand on his side in the end.
Gongsun Fu sighed, knowing that the young leader cared about his feelings and wanted to let him leave first.
He stood up and pretended to be relaxed: "How come the atmosphere has become so bad? You guys are almost done."
Bai Xiuping couldn't help but rolled his eyes, secretly wondering who do you think made the atmosphere so awkward.
Gongsun Fu spread his hands and said that it was no big deal at all. He turned around and said, "The master of Wuxing Palace, the person ranked second in the Mingjiao ranking list, is my father."
"But I am only born as a concubine and have no talent at all, so naturally I will not be recognized by him."
This situation is not uncommon in Mingjiao.
There were many wives and concubines of powerful people in the Ming sect, and bastards who were not born into the royal family were indeed not taken seriously, not to mention the cold-blooded and cruel Gongsun family.
But Zhuang Qiuyun still felt a little sad after hearing it.
Even when her father was unconscious before, she could still feel his father's love for her.
The love of family is enough to support her to live, but Gongsun Fu has never felt family love, how pitiful it must be.
"Pitiful....."
Zhuang Qiuyun lowered his head and murmured.
Gongsun Fu shook his head and retorted: "Although my father is like this, my brother has always regarded me as a sideline. He not only taught me martial arts, but also took good care of me."
So if Gongsun Fu doesn't feel sorry for himself, why is brotherly love not family love?
...
Wu Xing Palace Annex.
It was snowy, with flying snowflakes piled thickly on the roof and the ground.
"Brother, it's so cold. Can you stop practicing martial arts today?"
The young Gongsun Fu shivered from the cold, but Gongsun Yang did not relent because of this: "You can't slack off in practicing martial arts for a day, and the cold weather is no excuse."
The two brothers stood in the snow, Gongsun Yang guiding Gongsun Fu with each move.
Even though Gongsun Fu's fingers were red and swollen from the cold, he was not allowed to stop and rest.
But as soon as Gongsun Fu finished practicing martial arts, the servant handed over the exquisite fur clothes and said: "The hot soup has been prepared for you. It is in the room, and the hot water for bathing has also been heated for you."
All this was prepared for him by Gongsun Yang.
Otherwise, how could he, a bastard, receive such meticulous care?
.....
When Bai Xiuping heard this, he felt even more strange. Since he was taught by Gongsun Yang himself, why was this guy's martial arts still so inferior?
Gongsun Fu said helplessly: "Brother takes care of me so much, but I hang out with the young masters in places like brothels and casinos all day long, leading a debauched and ridiculous life."
"It's only natural that my brother would be so disappointed in me, so he's so indifferent now."
Bai Xiuping's face turned red when he said this. Is this because of him?
He coughed slightly in embarrassment, hoping that Gongsun Fu would stop talking. He was really embarrassed to hear it.
Gongsun Fu turned around indifferently and said to Bai Xiuping: "Speaking of which, although the young leader is still a ruffian now, he has become more restrained than before and is much more normal."
"With the changes in the young leader, maybe the eldest brother will also have a different view of me."
Zhuang Qiuyun pouted and retorted with some dissatisfaction: "Young Master is not a gangster."
Bai Xiuping ignored Gongsun Fu's subsequent words, but thought about Wu Xing Palace.
If he wants to ascend to the position of leader, the biggest enemy standing in front of him is Wu Xing Palace.
Even if he successfully ascends the throne, it does not mean that the people in the Wu Xing Palace will obey him. If they join forces with other secret palaces to rebel, the trouble will be even greater.
By then, let alone changing the Mingjiao, the Mingjiao will probably be disbanded directly.
Once Gongsun Fu started talking, he couldn't stop. When he saw Bai Xiuping looking through the information about Wu Xing Palace, he thought he was interested in Wu Xing Palace.
Since the young leader came out of seclusion, except for women, he has become even crazier in other aspects. Even if he told himself now that he wanted to go to the Wu Xing Palace, Gongsun Fu would not be surprised.
What's more, the fact that Wu Xing Palace helped the escort agency of Ju Bao Palace to open up a lot of money is something that almost everyone in Mingjiao knows.
"Although it's a bit bragging to say this, my family has as many friends as I do."
Gongsun Fu felt a little proud when he talked about this.
