Once the pretense was dropped, Du Ruhai's naked threats no longer needed any concealment. With his standing in the Royal Capital, there was truly no need for him to be courteous toward a marquis on the verge of losing his power.
Jiang Feng had originally clung to a sliver of hope that he might plead successfully, but hearing those words, his expression darkened. "Grand Steward Du, you can insult me, Jiang Feng, all you like — but leave my son out of this! What's wrong with a young man being a little wild? You're so certain my son will never rise again? There's an old saying: bully the old, but never bully the young!"
"How rich — 'bully the old, never the young'! Are you going to tell me next that the river shifts from east to west every thirty years? Don't bully a young man in poverty? Ha ha ha ha ha..." Du Ruhai threw his head back and laughed. "Wake up, Jiang Feng. If it weren't for your damned luck, you'd be holding your son's funeral right now — and you still have time to come beg me?"
With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and strode out with arrogant disdain.
"Hold on." Jiang Chen, who had been standing silently beside his father all this while, suddenly spoke up. "Du Ruhai, is it? If I'm not mistaken, last time my father sent you six hundred thousand silver taels on my account, didn't he? You have no intention of doing the job — so you plan to keep the money, is that it?"
Du Ruhai froze mid-step. A vicious gleam shot from his eyes as he stared fixedly at Jiang Chen, his expression so menacing it seemed he might swallow the boy whole.
Yet what even he did not expect was that when his murderous gaze swept across Jiang Chen's calm, untroubled pupils, an inexplicable shudder ran through his entire body, as though he had suddenly plummeted into an icy hell.
"Am I seeing ghosts? This brat's eyes..."
Du Ruhai steadied himself, trying to convince himself that what had just happened was nothing but a hallucination.
"Six hundred thousand taels? Go search the treasury for them! Bribing an examiner is a serious crime. Did you take me for the sort of man who accepts bribes? Every tael you sent was turned over to the treasury long ago!"
Jiang Chen naturally did not believe a single word of this nonsense. Fat meat that had already reached one's mouth — spitting it back out? Du Ruhai did not look like the sort of incorruptible man who would do such a thing.
So the Dragon Bone Supreme Yang Grass had not been transferred after all, and Long Juxue and the other young nobles had already begun pulling strings behind the scenes.
If this were the old Jiang Chen, having offended those powerful marquises and earned the enmity of the head examiner of the Hidden Dragon Examination — there would have been absolutely no chance of ever making a comeback.
But now? What did Jiang Chen have to fear? All of them put together were nothing more than a few buzzing flies in his eyes.
Give him a little time, and he could swat them dead dozens of times over with a single wave of his hand.
A faint, cold smile touched the corners of his lips as he watched Du Ruhai swagger away. Jiang Chen raised his voice: "Du Ruhai, seeking advantage and avoiding harm — that's human nature. Being afraid to offend those powerful marquises is understandable. But bullying the meek while fearing the strong, and humiliating my Jiang clan — it won't be long before you realize just how badly you've wronged us today."
If Du Ruhai had politely declined Jiang Feng's request in a roundabout way, saving face for both parties, Jiang Chen could have understood.
But Du Ruhai had accepted their money ages ago, only to suddenly show up today and renege. Fine, renege if you must — but not even returning the money?
If you're going to steal our money, the least you could do is be pleasant about it.
Acting so high and mighty? Treating the Jiang clan as if we were already bones in a tomb, yesterday's faded flowers?
That attitude had succeeded in enraging Jiang Chen.
"Sigh, Chen'er, this Du Ruhai is not someone to cross. Among the heads of the Hidden Dragon Assembly, he ranks second." Jiang Feng sighed lightly. "Moreover, I hear that the person who ranks first rarely involves himself in minor matters — he delegates extensively, leaving almost everything to Du Ruhai to handle. He only listens to Du Ruhai's reports every so often. So calling Du Ruhai the de facto first in charge wouldn't be an exaggeration."
As a marquis of his generation, Jiang Feng was brave and magnanimous in spirit — but when it came to strategy, scheming, and the art of political maneuvering, he was simply out of his depth in the Royal Capital.
Jiang Chen did not know whether to laugh or cry. After his rebirth, he had not yet had time to look into the situation with the Hidden Dragon Examination. Had the mess left by the previous Jiang Chen truly deteriorated to the point where one could not get by without bribes?
"Sigh, Chen'er, don't lose heart. Your father will think of something. See if there aren't other paths we can take. Besides..."
They say an overly doting mother spoils her children, but Jiang Feng as a father made Jiang Chen realize that an overly doting father could do the same.
Still, Jiang Chen was genuinely somewhat moved. This Marquis Jianghan truly doted on his son. Even with the fire literally at their backs, he had not said a single harsh word.
"By the way, Father — my results in the Hidden Dragon Examination, how bad exactly are they? Did this Du Ruhai mention anything?"
Jiang Feng looked somewhat awkward and stammered: "Well, that's..."
Jiang Chen was truly speechless. At a time like this, was his marquis of a father still afraid of hurting his child's pride?
"Father, I'm thick-skinned. I can take it. Just tell me straight — how bad is it?"
Jiang Feng had been worried that his son, still reeling from his tribulation, might not be able to handle the blow. Seeing that he was mentally prepared, he gave a sheepish grin: "You really are something else, you little brat — asking your own father about your own results. If I tell you, are you sure you won't be scared witless?"
"Go ahead. It can't be dead last, can it?"
"Dead last — did you really think there was any suspense about that?" Jiang Feng said with a bitter smile. "The real problem is this: of the three basic assessments, you haven't passed a single one. The end of this month is the final review for the last half-year period. If you don't pass all three basic assessments, you won't even qualify for the main Hidden Dragon Examination."
The Hidden Dragon Examination consisted of a two-and-a-half-year period of study and growth. At the end of that period came a qualifying assessment.
If one could not pass even the qualifying assessment, one would not be eligible to participate in the final Hidden Dragon Examination at all.
Now Jiang Chen understood why his father had been so servile — why a marquis with an unyielding backbone had been lectured like a child in front of Du Ruhai.
Seeing Jiang Chen lower his head in silence, Jiang Feng also gave a wry smile: "You're not going to tell me you don't even remember what the three basic assessments are, are you?"
Jiang Chen rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Fine. I'll go back and try to remember."