Chapter 264
Chapter 264
In the capital, the Marquis of Zhenyuan's estate.
Just as the Jin Clan owned a separate villa in the capital, the Su Clan also had their marquisate in Zhenyuan City and a villa in the capital. Moreover, the villa in the capital was a direct gift from the King, spanning over a hundred acres. This alone showed how highly the King regarded this old fox.
Marquis Su Nan was a man of ill repute. Many nobles considered him a disgrace to the old aristocracy, believing he pandered to the King without any principles or convictions of his own.
'If you hadn't surrendered to the King, would the league of old aristocrats have become like scattered sand, unable to unite? Would we all have been so miserably tormented by the King? Now that the Count of Xuanwu's Estate has stepped forward, things are different. The Jin Clan not only withstood Zhang Chong's assault and survived the blades of the new government, but they also seized Raging Tide City. Now that the situation has stabilized, they've used this opportunity to grow their power and rise up, saving face for us old aristocrats.
What's more, I hear the Count of Xuanwu is soon to be enfeoffed as a marquis. The old aristocrats now have a new center, a new pillar. Let's all move quickly, form a league of nobles, and resist the King. From now on, the Jin Clan is our new leader.'
This was no joke; many old aristocrats were secretly trying to push the Jin Clan into the position of the new head of the nobility. Upon hearing such talk, Su Nan scoffed at them.
“Push them, go on, push the Jin Clan into that position! In the State of Yue, the more you stand out, the faster you die.”
He sat before a large mirror while a peerless beauty dyed his hair. The large mirror had been purchased for a hefty sum. Several months after the Heavenly Path Society had auctioned off mirrors, every influential and powerful family had acquired one for their home. It had reached the point where a household without a mirror could hardly be considered part of the upper-class nobility.
But why was Su Nan dyeing his hair? While most people dyed their gray hair black, he was doing the opposite—dyeing his black hair white. It was to make himself look older. After a long time of this, everyone thought Marquis Su Nan was growing older by the day, and their wariness of him lessened slightly.
In truth, he was only sixty years old this year. For a martial arts master of his caliber, such an age was merely middle age. Furthermore, his martial arts and physical abilities were so formidable that his hair grew too quickly, forcing him to dye it white periodically. Because of this, he had earned the nickname 'White-Haired Su'.
Su Jianting said.
“Tonight, Shen Lang had an audience with His Majesty the King, and that vile wretch openly declared he would destroy our Su Clan.”
The Su Clan was a major power, and with Consort Su favored in the palace, Shen Lang's words about them were bound to spread quickly. White-Haired Su laughed, "Haha," and then spoke.
“He said that as a means of self-preservation. Originally, both the Crown Prince and the Third Prince intended to deal with him, but now that Shen Lang has declared war on us, Their Highnesses will likely leave him alone and watch the fight from the sidelines.”
Su Jianting said.
“Then both princes will want our clan's support, won't they?”
“Our Su Clan has already achieved extreme wealth and status; there is no need to side with anyone. We must always remember the lesson from twenty-odd years ago.”
White-Haired Su was referring to how the previous Marquis Su, unable to restrain himself during the struggle for the throne, had decided at the last minute to support Ning Yuanwu. However, due to the sudden variable of the Bianwu Incident, Crown Prince Ning Yuanxian ascended the throne. As a result, a great disaster nearly befell the Su Clan.
“Every time I recall that event, I am filled with immense fear. We should be thankful to the Jin Clan. Had they not dragged their feet and delayed their answer, our Su Clan would have faced a great catastrophe. Therefore, from now on, our Su Clan will not align with any particular prince! We will firmly support His Majesty the King, and whoever ascends the throne, we will support them.”
“Yes!”
Marquis Su Nan slapped the chair he was sitting on.
*Slap!*
The chair moved when he hit it. What? Why could the chair move? The chair he was sitting on was a human chair. Or more precisely, a person was acting as a chair. A beautiful woman was kneeling on the floor, forming the shape of a chair. Su Nan sat on her waist, using her raised, full-moon-like buttocks as armrests. Yes, his extravagance had reached the point of perversion.
Everyone knew Su Nan enjoyed the company of women, and they ridiculed him for it. Nearly every month, the Censorate received memorials impeaching him. They accused Su Nan of living a life of unrestrained luxury and being corrupt beyond measure. The King often reprimanded him, but he never changed, maintaining his nature of daily extravagance and womanizing.
Consequently, many people cursed and mocked him, saying, 'Marquis Su Nan, didn't you age so quickly because you overindulged with women?' To this, Marquis Su Nan would reply that human life is finite, so one must seize the day and enjoy it. He would retort, 'What's so strange about wanting to sleep with a beautiful woman? It's a chronic ailment of men.'
In truth, however, unbeknownst to anyone, Marquis Su Nan was dedicated to the art of life nourishment. He adhered to the principle of sleeping with a woman only once every five days and never greedily indulged in pleasure. To appear old, he not only dyed his hair white but also walked with a stoop and even managed to create wrinkles. Life is like a play, and one must act with all one's heart. Marquis Su Nan was truly a master of the dramatic arts.
