Chapter 503

Wu Tie stood before Princess Jing Sheng and talked at length.

"Your Highness Jing Sheng, I have two matters that must be explained to you."

"First, the Great Wu army presses the border; Great Jin faces all-out war. As a princess of Great Jin, in Jade Prefecture so close to the imperial capital, you hide an army… I dare ask, Princess, do you intend to seize the throne and become the God Emperor?"

Princess Jing Sheng's face turned ashen.

Ma Xiangru and the others' faces changed drastically; a man behind Ma Xiangru shouted angrily: "Nonsense! Those private troops… no, guards… they are merely the guards hired by the wealthy clans of Jade Prefecture to defend their estates and escort their merchant caravans."

This man, Du Song, wearing a light purple robe, is clearly a second-rank minister; from the pattern on his waist sash, he is the Vice Hall Master of the Great Jin Punishment Hall. And the Great Jin Punishment Hall, which has the authority to apprehend bandits and pacify localities, also oversees the private guards of the numerous wealthy clans of Great Jin.

"The guards of every household in Jade Prefecture are registered and filed with the Ministry of Punishment, making them lawful guards." Du Song said coldly: "The charge of 'hiding an army' that carries the death penalty—do not speak of it recklessly, Lord of Jade Prefecture."

Wu Tie said coldly: "Whether it's baseless slander depends on what His Majesty thinks and what the court officials think. Heh, even if those 170,000 warships were merely the guards of each household… Your Highness Jing Sheng, with a casual remark, you could summon them to attack the prefectural city."

Wu Tie stared fixedly at Princess Jing Sheng: "How is this conduct any different from rebellion?"

Wu Tie then turned to Du Song: "Sir, you belong to the Punishment Hall, right? Can you guarantee that these guards will not one day suddenly gather and attack Peaceful Sun City? Can you vouch for them?"

Du Song tightly shut his mouth.

They are all Princess Jing Sheng's people; in Jade Prefecture, they have colluded with a group of powerful clans to profit for themselves.

They never expected that merely summoning them would cause these powerful clans to join forces against the Lord of Jade Prefecture to protect their interests… yet they never imagined things could escalate to this extent.

170,000 warships!

Even if they are not standard military warships but privately modified civilian airships… this number is terrifyingly huge.

What's more deadly is that Jade Prefecture is so close to Peaceful Sun City. Even without using a spatial gate, the mere 80,000-li distance allows a fleet of airships to arrive in less than half a day; this force indeed poses a tremendous threat to Peaceful Sun City.

How many regular troops are normally stationed in Peaceful Sun City?

Just thinking about it is terrifying!

Du Song's body trembled slightly; cold sweat broke out on his back, quickly soaking his clothes. He stepped back two paces, unable to meet Wu Tie's gaze, and suddenly regretted bitterly—how had he been drawn into this villainous scheme by Princess Jing Sheng?

Immediately afterward, Du Song saw that the backs of Ma Xiangru and the several others standing before him were also drenched in sweat.

The dozen or so talented youths from the Great Jin court present usually associate with only three to five, or seven to eight, of Jade Prefecture's powerful clans, and they have some understanding of the backgrounds of those clans they are close to.

They estimated that the powerful clans they had allied with could each produce dozens of airship warships at once, which was already remarkable.

The powerful clans allied with those dozen or so individuals, when combined, could muster tens of thousands of warships—enough to wipe out the retainers of the Lord of Jade Prefecture.

They did not expect that every wealthy clan household had laid an ambush, each possessing more warships than apparent; they also did not expect that the powerful clans allied with Princess Jing Sheng were more numerous than the combined total of their own allies.

Four hundred twenty-five powerful clans together produced exactly 170,000 warships!

Deadly!

Princess Jing Sheng's face turned ashen, and she remained silent.

Ma Xiangru and the others were drenched in sweat and could not speak.

They suddenly realized they seemed to have blown things out of proportion.

"If you accept the first matter, then we have room to discuss the second." Wu Tie chuckled, looking at Princess Jing Sheng: "I can overlook what Your Highness and the various officials have done, after all… wealth is hard to relinquish; you all have great interests in Jade Prefecture, and I want to take them back—your joint resistance is only natural."

"So I can pretend the Jade Prefecture affair never happened… I could even memorialize the Emperor, claiming those 170,000 warships and their countless 'guards'… Everyone knows deep down they are actually private troops!"

"Those warships and their guards, I can publicly declare were conscripted by my order to form a new Jade Prefecture Army." Wu Tie said with a smile: "From now on, turning illegality into legality, your greatest offense will be wiped away… after all, they will henceforth be my people—do you agree?"

Ma Xiangru and the others exhaled in relief; Ma Xiangru stepped forward and bowed deeply to Wu Tie: "Lord of Jade Prefecture, your kindness—this is acceptable."

All of Princess Jing Sheng's retainers exhaled and bowed deeply to Wu Tie.

