102: Chapter 102 Undercurrents

Inside the hall, the atmosphere felt somewhat heavy following Ouyang Wanqing's departure.

Ouyang Jing looked at the deep night outside the door, sighed, and then turned his head to look at his father, who sat as steady as Mount Tai in the main seat.

"Father, let's set aside Wanqing's matter for now."

Ouyang Jing's brows furrowed slightly, his tone carrying a hint of irritation: "Regarding the imperial court, the position of Minister of Rites has been vacant for quite some days now."

The Prime Minister picked up the teacup beside him and lightly brushed the floating tea leaves with the lid: "What? You haven't secured it yet?"

"It's not that easy."

Ouyang Jing snorted coldly and tapped the tabletop heavily:

"The First Prince's people have been interfering constantly, refusing to let someone from our Prime Ministers Mansion fill the vacancy no matter what."

The Prime Minister paused, took a sip of tea, and said in a flat tone: "Nothing more than a deathbed struggle."

"But..."

At this point, the expression on Ouyang Jing's face became extremely strange, as if he had swallowed a dead fly:

"During this morning's court session, some bastard hiding in the shadows suddenly submitted an anonymous memorial and proposed a dirty trick!"

"Oh?" The Prime Minister looked up, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "What kind of dirty trick?"

"That memorial strongly recommended one of the Second Prince's subordinates to take over the position of Minister of Rites!"

Ouyang Jing gritted his teeth:

"Seeing the stalemate with us, the First Prince's faction probably felt they had no hope themselves.

So they simply went with the flow and directly seconded the motion in court!"

"The First Prince is clearly making it known that he'd rather throw this choice piece of meat to a dog than let our Prime Ministers Mansion have a single bite!"

"The Second Prince?"

Hearing this name, a look of astonishment finally appeared on the Prime Minister's normally calm, old face.

He put down his teacup, leaned back against the Grandmaster's chair, and his fingers began to tap rhythmically on the sandalwood armrest.

Seeing this, Ouyang Jing did not dare to disturb him and could only wait quietly for his father's calculations.

Everyone knew that because the Second Prince was nearly fifteen years younger than the First Prince,

Therefore, in the imperial court, the Second Prince was practically like a transparent person.

He had no connections and no power.

With only a few insignificant followers under him, he was essentially a marginal character whom few people took seriously.

"Interesting..."

After a long while, the Prime Minister stopped tapping:

"I must say, this is a brilliant strategy.

It correctly calculated that the First Prince's faction and the neutrals in court

would not allow our Prime Ministers Mansion to pocket this position.

Thus, it proposed someone from the Second Prince's faction to be elected.

In this way, the proposal naturally gains support from many people."

Ouyang Jing's brow was tightly furrowed: "Father, is this matter settled then?

This is the position of a Minister of a department!

We can't just watch it fall into the Second Prince's hands, can we?

Looking at the First Prince's reckless and supportive stance,

this matter is likely already a done deal."

The Prime Minister gave a cold laugh and waved his hand dismissively, as if speaking of a trivial matter:

"If it's given to the Second Prince, then so be it."

Ouyang Jing was stunned: "Father?"

"As the second son, he has no Foundation in the court."

The Prime Minister stood up, hands behind his back, his eyes full of disdain:

"Even if he's given the position of Minister of Rites, as a commander with no troops, what kind of waves can he possibly make?"

"Giving it to him is like tossing a coin to a beggar.

However..."

The Prime Minister looked out the window: "The person who thought of this strategy sees through the court's situation quite clearly.

Jing'er, go and find out exactly who proposed this strategy."

"Yes!"

...

Late at night, the Capital.

South of the city, in an underground secret room of a secluded small courtyard.

In the center of the secret room stood a half-person-high white jade wall.

At this moment, a blurry figure appeared on the jade wall.

Inside the secret room, a person completely shrouded in a black robe knelt on one knee before the jade wall.

The man in black kept his head lowered, not even daring to breathe loudly, his posture respectful to the extreme.

"Reporting to Master."

The man in black's voice was hoarse:

"The people from the God-Invoking Sect told me tonight

that they have successfully found the nodes and mediums for the god-invoking ritual in several villages on the outskirts of the Capital."

The figure on the jade wall did not speak, but only nodded slightly, causing a circle of illusory True Essence ripples.

The man in black swallowed and continued his report:

"The God-Invoking Sect people said that invoking the gods requires an extremely massive blood sacrifice."

"They hope Master can use your connections to apply pressure in the court or in the shadows.

To ensure that those dog-like constables of the Capital's Jiantian Division don't pay attention to these villages lately."

Saying this, the man in black reported the locations of these villages word for word.

The secret room fell silent for a few seconds.

The figure seemed to be privately considering the locations of these villages before saying:

"These villages are all quite far from the Capital's territory."

"Tell them to be careful and keep their hands clean."

"Concealing it from the Jiantian Division is no problem; I will make the arrangements."

The man in black cupped his fists: "Yes!"

After a pause, the man in black continued, his tone carrying a hint of hesitation:

"Master... the God-Invoking Sect also said that the Capital is, after all, the center of the empire and the headquarters of the Jiantian Division."

"They cannot act as recklessly here as they do in other places, capturing people at will."

"Therefore, they hope Master can send people to assist them in gathering offerings for the blood sacrifice."

As soon as these words were spoken, the True Essence light on the jade wall fluctuated violently.

