I Don't Agree to the Terms

Chapter 876 464: The Bit-Player Villain's IQ Goes Online (Part 2)

"Do you dare defy the imperial decree?" The other's tone carried a murderous intent, seemingly surprised that even a dog dared to disobey orders.

"Where is this decree from?" Song Changqian sneered, expressing disdain. If they had the guts to kill him, then he dared to send this matter to the Nanqing Zhou Family.

The previous Princess Consort was a woman of the Nanqing Zhou Family. After the disappearance of the Princess Consort and the legitimate Imperial Grandson, the Nanqing Zhou Family investigated for years, eventually giving up due to the passage of time.

"Good, good, very good." The adversary seemed to laugh out of anger, then continued, "Song Changqian, don't forget, your whole family is still in Shengjing."

"If you want to kill, just do it. Just hope you don't regret it. If I head to Nanqing County, it would be only a three-day journey at most." Song Changqian knew that at this point, he absolutely could not flinch, but had to confront the other party head-on. If he were to show weakness, the other side would immediately take action against his family.

"Aren't you afraid of dying without a complete corpse for betraying my Qian Family?" The opponent instantly flew into a rage at Song Changqian's threat.

"Ha, I am a courtier of the Royal Family; since when did I become your Qian Family's diehard?"

"The Imperial Grandson hasn't ascended the throne yet, the Princess Consort isn't the Empress Dowager, she's not even the Crown Princess Consort, merely a Princess Consort."

Song Changqian mocked lightly, knowing that things couldn't be resolved simply now, as the other party truly resented him.

"You just wait and see, hmph." After a harsh threat, the connection was severed.

"That Qian Lun is indeed narrow-minded and short-sighted. This matter is probably not the Princess Consort's order, but his own decision." Song Changqian quickly guessed some background, merely annoyed at the slow pace, thinking that a massacre would be faster.

But if this matter were exposed, he would definitely implicate the Princess Consort, for massacring one's own city is tantamount to treason; the nine clans would cease, he would die too, having no regrets, aiming instead to take a large bite out of the Princess Consort and Qian Family.

Emperor Xuan likely wished to remove the mother while keeping the son and simultaneously suppress the Qian Family.

As for suppressing this issue? It's simply impossible, as this city alone has at least tens of thousands of people; suppressing it would mean the Qian Family is not just the Pingyang Qian Family, but the Heavenly Family Qian.

Even the Eldest Prince doesn't dare to be so outrageous, let alone a mere Princess Consort.

If he disobeyed, there was still a path to survival; obeying the other side would mean certain death for Song Changqian.

"In that case, why not seek refuge with the Fourth Prince." A flash of brilliance passed through Song Changqian's eyes.

The Eldest Prince Consort is dealing with such a brother, sooner or later she will be dragged down, not to mention this Imperial Grandson doesn't seem to be one who can serve the ancestral temples for long.

More importantly, Emperor Xuan poorly managed the matter, giving the throne to the legitimate Imperial Grandson would trigger discontent among the other Princes.

If it were first passed to the Eldest Prince, even if he died before the legitimate Imperial Grandson succeeds, the other Princes would not dare act recklessly, now thinking to skip the Eldest Prince directly to the Imperial Grandson, essentially ignoring the other Princes.

Even more significantly, the Eldest Prince possibly couldn't sustain till succession.

Emperor Xuan needs at least ten more years to break through to the God Demon level; given the Eldest Prince's illness, he wouldn't last more than a year, how could he manage?

"With this secret, the Fourth Prince plus the Nanqing Zhou Family, of course, can vie for the throne." The reason Song Changqian chose the Fourth Prince was because he was heirless.

Being heirless is no issue; adoption is possible.

Who would be a more suitable candidate for adoption than this legitimate Imperial Grandson born of the former Eldest Prince Consort? In this way, the Fourth Prince could gain support from the Nanqing Zhou Family, along with his maternal family, one of the Eight Great Families, the Jiangyong Wu; with the union of the two families, even if the legitimate Imperial Grandson ascended, he could be pulled down.

Moreover, there's no need to worry about Emperor Xuan once he becomes God Demon; once he dotes on the legitimate Imperial Grandson again, there's nothing he can do, as it's not easy for God Demon to interfere in the mortal world.

"For now, I just hope this former Imperial Grandson can survive well."

