Most of the feudal lords who had come along were just there to back up the Marquis of Tianshui and pile on the Jiang family while they were down.
But at a moment like this, who would dare speak up?
Anyone who spoke in defense of the Marquis of Tianshui would be going against the divine, against His Majesty, and against the princess's recovery.
At this point, Fatty Xuan had finally caught on. He was always the type to enjoy watching a show, and he immediately joined the jeering: "Marquis of Tianshui, you're always bragging about how, when it comes to loyalty among all the feudal lords, you're second to none. Now's the moment to prove that loyalty, and you're dodging and stalling? What's that about?"
"Marquis of Tianshui, just now you kept threatening to execute my entire clan. Now nobody's asking for that — just slap yourself three times, and you're already backing out?"
Jiang Chen naturally wasn't about to let a drowning dog off easy. He clicked his tongue and said, "So it seems this so-called supreme loyalty is just a story the Marquis of Tianshui made up to amuse everyone. Nothing to be taken seriously."
The Marquis of Tianshui had originally come to laugh at the Marquis of Hanjiang and kick the Jiang family while they were down. But now the tables had turned, and he himself had become the target. He could never have dreamed of this.
But the Marquis of Tianshui was a veteran of court politics, and he quickly steadied his emotions. With righteous dignity, he declared, "Your old servant wouldn't balk at slapping himself three times — if His Majesty ordered me to fall on my own sword, I wouldn't flinch, so long as it benefited the realm and eased your burden! This brat Jiang Chen — fine, I'll slap myself to relieve His Majesty's worries. But what if you're just making this all up?"
Indeed, if the boy was just bluffing, wouldn't the entire court have been played for fools?
Jiang Chen's voice turned cold: "Marquis of Tianshui, you can insult me, Jiang Chen, all you like — but do not blaspheme against the divine! Your Majesty, this man speaks out again and again with irreverent words. The divine is growing angry, and I'm afraid the princess's condition will become beyond my power to help…"
Dongfang Lu's eyes widened in shock, and fury rose within him. What was the Marquis of Tianshui rambling about? If you're really so loyal and patriotic, why not just slap yourself three times and be done with it? Find a graceful exit on your own! Must I, the Emperor, personally intervene and give people reason to say I bully my own subjects?
At this thought, Dongfang Lu was thoroughly displeased, and his eyebrows twitched upward ever so slightly. The Marquis of Tianshui had spent years studying his sovereign's moods and was exceptionally skilled at reading expressions.
The moment he saw Dongfang Lu's eyebrow twitch, he knew the Emperor was truly enraged. In a panic, faster than a blink, he slapped himself across the face seven or eight times — crack, crack, crack.
Every blow landed hard. He knew that only the harder he slapped, the sooner he could quell the Emperor's fury.
After that round of slaps, his face had swelled up like a pig's head.
Once the slapping was over, every pair of eyes once again turned to Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen took his time: "I told you to slap yourself three times, and you went and slapped yourself seven or eight. What's that supposed to mean? Not convinced? Are you rejecting the divine's decree, or rejecting His Majesty? Fine, fine — I suppose I'll let it slide just this once."
He let it go, but the Marquis of Tianshui's allies weren't having it. They'd been forced to watch the Marquis slap himself silly, unable to intervene. But after it was over, surely they could demand some explanation? He couldn't just get away with it for free.
One of them immediately jumped out: "Jiang Chen, how long are you going to keep up this charade? The Marquis of Tianshui has slapped himself. If you can't produce some real answer, that's an additional offense."
"Right — if you can't deliver, it's deceiving His Majesty and mocking the entire court. Execution of the whole clan."
These fellows really did breathe through the same nostril — they even used the same catchphrase about executing the whole clan.
Jiang Chen let out a lazy yawn and said casually, "Your Majesty, the manifestation of the divine is an extremely sacred matter. These fellows keep throwing around 'execute the whole clan' left and right. If they anger the spirits, aren't they afraid it'll delay the princess's treatment? What if the clan actually gets executed?"
With that, Jiang Chen strode forward several steps and planted himself right in front of these old men. Then he launched into a righteous tirade.
"Every one of you jumping around and posturing — have you actually given a single thought to the princess's condition?"
"This sacred matter of treating the princess — what has it become in your eyes? A tool for crushing political enemies and oppressing the innocent?"
"Marquis of Tianshui, you all keep threatening to execute my Jiang family's entire clan. If I, Jiang Chen, were unlucky enough to be beaten to death, how would the princess's illness be conveyed to His Majesty through my mouth? Your so-called loyalty is actually cutting off His Majesty's own lifeline and dooming the princess!"
"You're all so impressive, so capable — then step forward and tell me what's wrong with the princess! You don't have the ability yourselves, but you can't stand to see anyone else succeed, and you won't even let me relay the divine's decree? And let me remind you — I was nearly beaten to death, and in exchange I received a divine vision. Do you have any idea how hard that was? If the divine grows angry and departs because of your nonsense, can any of you bear that responsibility?"
"One last question — if the divine truly becomes wrathful and demands the execution of all your clans before it will consent to save the princess, and you call yourselves loyal and devoted — would you be willing to sacrifice your entire clans to relieve His Majesty's burden?"
All of Jiang Chen's pent-up frustrations and satisfactions came pouring out through this barrage of questions, riding the momentum like thunder. It bore down on the assembled lords like black clouds crushing a city, leaving them gasping for air, dumbstruck.
That last question in particular turned their faces pale and left them as silent as cicadas in winter.
They had come to bolster the Marquis of Tianshui's position, suppress the Jiang family, and kick them while they were down. But now, not even the courage of ten men could make them dare cause trouble.
What if the kid really was carrying the divine's decree and goaded His Majesty into executing their entire clans…
Considering His Majesty's overwhelming devotion to the princess, it wasn't exactly impossible.
Seeing them all standing there with faces white as chalk, Jiang Chen felt only one thing in his heart:
Bliss.
So this is what it felt like — hurling a furious barrage at a bunch of heartless old crooks. It felt absolutely incredible.