Chapter 28: Turmoil in the Capital
What Jiang Chen hadn’t
thought of was that the ruckus raised at the Soaring Dragon manor would
create currents and eddies beneath the calm surface of the capital.
The
Duke of Soaring Dragon, Long Zhaofeng, was naturally feeling the most
out of sorts. He might have been able to contain himself because of the
greater picture, if Jiang Feng had only turned him down.
But to be declined in such a haughty manner, he felt that he had lost face.
Although
Duke Long hadn’t immediately erupted or flown into a rage during the
banquet, that wasn’t because he had a forgiving nature, but that he
understood that as one in a position of power, he had to control his
temper at such a gathering.
When all the guests had left and only
his confidantes remained, his first sentence was, “Those who adhere to
me prosper, those who defy me die. I don’t care what you do, the Jiang
family must fail out of the Hidden Dragon Trials!
Let’s see how
presumptuous this father and son duo can be when they lose their
dukedom, including that land with the spirit vein!
And someone run
an investigation into what’s going on with the Hall of Healing!” He was
incredibly infuriated that the Hall of Healing had openly stood out at
such an occasion to bolster the Jiang family. No one had anticipated
that scene.
Those confidantes and buddies who yet remained all nodded their heads.
“That
Jiang father and son duo are truly ridiculous! Duke Long’s prestige is
bound to be damaged if we don’t suppress them and beat them down this
time!
There must be something going on between the Hall of Healing
and this Jiang Chen. When I was at the Hall of Healing the other day…”
Long Juxue described the events that had happened at the Hall that day;
how the third hallmaster had declined to do business with all the heirs
of the preeminent dukedoms, and had sold the Dragonbone Sun Grass to
Jiang Chen. He’d even honored Jiang Chen as an esteemed guest.
Even Long Juxue felt that these happenings were rather odd when she recalled them.
Long
Zhaofeng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he heard about them.
“Xue’er, why didn’t you mention such an important matter when it
happened?”
Long Juxue was similarly regretful. “Xue’er only felt
then that a mere dandy wasn’t worth bothering father about. Who would
have known that the Hall of Healing…”
To be honest, Long Juxue’s
words made sense. At the end of the day, the day that they’d all fought
for the Dragonbone Sun Grass was merely a small matter – an interlude in
the lives of all the heirs. Although Long Juxue intensely disliked
Jiang Chen because of it, she felt there was no need to bring such a
small issue to her father’s attention.
But, within the capital, many subtleties could be gleaned from a small matter, and each small ripple encompassed great meaning.
If
Duke Long had known of this beforehand, he would’ve been prepared when
he invited the Hall of the Healing to the banquet, and would’ve avoided
such a loss.
The unexpected showing from the Hall of Healing
immediately removed the power that Soaring Dragon had gained from taking
the initiative.
“Right! Duke Long, have you discovered that
another thing is rather odd?” The person speaking was the duke of
Yanmen, Yan Jiuzhuang.
Apart from the duke of Yanmen, there were
tens of other dukes still present. Everyone who was left were the
trusted confidantes of Duke Long.
That was to say, out of the 108
dukes in the Eastern Kingdom, more than ten of them had secretly thrown
in their lot with Duke Long.
This was already an incredibly frightening power.
The
duke of Yanmen was ranked in the top ten out of the 108 dukes. He
therefore spoke with more authority out any of the other dukes who had
sided with Duke Long.
“Duke Yan, what have you discovered?” Long Zhaofeng asked.
“There
were two points of strangeness in tonight’s banquet. One, why were
Princess Gouyu and Princess Eastern Zhiruo so familiar with Jiang Chen?
Two, why was the duke of Tianshui’s performance so abnormal? Everyone
please remember that the duke of Tianshui and Jiang Feng are hated
rivals. He would been the first to strike out against the duke of Jiang
Han normally, but did he even speak up today?
Not only him, but
his son Shui Qingshu would bully Jiang Chen whenever the two met in the
capital. Did he express any opinion at all tonight?”
His words reminded everyone of the obvious.
This was true, the Tianshui father and son duo had behaved rather oddly tonight.
The
duke of Soaring Dragon oppressed Jiang Feng because of the land with
the spirit vein, the former actually had no prior enmity with Jiang
Feng.
But the duke of Tianshui were hated enemies with the duke of
Jiang Han. The two territories were neighbors and fought openly and
under the table over land, resources, ranking, and achievements. They
were enemies-unto-we-die.
But, the duke of Tianshui hadn’t indicated anything tonight, and didn’t make use of this opportunity to suppress Jiang Feng!
Something was amiss here!
“I
remember that the duke of Tianshui accompanied the king to pay their
respects when Jiang Chen was caned to death for what happened at the
Rites. Why did Jiang Chen come back from the dead? What on earth
happened that night? This matter has never been able to be investigated
fully. The old farts that went that day are keeping an extremely tight
seal on their lips.”
All sorts of bizarre points were being unearthed.
Long
Zhaofeng sank into deep thought. He too felt it was odd. King Eastern
Lu had greatly capable and outstanding men; there was no reason for them
to be unable to cane a good-for-nothing to death.
But Jiang Chen
had survived the ordeal, and from the looks of things, not only had
Jiang family’s relations with the royal family not soured, they had
actually grown closer.
“Everyone’s information is quite useful. It
seems the conclusion here is that I have underestimated Jiang Feng. Has
this person latched himself onto the King Eastern Lu’s coattails?”
Although the duke of Soaring Dragon said Eastern Lu’s title, there was a certain lack of respect in his tone.
“Slot
the duke of Tianshui into my schedule; it looks like clues of this
matter must be gleaned from this person.” Long Zhaofeng ordered.
