Chapter 20

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

“Servants! Bring the young master home…” Gao Zhanyuan bellowed and ordered. He wanted the servants to bring Gao Peng home before he went alone to seek justice from the emperor. The Ren family had a death exemption jade tablet. If that was the reason that allowed them to act as they wanted, that would put everyone at risk.

“No…” After he had calmed down, Gao Peng raised a hand suddenly. With his shattered teeth still in his mouth, he mumbled, “I will find the emperor in this state. Although this incident cannot make the emperor do anything to Ren Jie, the emperor has been concerned about the Ren family’s powerful influence for a long time. This incident will show him how arrogant the Rens are even when Ren Tianxing is not around. Even if he doesn’t punish Ren Jie, he will definitely give us some benefits to appease us. Now that matters have escalated to this stage, I must make full use of it. As for Ren Jie, I will not need to rely on the hands of others. I will teach him a lesson by myself.”

He would seek revenge for the humiliation that he suffered today.

Although Gao Zhanyuan was the family head of the Gao family, he could still clearly remember the words his father said when he passed the family head position over to him eight years ago.

“Some of your peers are more outstanding than you. Many are as skillful as you. The reason why you are chosen to be the family head is that you have an outstanding son.” Hence, he was clear that he merely acted as a transition. The person that Father truly favored was Gao Peng. In reality, in the past three years, Gao Peng had been gradually taking over the matters within the Gao family.

Therefore, Gao Zhanyuan did not comment on what Gao Peng said. He accompanied Gao Peng onto the spiritual leopard carriage and entered the imperial palace immediately. As the Gao family head’s spiritual beast carriage entered the imperial palace, the main doors to the palace closed slowly.

There was a Five Clans Hall within the imperial palace. It was constructed in commemoration of the five aristocratic family clans after they had collectively helped to build the Clear Jade Dynasty. Its magnificence was not inferior to any other halls within the imperial palace. Every year, it would only be open during the imperial feast when the emperor invited the other four aristocratic family heads. It had a special significance as it was the location where the family heads of the five largest family clans took the oath.

Li Haiyuan, the emperor of the Clear Jade Dynasty, had been awaiting the others’ arrival for quite some time. Most of the time, the officials would have to wait for the arrival of the emperor. It was only when the family heads of the other four biggest family clans were invited for a feast in the Five Clans Hall would things change.

Of course, the emperor was still mighty and authoritative as ever as he seated high above the other seats. He had not reached the age of fifty and was at the prime of his life. Under his leadership, the map of the Clear Jade Dynasty had expanded by more than two folds. As the most prestigious emperor of the country, he was more authoritative than anyone else.

The first to enter was Wen Yong, who had brought Wen Zihao along with him. They took a seat immediately after paying their respects to the emperor. The next to enter was the Fang Tianen, the Fang family head, who had brought a disciple from the family clan along with him.

F*ck! Look at how gigantic this place is! Ren Jie thought to himself. The Five Clans Hall was much larger than the Ren family conference hall. Ren Jie looked at the emperor, whose seat towered above others. His mighty and majestic presence seemed to intertwine with the imperial palace and his seat. No wonder ordinary people would be terrified and feel an urge to kneel and greet him.

If the previous Ren Jie was to enter the place, he would definitely be heavily influenced by the emperor’s presence. However, Ren Jie had even felt the aura of the mysterious saints discussing Dao. As compared to that, the presence of the emperor was way less impactful.

“Ren Jie, family head of the Ren family, here to pay my respect to the emperor.” In his memory, that was not the first time he met the emperor. Therefore, he had simplified many formalities. Moreover, as the family head of the Ren family, he was not expected to observe the highest level of formalities. That made his greetings to the emperor much easier. However, the previous Ren Jie would always be overly nervous whenever he saw the emperor. He was suppressed by the aura and the presence of the emperor. That resulted in him not having an impression of the emperor in his memory. He did not even dare to lift his head to look at the emperor. This time around, when Ren Jie entered the hall, the first thing that he did was to take a good look at the emperor. Afterward, he led Gao Ren and Tie Ta for the greetings.