While he couldn't find him, it didn't mean the Nanqing Zhou Family couldn't; they possess the Bloodline Secret Technique, and as soon as they enter Anchang City, they will definitely find him.

Song Changqian was neither from the Zhao family nor the Zhou Family and therefore could not utilize the Bloodline Secret Technique for tracking.

Such Bloodline Secret Techniques could not be handed to him, a mere courtier, since it was related to their family bloodline.

"Damn, wasn't this woman truly planning to use me as a scapegoat from the beginning?" Song Changqian shivered involuntarily; given the Princess Consort's status, she certainly had branches of the Zhao family to rely on. If the Zhao family branches were involved, where would he need to search piece by piece, even with the distance limitation of Bloodline Secret Techniques, it would still be faster than him being a headless fly.

Therefore, the true reasons boiled down to two: one, the matter was not suitable for Zhao family to know, and two, after killing, he could serve as a scapegoat; he was only a courtier and not entirely tied to the Princess Consort.

"These people truly have dark hearts, the sister lets me be a scapegoat, the brother directly wants me to massacre a city, ha." Song Changqian couldn't help but laugh coldly, truly treating him as a fool.

If he hadn't reacted promptly, he wouldn't escape extermination of even three clans, let alone nine.

At that time, they could also use him to placate the Nanqing Zhou Family, as a means of forming alliances and making peace; once the situation stabilized, the Nanqing Zhou Family could only accept it while holding their noses.

By sacrificing him, they could achieve multiple gains with one stroke.

"First sneak back to Shengjing and join under the Fourth Prince's banner." Song Changqian had this idea for a long time; if the Fourth Prince denied his proposal and decided not to protect him, then he would turn to the Zhou Family at Nanqing County. With the power of the Eight Great Families, even without the Fourth Prince, as long as they could find the former Imperial Grandson, they could still help him stake a claim to the throne.

After all, the current Princess Consort and current Imperial Grandson only have the Pingyang Qian Family backing them.

Of course, if even the Nanqing Zhou Family was unwilling to shelter him, he would naturally take his wife and daughter and flee far away, leaving nothing behind.

Since the other party intended to drive his entire family to death, why else would he foolishly serve them to die? Not only would it not benefit him, but it would also leave him with a ruined reputation.

Since there was no gratitude towards him from the other party, he would, of course, feel justified in switching allegiances.

...

"So as long as the brain is functional, many 'plots' can deviate from the predetermined route." Gu Shanhai muttered, watching Song Changqian leave abruptly without a word.

If it followed the predetermined 'plot,' Song Changqian, not being bright, would obey Qian Lun's instructions to massacre Anchang City, then Qing Feng and Ming Yue would narrowly escape, unveiling the conspiracy step by step, eventually rallying forces to return to Shengjing for vengeance.

The former Imperial Grandson, was precisely Ming Yue, thus he previously sensed an ominous feeling.

"These two Disciples, neither has a simple background."

"If the protagonist doesn't have a high-and-mighty yet intricate background, how would it be fun?"

Gu Shanhai was truly out of words to complain.

Ming Yue is the Imperial Grandson, whereas Qing Feng is different; his father is the Sect Hierarch's son of the Blood Demon Sect, and his mother is the Xuanqing Sect Leader's daughter, bearing a complex identity of both righteous and demonic paths.

In this world, besides the major power of Da Xuan Dynasty and the Eight Great Families, there exist three righteous sects and two demonic sects.

The three righteous sects are Xuanqing Sect, Haoran Sect, and Jingang Sect, while the two demonic sects are the Blood Demon Sect and Netherworld Sect.

Besides these, there are ten major gangs, resembling large criminal organizations, not matching these formidable forces, akin more to underlings.

The Dynasty, Great Families, and righteous and demonic forces form a unique balance of power.

All sides restrain each other; once one dominates, they are jointly suppressed, thus stabilizing their own power.

"Having got Song Changqian out of the way, it should buy enough time for Qing Feng and Ming Yue to develop." Gu Shanhai knew that it's impossible to hide forever. He also wouldn't genuinely let them hide their entire lives; rather, once the time was ripe, he'd have them venture out, bringing enough benefit to Gu Shanhai.

"Alright then, back to work."

Seeing the matter settled, Gu Shanhai naturally used the Five Elements Great Escape to transport back to his residence and continued his work.