Both Ren Hanlin and Ren Wenxu, who originally had violent energy fluctuations, calmed down and shivered suddenly, as though the torrid heat in their body during the hottest and most humid days of the year had been drenched by a basin of cold water. Ren Junyang's body shook as well.
They did not take notice of that before. However, the concept of the equal importance of family, country and the world was an important part of the ethics in the Clear Jade Dynasty. The "family" mentioned did not refer to an ordinary small family unit. Family clan hierarchies and rules were equivalent to the country's laws. The family head was the true dictator in the family clan. His role in the family clan was equivalent to that of the emperor in a country.
Although Ren Jie was merely in the Body Refinement Realm, he was the undisputed family head.
"I was overly anxious just now. I didn't mean any disrespect for you, Family Head. However, you are still young, after all. The existence of the Elders' Union is to restrict and assist you in handling family clan matters. Looking at how imprudent you were, it seems like you will need to stay in the family clan to learn the family rules." Ren Junyang bowed and apologized immediately. Concurrently, his expression darkened and it looked like he was ready to strike back.
"The Elders' Union has the power to control all matters relating to the family head before he turns eighteen. That includes the family head's daily expenses. I believe you should be clear about this too." Ren Wenxu was furious from the scolding, but he had no means to vent his anger. Those words were the only way he could express his dissatisfaction.
Ren Hanlin nodded too. He thought to himself, We had originally only wanted to warn him and slightly control his actions. Since he went so overboard, it looks like we will have to supervise him properly.
"Haha…" Ren Jie burst out laughing suddenly. His laughter made Ren Junyang and the other elders who were standing below the family leader position confused.
Ren Jie took a gentle leap and stood on the family head chair that was more majestic than the imperial dragon chair he saw on Earth. He opened his arms and said, "So you want to play with me? Then I will have to play along. If all of you really want to pass that resolution, don't you have to wait until the real Elder Conference when all seven elders are present? Get the first elder out of his secluded cultivation now. Call my second and fifth uncle too and get them back to attend the Elder Conference. The resolution can only be passed when all of them are present. Don't you want to use the power of the Elders' Union? Fine, just get all of them to vote during every Elder Conference in the future."
Ah!
Hearing that, Ren Junyang and the other elders froze. Ren Tianheng was the Great General in the North-West. He was situated in the north-west and had six hundred thousand troops under his command. There was no way he could leave easily. Meanwhile, Ren Tianqi was the Great General in the South. He was situated in the south and had nearly five hundred thousand troops under his command. How could they leave their positions so easily?
As for the first elder, he had been in secluded cultivation for many years. How could they gather merely to discuss cutting the family head's expenses? If that were to happen, that would be the joke of the century.
"Not only that, didn't you think I am a pushover because of my young age? You were not treating me as the family head. If you can utilize the power of the Elders' Union, I can also use the power of the family head. From today onwards, every single one of you and your close family members will have to receive my signature before spending every single cent or using any Dharma treasures that belong to the family clan. Not only that, I will get someone here later to study the authorities of the family head. I remember I can also alter the family rules. I'll target all of you when changing the family rules. If it doesn't manage to deal with all of you, I'll target every single one of you individually."
Relieving. This is so f*cking relieving.
At that moment, Ren Jie felt that the anger that welled inside him was thoroughly relieved. He suddenly realized that it was a pretty good idea to be a good-for-nothing. He did not have to scheme against others and could say whatever he wanted. He could use the most direct way to achieve his motive.
Ren Jie looked at those guys who were stunned from his scoldings. He felt greatly relieved and satisfied.
Because Ren Jie was not clear about the exact authorities of the family head, he merely said those words to vent. Of course, if those guys continued giving him a hard time, he would not go easy on them. Even if it meant forsaking the position as the family head, Ren Jie would make it unbearable for them. Furthermore, in a large family clan like the Ren family, changing the family head was not a simple matter.
Ren Jie analyzed the limited information he had and concluded that he got the position as the family head because of how impressive his father was. He was so impressive that he was a complete dictator. Even the Elders' Union was established because of his words. It seemed like he was seeking some sort of balance as Ren Jie was not as impressive as him and he might be unable to repress the other members of the family clan. If the Elders' Union was not established, there would most likely be other arrangements.
