The Attack of the Wastrel

“The Gu and Qin Clan 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 to laugh. “You must be joking, Your Highness, this whole incident was because some of the younger clan members had decided to act on their own initiatives. Now that we know the Gu Clan’s First Mistress is safe and unharmed, let’s punish the few who had been involved and forget about this matter.”

“The Beicheng Clan is truly optimistic to forget about this matter after punishing just a few even after so many of your clan members have died. The Qin Clan will definitely not let this matter go so easily!” Qin Yue, the head of the Qin Clan exclaimed.

He was nothing like Gu Rong who had placed 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 Clan 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 clan.

“What Qin Yue says is right. The punishment is insufficient to compensate for the people from my clan 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 Clans. He did not think that the Third Prince would offend the two clans 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 Clan to lose some of their best Martial Students, the remaining people in his clan were all rather talented, so the strength of his clan would not be affected. However, it would be beneficial if he could seize this opportunity to weaken the other clans.

Gu Lingzhi looked down and laughed to herself mockingly as she easily discerned Gu Rong’s thoughts.

This was indeed characteristic of Father. Whilst the fathers in other clans 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 Clan 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 had committed the crimes, as seniors, we have a part to play as well. Why don’t we find a place 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 Clan 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 Clan and Tianfeng Clan 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 plan 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 clans?

“My clan holds the same view as the Third Prince. It would be too small of a punishment if we let both your clans 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 clans with everything he had.

The Qin Clan had been progressing the fastest these few years and was the strongest amongst all Four Great Clans for a long time. If they really decided to wage war on the Beicheng and Tianfeng Clans, there would be a huge amount of losses for every party. However, if the Qin Clan had the Third Prince on their side, they would even dramatically shift the power balance 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 clan.

“Qin Yue, you’d better think this through carefully, are you really going to sever whatever close relations between all three clans just over a few of our younger clan members? Though we are not as good as your Qin Clan, we’re not pushovers!” Tianfeng Yi exclaimed. 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 only commanded 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 Clans, it was barely enough.

“Hmph, I’ve thought through this carefully enough. Clan Leaders of the Beicheng and Tianfeng Clan, you both had better get ready to go against my Qin Clan!”

After this declaration, Qin Yue promptly left with Qin Xinran.

Similarly, Rong Yuan no longer wanted to look at anyone from the two clans 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 Clan, 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 Zheng laughed to himself before he turned to catch up with Rong Yuan. As Gu Rong saw Yuan Zheng leaving, he glanced 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 successfully 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 days later, Yan Feitian turned up at the Beicheng Clan’s Discussion Hall, which shocked the Leader of the Tianfeng Clan, who was also there to discuss how they could avoid the chaos they had created.

An hour later, Yan Feitian walked out of the Beicheng Clan’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 clan, 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 Clans in a mess. Without the higher-ranked Martial Artists, a clan would lose all their power.

Some people were devastated, whereas others were overjoyed. Most, however, were surprised at how the Gu Clan 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 claimed 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 clan 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 Clan, it was a matter of time before they were reduced into just an ordinary, small clan. 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 preoccupied on how she could further delay 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 Palace? Why did she come all the way here?

“I think that the wedding ceremony should be held in the Royal Palace, it is livelier there. When the Emperor comes 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 become an urge to delay marriage. Her emotions would slowly change over time the more she interacted with the Third Prince…