Chapter 777 - Gains and Losses
Chapter 777 of "Red Heart Patrols the Sky" starts here: âWe had an agreement beforehand, we clearly had an agreement.Hundreds of people depend on the... Discover what happens next!
âWe had an agreement beforehand, we clearly had an agreement.Hundreds of people depend on the business for their livelihood!
How can you just go back on your word!â
âThe way the Hou Mansion changes its commands at will, how can it command respect!â
âBy bullying people like this, does Lord Wei Ning know?!â
âLord Jiao, Lord Jiao, please donât do this, donât do this.
If I have done anything wrong, please tell me, and I will correct it, I will apologize, Iâm kneeling down for you!
Will that do?â
Bang!
The pleading person was kicked far away and rolled several times on the ground before coming to a stop.
Still muttering in pain, he said, âYou canât do this, you canât do thisâŚâ
âGet lost!â A robust man, dressed in a guardâs attire, stood in front of the Hou Mansion, likely one of the Domestic Soldiers raised by the mansion, and he pointed his finger menacingly at the person, his voice fierce: âCause any more trouble, and Iâll kill your entire family!â
The pleas ceased abruptly, and the person on the ground, after enduring the pain, slowly got up and walked away.
Jiang Wang watched from a distance and recognized the man.
During the birthday banquet in the inner courtyard, when the Duke of Martial Arts suddenly visited, everyone stood up to greet him, and some guests even rushed out to meet him eagerlyâthis man was one of them.
This action must have offended the Wei Ning Marquis Mansion, causing whatever deal that had been struck to fall apart.
Details of the matter were unknown, but evidently, it was a matter of life and death for this manâs trading company.
However, for the wealthy and powerful Wei Ning Marquis Mansion, it might have been as insignificant as chasing away a stray dog, utterly trivial and inconsequential.
Without uttering a single word, Jiang Wang silently moved further into the night.
Can one say that the man who was driven away got what he deserved?
Can one say he was foolish for not seeing the situation clearly?
He represented a company that supported hundreds, and to most people, he would be considered someone with a small fortune.
But in front of two distinguished dukes, did he amount to anything at all?
When suddenly hearing the name of the Duke of Martial Arts, could he have done anything other than scramble to greet him?
The Wei Ning Marquis Mansion pressured him over such a trivial matter.
The threatening robust man must be one of Wei Ning Marquis Mansionâs Domestic Soldiers.
Jiang Wang could tell that the threat of âkilling your whole familyâ was not an empty scare but a very real threat with intent to kill.
Just by seeing the frightened man, one could tell the persuasive power of those words.
Can any random person from the Wei Ning Marquis Mansion threaten to kill an entire family on a whim?
From this incident, itâs clear that, to the Wei Ning Marquis Mansion, the laws of Yong Country are nothing but a joke!
A power that cannot uphold its own rules is chaotic, frightening, and unstable.
This holds true for countries as well as sects.
Jiang Wang then thought of Feng Yue bringing lavish gifts to apologize and celebrate a birthday, only to be detained all of a sudden.
He had no particular feelings for Feng Yue, nor did he understand his character or integrity.
But solely based on this incident, Green Cloud Pavilion, the strongest sect in the territory of Shun An Prefecture, was implicated and framed by Wei Ning Marquis Mansion with ease.
They didnât even bother to come up with a decent reason or, crudely put, fabricate any evidence!
Thinking back to the time at Chi Yun Mountain, at the historical sanctuary of Green Cloud Pavilion, Jiao Xiong simply joined and even took a leading role.
Regardless of what happened behind the scenes, on the surface, Chi Yue still had to greet Jiao Xiong with all due respect, even though Chi Yueâs true strength clearly surpassed Jiao Xiongâs!
Green Cloud Pavilion is no pushover in Shun An Prefecture, even having a renowned reputation, yet it faced such oppression.
The situation for others, for other forces, can only be imagined.
The disdain Wei Ning Marquis held for Yong Countryâs law had permeated to the bone.
Itâs like Yong Country had just suffered a defeat and had only just emerged from the threat of destruction, and yet, the birthday banquet of Wei Ning was so extravagantly ostentatious.
Itâs not that Yong Country lacked the money, nor that Wei Ning needed to tighten his belt, but at such a critical time, shouldnât one of the most powerful people in Yong Country set an example and share the burden?
Even a callous person like Zhuang Gaoxian managed to be frugal and has not added a single tile to the palace since he took the throne.
In the end, Jiao Wu wouldnât even bother with maintaining appearances.
All these are not attitudes formed overnight but habits accumulated over the years, the historical malpractice.
This is not only Jiao Wuâs problem.
The issue isnât why Jiao Wu is like this but why he can be like this.
At this moment, watching everything, Jiang Wang suddenly understood why Han Xu wanted to reform the court.
Why, just after crawling out from the crisis of national extinction, he initiated such intense reforms.
The old Yong Country was frankly rotten to the core.
This nation with a long history had been decaying throughout its long past.
Beneath its glamorous surface, it was corrupt and fragile.
As long as Han Yin remained in power, Yong Country would continue to slip deeper into that bottomless abyss each day.
Upon realizing this, Jiang Wang suddenly widened his perspective.
Many things that were once unclear to him suddenly became crystal clear.
Viewing the big picture of Yongâs political reform, everything gained a new explanation.
The birthday banquet of Jiao Wu, Mo Jingyuâs visitâit could perhaps be seen as the old guard of Yong Country trying to win over Mo Gate.
And from Mo Gateâs standpoint, it might be that another faction within Mo Gate, unhappy with Han Xu, sent an invitation to Yong Countryâs conservative forces.
The sudden visit of the Duke of Martial Arts was to break this connection.
The war had ended, and any calculations could have been made earlier, but Han Xu held back, only revealing Reef Kingdomâs spies today.
