"Oh? Who is it?"
"It’s the law of Great Yan, fairness and public sentiment," Shang Jingchuan said in a deep voice.
Yan Sifu was stunned for a moment. By the time he came to his senses, Shang Jingchuan was already gone.
Then he jumped up from his chair like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Shang Jingchuan, just wait. One day I’ll make you regret what you said today."
In his view, the so-called law of Great Yan and fairness were nothing but nonsense, pure excuses Shang Jingchuan made to brush him off.
Who doesn’t live for money and power these days, who the hell cares about these lofty ideals.
Especially to Yan Sifu, Shang Jingchuan was nothing more than an old dog with no more value.
Yet now he dared to talk to him like this, wasn’t it a blatant slap in the face?
Yan Sifu was so angry that he smashed more than a dozen teacups before his mood calmed down a bit.
"Zhao Ya, everything started because of you. Just wait, I’ll find a way to kill you."
Yan Sifu believed that Shang Jingchuan dared to be so arrogant mainly because Zhao Ya was backing him up.
So as long as Zhao Ya was killed, all problems would be solved.
With this in mind, he immediately called his son Yan Peng, and the first thing he said was:
"Hire some assassins from Jianghu, don’t spare the gold."
"What are you going to do?" Yan Peng asked, puzzled.
"I want to kill this Zhao Ya," Yan Sifu said through gritted teeth.
Yan Peng found it utterly absurd. Let alone whether this plan was feasible, even if Yan Sifu wanted to pay for assassins, no one would dare accept the job.
After all, Zhao Ya was a real Fifth Realm, with a record of overturning all odds.
What assassin would think so little of themselves as to target someone like that?
So he sighed and said, "Father, you better give it up. Even if you post this assassination, no one will dare take it."
"Why? Is there a problem that money can’t solve in this world?" Yan Sifu asked, perplexed.
Yan Peng knew his father, having been long confined to the temple, didn’t understand how things worked in Jianghu.
To him, Martial Artists might be formidable, but they must have their limits. So as long as the money was right, anything could be done.
But he had no idea what a genius like Zhao Ya truly meant.
"Father, this Zhao Ya is extremely powerful, even Senior Sister Yan admitted she’s not his match. Do you think there’s an assassin in Jianghu who can kill him?"
"What? Even Yan Xizhao is no match for him?" Yan Sifu finally gained a more intuitive understanding of Zhao Ya’s strength.
"Exactly, she said it herself."
"Then... perhaps the Sect Leaders or Elders of the Three Sects, Two Academies, and One Manor could do it, surely there’s someone in Yan Capital City who can deal with him," Yan Sifu hesitated before saying.
"The major Sect Leaders could, but do you think people like that would act easily? As for the other Elders... honestly, it’s questionable," Yan Peng said.
Initially, he might have been skeptical of Zhao Ya’s capability.
But after understanding more in recent days, Yan Peng finally realized such geniuses can’t be measured by common standards.
Yan Sifu finally felt discouraged.
Seeing this, Yan Peng couldn’t help but advise, "Father, I know you dislike Zhao Ya and Shang Jingchuan, but I suggest you stay out of this. After all, didn’t you say that if he does well as Capital Prefect, you’ll share in the credit too?"
Yan Sifu at last changed his mindset and sighed.
"Alright, I’ll listen to you then. But if I don’t act, those Noble Families won’t let him off easily."
"That’s not something you should be involved in, right?"
"True, you’re right. Let’s see how long Zhao Ya can stay arrogant," Yan Sifu said.
Yan Sifu wasn’t a fool.
In fact, how many fools survive court politics?
Seeing that former attempts at roping in failed, Yan Sifu immediately switched tactics, returning those gold notes to the Noble Families and relaying what Shang Jingchuan said to them.
As for how these families would react and how they’d plan to deal with Shang Jingchuan, that’s their issue.
Sure enough, once the news spread, Shang Jingchuan’s words stirred quite a wave in the court and among the Noble Families of Great Yan.
"The law of Great Yan, fairness and public sentiment? How long has it been since I heard such words? This Shang Jingchuan must think we’re all fools," someone sneered.
"Damn, I suspect he’s just asking for more," someone frowned.
But a small number of people were deep in thought.
The Yun Family.
Old Patriarch Yun Jixiu lay half-reclining in his chair, feigning sleep.
Once a mainstay of the court, the last Prime Minister of the Yun Family, he was now aged and frail.
Since retiring, he developed a new habit: he loved to sleep.
Every day, he spent the majority of the time asleep.
For example, now he’d just had breakfast and was already dozing off in his chair.
Yun Yizhi, about to leave the room quietly after paying respects, heard him say with closed eyes, "Stop."
Yun Yizhi immediately halted, respectfully saying, "Father, you’re not asleep."
"Of course, I’m not asleep."
With that, Yun Jixiu opened his eyes, and a glint of wisdom shone in his aged eyes.
"Have you heard about outside matters?" Yun Jixiu asked calmly.
"I’ve heard."
"Your thoughts?"
"It’s extraordinary," Yun Yizhi replied honestly.
This was also his true feeling.
"I heard... Yuan’Er and Zhao Ya know each other."
"Yes, that’s true."
Yun Yizhi wasn’t surprised that his father knew even small matters like this.
Despite his age, Yun Jixiu was very sharp-minded, and nothing significant in the family escaped his notice. Whether he chose to intervene was a different question.
"Instruct Yuan’Er to maintain a good relationship with Zhao Ya, and... if possible, I’d like to meet this Shang Jingchuan."
"I’ll do my best to arrange it."
"Don’t rush, and don’t force it. If it can’t be done, let it be, understood?"
"Yes!"
Yun Yizhi left without lingering and went directly to find Yun Yuan, sharing the old master’s instructions.
Yun Yuan smiled wryly, "How could I not know to maintain a good relationship with Zhao Ya? But since the funeral and taking over the Third House, I haven’t seen him at all."
"You have to find a way to approach him anyway, as he is crucial to your future status, understood?" Yun Yizhi urged.
"I’ll try!"
After Yun Yizhi left, Yun Jin appeared almost immediately, chuckling, "Brother, since even Father says so, why not go visit Zhao Ya?"
"After all, he helped you a lot before. You should thank him in person."
Maybe it was this last sentence that moved Yun Yuan.
He nodded, "Alright, then I’ll visit him."
Naturally, visiting can’t be done empty-handed, but fortunately, Yun Yuan had been collecting dried meat.
The Black Flood Dragon Dried Meat had accumulated into a full box.
It was the perfect excuse to visit Zhao Ya under the guise of delivering the dried meat.
Yun Yuan, carrying the dried meat and accompanied by Yun Jin, arrived at Guangde Square’s Xiaojing Alley.
But upon knocking, they discovered Zhao Ya wasn’t home.
After explaining their visit, Zui’Er smiled and said, "Oh, you’re looking for my Brother Ya? He’s been busy at the Capital Prefecture lately and hasn’t returned for two or three days. If you want to find him, you’d better go to the Capital Prefecture."
Yun Yuan felt resigned hearing this.
With nearly a hundred people seeking Zhao Ya at the Capital Prefecture, it was uncertain when he’d get to meet him,
So he left the dried meat and departed.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ya was leading the Capital Prefecture in sweeping through Yan Capital City, capturing those who committed crimes with impunity.
Most people gave in quietly, while a few, confident in their strength, tried resisting, but Zhao Ya sent them all to meet King Yama.
Under these strong measures, even the usually arrogant Noble Families, who found pleasure in oppressing the common folk, subdued considerably, not daring to flaunt themselves.
For a time, the law and order in Yan Capital City improved dramatically.