Silence — deathly silence!
No one had expected Jiang Feng to erupt so completely. This was practically tearing all pretense away with the Marquis of Dragon Ascension, outright offending the kingdom's foremost noble!
Even those marquises on friendly terms with the Marquis of Jiang Han couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for Jiang Feng.
Those who had been staying neutral didn't even dare glance in his direction, terrified that the Marquis of Dragon Ascension might misinterpret their looks — afraid he'd mistake them for accomplices siding with Jiang Feng.
The atmosphere in the hall became eerily, impossibly quiet.
And then, right at that moment, a piercing round of applause rang out — clap, clap, clap.
Jiang Chen rose leisurely from his seat. "Well said! Splendid indeed! Truly worthy of being my father. I have to wonder, though — all you so-called marquises, you so-called nobility — is there not a single spine among your bodies?"
"The lands of our Eastern Kingdom — they're supposed to be guarded by spineless cowards like you, who know nothing but kissing up to the powerful?"
"Is there nothing left in you that resembles the dignity of people in positions of power? Besides fawning over the strong and bullying the weak, can you really do nothing else?"
"Is all you're capable of — suppressing your peers, seizing their territories, plundering their interests?"
"And as for you — Pill King Hall, right? Just a merchant, aren't you? Do you hold any official rank? Have you ever rendered even a sliver of service to the kingdom? From what pit of courage do you draw the nerve to lecture a second-rank marquis who holds a legitimate noble's seal — in that condescending tone, no less?"
"Who gave you this courage? You're so full of yourself — does His Majesty know about it? 'He who understands the times is a great man,' is that it? 'He who sees the situation clearly,' is that it? Fine — let me see just what kind of 'situation' your Pill King Hall has 'seen so clearly.' Terminate our cooperation? Ha! Let me tell you plainly right now, Pill King Hall — you are hereby blacklisted by the Jiang family!"
The Grand Master of Pill King Hall clicked his tongue in a mocking laugh. "Blacklisted? Who do you think you're scaring? Your Jiang family is nothing but a declining marquisate. Blacklist my Pill King Hall? Forget everything else — your family's semi-spirit-vein territory, without my Pill King Hall's support, is only fit for raising pigs!"
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "Is that so? Third Hall Master of the Elixir Pavilion — this Grand Master here says my family's semi-spirit-vein land is only fit for raising pigs. What do you think?"
The Third Hall Master of the Elixir Pavilion chuckled, rubbing his nose. "Semi-spirit-vein land used for raising pigs? What a waste. The Elixir Pavilion is willing to offer ten million taels of silver for a five-year contract with the Jiang family. No — ten years, twenty years… no, just fill in whatever term you like!"
What?!
Everyone present, including the Marquis of Dragon Ascension, thought they must have misheard. The Third Hall Master of the Elixir Pavilion was offering ten million taels on the spot to sign a cooperation contract with the Jiang family — in this kind of setting?
If it were any other occasion, signing a cooperation contract, purely a business dealing, that would be one thing.
But in this kind of situation, the Elixir Pavilion's move was an open show of defiance — openly backing the Jiang family at the risk of offending the Marquis of Dragon Ascension.
How bizarre.
Who didn't know how powerful the Elixir Pavilion was?
Who didn't know how shrewd the Elixir Pavilion was?
In a situation like this, if the Elixir Pavilion had taken no stance, that would have been perfectly normal. But for its Hall Master to personally step forward and declare a position — that was extraordinary.
Since when had the Jiang family established ties with the Elixir Pavilion, and such close ones at that?
No one believed the Jiang family had enough clout to make the Elixir Pavilion publicly back them.
The Grand Master of Pill King Hall's expression darkened. "Hall Master Qiao — this hardly seems appropriate?"
Among the three great spiritual-herb powers of the capital, the Elixir Pavilion ranked first, commanding fifty percent of the market.
The Divine Farmer Hall and Pill King Hall shared the other half.
Though the three competed fiercely, they had their own unwritten rules — generally, they wouldn't maliciously poach each other's business.
It was a rule that no one spoke aloud, yet everyone abided by.
The Third Hall Master smiled coolly. "Master Wang, I just heard you clearly state that you were terminating your business with the Jiang family. Had that not been the case, would the Elixir Pavilion have intervened? We understand the rules of business. If you won't take the business, we'll pick it up — I fail to see anything improper about that."
Whether by the written rules or the unwritten ones, the Elixir Pavilion had done nothing wrong.
The Grand Master's face turned ugly. The only reason he had openly stepped forward to suppress and blacklist the Jiang family was to curry favor with the Marquis of Dragon Ascension.
Business was business, no matter who you did it with. If the Jiang family's semi-spirit-vein lands ended up in the Marquis of Dragon Ascension's hands, the deal would effectively be with him — and for Pill King Hall, there would be zero loss. On the contrary, it was a chance to build ties with the kingdom's foremost noble. Nothing but upside, no downside at all.
Moreover, he had been certain that even if he announced the blacklist, neither the Elixir Pavilion nor the Divine Farmer Hall would step in to grab the business.
After all, five million taels a year wasn't nearly enough to make those two take on the risk of offending the Marquis of Dragon Ascension.
What the Grand Master hadn't expected was that things would go entirely contrary to his calculations.
The Elixir Pavilion not only stepped forward, but doubled the offer on the spot — their stance was unmistakable: they were backing the Jiang family!
The Grand Master was baffled. Truly baffled. The Elixir Pavilion was so shrewd — was it really worth offending the Marquis of Dragon Ascension over this small a profit?