If Wu Tie really were a loudmouth, shouting all over Peaceful Sun City that Princess Jing Sheng colluded with a group of officials to plot treason, raising private troops in Jade Prefecture to launch a surprise attack on Peaceful Sun City… even accusing them of colluding with Great Wu to overthrow Great Jin, they would all die!

Wu Tie promised to retract his words, suppress and smooth over the matter; without doubt, this saved everyone's lives.

Not speaking of saving lives, at the very least it rescued the futures of Ma Xiangru and the others.

"This duke has paid so much; then the second matter can now be discussed." Wu Tie murmured: "The four hundred twenty-five noble households, all their servants, guards, maidservants, and so on, naturally belong to this duke."

"All their property, their land—whether mountains and forests, farmland, pastures, mines, or fisheries and meadows, even their manors, residences, chambers of commerce, and shops—are all now this duke's; do you all agree?"

Princess Jing Sheng's eyes flashed with a mad light; she let out a hysterical scream: "Impossible! That's all my money!"

Wu Tie swayed the Divine Emperor's Decree in his hand: "Then, this duke will apprehend Your Highness on charges of plotting treason and scheming rebellion; is that acceptable?"

Princess Jing Sheng's roar cut off abruptly; she stared blankly at Wu Tie, her body trembling violently. Her eyeballs quickly filled with blood, turning red, like a rabid she-wolf, fiercely glaring at Wu Tie.

"Their property, this duke accepts with a smile." Wu Tie said calmly: "But their people, the clan members of the four hundred twenty-five noble households, this duke does not want."

"Those servants, maidservants, and guards can serve as this duke's servants, maidservants, and guards; but those noble clan members… after some thought, this duke sincerely does not need them."

"Those who are foolish enough, following your orders, to rally large private armies to besiege Yuzhou City… such foolish families, their clan members—I don't want a single one. So, with clear pricing, I ask Princess Jing Sheng and all the esteemed adults to buy them back."

Wu Tie chuckled as he looked at Princess Jing Sheng, then at Ma Xiangru and the others: "The four hundred twenty-five noble households, their direct and branch clan members number nearly 1.2 million… Let's settle the accounts: you all produce 120 Heavenly Dao divine weapons, each corresponding to different Grand Dao principles… then they will be yours."

Wu Tie said calmly: "Otherwise, if they remain in this duke's hands, under severe torture they might utter some testimony unfavorable to Your Highness and the esteemed adults; then don't blame this duke…"

Wu Tie swayed the Divine Emperor's Decree in his hand again.

The Divine Emperor's Decree, as if the Emperor himself were present.

Wu Tie holding the Divine Emperor's Decree, even if he were to capture and slay Ma Xiangru and the others on the spot, that would be permissible.

Of course, after capturing and slaying Ma Xiangru and the others, whether Wu Tie could withstand the backlash from Gongyang Sanlü and the Da Jin civil officials' system is another matter; but at the very least, from a legal standpoint, Wu Tie could certainly take some action against Ma Xiangru and the others.

Legally, reasonably, lawfully, Wu Tie can certainly do this.

Especially, if Wu Tie were to obtain from those four hundred twenty-five noble households some testimony or evidence detrimental to Princess Jing Sheng and Ma Xiangru and the others… that is obvious; Princess Jing Chen and Ma Xiangru and the others could not possibly avoid doing some shady deeds.

Some things cannot withstand investigation.

Before, it was merely that no one investigated.

But Wu Tie, holding the Divine Emperor's Decree, can investigate openly and justifiably.

Once uncovered… Ma Xiangru and the others are of humble origins, they are talented youths, so their foundations are shallow; they cannot withstand too harsh a storm.

Ma Xiangru and the others looked pitifully at Princess Jing Sheng.

Their weakness has been seized.

They can only beg Princess Jing Sheng to decide.

Especially, Jade Prefecture is merely one of the over a hundred core great prefectures surrounding Peaceful Sun City…… Their interests are not limited to Jade Prefecture; they also have vast interests in other prefectures.

There's no need to really fight Wu Tie to the death over a single Jade Prefecture.

Princess Jingcheng suddenly laughed, regaining her proper allure, like a great red peony, bewitching enough to topple a nation; she smiled and lightly leaned against the soft couch: 'Lord of Jade Prefecture, your words are reasonable and well-founded, you have the right of it—what else can I say?'

Everything will be as Lord of Jade Prefecture says, alright?

Heh, this incident is merely a slight misunderstanding; Lord of Jade Prefecture won't hold it against you, right?

In the future, Lord of Jade Prefecture, when you have time, you can come to my place to sit, visit often…… I will sweep the mat and await you.

Princess Jingcheng threw a flirtatious glance at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie smiled at Princess Jingcheng, not taking her flirtatious glance seriously. Compared to Princess Jingcheng, who exuded mature, even consummate charm, Wu Tie still preferred the budding, about-to-bloom aura of Pei Feng, Bai Ying, Zhu Hui, and Min Long.

