Chapter 660: First Volume_Chapter 660: The Last Three Days

First Volume_Chapter 660: The Last Three Days

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the Jingdu Yi Guan was incomparably solemn.

Ten-plus Northern Di Envoys were crammed into a single room, their faces terribly grim, none of them uttering a word.

Everyone understood clearly that, after this incident, the Northern Di Envoy Group had utterly lost face.

Let alone the Shedynasty officials handling the peace talks—even the common people no longer feared the Northern Di Envoy Group at all.

Now, even if the Northern Di Envoy Group wished to be tough, they no longer had the standing to be.

Losing the initiative meant the upcoming peace talks would be constrained at every turn.

No one knew how long had passed before the deathly silence in the room was finally broken by Lü Li's sharp shout.

"Outrageous!"

"Send word to Wang Du at once—mobilize the army, trample the Liang Kingdom's territory!"

"If this grudge is not avenged, I swear I am no man."

Lü Li had spent his entire life in officialdom and had never suffered such humiliation.

He wished he could hack Qin Feng into ten thousand pieces.

Han Yu beside him hurriedly stopped him: "My lord, you must not lose your head."

"We are now in the Liang Kingdom. As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot suppress the local snake—we must be cautious, doubly cautious."

"Our deaths would be a small matter, but if this severs the bridge of exchange between our two nations and brings the blade of war upon them again, how shall we answer the people of our great Di?"

Though Lü Li was aggressive, he was by no means a pure brute.

How could he fail to understand this reasoning?

It was simply that today he had been humiliated in the street by Qin Feng, losing all face, and now hearing Han Yu speak so timidly made his expression grow even uglier.

Han Yu had worked with Lü Li for many years and naturally knew Lü Li's temper.

Braving Lü Li's hostile gaze, he analyzed the current situation in a low voice.

"The string of military orders Qin Feng issued publicly today was no empty bluff."

"If the Liang Kingdom truly takes advantage of the moment to send troops, it will surely inflict heavy damage on our great Di."

"He who cannot endure small things ruins great plans. For now, the peace talks must take priority."

"As the saying goes, of two harms, choose the lesser."

"If we continue waging war against the Liang Kingdom, it will be a tremendous trial for our nation's military and people's livelihood alike."

"But once we sit at the negotiation table, even if we cannot recover every loss, we can at least buy our great Di time to recover and rebuild."

"Besides, the talks have not yet begun—how much in war reparations the Liang Kingdom will demand remains unknown."

"Even if we mean to tear off all pretense of civility, we should wait until we have probed the Liang Kingdom's bottom line, return to great Di, and only then send the army—it will not be too late."

Han Yu had already analyzed the situation completely.

Now, stillness was better than any move.

Rushing to showdown with the Liang Kingdom was by no means a rational course.

Lü Li lowered his head in thought, and after a long while, he largely accepted Han Yu's counsel.

Yet as a Pillar of the State, suffering such great humiliation was simply a hatred he could not swallow.

"Where is Chen Si?!"

Lü Li finally recalled that, ever since the envoy group had clashed with Qin Feng, Chen Si had not shown his face again.

Isn't that fellow supposed to be the great Di's First General?

Why has he suddenly vanished at a time like this?

Just as Lü Li fumed, Han Yu hurriedly lowered his voice and whispered a reminder.

"My lord, Chen Si is currently in contact with Qin Feng."

"Within the entire envoy group, only Chen Si can speak with Qin Feng."

"Using Chen Si to probe Qin Feng's cultivation channel will let us strike where it hurts."

Hearing this, the fury in Lü Li's heart finally subsided by half.

The several low-ranking officials present finally understood.

Ever since the news that Chen Si had befriended Qin Feng was sent back to Wang Du, many officials at the Imperial Court had been greatly outraged.

There were no few who even accused Chen Si of selling out the nation.

Only now did everyone realize that Chen Si's calling Qin Feng brother and sworn sibling had actually been the intent of the higher-ups.