“In
addition, tell Du Ruhai to use all necessary methods possible, in order
to block Jiang Chen in the Trials. No matter how much backing they
have, the Jiang family will be nothing as soon as they lose their
dukedom!”
This was tackling a problem at its foundation. No matter
how strong someone’s backing was, or how many crafty schemes they had,
losing the dukedom meant they had lost the right to control their
territory.
On what basis could the Jiang family talk, once they lost control?
This method was simple and crude, but direct and effective!
Schemes and seizure, schemes and seizure. Since scheming hadn’t worked, then seizure would have to do.
The
duke of Soaring Dragon wasn’t a kind soul. His methods towards
achieving his desires were diabolical and without a bottom line.
In
his eyes, treating someone courteously before resorting to force wasn’t
because he feared the Jiang family power. But rather, he wished to
build a reputation of overcoming others through morals and ethics. But
since the Jiang family was ignorant and dense, rendering these
hypocritical methods ineffective, then all bets were off and violence
was the only way!
Just as the duke of Soaring Dragon was holding a
meeting late into the night, so were the senior executives in the Hall
of Healing.
The four hallmasters and ten elders. The highest levels of the Hall’s power, were all in attendance.
The third hallmaster, Qiao Baishi, fully conveyed all the happenings that had occurred in the banquet.
In
the Hall of Healing, the lord hallmaster Song Tianxing held the
absolute right to speak. It wouldn’t be a hyperbole to say that he was
the main pillar of the Hall.
When the third hallmaster had
finished describing the situation, all eyes swivelled smoothly to Lord
hallmaster Song. It was apparent that no one dared rashly venture forth
an opinion before understanding the lord hallmaster’s thoughts.
Song Tianxing chuckled, “I’ll refrain from speaking first. Everyone share your thoughts!”
“Even
elder Shun has vouched for the Heavenly Karma Pill with 90% surety, it
must be reliable. I think the third hallmaster has made the correct
decision.” One of the elders spoke first.
“I too support the third
hallmaster. The Hall of Healing has been established in the capital for
hundreds of years; it would be impossible to please all and offend
none. Offending a few for the profits of the Hall is unavoidable.”
“Indeed,
and since the Heavenly Karma Pill has such a bright future and such
market potential, we have no choice if we have to offend even more
dukes, not just the duke of Soaring Dragon.”
It was apparent that
there were more senior executives who supported Qiao Baishi. Everyone
weighed in on the issue from the perspective of future profit to the
Hall, and all felt that there was no problem with Qiao Baishi’s
decision.
“Number two, say something as well.” Song Tianxing looked at second hallmaster with a congenial smile.
“I
agree with everyone’s opinions. Anything that benefits the Hall is
commendable.” These words were quite slippery and didn’t say much.
Elder Blue spoke up suddenly, “Lord hallmaster, I have a few words.”
“Alright, everyone is welcome to speak their mind. Elder Blue, go ahead.” Song Tianxing encouraged her.
“I
feel that the Jiang father and son are not too dependable. Has everyone
thought about the consequences if Elder Shun is in the wrong? Wouldn’t
the Hall become a great laughingstock? If rumors of this travels, what
of our credibility? If the Heavenly Karma Pill is pure bluster, then
haven’t we offended Soaring Dragon for nothing? I’ve heard that Long
Juxue, the beloved daughter of Duke Long, possesses an azure phoenix
constitution and has attracted the attentions of one of the hidden
sects. Her future in martial dao is incredibly promising. This way,
wouldn’t Soaring Dragon rise in her wake as well? Could a change in the
landscape of kingdom ownership occur in the future?”
The Hall of
Healing wasn’t a governmental agency, and thus was less reserved, more
bold about discussing matters of power. People’s expressions didn’t even
flicker when discussing potential changes in rulers.
“Elder Blue,
you worry too much. Firstly, it’s impossible for elder Shun to be
wrong. And another thing, changes in ruling families follow the laws of
nature, and will not be suddenly upended by the emergence of one or two
people. The duke of Soaring Dragon is filling out his wings, sure, but
the Eastern royal family will not idly sit by.”
Qiao Baishi
immediately refuted elder Blue’s words. “Besides, even if the duke of
Soaring Dragon was able to, he would not openly declare war against our
Hall over one business deal. Our Hall has been established for hundreds
of years, and will not be easily trifled with. Ignoring profits at hand
to consider details that will not happen, has never been the way our
Hall has conducted business.”
No one could deny that the future
profits they could gain from the Heavenly Karma Pill were simply too
tempting. If the pill was supplied in large quantities to the market,
then none of the other medicines currently in the market for bodily
injuries would be the slightest bit competitive.
They said that
inferior goods would be discarded after comparison. The Heavenly Karma
Pill was a superior good that would sweep away its peers.
This
market was practically a treasure bowl. If leveraged appropriately, the
profits from this single pill medicine would be enough to support the
operations of the entire Hall of Healing.
After rounds of debating, everyone’s gazes finally landed on Lord hallmaster Song Tianxing again.
“It
seems that most still agree with number three’s decision. I’m sure you
can deduce my attitude as well. I confidently left things in number
three’s hands when I ventured out. This also meant that I trusted his
judgement and abilities.”
Song Tianxing’s attitude was quite apparent by this point.
“I
also must remind everyone that our Hall of Healing pursues the greatest
profits. Although we avoid the battles of politics, we need not fear
involvement. It’s impossible to keep one foot on both sides of the fence
forever. When a side needs to be picked, there’s only one side for us,
and that’s profit. The Heavenly Karma Pill will bring us profit, so we
choose it! As for who wins or loses, our Hall has survived for so long,
do we lack even this little bit of adaptability?”