<h4>Chapter 172 - Lobbyists in the Four Great ns</h4>
Trantor: Coca5156
Editor: Drea
“The Gu and Qin n does not have the authority to remove you from power, but I do.”
Rong Yuan had suddenly interrupted, causing Beicheng Linfeng’s expression to change instantly. He turned to look at the Third Prince, but his gaze shifted onto Gu Lingzhi who was right beside him. He sighed internally at how Gu Lingzhi could always escape death, but forced himself tough. “You must be joking, Your Highness, this whole incident was because some of the younger n members had decided to act on their own initiatives. Now that we know the Gu n’s First Mistress is safe and unharmed, let’s punish the few who had been involved and forget about this matter.”
“The Beicheng n is truly optimistic to forget about this matter after punishing just a few even after so many of your n members have died. The Qin n will definitely not let this matter go so easily!” Qin Yue, the head of the Qin n eximed.
He was nothing like Gu Rong who had ced too much emphasis on getting benefits. After his wife had died, the only person he relied on was his daughter. If the Beicheng and Tianfeng n wanted to kill the person that was closest to him, he would happily fight them to the death, even if it meant gathering everyone in his n.
“What Qin Yue says is right. The punishment is insufficient topensate for the people from my n that have sacrificed their lives,” Gu Rong added, but he was delighted when he saw that Gu Lingzhi was unharmed.
He had the same thoughts as the Beicheng and Tianfeng ns. He did not think that the Third Prince would offend the two ns just because they had tried to harm Gu Lingzhi. Now that Gu Lingzhi had returned safely, Gu Rong could finally put down the weight that had been pressing on his shoulders. He could finally think clearly about how to gain the most amount of benefits out of this situation.
Though this incident regarding the Cangwu Realm had caused the Gu n to lose some of their best Martial Students, the remaining people in his n were all rather talented, so the strength of his n would not be affected. However, it would be beneficial if he could seize this opportunity to weaken the other ns.
Gu Lingzhi looked down andughed to herself mockingly as she easily discerned Gu Rong’s thoughts.
This was indeed characteristic of Father. Whilst the fathers in other ns were worrying and trying to seek justice for their children, Gu Rong was only focused about trying to seek benefits.
“Yes, the leader of the Gu n is right. There would be no justice for the people who had died if such a small punishment is carried out. Even though it was the younger members who hadmitted the crimes, as seniors, we have a part to y as well. Why don’t we find a ce to further discuss this and find the best solution to this matter?”
Beicheng Linfeng rejoiced internally when he understood Gu Rong’s intentions. It would be in his favor if he could resolve this matter with the least amount of losses.
Though Gu Rong and Beicheng Linfeng had entered an agreement, the Qin n and the Third Prince were clearly not having any of it.
“Beicheng Linfeng, you seem to have forgotten that I said that I would not look the other way if anyone dared to hurt Gu Lingzhi before she entered the Cangwu Realm. Since your Beifeng n and Tianfeng n chose to ignore my warning, if I do not exterminate your entire family, it would be a waste of all the deliberate thought that was put into this n to harm Gu Lingzhi.” Rong Yuan was extremely calm as he said this, yet his voice had a murderous tone to it, making everyone shudder.
“Your Highness...” Beifeng Linfeng was shocked. Something isn’t right. Didn’t the Third Prince only want to help Gu Lingzhi gain some benefits? Will he really make a big fuss and make a move against both our ns?
“My n holds the same view as the Third Prince. It would be too small of a punishment if we let both your ns live even after pulling such a big move.”
Qin Yue was straightforward when he vocalized his thoughts, he had every intention to go against the two ns with everything he had.
The Qin n had been progressing the fastest these few years and was the strongest amongst all Four Great ns for a long time. If they really decided to wage war on the Beicheng and Tianfeng ns, there would be a huge amount of losses for every party. However, if the Qin n had the Third Prince on their side, they would even dramatically shift the power bnce in the Xia Kingdom.
“Qin Yue, you...” Beicheng Linfeng was furious. He never thought that Qin Yue would be so determined to settle the scores with his n.
“Qin Yue, you’d better think this through carefully, are you really going to sever whatever close rtions between all three ns just over a few of our younger n members? Though we are not as good as your Qin n, we’re not pushovers!” Tianfeng Yi eximed. He initially thought that Beicheng Linfeng’s words would be enough to resolve the issue, but then they were met with two stubborn people who were determined to get to the bottom of the incident. He had no choice but to interfere on Linfeng’s behalf and get rid of Qin Yue. From his point of view, the Third Prince’s words held little weight if Qin Yue was not involved. After all, he is just a prince, even if he is a seasoned warrior, he onlymanded the Silver-Armored Troops.
It would have been a lot of resources if he was merely going against an ordinary aristocratic family; but against the Four Great ns, it was barely enough.
“Hmph, I’ve thought through this carefully enough. n Leaders of the Beicheng and Tianfeng n, you both had better get ready to go against my Qin n!”
After this deration, Qin Yue promptly left with Qin Xinran.
Simrly, Rong Yuan no longer wanted to look at anyone from the two ns and left with Gu Lingzhi. Before they left, Gu Lingzhi also took Tianfeng Jin with them. They also remembered to take Tianfeng Wei with them. At least, they would have a “hostage” that they could negotiate with.
