Cursing You

If this had been the old Ren Jie, suddenly called by name under the Emperor's wrath, he would certainly have been frightened out of his wits. But Ren Jie could now see things more clearly than ever. The Emperor had known about these matters from the very beginning, yet had pretended not to know and let Gao Zhanyuan cry out his grievances all over again.

Could it be that Gao Zhanyuan and Gao Peng did not know this could never really convict him of anything? They definitely knew. Damn it, this bunch was fucking crafty, each one slicker than the last.

Fortunately, he did not need to scheme with them now. There was no need for him to play by their rules, and they had no idea about his current situation. Deep down, they had never truly taken him seriously. That was his greatest advantage.

"Mm... wait..." Ren Jie had stuffed quite a bit of food into his mouth. He deliberately made himself look as if he were about to choke to death, swallowing hard several times before taking the tea Gao Ren handed him and gulping down a few mouthfuls. Only then did he catch his breath.

"Phew, Your Majesty, you scared me to death. When your wrath erupted, I nearly choked to death." Ren Jie muttered, then looked at the miserable-looking Gao Peng and Gao Zhanyuan, who was kneeling there and crying out his grievances. "Gao Zhanyuan, you're the Family Head of the Gao Family, yet you still have the nerve to speak of something so disgraceful? Even I'm embarrassed for you."

Though Gao Zhanyuan was putting on an act, his displeasure and fury toward Ren Jie were genuine. Hearing Ren Jie's words, he immediately glared at him furiously. You fucking beat my son, and I'm supposed to be ashamed to mention it? I need you to be embarrassed for me?

Wen Yong and Fang Tianen, standing nearby, were both stunned. They had not expected Ren Jie to come out with such a line.

The Emperor sat upon the Dragon Throne and slightly turned his head toward Ren Jie. He looked extremely displeased, yet inwardly watched everything with calm detachment. What had happened today had taken even him by surprise. Because he could not quite make sense of it, he had said a few extra words when he saw Ren Jie earlier.

Yet he had seen nothing from Ren Jie. The boy's courage had grown, though. Not only did he dare meet his gaze directly, he even dared spout nonsense before him. It truly was nonsense. His state of mind seemed somewhat crazed, and he was every inch the Hedonistic Young Master.

Before Gao Zhanyuan could strike back with a word, Ren Jie had already leapt to his feet and pointed at the father and son, Gao Zhanyuan and Gao Peng.

"You two have the nerve to come before Your Majesty and lodge a complaint? If it were me, I'd have pissed and drowned myself long ago. You really have no fucking shame." Ren Jie looked as though he had been enraged beyond endurance. Pointing at Gao Peng, he said, "Gao Peng, you're a junior from a lineage attending the studies with the family head. Forget that you didn't bow and greet this family head when you saw me—you even spoke in that sarcastic, yin-yang manner. This family head demanded the 500,000 taels of gold your younger brother owes me, yet you refused to repay it and even tried to welch on the debt. In the Bright Jade Dynasty, refusing to repay a debt—especially a massive debt of 500,000 taels of gold—is enough to sentence you to severe punishment."

Then Ren Jie turned toward the Emperor, still visibly furious. "Your Majesty, if I wanted to kill him, I would have done so long ago. He refuses to repay his debt and still thinks he has the right to complain? Since he brought it up, I ask Your Majesty to uphold justice for me as well. Gao Fei owes me 500,000 taels of gold and refuses to repay it. His elder brother Gao Peng acts like a rogue and refuses to pay too. A dignified Minister of Revenue can skim a little from anywhere and it still would not equal my 500,000 taels of gold. Your Majesty, please uphold justice for me."

"Cough... cough..." Gao Ren had been eating while listening. When he heard Ren Jie's words, he accidentally choked as well, coughing for quite a while before finally swallowing it down.

Meanwhile, Wen Yong and Fang Tianen stood beside them in utter speechlessness. They had served as family heads for so many years and attended Imperial Banquets for so long, yet this was the first time they had ever encountered such a situation.

Gao Peng's lips twitched slightly at Ren Jie's words. He opened his mouth to retort, but a cold gleam flickered in his eyes. He restrained himself from speaking again and merely lowered his head in silence.

Gao Zhanyuan was so enraged that he rose to his feet, pointing angrily at Ren Jie. "You're spouting nonsense! Gao Fei was set up by you, I... I haven't even settled the score with you, and you actually..."

