Song Hui was talented and intelligent, but as someone who had grown up in the Song clan’s main residence, she had little experience with important situations. Talent would always be limited without tempering. If she had wanted to rebuild the Song clan on her own, it could only be said that her ambitions had confused her. If it was Song Zining, however, that would be a completely different story.
Reforming the Song clan, or rather the Song family, wasn’t a bad idea. It would be even better if Song Zining could have a fresh start because of it.
Song Hui stole a glance at Qianye and said in surprise, “You’re not angry?”
“Why would I be?” Qianye found it strange.
“I’m trying to poach seventh brother from you! Once he becomes the new clan lord, he’ll have to focus most of his attention there. It won’t be possible for him to hang around at your Dark Flame every day.”
“Why would I object if he wants to do it?” Qianye said.
“Fine, you two are really close.”
Qianye wanted to beat up the girl once again. He drove her away, telling her to seek out the aide-de-camp and distribute the new officers into the army. This was a time-consuming process that would require several days of work.
Occupying Expansive completely took several days. Qianye had brought four thousand mercenaries, but they more or less disappeared when placed inside this giant city. The forces weren’t even enough to guard critical departments and factories, let alone the defenses outside of the city.
Fortunately, Qianye possessed a fleet of airships, one of which would be circling above the city at all times. Add to that the elite forces always on standby, there was no need to worry about an actual rebellion.
Nan Ruohuai had been running about to visit the various families, as well as the big trading companies and workshops. The culling of those stubborn families a couple of days ago seemed to be rather effective. No one dared to refuse him at the door now. The prince couldn’t be considered an eloquent speaker, but his attitude was always gentle and gave off a feeling of sincerity.
He was, after all, a formally registered prince, son of the King of Zheng. His lacking qualifications were mostly related to his maternal background, but everyone knew that the royal harem’s status came from the court. The son relying on maternal status was normal, but why couldn’t the mother rely on the son’s status? Many families quickly expressed their loyalty and Expansive soon became calm once again. A number of major factories were prepared to resume work, and the merchants came to visit one after the other, hoping to see if Qianye required anything.
A delighted Nan Ruohuai was hoping to receive praise when he saw Qianye, but unexpectedly, the latter looked gloomy behind his desk.
Nan Ruohuai’s mood for taking credit immediately disappeared. “Sire, is there anything I did wrong?”
Qianye glanced at him. “You did well, but to me, it’s still not enough.”
Nan Ruohuai asked bravely, “Then, what should I do?”
Qianye said, “The turmoil in Zheng comes from the fight for the throne. If you take the position, how will you deal with your brothers?”
Nan Ruohuai clenched his jaws. “The other siblings can be pardoned, but the loudest of the bunch, my second, fifth, and eleventh brothers must die! They will probably rebel one day if kept alive. That’s the only way if you want a country that will cooperate with you wholly.”
Qianye asked, “Very well, say we clear them out, do we uproot their entire families or just kill the person?”
This question was difficult for the prince. After a while, he said, “If we only kill the person, their families will surely breed resentment. After all, some of their in-laws, friends, and descendants will surely have royal blood. The dissatisfied people will continue to fight for the cause, in which case, there will be no peace in the future. If the scope is too broad, however, we’ll end up killing too many people. Besides, many of their subordinates are just acting under orders, without much choice themselves. Perhaps it would be wise to pick something in between.”
Qianye nodded. “I don’t want to drag this on for too long. Evernight will start to prepare once they find out our movements. That’s why I don’t have time to play a drawn-out game with your brothers and sisters. Let’s do this, give me a list of names, including stubborn people like the city lords of Expansive and Seclusion.”
Nan Ruohuai trembled as he replied with a deep bow, “Yes, Sire.”
Qianye shot him a glance. “You’re not even a champion yet. It’ll be difficult to convince the masses if you ascend the throne. However, I see that your talents aren’t bad. I have some supplementary medicines with me. Stop running around for a few days and focus on breaking through. I will give you an area on Martyr’s Palace to cultivate.”
Nan Ruohuai was surprised and delighted, but also slightly disappointed. “Thank you, Sire!”
Breaking through to the champion realm was every fighter’s dream, but advancing with supplementary medicines would more or less affect their future potential. Then again, few kings in Zheng’s history had ever reached the divine champion realm. Nan Ruohuai himself knew that he had no hope, so he didn’t really object to this. Compared to the throne, his unknown potential wasn’t much.
Qianye stood up with his hands behind his back. “If we want things to go smoothly, we must let those opportunists know that it’s impossible for them. The loudest of the groups is your second brother’s, yes?”
“Yes, he’s the son of my father’s favorite royal concubine. He’s clever, hardworking, and also married to the granddaughter of the Royal Tutor, hence receiving his full support. As I see it, the Royal Tutor is his second biggest support.
“Royal Tutor? Is it that Liu Zhongyuan?”
“Indeed. Royal Tutor Liu has been in the post for over thirty years and his prestige is tremendous. Honestly speaking, second brother’s martial and administrative abilities aren’t that outstanding. He became the best candidate simply because he had the support of the Royal Tutor. There are a handful of brothers who aren’t inferior to him in terms of policy and strategy.”
