161 Ploys and Intriques 2

As it turned out, Qin Feng did not have wait very long at all. After the pair of servant girls finally steered him into his so-called guest chambers, he received a visit from that another male servant who was dressed similar to that Butler Jin fellow.

But it was clear from his less decorated coat, and from his subservient manner, that he was of a much lower status compared to that redoubtable old man. Qin Feng wasn't too bothered, and was more concerned about what the man had to say. As it turned out, he was being invited to the welcome dinner that was being held in honor of Li Changhai's return from the South.

He thanked the man for the news, then went on to inspect his large chest, now sitting in the middle of the room that he had been given. That had been delivered by the soldiers earlier, while he was occupied with those two old friends of the Ducal Prince, and he was curious to find out if it had been tampered with in any way.

Of course, with his link to the puppet that was lying inside the same, he would have known at once if it had been opened. But there were other ways to investigate the contents without breaking into the chest, and he was more worried that the Duke's staff would employ those tricks. He wasn't sure that he could counter them, of course. But he would prefer it if he knew that they knew that he could use a puppet like he did.

Fortunately, the subtle seals and markings that he had set about the chest were untouched. Which was enough to make Qin Feng sigh with relief. The puppet was the last defense that he had, and he would prefer it if no one found out that he had such a thing. Especially if there were people among the Duke's staff who were finicky about using corpses for such a purpose.

But it seemed he was in the clear, which was enough to let him sit down and consider his plans for that evening's events. And just how he was going to go about getting himself kicked out of the Ducal Palace!

*

By the time the evening fell, and the handmaidens returned to escort him to where the dinner was to be held, Qin Feng was already dressed in his best. There were certain subtleties that he had to observe, he knew, even though he detested them. But all that time in the Heaven Sword School had taught him that there were courtesies that had to be adhered to, even though it went against his intentions.

It was important that he maintained the impression that he was fully supporting Li Changhai, after all. And this too was part of that facade.

The handmaidens did not lead him to one of the many halls that dominated the landscape of the sprawling estate, much to his surprise. Instead, he was shown into a rather out-of-the-way garden, to the rear of the main building which had been pointed out to him earlier by Li Changhai himself.

To be honest, that was a bit of a surprise. Then he remembered that only he and the Second Ducal Prince would be in attendance that evening. So perhaps the Duke wanted to keep the whole matter quiet? After all, the fact that the Barbarians had the support of some Sects and Schools in the Martial World was not something to be casually spread about.

Finally, he was shown to a rather isolated Pavilion, similar to the one where he had met Ling Liushui and Du Yan. But this one was far more scrumptiously decorated. Even the stone table and chairs were of high quality greenstone that was worth between thirty to fifty thousand pieces of silver. Each!

And there was already someone there, seated at the same. To his surprise, Qin Feng realized that it was the Second Ducal Prince. But why was Li Changhai there so early? As the son of the host, and the main guest for the evening, he should have made his entrance after Qin Feng had already been seated. This was surely a ways off from the usual protocol.

Then the Second Ducal Prince merely rose to his feet, and bowed to Qin Feng as though he was welcoming a hard to come by guest!

That was enough to throw the two handmaidens in front of him off their stride! But Qin Feng managed to hold onto his composure and laughing stepped forward to dip into a deeper bow at the Prince.

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"This is too great an honor for this little one, Second Prince. Besides, we are companions on the battlefield! Why bother with such superficial courtesies? There is surely no need to worry about people talking about us, is there? This is your father's house."

"Since Brother Feng has already spoken, Changhai will not be too courteous! Come, come! Sit down and let me pour you a cup of our White Crane Wine. It is made by an outstanding winery in Yanyun City here, and is rather hard to come by! You should have a taste of it first, before we talk of other things!"

Qin Feng chuckled as he allowed himself to be dragged beside the Prince, and have cup of wine pushed into his hands. By then, the maidservants had already surreptitiously left the scene, so he no longer had to bother with them.

But he did put down the wine cup once he had a sip, and leaned closer to Li Changhai, pitching his voice low. It was time to warn the fellow of his intentions, after all. It was only polite, since the man had gone through all that trouble of bringing him all that way North.

"I hear that your father is not too pleased with your performance out there in the South. And that he had asked a great many questions regarding ... the situation thereabouts?"

Li Changhai looked a little surprised to hear that from him, but recovered swiftly. "Ah! You must have been speaking to Ling Liushui and Du Yan. Those two are rather good at digging out all the scandals and the gossip wherever they go.

"But it is true. Part of it, anyway. My Maternal Grandmother had sent him a note, by messenger pigeon, so that he would be warned that I would be coming North along the trails. And there was a brief about the situation there. So he has had some warning of what took place there already."

Qin Feng quickly factored that into the performance that he had been preparing, as he nodded back at the Second Ducal Prince. "Then ... he has seen the sword? The one that your grandmother asked you to present to him?" he asked, a little tersely.

"That he has. And it is a remarkable sword indeed. I should thank young hero Qin for helping to win it out of our enemy's possession. And place it in my Sanlang's hands."

* * *