“Kill them?” Zu An exclaimed, his expression changing. He was left in a bit of disbelief as he said, “The State Duke of Triumph and State Duke of Prestige have always been individuals of good moral standing and reputation. Why would they need to be killed?”
After some hesitation, Bi Qi explained, “Ah Zu, because of your relationship with Linglong, you are not an outsider. This is a good chance for me to teach you a few things.
“They chose to do what they did precisely because of their reputation. Previously, there was still his majesty pressuring them. Now that the crown prince is about to succeed to the throne, whether it is his strength or his prestige, the ma.s.ses will never really be convinced. Who would be able to stop these two if they acted up?”
Zu An explained, “Even though these two coordinated closely with King Qi, they aren’t the type who would go against the court for King Qi’s sake. They still place the court and the empire above all else. Once the crown prince takes the throne, I believe the two state dukes will still remain loyal to him.”
Bi Qi continuously shook his head as he listened, saying, “That is precisely why the Qin clan is naive. They should have either wholeheartedly devoted themselves to King Qi’s camp and aggressively helped him take the throne, or severed their relationship with King Qi and taken the lead in siding with his majesty. By not standing on either side, supporting King Qi while being unable to abandon their doctrine as faithful patriots, they are simply beggars trying to be choosers.”
Zu An nodded as he listened. Things really were as Bi Qi said. In the end, Qin Zheng was still too much of a square. He supported King Qi, and yet had been unwilling to put his troops on the line. Now, both sides were ruined, so what could he do now?
“Besides, you said that the Qin clan would continue to remain loyal to the empire,” Bi Qi continued with a sneer, “However, who could say for sure now that this kind of thing has happened? Who would dare to believe it?”
“The State Duke of Triumph’s integrity over the years is still something anyone can see, right?” Zu An said. Even though he understood that, he still couldn't help but try to defend Qin Zheng.
Bi Qi shook his head and said, “In the court, no one would trust integrity and other such imaginary promises. The Qin clan are people from King Qi’s faction, which is doomed to be purged. Furthermore, their prestige is too high and would be a threat to the new ruler. This is the perfect chance to seize their military authority, which is what else everyone in the court is thinking.”
Zu An remained silent. He began to think, trying to find a way to save the Qin clan’s people. He wondered how Chu Youzhao, who was residing in the Qin clan, was doing.
Bi Qi said with a hint of mockery, “If the Qin clan really has thoughts of rebelling, then they might just end up like King Qi’s heir. People still have some reservations about killing him, but he’s nothing more than livestock awaiting slaughter.”
Zu An could only sigh inwardly. Qin Zheng was upright in character, and yet his dedication to the empire only made him a fool in the eyes of the political circles’ old foxes. It really was ironic.
He asked, “What happened to King Qi’s heir?”
King Qi replied, “I reckon King Qi made some arrangements before committing the act. He had his trusted aides take his heir back to their fiefdom. When they received news of defeat, King Qi’s heir gathered his troops to defend himself. For fear of starting a huge rebellion, the court cannot capture him for now either.”
The emperor’s survival was uncertain and a new emperor hadn’t risen to the throne yet. None of them dared to jump the gun and attack him. The only saving grace was that the Qin clan was still considered cooperative and hadn’t stood with King Qi’s heir.
“Right, apart from the Qin clan, the Murong clan is also finished,” Bi Qi said, sounding quite happy.
Zu An was shocked. He quickly asked why that was. Murong Tong’s dark face and his expression that always looked as if people owed him money, as well as Murong Qinghe’s lively and slender figure, both appeared in his mind.
“Why else? The Murong clan has been very close to King Qi in recent years, and Murong Tong is the Supervisor of Attendants in charge of his majesty’s safety. Now that something so big has happened to his majesty, he naturally cannot escape blame,” Bi Qi said with a laugh. In the past, Murong Tong’s temper had been hard and smelly like the stones in the latrine pits. That guy had angered him many times, and now, he was receiving what was due. Bi Qi continued, “Murong Tong was thrown into the Imperial Prison, and I reckon he’s not having that great of a time.”
Zu An could tell that even though Bi Qi spoke casually, he was talking about the destruction of several top-level clans. He couldn't help but become alarmed. Compared to those old foxes who didn’t have a shred of humanity left in them, he felt that he was still a bit too sentimental.
“What about the Waterfront Duke?” Zu An quickly asked.
That was Pei Mianman’s grandfather, Waterfront Duke Pei Zheng. He was the Chief Attendant, a lifetime position, as well as one of the core forces of King Qi’s faction. It didn’t seem as if this event would be too kind to him.
“Of course Pei Zheng has to be removed too. It’s just that they haven’t decided on how to deal with him yet,” Bi Qi said with a sneer. They were all old opponents. After fighting for so many years, they had already come to hate each other’s guts for a long time.
Zu An was speechless. In that instant, he had a ridiculous thought. Why was it that all of those being removed were the clansmen of his female friends? Just how had he even ended up becoming enemies with King Qi?
“What about the Yu clan and Jiang clan?” Zu An then asked.
“The Yu clan was already dealt with by his majesty, so even though Yu Xuanchong was forced out of his position, the Yu clan avoided this tragedy,” Bi Qi replied. “As for the Jiang clan, they are related to the Pei clan in marriage, so they will probably be dragged in as well. But that old fox Jiang Boyang is related to all of the big clans in marriage. In the end, someone will probably protect them, so they aren’t in too much trouble.”
Zu An sighed in relief. He finally received some good news.
Bi Qi patted Zu An’s shoulder and said, “Ah Zu, the reason why I told you so much is because I want the two of us to join forces. The Liu clan and Meng clan are allied, and are fighting over the court’s authority. They are planting their own people into the spots King Qi’s people have now left vacant. Even though I sent Ziang back to the capital to help his little sister, they are quite isolated and without help. I reckon that it will still be the Liu clan who has the final say in the capital.”