The Ren family was so massive that there was a huge number of people in the close family of each elder. They were associated with various organizations.
Ren Junyang and the other elders did not know what to say anymore. Or they might be too afraid to say anything because of how unrelenting Ren Jie's words were. The family head had greater power than they had ever imagined. Not mentioning others, with just a word, the family head could restrain and control the expenses of the elders, their close family members, and their affiliated powers, as well as retract support given to them in various events. There was no need for any discussion at all.
"Continue. You guys can continue your elder conference. I don't have time for you guys anymore." After venting his frustrations and seeing how silent they were, Ren Jie thought that he had said enough. There were so many things that he was unclear of, he didn't need to go too far with the scoldings. After finishing his words, he jumped down from the family head chair and strode out.
Wan Hong was still holding the teacup in his hands. There were only the three elders who were stunned by the scoldings and the speechless Wan Hong left in the conference hall.
"Phew!" Ren Jie let out a deep breath after leaving the conference hall. That was so f*cking satisfying.
After he had calmed down, he was also a little emotional. The original Ren Jie had nothing else in the brain other than women, entertainment, walking the birds and watching animal fights. He did not even know the title of the emperor and the number of years he had ruled. Apart from knowing nothing about the rules and information about the family clan, he had no knowledge about the Clear Jade Dynasty.
This is not good. I have to find out about these soon. However, these were not questions that he could simply ask anyone. After some deliberation, Ren Jie decided to learn about these by reading books. The Ren family was so large that it had its own library pavilion. Ren Jie vaguely remembered that it was huge.
That's it?
Ren Jie wanted to find out where the library pavilion was, but he only remembered that it was massive and magnificent. He did not recall anything else. It seemed like Ren Jie might have passed by the pavilion library but did not bother remembering where it was.
Out of despair, Ren Jie could only wave and call a guard over to bring him to the library pavilion. Those normal guards were very respectful towards Ren Jie. Even if he was not the family head but one of the pampered lineal descendants in the Ren family, he was not someone they could offend.
The guard walked towards Ren Jie respectfully. However, when he heard that Ren Jie wanted to go to the library pavilion, he was stunned and could not resist shaking his head.
Did I hear it wrongly? What kind of joke is this? Why is he going to the library pavilion? There's no gambling, animal fights, beautiful ladies or nice wine in there…
It was only when Ren Jie opened his mouth to ask again did the guard bring him to the library pavilion in a semi-conscious state. When he saw Ren Jie enter, his expression turned weird, as though he saw a rat running into a cat house.
This is weird. Is the family head sick? Or else, why would he go to the library pavilion? He should be going to the Red Sleeves Pavilion where the maidservants are instead!
The Ren family abode occupied a large piece of land. The total combined land area added up to about fifteen square kilometers. One could even race on horses within the confines of the abode. Behind the main building area was an empty region that had no buildings within a two-kilometer radius. It was filled with many varieties of natural plants. Walking through the region was akin to walking through a wild forest.
Wan Hong was walking briskly, but he slowed down immediately upon reaching that region. He knew that the sixth elder did not like people running or making a nuisance when they were here if there was no emergency.
In the bustling Jade Capital where every inch of land was equivalent to gold, the Ren family had designated such a region without any buildings other than the two small wooden lodges located in the middle of the region. There was a nonchalant and relaxed middle-aged man clad in a green robe sitting on a chair in the yard. He had an ancient book in his hands and was flipping through the pages.
Wan Hong walked to one side quietly and stood there silently. He controlled his breathing and concentrated on not making any noises. Although he was already at the Divine Power Realm at a little more than twenty and was a highly-regarded and prominent youth figure in the capital, he had followed the sixth master Ren Tianzong from a young age and was thus aware of how insignificant he was.
Arrogance was oftentimes a result of short-sightedness. A sparrow could stare at numerous ants arrogantly because it did not know that there was the phoenix above the skies. Wan Hong stayed at the sixth elder's side year in, year out. Even though he was young, he was not impetuous and conceited like most youths in the capital. However, with the occasional chances to walk about or see the so-called geniuses in the family clan, he finally understood how fortunate he was to be able to stay by the sixth elder's side.