It's hard to say in the Central Plains area, but the power of Wu Xing Palace has already penetrated beyond the Great Wall. It can be said that they can jump around freely outside the Great Wall.
Although Bai Xiuping was a little impatient when he heard that, he still understood that since Wu Xing Palace would help Jubao Palace to connect, it meant that the two parties were on the same team.
One side has power and force, the other has financial resources.
It is indeed not easy for both sides to unite and think about each other.
Bai Xiuping thought for a moment and then said: "In that case, you should go in this direction and investigate carefully to see if there is any way to alienate them, preferably to sow discord."
Since the two parties joining together are causing trouble, then separate the two parties and solve them one by one.
Gongsun Fu nodded and agreed: "Okay, let's take a short rest today and adjust..."
Bai Xiuping directly ordered: "I said now, let's go now."
Gongsun Fu was dumbfounded. He had finally ridden such a long distance without even taking a break, and suddenly he was about to set off to investigate.
The horses they were riding were still getting some rest, so how could this man be worse off than an animal?
Zhuang Fangliang and his daughter took the order, especially Zhuang Qiuyun who saluted with a serious face that looked particularly interesting.
Without waiting for Gongsun Fu to say a few words, the two of them directly picked up Gongsun Fu and dragged him out.
Bai Xiuping stared at the information about Wei Yuanji on the table.
Although this person is the master of the treasure-gathering palace in charge of money, his cultivation is not weak, and his martial arts ranking in the Mingjiao ranking book reaches twelfth place.
Nalan Jingzhi rated his martial arts as above first-rate, close to the state of transformation.
But his mind is not on martial arts, but he likes to pursue profits, is good at arithmetic, and has achieved success in business.
Therefore, after his martial arts reached the top level, he began to neglect his practice and gradually fell into disrepair. His current martial arts may not be as good as before.
The reason why when discussing the goals with Nalan Jingzhi, both of them believed that among the Seven Secret Palaces, the first targets to visit were the Jubao Palace and the Tongyin Palace.
This is not only because of their intelligence capabilities, but also because if you want to recruit troops and talents, group activities, funds and means of transporting goods are all indispensable elements.
It's okay if there are only a few of them in Yangming Palace now, but if they want to grow their power, these are necessary.
In the martial arts alliance, in addition to numerous sects, there are also literary sects, as well as various banks, escort agencies and business groups.
Not only that, but the restaurants and inns along the way also have close personal relationships with each other.
But in Mingjiao, all resources are in the hands of Jubao Palace and Tongyin Palace.
This also resulted in the fact that although Bai Xiuping was the Young Master in name, he had nothing but this identity.
While Wei Yuanji was supporting the Master of Wu Xing Palace who was most likely to become the next leader, he also wanted to get close to Bai Xiuping. Naturally, he had other motives.
With money and resources in hand, what else does the Jubao Palace want?
It is nothing more than power, the power to listen to politics behind the curtain.
Supporting Wu Xing Palace seems to be the safest decision, but in fact it is also the transaction with the smallest return.
It was a helpless move for Jubao Palace to join forces with Wuxing Palace, but no one expected that the young leader would suddenly come out of seclusion.
Although Jubaogong intends to negotiate with him, the problem now is that Bai Xiuping does not even intend to give anything, let alone the power to listen to politics behind the curtain.
From the outset, the deal was untenable.
Even if you deal with Jubao Palace and use various methods to temporarily deceive Jubao Palace, you can get a lot of resources in the short term, but it is not a long-term solution after all.
The only way is to make the Jubao Palace only support itself. If you want to do this, you must first make the Jubao Palace completely isolated.
"叽伊咿——"
A young man opened the door and bowed to Bai Xiuping and reported: "Greetings to the Young Master. This is Du Wentao. The Palace Master has finished handling the matters at hand."
"The Palace Master hopes to meet with you and has sent me to invite you. Is it convenient for you now?"
The man in front of him looked heroic and young, completely different from the image of the decadent uncle just now.
Bai Xiuping squinted at him and said with a playful smile: "You have changed into a new person in such a short period of time. Could it be that you have rejuvenated? Isn't it summer now?"
"Why is this face completely different from the one I saw yesterday?"
