Chapter 738.3: The Ten Great Noble Families
Special Thanks to these patrons for their support!
O R A N G E S T A R
[Alma S.] [Christine G.-L.] [Fazzienaz] [K.Rom]
[Onepiece] [Suong D.] [Tori D.] [Ziana K.-P.]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Passerby] [Xena]
G O L D S T A R
[Anne C.] [Nevy] [Roxanne C.]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Debra W] [Kiiayame]
T H E S U N
[kuroneko_chan] [Michelle K.] [Smurfinbatik]
CELESTIAL CONQUEROR
[Ava C.] [BritnaeM] [Galetron] [Leeyue] [Leticia P.] [Lily J.] [Manon] [Sophia W.][Val Nes]
Also, many thanks to everyone who bought me coffee (*≧∀≦*)
The man in black and the vendor searched the entire sorghum field before realizing they had been tricked.
There was nothing in the sorghum field!
No sign of any people, not even traces of someone hastily passing through!
Moreover, the vendor realized something even more infuriating, "No one came to rescue them—they escaped on their own!"
The man in black asked, "How can you be sure?"
The peddler snorted coldly, "If someone had truly discovered that courtyard, do you think that after all this time, no one from the government would have come to search?"
The man in black suddenly understood.
The vendor's eyes gleamed with fury, "It must be that brat! When I catch him, I’m going to kill him!"
The two of them hurried off toward the forest.
The forest was filled with towering trees, their branches and leaves providing shade from the sun, making the temperature significantly cooler than outside.
As they walked, the man in black said, "Actually, we don’t necessarily need to find the Little County Princess. Letting another family find her works too. After all, our goal isn’t to gain credit from this incident."
The vendor said, "We can do without this credit, but we must make sure the Han Family doesn’t get it either! If they find the Little County Princess and use it to redeem themselves, then what’s the point of everything we’ve done?"
The man in black nodded thoughtfully, "That’s also true."
The vendor chuckled, "At the very least, we can't let the Han Family benefit from this. It would be best if we claim the credit ourselves."
As they spoke, the two of them walked further away.
From a hundred-year-old Wutong tree, a middle-aged man in his forties, along with a bodyguard, leapt down.
The middle-aged man looked at a large tree across from him and called out, "Old Master Yang, isn’t it hot up there? Still hiding?"
There was a brief silence from the tree branch, before a man in his fifties, dressed in dark blue brocade, was escorted down to the ground by two bodyguards.
He greeted the middle-aged man indifferently, "Master Dong."
The man called Master Dong smiled and then glanced around at the various directions. "Everyone come out. The mosquitoes are thick in this forest, and it wouldn't be worth it to hide behind the trees only to get bitten."
As soon as he finished speaking, several more people, each accompanied by their own bodyguards, either descended from trees or emerged from behind them.
Master Dong smiled and looked over at the men one by one, "Lord Chen, Lord Du, Brother Fang, Feng boy."
The first three men were around the same age as Master Dong, all in their prime. The youngest of the group was the head of the Feng Family, only twenty-three years old, making him the youngest head among the ten great noble families.
It wasn’t because he was particularly capable, but because all the elders of the Feng Family had passed away, leaving him and his elder brother to support their struggling family.
Master Dong smiled warmly, "It seems that everyone has had their eyes on them since they entered the forest. I’m sure you all heard what they said earlier. Let me give you a bit of insight. That man dressed as a vendor is a skilled expert hired by the Mu Family from the underground martial arena a few years ago. His qinggong is excellent."
Lord Chen spoke up, "So this was the work of the Mu Family? The Mu Family are targeting the Han Family?"
Master Dong smiled. "That seems to be the case for now."
Lord Du asked, "Why would the Mu Family do this?"
Master Dong chuckled,"Imperial Consort Wan just had an incident, and the Mu Family immediately made a move on the Han Family. Doesn’t anyone else see a connection?"
Lord Fang’s temper flared up, "Why don’t you just say it outright—Imperial Consort Wan was framed by Imperial Consort Han!"
Master Dong’s smile didn’t falter, "Those are your words, not mine."
"You—!" Lord Fang was at a loss for words.
Among the heads of the ten great noble families, Master Dong was famously known as the smiling fox.
Talking to him was like walking into a trap.
Master Dong continued to smile, saying, "Aside from the Mu Family, the Wang Family, the Su Family, and the Han Family, the rest of the great noble families are all here. I have a proposal. Would anyone like to hear it?"
Lord Fang, irritated by his roundabout speech, snapped, “Just get to the point!”
Master Dong’s gaze swept over everyone, “The Mu Family, Wang Family, and Su Family are related by marriage. If the Mu Family falls into trouble, it will be difficult for the other two to stay unscathed. Even if they don't incur the Emperor’s wrath, they certainly won’t get any benefits.”
Lord Fang was thoroughly irritated, “What exactly do you want to say?”
Master Dong clasped his hands behind his back, his face full of smiles as he said, "The Mu Family kidnapping the Little County Princess is a capital offense, and the Han Family’s failure to protect her is also a dereliction of duty. But even with these, it's still not enough to bring down both families. However... what if—just what if—the Little County Princess were to meet with an accident? Could these two families still survive?"