The confrontation at the birthday feast represented the Duke of Martial Arts, Xue Mingyi, representing Lord Han Xu of Yong to pressure Jiao Wu, the Marquis of Weining.
Consequently, Jiao Wu had no choice but to make a stance and clarify his position.
Without doing so, he would hardly escape the accusation of treason.
The stance of the Marquis of Weining meant a clear-cut separation from the forces opposing Han Xu in Mo Gate.
Perhaps this was why Mo Jingyu later appeared to lose interest.
His trip had been in vain.
As for Jiao Wu detaining Feng Yue later on, maybe he was venting his anger, maybe it was just a continuation of his previous plan, or maybeâŚ
he wanted to grab one last benefit before the political overhaul was fully realized.
The information obtained from the Marquis of Weiningâs residence was insufficient to make an accurate judgment.
However, no matter what the reason, his appetite would be astonishing.
Fortunately, Jiang Wang had already made the risks clear to Feng Ming beforehand.
If the man was clever enough, he would know what to do.
Even if he did not understand or was reluctant, Jiang Wang had nothing to lose.
He was just a bystander to the fire across the river.
Whether it would be a glorious or tragic event, it was someone elseâs affair.
Of course, the better Feng Yueâs situation was, the more convenience Jiang Wang would have by connecting with this line.
Therefore, it was best that Feng Ming was a bit more intelligent.
The night passed by quietly.
At the crack of dawn, a massive caravan approached from a distance, like a long snake slowly moving closer, gradually nearing the Marquis of Weiningâs residence.
The deeply impressed wheel ruts alone revealed how much the carriages were carrying.
Feng Ming rode a large, tall horse at the very front of the caravan.
In just half a night, he had become much more haggard, exhibiting a tiredness that should not appear on a Transcendent cultivator, impossible to hide.
Yet, perhaps because he had accomplished something significant, his eyes were exceptionally bright.
He glanced at Jiang Wang by the roadside, exchanged a look to confirm there were no unexpected changes, then leaped down from his horse with strides to stand under the plaque of the Marquis of Weiningâs residence and knocked on the door.
His footsteps were firm, his hand steady.
It showed his determination was set.
The ever-informed Manager Jiao appropriately opened the gate at this time, looking at Feng Ming with some surprise: âWhat is this about?â
The Feng Ming of today bowed deeply, a stark contrast to the furious and proud person of the day before.
His voice was loud and sincere: âIt has come to our attention that spies from the Reef Kingdom have sown chaos in the Marquis of Weiningâs residence, and the people of Shunâan County deeply despise it!
Although Green Cloud Pavilion is small and of modest wealth, we also possess patriotic hearts.
My father Feng Yue, as the guardian of Green Cloud Pavilion, has received the Emperorâs grace and benefits the country.
We are willing to disperse all our wealth to assist your lordship in deploying troops against the Reef Kingdom, to stabilize the Western Territory of Great Yong!â
Whether these words were his own or had been polished by someone else, they were spoken with passion and sincerity.
Manager Jiao gazed deeply at him, the previous contempt now gone.
âYoung Master Feng, please wait a moment while I go and notify my lord,â he said before turning back into the residence.
The principle that âlosing people is losing ground, but saving people is saving everythingâ is known by many, but not everyone has the courage to give away all their wealth.
Just based on todayâs occurrence, Feng Mingâs esteem in his heart had significantly changed.
The Marquis of Weiningâs residence, like a giant beast with a gaping maw, swallowed the wealth carried by the entire lengthy caravan, ingesting the Feng familyâs assets completely, yet ultimately only spitting out Feng Yue.
In the past history, beneath Yong Countryâs lavish facade, how many such beasts quietly gnawed at the nationâs flesh?
Those at the top of the country couldnât possibly fail to see or understand.
Each of them was deeply mired in it.
But Han Yin didnât care, Han Xu could not bear it.
Yong Country might be reborn from the flames, or it might collapse mid-sickness.
Until that exact moment came, nobody could be sure.
Perhaps national issues couldnât be assessed with simple right and wrong, perhaps any decision could be supported and rationalized.
But maybe, right and wrong lie in everyoneâs hearts.
It might be simple, but itâs not insubstantial.
Just think about it, and one can imagine how agonizing that night must have been for Feng Yue.
The smarter the person, the more agonizing it is.
Oneâs life and death completely in othersâ hands, detained without autonomy, awaiting fateâs arrival.
That sort of pain could almost drive a person mad.
But at that moment, Feng Yue, walking out of the Marquisâ residence, was full of energy, all smiles, treating Manager Jiao like a brother, bidding farewell warmly as if he had merely been kindly asked to stay the night by the Marquisâ residence.
His wealth accumulated over half a lifetime passed by like a fleeting breeze.
Just for this ability to maintain composure alone, Feng Ming still had decades to learn.
The doors of the Marquisâ residence closed slowly, and Feng Ming stepped forward to greet his father.
Jiang Wang followed quietly; it was now the time to be at the core by the Feng familyâs side, and of course, he wouldnât miss it, but he wouldnât outshine his hosts either.
They had arrived with a full caravan, but they left empty-handed.
The Feng familyâs years of accumulation, gone in one night.
For a moment, grief overtook Feng Ming, and he lamented in a mournful voice, âWe have nothing left.â
âNo, we have everything,â
Feng Yue turned, patting Feng Ming firmly on the shoulder: âMing, I used to think you were immature.
Itâs only now that I realize I was the one overlooking things.
You have grown up!
You did very well this time!
Your filial piety is commendable, and your shrewdness even more so!â
Feng Mingâs gaze fleetingly swept across Jiang Wang, but ultimately he humbly accepted the praise without a word.
âIt is a sonâs duty!â he said.