"What is it? Did something special happen during today's elder conference? Why do you look so restless and excited?" The sixth elder Ren Tianzong held the book in one hand and lifted the freshly brewed teacup. He savored the tea slowly while posing his question to Wan Hong.
Wan Hong's emotions were still turbulent because of how shocking, unexpected and unbelievable what happened was.
"What happened today was too bizarre. The elders were going on about cutting the family head's expenses and he suddenly snapped. He made a huge fuss and gave the second, third and fourth elders an earful." Wan Hong did not dare to conceal anything in front of the sixth master and he knew he did not need to elaborate on anything. All he had to do was to state the plain facts.
"He made a fuss and gave those old guys an earful?" The teacup that the sixth elder held trembled slightly too. A few drops of tea spilled from the sides. But as the droplets were about to land on the book, an invisible force made them evaporate and vanish.
Sixth elder Ren Tianzong put down the teacup and book in his hands and looked at Wan Hong in surprise. "Tell me the exact details of what happened," he said.
"Yes," Wan Hong replied. Afterward, he described the situation in the conference hall, not leaving out a single word. He did not leave any information out, including Ren Jie's actions. Ren Jie had flipped the tables, asked the elders to sit while pointing to the family head position and had jumped onto the seat. Those actions were still deeply etched in Wan Hong's head.
"I didn't know that little rogue had that up his sleeves. His tantrum was pretty impressive." After listening to Wan Hong's description, a rare smile crept up his calm and nonchalant face.
Looking at the tiny smile on the sixth master's face, Wan Hong was a little stunned. He stayed by the sixth elder's side from a young age and he had not seen him smile for many years. Although that smile was almost unnoticeable, it made him feel that even if Ren Jie was clowning around, he had done one thing right.
"It was really pretty impressive. The elders did not dare to say a word when it ended, not to say mention about cutting the family head's expenses. If he had done that earlier, the elders would not have gone so overboard," Wan Hong said. Noticing that the sixth master was truly happy, his mood lifted as well.
The sixth elder did not comment on Wan Hong's opinion. He said nonchalantly, "They are just a bunch of bored people. We don't need to care about that kid and those immature old men. However, I want you to go and investigate that Fang Qi. Monitor the family head's actions recently too. Tell those people assigned to protect the family head to send people into the academy too. Although the five biggest family clans have an agreement that prevents anyone from taking the risk and attack the family head, we must still be wary of those planning on using brains instead of brawn to cause disorder within the Ren family."
"…" Wan Hong froze for a moment and replied, "Yes."
When he left, Wan Hong could not resist turning his head back to take another glance at the two wooden lodges. After that incident, the sixth elder had been disheartened for many years and did not probe about anything. In the past, all that he would do after Wan Hong reported anything he heard of was to acknowledge with a quiet murmur.
This is the first time in recent years that he instructed me to do anything. Does it have anything to do with the previous family head Ren Tianxing forcefully giving Ren Jie the position? Wan Hong was a little uneasy because of all the abnormalities today.
"The subordinates should be embarrassed if their leader has to worry, and they would choose to die if their leader has been humiliated." After Wan Hong left, the sixth master Ren Tianzong repeated those words under his breath. Afterward, he stood up and entered the lodge. There was a beautiful lady lying on a large but simple bed in the bedroom. Although she did not have captivating looks, she looked highly approachable and natural. She lay there quietly as if she was asleep.
"Feng'er, I haven't read anything interesting from the books today. But my big brother's pampered child created an interesting commotion today. He said something about how the subordinates should be embarrassed if their leader has to worry, and they would choose to die if their leader has been humiliated. I wonder where he heard it from. The more you deliberate about it, the deeper you realize those words are. It could be the most appropriate description of the relationship between the master and his subordinates. His actions today were very interesting too…" The sixth master Ren Tianzong sat at the edge of the bed and had a tender look on his face while he repeated what had happened just now in a soft voice.
In the bustling Jade Capital, there was this piece of wild forest located in the massive and majestic Ren family. This room was located in that forest.