While a high-stakes gambling game was taking place in front of Fuxianglou on Guiyuan Street, Fu Lian rushed back to Rongqing Hall of the Duke of Dai's Mansion: "Grandmother, Ya'er has given in..."
"Good, good! As long as he admits he's a descendant of the Fu family, that's all that matters!" The old lady stood up excitedly, her face beaming as she spoke with the help of her maid.
The previously somber Rongqing Hall was instantly filled with a joyful atmosphere.
A group of ladies and young women celebrated joyfully amidst the flattery of their maids and servants.
This made Fu Lian break out in a cold sweat, and he hurriedly raised his hand to stop them: "Ancestor, Ya Ge'er personally agreed to return to the Fu clan, but he wants the Puppet Pill..."
"What?! He doesn't know what's good for him..." The women and old ladies in the room were all furious and berated him. Even the usually calm and collected old lady couldn't hold back and scolded, "You unfilial brat! You disobedient son! He's deliberately betraying his ancestors and forgetting his lineage. He's not a human being!"
"Ancestor, please calm down. He is a disciple of the Immortal Sect, and he is selling spiritual medicines and spiritual root repair fluids on the orders of his master. This has already alarmed various forces that are trying to curry favor with him."
The key is that two emperors respected the immortal sect behind him, bestowed titles upon him to win him over, and even helped him suppress Prince Rong and other forces targeting him. They are not people that the Fu family can afford to offend! Fu Lian, fearing that the women in the inner quarters might ruin things, explained the implications.
The women and young ladies in the room quickly fell silent, and the maids and servants immediately shut up.
The entire Rongqing Hall fell silent in an instant, as if frozen solid, and a chill emanated from it.
With a thud, the old lady slammed Zichan's cane to the ground and snorted coldly, "Fu Ya, a son of a concubine, climbed up to the immortal sect and soared to the heavens."
This was originally a great opportunity. If he had relied on the help of the Fu family to consolidate the power of his family and the immortal sect, intervened in the military power of the dynasty, and could have become the ruler of a region in no time.
Unfortunately, he was still young, rebellious, and short-sighted. In a fit of anger, he rejected the support of his family and fell into the karmic trap of the dynasty's power struggles without even realizing it.
Cause and effect are the most taboo things for those who cultivate immortality; if not handled properly, they can become an insurmountable barrier to their cultivation.
His Majesty issued a secret decree, ordering the Fu family to facilitate Fu Ya's journey to the south to welcome his bride. The purpose was to intervene in the cause and effect; the deeper the entanglement, the more disadvantageous it would be for Fu Ya, and the more beneficial it would be for those who helped him.
In an unstable world, protecting one's family, seeking power, and pursuing longevity are essential lessons for every knowledgeable and far-sighted family with a long history. When faced with the opportunity to sell spiritual medicines and spiritual root repair fluids on the orders of their master, everyone wants to participate and compete for cultivation resources.
However, Fu Ya openly and secretly transferred the sale of elixirs and spiritual root repair fluids to the two emperors, thus establishing an alliance.
This was originally a good thing, but the situation was unstable. The military power and number of cultivators controlled by the two emperors were simply not enough to balance the military power and cultivator groups controlled by various forces, large and small. In order to become the most powerful, they staged imperial power games, sent secret decrees, and used Fu Ya as bait to fish for fish.
Fu Ya was a pawn in the Emperor's hands within the Fu clan. After Fu Zhen committed the heinous crime of confiscating his property and exterminating his clan, the Emperor had no choice but to sacrifice Fu Ya in order to salvage the Fu clan's glorious achievements.
"Since Fu Ya is so ungrateful, let him fend for himself!"
"Oh, how could this be!" The women and young ladies in the room were filled with surprise and doubt, unable to fathom the old lady's frank intentions.
Are the young ladies and maids in the hall so ignorant that they simply take it as a story?
The ladies were all wives of direct descendants of the clan, and they all knew more or less some of the inside story. They all turned pale and became extremely nervous.
The old lady has made it clear that neither of the two emperors could protect Fu Ya, which shows that various powerful families in the Great Li Dynasty are eyeing him covetously, all wanting to obtain the resources in Fu Ya's hands.
Fu Ya's life or death is irrelevant.
There are many other disciples of the immortal sect besides Fu Ya, so losing one of Fu Ya's inquiry stones is not worth mentioning.
The old lady hinted at another meaning: if Fu Ya were to wisely return to the Fu family and share in the family's glory and disgrace, it seemed there was another plan in place.
