Chapter 11598 — How Could He Still Be Standing?

How could he possibly still be getting up?

This defies all reason!

"I have already knelt where I was meant to kneel, but let me say this plainly: whoever advocates giving offense to my brother Lin is a fool of the first order, no two ways about it!"

With that, he turned on his heel and strode out the door.

The whole hall erupted in an uproar.

This time, in Night's End Palace's annexation of Wei Zhao's Institute of Rule Design, the first to advocate silent acquiescence had not been the King of Qi himself, but when all was said and done, the final decision had rested with the King of Qi.

By calling that man a fool, Young Master Qi had, plain as day, tarred the King of Qi with the same brush.

In the past, this fellow had been reckless, true, but he had always had a line somewhere, knowing what could be done and what could not.

A year apart, and what the devil had gotten into him?

Some, in secret, rejoiced wildly.

On the strength of that single "fool" alone, the position of Heir to the Prince of Qi's Estate was now utterly beyond Young Master Qi's reach; his rivals had lost their greatest competitor. Truly a cause for celebration.

Watching the broad-shouldered figure of Young Master Qi stride out the door, another faction among the Estate's high command wore complicated expressions.

Young Master Qi was by no means the perfect successor, but he was the most suitable successor the Prince of Qi's Estate had, bar none.

Once the seat of Heir fell to anyone else, the Prince of Qi's Estate would, in the days to come, know no end of turmoil.

At worst, it would bleed away its vital strength.

But matters had come to this; Young Master Qi had defied the King of Qi so openly that even had they wished to counsel him, there was no counseling to be done.

In the end, he was simply too unripe; a moment's impulse ruins a man.

Even if your ties with Wei Zhao were the closest under heaven, could they ever be greater than the King of Qi?

To throw away the seat of Heir, within arm's reach, in a fit of passion, once he cooled down he would regret it until his very guts turned green!

Little did they know, Young Master Qi felt not a shred of regret.

The seat of Heir to the Prince of Qi's Estate, in days gone by, he had indeed held in the highest regard, for he knew better than anyone that without that seat, he was nothing at all.

But now, polished by a full ten thousand years of tempering, the weight of the Heir's seat in his eyes had grown utterly inconsequential.

"So you still take me for the good-for-nothing I used to be."

Young Master Qi smiled, half in scorn and half in self-mockery, then his stride grew firmer still; he was going to find Wei Zhao.

In the eyes of the Prince of Qi's Estate's people, Wei Zhao was still the Wei Zhao of a year ago; even having returned alive from the Realm of Sin, his say remained limited.

After all, the Vertical Alliance was by now firmly established; with or without Wei Zhao's mediation, it no longer mattered much.

Only the young lord of Qi understood that this affair was a crisis of the first order for the Qi Princely House!

Handle it poorly, offend Wei Zhao thoroughly, and never mind continuing to rest easy; whether the house could even go on existing was now an open question!

Night's End Palace.

The council hall.

The councillors had gathered together, a rare sight; councillors in name, they were in truth the backers who held shares, the hidden masters behind the scenes.

Any one of them, set down anywhere outside, was a figure of considerable renown; even the Seven Princely Houses would have to treat them with courtesy.

Yet now twenty-three of them were assembled in one place, and the influence and rallying power they commanded in union could well be imagined. This scene alone was enough to mark Night's End Palace, within the Inner Royal Court, as a dreadnought of a power.

Were it otherwise, the prestige of Xiang Zigui alone would never have sufficed to settle the Seven Princely Houses and make them all stand aside together.

At this moment, however, the council had dissolved into a clamorous row.

Wang Lai had this time acted on his own, without a vote of the council, which amounted to forcibly yoking all of Night's End Palace to his war chariot.

That was a cardinal sin!

On that ground alone, everyone had ample cause to strip him of his seat on the council and cast him out bag and baggage.

And what was more, Ren Xuande had produced that most ominous of omens, the great-misfortune lowest-luck slip.

Wang Lai might not believe in Ren Xuande's fate-slips, but of the many councillors, at least half or more did believe, and some believed beyond all doubt.

The two together, and Wang Lai's expulsion from Night's End Palace was, in theory, a settled matter.

And yet Wang Lai remained immovable as Mount Tai, seated at his place at his ease, wholly unruffled.

Ren Xuande said in a deep voice, "I move that we call a vote at once to expel Wang Lai!"

The words had scarcely fallen when a bloc of supporters answered.

But at the same time, contrary to Ren Xuande's expectations, nearly seventy percent of the councillors present kept silent.

Ren Xuande's heart sank.

No need to guess; these people must have already thrown in their lot with Wang Lai in private, and they were now a community of shared interests.

Wang Lai triumphantly took a cigar between his lips. "Old Ren, seems folks here don't quite see things your way. If it really sticks in your craw that much, why not just withdraw yourself, and be out of sight, out of mind."

Ren Xuande looked at the rest of them, and could not keep the disappointment from his face. "Gentlemen, for the sake of this momentary, present advantage, would you truly turn your backs on the very safety of Night's End Palace?"

The councillors exchanged glances, and yet not one of them changed his mind.

"What safety of the Night's Heart Palace? Stop trying to frighten us with such alarmist talk."

Wang Lai snorted with laughter and clapped the shoulder of Xiang Feng behind him. "Let me put it plainly: with Elder Xiang here to hold the fort, even if some blind fool did come looking for trouble, could they really stir up any great storm?"

The doubt that had just begun to stir in the hearts of the assembled stewards was at once put to rest.

They had all witnessed Xiang Zigui's strength with their own eyes; placed within the Inner Royal Court, he was strong enough to walk wherever he pleased, and even an existence of the Qin King's caliber would likely have to give him a wide berth.

With him here, who would dare trouble the Night's Heart Palace?

And besides, the Night's Heart Palace was already formidable in its own right; unless all seven Princely Houses came at them together, they feared no one who came at them one house at a time.

Ren Xuande looked at the display before him and was utterly disillusioned.

"Blinded by greed! I once took you all for dragons and phoenixes among men, but it turns out you are nothing but short-sighted fools who see only what lies before their noses. The fault is mine for being so shallow, able to read fate but not the hearts of men."

At these words, the whole hall changed color.

The stewards immediately rushed to answer back.

Wang Lai raised a hand to silence them and sneered, "And who exactly is blinded by greed? Ren Xuande, have you got it backwards? So many of us are wrong, and only you are right—heh, 'all the world is drunk and I alone am sober,' is that it?"

The hall erupted in laughter.

Before Ren Xuande could retort, Wang Lai pressed on: "Get this straight, Ren Xuande. This time we have not carved up any great personage's pie; we have merely swallowed the estate of a dead man. Who would step forward on his behalf?"

Ren Xuande answered with a cold snort. "A dead man? How do you know Wei Zhao is certainly dead?"