He started by killing his abusive father, and from then on, he embarked on the road to wealth.

Chapter 199 Inquiring about the meteorite

"The good news is that the Cold Cicada Seed has been presented to the King of Zhannan by the National Preceptor of Zhannan. The young master intends to break into the palace of the King of Zhannan to steal the Cold Cicada Seed and take the opportunity to kill the King of Zhannan."

The Prince of Zhannan has many sons, who are constantly scheming and plotting against each other. Furthermore, the Prince of Zhannan has yet to appoint a crown prince. After the Prince of Zhannan's death, internal strife will inevitably erupt in Zhannan, and he will no longer be eyeing Jing'an Prefecture with hostility.

Meng Fuqing looked thoughtful.

"Is the situation in Zhannan better than in Jing'an Prefecture?"

Ling Jiu nodded, "Indeed, Zhannan and Yunnan are plagued by miasma, so not many refugees will flock there."

From the moment he began to desire military power, Meng Fuqing changed his mind.

If she didn't want to survive in this era, she could stay in the space forever. Since chaos is coming, why can't she become a ruler and carve out her own territory?

In the apocalypse, she was constantly hunted down and had no means of survival. Now that she has the means and the ability, simply observing might not guarantee that she wouldn't be forced into the vortex. She's drawn into the fray herself and wants to see how the ensuing natural disasters will unfold and who will ultimately prevail in this world.

As his heart raced, a sudden clap of thunder boomed outside, and lightning ripped through the sky, illuminating the unfathomable depths in Meng Fuqing's eyes.

"Since your young master dared to attack the Prince of Zhannan, have you ever considered taking over Zhannan directly?"

Ling Jiu was surprised, not expecting that Meng Fuqing could think of the same thing as her young master.

“Miss Meng, this was the young master’s original plan, but he was short-handed and the decision was made too hastily. Killing the Prince of Zhannan was just to buy time.”

"Is it too late to inform Prefect Xu?"

Ling Jiu looked troubled. "Miss, you may not know this, but Lord Xu, being a civil official, has many concerns. When facing foreign enemies, he always prioritizes defense and dares not advance rashly."

As far as I know, the large number of refugees gathered outside Jing'an Prefecture has caused quite a bit of trouble before. Previously, a group incited the refugees to riot, and Lord Xu only defended and didn't attack, which nearly resulted in a stampede.

"I see," Meng Fuqing said. "When will he make his move? Is it too late for me to write him a letter before he does it?"

"It's not too late; the carrier pigeon can deliver it in a day."

Meng Fuqing immediately took out paper and a charcoal pencil, wrote two lines of small characters, tore them off, rolled them up, and handed them to Ling Jiu.

"Thank you for your help."

Ling Jiu accepted it respectfully, "Miss Meng, you're too kind."

Just as she was about to leave, Meng Fuqing called her back, "May I ask Miss Ling something?"

"Please feel free to ask, young lady."

"The strange events in Hanhua Village are causing such a stir, but in the decade or so before these strange events came to light, what unusual phenomena had occurred in the village? For example, the falling of celestial stones."

Meng Fuqing felt that the meteorite should have disappeared into space without any trace. She wondered if it was related to the inaccessible mountains in the space, but she tried again and it was still like being lost in a maze.

A light drizzle began to fall again outside the window, its patter on the eaves sounding particularly crisp in the night.

“Strange phenomena, celestial stones…” Ling Jiu repeated thoughtfully, then looked up at Meng Fuqing after a moment of silence.

“Miss Meng, please don’t be offended. This is also Ling Jiu’s first time in Jing’an Prefecture, and he doesn’t know much about Hanhua Village. As for strange things in Jing’an Prefecture and the surrounding prefectures, there was indeed one more than 20 years ago.”

"On the night the current Empress Dowager gave birth to the current emperor, shooting stars fell from the sky to various southern prefectures, reportedly causing quite a commotion, and even resulting in the deaths of some people. After observing the celestial phenomena that night, the Directorate of Astronomy informed the late emperor that this was an auspicious omen brought by the current emperor."