Lord Du furrowed his brows, "Are you suggesting—"
Master Dong's smile gradually turned colder and more sinister, "What I mean is, instead of the six of us fighting over the credit for rescuing the Little County Princess, risking everything for it, why not bring down the Mu Family and the Han Family instead, and directly split their power among ourselves? This way, we don’t damage relationships, and everyone still gets a share of the spoils."
The oldest among them, Old Master Yang, laughed. "A smiling fox indeed. You're ruthless."
Master Dong glanced at him and said, "The Han and Mu families are big, fat targets. Don’t you want a piece? The Black Wind Cavalry, the supply camp… We contributed back then too, so why didn’t all of the great noble families get a share of the Xuanyuan Family’s military power?"
A heavy silence fell over the forest.
Indeed. Back when they fought to bring down the Xuanyuan Family, they had paid a great price, yet in the end, they hadn’t gained a single bit of military power.
It was one thing for the Nangong Family to take the lion’s share, as they were a family of generals. But why had the Mu Family, who had always been scholars, gained control of the supply camp?!
They were not happy about it!
The people in the forest began to stir with restlessness.
"I’m leaving." The youngest family head amongst the group, Feng Wuxiu, turned and left, completely uninterested.
Master Dong squinted his eyes, watching Feng Wuxiu's graceful figure walk away, and sneered, "Feng boy, are you agreeing or not?"
Feng Wuxiu waved his hand dismissively, "Not agreeing."
Master Dong threatened, "Then you can’t just leave like this."
Feng Wuxiu glanced at him from the corner of his eye, "If you think you can stop me, go ahead and try."
Master Dong's bodyguard grasped the hilt of his sword.
But just then, a young Taoist priest in a blue robe descended from the sky, like an immovable deity, positioning himself between Feng Wuxiu and the others.
Everyone was stunned.
Old Master Yang exclaimed in disbelief, "Taoist Qingfeng!"
Although Feng Wuxiu was young, coupled with Taoist Qingfeng’s backing, his presence was in no way weaker than anyone else’s. He said, "I don’t care what you want to do, and I won’t report you. But this credit, my Feng Family will claim it!"
Even if all the experts present joined forces, they couldn’t defeat Taoist Qingfeng… Master Dong forced a smile.
He said, "I was just joking earlier. No need to take it seriously. Alright, from here on, let’s each rely on our own abilities and see who can rescue the Little County Princess first!"
It was so close! That damn Feng Wuxiu had completely disrupted the entire situation!
"Elder brother, let’s go." Feng Wuxiu said to Taoist Qingfeng.
[T/N: Regarding the character “Lord Fang”, he is actually named “Lord Feng(Phoenix)”. But since there is already a Feng(wind) Family among the ten great families, (which is Taoist Qingfeng’s family) I took the liberty to change it to Fang to avoid confusion.]
Raz P.'s Thoughts
To read advance GSPW chapters! Updates 7x a week (daily).
You can read up to 45 advance chapters in our patreon so you should go check it out. ^^
No patreon but want to support us? Then,
OR if you can't support us in money, you can always support us emotionally -just hope into . Hehehe~
--------------------------------------------
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PROJECT:
Description:
In the suspenseful supernatural novel “Records of Mortals,” Jiang Baiyan, once a solitary and impoverished youth, finds refuge in the Shi family of Chang’an due to his extraordinary bloodline. With his clear and captivating peach blossom eyes, this seemingly innocent young man conceals a fanatical and malevolent lunatic within. Destined to succumb to darkness amidst hardship and degradation, he becomes a harbinger of chaos.
When Shi Dai suddenly transmigrates, she takes on the role of the Shi family’s young lady, the one who subjects him to countless trials, eventually leading to her demise.
The twist? She never got to finish reading the novel.
From what she knew of the plot, Jiang Baiyan was just a silent, timid, and often bullied pitiable character.
***
Jiang Baiyan had never encountered someone like Shi Dai.
After he had slaughtered all the evil creatures in the garden, the blood-stained young man, exuding a murderous aura, approached her step by step, his lips curling into a malicious smile, "Scared?"
Shi Dai responded, “You’re really amazing! I applaud you until I spin like a spiral and fly around the moon three hundred times! And also——you have dimples when you smile!"
Jiang Baiyan: ...?
—
After seeing her at a lantern festival with another man, Jiang Baiyan lowered his eyes, his fingers twirling her hair. He said in a mocking and sinister tone, "The mansion in the western suburbs...if I hide you there, no one will find you, right?"
Shi Dai replied, "Does it come with meals and lodging? Can I sleep in everyday? Oh, and your cooking is the best!"
Jiang Baiyan: ...?
—
Jiang Baiyan was supposed to dislike her, even hate her, but as their separation drew near, his eyes turned red and he grabbed her sleeve, pleading, "Don't abandon me, alri—”
Shi Dai responded, "Alright, alright, I’ll only have you. Mwah."
Jiang Baiyan: ...?
He hasn't finished his lines yet though…