Tie Ta was very naive. He felt as though he was a villager entering the city for the first time. Everything seemed strange to him. As for Gao Ren, when he saw the emperor sitting above, his eyes darted around before following Ren Jie and greeting the emperor casually in an indifferent manner. Afterward, his sight shifted towards the food placed on their seat.

“Save the greetings. Ren family head, I recalled it was the three elders in the Ren family who accompanied you to the imperial feast the previous year. You should be coming of age only next year. Why are the elders not here this year?” After the emperor exempted their greetings, he did not grant them a seat immediately. Instead, he questioned Ren Jie out of curiosity.

F*ck. He’s pretending to be ignorant even though he knows everything. Although the incident happened a while ago outside the imperial palace, Ren Jie did not believe that the emperor did not know about that. If he was unaware of the happenings right under his eyes, he should not be the emperor anymore.

It seemed like a casual inquiry and an act out of concern. However, there were so many more things to be carefully deliberated about within that question.

He wanted to find out about the internal circumstances within the Ren family. Furthermore, his question would leak out and might even accentuate the conflict between him and the family clan elders. Or, he might be waiting for the Gaos to arrive…

“I’m not young anymore. When my father was my age, he had already led troops to war. Thus, I thought that I should not bring the elders with me for everything that I do. That’ll make people think that I’m still an immature child. Coincidentally, my friend and my most loyal personal guard wanted to see what the imperial feast looks like. Therefore, I brought them here this year.” Obviously, Ren Jie could not admit to everything. Nonetheless, he revealed a part of what happened. Although Ren Jie had never studied psychology on Earth, he learned some lessons from movies and television shows that he watched. Lies were the most easily exposed when something went wrong. That was why telling the truth was the best option.

Of course, telling the truth could be tricky as well. How you said it and which part of it you said could result in different effects. Nevertheless, Ren Jie said nothing but the truth.

Wen Yong was already seated. He had just lifted his teacup and took a sip of tea. When he heard Ren Jie’s words, he had almost spurted the tea out. Fang Tianen gave Ren Jie a weirded out gaze as well.

Your father was indeed impressive. That’s an undeniable fact. The Ren family was powerful at the start of the Clear Jade Dynasty, yet it has sunk to the bottom of the ranks for the recent centuries. It was only when Ren Tianxing appeared that the Ren family rose to the peak in less than twenty years. But that was your father. How could you compare yourself to him?

“Your Majesty,” Ren Jie called as he bowed sincerely, “I want to learn from my father. I want to expand the boundaries and territories of the country. If there is a chance, please allow me to lead troops to battle for the country.”

You? Battle for the country? Even if you are willing to risk your life, I do not want to risk embarrassing the country.

The emperor was speechless after he heard Ren Jie’s words. This rascal’s ego has become so inflated after being the family head for a year. You want to become your father so badly. When your father was your age, he had already reached the peak of the True Qi Realm. He also excelled in both literature and martial arts. As for a good-for-nothing like you…

Those good-for-nothings would not usually have the opportunity to meet the emperor. Because of Ren Jie’s status as the family head of the Ren family, coupled with the fact that the occasion was the imperial feast at the Five Clans Hall, the emperor could not say anything else about that.

“The Ren family head’s eagerness to serve the country is to be applauded. However, you have to finish your studies at the Jade Imperial Academy first. Please have a seat.” The emperor did not want to continue listening to Ren Jie speak. Who knew what other nonsense would he say if he was to go on?

“Spurt…” Wen Yong had just successfully held in the mouthful of tea he had almost spurted out. Upon hearing that, he finally could not hold it in anymore and spurted out the tea in his mouth.

Wen Zihao was sitting beside him. Because of how hard he tried to suppress his laughter, the muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably.

Fang Tianen, who was sitting on the other side, looked at Ren Jie in disgust. This rascal has changed so much. He did not even dare to lift his head and look at the emperor straight in the eye in the past. Now he has the guts to say anything, even though he’s just uttering nonsense, he thought to himself.

He thought about the news that he heard of before he entered the imperial palace. Fang Tianen concluded that this guy had lost his mind after he had been beaten.

