"What are you doing?"
This time, the pressure came down without the slightest warning or cushion, so abruptly that when they slammed into the ground, pain flashed through them and their minds went blank for an instant. When they came back to themselves, their expressions changed drastically.
They had brought these soldiers to arrest Qiu Yan according to the rules of power. As long as Qiu Yan intended to continue playing the game of power against the great clans in court, he would inevitably have to compromise. Being arrested for the moment and then showing some restraint—that was the normal rhythm.
Of course, their actions were not entirely of their own will. The power of the entire great-clan stratum behind them had also urged them onward. Otherwise, according to the two men's own wishes, they would have settled down for the time being and, following that great figure's warning, allowed Qiu Yan to perform on the stage first.
Unfortunately, that man had now been severely wounded by Qiu Yan and cut off from the outside world. In the eyes of others, he was simply doing his utmost to heal.
Such a situation was enough for the far-sighted among the great clans to recognize Qiu Yan's formidable nature and become wary of harming the rat for fear of breaking the vase. But the great clans were a stratum, not a single person, much less a single household. Without that man suppressing them, they immediately ceased to answer to one another. Each had their own ideas, dividing into several factions, and every faction possessed considerable strength.
Thus, the conflicts between them required mutual compromise to ease. But compromise did not mean doing nothing. Once the radical and conservative factions had balanced each other out, the will they displayed had to be carried