Yan Tinglu understood his father’s words; he was preparing to play both sides, and he immediately felt troubled, "Father, is it really necessary to do this? Although His Highness Zhi Li has suffered a minor setback, his power is still ten times that of Suo Lun. Nine out of ten lords and nobles still stand on the side of His Highness Zhi Li."
"It’s not the thousands I fear, but the chance in ten thousand. Suo Lun is too cunning," Yan Wujie said, "In dealing with Suo Lun, we should still attack when we need to attack, slander when we need to slander, suppress when we need to suppress. Our illustrious Yan Clan has condescended to let a child of a concubine serve him; that is a great fortune for him, Suo Lun, and I believe he will see the signs and know his place."
It was just then that the voice of an old servant came from outside, "Prime Minister, Count Suo Lun has sent a gift."
"Just as we speak of Suo Lun, he really has sent a gift," Yan Wujie laughed, "Suo Lun is indeed superficial, seeking to ingratiate himself with me after gaining a bit of the upper hand. He’s overestimating himself; now is too early to be sending gifts to me, Yan Wujie. Let him take control of half the Rage Wave Kingdom first."
Yan Tinglu chuckled along a couple of times.
"Bring it in," Prime Minister Yan Wujie said.
Immediately, that old servant carried a delicately crafted box inside.
The box was inlaid with gold and jade, exquisitely crafted to the extreme, and its appearance alone indicated the gift inside was extremely precious.
Yan Wujie stroked his beard and said, "Open it, let us see what sort of gift the recently successful Count Suo Lun has offered as a tribute to me?"
The old servant joked, "If it’s not of extreme value, the next time the Suo sends a gift, the old servant will directly oust them."
Then, he opened the box with great care.
Upon seeing the gift inside, the faces of the three people present changed drastically.
The old servant cried out in shock, stumbling and nearly falling to the ground.
Inside the box, was the head of his nephew, Neishi Yanting Yi from Linhai City, preserved in niter so vividly that it was horrifically fierce, still with traces of black blood on it.
Despite being severed, it looked as ghastly as a fierce ghost.
Prime Minister Yan Wujie’s heart clenched violently, and he slumped into his chair, staring incredulously at the severed head in the box.
How could Suo Lun dare?
The Yan Clan is the number one scholarly family in the Rage Wave Kingdom, with members spread throughout the world, wielding immense influence over public opinion, able to call the wind and summon the rain.
If he wished to disgrace a person, in just a few days, he could make them detestable and the target of a thousand pointings.
If he wished to suppress a family, he just needed to spread the word, and no scholar would dare serve that family.
Even Zhi Li, upon meeting Yan Wujie, would bow respectfully every time, performing the ceremony due a younger brother to an elder.
To vie for the world, one must seek the support of the Yan Clan.
Suo Lun had actually dared to kill Yan Tingyi, thus completely severing any path of cooperation with the Yan Clan.
How could he dare? Was he truly so foolish?
Following that, Yan Tinglu noticed a piece of paper next to the head in the box, and upon opening it, his face turned pale.
The paper was scrawled with blood, reading: "Yan Wujie, you old thief, shut your mouth, or I’ll kill every last one of you!"
Seeing this murderous line, Yan Wujie felt his body turn cold, his scalp tingle, and an endless rage surge within him.
This line revealed how much Suo Lun scorned and despised Yan Wujie, the Prime Minister.
Yan Wujie had even haughtily claimed that Suo Lun wasn’t worthy of gifting him anything, wasn’t worthy of trying to buy the Prime Minister’s favor.
How presumptuous, Suo Lun had no intention of buying him out. In Yan Wujie’s eyes, the invaluable Yan Tingyi was simply killed by Suo Lun with a slice and the head sent as a gift.
"Outrageous, outrageous!" Yan Tinglu burst out furiously, "We must retaliate, we must retaliate; Suo Lun dares to kill a person of the Yan Clan? Ignorance knows no fear. We will make him pay a profound price! I’m going to see His Highness Zhi Li right now, to get justice for this."
With those words, Yan Tinglu stormed out furiously.
"Come back," Prime Minister Yan Wujie said, his face pale.
He had thought the Yan Clan, with their control over the world’s public opinion, would be a tremendous support to anyone they backed, a highly desired commodity. He fully expected Suo Lun to try and curry favor and ingratiate himself.
He had not anticipated that Suo Lun would be so cruelly decisive.
"From now on, stop the smear campaigns against Suo Lun, stop the slanders against the Suo," Yan Wujie said, "Stop suppressing the Suo in the world of officials, stop blocking the Suo’s trade in salt and Magic Mirrors. Especially regarding the killing of Zhi Wei, do not express any opinion."
