Chapter 394: Same Side

Zhuge Changfeng welcomed them, ignoring their sorry states out of respect.

He led them inside the Imperial Palace, where a feast was held along with the officials. With how the emperor's birthday had yet to come, the emperor wasn't present.

After the feast, the delegation was taken to their quarters, outside Imperial Palace.

They stayed silent all this time, a veiled contempt at Tianyu's lavish and exaggerated style. [You had us come in all this way, and now you want us out? We didn't even see the emperor yet.]

[That's a custom for you!]

[Going in for a feast is having good manners. But you're not the big cheese here to live in the fancy and grand Imperial Palace!]

Quanrong's six leaders entered a high class tavern, while the soldiers were housed in garrisons.

Garrisons guarded by Dugu Zhantian's army. He said guarding, but it wasn't much different from keeping an eye on them to curb any violent behavior on Quanrong's part.

In the dead of night, a slim figure dodged the patrols and sneaked up to a lit up house, knocking twice, "Brother, it's me."

The door opened just a crack and the figure slipped right in. Looking up, she was no other than Touba Lian'er.

Six people were in the room, the leaders of the Quanrong Empire's delegation and one who had yet to reveal his face.

"Who is he?" Touba Lian'er pointed at the robed person.

Tuoba Liufeng and the Imperial Tutor exchanged a smile.

When the hooded figure raised his head, he spoke in a familiar tone, "Ha-ha-ha, miss Lian'er, we've been chatting all day at the feast yet you've already forgotten me?"

Sss~

Touba Lian'er glanced at the aged man and stuttered, "Z-Zhuge Changfeng?! What are you..."

"Lian'er, don't make a fuss, Prime Minister Zhuge..." Her brother smiled, "Is on the same side as us!"

[What?!]

Touba Lian'er stared at Zhuge Changfeng for a good while, not quite able to wrap her head around that notion. The great leader of Tianyu's Four Pillars was on Quanrong's side?

Zhuge Changfeng smiled at her obvious confusion, "Miss Lian'er, I and your esteemed father, Imperial Tutor and your emperor, have been in secret contact for decades. "

Lian'er blinked her big purty eyes, turning to her brother, only to find him nodding. Now a believer, she said, "I finally get why you were so confident in this mission. You had Prime Minister Zhuge on the inside. He's the one you called the most reliable spy. "

Tuoba Liufeng merely grinned.

He then said, "Prime Minister sir, has there been no changes to the plan? I get the feeling the situation in Tianyu has gone through upheaval."

"Ha-ha-ha, the young general is keen. It has indeed been so over these past few years. Our plan will just have to keep up with the times." Zhuge Changfeng nodded, "Worry not though, the stage has changed in our favor and not against it!"

"How can you be so sure?" Han Tiemo said.

Zhuge Changfeng had a confident smile, "The original plan was to use the centennial jubilee as an excuse to bring high ranked Quanrong into the imperial capital. When the time is right, Commander Tuoba will put pressure on the borders, taking Dugu Zhantian away and leaving the playing field open for the Regent Estate to incite chaos in its conquest of the houses. With the emperor's men busy with the mess, he'll have no one next to him, giving us the perfect opportunity to cut his head. The plan was 90% assured of success. Once the emperor falls, the rest will follow. With no support, the veteran Dugu Zhantian will be beaten back as well. At this point, the Quanrong army will have free reign to go across the country, with Tianyu all for the taking!"

"The crucial point is for all these scenarios to happen at the same time. By the time the empire's three guardian sects find out, it'll be too late. We'll just give them a little something to soothe them later and Tianyu will be ours!"

"Yes, that's the original plan. But what has changed?" Han Tiemo asked.

Zhuge Changfeng's eyes flashed, "This change came out of the blue to everyone. Tianyu no longer has Seven Noble Houses, rather eight. It is now in an even more tangled mess, with three factions in a deadlock. Even the ambitious Regent Estate finds this situation hard to overcome."

"How can..." Tuoba Liufeng was frantic.

Zhuge Changfeng gave him a long look, "Actually, you've already met with the eighth house today. Luo clan, led by that steward, Zhuo Fan."

"Zhuo Fan? The same one who blocked us?" Everyone cried out.

Tuoba Liufeng thirsted for blood, "He can't be left alive. Since they are foiling our plan, then we will help Regent Estate in rooting them out!"

