Chapter 62: Qin Feng is hot right now; we cannot afford to offend him!

Looking at Hu Weiyong's cunning expression, Qin Feng felt a wave of nausea rise in his stomach.

Had it not been for the ultimate goal of wiping out this entire network of corrupt officials in one fell swoop, Qin Feng would never have condescended to call them his own people!

Going against one's conscience and speaking insincerely is truly a painful ordeal sometimes!

Both Qin Feng and Hu Weiyong felt extremely awkward at this moment.

Hu Weiyong harbored a bone-deep hatred for Qin Feng!

Yet, he had no choice; Qin Feng possessed exceptional abilities and had unfortunately caught the eye of the core faction of the Huaixi nobility behind the scenes.

Now that Qin Feng was a newly recruited and powerful asset, Hu Weiyong could only ingratiate himself with him at every turn, not daring to cause the slightest offense.

Qin Feng smiled and said, "Prime Minister Hu! We are old acquaintances now, let's dispense with the formalities. Just tell me straight, what brings you to the newspaper office today? No need to beat around the bush."

Hu Weiyong lowered his voice and said, "The riverway corruption case has ended inconclusively, and His Majesty has been discussing with the ministers regarding the appointments for the riverway project."

"Today, the court officials recommended Your Excellency to assist His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan in taking up the post at the riverway, and His Majesty has granted approval!"

"I have been specially commanded to carry the imperial decree and inform Your Excellency to assume your new post at the riverway in due course."

With that, Hu Weiyong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looking at Qin Feng with an utterly subservient expression.

Qin Feng pondered for a moment and said, "Prime Minister Hu, if I recall correctly, didn't you try by every means possible to obstruct my trip to the riverway back then?"

Hu Weiyong's aged face flushed, and he hurriedly said, "Circumstances change with the times! Back then, I didn't realize Your Excellency was possessed of such virtue and talent. I was truly blind and failed to recognize the great mountain before me."

"Now that Your Excellency is able to assist His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan to the riverway, with the consent of the many ministers in the court and even His Majesty harboring no objections, it is truly the will of the people!"

"I am truly filled with admiration and awe for Your Excellency! If Your Excellency ever has any use for me in the future, I will gladly brave boiling water and tread through fire without the slightest hesitation."

Hearing Hu Weiyong's lavish flattery, Qin Feng broke out in goosebumps all over his body.

The two of them had been matching wits for so long, and Hu Weiyong had always been the one suppressed. Could he possibly harbor no resentment in his heart?

Qin Feng wouldn't believe a single word of what Hu Weiyong was saying.

"Prime Minister Hu, it must be hard on you, saying so many insincere things against your conscience."

Hu Weiyong broke out in a fresh stream of cold sweat and said nervously, "No, no, no, Your Excellency! Every word I just uttered came straight from the depths of my heart."

"Whatever misunderstandings existed between Your Excellency and me previously were entirely due to my poor understanding of Your Excellency's immense talent."

"Now that Your Excellency is a prominent and powerful figure in the court, I am utterly ashamed of my previous rudeness toward Your Excellency!"

Qin Feng let out two cold laughs inwardly.

This corrupt official Hu Weiyong truly lived up to his reputation as a seasoned veteran who had navigated officialdom for many years.

He was so silver-tongued that he almost made people believe his sheer nonsense!

"Prime Minister Hu, shall we proceed with reading His Majesty's imperial decree? The two of us can't just stand here making awkward small talk all day."

Hu Weiyong dryly laughed twice, feeling that he might have laid on the flattery a bit too thick just now, like a horse stumbling on flat ground.

"Shall Your Excellency receive the decree then?"

"That's right! Just follow the proper procedures, otherwise things get rather awkward."

After reading the imperial decree, Hu Weiyong flushed red and said, "I would like to brazenly invite Your Excellency to my humble estate for a couple of cups of tea. I wonder if Your Excellency might grace me with your presence?"

"Drinking tea won't be necessary! Prime Minister Hu, you are a busy man, so I won't see you out."

"Very well, very well. Then I shall take my leave, Your Excellency. When I have some free time, I will certainly pay a visit to your residence."

As Hu Weiyong departed the newspaper office with a flattering smile, his expression instantly turned gloomy.

He slowly clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, "Qin Feng! You really are strutting around now that success has gone to your head!"

Meanwhile, Hu Nangwang trotted over happily and cursed, "Father, that scoundrel Qin Feng is utterly shameless! He's already seized three shops belonging to our uncle's family!"

Impatiently, Hu Weiyong turned and slapped Hu Nangwang across the face, scolding, "You unfilial wretch! Is the name of Your Excellency something you can just toss around casually? You're a grown man, do you know nothing of propriety?"

Stunned, Hu Nangwang clutched his burning cheek and stammered, "Father, have you lost your mind? Qin Feng, he..."

Another heavy slap landed on Hu Nangwang's face, after which Hu Weiyong forcefully dragged him into the sedan chair.

Once inside, Hu Weiyong hurriedly massaged Hu Nangwang's bruised cheek.

With a puzzled look, Hu Nangwang asked, "Father! What on earth is going on? Why can't I even mention Qin Feng's name?"