"Set him up? What did I set him up for? Why don't you mention that he nearly beat me to death before? Damn it, is your Gao Family so fucking great? If we're settling scores, I'll settle them with you first. You old bastard, not one son you raised is any good. As Minister of Revenue, you embezzle countless sums of money and grain every day, yet you won't even honor a debt of 500,000 taels of gold. Your fucking son beat this family head, and it's already merciful enough that I haven't settled the score with you. Yet you still have the nerve to complain about me before Your Majesty..." Ren Jie reacted even more fiercely than Gao Zhanyuan, jumping directly onto the table and pointing at him as he cursed.

"You... you dare curse me!" Gao Zhanyuan's strength was not particularly formidable, but he had still reached the True Qi Realm Great Perfection. His power surged forth, and he truly wanted to rush up and strangle this little bastard to death.

"Curse you? I'm cursing you, all right! Who the hell do you think you are? You're the Family Head of the Gao Family, and I'm the Family Head of the Ren Family. Why wouldn't this family head dare curse you? Not only will I curse you, I'll curse your ancestors for eighteen generations! Not a single one of your whole family is worth a damn. Every last one of you is a fucking scoundrel. You refuse to repay your debts, yet you still have the nerve to file an imperial complaint. Pah!" So what if he was at the True Qi Realm Great Perfection? Ren Jie refused to believe he would dare touch him here. This was not outside the Imperial Palace.

"Enough, boom!" The Emperor bellowed, truly enraged. He slammed his palm down again, and the enormous jade table before him shattered completely. Overwhelming power blanketed the entire hall. Heavenly Might—an enraged imperial wrath—was no laughing matter.

"Look at the state of all of you! In the Five Clans Great Hall, during an Imperial Banquet, you've turned this place into a street brawl between common ruffians."

"Your Majesty, please quell your anger. We acknowledge our guilt." It was not only Gao Zhanyuan. Even Wen Yong and Fang Tianen, who had been sitting steadily and gravely until then, rose to apologize. But it was merely a formality.

"Ren Jie, though you are young, you are still the head of a lineage. Think of your father back then. At your age, he could already lead troops into battle and expand the nation's territory. You must always remember that you are the Family Head of the Ren Family. How can you fool around like others your age? Minister Gao, children must still be disciplined. Repaying debts is ordained by heaven and acknowledged by earth. I do not wish to hear again that my Minister of Revenue is being pursued over a debt of 500,000 taels of gold. Gao Peng is the second-ranked scholar. Since he had not completed his studies at the time, he was not granted an appointment. Now that he has finished his studies this year, he shall enter the Military Department as an Adjutant Vice General and learn properly. Stop spending every day fooling around."

An Adjutant Vice General was not a true vice general, but with the Gao Family's influence, it would not take even a year or half a year to secure Gao Peng an actual vice general post. One had to know that a Martial Arts Champion without any backing could at most become a commandant. With lineage backing, he might perhaps become a deputy commander.

As for the road ahead, one had to walk it oneself. The top scholar, second-ranked scholar, third-ranked scholar, and the like from the grand examinations generally entered civil posts. They were rarely transferred directly into the Military Department. Of the Military Department, forty percent was now controlled by members of the Ren Family, twenty percent by the Emperor's people, twenty percent by the Gao Family's people, and ten percent by the Fang Family's people. The remaining ten percent belonged to people who had climbed up through seniority and did not favor any side. Ren Jie had already read about these matters in some of the materials at the Ren Family's Library Pavilion. The Emperor clearly intended to strengthen the Gao Family's voice in the Military Department.

Though it was merely an Adjutant Vice General position, it contained much hidden meaning. But Ren Jie had no need to concern himself with so much right now. Even if he wanted to, he could not do anything about it, and meddling would only invite trouble.

"Your Majesty is wise. In the future, I'll try not to lower myself to the level of people like them, as long as they don't provoke me. Gao Zhanyuan, did you hear what Your Majesty said? Pay up immediately." Ren Jie paid no attention whatsoever to Gao Peng becoming a vice general, speaking smugly to Gao Zhanyuan.

"Tha... thank you, Your Majesty..." Gao Peng could not even speak clearly, but he still mumbled his thanks. He did not care whether he became this vice general or not. Others might fight with everything they had for a rank, but given his circumstances, he did not particularly care whether it came a day earlier or later. What he wanted was the message behind it.