“That means, as long as Liu Zhongyuan is there, you will never become King of Zheng.”
“Yes.”
Qianye nodded. “Since that’s the case, there’s no need to beat around the bush. Write a letter to Liu Zhongyuan, saying that I will fight him outside of the capital gates in seven days’ time. If he doesn’t dare to take this challenge, then he should retire from his post and no longer interfere in national matters.”
Nan Ruohuai was shocked out of his wits. “You must not! The Royal Tutor is a divine champion, you cannot take this risk!”
Qianye was currently his biggest support. If something were to happen to him, Nan Ruohuai would not meet a good end.
“Divine champion? He’s just a divine champion at a hundred years of age. What’s there to be afraid of?”
Nan Ruohuai braced himself to try and continue dissuading Qianye. “Why don’t we ask Her Excellency Caroline to do battle?”
“There’s no need to trouble her for such small matters.”
Before long, Qianye’s challenge to the Royal Tutor shook the entire nation of Zheng. All the princes were so shocked at Nan Ruohuai’s sudden rise to power that even the forward ranking ones slowed down their fight to figure out where this trash brother was getting his support.
In the end, they had just gotten word that the second prince’s stronghold had been taken over when news of Qianye challenging Liu Zhongyuan started to spread. There was no doubt that the second prince was in a bad mood. Not only did he smash all of his cherished antique vases, but he also executed two of his maids and concubines. The occupation of Expansive reduced the second prince’s power by half. If Liu Zhongyuan were to lose, he would have no way to turn things around.
Someone with a strong voice like him would meet worse fates than ordinary people once he was defeated. Whoever took the throne would not leave him or his descendants alive.
After a round of acting up, the second prince ordered his men to obtain information on Qianye at all costs. He wanted to see who was so bold as to challenge the Royal Tutor.
Liu Zhongyuan had been in his post for over thirty years, even longer than the current King of Zheng himself. Legends of his strength were even more resounding. In Zheng, Liu Zhongyuan was the linchpin holding down the entire nation. No one would dare to provoke his disciples and grandsons without good reason, let alone the man himself.
The current reports stated that Qianye wasn’t yet a divine champion. That thought gave the second prince a modicum of relief.
Seven days passed by in the blink of an eye.
The sky hadn’t lit up, but a sea of people had gathered outside of the royal capital’s eastern gate. Even the highly-restricted city walls were packed full of people. These people were prestigious faces in the city with the power to reach the city walls, and even the city guard wasn’t willing to offend them.
Those without the ability could only find a place outside of the city, craning their necks lest they miss anything.
The eastern gates opened at seven o’clock sharp. Groups of white-robed warriors poured out, each equipped with a sword and gun slung across their back. The men at the front swept the ground and sprinkled water to suppress the dust. Those at the back covered the ground with red carpet, turning the entire place into a level ground almost comparable to a palace hall.
Several attendants arrived with wooden boards to construct a platform taller than a person’s height. Then, eight strong men arrived with a tall chair and placed it lightly on the platform.
The throne was made of an extraordinary material that was neither wood nor metal. No one knew what it was made of, but it was extremely heavy.
With the throne in place, the white-robed warriors stood to the side, solemn and still.
This platform and chair were naturally prepared for the Royal Tutor. It was just that the seat remained empty even after the stage was set. The crowd waited a while longer but couldn’t help but grow restless when the Royal Tutor still hadn’t appeared. The hundreds of white-robed men were his disciples, sons, and grandsons. No one dared to provoke these rich and powerful people.
Just as the people were feeling their necks turn sore from the waiting, the drawn sound of a bell echoed from within the city. It was eight o’clock. This was the normal time the city gates would open. The capital normally kept its doors open, but with the princes fighting for the crown, the capital decided to adopt the old system out of caution. They would close the gates at midnight and open them only in the morning.
The bell sound hadn’t ended when people felt their vision blur as a person appeared on the throne. He was clad in loose robes with big sleeves that flowed in the wind. His hair was as white as snow, but his complexion was as good as a baby’s. This was the Royal Tutor Liu Zhongyuan.
The man’s prestige had shaken Zheng for decades. At this moment, he had appeared out of nowhere like an immortal, and no one saw the process clearly. After confirming that the man had indeed arrived at the scene, an earth-shattering wave of cheers erupted from around the eastern gate.
The Royal Tutor had arrived, but Qianye was nowhere to be seen. Hence, everyone started to curse the late challenger.
A white-robed warrior in his middle ages arrived near Liu Zhongyuan. “Master, what do we do now?”
Liu Zhongyuan’s eyes remained closed. “The day is young, what’s the rush? Let’s wait until noon. Even though they are barbarians, we cultivators must not lose our manner and composure.”
Looking embarrassed, the middle-aged man stated his agreement repeatedly. Liu Zhongyuan sat calmly with his eyes half-closed, almost as though he would sit there until the end of the world.
Seeing the Royal Tutor so calm, the crowd’s confidence became even stronger.
Moments later, just as the group was growing restless, someone suddenly pointed into the distance. “What is that!?”
Everyone looked in the pointed direction, only to see a dark cloud approaching rapidly from a distance.
