People were getting ready at the Ren's entrance the next morning. The family head's personal guards who were not deployed often were already decked in armor and ready to go. They looked majestic in their armor and not in the least bit lacking compared to the palace's Imperial Guards.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, Ren Junyang, Ren Wenxu, and Ren Hanlin all emerged from the Ren mansion dressed lavishly. They were attending the royal feast, after all. Besides, they would also be discussing the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration as well as other important matters.
This had always been the tradition of the Clear Jade Dynasty. The Emperor would inform the four family clans of any important decisions and they would communicate with each other periodically. The Elders did not have a say in such matters before, but after Ren Tianxing passed on the position of the family head to Ren Jie and established the Association of the family clan elders, Ren Junyang and the rest were able to enjoy the grandest royal feast of the Clear Jade Dynasty.
They now enjoyed attending the feast where they discussed matters with the Emperor and the other family clans as well as tried to ensure they got the best beenfits for their family clan.
The magnificent personal guards' troop of over 100 men and Ren Junyang and the rest had waited for over an hour, yet they did not see any sign of Ren Jie.
"Look at the time now, yet he is not here. I thought that I was too harsh on him in the past, and that's why… hm, it seems like I cannot be too lax…" The second elder Ren Junyang looked up to the sky and angrily punched his lavish carriage.
"Too much, he's becoming too much. The imperial feast is about to begin, yet there is no news of him," Ren Wenxu said very unhappily.
Ren Hanlin frowned as well. "Captain Tong, where's your man?"
The man on the stallion right at the front and dressed in an armor of gold had an intimidating aura around him. He was the captain of the Ren's personal guards, Tong Qiang.
"He's here." Tong Qiang's voice was low and seemed void of emotions. The good thing was that everyone had already gotten used to it.
"Here!" A horse galloped over at full speed towards Tong Qiang just then, and when everyone thought that the horses were about to crash into each other, the galloping horse came to an abrupt stop within five meters of Tong Qiang. The man on top of the horse gave his greetings with cupped fists without getting off. "The family head has given his orders. He will rush to the palace straight away and the personal guards are to rush there immediately."
"Boom… boom…" The personal guards were meant to intimidate with how in sync their movements were. They looked every bit as magnificent as the stomps of the horses' hooves shook the ground like it was an earthquake. With just a wave of Tong Qiang's hand, the 126 personal guards and the 126 horses moved together, such was the caliber of this troop of personal guards.
"Tong Qiang… hold up, you…" Ren Hanlin wanted to stop them when he saw that they were about to leave, only to realize that Tong Qiang was completely indifferent to his presence.
"You… this…" Ren Wenxu was so angry that his hands shook. In a flash, the originally magnificent sight of the troop of personal guards was now gone and only their three lavish carriages were left. Only, it no longer looked like an extravagant sight nor did it feel magnificent anymore. The fact that they were the only ones left made it look pathetic.
They did not bring any of their own men since there would be personal guards, but little did they know…
"Let's go…" Ren Junyang was well aware of Tong Qiang's personality and knew that he was one to follow the family head's order without question. He would have to confront that rich man's son and have him come up with an explanation. That fellow was getting out of hand, so it seemed like now would be a good time to have a talk with him to let him know that he was not fully in power yet. Even if he was, the Association of the elders still existed and he could not simply do as he pleased.
The Emperor was very fair in receiving the four family clans. They each could bring a few of their family members, and these would usually be the young ones that they wished to groom. They would be brought along to feel the atmosphere and learn as they listened at the side.
There were already people in the central square in front of the grandest palace gate of the Jade Capital. They were all the impressive members of the younger generation. Wen Zihao of the Wen's, Gao Peng, as well Second Prince Li Wenwu, who was tasked to welcome the guests. The commander of the Imperial Front Guards Fang Yan was also there at his side.
"I heard that something happened to Fang Qi, is it true? I have been stuck at home and forced to study because of my father, and if not for this imperial feast, I wouldn't even have the chance to catch a breather. It's so dark that I'm beginning to lose track of the days!" Wen Zihao's appearance was nothing like that of a scholarly man. His face was broad and his hair was unkept. If not because he was dressed elegantly and had an extraordinary aura around him, he would have looked like a prisoner.
