Chapter 26: The Plan Begins

Shuxia City, City Lord’s Manor.

Inside an ancient and elegantly furnished room, Duanmu Lei sat upright before his desk, nervously reading the letter in his hand.

At his side, Liu Yi, the adviser he trusted most, kept his head lowered and did not dare make the slightest sound.

After a long while, Duanmu Lei put down the letter and let out a relieved sigh. The brows he had kept tightly furrowed finally relaxed.

“My lord, His Highness did not blame you, did he?” Liu Yi had followed Duanmu Lei for many years and understood him very well.

If Duanmu Lei could show such an expression, then it meant His Highness had not blamed him in the letter.

“Liu Yi, although Imperial Prince Kun did not place the blame for the Primordial Yang Sect upon my head in the letter, he still showed his dissatisfaction.”

“This matter may be over, but it did happen because of my negligence. We cannot make the same mistake again,” Duanmu Lei said sternly as he rubbed the corner of his eye.

It was regrettable that the Primordial Yang Sect, that piece on the board, had been destroyed, but at least the matter had ended with him. One could say it had served its final bit of purpose.

“Has Lu Qiu still not returned?” Duanmu Lei asked.

“No,” Liu Yi replied, shaking his head.

“Forget about him. Liu Yi, there are two matters I need you to handle now.”

“The first is this: immediately find another force within the Shuxia Domain and raise it up to take the Primordial Yang Sect’s place.”

“Yes,” Liu Yi answered with cupped hands.

“My lord, then what is the second matter?”

At those words, Duanmu Lei revealed a helpless expression. “Sigh, do you really need to ask? Naturally, it is still the matter concerning my wife.”

Liu Yi smiled faintly. “Do not worry, my lord. I have been keeping an eye on Madam’s matter these past few days.”

“The moment there is any news of the Purple Moon Jade, I will certainly report it to you at once.”

Duanmu Lei nodded in satisfaction.

Duanmu Lei’s wife and Imperial Prince Kun’s mother were twin sisters, and their birthdays fell on the same day.

Ever since Madam Duanmu learned that her elder sister would receive a headpiece inlaid with Purple Moon Jade on her birthday, she had wanted one as well.

Lately, Duanmu Lei had been hounded by his wife until he was at his wits’ end, and in the end, he had no choice but to agree.

But with Madam’s birthday fast approaching and still not the slightest trace of the Purple Moon Jade to be found, Duanmu Lei could not help growing anxious, and once more urged Liu Yi to be more diligent.

“That is enough. If there is nothing else, you may withdraw first,” Duanmu Lei said with a wave of his hand.

“Yes, my lord.” Liu Yi cupped his hands in salute, turned, and left. But when he reached the doorway, he suddenly stopped again.

“The Seventh Prince has already been staying at an inn in Shuxia City for two days. As the Governor of the Shuxia Domain, should you not pay him a visit?” Liu Yi asked in a low voice.

“Hmph! Imperial Prince Kun has repeatedly tried to show goodwill to that Chu Feng, yet Chu Feng ignored him every single time. Why should I go see someone so incapable of appreciating a favor?”

“So long as he does not come looking for me himself, I will act as though I do not know he is in Shuxia City,” Duanmu Lei said with a contemptuous snort.

Liu Yi nodded, opened the door, and withdrew.

...

At an inn in Shuxia City, inside a Heaven-Class Private Room, Chu Feng and Su Yanran had just finished dinner when Shi appeared soundlessly inside the room.

By now, Su Yanran was already used to this and merely sat there quietly, her expression unchanged.

“Young Master, everything has been arranged,” Shi said, bowing respectfully toward Chu Feng.

“Mm.” Chu Feng nodded. Expressionless, he rose to his feet, walked over to the window, and gazed at the bright moon high in the sky.

“Then let it begin tomorrow.”

“Yes!” Shi slightly raised his cold eyes, and his figure vanished in an instant.

“Young Master Chu, is this really worth it?”