With a bitter smile, Hu Weiyong explained, "Right now, Qin Feng is a figure of immense influence with both His Majesty and the Huaixi nobility! We cannot afford to offend him under any circumstances."

"There were eyes and ears everywhere just now. If someone with ulterior motives saw this, it would give them grounds to speak ill of us."

"It's not that your father wants to hit you, but from now on you must be extremely cautious in your words and actions. You must never go around calling him a scoundrel again."

Hu Nangwang was utterly shocked.

He could never have imagined that that obnoxious petty nuisance Qin Feng from the past could transform into such a formidable figure in the imperial court!

He had no idea what kind of methods this fellow had used to make even his own father feel such deep dread.

"But... but are we just going to let Qin Feng steal our uncle's shops like that?"

Sighing, Hu Weiyong said, "Forbearance now brings peace. We simply cannot afford to offend him right now."

Unreconciled, Hu Nangwang protested, "Qin Feng is far too arrogant! He deliberately targets our relatives' shops in Yingtian Prefecture to plunder them."

Qin Feng's previous industrial and ironware workshops had been seized from Hu Weiyong's younger brother by leveraging his connections with the Huaixi nobility.

Even the recently planned logistics and delivery shop had been taken from his younger brother.

Hu Weiyong never expected Qin Feng to single-mindedly shear only his younger brother's sheep!

He slowly clenched his fists, feeling an even deeper, teeth-gritting hatred for Qin Feng.

"Wang'er, have you taken care of everything I asked you to do?"

Nodding heavily, Hu Nangwang replied, "Father, I've destroyed everything! Whatever needed to be sold off has been sold. I guarantee that not a shred of evidence can be traced back to our family."

Hu Weiyong nodded and said, "Ever since those old foxes started placing heavy trust in Qin Feng, I've had a lingering sense of unease, as if a great storm is about to break."

"We must act cleanly and decisively, leaving behind no leverage for others to criticize."

"My child, the entire hope of the Hu family rests on your shoulders alone now."

With determination, Hu Nangwang said, "Father, rest assured! It will be entirely airtight!"

Hu Weiyong slowly lowered his eyelids. Having been used by others for so long, it was time for him to launch a counter-offensive.

Trying to use me as a discarded pawn and push me to the front lines?

In your dreams!

...

A month later, the departure date for the riverway assignment was set for three days hence, and Qin Feng was already fully prepared.

Product marketing at the newspaper office had achieved massive success in Yingtian Prefecture. In particular, the Yingtian logistics and delivery service had captured the hearts of the people, greatly facilitating the lives of the common folk.

With the addition of this logistics and delivery link, commodity trading had evolved into an entirely new model.

Commoners would send letters to the newspaper office detailing the goods they wished to purchase. The Yingtian logistics team would then go directly to the source of the goods, pick them up, and deliver them straight to the buyer's doorstep.

This complete workflow was the prototype of modern food delivery and e-commerce in Qin Feng's mind. The emergence of this sales model immediately opened up a brave new world for the merchants of the Great Ming dynasty.

Even the court ministers were utterly astounded by Qin Feng's brilliant operational maneuvers!

Just how many hidden talents and skills did Qin Feng possess?

How could he even conceive of a door-to-door delivery service like this?

"Brother Shen!"

"Hmm!"

As Shen Changqing walked along the street, he would exchange greetings or nods with acquaintances he passed by.

Yet, regardless of who it was,

no excessive expression could be seen on anyone's face, as if they were utterly indifferent to everything.

To this,

Shen Changqing had long since grown accustomed.

For this was the Demon Suppression Division, an institution dedicated to maintaining stability in the Great Qin Empire. Its primary duty was to slaughter demons and anomalies, though it naturally handled a few other sideline tasks as well.

It could be said that

every single person in the Demon Suppression Division had blood on their hands.

When a person grows accustomed to witnessing life and death, they naturally become detached from many things.

When he first arrived in this world, Shen Changqing had felt somewhat out of place, but over time, he had simply grown used to it.

The Demon Suppression Division was vast.

Those permitted to remain within its walls were either powerful experts of formidable strength or individuals with the potential to become such experts.

Shen Changqing belonged to the latter category.

The Demon Suppression Division was broadly divided into two main roles: the Protectors and the Demon Slayers.

Anyone who entered the Demon Suppression Division started at the very lowest rank as a Probationary Demon Slayer,

then gradually climbed the ranks, ultimately holding the hope of becoming a Protector.

Shen Changqing's previous incarnation had been a Probationary Demon Slayer within the Demon Suppression Division, occupying the absolute lowest tier among the Demon Slayers.

Possessing the memories of his predecessor,

he was exceedingly familiar with the environment of the Demon Suppression Division.

Before long, Shen Changqing stopped in front of a pavilion.

Unlike the rest of the Demon Suppression Division, which was filled with an aura of stern slaughter, this pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens, presenting an unusual tranquility amidst the pervasive stench of blood.

At this moment, the pavilion doors stood wide open, with people occasionally entering and exiting.

After hesitating for just a moment, Shen Changqing stepped inside.

Entering the pavilion,

the environment abruptly shifted.

A blend of ink fragrance mingled with the faint scent of blood washed over him, causing his brows to knit instinctively before smoothing out again.

The scent of blood clinging to everyone in the Demon Suppression Division was something almost impossible to wash away completely.