"What do you mean Lian"er? I was poisoned?" The King asked stupefied. The clan heads also went into an uproar hearing Lin Xulian"s claim. Everybody knows that if her claim is true, then it proves that the Liu clan had been planning to overthrow the King for ages. And they had been nurturing a snake since the beginning.
"Yes, great granduncle. It is a common poison that causes infertility. But since you have a strong body and internal energy, I bet they"ve been feeding you the poison daily for some years. Probably until the day of the rebellion. And since their clan is adept in medicine, achieving this feat is a simple task for them. After all, if a person can make medicine then for them making poison is not surprising." Lin Xulian answered solemnly.
"I"ve never thought of that possibility. I got married when I was almost a hundred years old. So when they said my time already pa.s.sed, I never doubt it." The King said regretfully.
"In normal circ.u.mstances, that is the reality. But the vitality of the citizens of Qiangdu country isn"t the same as normal because you all cultivate your internal energy. Based on what I observe, you all age twice or thrice slower. So being a man, even if you are past one hundred, you could still have a child." Lin Xulian explained.
"But as of now, it is already impossible for you great granduncle. Most probably that"s why the Liu clan decided to be aggressive." Lin Xulian continued."Does that mean the rebellion didn"t start from the Liu clan"s last clan head? They already planned it more than a century ago?" Said one of the oldest clan head."And they"ve been poisoning the King for so long right under our noses." The other clan head lamented.
"Good thing they are already banished from the country and most of their strong members died during that incident." One of them said to make the mood a bit lighter.
"Apparently it didn"t end on that incident." Clan head Hu interjected. "You all knew about what had happened to my son Hu Hai in the Gonglu country. He returned with an injury due to an encounter with some Liu clan members. And I doubt it was just a coincidence.""Clan Head Hu is right. When the princess arrived in the country, she told me about the existence of my grandson from my daughter Ran"er. And when I sent my son Rin to meet him, he gave us a valuable information. A group of strong martial artists is working in the shadows for the Zhixiang country. We suspect that it is the Liu clan. Also the presence of the Liu clan in the Gonglu country right after the princess of Zhixiang married the emperor is too much of a coincidence." Clan Head Gu added.
"If what the two clan heads said is true, then the Liu clan is most likely up to something. I will send some of my people to investigate and keep an eye on the two countries." Clan head Mo offered.
"My King, I know this might sound selfish but, if the Liu clan is trying to build their place in the Zhixiang country or the Gonglu country, then how did that became our problem? We already banished them and let them fend for themselves. And that"s probably what they are currently doing. We promised to keep the lives of their remaining descendants." One of the clan heads argued. Some even find his words reasonable."That"s true My King. We already gave their clan their punishment. If we are to hunt them down, it would look like we are going against our previous judgement and promise. Please do not misunderstand. I am not on the traitor"s side. But we also have to honor our words." Another one added.
"Clan head Hu, do not take my words in a bad way. But we cannot hunt them down just because of what had happened to young master Hu. I know he had a severe injury. But what had happened to them is a coincidental encounter between enemies. A fight is normal. But it does not mean we have to use the country"s power to avenge him." Another clan head said.
"I understand your sentiments. The purpose of this meeting is to introduce my great grandniece to all the clan heads and not about hunting the Liu clan. Clan head Hu and Clan head Gu opened the matter just to inform and let us be aware of their movements. Also for us to keep our guard up just in case they make a move against us." The King a.s.sured the clan heads.
"I will let Clan Head Mo to investigate first. If we can prove that they are a threat to our country, then we"ll decide on how to deal with them. But if their movements have nothing to do with us, then we"ll honor the first judgment." The King continued.
"I beg to differ." Lin Xulian interjected. "Although right now I am the princess of the Qiangdu country, the Gonglu country was my home in my entire life. And perhaps you know that I was its empress for almost five years. I have a deep connection with the country. So if it is threatened, then I will retaliate. But do not worry, I will not use my position to oblige you all to help me if ever.
The other reason why the matter of the Liu clan is brought up, is because of the reason why I came in this country. I have no idea about my ident.i.ty when I stepped in this country"s land. I am originally here to seek help from the Gu clan. It is because I am poisoned with a Gu. And the one behind it is the Zhixiang country"s princess and emperor. So if they are protected by the Liu clan, then I have no choice but to deal with the both of them." Lin Xulian stated fearlessly.
The clan heads collectively gasped. They know how terrifying the Gu poison is. That is the reason why they had a hard time in accepting the Gu clan in the first place. Now knowing that the princess is a victim of the vicious poison, they became speechless.
"As Lian"er said, I will also not oblige you all to take part in her objective. This matter is after all personal for her and our Lin clan. The entire Qiangdu country, as of now, doesn"t need to meddle." The King added.
While the rest are still stupefied, Clan Head Gu stood up and bowed towards Lin Xulian"s direction. "Our Gu clan will offer our utmost a.s.sistance in your highness"s objective. The Xing imperial family killed my daughter Gu Ran and made my grandson"s life miserable. So this grudge is also personal for us.""Our Hu clan will also aid the princess." Clan Head Hu added. "Our clan swore to protect and aid the Lin clan with all of our strength, ability and life. If the princess needed so, we are at your disposal.""Our Mo clan will also a.s.sist the princess. For now, we will handle the investigation of the both countries. We will also add the Fanrong just in case. Our main goal is to identify if the Liu clan is really behind the chaos between the other countries. If so, then we will do our best to discover their plan." Clan head Mo joined in.
Hearing three of the four major clans giving their oath to the princess, the other clan heads felt the pressure. "Our Pan clan will a.s.sist if the Liu clan"s plan will affect the Qiangdu country. But if the Liu clan doesn"t have anything to do with the tension between the two countries, then we believe that our additional strength is not needed since the other major clans already promised to take part." Clan head Pan stated after some time of silence.
Clan head Pan"s words gave light for the other clan heads. "Our clan will also back you up if needed Princess." They collectively said.
Lin Xulian didn"t mind the other clan"s hesitation. She originally planned to deal with her enemies alone or with the help of the Lin Mercenary Clan. These clan"s help is just a bonus. "This princess offers you my grat.i.tude in advance."