"Young master Tuoba, take it easy!"

Zhuge Changfeng threw a mocking smile, "If Zhuo Fan was such an easy target, he'd be dead ages ago. With all due respect, as you are now, facing Zhuo Fan will end with you all getting annihilated."

Each of them was shocked and looked at Zhuge Changfeng incredulously.

Touba Lian'er snapped, "Prime Minister Zhuge is trying to scare us. I've met with Zhuo Fan before. He is strong, yes, but not invincible. Zha Lahan or Zhe Bie, in fact anyone here can easily kill him. With two against him, he is sure to breathe his last for good!"

Zha Lahan and Zhe Bie swelled with pride, [We ain't top Quanrong warriors for nothing!]

Zhuge Changfeng shook his head, "Ha-ha-ha, miss Lian'er, when did you meet him? What was his cultivation?"

"Around... a year ago. He was a peak Bone Tempering cultivator then." Touba Lian'er recalled, "Now that he's in the 3rd layer of Profound Heaven Stage, it proves he's incredible, but nothing we can't handle."

Zhuge Changfeng sighed, "Anything can change, given enough time. For a monster like Zhuo Fan, a year is more than enough! Ha-ha-ha, look beyond his low cultivation. Pitting your Radiant Stage experts against him is overconfidence and blind ambition. You're setting yourself up for failure!"

Zha Lahan and Zhe Bie glowered as Zhuge Changfeng continued uncaringly and spoke with an exceedingly cold gaze, "Not to mention, Tianyu's every faction is in a deadlock. Looks quiet from the outside but a storm is brewing underneath the surface. It's the best time for our plan. And the best candidate to break the stalemate is none other than the dauntless Zhuo Fan. You can't touch him before that, understand?"

Zhuge Changfeng's speech ended with a command.

Not something the Quanrong's top dogs would be keen to readily accept.

Only Han Tiemo was pensive before nodding, "You know the situation better than us. We will listen to the Prime Minister."

Zhuge Changfeng nodded pleased. He chatted for a while longer and then slipped away.

His two elders were waiting outside.

With Zhuge Changfeng gone, Zha Lahan was the first to act out, "Imperial Tutor, young master, are we just going to do what the old fox said?"

"We have no choice. We are strangers in a strange land and shouldn't act on a whim." Han Tiemo said, "Obscure Wolf, you have three days to find out about Tianyu's latest events. And this time, don't let the factions' relations and their actions escape your notice."

Face red, Hu Lianchai bowed and left in the pitch-black night...

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace's study, the emperor was reading the reports when a reportee came.

A black figure kneeled, "Your Majesty, news has come that the Quanrong delegation is housed. Also, the Prime Minister has made contact."

The emperor's beard shook and he grinned, "Ha-ha-ha, it has finally begun..."

The emperor took black and white pieces from a chess box beside him and threw them on the ground, "The pieces are in play. All that's left is a checkmate..."

At the Parish's observatory, Yun Shuang inspected the sky with the Heaven Communing Apparatus. Zhuo Fan stood watch with a frown, replaying today's events.

That Quanrong girl in particular kept coming back to him.

Hum~

The Heaven Communing Apparatus stopped and Yun Shuang looked winded, with faint sweat on her brow.

"How is it, Shuang'er? Any changes for the better?" Zhuo Fan asked.

Shaking her head, Shuang'er was grave, "Not only there are no changes for the better, but the Crouching Dragon looks more imposing, ready to take flight."

Zhuo Fan knew it to be the sign of being on the brink of ruling this land.

In other words, Quanrong's arrival made the imperial family more powerful. [That's terribly strange, unless...]

Zhuo Fan's eyes glinted.

Yun Shuang begged, "Steward Zhuo, this sight has shown me that the land will be in even more chaos. The people will be in pain, suffering and will be wretched. I beg of you, please save them! You alone can change this fate!

"Yun clan people are so strange. You've set aside your revenge for your kin and instead care for others." Zhuo Fan grinned, "No worries, you are with me now. I will help you achieve your wish."

"No, it's for the people..." Yun Shuang justified.

Zhuo Fan teased, "I'll do it for you, but don't feel like doing the same for the people. Now, who do you want me to do it for again?"

"For... me..." Blushing, Yun Shuang lowered her head.

Zhuo Fan laughed, his mind filled with constant thoughts.

[Everyone is dead focused on the Luo clan...]