The Emperor of the Three Realms

chapter 26

The contentious match between the heirs of the rank of a duke had ended with this result. With her identity, Princess Gouyu was naturally safe from the suspicion that she was on Jiang Chen's side.    

After all, whether in terms of identity or position, Jiang Chen did not deserve the favoritism of Princess Gouyu.    

After all, who did not know that Princess Gouyu was notoriously cold and impartial? If that wasn't the case, how would His Majesty the King willingly let Princess Gouyu organize an event as important as the Hidden Dragon Trials?    

At the same time, although it was a miracle that Jiang Chen had defeated Bai Zhanyun, it happened right before the eyes of the audience. Even if they wanted to suspect a breach, they could not find a reason to do so.    

Return to the banquet, where wine and food flow in large quantities. The atmosphere had not fully recovered thanks to the events of the day.    

For better or worse, everyone has their own internal concerns.    

Especially the dukes who were at odds with duke Jiang Han – they still could not confirm, was Jiang Chen's victory just a coincidence?    

Or was he a wolf in sheep's clothing, and the father and son duo finally began to show their monstrous fangs in the last segment of the Hidden Dragon Trials?    

Saying that one in the early realms of true qi could hone one's weakness with eight meridians true qi after one demonstration of the latter; even a martial dao master would be hard pressed to believe it.    

How was it possible to find flaws after seeing it once, and then defeat his opponent in the actual fight?    

If it is easy for the weak to win over the strong, then why is everyone training so hard?    

But, saying that Jiang Chen pretended to be a wolf in sheep's clothing – wasn't his action too real?    

The key is, farting during the Rite of Heavenly Worship is not included in the guidelines of being a wolf in sheep's clothing! This is a mortal sin, and severe punishment is given.    

Except... had King Eastern Lu ever played alongside Jiang Chen?    

This is even more ridiculous! Surely the king is not tired of doing things like this? Plus, surely the Jiang family was not so faceless that the king wholeheartedly acted according to their guidelines?    

Only the Duke of Tianshui and a few other officials could faintly guess what was really going on, as they were eyewitnesses to the events of that night in the Jiang Han palace.    

“Maybe the divine protector has not left Jiang Chen yet, letting this child benefit from a foolish fortune?” The Duke of Tianshui explained this to himself.    

This kind of speculation is the most logical. The Duke of Tianshui had deduced something after observing Jiang Feng's expression and actions. Jiang Feng, at the very least, had no prior knowledge of the matter.    

With Jiang Feng's level of shrewdness, his acting ability would not be equivalent if he pretended to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. He will soon reveal his flaws.    

Fatty Xuan and the others took a social walk when the banquet began, and were quite friendly with Jiang Chen. They got along with Jiang Chen before because he was generous, had a sense of justice, and was willing to speak on behalf of his friend.    

Now, with Jiang Chen's strength, they had an even greater sense of pride.    

"That's right! Brother Chen, I, the fat Xuan, have been hanging out with you for two or three years but never knew that brother Chen was a true genius! World-class acting skills, world-class potential, and definitely world-class power. My sister is amazed, amazed!”    

Fatty Xuan looked overjoyed and saliva flowed as he moved his hand. He was more excited than a little boy at Christmas – as if Jiang Chen was being amazing the same as him being amazing.    

Bai Zhanyun was pale-faced at another table, and he lowered his head while finding solace at the bottom of his wine cup.    

Yan Yiming, who had previously been hit by Jiang Chen, finally regained his senses and muttered loudly. “Jiang Chen was definitely using a malicious trick! He only has three meridians of true qi, how can he defeat me!    

Hong Tiantong, on the contrary, secretly felt relieved. It was fortunate that he was smart enough to avoid the spotlight after Bai Zhanyun had demonstrated the Eastern King Points.    

Think about it! If he were to argue with Jiang Chen, then the person who was humiliated in front of everyone today was not the two of them, but him, Hong Tiantong.    

Hong Tiantong's thoughts turned around as he watched Bai Zhanyun drown his sorrows in alcohol, he wanted to continue provoking the latter. “Brother Bai, don't despair. In terms of strength, he was at the starting realm of true qi. How could he be your opponent? Eastern King Point was just a basic technique. This kid is lucky and has been training more, that's all. If we were to compete in terms of family history, how could that duke of Jiang Han think of competing with your family who has the heritage of the White Tiger?”    

Bai Zhanyun simply lowered his head and smiled wryly, changing his usual style of pride. He shook his head lightly, but did not say anything. He's not a fool.    

The previous moments where he had chosen Jiang Chen were purely to get Long Juxue's help.    

Except, he suddenly saw the light after Jiang Chen's words of enlightenment, and his mind became clear.    

It's true, he's at the top of his life. Is it worth taking action that far for women who have never seriously considered it? And, even though Hong Tiantong had attacked Jiang Chen several times with Bai Zhanyun, Jiang Chen had never suffered any losses, whereas it was Bai Zhanyun who always bore the consequences.    

Whatdoes thatmean?    

This meant that Hong Tiantong was the sneaky type who had always used Bai Zhanyun as cannon fodder!    

“Do you think I'm that stupid?” Bai Zhanyun glanced at Hong Tiantong as his heart grew more than a few traces of vigilance and disgust towards this calculating character.    

