Chapter 29: The Clan Lord Who Came Anyway
No one wants to eat shit—whether dog shit, horse shit, or any other kind of shit.
Even less so for these princes of the Chen family, who had only just managed to return to the capital and climb to the peak of their lives. Who would be willing to eat shit?
The Prince of Zhongshan was unwilling, the Prince of Luling was unwilling, and it was likely that even the most spineless Prince of Louyang would be unwilling.
But Wang Po had come to the capital, and they had no way to deal with it. That was eating shit.
As things stood, unless the Prince of Xiang personally stepped in, there was no other option.
The problem was that everyone knew what the Prince of Chenliu meant by going to Luoyang City, and everyone knew why the Prince of Xiang’s residence was so quiet today.
Thinking back to what had happened that night, the Prince of Zhongshan’s expression grew even uglier. He cursed coldly, “Truly a wolf’s ambition, insatiable greed!”
Even if the Prince of Xiang personally intervened, it might not be enough to handle this.
Wang Po was the sharpest iron blade.
Behind him stood the Huai Academy, Lishan, the Holy Maiden Peak, and dozens of southern aristocratic families, sects, and mountain gates.
This commotion was too great, too shocking, shaking the capital and intimidating the entire world.
Regarding Xu Yourong’s arrangements, the Li Palace remained silent, and the Imperial Palace was also quiet.
The Emperor and the Pope, these two master-brothers, had said nothing, but that didn’t mean they would do nothing.
If Shang Xingzhou didn’t react, and if the court and these princes showed even a hint of weakness, the master-brother pair could use Xu Yourong’s powerful actions and bold vision to ride the towering waves and directly strip the princes and the military generals of their real power, completely rewriting the Great Zhou court’s structure.
Unless Shang Xingzhou returned to the capital immediately, he might be able to turn the tide, because only he had such prestige and ability.
Otherwise, the Chen family princes, to protect themselves, would inevitably summon troops into the capital.
Then, with flames of war spreading everywhere, who knew what the final outcome would be?
This was also what the Prince of Luling and General Xiaoling couldn’t understand.
Why did Xu Yourong do this?
As a generation’s Holy Maiden, did she truly want to see chaos and war, the people displaced, and the excellent situation of the human race destroyed?
The Prince of Zhongshan looked at the sky outside his residence, listening to the distant cries of wild geese. A glimmer of light suddenly flashed in his narrowed eyes.
In his mind, he reversed the entire matter twice and finally reached a conclusion.
That conclusion seemed very real, but it was too simple, so simple that he found it hard to believe.
Did Xu Yourong do all this just to force the Dao Venerable to return to the capital?
The problem was, if the Dao Venerable really returned to the capital, what could she do?
Even if the southern strongmen were numerous, even if the national religion had deep foundations, even if Wang Po’s combat power was extremely formidable, even if she and Chen Changsheng’s dual swords combined with exquisite skill.
Could that really kill the Dao Venerable?
……
……
Many people couldn’t understand the purpose behind Xu Yourong’s actions.
At the same time, they couldn’t understand how she could command so many sects, mountain gates, and aristocratic families to come to the capital.
Her status in the south was, of course, extremely lofty, and her prestige was immense.
The problem was that this was a truly major matter, one that could even be said to bring the disaster of annihilation upon their families.
The priests led the southern strongmen and younger disciples toward the various halls, also puzzled by this question, but unable to voice it.
Using the Grand Court Examination as an excuse, over two thousand people from the southern sects and aristocratic families had entered the capital. With so many people, naturally they couldn’t stay in inns. They were arranged to stay in the Li Palace, the Green Vine Courtyards, and the various large and small Daoist halls in the capital. Chen Changsheng didn’t say a word, and Hu Sanshier handled everything very properly, without any issues.
At first, there was inevitably some awkwardness between the two sides, but after getting a bit familiar, no one wanted to miss this rare opportunity for north-south exchange. Soon, in the Li Palace, the Green Vine Courtyards, and those Daoist halls, both sides began to spar. More often than not, they sat and discussed the Dao, avoiding any harm to their goodwill.
