Protect Our Clan Leader

Even between Prominent Families, even those related by marriage, cooperation must be transparent and accounts must be clear. Therefore, financial authority becomes extremely important. Without someone like Gongsun Hui, who embodies identity, prestige, and capability, it would be impossible to manage the situation.

On this day.

The sky was clear, and the sea was a deep blue.

A transportation fleet flying the flag of the United General Manager sailed through the Cold Water Sea on the outskirts of Liaoyuan County, riding the wind and breaking the waves.

In the bridge of the leading transport flagship, Wang Luomiao was sitting comfortably in a chair with a wide view, appreciating the blue sky and white clouds outside the porthole, and the agile posture of the little dragon dolphins of the Dragon Whale Subspecies playing on the distant sea surface.

In her hand, she held a cup of steaming coffee.

The sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling porthole onto her beautiful face, and the light and shadow played on her neat outfit, giving her a leisurely and peaceful appearance.

As the direct-line sister of Wang Shouzhe, Wang Luomiao is now approaching two hundred years of age, yet she still dresses as an unmarried maiden, with only her increasingly calm and profound eyes reflecting the storms she has weathered over the years.

Over these years, she has overseen the construction and maintenance of all the coastal transport fleet networks of the United General Manager in Liaoyuan County, Longzuo County, and the Green Luo Guard, and has been responsible for maintaining and expanding the business related to various families, taking on part of the family's burdens.

In principle, as the Deputy Chief of the Changning United Headquarters, Wang Luomiao should no longer need to personally escort large shipments. But this time was different; she had to personally escort a batch of iron ore from Liaoyuan County to the Yan Family in Longzuo because this batch of iron ore was too important.

This batch of ore came from the Fang Family in Liaoyuan.

The cooperation between the Fang Family in Liaoyuan and the United General Manager has always been close, and riding the winds of the United General Manager's growth, the Fang Family has also entered a fast track of upward development.

Now, the second Purple Abode Seed cultivated internally by the Fang Family has also entered the Purple Abode Realm. If we add Fang Youan from the Academic Palace's Purple Abode, they can barely be considered to have stepped into the ranks of a Grade Four Prominent Family. Nowadays, the Fang Family is almost the dominant force in the entire Liaoyuan County.

Generally, whenever a Grade Four Prominent Family emerges in a county, they will try to squeeze other families' survival space to grow stronger. This is because the resources within a county are limited, and so is the number of Purple Abode Realm cultivators it can support.

The Zuoqiu family in Qing'an is doing just that.

Fortunately, because of having the Changning Wang Clan as a "leading big brother", the Fang Family in Liaoyuan has learned the new development path of "common prosperity" by expanding outward.

Therefore, the Fang Family greatly promoted intermarriage, uniting many potential Prominent Families in Liaoyuan County. This enabled the Fang Family to rise in prestige in just two hundred years.

This batch of iron ore is related to a certain married-in family of the Fang Family in Liaoyuan.

In the extreme north of Liaoyuan County, there is a remote Guard City called Ice Lake Guard.

This place is already quite close to the North Ice Wasteland, where the climate is like winter all year round, with just over a month of thawing period, during which it is often invaded by fierce beasts migrating from the North Ice Wasteland.

This is a bitterly cold and poor place, vast but sparsely populated, with only one 7th Rank Beigong Clan of the Ice Lake and a group of small families struggling to hold on. Without occasional support from the Liaoyuan County Town, this Ice Lake Guard would have long been overrun.

But with the Beigong Clan's direct-line daughter marrying into the Liaoyuan Fang Family's direct disciple, their fortunes have changed. With the Fang Family's support, the Beigong Clan has continually expanded its territory in Ice Lake Guard.

In the past ten or so years, the Beigong Clan had astounding luck, discovering a giant vein on the edge of the North Ice Wasteland. Besides a large amount of high-purity iron ore, there are also sporadic deposits of Cold Crystal Iron Ore.

The Beigong Clan, knowing they couldn't swallow it whole, promptly invited the Fang Family to share, and together they explored, developed, and mined the giant vein, building ice paths to transport the mineral produce to the Non-Frozen Port harbor.

And this large transportation fleet of Wang Luomiao's was loaded with the yield from that giant vein. This was only the first batch, with more ore to be supplied continuously.

Iron ore.

This is a raw material that the Wang family always lacks. Although it seems ordinary, every aspect of construction in Da Qian requires this mundane iron.

Cold Crystal Iron is even rarer and more precious. Besides being used alongside Artifact Refining and Formation for building "refrigerators" and "cold storage," it is also a main material for Cold Ice Series Spiritual Devices, more expensive than un-attributed Xuan Iron.

"I'm sure brother will be very pleased." Wang Luomiao took a sip of her coffee, showing a small, complacent smile.

As the direct-line daughter of the Wang family and the half-sister of the famous Wang Family Head Wang Shouzhe, the pressure on her is truly extraordinary.

Originally, she only wanted to relieve some of her brother Wang Shouzhe's burdens, planning to get married when the family's conditions improved. However, she never expected the family to soar to new heights in a short period.

And as her experience and skills grew, along with the new knowledge learned when she occasionally returned to the Clan School for further study, her perspective became broader. This made her situation awkward if she wished to marry now.

With her status, as long as she's willing to marry, even the Imperial Household of Da Qian would come flocking to her. However, there are no young elites in the Imperial Household that she fancies. As for other Prominent Families in Da Qian, she doesn't want to settle there either. Such a settled marriage wouldn't be happy.

"My sister was lucky to have met her destined one early. Her days are full of love and delight, with a bunch of grandchildren and great-grandchildren." Wang Luomiao grumbled helplessly, somewhat self-pityingly murmuring, "If the ancestors of the Wang family have spirits in heaven, shelter me, bless me with an ideal husband~"

However.

Just as her voice fell.

Suddenly.

The space in the sky twisted.

A figure was suddenly "flung" out from the rippling space, plummeting like a meteor and crashing into the sea with a "clang".

The commotion was substantial enough to frighten the little dragon dolphins playing in the distance, causing them to scatter away.

"Uh... is this for real?"

Wang Luomiao was dumbfounded by this scene.

After a long pause, she suddenly reacted: "Someone come, quickly rescue that person."

The guards followed the order immediately, diving into the sea to save the person.

Wang Luomiao still felt a bit dazed.

Was it her illusion? Was it a side effect of reading too many pocketbooks? She was just joking about it earlier; could it be that a "dream lover" really fell down for her?

However, in just a moment, several Spirit Platform Realm guards had pulled the person onto the deck, fumbling hastily.

With a heart full of a thousand uncertainties and guesses, Wang Luomiao approached under the escort of the guards. When she glanced, she almost felt exasperated.

The newcomer, though dressed in seemingly luxurious brocade clothing, looked distinctly middle-aged, by no means a young elite.

Moreover, his complexion and lips were pallid, and his forehead seemed darkened, resembling an image of overindulgence.

Disappointing, too disappointing~

This person was far different from the male lead she imagined.

Nevertheless, despite her shattered fantasy, she still had to rescue the victim.

With little interest, Wang Luomiao casually instructed the guards to assist with the treatment, while she returned to the bridge to continue drinking her coffee. She also pulled out a finely bound pocketbook and began reading it with relish.

This was one of the most popular pocketbooks of late, titled "The Daily Life of the Overbearing Princess".

Though the wording in the pocketbook was quite straightforward, it was written vividly, incorporating palace intrigue, warfare, and power struggles, making it quite intriguing.

She had been following two volumes in a row, eagerly awaiting the release of the third.

...