It's like competing with all the forces of the Great Li Dynasty; just thinking about it is terrifying.
Fu Lian grew increasingly frightened as he thought about it, and said tremblingly, "Ancestor, your grandson believes that Bao Ya'er's return to the clan to share the glory and disgrace, and to restore the honor of the Fu family ancestors, is just around the corner."
Conversely, if Fu Ya suffers, it's tantamount to squandering the Fu clan's opportunity to rise by attaching themselves to the Qian Yuan Immortal Sect!
"Hmph, the key issue is that Fu Ya's illegitimate son doesn't know what's good for him!"
As you know, that wretched Fu Zhen is determined to die rather than hand over the Puppet Pill and the trump card left by the Fu family ancestors to each generation of clan leaders.
Even the command token promised by the late emperor was handed over to the retired emperor by Fu Zhen.
"Fu Zhen committed a capital crime that led to the confiscation of his family's property and the extermination of his entire clan. He knew that if he gave up his trump card to save his life, he would be close to death. What could he do?" the old lady said angrily. "He's a complete disappointment and disobedient son."
Fu Lian said with a headache, "Grandfather, why don't I analyze these problems for Fu Ya and let him know? I believe that Brother Ya has a way to subdue Fu Zhen."
Or perhaps a single burst of immortal power could break the deadlock, preventing our Fu clan from losing its chance to rise again?
"Ha, Brother Lian, you have a very shallow view of things."
Not to mention that the two emperors were wary of the rise of the Fu family, regained control of the military, and relied on the supreme imperial power of the Qian Yuan Immortal Sect.
The power of the other families in the dynasty alone would not allow the Fu family to rise to prominence!
Simply put, this is a doomed situation.
The Fu family members found it difficult to break the deadlock, except for Fu Ya, who could break it by relying on the power of the immortal sect. However, Fu Ya's repeated attempts to break free from the family's constraints indicated that he too would find it difficult to break the deadlock.
"You all need to remember this: time waits for no one, so be careful what you say and do." The old lady gave a profound definition and warning.
The hall was filled with mournful cries, creating an exceptionally oppressive atmosphere.
Fu Lian said unwillingly, "Ancestor, there's still hope to break this deadlock, as long as we can get Fu Zhen to talk..."
"Alright, you're welcome to try!" The old lady waved her hand to shoo him away, seemingly confident and unfathomable.
Little did they know that Fu She was in the ancestral hall, torturing Fu Zhen to extract a confession.
All of this happened to fall within Zheng Ya's 400-meter radius perception range. Unable to make any judgment based on the dynamics of the thermal sensor, and having to deal with the gambling, he said in a strange tone, "Alright, since everyone is willing to participate in the gambling, I'll accept it all?"
"Well done, Viscount Fu has guts, truly a promising young man!" Master Tianyuan flew down to the center of the arena to offer his congratulations, while the other nine uninvited guests also flew down to the center to offer their polite words.
Prince Rong couldn't stand it any longer: "Alright, let's start the betting?"
"I'm worried you'll give us a ten- or eight-year wait to renew the bet. Wouldn't that just mean we'd lose to you for nothing with this kind of word game?"
“Prince Rong, your magnanimity is not commensurate with your reputation for benevolence and righteousness!” Zheng Ya turned to him and mocked. Prince Rong was so angry that his teeth ached, but he dared not lash out in public. He snorted coldly, “I will not argue with you.”
Since you've publicly set up this betting platform, there should be a time limit..."
“Prince Rong, if you add Manager Qi’s life to the stakes, this bet will be revealed immediately. Do you dare to accept the bet?” Zheng Ya ignored Prince Rong’s pretentious demeanor and turned to Manager Qi with a cold smile.
Manager Qi realized something and took the initiative to step forward and kneel before Prince Rong: "Your Highness, I have been fortunate to run Fuxiang Restaurant for eight years, enjoying all the riches and honors of the world and passing it down to future generations. This is all thanks to Your Highness's grace."
"I have been tricked and am willing to risk my life, even in death, to avoid tarnishing Your Highness's reputation. I humbly beg Your Highness's permission?"
"Manager Qi, someone else poisoned Fu Ya, so why should you take the blame for someone else? I will never allow it..." Prince Rong put on a show of feigned suffering in public.
Zheng Ya snorted coldly: "You and your servants are quite the actors. So you think I'm the bad guy?"
Is it really worth putting on this whole show to win people over over something as trivial as a bet?
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