What are the odds of winning?
This question almost made Shen Qi lose her composure.
What do you think the fox's chances of winning are?
There was no way they could wait for the fake Chen Qing to fight; if they waited until then, none of them would be able to leave the capital alive. A public competition was absolutely out of the question. The only solution was to kill Wutu Gu before the competition even started!
Only with Wutu Gu dead can they continue to intimidate the enemy!
But of course, this matter couldn't be known to the honest-looking child in front of him.
Seventh Master Shen smiled gently and said, "If that Wutu Gu is only at the level of the palace, then our lord has no chance of losing to him."
A Li's face twitched, but she could only force herself to maintain a nonchalant demeanor and continue pretending.
Chen Baiye, naturally, wouldn't be so easily intimidated. He directly asked, "Since you thought Wutu Gu was insignificant back then, why didn't you just agree to a duel with him in court and cripple him? That way, His Majesty would have no reason to keep Princess Mingxue, and you could all return safely, wouldn't you?"
"Why, would Minister Chen not know?" Shen Qi laughed, "The people in the palace used some inexplicable means to make one of our subordinates disappear. You've all seen that person's strength; he's extremely important to Jiangnan. We can't just ignore someone like that suddenly disappearing. Besides, even the Emperor wasn't sure if they could do it again. I believe you can see that at this moment, neither the court nor we know their true strength, and we have no confidence!"
Chen Baiye nodded slightly upon hearing this, which sounded fairly honest. If they said they had it completely under control, he would have turned around and left immediately. If they were so confident, why would they come looking for him?
What do you want to know? What can you give me?
That's really straightforward!
Shen Qi was slightly taken aback, but he immediately realized that compared to officials who frequently mingled in the bureaucracy and liked to test and prod, Chen Baiye, a businessman who used to travel the world, was actually more straightforward.
"We want to know a lot. What power does the Xiao Household rely on? Are they in cahoots with Wutu Gu? How deep is the power behind them? And what about the people who suddenly disappeared? Do you know their methods?"
He paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the conditions, we will do everything in our power to ensure your entire family's safe return to Jiangnan. Not just your third branch of the Chen Household, but anyone in your family who asks, I can give you ten spots to the West Sea Dragon Palace. Who gets those spots is none of our concern; it's entirely up to you, Third Master Chen, to decide!"
"Oh?" Chen Baiye laughed, "I've heard that academies in Jiangnan only admit students based on talent. No matter what connections or background you have, if you lack ability, you won't get anywhere in the academy."
"Indeed," Shen Qi laughed. "Our Jiangnan Academy selects students based on merit, concentrating resources to provide space for those who are truly qualified and talented to develop. Isn't that the meaning of running a school? Moreover, the traditions within our Jiangnan Academy cannot be learned without the right qualifications. If you don't learn anything, you won't get the resources, which would be a waste of your place. We promise you, Third Master, a place, but surely you wouldn't bring in a few useless people to waste resources, would you? To maximize the use of resources, we must let the most qualified people in. If you are willing to let in a mediocre child, then in the end we will only waste a little resource, but you will waste an opportunity!"
"Haha." Chen Baiye clapped his hands and laughed, "Everyone says that back in the North, Seventh Master Shen's eloquence rendered the Northern Wasteland families utterly incompetent, making him a first-rate debater in the world. He truly lives up to his reputation!"
"Reason isn't something you can figure out through debate," Shen Qi said with a smile. "Whether it's true or not, Third Master Chen naturally knows in his heart."
Chen Baiye nodded upon hearing this, then turned around and said, "May I discuss this with my son?"
"Of course," Shen Qi said generously. "Such an important matter naturally requires careful consideration, but time is of the essence. I wonder when Third Master will give us an answer?"
"One hour!"
"Alright, then one hour it will be!"
--
After Chen Baiye and his eldest son left, Shen Qi's smile faded. He looked around at the surrounding barrier, checked it several times to make sure there were no problems, then turned to the imposter Chen Qing and asked, "Did it work?"