A tangible killing intent seeped out from the jade wall.

"They beg for food and expect to be hand-fed as well."

The figure's cold laughter echoed in the secret room.

The man in black broke into a cold sweat and lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to move.

A moment later, that terrifying pressure slowly dissipated.

The figure seemed to be thinking, and after a good while, spoke faintly:

"Hasn't the White Lotus Sect's stronghold in the Capital been frequently going to the Refugee Area in the suburbs lately to do some 'great philanthropist' porridge distribution?"

The man in black quickly replied: "Yes, I heard it's being led by the White Lotus Sect Saintess, Jiang Yingrao."

The figure's tone was casual, as if deciding the life and death of a few ants:

"Go and contact the people from the White Lotus Sect Grand Elder's faction."

"Have them keep an eye out during the porridge distribution and secretly secure some offerings to send to the God-Invoking Sect."

The figure's tone was indifferent:

"After all, if a few refugees disappear, they're just gone; no one will notice."

The man in black felt a chill in his heart and said loudly and respectfully: "Master is wise! Your subordinate will see to it immediately!"

"Mhm." The figure responded, "Is there anything else?"

The man in black quickly raised his head as if seeking credit:

"Reporting to Master, regarding the position of Minister of Rites, with our people secretly pushing things along,"

"if nothing goes wrong, the imperial appointment should come down in a few days, letting the Second Prince's person take the position!"

Hearing this news, the blurry outline on the jade wall nodded slightly.

"Well done."

"Thank you for the praise, Master!" The man in black's voice trembled with excitement.

"If there's nothing else, then withdraw. Act according to plan and don't leave any traces."

"Your subordinate obeys! Farewell, Master!"

As the man in black finished speaking, the True Essence light on the jade wall instantly collapsed, turning into spots of light that vanished into the air.

...

The next day.

The Capital, in its most prosperous area, the Yihong Pavilion.

Early in the morning, the Yihong Pavilion was devoid of its nighttime clamor and appeared somewhat quiet.

Inside the Heaven-grade Number One luxury private room.

Sunlight dappled through the hollowed-out carved window frames onto the soft Persian carpet.

The room was filled with an extremely elegant yet irresistible scent of rosemary.

Jiang Yingrao, in a fiery red silk gown, was reclining lazily on a soft couch.

The red gown used very little fabric, with a very low neckline, exposing large areas of snowy, delicate skin that dizzied the eyes.

The slit in the skirt even reached the upper thigh.

With her casual movements, two straight, slender, and dazzlingly white legs were crossed together.

Her toes were painted with bright, dripping red balsam, exuding a natural charm.

At this moment, Jiang Yingrao's soul-stirring beautiful eyes were fixed intently on a very thin piece of letter paper in her hand.

This was something that had spread through the Capital's literary circles last night.

It was densely covered with Chen Shanzhi's explanation of the poem little pond during yesterday's martial arts class at the Academy.

Jiang Yingrao's slender fingers gently pinched the letter paper as she read it word by word.

The more she read, the wider the curve of her rosy lips became.

The more she read, the more intense the interest in her eyes became.

She narrowed her eyes, her gaze slowly moving down, finally settling on the line: "Articles are naturally formed, and a skillful hand finds them by chance."

Looking at these ten words.

An irrepressible glint of surprise flashed in the depths of Jiang Yingrao's eyes.

She sat up straight, the red gown sliding down a bit from her rounded shoulders, but she didn't care at all.

In her mind, like a revolving lantern, she began to rapidly recall everything Chen Shanzhi had done during this period.

Jiang Yingrao rested her cheek on one hand, her long fingers unconsciously drawing circles on the low table.

Since the late emperor passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne,

The Marquis's Mansion's situation in the Capital had become awkward.

Then thinking about how Chen Shanzhi's parents had died in a rebellion more than ten years ago,

Jiang Yingrao's clever brain instantly connected everything.

"This little thief has truly fooled everyone in the world all these years."

Jiang Yingrao licked her bright red lips, a deep sense of admiration growing in her eyes.

People of the demonic path had always believed in the survival of the fittest.

What they looked down on most were useless people who lived off their ancestors' legacy.

Someone like Chen Shanzhi, who could adapt to circumstances in the danger-filled Capital,

playing the fool for over a decade, shaping himself into a universally loathed playboy to preserve himself—

this level of patient calculation and this ruthless Heart-Nature

was exactly to her taste as a demonic sect enchantress!

Thinking about how, for their previous transaction, this boy had repeatedly ignored her objections

and forcibly transferred that Yang Parasite True Essence into her body,

Jiang Yingrao couldn't help but let out a soft snort.

This morning, the early path was once again covered in dew.

Right at that moment.

From outside the door came a very faint knock.

The laziness on Jiang Yingrao's face instantly vanished; without even looking up, she softly uttered two words:

"Come in."

"Squeak—"

The door was pushed open a crack, and a personal maid dressed in green cotton clothes walked in.

The maid turned around and closed the door with practiced ease.

Then, she stepped quickly to the couch and leaned into Jiang Yingrao's ear.

"Saintess."

The maid deliberately lowered her voice, her tone carrying a hint of urgency and gravity:

"That Zhang Qing has made a move!"

Jiang Yingrao raised her beautiful eyebrows, playing with the letter paper in her hand without making a sound.

The maid took a deep breath and continued in a low voice:

"He just went to that Shroud Shop again!"