"I disagree."
At a brief family meeting, when Cheng Jinyang mentioned the Emperor's request, Cheng Yuexian was the first to express opposition: "If only four sixth-grade supernaturals are to participate, that's fine. But what does it mean to specify that our patriarch should go?"
"What about the Xing family?" Second Uncle Cheng Qingyuan asked.
"They intend to participate," Cheng Jinyang said helplessly. "Of course, Xing Yuanzhi won't go."
"Since when do family heirs get sent to the battlefield?" Third Uncle Cheng Qingping sneered. "Even in peacetime, who would send newcomers to the front lines?"
"But the Emperor must have considered this," Second Uncle Cheng Qingyuan frowned. "To say he wants you to go to your death is too far-fetched."
Silence fell among the group.
Indeed, given the current situation of the Shendu Cheng family, the Emperor didn't need such complex tactics to harm them. Simply stripping them of their noble status would immediately lead to their decline, leaving them at the mercy of others.
"Although the Emperor's intentions are unclear, we cannot risk it," Cheng Yuexian emphasized.
"Alright then," Cheng Jinyang finally said, "I'll go and inquire about the Emperor's intentions."
"Jinyang, what's your plan?" Third Uncle Cheng Qingping asked. "This monarch, unlike his late father, possesses extraordinary wit and strategies. Directly asking him might not yield reliable information."
"I'll go ask Princess Nankang," Cheng Jinyang said.
The others fell silent.
Leaving aside other matters, the clan leader's connections were indeed impressive. The Emperor granted him freedom to enter the palace, and the princess showed him exceptional care, fulfilling his every request. It was almost as if he had the Emperor's favor written all over his face... Yet he managed not to incur the nobles' resentment and even befriended several women from the Five Great Families.
This adept maneuvering left everyone admiring him.
Thinking back to the time when Cheng Qingxin led the family, he did everything to downplay the Cheng family's ties to the royal family, avoiding any displeasure from the Five Great Families. Now, seeing how Cheng Jinyang did nothing but still managed to stay on good terms with everyone, they realized that people truly were different.
While the group remained in the meeting room, Cheng Jinyang went out to make a call to the princess sister.
After hearing Cheng Jinyang's words, Princess Nankang remained silent for a long while before saying, "I'm not entirely sure why Father wants you to go, but he probably doesn't have any malicious intent."
"I feel the same way," Cheng Jinyang said softly, "but the others in the family aren't so reassured."
"This operation is codenamed 'Yi,' aimed at escorting the head of the Lu family, Lu Boyuan, close to the Jingwei spacecraft and using the third-grade 'Constraining Pulse' to destroy it," Princess Nankang said. "Although it's a top-secret plan, the Longxiang Army could guess it. Currently, our only means of attack capable of threatening the Jingwei spacecraft is the Constraining Pulse."
"The Jingwei spacecraft is equipped with a dynamic shield generator, which mimics the spiritual impact of the Xingyang Zheng family to create military equipment. Since there are no members of the Zheng family operating the source, it cannot achieve the large-scale, high-intensity defense of the protective shield of Jiankang City. If it were subjected to multi-point explosions, it would also develop vulnerabilities."
"We'll dispatch four teams in total, each escorting a certain number of members of the Lu family. After entering the target area, they'll launch the Constraining Pulse to bombard the Jingwei spacecraft in the sky. Among the three teams, the Lu family members' highest grade supernatural is only fourth, used to disperse the shield's power and expose its flaws. The team where the head of the Lu family, a third-grade supernatural, is positioned is the most crucial."
"His presence is not a secret. In other words, the team with the Lu family head will face the greatest battlefield pressure. Currently, you're only a eighth grade supernatural, so you'll definitely be assigned to other teams—of course, the pressure won't be light."
"Whether to go or not, it's up to you to decide. But if you do decide to go, the Shendu Cheng family needs to carefully select the four sixth-grade supernaturals they'll send. Do you understand what I mean?"
....
After ending the communication with sister Xinnan and confirming the specifics of this operation, everyone finally relaxed.
"As Her Highness said, since the team is divided into four, as long as the Lu family head doesn't show up, the Longxiang Army will surely reserve firepower; if he does, all firepower will be concentrated on his team. In this way, there's no need to worry too much about Cheng Jinyang's safety."
The Shendu Cheng family was, after all, a militarized family, unlike the Taiyuan Wang family, which avoids battles. If they couldn't even accept the risks of war, it would be better to disband on the spot and not continue as a prestigious family.
So Cheng Jinyang quickly contacted the leader of the Jin Yi Wei, informing them of the decision of the Shendu Cheng family. Besides himself, the other four sixth-grade supernaturals who joined the plan were Cheng Qingyuan, Cheng Qingping, Cheng Tianhe, and Cheng Yuansen. Cheng Tianhe was a man in his fifties, while Cheng Yuansen was in his forties, both seasoned warriors in their clan's forces.
With the matter settled, the Cheng family's Tianluo's fighting on the front lines also gradually withdrew. Cheng Yuexian timely released the news, letting the clan members know that it was the clan leader and the senior members who paid the price to secure everyone's safety from the court, and there was no need to continue fighting.
At once, Cheng Jinyang's prestige as the clan leader rapidly soared, even vaguely catching up to the prestige of the former old clan leader, Cheng Benhe.
Returning to his bedroom, Cheng Jinyang saw Cui Jinqi lying on his bed, watching entertainment variety shows happily, swinging her legs back and forth in the air.
"What are you doing here?" he asked inexplicably.
"Waiting for you," Miss Cui said, "The clan leader is busy with affairs of the clan. If I don't squat in your bedroom, where else can I catch you?"
"Cough, thanks for your help with the family affairs," Cheng Jinyang remembered that it was this young lady who helped him with the connections, so he smiled and said, "Well..."
"Don't rush to thank me," Cui Jinqi jumped off the bed and asked seriously, "I have a question for you."
"Do you have a secret related to sleeping?"
Cheng Jinyang was startled, thinking, Did I reveal something?
But he said with a wry smile, "Didn't expect you to find out. Well, then I won't pretend to be a gentleman anymore."
"That's right, every night I dream of being in a beautiful garden, romancing with seventy-two young ladies, living a carefree life like a deity."
Cui Jinqi understood the implication, spat at him disdainfully, and said, "What romance? Is your mind filled with this stuff all day? And seventy-two? Don't even think about twelve; it would be good if you can even marry someone of equal status."
Although the Shendu Cheng family was a fifth-grade prestigious family, it was undoubtedly declining, so other fifth-grade prestigious families would not want to marry their daughters to Cheng Jinyang. If you marry over now and he suddenly becomes a commoner one day, what will you do? It's the same reason why no one buys plummeting stocks. Anyway, in recent years, it's basically impossible for Cheng Jinyang to pick a partner among the young ladies of prestigious families.
But he hasn't had much interest in romantic affairs lately, and now he just wants to get rid of this little lady (you're no longer useful), so he laughed and said, "Well, that's just how it is. Being single is quite good. After all, women only affect my work efficiency."
"Let's talk about it when you are able to find a partner." Cui Jinqi said disdainfully. Just as she was about to leave in a proud manner, she suddenly shouted in her heart: Good guy, I almost got fooled by him again.
So she hurriedly came back, approached Cheng Jinyang's face, stared into his eyes, and asked, "Why does your blood concentration fluctuate violently when you sleep?"
Cui Family Secret Technique: Eye Observation Lie Detection Method, activate!