With a faint smile, Wu Tie said calmly: 'Then it's settled, well, I have already drafted a contract on my way here; come, come, let's sign the contract quickly, to avoid trouble later!'

'Princess Jingcheng, from now on, Jade Prefecture will be my private domain…… I also ask you all not to reach out any further.' Wu Tie said with a meaningful smile toward Princess Jingcheng and Ma Xiangru and the others.

Princess Jingcheng's smiling face was like a flower.

Ma Xiangru and the others wore smiles all over their faces.

Wu Tie also laughed exceptionally brightly.

After everyone signed the contract drafted by Wu Tie, Wu Tie, satisfied, led the Five Element Spirits away from Nine Bend Creek Hall.

After Wu Tie had left for a long, long time, Princess Jingcheng suddenly flew into a rage, slapped Ma Xiangru across the face, then kicked him off the platform, sending him headfirst into Nine Bend Creek.

Princess Jingcheng, face dark, also gave Du Song and the others each a slap that sent them into Nine Bend Creek; then she smiled enchantingly, with an incomparably charming smile, leisurely leading a group of silent-as-hibernating-cicadas little eunuchs and palace maids outward.

'This time, I have learned a lesson…… Heh, Ma Xiangru, Du Song, you too must remember how we have suffered such utter humiliation today!' Princess Jingcheng said leisurely: 'This debt…… we will settle it slowly. One hundred twenty Heavenly Dao Divine Weapons, hurry and send them to the Lord of Jade Prefecture; we must absolutely not delay.'

Ma Xiangru and the others had grim faces and remained silent.

Heavenly Dao Divine Weapons, one hundred twenty pieces…… and they must be one hundred twenty Heavenly Dao Divine Weapons each of different Heavenly Dao principles.

From Princess Jingcheng to these dozen or so court officials, and further to the many great clans they colluded with, all suffered severe damage to their vital energy, severely damaged!

Wu Tie's this bamboo pole extortion was too harsh, too harsh.

But not giving it would really not do!

If Princess Jingcheng truly does not redeem the members of those four hundred twenty-five great clans, Wu Tie obtaining unfavorable testimony against her from them would be nothing…… If Princess Jingcheng does not rescue them, and Wu Tie really does whatever to them, how will Princess Jingcheng in the future win over newcomers?

Moreover, with so many great clans and civil and military officials surrounding Princess Jingcheng nowadays…… If Princess Jingcheng does not care about the life or death of those four hundred twenty-five great clans of Jade Prefecture, the people around her will inevitably feel grief at the loss of allies, and will inevitably become alienated from her.

'Lord of Jade Prefecture……' Ma Xiangru remained silent for a long time, then slowly climbed onto the platform and said coldly: 'We have a long future ahead.'

Princess Jingcheng's gold-inlaid, jade-embellished phoenix palanquin emerged from Nine Bend Creek Hall; dozens of guards mounted their steeds and quickly surrounded the palanquin.

Princess Jingcheng was in a bad mood; she glanced at the tightly packed guards all around, shouted at them, drove them away, and had them follow far behind the phoenix palanquin at a distance of over a hundred zhang.

This is Peaceful Sun City, the imperial capital of Great Jin; could anyone dare to openly assault her, the present most favored princess?

Only, only the Lord of Jade Prefecture, that scoundrel Huo Xiong, would dare to treat Princess Jingcheng this way, right?

Thinking of Huo Xiong's unswayable face, Princess Jingcheng gritted her teeth in hatred, her body trembling slightly; she fiercely glared at the few little eunuchs and palace maids attending the phoenix palanquin, frightening them into trembling and kneeling in the carriage, not daring to move.

'You……' Princess Jingcheng was about to scold when suddenly a loud bang came, a carriage burst out from a side street and slammed into her phoenix palanquin.

The phoenix palanquin was extraordinarily sturdy, further protected by array wards, and suffered no damage at all.

But the repressed anger in Princess Jingcheng's heart suddenly erupted; her eyes blazing, she lifted the curtain and angrily stared at the ordinary lacquered small carriage that had struck her.

Inside the carriage, two girls were screaming in panic.

Behind them, the guards of Princess Jingcheng's mansion rushed forward like wolves and tigers; the captain of the guards seized the two girls' hair and dragged them out of the carriage.

The driver, to everyone's surprise, was a middle-aged female servant.

The troublemaker, her face stiff, kept muttering: 'We are from Solitary Moon Residence, we are from Solitary Moon Residence…… Our master is the Director of the Ritual Palace's Music Bureau of the current court…'

Princess Jingcheng pursed her lips and smiled: 'Oh, Director of the Ritual Palace's Music Bureau, what a big official…… I'm so scared!'

'Beat them, beat them to death!'

Princess Jingcheng gave the two girls dragged from the carriage a complex look, slowly pointed a finger, and said: 'I hate their shifty eyes…… dig them out for me!'