Families of great wealth like the Mu Zhe family and the Wu family naturally had their own residences in the capital and didn’t need accommodation arrangements. The younger generation stationed in the capital also found it more convenient to ask their clan lords their doubts… Why were you willing to obey the Holy Maiden’s decree and come to the capital?
The old matriarch of the Mu Zhe family placed her feet into scalding hot water and let out a weary sigh, saying, “The foundation of our family is in the south, not in the north.”
From this perspective, the decree of the Holy Maiden Peak was naturally more important than the imperial decree of the court. But given the Mu Zhe family’s status and strength, even if they didn’t listen to Xu Yourong, what could she do?
In the impression of the Mu Zhe family’s younger generation and the people of the capital, Xu Yourong was a phoenix with astonishing talent and a Holy Maiden of noble status.
She wasn’t a schemer. Logically, she shouldn’t be skilled in using harsh methods, let alone ruthless ones, and she didn’t have that kind of ability either.
“You don’t know what kind of person the Holy Maiden really is.”
The old matriarch of the Mu Zhe family seemed to recall some past event, a look of lingering fear in her eyes. “She’s a madwoman.”
In another luxurious mansion not far away, the Wu family head was having a similar conversation with his cousin, who served as the Vice Minister of Revenue.
The Wu family head sighed and said, “You don’t know how terrifying the Holy Maiden is when she goes mad.”
Hearing this, Vice Minister Wu showed an absurd expression on his face, clearly not believing his words.
The Wu family head didn’t explain further, but said with emotion, “You have no experience, so naturally you’re not afraid. But I truly am.”
Vice Minister Wu didn’t know what had happened, but a chill crept into his heart. He then asked, “What about the Qiu Shan family?”
Many things had happened in Wenshui City. Tang Thirty-Six had left the ancestral hall, and everyone knew that Old Master Tang had changed his attitude.
In the master-disciple struggle between Shang Xingzhou and Chen Changsheng, he would remain neutral.
Of the four great families, only the Qiu Shan family’s stance remained unclear. In this group entering the capital, the Qiu Shan family head was nowhere to be seen.
“That old fox has it the worst. He’s used to sitting on the fence, but this time he doesn’t even need to show his hand—everyone knows which side he’ll be on.”
The Wu family head suddenly felt a bit better and sneered, “Who told him to have such a good son.”
……
……
Outside the capital, there was a Daoist temple called Tanzhe.
In the backyard of this temple stood a ginkgo tree, said to have been personally planted by Emperor Taizong back in the day, now nearly a thousand years old.
That ginkgo tree grew exceptionally well. When autumn came and its leaves turned yellow, it would become a golden waterfall.
Three years ago, when Wang Po entered the capital to kill Zhou Tong, he sat under this ginkgo tree for eleven days, quietly meditating on his blade, and then, by the Luo River, he struck the astonishing blade that felled the iron tree.
Now it was early spring, so the ginkgo leaves naturally hadn’t turned yellow, and Wang Po wasn’t here either.
The Qiu Shan family head walked out of the Daoist temple, sat down on the cold stone chair, and let out three sighs in a row.
He had also come to the capital, but he hadn’t entered the city. Instead, he had come straight to Tanzhe Temple.
He wanted to find Wang Po and persuade him to go to Luoyang.
In short, he didn’t want Shang Xingzhou to return to the capital, and even more, he didn’t want Shang Xingzhou to see him.
Because he had very little faith in Xu Yourong.
He didn’t want to be implicated afterward.
“Maybe… we should just go back?”
The Qiu Shan family’s highly accomplished guardian looked at the clan lord’s furrowed brow and felt great sympathy.
“Even if we hadn’t come, would the court believe that unfilial son?”
The Qiu Shan family head sighed and said, “Since we’re here anyway, let’s stay a few more days.”