After Gao Zhanyuan and the others had entered, Fang Yan, who had come in with the Second Prince and stood guard at the entrance, felt the hand gripping his treasured sword tremble slightly when he heard the Emperor's order. He had also placed second in the Martial Arts Champion competition, just like Gao Peng, losing to that once-in-a-millennium monster named Lan Tian. He also had military merits, and he was involved with the Seventh Princess...

Yet even now, he was merely the Imperial Guard Commander. Though the Imperial Guard Commander was more impressive than an ordinary general, he was still not a general. Gao Peng was several years younger than him, yet had actually taken a step ahead of him. Was it because he had taken a beating, or because the Family Head of the Gao Family had exerted himself?

Thinking this, Fang Yan could not help turning his gaze toward Fang Tianen. If the Fang Family truly supported him with all its strength...

"Here are Jade Notes worth 50,000 Taels." Seeing Ren Jie's smug expression, Gao Zhanyuan grew furious. No matter what, today's events would be hard to forget. He directly took out Jade Notes worth 50,000 Taels and threw them at Ren Jie.

"Smack!" Ren Jie caught the Jade Notes, gave them a light shake, and said happily, "Wouldn't it have been better if you'd just been this straightforward from the start? Honestly."

"Alas!" Watching this scene, Wen Yong suddenly felt a sense of sorrow. An Adjutant Vice General was nothing much in the Military Department, but this position had originally been left vacant due to the promotion of a member of the Ren Family. Someone else had taken it, yet Ren Jie was still standing there feeling pleased with himself. 500,000 taels of gold—even five million or ten million taels of gold—could not be worth giving up an Adjutant Vice General position in the Military Department.

Truly lamentable, truly tragic! "Today, we were originally meant to discuss the Empress Dowager's Birthday, but now..." The Emperor frowned as he looked at the blood Gao Peng had vomited all over the floor, along with fragments of teeth. Then he turned to Fang Tianen. "I heard from the imperial physician that Fang Qi's poisoning is extremely strange, so strange that even he is powerless against it. Have you found a good remedy?"

"Thank you for Your Majesty's concern. This subject has already offered a reward of one million Jade Coins and one Middle-Grade Spirit Tool, asking only to find an expert capable of saving my daughter's life." Fang Tianen rose and kowtowed in thanks for the Emperor's concern, speaking in a grave voice.

"I have also ordered the Imperial Physicians to study it together. I hope they can find a solution." Only after saying this did the Emperor continue, "Such a thing has happened to the Fang Family, and Gao Peng has been injured as well. It is not suitable to discuss the Empress Dowager's Birthday today. We shall end here for now. If any of you think of a good solution after returning, submit it immediately. All other matters shall be put aside until after the Empress Dowager's Birthday, when they can be discussed again."

Having spoken, the Emperor turned and left directly. Everyone paid their respects until his figure disappeared, only then straightening up.

Yet every person wore a different expression. Today's events had been far too strange. The custom of holding advance discussions in the Five Clans Great Hall had been altered by the Emperor with just a few casual words. The implications ran deep indeed! "Fang Qi was poisoned? Why didn't anyone tell me? A beauty's been poisoned—I have to go take a look. Do you need my help detoxifying her? I remember that poison often requires Yin-Yang Harmonization to cure. If necessary, I wouldn't mind helping with the detoxification." Once the Emperor had left, Ren Jie immediately looked at Fang Tianen. So he had finally been unable to resist offering a reward, had he? This family head was truly going to get rich this time. Thinking of poison, Ren Jie could not help recalling those vulgar tropes in the wuxia novels he had read on Earth, where poison often required Yin-Yang Harmonization to cure. He could not resist saying it to Fang Tianen.

"One million Jade Coins, and a Middle-Grade Spirit Tool!" Gao Ren's eyes lit up as soon as he heard it. He could not help tugging at Ren Jie's clothes from behind, reminding him that enough was enough. The main reason was that hearing Ren Jie mention Yin-Yang Harmonization gave him a faint, sudden sense of worry. This guy was not still thinking about Fang Qi's beauty, was he? It would be terrible if they ended up making a losing deal.

"Hmph, there is no need for the Ren Family Head to trouble himself." Today's events had been far too strange, and Fang Tianen wanted to return quickly to think things over properly. Besides, Fang Qi's life still hung in the balance at home. Rising to leave, he had no mind to tangle with this Hedonistic Young Master. Did Ren Jie really think that merely by this, he was qualified to stand on equal footing with them? He simply did not know his place. Especially when he heard Ren Jie's remark about Yin-Yang Harmonization, Fang Tianen's chest heaved several times as he cursed that hateful bastard inwardly.