Chapter 1479 - 1412: Intimidation (Part 2)

"Qin Feiyang!"

"How did he end up coming here?"

At the same time.

The Golden Throne Hall stirred restlessly.

The various Marquises and ministers all looked at Qin Feiyang in shock and suspicion.

Zhuge Mingyang, the State Preceptor, and the Little Prince likewise immediately turned to look at Qin Feiyang, their eyes all filled with the light of hatred.

The Little Prince suddenly barked, "This is the time for the morning audience. No outsiders are allowed to enter the Golden Throne Hall. Block him for Us!"

The Kylin Army guarding the Golden Throne Hall didn't dare intercept Qin Feiyang, but upon hearing the Little Prince's order, they could only grit their teeth and move to stop Qin Feiyang.

Qin Feiyang looked at the Little Prince; that hatred in his own eyes was clearly visible.

"It's good that you hate me."

"Because only hatred can make you grow faster."

Qin Feiyang murmured, then looked at the Kylin soldiers blocking his way and said calmly, "Step aside."

"This is a sacred decree from His Majesty Haotian. We have no choice but to obey. Please don't make things hard for us, alright?"

The Kylin soldiers pleaded, looking at Qin Feiyang.

Qin Feiyang swept his gaze over them one by one, then nodded. "Fine, I won't make things hard for you."

The Kylin soldiers let out a sigh of relief.

But just as they thought Qin Feiyang would turn back and leave, he suddenly waved his hand. A fierce wind howled into being, and they were immediately blasted away.

"Outrageous!"

A Kylin soldier shouted angrily.

"Are you stupid? He already went easy on us, and you're still yelling like a ghost?"

"If not for our Commander's face, we'd probably already be in hell right now."

"Shut up, quick."

"Anyway, we've already moved to intercept him—that's enough to say we didn't disobey His Majesty Haotian's order. What happens next has nothing to do with us."

The other Kylin soldiers immediately hissed at that man in reprimand.

...

Inside the hall!

Qin Feiyang walked step by step to the front of the assembled officials, stopped beside Zhuge Mingyang, and cupped his hands. "Commoner Qin Feiyang pays his respects to His Majesty Haotian."

"We don't want to see you. Get out at once!"

The Little Prince rose and roared.

Qin Feiyang said mildly, "Once matters here are settled, even without Your Majesty saying so, this commoner will naturally leave. Besides, you are now the ruler of a nation—you need to mind your image. This kind of yelling and shouting in the court, best not let it happen again in future."

The Little Prince glared angrily at Qin Feiyang, then finally let out a cold snort, clenched his two small hands, and sat back down on the dragon throne.

"Qin Feiyang, even though you and His Majesty Haotian are blood brothers, you have long since been expelled from the imperial palace. Please leave at once."

Martial Marquis Qian's eyes flashed as he rose to look at Qin Feiyang and barked.

A son's murder—such hatred is unforgettable for life.

In the past.

Because he feared Qin Feiyang, he didn't dare make a sound.

But now, with the State Preceptor, a peak-realm Pseudo God, supporting him, he no longer felt afraid.

"Huh?"

Qin Feiyang raised a brow, turned to look at Martial Marquis Qian, his eyes carrying a touch of amusement.

"Did this Marquis say anything wrong?"

"This is the most sacred Golden Throne Hall. How could it allow a mere commoner like you to trespass at will?"

Martial Marquis Qian gave a cold shout, then looked around at the ministers and said, "You all speak—did this Marquis say anything wrong?"

He was clearly trying to fan the flames.

But the outcome left Martial Marquis Qian very disappointed; not a single person present dared utter a word.

Even Marquis Anwu, Marquis Mo, Marquis Ge, and Martial Marquis Qi, who stood on the same side as him, all kept silent.

Qin Feiyang gave a mocking smile and looked at the full court of officials. "I suddenly forgot something. Can any of you remind me—how many times have I destroyed the Golden Throne Hall before?"

Everyone's hearts tightened.

Judging by that tone, is he going to destroy the Golden Throne Hall again?

If it were anyone else, they would definitely not think that way.

