Jun Xie knew that both he and Tang Yuan would've landed in enemy's hands if the enemy's plan had been successful. It wouldn't have made a great difference to the Tang family as they had other successors besides Tang Yuan. However, Jun Moxie was the sole successor of the Jun family.
Meng Haizou had put those treasures as wager against Jun Moxie's promise to fulfil his request. No one knew how the matter would've ended if Meng Haizou had won; even though it was only a 'request'. Moreover, the request had been made to a debauchee like Jun Moxie who didn't know how to judge the severity of a situation. In fact, Jun Moxie wouldn't have been aware that he had caused a disaster. He wouldn't even be concerned about the whole matter since he would've counted upon his grandfather to take care of the situation.
However, what would've happened if Grandpa Jun's authority had fallen into the hands of other people? Then, it wouldn't have made any difference even if Grandpa Jun was willing to severe his relationship with his grandson. What would the generals under him choose? It would've been a disaster if even a few of them were to hesitate.
Suddenly, Jun Xie started to feel a need to increase his resources and capabilities. He had the fine experiences and knowledge from his past life. However, the incident in the Thousand Gold Hall was an indication that he needed to brush up his skills even further.
The first thing that he needed to work on was political awareness since he had greatly lacked this skill in his previous life. In fact, the knowledge about this topic wouldn't have held much importance to him if he was still a solitary assassin. But now, he needed this knowledge in order to protect the people he cared for from any kind of danger. The stability of this great family couldn't be maintained without the detailed knowledge of politics.
This didn't mean that he was required to become an official and needed to participate in the political struggles in the royal court. However, he needed to have a detailed knowledge about the political struggles between the other people in the court.
*** ***
Grandpa Jun returned home at noon. He had bumped into Tang Yuan's grandfather – Tang Wanli on his way. Tang Wanli was leading a huge group of warriors on a horseback down the great street at that time. Then, he had turned north. It had seemed that he was on his way to destroy some unlucky fellows…
The residences of the great families – like the Li and Meng families – were located in the north. Tang Wanli's face had looked as dark as a black pot, and his eyes had been burning with fury. Grandpa Jun had been immensely happy to see this. [It's been a long while since this old goat has been so mad at someone. Who could've thought that the peaceful Old Tang would become so furious all of a sudden? It doesn't matter who his target is. But, I'm certainly looking forward to a great show.]
However, Grandpa Jun didn't know that the mastermind behind this entire drama was his own grandson – Jun Moxie.
He had asked Old Tang in a curious manner, "Brother Tang, where are you going in such a hurry? Why are you so serious? Can it be that someone has stolen your soon-to-be granddaughter-in-law? Just look at the expressions on your face… hahahaha…" Grandpa Jun had spoken these words as a joke. However, he didn't know that what he had said was indeed true…
"You old foggy Jun! You cheap bastard! You aren't as pure as the driven snow either. I'll come back and deal with you myself. Let me first take care of the Li and Meng families." Old Tang then blew his white beard and whipped his horse. His horse started to advance forward at a fast speed. Old Tang knew that Jun Zhantian's grandson Jun Moxie was as despicable as his own grandson Tang Yuan. However, he had emerged to be a winner, while his grandson had fallen into such an unfortunate situation. Old Tang suspected that there was a mastermind behind Jun Moxie. Otherwise, that dimwit couldn't have had such an advantage over those guys. And, who could've been the great mastermind other than Grandpa Jun? Moreover, this Jun Zhantian had now dared to make fun of him on his face. Therefore, Old Tang's temper had blown out of proportion.
Jun Zhantian was dumbstruck. He was left standing in a confused state of mind. [What did Old Tang mean by that? He just cursed me for no reason at all. He didn't even explain what was going on.] Suddenly, he spat and said, "So, you're offended with the Li and Meng families. Then, why did you drag me in your scuffle? When dogs bite one another… their mouths become full of gross hair."