Yan Tinglu exclaimed in shock, "Why? Are we, the illustrious Yan Clan, truly afraid of Suo Lun now?"
Yan Wujie closed his eyes and waved his hand, "Leave, I need to be alone!"
Yan Wujie was truly afraid!
If Suo Lun really won, today he dared to turn on the Yan Clan and kill Yan Tingyi, and tomorrow he would dare to slaughter the entire Yan Clan.
Since he was so narrow-minded, showing no genuine desire for wisdom or any intention to honor the virtuous, then Prime Minister Yan Wuji simply could not court death!
However, previously, Count Suo Lun had been very weak and easy to bully, which was why the Yan Clan had become so presumptuous. How had he suddenly become so uncompromising?
Duke Zhi Wei would kill at a word’s notice, and the descendants of the Yan Clan did the same, truly a chilling and frightening resolve.
Within BaiHuo City, the second largest feudal lord’s domain in the land!
Count Suo Lun’s maternal grandfather, the Lord of Baohuo City, Marquis FuE, looked at the secret letter in his hand, his face twitching repeatedly, unable to hide his shock.
How could this be possible?
Gui Xingfu defected from Zhi Li, siding with Suo Lun; Duke Zhi Wei’s army was completely annihilated, and his head was displayed publicly by Suo Lun; Duke Turing Tuo suffered a defeat in his first battle and has already retreated.
Zhi Li’s grand campaign to exterminate the Suo Family had been utterly crushed.
What was supposed to be a battle destined for destruction turned into a complete victory for Suo Lun. How was this possible?
Marquis FuE, with his shrewd gaze, immediately realized that after this battle, the balance of power between Zhi Yan and Zhi Li had reversed.
Next, Suo Lun would swiftly annex the Southeast Province.
With this, he would control two provinces, two feudal domains, nearly ten million citizens, and an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Although it seemed that this was still only one-fifth of Zhi Li’s power, with the forces still greatly imbalanced,
the fact was that these forces were squarely in Suo Lun’s hands. The powers behind Zhi Li, on the other hand, were indirect. The feudal lords and nobility who were loyal to Zhi Li today could just as easily switch their allegiance to Suo Lun tomorrow.
Zhi Li repeatedly attacked Tian Shui City the Su Family and was defeated each time.
In the future, Zhi Li would likely find no family, no feudal lord willing to send troops to eliminate Suo Lun.
Once Suo Lun completely swallowed the Southeast Province, he would in fact be in the ascendant!
Therefore, this battle completely changed the pattern within the Rage Wave Kingdom, even altering the destiny of the Rage Wave Kingdom.
Next, all the feudal lords and nobles in the world would have to choose sides again!
Originally, Zhi Yan’s victory would have been most beneficial to BaiHuo City’s the Fu Family, after all, they were Suo Lun’s maternal family.
But awkwardly, the relationship between the Fu Clan and the Suo Family was very cold, even exceptionally poor.
And most tragic of all, when the Suo Family faced annihilation, the Fu Clan not only did not help but also appeared to kick them while they were down.
Fu Qi went to fetch Fu Yan’er back home, and although Suo Ningbing pleaded with him to take Qin Qin as well, he coldly refused, even saying that the Suo Family had brought their doom upon themselves.
Qin Qin was the granddaughter of the Fu Clan, just a little girl of six, whom the Fu Clan did not lift a finger to save.
Moreover, when the Suo Family faced their downfall, Suo Lun’s and Suo Ning’s own mother, Fu Lingxi, did not even come home to take a look, let alone lift a hand to help.
Such a mother could no longer be described as merely cold-hearted.
Therefore, even though the Fu Clan was Suo Lun’s maternal family, they were probably seen as nothing less than enemies in his heart.
Now that Suo Lun had won a complete victory and might even ascend to dominion over the kingdom, Marquis FuE truly regretted his actions!
Faced with this situation, what was the Fu Clan to do?
With a sigh, Marquis FuE said, "Send a message to your sister, let her go to Tian Shui City. She is after all Suo Lun’s birth mother; blood is thicker than water. I believe she can ease the tension between the two sides."
Fu Xian’s face showed his discomfort, and he replied, "Yes."
Half an hour later, a fiery red flying bird, carrying the secret letter, flew towards Wangcheng Zidu!
Suo Lun’s birth mother, Fu Lingxi, left Zhen Du’s Divine Dragon Temple alone and rode toward Tian Shui City.
After more than a decade away from home, it was her first time returning to the Suo Family.
Note: The second update of four thousand words is here, seeking your support, thank you, everyone!