Qian Baoshan poured himself a cup of Jingxin Spirit-Concentrating Tea from the jade pot on the small table beside him and took a blissful sip.
"Tsk."
He smacked his lips. "Brother Nangong, well? What did I tell you?
"A mud-legged peasant from a backwater like the Gouwu Sea is still a shortsighted brute, even if he stumbled into the Nascent Soul stage through sheer dog-shit luck!
"Our patriarch put in a great deal of effort at the Ministry of Works this time! And it's not just our household, is it? With his 'Seven Orders of Qiongzhou,' Qing Chen offended all of Qiongzhou!"
Nangong Wang nodded. "You're absolutely right, Brother Qian. The man has cultivation but no vision, much less any understanding of the subtleties of court politics.
"He knows only fighting and killing, throwing his weight around at every turn. On the battlefield, perhaps we're no match for him; in officialdom, however, he's nowhere near a match for us."
He paused, a gleam of satisfaction flashing through his eyes. "Did he think his military merits and his ties to the Iron Household would let him do whatever he pleased in Qiongzhou?
"He cut off our sources of wealth, and now he wants to investigate the farmland and mine veins? He truly doesn't know how the word 'death' is written!"
"Hahaha, exactly!"
Qian Baoshan laughed, then lowered his voice smugly. "At court, it wasn't just our few households speaking up.
"There were more than a few memorials impeaching Qing Chen for 'arrogance and abuse of authority, harsh treatment of the local populace, and suspected cultivation of bandits to bolster his own standing'!"
"Oh?"
Nangong Wang perked up and hurriedly asked, "Which important figures spoke out?"
Qian Baoshan reeled them off as though counting his household treasures. "Too many to name!"
"Lord