"Her accommodation at the Jade Imperial Academy was on fire, though I'm not too sure about the rest." Gao Peng still looked calm and elegant, and even in front of the Second Prince, he was still able to maintain his composure easily. He smiled lightly at Wen Zihao after speaking. "The Wen's have produced four Academic Scholars, and I am sure that the Wen family head hopes that Brother Wen can bring back the days of glory. I believe we will hear good news from you in the near future, and the Wen's will leave their name in history by having five Academic Scholars in the family."
"Why does it matter if I get the title of Academic Scholar? Based on all the secondary subjects there have been, there would have been hundreds of Academic Scholars over the last thousand years. Yet, how many of them have left their mark in history? Brother Gao, your flair in writing and knowledge pales to mine in comparison, and if not because you met that lunatic Lan Tian, you would have easily obtained the title of Academic Scholar in any of the last hundred years. So, I say this title does not signify much…" Wen Zihao said with a wave of his hand.
"Indeed, if not for Lan Tian…" The Second Prince said with a meaningful look as he turned to look at Fang Yan.
"I agree wholeheartedly," Fang Yan said cautiously. He was still not an official, unlike Gao Peng and Wen Zihao, and as the carefully groomed member of one of the major family clans, he had to be careful when he spoke even though he was able to speak his mind with the Second Prince. Now, however, he was here with the Second Prince to welcome the guests and thus, had to exercise more caution.
Caution aside, he felt disdain towards them and could not be bothered to speak any more than necessary to these rich men's sons. He was here today because of his own capabilities, and in the future, he would definitely rise above them all.
Just then, a spiritual beast carriage sped towards them from afar, and the surrounding guards immediately straightened their backs upon seeing it. A spiritual beast carriage was definitely a symbol of status, as even if a person managed to get hold of a spiritual beast, they had to be of some status to afford to let the spiritual beast pull a carriage.
Besides the Emperor, only the family heads of the four major family clans would be able to arrive at the palace square in a spiritual beast carriage. But why would there only be one spiritual beast carriage in such an event?
"Oh, an earth spiritual beast carriage. What are the Rens up to? Surely Ren Jie did not get his allowance docked, and that's why he's cutting costs when making his entrance?" The Second Prince sounded like he was speaking to himself, but anyone could tell that he was gloating. However, upon deeper consideration, one would realize that there was something more behind his words. Accepting the invitation to the imperial feast was a sign of respect to the Emperor, what he did was clearly a sign of disrespect.
"Haha…" Wen Zihao laughed lightheartedly. "Interesting, he is an… interesting family head indeed."
Gao Peng lightly laughed as well as he thought about what happened the day before. He had looked through Ren Jie's records again at home and realized that his change in demeanor seemed to have started after he was hit on the head by Gao Fei. Did he start acting like a spoilt rich man's son due to the impact or had he always been like that but did not show it?
The Wens were not as impressive as they used to be, while the Fangs only had Fang Yan and Fang Qi who were slightly more presentable. While Fang Yan was a close family kin, he was not Fang Tianen's son and Fang Tianen was obviously trying to groom Fang Qi, who was close to Lan Tian. Gao Peng had always known that his true opponents were Lan Tian and Fang Qi, but since Ren Jie had already taken over the position as family head, the Rens would still not be easy to trifle with as they had been in their prime when Ren Tianxing was still family head. Hence, the change in Ren Jie's demeanor was a cause of concern for Gao Peng.
"Ren Jie, even though you have yet to officially take over the Rens you're still the family head. The five major family clans have always stood together and Gao Fei is your classmate too, how cold you use such despicable methods to hurt him, nearly causing his death? You must give the us an explanation regarding this matter." Gao Peng immediately questioned after plotting in his mind just as Ren Jie's spiritual beast carriage came to a stop.
Gao Peng's words left Fang Yan, Wen Zihao and the Second Prince in shock.
Nobody would have thought that Gao Peng would do such a thing. They knew that Gao Peng was not to be trifled with, and even the Emperor and the family heads of the other family clans had praised him. Never have they heard of him coming into an argument with the sons of the other family clans.
He had been very mature even when he was young and was always way ahead of the other children of these families, so what happened today?
Could the Gaos be waiting to do something to the Rens today…
"Explanation. Yes, an explanation indeed. The Gaos still owe me 500,000 taels of gold. Pay up now." Ren Jie emerged from the spiritual beast carriage as Tie Ta and the fatty Gao Ren appeared behind him. The second he alighted, he went straight to Gao Peng.
