First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!

Chapter 858: Emperor Jing Imagines An Wuyang’s Plot, White-Headed Eagle Embassy Attends the Banquet

One sentence nearly gave the Jing Emperor a hypertensive crisis, and the enraged old emperor almost blacked out.

He never expected it.

Prince Zhao actually dared to defy him. "If the ruler wants a subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die; if the father wants a son to die, the son has no choice but to die."

This was one of the fundamental tenets of feudal dynasties.

Little did he know that Prince Zhao, who held Great Han in such high regard but could not cooperate due to differing stances, had long since quietly accepted Great Han's set of modernist ideologies in his heart.

Whoever wanted him dead, he would want that person dead. He wasn't about to let anyone use such things to morally blackmail him.

The Jing Emperor took a deep breath. He still hadn't anticipated that An Wuyang would remember all those who had bullied him before.

He had endured humiliation and hardship all this time, waiting for Lu Ding's arrival today to unleash a torrent of accusations all at once.

Out of nowhere, he had checkmated the Jing Emperor.

"Wait a minute..."The Jing Emperor suddenly spoke, his gaze profound. "Could all of this be part of Wuyang's scheme..."

Suddenly, he felt as if he had discovered a blind spot.

If it were the old An Wuyang, the Jing Emperor wouldn't have thought this way.

But given An Wuyang's current performance, he couldn't help but suspect more.

"Perhaps Wuyang isn't as unwilling to become the Crown Prince as he seems... after all, who wouldn't want to be emperor?"

"But right now, he has no one he can use. Even with Lu Ding's support, if he were to become emperor, he would still have two problems to solve: finding capable people and eliminating his rivals."

"Finding people can be done gradually, but eliminating rivals needs to be put on the agenda."

"And if he wants to be the Crown Prince, he must maintain his reputation. So, having this matter handled by Lu Ding, the Great Han special envoy with a fierce reputation, is the best option."

The Jing Emperor's eyes widened slightly.

The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. He hurriedly turned and left.

At that moment.

An Wuyang, who had just arrived at the White Eagle embassy in Great Jing with Lu Ding and the others, had no idea that he had been inexplicably saddled with a black mark.

He didn't know.

He just wanted to get even. He just couldn't handle it alone.

Crown Prince?

What Crown Prince?

Inside the White Eagle embassy.

Philip, the White Eagle Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and a visitor from White Eagle headquarters, a young woman with light blue ear-length hair, both stepped forward to greet them.

"Welcome, Grand Duke Lu. Your esteemed presence is truly an honor that brings glory to our humble establishment. I am the person in charge here, Philip. Grand Duke Lu's arrival has truly illuminated our humble abode."

This old fellow was quite shrewd. He introduced himself first, and it was done in a way that couldn't be faulted. After finishing, he then introduced, "Grand Duke Lu, allow me to introduce you. This is Miss Zuo Lan from our White Eagle's Zero Base. She is of mixed heritage."

"Her mother is from Great Han, and her father is from White Eagle. They came together because of scientific research."

This was also one of the little schemes of the White Eagle higher-ups. Having a mixed-race person, no matter what, could help bridge the gap a little.

However, Lu Ding wasn't particularly receptive to such tactics.

But courtesy was still necessary. He extended his hand. "Hello."

Zuo Lan smiled and extended her hand. "Hello, Mr. Lu. I've long heard of your great reputation. The banquet is ready. Shall we take our seats now?"

Lu Ding nodded. "Let's go."

The people behind followed.

The White Eagle side knew Lu Ding's temperament: proud, yet without much airs.

If you were a teammate on the same side and didn't cause trouble, he was willing to be pleasant to you, regardless of cultivation level.

He possessed an extremely peculiar, yet different kind of approachability that wasn't the usual kind.

Therefore, for this banquet, White Eagle had prepared places for the accompanying investigators as well.

Watching Lu Ding proceed forward, and with White Eagle hosting him today.

Prince Zhao and his daughter spoke up, "Grand Duke Lu, please go ahead. We have some matters to attend to. We'll come find you later."

Although the phrasing wasn't quite right, it was very much like when Lu Ding was a child, and his playmates went home for dinner, but he had no food lined up. He would say, "I'm not hungry, I won't eat. You guys eat. I'll go do this or that and come find you later."

No matter how high a Qi Refiner's realm, they are still human. And humans cannot escape life. Having a difficult family in his previous life and growing up in an orphanage in this one, Lu Ding was the person most grounded in everyday life.

Lu Ding said, "Where are you going? Since you're all here, let's eat together. It's more lively. It's just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks."

Zuo Lan chimed in, "Your Highness Prince Zhao, since you're already here, it saves us another trip, doesn't it? How about you go first, and when you arrive at the place, I come to invite you again?"

Prince Zhao glanced at his daughter.

An Ning responded politely, "Then we would be remiss to decline. Sorry for the intrusion."

"Let's go, Father."

Prince Zhao cupped his hands towards Lu Ding and Zuo Lan. "Thank you, Grand Duke Lu. Thank you, Miss Zuo."

Zuo Lan chuckled softly but didn't correct him. Only An Ning whispered using more modern language, "Dad... her surname is Zuo Lan... not Zuo."

Prince Zhao: ???????

"Hahaha, I know, I know. A compound surname, a compound surname."

This somewhat endearing, not-at-all-annoying blunder was really like the role of a father in many harmonious families.

After everyone had entered.

Zuo Lan sat to Lu Ding's left, and An Wuyang sat to his right.

Lu Ding glanced at Eunuch Liu behind An Wuyang, whose bruises and swelling had faded but whose internal injuries from being struck by a Spirit Refinement cultivator weren't completely healed, and said, "Eunuch Liu, do I need to invite you too?"

"I thought we were on the same side, so we wouldn't need to be so formal."

"Then let me invite you as well. Come, come, please take a seat."

Eunuch Liu couldn't believe it. Lu Ding would speak to him like this? Hmm!!! So warm!!!

This was a treatment he rarely experienced, or rather, had never experienced before.

Eunuchs, by nature, weren't well-regarded. Missing a part down there, it didn't sound good and wasn't fit for proper occasions.

At most, some juniors whose cultivation was far lower than his and whose status wasn't particularly noble, or those who needed favors from him, would show him a bit of respect.

But anyone with a bit of status and strength, well, some might look at him neutrally, but more often than not, they looked down on him.

Let alone show respectful courtesy.

In front of these people, the word 'respect' seemed to be absent from their dictionaries.

Just like those two old men who came from Great Han to the Filial Prince's Manor back then.

Eunuch Liu was flustered, his waist bent so low it almost folded in half. "Grand Guardian, your words, your courtesy... this old servant does not deserve it."

"You..."

"Hey, Eunuch Liu, everyone is watching."

Eunuch Liu scanned the surroundings, feeling the gazes. Because Lu Ding had shown him respect first, at this moment, Eunuch Liu felt a kind of direct attention he rarely experienced.

This attention was focused on him personally, not because of anything else.

He was, after all, a God Ascension Realm Ninth Layer cultivator. Eunuch Liu actually felt uncomfortable. One must know, he had attended morning court sessions with the Great Jing Emperor.

It was just that back then, not a single gaze from the civil and military officials was on him.

"Alright, alright, alright, I'll sit, I'll sit. This old servant will sit right away."

An Wuyang helped support Eunuch Liu, whose injuries had just stabilized. "Old Liu, don't stand on ceremony. Before Lu Ding came, there were too many rules here. Now that Lu Ding is here, I can finally be myself again."

"Let's not be so formal from now on."

"You've taken care of me during this time. Let me toast you first."