Old Tang was being followed by his grandson – Tang Yuan. His eyes were full of misery, and his face had turned red with shame. Tang Yuan's father had been sitting in the family hall when he had returned home. He had cried out loud as soon as he had seen his father, and had asked his parents for their help. His father had been so scared that he had almost fell-off his chair. Tang Yuan had then realized that his grandfather had also been present in the room this entire time.
Tang Yuan had then narrated the entire incident in front of his grandfather; he hadn't hidden any details. What had happened next… can easily be imagined. Tang Yuan's father and grandfather had blown into a rage. Then, Tang Yuan had shown them the cup with the remnants of the drugged tea. The Tang family pharmacist had checked the cup, and proved the authenticity of Tang Yuan's story.
The Li and Meng families were savages. They intended to bring a bad name to the Tang family and destroy its reputation. The family's reputation was the most important thing in the eyes of the Old Tang. Therefore, he couldn't take this matter for granted.
Grandpa Tang had been so furious that he had lifted Tang Yuan's fat body in the air, and had shouted at him in a ear-piercing voice. He had then thrown him to the ground, and had urged him to take him to the Li and Meng families in order to seek justice for his family.
Grandpa Tang was even older than Grandpa Jun. He was so old that he had been titled as a minster of three Emperors. He had been keeping to himself since the past few years, and hadn't been stepping out of his house. But now, he was advancing towards the Li and Meng residences with an entourage of warriors behind him. This meant that the Li and Meng families were bound to face a storm.
Grandpa Jun hadn't been furious even though he had been cursed by Tang Wanli. In fact, he had been comforted by the fact that the Li and Meng families were about to face the rage of Old Tang. Jun Zhantian was sure that this entire mess had been created by Tang Yuan. [Thankfully, Jun Moxie has been obedient in the past few days. He has been studying literature and poetry in the library. Thanks to that… I've got rid of so many of my worries. But, Old Tang still has to do so much for the sake of his grandson at his age. It's so pitiful.]
Grandpa Jun had been tempted to provoke Old Tang even further after seeing that pitiful look on his face. How could he have known that the grandson he was so proud of had taken money for gambling in his absence? Grandpa Jun was shocked when he came to know about it. It wasn't a big deal to lose money. But, if something else had happened… then its outcome would've been serious.
Grandpa Jun rushed towards his grandson's room as soon he got the news that he was back. However, he was shocked to open his door. He saw a huge bag full of extraordinary treasures placed on Jun Moxie's bed. Little Ke was squinting her eyes and smiling. She moved her fingers as she tried to evaluate the value of each of the items.
Grandpa Jun was stunned as he examined the treasures. Besides other things, the bag contained at least three accompaniment jades whose surface was exuding a warm radiance. Anyone could tell that these weren't ordinary objects. However, Grandpa Jun wasn't shocked about the value of these assets. Instead, he had been stunned to read the inscription on the surface of the jade –'Year X Month X… Congratulations on Grandson Feng's Birthday' and 'Year X Month X… Congratulations on Grandson Zhen's Birthday'…
Grandpa Jun was alarmed. He started to fiddle with his beard. [Isn't this accompaniment jade supposed to be worn by the direct descendants of the Li family? The quality of this jade suggests that it's a symbol of the Li family. Moreover, Feng and Zhen are the names of the grandsons of the Grand Preceptor Li. How did these items ended-up in Moxie's hands? Can it be that my grandson has started to rob people?]
Suddenly, Grandpa Jun exerted excessive force and pulled out a strand of hair from his beard. [These two jade ruyi certainly belong to the royal families. There's also the Meng family's accompaniment jade… and this pearl… and this…]
Grandpa Jun's face twitched as he asked, "From where did you get all these items?" Grandpa Jun was certain that he had been stuck in a big problem if Jun Moxie had indeed stolen those items.
It couldn't be said that Grandpa Jun was pessimistic in not believing in his grandson's capabilities for winning these items in a gamble. However, he was a realist. He knew his grandson and his capabilities. So, he was sure that Jun Moxie couldn't have won these items.
It was an irony that he had laughed at the condition of Old Tang a short while ago. How could he have known that a problem like this was awaiting him at his home? Grandpa Jun was so shocked that he had been rendered speechless.