Chapter 25 (1/2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Just as Ren Jie and the others left and entered the Ren family abode, the incidents at the entrance spread like wildfire to the various influential organizations within the Jade Capital. They all had varying reactions. Those who were in organizations that belonged to the Ren family began feeling uneasy. Many had even hurried to the Ren family abode in secret or sent someone to inquire about what had happened.
The Ren family was an enormous tree, and they were like the leaves on the tree. It was only natural that they were concerned about the changes happening to the roots of the tree.
There were also some people who were extremely happy. One of them was the emperor, who did not manage to have an imperial meal with the family heads of the other four family clans in the imperial palace but instead ate individually with some ministers who were firm followers of his. He was in a great mood and had specially brought nice wine that was secretly stored within the palace to reward the ministers.
The emperor himself drank happily. The few ministers who did not know about the situation had thought that the emperor was happy about the upcoming Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration.
In the Gao family abode, Gao Peng’s private courtyard was serene and elegant. It had a pleasant environment. Although it was not decorated extravagantly, it emitted sheer magnificence. Gao Peng had decorated the place himself.
“Great. This is great. Fight on. It would be best if they had fought each other. This little rascal has definitely gone mad. He created a ruckus in the imperial palace and thoroughly fell out with us and the Fang family clan. After he returned home, he also fell out with the elders in his own family clan. He is still not of age yet. Those elders will definitely not allow him to regain control over the family clan that easily. There’s going to be more drama for us to watch.” When Gao Zhanyuan received firsthand information about the incident that happened at the entrance of the Ren family abode, he felt incredibly satisfied and felt that his anger had been vented.
Just then, Gao Peng walked out of his room. He had tended his injuries, consumed his medicines and was back to his usual nonchalant self.
When Gao Peng walked out, he saw that his father had something to say to him. Before Gao Zhanyuan could say anything, he said, “I have already heard everything just now. It looks like troubles will soon stir in the peaceful Jade Capital.”
“It would be best for us if the Ren family has some disputes internally. All the four other family clans in the Jade Capital would love to see that happen. The Ren family grew too powerful in the recent twenty years. Their power has reached the stage that threatens all the other four family clans and disturbs our sleep.” Although Gao Zhanyuan was not very talented, he had years of experience being the family head and could thus look at the bigger picture.
The uncontrollable tears in the Five Clans Hall and the anger and insanity at the entrance of the imperial palace had all disappeared without a trace.
“Humph!” Gao Peng snorted. “When one is at the pinnacle of power, he is bound to suffer a fall. Without Ren Tianxing, the Ren family is in a state of disunity, just like a sheet of loose sand. However powerful they may be, they are of no threat anymore. Those elders within the Ren family are negligible. No matter if Ren Jie has really gone insane and acted recklessly due to that blow to his head, or if he truly wants to fight for power, the upcoming show will definitely be interesting. Ren Tianheng and Ren Tianqi are the two persons within the Ren family that truly possess military power. They have left together with their families after Ren Jie succeeded in the family head position. What they did is worth deliberating about. They are each managing their own organizations. If Ren Jie is obedient and remains the puppet family head that he was, the Rens may be able to sustain this situation for a longer time period. However, if he continues causing trouble, it will not be long before the entire Ren family collapses.”
“In reality, the fate of the Ren family has already been destined ever since Ren Tianxing’s disappearance, and when he reappeared to force the entire family clan to hand the family head position over to Ren Jie.” Gao Zhanyuan stood up and looked at Gao Peng, who seemed to have returned to his normal self and looked extremely nonchalant and calm. He said to him, “The emperor, the Fang family, the Wen family, us and even some other organizations have been waiting for that day to arrive. At this point in time, we cannot utilize external force to provoke the Ren family, or that will help to unite them together. The more singing and dancing there is outside, the more it will benefit us. It’s apparent that the emperor knows this too. That explains why he made an exception and allowed the three elders in the Ren family to attend the imperial feast. The other big aristocratic families have conceded some benefits to them as well to stir trouble within the Ren family. We originally thought that this plan would take years and would only be executed after Ren Jie was of age. It looks like we do not need to wait that long anymore.”
Gao Peng smiled at this. He smiled in a relaxed and nonchalant manner. He was mindful that the reason why Gao Zhanyuan said that was to persuade him carefully and cautiously so he would not get revenge on Ren Jie after the humiliating incident that happened today. That would destruct the situation that everyone was trying to maintain.
“Do not worry. If I cannot even endure such humiliation, how am I going to achieve big things in the future? How do I go against inhuman talents such as Lan Tian? The disagreements within the Ren family are intensifying. Why will I help them at this point in time? I had indeed wanted to murder Ren Jie then…” When Gao Peng mentioned the incident, he touched his broken teeth. Although they would grow back in no time given his cultivation stage and with the help of elixirs, he would never forget what happened.
“However, I thought afterward that doing so was not satisfying enough. Lan Tian is way more brutal when it comes to handling such things. I want Ren Jie to be alive. Killing him only takes a moment. I want him to be alive to watch himself lose everything that he has, lose all his authority and become the most abject slave. I want him to witness my rise and watch me stand at the very peak.” As he spoke, Gao Peng displayed an extremely relaxed and delighted expression. He continued, “That will be much more wonderful than killing him. The vice chief of staff. With the emperor’s assistance, I believe that in no time, the Gao family will become the second strongest family clan again, ranking only below the imperial family.”
When Gao Zhanyuan heard what Gao Peng said, he let out a breath. He was extremely cautious around Gao Peng. If Gao Peng had insisted on planning his revenge, Gao Zhanyuan had originally planned on inviting Grandmaster Gao out of his secluded cultivation. Grandmaster Gao was the only person within the Gao family who could truly control and influence Gao Peng.
After all, he was the person who discovered that Ren Tianxing was not within the Ren family and noticed that problems had arisen within the Ren family then. He had also devised the plan to reduce external pressure exerted on the Ren family and allow their internal disagreements to escalate. Currently, the disagreements within the Ren family had started to truly escalate. As time progressed, the situation within the Ren family would intensify. The Ren family held military power. When the person who truly had the right to become the family head of the Ren family made his move, the situation would then become the most intense. That was the moment they were all anticipating for a long time.