Tianfeng Yi wanted to step in and protest, but was stopped by Yuan Zheng.
“Leader of the Tianfeng n, if I were you, I would not be worried about Tianfeng Wei who only knows how to get herself in trouble. I would be thinking of how to deal with the Third Prince’s revenge that he has in store for you.”
Tianfeng Yi paused as he saw Tianfeng Wei who was struggling against Tianfeng Jin.
Yet another person who only wanted benefits, Yuan Zhengughed to himself before he turned to catch up with Rong Yuan. As Gu Rong saw Yuan Zheng leaving, he nced at Beicheng Linfeng and Tianfeng Yi before he also followed suit and left.
No matter what, he would not let go of the Third Prince yet. He had to fight alongside him. There was no way that he would lose out if he worked together with the Royal Family.
The negotiations had made everyone forget just how strange it was for Gu Lingzhi to have sessfully escaped the Cangwu Realm unharmed.
Rong Yuan’s revenge had been quick. Even before Qin Yue had made a move, he had already used his power as a prince to mobilize the Kingdom’s Demigod General Yan Feitian.
Seven dayster, Yan Feitian turned up at the Beicheng n’s Discussion Hall, which shocked the Leader of the Tianfeng n, who was also there to discuss how they could avoid the chaos they had created.
An hourter, Yan Feitian walked out of the Beicheng n’s Discussion Hall.
On the second day, there had been shocking news that caused an uproar.
All the people who were above the ranks of a Martial Sage had their limbs torn apart without the chance of recovery. Within the n, the only remaining people were the lower-ranked Martial Artists.
This was indeed the power of a Demigod – just one was enough to leave the Four Great ns in a mess. Without the higher-ranked Martial Artists, a n would lose all their power.
Some people were devastated, whereas others were overjoyed. Most, however, were surprised at how the Gu n had risen in power overnight. Everyone knew that the Xia Kingdom’s princes had only one chance in their entire lives to mobilize the power of a Demigod to follow their orders.
The Third Prince had used up his one chance for Gu Lingzhi without any hesitation. It was obvious how much the Third Prince had valued her. Yet, there were people that imed he was just unable to resist her beauty and even someone as powerful as the Third Prince had fallen into such a trap. It would be better if everyone distanced themselves from Gu Lingzhi. Furthermore, not everyone had a big n to back themselves up, the Third Prince could get rid of them even if he had lost his chance to mobilize the power of the Demigod General.
Without higher-ranked Martial Artists in the Beicheng and Tianfeng n, it was a matter of time before they were reduced into just an ordinary, small n. If that was the case... who would take over their positions of power?
Gu Lingzhi did not know the answer to that. Currently, she was preupied on how she could further dy the marriage between her and Rong Yuan.
At the same time that Rong Yuan had mobilized Yan Feitian, the Kingdom had issued a new decree that anyone who had reached the age of 16 was eligible to be married.
At this juncture, it was obvious who had fixed such a decree.
“How shameless can the people in the Royal Family get?” Gu Lingzhi cried out.
It was enough that the Third Prince was shameless, how could Consort Rong be the same? Couldn’t she just stay in the Royal Pce? Why did shee all the way here?
“I think that the wedding ceremony should be held in the Royal Pce, it is livelier there. When the Emperores to attend your wedding ceremony, you don’t have to worry about him not being able to recognize you. Also, regarding your ceremonial robe, the materials from the Defu Embroidery House are not bad. When you return to the capital city, we can go and pick the material for your robe together. Mother will definitely find the best embroider in the entire Xia Kingdom to make your wedding dress. Also, this...”
The endless prattle from Concubine Rong made Gu Lingzhi hate Rong Yuan with a passion. She had not agreed to marry him yet, where did he get the confidence from to start preparing the wedding dress already?
“Consort Rong, I...”
“Ah, do you not like the materials from the Defu Embroidery House? That’s alright, we can change to another one. The cloth from the Caini Embroidery House is not bad either. If you like, I can...” Concubine Rong continued, not giving Gu Lingzhi a chance to speak.
Her son had told her to try and trick Gu Lingzhi into marrying him. It was not easy being a mother!
Consort Rong went on and on for almost two hours, which made Gu Lingzhi wonder how someone could talk for so long without getting tired. Suddenly, Consort Rong yawned, causing tears to form in her eyes. She apologized, “Look at me, I have been so excited about this that I’ve forgotten what time it is. It must be lunch time, right? Alright, you can go have lunch with your family, I’ll go back to my quarters and eat whatever. If there’s nothing else, please do not find me in the afternoon because I have the habit of taking a nap.”
Gu Lingzhi opened her mouth to speak but before she could say anything, Consort Rong yawned again and stood up. With her servants trailing her, she promptly left.
That was to say that... after listening to wedding details for a full afternoon, Gu Lingzhi did not even have a chance to reject Consort Rong.
A depressed Gu Lingzhi did not even realize that what had initially been an avoidance of being involved with the Third Prince had now be an urge to dy marriage. Her emotions would slowly change over time the more she interacted with the Third Prince...