Only in this way could the Northern Di Envoy Group maintain constant contact with the Liang Kingdom's officials in charge of the peace talks.

The importance of this channel of communication to the peace talks was self-evident.

……

On the second day after the Northern Di Envoy Group took up residence in Jingdu, the Liang Emperor finally issued a royal edict.

Three days from now, the peace talks would officially begin.

One would think that, with the two nations' peace talks imminent, such a great event would surely make the city bustling.

But the result was exactly the opposite.

The entire Jingdu was cold and quiet; even the usually gossipy commoners of the marketplace refused to speak of the matter.

It was as if the whole of Jingdu had long since come to an unspoken agreement.

To deliberately leave the Northern Di Envoy Group hanging.

At Mingyue Zhai, the small courtyard in the northwest corner had already been rebuilt.

Apart from two rooms, the entire courtyard had been cleared of all miscellaneous objects.

Beside the stone table at the center of the courtyard, Qin Feng was sprawled over it, a brush clamped between his lips, studying something.

Liu Hongyan and Xie Yun'er had already been secretly observing behind Qin Feng for quite a while.

Qin Feng, however, was completely unaware.

It was not until Liu Hongyan reached out and lightly slapped Qin Feng on the back.

That Qin Feng suddenly gave a violent start.

"Second Sister, scaring a person like that can scare them to death."

"Aren't you afraid I'll drop dead on the spot?"

Qin Feng was so startled his face went deathly pale; he kept patting his chest, putting on an exaggerated "this little one is so scared" look.

Seeing this, Liu Hongyan and Xie Yun'er simultaneously snickered.

If one hadn't seen it with one's own eyes, it would be hard to imagine.

That this timid-as-a-mouse fellow before them was the very same Shedynasty Young Master who had slaughtered Northern Di Envoy Group military officers on the street yesterday and publicly punished the Northern Di Pillar State.

Liu Hongyan, thoroughly amused, pointed at the pile of papers in front of Qin Feng.

"What are you tinkering with now?"

"The State Peace Talks are imminent, and you still have the leisure for this?"

Qin Feng picked up a thick stack of blueprints, held his head high, his face brimming with pride.

"This is a money tree!"

"Once it's made, it'll be Jinshan Yingshan, inexhaustible."

If these words had come from anyone else's mouth.

Liu Hongyan and Xie Yun'er would surely have thought the speaker had lost his mind.

But coming from Qin Feng's mouth, the situation was naturally different.

After all, who in all of Shedynasty didn't know of Qin Feng's ingenious craftsmanship?

White Sugar, glass, Candy, a miraculous healing powder — which of these wasn't considered a miracle?

It could be said that the Qin Family's present wealth was entirely thanks to Qin Feng.

Xie Yun'er was not even the least bit interested in the blueprints in Qin Feng's hand.

"What on earth is this?"

"Don't keep us in suspense, speak quickly."

Qin Feng picked up the topmost blueprint and held it out to Xie Yun'er.

He explained without reservation: "This is the future of Beixi County's commerce."

"I call this thing a distiller."

"It can turn ordinary turbid Alcohol into fifty-degree Alcohol clear as white water."

At these words, Xie Yun'er and Liu Hongyan couldn't help exchanging glances.

They knew full well that Qin Feng was skilled in ingenious craftsmanship and could always perform the Technique of Turning Decay into Wonder.

But turning turbid Alcohol into fifty-degree Alcohol — this was simply too… preposterous!

As for making turbid Alcohol clear as white water.

That was even more unthinkable.

Xie Yun'er stared at the blueprint for a few glances, truly couldn't make head or tail of it, and simply handed it back to Qin Feng.

"Do you know how many times the most precious tribute wine must be filtered through thatch grass?"

"A full five times, and even so, it can by no means be called clear as white water."

"Qin Feng, even if you truly can perform the Technique of Turning Decay into Wonder."

"The cost of producing one sheng of white liquor would surely be astronomical — where would the profit be?"