Even if this Jiang Chen had some plot in mind and had some potential, there was an insurmountable gap between him and his daughter's innate constitution.    

Therefore, Long Zhaofeng's intrigue in Jiang Han's land with the spirit vein did not subside, rather he decided to upgrade it.    

After several rounds of drinks were poured, Long Zhaofeng raised his glass towards Jiang Feng. “Sister Jiang Feng, I am really surprised by your son's appearance today. He has expanded my worldview. I have long wanted to be friends with big brother Jiang. Why don't we take advantage of this opportunity now? I'm keeping my word, what do you think of my proposal?    

Why not go with the flow today and gladly give consent? Brother, you have seen my sincerity. As long as you nod your head, you will not need to do anything more and will receive three hundred thousand silver from me every year. Our two families will be united as brothers forever, how does it sound?”    

Long Zhaofeng's tone of voice sounded generous, as if he was actually giving a kind face to Duke Jiang Han when forcefully confiscating Jiang's property at the lowest price.    

Jiang Feng knew that this chair would be difficult to sit on when Long Zhaofeng brought it to this table. His gloves were removed, and Long Zhaofeng went straight to the point.    

He could only put on a brave face and say, “Duke Long, my Jiang Han territory is located in the south and is a poor place with not many sources of income. The entire household budget comes largely from the income of a piece of land that has that spirit. Duke Long's proposal was to cut off the main line of money for my Jiang Han territory. The younger brother here is really hard to agree to.”    

It had to be said, with Jiang Feng's temper, it was already an unusual sight to see him speak with such a low posture. If there was another chance, Jiang Feng would most likely have long since kicked the table and left with a wave of his sleeve.    

“Brother Jiang, you make it difficult for me.” The Duke of Soaring Dragon's tone of voice hardened.    

“Heh heh, Duke Jiang, receiving three hundred thousand per year without doing anything is a pure advantage without skin in the game. Why did you refuse?” Another duke pretended to persuade Jiang Feng.    

"Indeed! If it were me, I wouldn't even frown at the thought of sitting on land and receiving money without doing anything.”    

“Duke Jiang, Duke Long is the most prominent duke and wants to befriend you. How many people would be willing to give his attention to such an opportunity? And you don't even know how to appreciate it?”    

"really? The Duke of Soaring Dragon was the first duke of the kingdom, and the hidden sect had claimed Miss Juxue. The Long Family was destined to live with unlimited wealth. You have rejected Duke Long's goodwill and ignored his face, haven't you made your future path even narrower?    

These people all depended on the Duke of Soaring Dragon. It sounded like they were putting Jiang Feng's interests first, but in reality they were threatening him, persecuting him, and becoming supporters of tyrant crimes.    

There were many things that the Duke of Soaring Dragon could not honestly reveal, and they were here to become his villain.    

One had to give it to him – if it was another duke, they might have given up by now. But Jiang Feng was a formidable old bird and shook his head firmly. “Do not talk further. Anyone can say sweet words, but you won't be generous if you're the one who's asked to cut a part of yourself.”    

The representative of the Pill King Garden was also present and had yet to speak. He was the Chief Justice of the Pill King Garden, and chuckled at this moment. “Duke Jiang, during some of the deals my Pill King Garden made with Jiang Han, we found that your expertise in cultivating spirit materials did not meet the standards of our Garden. Therefore, after the unanimous decision of the Garden's internal officials, we decided that we would no longer accept any spirit herbs from the Jiang Han territory. Let this end our partnership from now on.”    

Jiang Feng's expression changed drastically after these words.    

He refused to break and was unwilling to rent out the land with passion due to the business relationship with the Pill King Garden.    

Through this partnership, the Jiang Han territory could receive five million silver per year.    

But, the head of the Pill King Garden had spoken and ended their partnership, banning all Jiang Han spirit herbs in the future!    

It cuts through the ground where someone is standing.    

Jiang Feng asked hoarsely, “Great Palace Chief, are you so heartless?”    

The Chief Justice replied lightly, “He who observes the bigger picture and takes action according to it is a smart person. Duke Jiang, you are wrong for not realizing how the flow of power has changed.”    

What kind of persuasion is this? This was another attempt to deceive Jiang Feng.    

Jiang Feng had held the anger in his stomach for quite some time, and the words of the Chief Justice were sparks that lit a fire.    

His long-suffered anger erupted in a split second as Jiang Feng rose to his feet, laughing loudly. "good. Goody! Each of you pretends to be a good person, yet you are all savage robbers!    

Let me tell you something, I, Jiang Feng, am not a Buddha formed from clay! I can earn less money, and not even earn at all, but I will not give you the slightest backbone of being a man!    

Pill King Park, right? Ban my Jiang Han territory, huh? Doesn't matter! I would rather raise pigs in that land than let you robbers take advantage of that land!”    

Jiang Feng had erupted. He erupted suddenly, and was very thorough.    

So it feels good to explode. Jiang Feng felt the anger emotion in his stomach had completely dissipated at this moment.    

As for the banquet, all became quiet again after Jiang Feng's eruption.    

All gazes were fixed on Jiang Feng, looking at him strangely. They all thought, this Jiang father and son duo has made a fuss one after another, and become the center of attention. What is their purpose? Did they really want to create trouble for the Soaring Dragon Duchy and quarrel with them?