The empress’ seductive appearance appeared in Zu An’s mind. He felt a huge headache. They really were equally important! He thought to himself, Look at how fickle you always are; you’ve finally tasted pain, haven’t you?
Even so, on the surface, he still agreed and said, “Sir Bi, don’t worry. The crown princess has treated me so well and given all of the most precious things in the Eastern Palace to me. I have naturally engraved all of those things deeply in my memory.”
Bi Qi felt that his words were a bit strange, but he just a.s.sumed that Bi Linglong saw Zu An as important and raised him into becoming the most favored man in the Eastern Palace. As such, he laughed heartily and said, “Ah Zu, I’m glad you think that way. As long as you support Linglong later and this old one supports you from the court, even if the Liu clan’s hands try to cover the sky, we won’t need to fear them!”
Zu An was a bit hesitant as he said, “According to what I’ve heard, Liu Guang and Liu Yao are a bit… mediocre. Could people like them really take hold of this entire situation?”
“Liu Guang and Liu Yao are not much of a concern, but the Liu clan is the clan of the empress. Their forces cannot be underestimated,” Bi Qi said, his expression turning grave. “The Liu clan’s most formidable individual is actually the empress. She was quite stunning and exceptional when she was younger, with some even saying that her talent was no worse than his majesty’s. Unfortunately, she was unexpectedly injured while she was at her peak in the past, causing her to become like an ordinary person.
“However, recently, for some reason, her cultivation suddenly recovered. Not long ago, she directly broke through to the grandmaster rank. Furthermore, the Liu clan has an old ancestor who also has grandmaster rank cultivation. They also have an alliance with the Meng clan, which includes Meng Yi’s father, who is one of the court’s eight dukes and also a grandmaster; that way, they already have an incredible force. On top of that, they have a pretext to seize power; with the Liu clan’s army, as well as the Meng clan’s resources, it would be enough for them to seize control of the court.”
As he spoke, he was even starting to get frustrated himself. He continued, “I always thought that the empress was a cripple, so I never really guarded against the Liu clan. I really wonder just how she recovered… I heard that she ate some miraculous medicine. I really wonder just what kind of medicine is that useful; I’ll have to get Linglong to have some too, to see if it can make her stronger.”
Zu An had a strange expression as he thought, The Empress ate quite a bit of it back then with her mouth, and the crown princess has also eaten it…
He quickly dispelled that thought, as he was quite shocked to hear about the empress’ previous cultivation. She had been a grandmaster?! He hadn’t been able to tell at all.
Bi Qi got up and sorted out his clothes, saying, “Alright, I told you those things so you would have an idea of the current situation, and so it would be easier for us to work together in the future. As for King Yan and Zhao Yuan’s side, you have no need to worry too much. With me here, they wouldn’t dare to touch you.”
“Thank you, Sir Bi,” Zu An said, seeing him off with a friendly countenance. Then, he sat back down by his desk and started to think to himself.
He actually didn’t have that much interest in the political seizure of power. They were already in a freaking world of cultivation, and yet they were still playing these games… They really were getting too distracted. However, he definitely had to go back and pay the capital a visit. There were too many people he needed to save. He unfolded a white sheet of paper and wrote down a few crucial names.
As he was deep in thought, the curtains suddenly shook. A beautiful figure dressed in a red top and black dress leaped in through the window. His eyes shook alongside the curtains as he watched her.
“Manman!”
“Ah Zu!”
A sweet scent swept over, and a fiery and alluring body fell straight into his arms.
“What is it?” Zu An asked, a bit shocked when he saw Pei Mianman hug him with so much strength.
“I have to go soon,” Pei Mianman said, feeling somewhat bad. “The sect leader and master want to bring me back. The things that happened on Violet Mountain are too great and our Jadefall Palace doesn’t wish to be involved. We intend to return to the sect and close the mountain gate for a while. I heard that the reason we were able to go back was only out of respect for you. That’s the reason why they don’t dare to trouble us.”
Zu An was speechless, thinking, Does this count as crushing my own foot while trying to climb a rock? He eventually asked, “Is it possible for you to stay?”
“I can’t. The sect leader and master’s att.i.tudes are really firm on this. Besides, after experiencing what happened here, they plan to return and pa.s.s the sect’s more profound skills onto me. I also need to spend some time to properly digest and comprehend the Paramita b.u.t.terfly I obtained from the secret dungeon,” Pei Mianman replied.
Her gaze was full of reluctance, but she quickly warned herself that there were now more and more beauties at Zu An’s side. If she didn’t make progress in her cultivation, she would only be bullied and have no way of fighting back.Furthermore, Ah Zu could now win against even the emperor! The difference in their strength was just too great.
Ah Zu might not feel anything, but as he gets stronger and stronger, the distance between us grows further and further…
When he sensed her resolve, Zu An realized that he couldn't hold up her cultivation either. He asked, “Then when are you leaving?”
“Tonight!”
“That soon?”
“Master and the sect leader feel that this place is inauspicious and don’t wish to stay here even a moment longer than they have to.”
Zu An was speechless.
“That’s why I came all the way here to say goodbye, and also to give you a gift,” Pei Mianman continued.
Zu An was stunned when he heard that. “What kind of gift?”
Pei Mianman suddenly smiled widely. She moved closer to his ear and whispered, “Are you writing something? I’ll help you grind the ink.”
Then, she slowly lowered her body. Her cheeks were bright red as she helped him in the most gentle and careful way.
Hmph, I’m going to leave soon anyway, so I can’t let those other vixens get any advantages over me.
Zu An raised his brows and replied, “Oh?”