Dong Wencong had just left when the Wu Lord sent Fang Yun a message complaining.
"Void Sage Fang, I'm afraid you won't need to come to the Qing Capital. The scholars of the Qing Kingdom are far too slippery. Because the Eastern Sage Pavilion issued an unreliable call to action, every scholar our Wu Kingdom scholars approach uses preparations for going to Two Worlds Mountain as an excuse to refuse literary contests and duels for the time being. Worse still, they righteously berate us for engaging in internal strife while the demon barbarians are wreaking havoc. Those contemptuous looks make even me want to die of shame! But this isn't over! I'll find a way to make the Qing Lord and the Qing Kingdom lose face spectacularly!"
"Don't you think they lost enough face in front of Yueyang Tower?" Fang Yun replied.
"True, they were humiliated badly enough. When I first arrived in the Qing Kingdom, I took a look at its national fortune. When you reclaimed Xiang Prefecture back then, the Qing Kingdom's national fortune had already diminished by a tenth. After the Mid-Autumn Literary Gathering, it lost another full tenth! This dealt a tremendous blow to the Zong Family, the Qing Lord, and all the Qing Kingdom's officials. But be careful. The Zong Family, the Lei Family, and the Qing Lord are all the sort who won't let a night pass before taking revenge. Remember that!"
"Thank you for the warning, Wu Lord."
Fang Yun sat in his chair and thought for a moment. Just as he was about to resume handling government affairs, a governor-general's guard knocked and entered with a peculiar expression. "My lord, a young man calling himself the Dongting Flood Dragon King requests an audience."
"Then let him in." As Fang Yun spoke, he