After returning to the general"s residence, no matter how Cai Ling and Pei Qingfeng asked, Bai Luochu would put on a mysterious expression. It was as though she was keeping it a secret from everyone. She said that there was no problem and refused to answer any questions.
Another seven days flashed by and the bustling capital city flourished. During the trip to the Falling Cloud Mountain Range, the strength of the Phoenix King Valley was obvious to all. Once all the commotions settled, the Phoenix King Valley"s selections started again. It attracted the attention of everyone in the capital and the scale was grander than before the expedition. Apart from the fact that everyone witnessed the Phoenix King Valley"s strength and was looking forward to the new disciples, it was also because the Phoenix King Valley had seized one of the Green Flame Eagle"s eggs.
These were matters outside the control of the imperial palace. As for the situation in the imperial palace, it became even more ridiculous. Firstly, the officials in the Third Prince"s faction made use of the fact that Pei Rumo was resting and suppressed the First Prince"s faction without restraint. The imperial court was subtly purged and many officials were dragged down from their position. After this incident, it was the end of Pei Rumo"s vacation and he returned to the imperial court. He reacted swiftly and decisively by praising the officials from the Third Prince"s faction in front of his Emperor Father. Afterwards, he even advocated the promotion of these people. When everyone was still unable to make any sense of the matter, the old Emperor immediately approved it and gave Pei Rumo the full authority to handle this matter.
Pei Rumo had s.h.i.+fted all of them to higher positions with no authority. He did a great job of "promoting them in the eyes of the public but demoting them in the dark". Afterwards, he went through the accounts book and penalized a few of the officials in his faction who had the worst conduct. The Emperor showed no signs of stopping him.
After all these, the contest between the First Prince and the Third Prince seemed like it ended with the Third Prince gaining an advantage. However, the true winner was Pei Rumo. Pei Wuchen was enraged due to this incident. After all, he was the one who started it but lost to the opposition. Seeing as he wasn"t able to complain to anyone, he held himself back and fell ill due to his pent up frustration.
If anyone mentioned the cause of thi battle, they would need to refer to the day when both of them met with the Emperor.
Pei Rumo refused to return to his residence and waited for Pei Wuchen to leave the palace. He wanted to dig out Pei Wuchen"s plans.
After waiting for Pei Wuchen"s appearance, Pei Rumo invited him into the carriage. He asked in a straightforward manner, “I wonder what Third Brother said to Emperor Father? This elder brother is really curious. Why don"t you tell elder brother all about it so that elder brother can offer you some advice?”
“Haha, First Brother must be kidding. This official brother went to seek an audience with Emperor Father to discuss the marriage. The important matter of marriage has always been up to the parents. Although there is the rationale of the elder brother acting as the father, First Brother will need to wait for Emperor Father"s approval if you want to put your hand into this matter. Looking at it now, isn"t First Brother trying to mess with me?” As Pei Rumo had been hiding this information from Pei Wuchen for a long time, Pei Wuchen felt unhappy and spoke sarcastically.
Pei Rumo heard the reply and knew that Pei Wuchen learned of Divine Physician Bai"s ident.i.ty. He immediately stopped shrinking responsibility and explained himself with a terrified expression on his face. “Why is Third Brother acting as though I am at fault? It is better for Third Brother to forget about this incident. If you said this to someone else, no one knows what they will do behind your back. Since you requested an audience with Emperor Father because of your marriage, I shall not involve myself. I hope Third Brother brings home a beautiful wife.”
When Pei Wuchen saw that he was still unable to force Pei Rumo to reveal his fox-tail, he raged. He swung his sleeve and alighted Pei Rumo"s carriage before turning to board his own . Before he could enter the carriage, he felt that he wasn"t able to swallow this ball of anger and immediately said to Pei Rumo, “Will First Brother be willing to listen to this official brother"s advice?”
Although Pei Wuchen phrased it as a question, he wasn"t going to take no for an answer. Pei Rumo replied indifferently, “Speak your mind. I won"t do anything to you...”
When Pei Wuchen saw how relaxed Pei Rumo was, he became agitated again. He snapped, “This official brother merely wanted to ask First Brother a question. First Brother is keeping a bomb beside you. You plan to use this bomb to kill its original owner but aren"t you afraid of blasting yourself into oblivion instead?”
How could Pei Rumo not understand the person Pei Wuchen was referring to? He immediately retorted, “Even if this bomb originally belonged to you, you were the one who threw it away. You looked down on its strength and now that I have nurtured this bomb to the point where the explosion would rock the Cloud Water Nation, you"re planning to take it back? Why don"t Third Brother tell me the reason behind your action?”
Pei Wuchen knew that he was the one at fault and he responded. “But no matter what, in front of Emperor Father, in front of those who know the truth, even if you publicize this story to the world, the bomb still belongs to me.” Pei Wuchen tried his best to argue against his first brother.
Pei Wuchen knew that he wouldn"t be able to win in the argument. Hence, he stopped in order to save whatever pride he had left. Pei Wuchen boarded his carriage and left without turning back. He was afraid Pei Rumo might goad him into another verbal spar.
This dispute at the entrance of the palace turned into the start of the mini war between the First and Third Prince.
There was a reason why the Emperor didn"t stop them. In the Emperor"s eyes, these two sons were the ones with the highest chance of inheriting the throne. The harsher the dispute between them, the more balanced the power between them. He would be able to solidify his position on the throne and they wouldn"t be able to obtain anything out of this petty quarrel. As such, he allowed them to do as they wished. If a day came where one of them became too much stronger than the other, it wouldn"t be too late for him to act.
As far as Bai Luochu was concerned, she did nothing but cultivate. Other than cultivating, she gave Pei Qingfeng some treatment. She heard about all the commotion, but she didn"t care about any of them. Bai Luochu lived a carefree seven days and nothing was able to affect her.
The only good news was Pei Qingfeng"s recovery. He was already able to move with ease, but… this person seemed to be overly reliant on Bai Luochu.