Because no one dares act wildly in the Golden Throne Hall.

But Qin Feiyang is someone who simply cannot be viewed with ordinary eyes.

Qin Feiyang looked at Martial Marquis Qian and sneered. "I dare to demolish even the Golden Throne Hall itself. Do you think I'd be afraid of you trying to stir up trouble here?"

Martial Marquis Qian's expression stiffened.

The State Preceptor suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Qin Feiyang, what exactly do you intend to do?"

Qin Feiyang smiled faintly and looked at the State Preceptor. "Last night, my forefathers sent me a dream. Do you know what it was?"

The State Preceptor raised a brow.

"My forefathers told me two things."

"The first was about Zhuge Mingyang inheriting the Marquis title."

"They said this Zhuge Mingyang harbors disloyalty toward Great Qin, and must not be allowed to inherit the Marquis rank."

Qin Feiyang chuckled.

"Absurd!"

"Setting aside whether this so-called dream of yours is real, even just your words are not credible."

The State Preceptor gave a cold laugh.

"Of course my words aren't credible."

"However, I wonder if Lord State Preceptor still remembers—back then I told you that I possess an image recording of a conversation between you and the Senior Valley Master?"

Qin Feiyang said with a teasing smile.

The State Preceptor's pupils shrank as he sent a voice transmission, "Don't think you can threaten this State Preceptor with that bit of footage."

"Have I threatened you?"

Qin Feiyang countered.

"If that's not a threat, what is?"

The State Preceptor said angrily.

Qin Feiyang laughed. "I'm merely making you understand one thing—as long as I, Qin Feiyang, am here, you will not be allowed to act with impunity."

The State Preceptor clenched both his hands.

Qin Feiyang gave a faint smile, turned to look at the assembled ministers, and said, "You're all definitely thinking right now: isn't it just a dream? What's so believable about that? But I'm telling you, this is a dream entrusted to me by our forefather. Even if you think it's unreliable, you still need to ponder it carefully."

"Absurd, utterly absurd!"

Martial Marquis Qian roared, seething with righteous indignation.

Qin Feiyang suddenly changed his tone and snapped, "You even dare to question the forefather? That's blasphemy. Are you courting death?"

Martial Marquis Qian's body trembled. This charge was no small matter. He hurriedly said, "I wouldn't dare blaspheme the late emperor, but this dream you speak of—who knows if it's real or fake?"

"A dream is something only I can know; of course there's no way to prove if it's true or false."

"But whether Zhuge Mingyang harbors disloyal thoughts or not—we don't know that either."

"So my proposal is that the matter of Zhuge Mingyang inheriting the Marquis title be postponed for now."

"Does anyone have objections?"

"If you do, don't hold back, just say it. After all, I, Qin Feiyang, am a very democratic man, and I respect everyone's opinion."

Qin Feiyang said with a beaming smile.

"Democratic?"

"Respectful?"

Hearing this, many people scoffed inwardly, but none dared show it.

Because none of them wanted to end up following in the footsteps of the Zhuge family.

Zhuge Mingyang could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. He glared at Qin Feiyang and shouted, "Stop pushing me too far!"

"Someone as kind as me, how could I possibly bully you?"

"What I'm doing is partly for the sake of Great Qin, and partly for your own good."

"Because right now everyone's wondering whether you harbor disloyalty, so I have to investigate quickly and prove your innocence."

"Besides, if you truly have no disloyal intent, the Marquis seat will be yours sooner or later. So what are you afraid of?"

Qin Feiyang said mockingly.

Zhuge Mingyang snarled, "Who says I'm afraid? You're talking complete nonsense!"

Qin Feiyang chuckled. "There's a saying: if you've done nothing shameful, you don't fear ghosts knocking at your door. Since you're not afraid, then cooperate with my investigation."

"Stop twisting words and forcing logic!"

"Who the hell do you think you are, that you can demand I cooperate with you?"

Zhuge Mingyang was beside himself with rage.

The State Preceptor saw things taking a bad turn and barked, "Shut your mouth for this State Preceptor!"