"Hmm," A Li's eyes were emerald green, gleaming with a faint light, "The time was too short, but because they kept thinking about this, they still managed to read the key information."
"Okay!" Shen Qi and Chen Ying both took a breath.
This fox's abilities are terrifying, but as a teammate, it's just too useful!
Shen Qi looked at A Li and felt slightly relieved by A Li answer, but he didn't have much hope. The fact that Chen Baiye's memories could be read meant that he hadn't entered the Transcendent, or even reached the Above First Rank. On the contrary, Wutu Gu Tugu, who was at most First Rank first-rank general a few years ago, now even had his subordinates enter the Transcendent, which meant that Chen Baiye was just an outsider and probably knew only a limited amount.
Do you know what kind of power is behind the Xiao Household?
"His memory is blank, containing only some details and guesses. After Liu Yu faked his death, the emperor from the Xiao Household began setting up a Ghost Temple Ghost Temple in the capital. At first, it was done secretly, with his trusted confidants doing the work. Then, the Duke of Wei in the north rebelled, and according to Chen Baiye's guess, it was the emperor who deliberately designed it."
"Oh? I see." Shen Qi had roughly guessed something.
He said that the rebellion of the Duke of Wei that year came so suddenly because it was a diversionary tactic!
What evil spirits are causing havoc in the palace? The Duke of Wei secretly took away the heir apparent, raised an army to rebel and purge the court of corrupt officials—it's all a scheme.
Given the powerful emperor's influence in the capital, how could the Duke of Wei, a duke who had been operating in the north for many years, simply flee with a group of his sons? If the court had truly been taken over by that monster, the Duke of Wei would have been in trouble long ago if he hadn't submitted in the first place.
The Duke of Wei was a renowned general of his time, enjoying immense prestige in the north. However, without the emperor's personal edict, the Duke of Wei would not have been able to so easily rally the Fang Family to rise up in rebellion.
Everything was an attempt to divert attention, and the Duke of Wei succeeded in doing so. With his overwhelming military strength and the emperor's covert cooperation, he almost besieged the capital, frightening the powerful families who had been eyeing the royal family.
Numerous powerful military families were dispatched to fight in the north, along with a large number of sorcerer disciples. Many families, fearing the north's overwhelming strength and the possibility that the Xiao Household Emperor might truly be controlled by demons, were secretly plotting their escape routes. A very small number of trusted confidants might have been bribed by the emperor to secretly make arrangements.
Shen Qi stroked his chin. "In other words, the emperor at that time wasn't powerful enough to ignore all the powerful families in the capital; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed so much cover-up."
Chen Ying also realized, "It seems so."
" The Ghost Temple. This might be the key." Shen Qi looked at A Li: "Since when did the Ghost Temple's layout become so open and aboveboard?"
A Li: "About half a year ago..."
"I see." Shen Qi nodded again. The Dragon Palace incident was making headlines, yet none of the emperor's forces openly participated, seemingly uninterested. On the contrary, the aristocratic families of the capital were extremely enthusiastic about it.
"The emperor was probably just looking for something important to attract the attention of these sorcerer families, and we just happened to provide the perfect opportunity. So he decided to play along and have the Chen Household take the lead in participating in the Dragon Palace exploration presided over by the emperor. At that time, the aristocratic families were probably all vying for a spot in the Dragon Palace event and had no time to pay attention to the capital."
"The military generals were drawn to the north, while the sorcerer families were preoccupied with the Dragon Palace incident, so few noticed the emperor's secret preparations for setting up the Ghost Temple."
"Then why did the emperor start acting so recklessly six months ago?" Chen Ying asked, puzzled.
"I'm afraid that's when he won't need to hold back anymore!" Shen Qi sneered, "Because he will already possess enough power, at least enough that those powerful families can't resist now."
Then, looking at A Li, he asked, "How many Ghost Temple were there here six months ago?"