The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 768: The Ambition of the Aristocratic Family_1

Li Qing felt humiliated by Dian Chunqiu, that burly bureau chief.

The intended message behind his words was practically pointing at Li Qing’s nose and calling him an ignorant good-for-nothing.

However, Li Qing couldn’t deny that indeed, he seemed to be unaware of many things.

When he returned, he would really need to spend some time looking over the Ninth Bureau’s data, to understand the strengths and some secret techniques of each family.

What he considered wasn’t about losing face, which actually was a trifle.

Even more pressing was his desire to understand the heads of each family, lest he be at a loss when facing the enemy.

"Chief, did you seek me out this quickly because there’s progress on that matter?" Li Qing asked.

Dian Chunqiu nodded, his expression weighed with severity, "The money issue is easy to solve; they even agreed to a higher amount than you asked for. But the two Earth-rank Magical Artifacts and two thousand Spirit Stones are viewed as too much by those noble families, and they don’t agree to it."

"Chief, is this... too much?" Li Qing asked with a frown, "This is an opportunity to achieve Divinity Transformation. The value of a Divine Transformation Realm Expert is immense, even if you have to rob, you can easily recoup these stakes they’ve put up. These people are just too stingy."

Dian Chunqiu’s brows conveyed slight worry, "Actually, I feel their main purpose is to test the depths of the Underground Palace and its Master. I know their true calculations; if they can forcefully breach the Underground Palace using martial might, not only will they not lose those items, but they will also reap the countless treasures within the Underground Palace."

"The events surrounding King Qi were no secret. Anyone with determination and effort could easily dig it out, and using that data to infer some situations about King Qi’s Underground Palace, as well as the extent of the treasures, isn’t difficult."

The smile silently vanished from Li Qing’s face, "Speaking kind words to no avail, they’re simply inviting death upon themselves. If I have no other choice when they suffer terrible losses and can no longer bear the deaths, it will not be so easy to stop."

"Indeed... some people may die," said Dian Chunqiu, his gaze stretching to the outskirts of the city, speaking softly, "There has been peace in the world for many years now. The most these people have done day-to-day is nothing more than exorcising evil spirits and capturing some demonically possessed beasts. The confidence of each one of them is greatly inflated, and they’re no longer content with living in seclusion."

"Chief, if it really comes to blows, I’d like to know what role we should play?" Li Qing asked with a grave voice.

Dian Chunqiu’s face showed a hint of complexity and after a long silence, he finally said, "In this matter, our role has always been that of a mediator, facilitating negotiations. Even if they launch another assault on the Underground Palace, we will stand in the position of a middleman and urge peace between the two sides."

"If the Chief says so, then there must be a limit to this matter, right?" Li Qing asked again.

Dian Chunqiu turned to look at Li Qing, "Whose behalf are you speaking for now?"

"Chief, aren’t we all mediators? Who else could I be speaking for?" Li Qing said gloomily. "If they insist on not backing down, the Queen Consort of Qi surely won’t resort to gentle means again, she might even obliterate a few noble families. I must consider persuading at the right moment."

"Besides, if a fight breaks out, now that the Queen Consort is the Sixth Elder of the Nine Truth Palace, the Nine Truth Palace will certainly not sit by idly. This too must be mediated. As a member of both the Nine Truth Palace and the Ninth Bureau, I don’t want to see the Nine Truth Palace fall into a situation where the whole world is an enemy."

Dian Chunqiu nodded, "What you’ve said satisfies me. You little rascal, if in my presence you considered showing off the Nine Truth Palace’s powerful martial might to suppress your peers across the world and once again establish the supremacy of your palace, I would kill you right now!"

"Since they don’t agree, let them suffer a bit. But when they’re ready to capitulate, I hope you can persuade the Queen Consort to stop in time. Of course, as the side that lost the war, they will definitely have to pay a price. We can discuss this later."

Li Qing frowned, "Does the Chief mean that if the Queen Consort loses, the Underground Palace goes to them? But if they lose, we still have to get the Queen Consort to exercise restraint and not take it too far?"

This question also seemed to trouble Dian Chunqiu. It took him a long while before he said with weight in his words, "Isn’t that always the way with war? Once you’ve completely lost, naturally, you can’t talk about having any rights."

"She won’t agree to it," Li Qing shook his head, "That woman’s killing intent is intense. The first thing she did upon awakening was to kill all the former acquaintances in the Underground Palace to the last. Such conditions from the Chief, I feel, are a bit too difficult for me."

In order to fully convince Dian Chunqiu, Li Qing had no choice but to fabricate some truths and lies, framing Jing Yan for something she hadn’t done.

"Then what kind of conditions do you think she would want?" Dian Chunqiu asked gravely.

Li Qing shook his head, "I don’t know, but I suspect that unless one or two of the leading families are wiped out, she is unlikely to back down."

"Let’s adapt according to the situation," Dian Chunqiu said somberly, "Once a battle starts, it’s difficult to anticipate the outcome. However, what I can assure you is that if the Underground Palace is truly breached, the Ninth Bureau will definitely intervene to protect the Queen Consort. You can relay this message for me."

"Alright, I’ll do my best," Li Qing murmured with a worried brow. "This is really a thankless task. Chief, if you have time, you might as well prepare a coffin for me sooner rather than later. I feel like I might lose my life at any moment."

Dian Chunqiu suddenly glared fiercely, "You messed-up rascal, without pointing it out, you really got a kick out of pretending, huh? That day at the Nine Truth Palace, many people saw you two together, and quite a few heard her calling you husband. Are you still trying to play this charade with me?"

"Chief, just misunderstand me then!" Even when caught red-handed, Li Qing remained unflustered, and instead took on a look of injured innocence as he spoke to Dian Chunqiu, "There’s no point in explaining further. I just have one question for the Chief: what would you do if you met a woman who is three major realms stronger than you, over a thousand years older, and willing to cultivate you as her husband? Would you really dare to regard her as your woman?"

Dian Chunqiu paused for a moment, "I think I can understand you now. This... indeed doesn’t seem like a blessing you can enjoy easily. It’s been tough on you."

Li Qing huffed with a face that was neither here nor there, "I could accept the hardship but being misunderstood chills my heart. Chief, I have to muster a lot of courage just to talk to her about these matters. She could squish me just as easily as she could an ant."