Zhuge Mingyang refused to accept it. He looked at the State Preceptor angrily and said, "Lord State Preceptor, this is the Golden Throne Hall. Are you just going to let him run wild like this?"

"Fool!"

"Can't you see Qin Feiyang is setting you up?"

"He's trying to deliberately provoke you, make you lose your reason, and trick you into blurting out things you shouldn't say. Do you understand?"

The State Preceptor scolded him in a low, stern voice.

Hearing this, Zhuge Mingyang's gaze quivered slightly. He looked gloomily at Qin Feiyang and said, "I, Zhuge Mingyang, have a clear conscience. Say whatever you like."

Qin Feiyang glanced at the State Preceptor.

Old ginger really is spicier; he'd seen through the scheme so quickly and snapped Zhuge Mingyang out of it.

Qin Feiyang turned to the civil and military officials, and said impatiently, "Speak up. I proposed delaying Zhuge Mingyang's inheritance of the Marquis title—does anyone have any opinion on that?"

Martial Marquis Shao's eyes flashed as he said, "This Marquis supports postponing it."

Upon hearing this.

The State Preceptor and Zhuge Mingyang immediately looked toward Martial Marquis Shao, murderous intent in their hearts stronger than ever before.

Martial Marquis Qian raised his brows and shouted angrily, "Martial Marquis Shao, what do you mean by that? Have you already been bought off by Qin Feiyang?"

"Presumptuous."

"Is that something a Marquis of Great Qin dares to say?"

Martial Marquis Shao glared at Martial Marquis Qian.

Martial Marquis Qian said blandly, "This Marquis merely voiced the doubt in his heart."

"What a joke."

"Even before Qin Feiyang appeared, this Marquis had already said Zhuge Mingyang harbors disloyalty. So this Marquis is simply agreeing with his own previous stance; it has nothing whatsoever to do with Qin Feiyang."

"If you keep slandering me, saying this Marquis is colluding with Qin Feiyang, then this Marquis will have every reason to suspect that you, like Zhuge Mingyang, also harbor disloyal intent toward Great Qin."

Martial Marquis Shao said.

"You…"

Martial Marquis Qian was livid and had actually been bitten back instead.

"Enough, enough, the two of you stop bickering."

"Since on this matter your views can't be unified, we'll discuss it later. For now, let me talk about the second dream the forefather entrusted to me."

Qin Feiyang said.

Everyone frowned despite themselves. What trick was this brat going to pull now?

Especially the State Preceptor; at this moment he felt a nameless irritation he couldn't put into words.

Qin Feiyang smiled and said, "This second dream concerns certain Marquises."

The various Marquises suddenly grew tense inside.

"The forefather told me that in this recent period, a few Marquises have been far from honest. They take the stipends of Great Qin, yet they've been colluding with some Old Bastard, thick as thieves."

Qin Feiyang swept his gaze over the group of Marquises, his face full of playful amusement.

All the Marquises, aside from Martial Marquis Shao, felt a bit panicked.

Because they all knew exactly who the Old Bastard in Qin Feiyang's mouth was.

And in this period, each of them had more or less had some contact with the State Preceptor.

Of course.

The most flustered were the five Marquises under Martial Marquis Qian.

Because they had already thrown in with the State Preceptor.

Martial Marquis Shao glanced at the State Preceptor, a hint of cold laughter flashing in his eyes. He looked at Qin Feiyang and, pretending ignorance, said, "Qin Feiyang, could you make yourself a bit clearer? Some of us don't quite understand what you mean."

"Fine."

"I'll spell it out more clearly."

"As Marquises of the Great Qin Empire, who should you be loyal to? Naturally to Great Qin, to His Majesty Haotian."

"Yet some people have gotten their target wrong and gone to pledge loyalty to an Old Bastard."

"Martial Marquis Qian, Marquis Anwu, Marquis Mo, Martial Marquis Qi, Marquis Ge—you five are the most senior Marquises of Great Qin. Why don't you answer me: how should such Marquises be dealt with?"

Qin Feiyang looked at the five of them, smiling as he asked.