"At that time, the late emperor greatly favored the Empress Dowager, who was then Consort Shu, and believed this to be true. Even though the current emperor was neither the eldest son nor the heir apparent, he still disregarded all objections and made the newborn emperor the crown prince. It is said that a meteorite struck within the territory of Jing'an Prefecture at that time. Is this what Miss Meng wants to know?"

After listening, Meng Fuqing suppressed the turmoil rising in his heart.

No wonder people only talk about strange things in Hanhua Village, but never about meteorites hitting the ground.

First, it was difficult for people of that era to connect the two events; second, the court called it an auspicious omen, so the common people naturally couldn't imagine that it would bring disaster.

She nodded and continued to ask, "Does Miss Ling Jiu know the location where the meteor struck?"

Ling Jiu looked troubled. "I don't know. If you're not in a hurry, I'll send someone from the Hidden Pavilion to investigate."

Asking about something that happened more than 20 years ago is indeed a bit much.

Meng Fuqing shook his head. "No need. I just feel that the strange events in Hanhua Village are related to the meteorite, and I'm just curious. It's raining outside, Miss Ling, why don't you rest here for the night?"

Ling Jiu shook his head and put the bamboo hat on his head. "This subordinate takes his leave."

As soon as she finished speaking, her slender figure disappeared into the night.

Meng Fuqing got up, blew out the candle, and sat cross-legged on the bed to begin meditation.

But this time, I couldn't calm down for a long time.

It seems that those red stones are not only found in Hanhua Village. What would happen if we could collect them all and put them into our spatial storage?

She made up her mind that she had to go to the prefectural city to find Qin Su tomorrow.

The next morning, after breakfast, Meng Fuqing and Shan Qiyu, as usual, went to see the house that was not yet built.

With the money paid well, the craftsmen working diligently, and many helpers, plus the supervision of Niu Er, the house was built very quickly.

In addition, the weather was kind, with rain always falling at night, but the rain didn't last long and didn't have a significant impact on the progress.

After inspecting the house, Meng Fuqing told Shan Qiyu about it, then went back to get the blueprints he had drawn, called Yan He, and the two rode their horses swiftly towards the prefectural city.

"Meng Fuqing, last night I saw a man in black jump out of the window and leave. Could the rat you mentioned before be a person? Could it be that Young Master Xie?"

Amid the clatter of hooves, Meng Fuqing readily admitted, "It was a person, but not Young Master Xie last night."

"There are other men?!" Yan He's almond-shaped eyes widened in shock. "Let me tell you, you've just come of age, don't let anyone fool you..."

Yan He originally intended to give a few words of advice, taking advantage of his age, but as he spoke, he realized that he was clearly worrying unnecessarily.

Who could Meng Fuqing possibly be fooled by? She's more likely to fool others.

Meng Fuqing had long known that Yan He was a rare and extraordinary woman of this era, but he did not expect her to be so open-minded. She knew about this matter not because of her reputation, but because she was worried that Yan He would be deceived.

Feeling genuinely touched, Meng Fuqing simply explained, "That's Miss Ling. I'm asking her about some things."

Yan He chuckled awkwardly twice, trying to make conversation, "What is it? Is it related to today's trip to the prefectural city?"

"You'll know when it arrives."

Jing'an Prefecture City.

The two stood in front of a spice shop. The shop assistant came up to ask what they wanted to buy, but Meng Fuqing only said to find the shopkeeper.

The shop assistant thought he had landed a big business deal and hurriedly went to find the shopkeeper with great joy.

Before long, the spice shop owner hurried over. He was a plump man with a round face, and his face jiggled as he walked.

He smiled broadly, "Just tell us what spices you want to buy. Our shop has everything from styrax to wisteria. If you can think of it, we have it!"

"I won't buy spices, I'll buy something else."

The shopkeeper was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized what he meant and suppressed his smile. "According to our shop's rules, once a young lady wants to buy something, the shop is not responsible for it. To prevent any leaks, it's best if you go alone."

"Then wait for me, I'll be out soon."

After saying that, Meng Fuqing followed the shopkeeper into a narrow passageway.