"Oh?" The lady in the carriage was only slightly surprised, but did not ask any further questions, clearly not very interested in what was happening outside.
However, since the other party had just helped her, she didn't suggest taking the opportunity to leave.
The toothless coachman, who had served her for so many years, naturally guessed what she was thinking. So he leaned leisurely against the carriage door, enjoying watching the show from the sidelines.
Upon hearing Zu An's words, a hint of disdain flashed in the eyes of the young nobleman on horseback, but he still cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Forgive my poor eyesight, but I really can't tell what kind of important person you are."
Zu An said, "He's not a big shot. He's just a baron recently conferred by the Emperor and a retainer of the Crown Prince. We're all officials in the same court, so we should help each other out."
He said this mainly to determine whether today's events were a coincidence or a trap set for him. Logically speaking, if it was just a coincidence that he ran into an arrogant and domineering second-generation official, he should have been more cautious knowing his identity.
Neither "phoenix man" nor "crown prince's attendant" are particularly remarkable titles, but one was bestowed by the emperor himself, and the other was a close advisor to the future emperor. No one with a sound mind would risk everything over a chance encounter.
"Huh?" At this moment, a soft exclamation came from inside the carriage. The curtain of the window next to it was slightly lifted, and a glimpse of her slender and beautiful fingers could be vaguely seen. Just by looking at those hands, one could completely imagine how beautiful and flawless she must be.
The coachman with the missing tooth was somewhat surprised. His wife was usually indifferent to everything; what was wrong with her today?
At this moment, the noble young man in the carriage laughed: "A retainer of the Crown Prince, or even a baron? Such a high-ranking official, I'm so scared."
The other knights around him burst into laughter, and a group of them surrounded him, mocking him.
"A mere nobody like him dares to raise his own status here."
"I'm afraid this guy is a country bumpkin from the countryside. He doesn't know that in a place like the capital, if you throw a piece of something at someone and it hits them, eight out of ten people would be higher-ranking than him."
"That's right, that's right. In terms of official rank, many of us are higher than a mere attendant."
...
Although the Crown Prince's attendants were close advisors to the Crown Prince, their rank was indeed not high, so their words were not entirely wrong.
However, the position of Crown Prince's Attendant cannot be judged by rank, since they are so close to the Crown Prince and associate with high-ranking officials and nobles. Just like many leaders' secretaries in my previous life, their positions were not high, but who would dare to easily offend the secretary closest to the leader?
Zu An quietly observed these people, already understanding their intentions. It seemed these people were indeed specifically targeting him, and they were definitely not from the Crown Prince's faction; otherwise, he would have given them face.
Then it could only be someone from the Qi King's lineage. No wonder the frightened horse died so strangely before; it must have been a trap set by these guys.
At this moment, the young nobleman on horseback waved his hand, signaling the people around him to be quiet, and then said to Zu An, "I wonder which row and column this gentleman is standing in in the Golden Palace?"
Only officials of relatively high rank were qualified to stand in the Golden Hall and have close contact with the emperor during court assemblies.
Other officials of lower rank could only wait in line outside the Golden Palace. Unless summoned for a specific reason, they had no right to meet the emperor and could only occasionally catch a glimpse of what was happening inside the Golden Palace.
Those of lower rank would be placed further away, closer to the palace gate, and would not even be able to see the interior of the Golden Palace from afar; they could only see the magnificent roof of the Golden Palace.
Therefore, one could judge the rank and favor of each other based on their standing position during court assemblies.
Zuan said calmly, "I don't need to attend court."
The young nobleman laughed heartily: "So this sir isn't even qualified to attend the court assembly."
His smile vanished instantly, and he spat on the ground: "You dare to say you're serving in the same court as me? You're not worthy!"
The knights around him dutifully cooperated with their master, echoing his words and mocking Zaun's overestimation of his abilities.
"Shut up!" Zuan snorted and activated his Hundred Cries ability. An invisible sound wave spread out, and the knights felt a headache coming on. Many words were stuck in their mouths and they couldn't say them for a while.
Some with lower cultivation levels even fell off their horses, looking utterly disheveled.
Zaun didn't use his full strength, otherwise many of these knights would probably have been turned into idiots by the shock.
As a keyboard warrior who has mastered the essence of the art of survival, revealing his full strength from the very beginning is far too risky.
Seeing that a conflict had broken out between the two sides, the onlookers immediately fled, and soon the area became deserted.
The young nobleman narrowed his eyes: "I was wondering why he was so arrogant. So he had some cultivation. It's a pity that he only had the cultivation of a sixth rank. How dare he run wild in a place like the capital?"
The combat power displayed by the opponent just now was consistent with the previous intelligence. On the surface, his cultivation level was between the fifth and sixth rank, but his actual combat power was much higher, equivalent to the peak of the sixth rank, and possibly even reaching the seventh rank.
But even if someone is a seventh-rank official, so what? In his eyes, they are nothing but ants.
At this moment, Zu'an looked at him with a half-smile: "I wonder who you are, sir. At least let me die knowing why."
The young nobleman snorted, proudly raising his chin to reveal a pair of upturned nostrils.
Obviously, he couldn't possibly introduce himself, something that would lower his status. The knight beside him already understood: "Open your dog eyes and take a look. This is the heir apparent of the current King of Qi, holding the official position of Commandant of the Imperial Guard. How dare you, a nobody, offend him? Do you even know what the crime is for offending a superior?"
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