"Ren Jie, if not because you're low-class and mediocre like the dirt we're stepping on, I would have wanted nothing more than to beat you up myself. Unfortunately, you're not good enough for me to do it. You don't even have the courage to fight Gao Fei yourself, and he only used one hand against you. You're still a family head of one of the five major family clans, after all. Even if you don't really hold the power yet, you should still be like your father. He was so heroic then! How have you not learned anything from him? You want money right, then go and fight Gao Fei properly. Then I'll give you 500,000 taels of gold. Even if it's 5 million taels of gold I'll give it to you, whether you win or lose!" Gao Peng sighed lightly when he said that as he shook his head disapprovingly.
It was a hundred times worse than being scolded.
He looked just like an angry brother who was standing up for his bullied younger brother, but at that moment, Gao Peng was completely focused on every minute detail of Ren Jie's expression.
This was key because if Ren Jie was really more than he seemed to be, then he would definitely be no less formidable than Lan Tian. After all, he would have his father Ren Tianxing's guidance. The five family clans, including the royal family, had their fair share of stronger and weaker members. The Rens had managed to reach an unprecedented peak when helmed by Ren Tianxing, and even though he suddenly disappeared a few years ago, only to return and pass his position as family head to Ren Jie, everyone knew that they could not allow a second Ren Tianxing to appear even though it seemed like the Rens were going downhill.
"Boss, this fellow scolds without cursing. I've heard that this is the kind of person we should be wary of. He is obviously evil, but he still acts as though he is a saint. You should watch out for him!" Gao Ren turned his head as though he was whispering to Ren Jie, but everyone heard him clearly.
"Hah…" Wen Zihao could not control himself and let out a dry laugh when he heard it.
The Second Prince looked around for a long time before he managed to swallow his laughter. This Ren Jie was something else indeed, even the people around him were one of a kind.
"Scold?" Tie Ta scratched his head. He was a straightforward person, and such a roundabout way of speaking was bound to go over his head.
"Yes, this is the worst of the worst, much more so than that fellow Gao Fei. I have my ways, watch how I deal with him." Ren Jie turned his head to speak to Gao Ren as well, but he was much more careful and quieter than Gao Ren had been.
True, one wouldn't be able to hear Ren Jie if they had been standing a bit further, but the Second Prince, Fang Yan, Wen Zihao and Gao Peng, the man in question, were left standing there speechless.
They were able to see everything they were doing from such a distance.
Were they for real?
"Deal with me? Hmph!" Gao Peng could not help himself and laughed. This was ridiculous. If this fellow was not a lunatic, then he must be like Gao Fei and the rest. Immature children and god knows what was in their heads.
"Yes, laugh. It's funny, isn't it? You must think you're impressive to come and challenge me. Who do you think you are? Yes, laugh all you want, I'll have you kneeling on the ground crying later." Ren Jie seemed to have lost his temper at Gao Peng and pointed accusingly at him.
"I'd like to see how you're going to make me cry, but unfortunately, as I said, you're not good enough for me to retaliate, not good enough…"
"Don't have what it takes? Who do you think you are to talk to a family head about qualifications? Didn't your father teach you? You children are here because your elders brought you here to learn. The imperial feast is where the Emperor invites the four family heads to discuss about the country's matters. You children are only here to learn, who gave you the permission to spout rubbish? Didn't they tell you that if you spout nonsense you'll be given a beating? You come here and talk to me about qualifications and want to challenge me, but look at you, do you have what it takes?" Fancy talking to him about qualifications, Ren Jie did not even wait for him to finish before he exploded.
"Boom… boom…" Just then, a synchronized booming sound could be heard as the Rens personal guards led by Tong Qiang rushed over.
"Somebody, take down that bastard for me." Ren Jie had been waiting for this. This Gao Peng spoke like he was laying down a trap, and even the way he looked at him made Ren Jie uncomfortable. Ren Jie could tell that he was watching him and that this fellow was doing it intentionally. He was unlike the spoilt Gao Fei. He was not doing this because he was upset over what happened to Gao Fei. Whatever this fellow was plotting, it Ren Jie uncomfortable.
Tong Qiang and the rest arrived in good timing and so, Ren Jie simply shouted a command.
"Yes." Tong Qiang, who was at the lead, did not hesitate at all and simply leaped from his horse into the air, grabbing onto Gao Peng before he landed.