Su Jianting said.
“Father, today before the King, Shen Lang mentioned the incident where I led warriors to attack the Count of Xuanwu's Estate.”
“Did the King ask for details?”
“No, he ignored him.”
Su Nan shook his head.
“That's strange. Even if the King didn't ask for details, he is likely suspicious. Are you certain you burned that secret letter?”
“I burned it myself, so I am certain. That day, Su Peipei was cornered and had no choice but to hand over the secret letter.”
“We must devise a way to dispel the King's suspicions.”
Then, Su Nan unconsciously slapped down on the beauty-chair he was sitting on. He was a martial artist, and an extremely powerful one at that. So, even an accidental blow, if not perfectly controlled, would be excruciatingly painful. The beauty acting as his chair grit her teeth in pain but dared not make a sound or shed a tear.
“Take some gold and find a few censors. Tell them to submit a memorial impeaching me.”
Su Jianting asked.
“On what charges this time? Still for unrestrained luxury?”
“No. Make the charges more severe this time. Say that I have no regard for the law of the land, that I sent masters to ambush the Count of Xuanwu's Estate and slaughtered hundreds of the Jin Clan's innocent servants. Say that I went on a rampage and tried to assassinate my own sister, Su Peipei.”
Su Jianting asked, greatly surprised.
“Why?”
“With matters like this, it's better to expose them yourself than to let others do it. That way, you seize the initiative and control public opinion. The way to turn a true incident into a lie is to exaggerate it, blow it up to the point where it sounds absurd to anyone who hears it. Then no one will believe it.”
“Understood!”
“Have you made preparations for Jin Mucong?”
“Preparations were made long ago. We've had him under surveillance since he entered the capital.”
“The King is preparing to enfeoff Jin Zhuo as the Marquis of Raging Tide. Let's spoil that a little.”
“Yes! But as for the Fifth Prince, Ning Zheng…”
“Don't worry about that stutterer.”
***
Inside the Jin Clan's villa.
Princess Ning Yan exposed her pale, slender waist. Just as Shen Lang had said, her waist was quite fine. It was slender yet appeared full of power; a single twist of her hips could surely make a man throw off his helmet and armor in panic.
Shen Lang, however, remained completely still as he looked at Princess Ning Yan's waist. He wasn't being lecherous; he was scanning her waist with his X-ray vision, searching for the location of the stones. Modern people love carbonated drinks, so their chances of developing stones were very high.
“Your Highness the Third Princess, are you fond of eating meat?”
“Yes, there's hardly any meat I don't like.”
Eating too much meat also increases the risk of developing stones. But it was also because she ate a lot of meat that Princess Ning Yan's body was so firm, muscular, and toned.
“Do you also enjoy drinking strong tea?”
“Strong tea helps me stay alert.”
Shen Lang was surprised.
‘You don't even use your brain, what do you need to be alert for?’
“What do you do at night that requires you to be alert?”
“I read.”
Shen Lang was startled. He had done a relatively thorough investigation of Princess Ning Yan and knew that this warrior woman enjoyed reading books about fighting and killing. Her favorite book was *The Tale of Dongli*, which she had read more than twenty times. Now, she was obsessed with *Battle Through the Heavens: Boundless Wind and Moon*. As he spoke, Shen Lang used a brush to make marks on Princess Ning Yan's waist. Each mark indicated the location of a large stone.
“Shen Lang, did you write *The Golden L_tus: Boundless Wind and Moon*?
“Yes.”
“What kind of trash did you write? It was absolute garbage.”
Hearing this, Grand Princess Ning Jie, who was beside them, lowered her eyelids. Princess Ning Yan asked.
“Master, have you read *Battle Through the Heavens: Boundless Wind and Moon*, the one I recommended?”
Grand Princess Ning Jie said in a firm voice.
“Do not call me Master.”
“Then, Aunt, have you read it?”
“I have!”
“It's great, isn't it? It's the most interesting book I've ever read. Even better than *The Tale of Dongli*.”
“Yes, it was quite decent.”
“Decent? Does that mean it was just okay, that you didn't like it? It seems no one has the taste to appreciate such a good book.”
Then, Princess Ning Yan asked Shen Lang.
“Shen Lang, did Jin Mucong write *Battle Through the Heavens*?”
“He did.”
“Tell him to hurry up and write the second volume. If I don't get to read the second volume within a month, I will beat him to a pulp. I've read the first volume so many times I've practically memorized it.”
“I will tell him to write it as quickly as possible.”
Shen Lang broke into a cold sweat. This was the most violent demand for a manuscript Shen Lang had ever experienced.
“Your Highness the Third Princess, why didn't you send someone to press Jin Mucong yourself?”
“He's too ugly to be the author of this book. I'm afraid I'll lose control and kill him if I see him.”
‘Damn! It's a good thing I'm handsome. That's how I've managed to survive meeting such a violent reader.’