“Once it begins, you and Imperial Prince Kun will be completely at odds. He will surely mobilize all his strength against you,” Su Yanran said softly, lightly biting her red lip as she offered a reminder.

Chu Feng turned around and answered calmly with a smile, “Since this Prince promised Lin Yu, I naturally will not go back on my word.

“Besides, with my strength, do you really think I would fear a mere prince?”

Su Yanran stared blankly at Chu Feng when she heard that, and an involuntary trace of tenderness surfaced in her almond-shaped eyes.

...

The next day, a convoy appeared in the bustling streets of Shuxia City. Under the curious gazes of the townspeople, the group made its way to a restaurant to rest for a while.

The reason the townspeople found them unusual was that these people were not dressed in the style of the Great Xuan Dynasty, but rather in the fashion of the neighboring Great Chu Dynasty.

And judging by the wooden crates piled high upon their wagons, their identities were obvious.

They were clearly merchants from the Great Chu Dynasty.

After a moment of curiosity, the townspeople quickly returned to normal.

Trade had not been forbidden between the Five Great Dynasties, so merchants from the Great Chu Dynasty appearing in the Great Xuan Dynasty was not anything particularly strange.

This group of merchants from the Great Chu Dynasty entered the restaurant and casually found a table on the second floor.

The lead merchant called over a waiter and ordered a full table of food. As they were eating,

one of the younger men among the merchants looked toward the leader and said, “Boss, the Great Xuan Dynasty does not look like much. Are we really going to make money on this trip?”

The leader immediately slapped the young man on the head. “What do you know? We are going to the Capital of the Great Xuan Dynasty to do business this time.”

“The Great Xuan Dynasty is the strongest among the Five Great Dynasties. The people in the Capital are either rich or noble. They will definitely be able to buy up the goods we are bringing on this trip.”

“I am telling all of you, once this trip is over, the profits will far exceed anything you could have imagined.”

After being smacked, the young man rubbed his head and began to grin foolishly.

“Hah, a bunch of rustic country boors who really dare to dream.”

“With the likes of you, what good things could you possibly have? And yet you still fantasize about going to the Capital to do business.”

“Do you really think the money of the officials and nobles in the Capital is that easy to swindle? Ridiculous.”

At that moment, a man at the neighboring table sneered, his eyes filled with mockery.

The other guests seated on the second floor of the restaurant likewise looked at them with disdain.

The young man among the merchants flushed red with anger and slammed his palm against the table as he stood up. “What gives you the right to say we are rustic country boors with nothing good in our hands?”

“I am telling you, among the goods we brought on this trip, there is a world-rare Purple Moon Ja—”

“Shut up!” Before he could finish, the leader sternly cut him off.

The young man seemed to realize that he had spoken too much, and he closed his mouth sheepishly.

“Have you all eaten your fill? If you have, then we are setting out.”

The group of merchants left the restaurant, took up the wagons loaded with goods once more, and quickly departed from Shuxia City.

Inside the restaurant, after the merchants had left, the man at the neighboring table coldly watched a waiter quietly slip out of the building, and the corner of his mouth slowly curled upward.

Inside the City Lord’s Manor, Liu Yi hurried to find Duanmu Lei.

“My lord, there is news of the Purple Moon Jade!” Liu Yi said excitedly.

“Oh? Is that true?!” Duanmu Lei’s expression shook, and his eyes lit up.

“Absolutely true!” Liu Yi nodded firmly, then recounted in full the news the waiter had brought back.

“My lord, judging from the guarded reaction of that merchant leader, what the young man said must be true.”

“So long as it is true, that is enough!” Duanmu Lei let out a savage laugh, then immediately wrote a letter and handed it to Liu Yi.

“Liu Yi, does Crimson Firmament Manor not want the position of the number one sect in the Shuxia Domain?”

“Take this letter to the Manor Lord of Crimson Firmament Manor. Once he reads it, he will naturally know what to do.”

“Yes.” Liu Yi smiled, took the letter, and hurried away.