“Yes, your majesty.” Looking at the expression on the faces of the emperor and those around him, Ren Jie felt satisfied. From the looks of the current situation, the emperor and the other family clans did not take him seriously. Ren Jie answered the emperor rigidly before he waved Gao Ren and Tie Ta over to the first seat on the left. Before he was seated, he had already grabbed a fruit that was placed on the table and took a bite out of it impolitely.

Fatty Gao Ren was not at all affected by his surroundings. When he saw the scrumptious-looking food on the table, he acted faster than Ren Jie. When Tie Ta saw Ren Jie make a move, he simply grabbed the entire plate of fruits in his hand.

The trio’s actions made Wen Yong and Fang Tianen, the two family heads sitting at the side, to crease their eyebrows into a frown.

“Emperor! Emperor, you must seek justice for me! Emperor, there are no laws and justice around anymore. What Ren Jie did is intolerable by the national laws! Emperor…” At that moment, Gao Zhanyuan’s cries were heard from outside the hall and attracted everyone’s attention.

Gao Zhanyuan led the staggering Gao Peng into the hall.

“Splat…” The moment Gao Peng stood before the emperor, he spat out a mouthful of blood. The few shattered teeth fragments that he had crushed when he clenched his jaw lay within the pool of blood. As he opened his mouth, his entire mouth was seen covered in fresh blood. It looked horribly gruesome and appeared as though he had suffered a fatal injury and would not be able to survive.

“What… what happened? Why is Gao Peng so severely injured?” Gao Peng secured the second place in the imperial examinations last year. He was specifically nominated by the emperor. It was no surprise that the emperor recognized Gao Peng. Nevertheless, he acted ignorant of the incident that happened earlier.

“Emperor, you must seek justice for me! The Ren family head Ren Jie turned a blind eye to the imperial laws. He hurt my son Gao Peng right in front of the imperial palace and threatened to kill my entire family with the death exemption jade tablet that your majesty has bestowed him. Please help me seek justice so everyone can be assured.” Relatively speaking, if he was merely a family head, he would be slightly aloof even towards the emperor since he represented a powerful organization and was not part of the imperial government. However, that was often not the case. Ren Jie, who was a family head not included in the imperial government, was a rare case.

Gao Zhanyuan was the secretary of the treasury who controlled the money and food supply in the world. He had a high position and held immense power in his hands. However, at that moment, tears were streaming down his creased face, making it appear as though he had been bullied.

Gao Peng remained silent. Every once in a while, he would spit out a mouthful of blood. However, when he looked at Ren Jie from the corner of his eyes, his gaze was terrifyingly cold. His gaze looked as if he was out to kill. The piercing cold look in his eyes could send shivers down people’s spines.

“Big Brother, this tastes delicious. It’s a special tribute that we do not get to eat every day.”

“Yeah… Yeah… This tastes good as well. Tie Ta, eat slower.”

“Burp… Nice!”

Ren Jie had brought two foodies with him and they had treated them as nonexistent. Although other dishes had yet to be served, there were dozens of pastries and fruits on the table. The table was still mostly empty and had adequate space for the hundreds of dishes that were to be served later. The trio was happily digging into the food and was engrossed in eating.

“My beloved deputy Gao, don’t panic. Tell me exactly what happened. Servants, call the imperial physician over immediately to look at the first runner-up.” The emperor pretended as though he knew nothing about what happened. He ordered someone to summon the imperial physician to show his concern for Gao Peng before inquiring about what had happened once more.

Gao Zhanyuan repeated the incident again with strong feelings of distress lining his words. Afterward, he expressed his anguish about how Ren Jie’s actions could not be simply regarded as him giving someone a beating, but instead showcased how he mishandled the imperial item bestowed to him. He had disregarded the laws of the nation and the sanctity of the imperial family and should be executed for his offenses.

“Bam… This is outrageous.” The emperor bellowed in extreme anger after hearing his explanation. He slapped the table in front of him suddenly, causing the pastries and fruits to tremble from the impact. Afterward, he looked towards Ren Jie with a stone face and questioned, “Ren Jie. Ren family head. What do you have to say?”