Soren’s answer was tantamount to rejecting the goodwill of the cabinet and the supreme command. At once, the faces of the big shots on both sides became unpleasant.
King Zhi Bian smiled and said, “Yan Wuji, Turing Tuo, it seems that the two of you are not attractive enough. Our future Earl Soren is unwilling to work under you.”
Yan Wuji, the prime minister of the cabinet of the Angry Wave Kingdom, is a count.
Turing Tuo, the first marshal of the Angry Wave Kingdom and the top leader of the military.
These two, one civil and one military, are King Zhi Bian’s left and right arms, the pillars of the Angry Wave Kingdom. In particular, Duke Turing Tuo is regarded as the god of war of the Angry Wave Kingdom. In the past nearly twenty years, the Angry Wave Kingdom has expanded its territory by thousands of miles, and more than half of it was conquered by him.
Although the world does not currently rank military force, everyone vaguely regards Turing Tuo as the number one expert in the military.
Of course, Turing Tuo has another identity, that is, the father of Turing Duo.
This mysterious school beauty has completely inherited her father’s martial arts talent. At present, in the entire Royal City Academy, apart from Ling Ao, it is estimated that no one is her match in a single exchange.
If there is no accident, she and Ling Ao will break through to Dragon Warrior before the age of twenty six or seven, and become the top experts in this world.
Although Zhi Min is a member of the royal family, his weight and status in the Royal City Academy are far lower than Turing Duo’s.
When she was only sixteen years old, she was already serving the kingdom on the secret front. Therefore, from the time she entered the Royal City Academy, the total time she spent attending classes has not exceeded three days. However, from the dean to the tutors, there was not the slightest objection. Instead, they still regarded her as the most outstanding student.
According to the current situation, Turing Duo is very likely to inherit her father’s mantle. It is believed that in the not too distant future, the Angry Wave Kingdom will welcome its first female marshal.
Seeing the king say this, Prime Minister Yan Wuji chuckled, while Turing Tuo remained completely expressionless.
In the main hall, Soren also discovered Zhi Li. However, unlike his boldness last night, he was meticulously wearing the prince’s robe, standing respectfully at the lower right of the king. From beginning to end, he did not express any opinion and appeared very rigorous and courteous.
Soren’s sense of smell is very keen. He vaguely felt that the reason why the two big shots, Yan Wuji and Turing Tuo, wanted so much to keep Soren, promoting him to marquis and giving him high positions and generous salaries, was all for one person, that is, Prince Zhi Li.
Both the civil and military sides fully support Zhi Li with all their hearts. If it is not entirely from the king’s instruction, the flavour inside is very strange.
“A forced melon is not sweet.” King Zhi Bian said, “In that case, you can return to your Tianshui City.”
Soren kowtowed and said, “Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty.”
“Record.” King Zhi Bian pointed to the eunuch in the corner of the main hall.
At once, that eunuch immediately straightened his waist, gripped the knife pen tightly, pricked up both ears, and was ready to record the king’s words at any time.
Whenever the king says “record”, it means that an important decree is to be issued, which must be recorded with the knife pen on the jade scroll and preserved for thousands of years.
At the same time, all the civil and military high officials present bent down neatly and listened attentively to the king’s decree.
“Soren, the nineteenth generation heir of the Suo clan, is loyal, benevolent, filial, and accomplished in both civil and military affairs. From today onwards, he is ordered to inherit the title of Earl of Tianshui, and is granted the earl’s robe, gold crown, and treasured sword!”
At once, several eunuchs entered one after another, carrying the earl’s robe, gold crown, and treasured sword.
Soren knelt on both knees and kowtowed, saying, “Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty.”
“Record.” The king said again, “Soren, the nineteenth generation heir of the Suo clan, is brave and upright, noble and fearless. From today onwards, he is ordered to inherit the position of Lord of Tianshui City, and is granted the city lord’s battle robe, armour, and treasured sword!”
Afterwards, several more eunuchs entered one after another, carrying the gold silk armour, mithril helmet, and golden treasured sword.
Soren knelt on one knee and performed the warrior salute, saying, “Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty.”
Because the city lord has to undertake the important task of guarding the territory and resisting the enemy, he salutes in the capacity of a military general.
King Zhi Bian took a step forward, presented the king’s command ring from his hand to Soren, and said, “From today onwards, you are the twenty first feudal lord of the Angry Wave Kingdom. I hope you can shoulder the responsibility of a feudal lord of the kingdom, not only to protect the people of your territory, but also to be loyal to the royal family and loyal to your liege lord.”
The feudal lords of the kingdom have only one liege lord, that is, the king.
In a strict sense, every feudal lord is a partner of the Angry Wave Kingdom. Because every feudal lord brought his territory and army to serve the royal family, their power comes from their respective families, not from the king’s conferment.
Therefore, the relationship between the two sides needs to be maintained through the identities of vassal and liege lord.
Soren held Zhi Bian’s right hand, lowered his head, and lightly kissed his king’s command ring.
“Soren swears to be loyal to the royal family and loyal to the liege lord until death.” After kissing the command ring, Soren said solemnly.
At this moment, he had only one feeling in his heart: King Zhi Bian’s hand was so icy cold.
“Get up.” King Zhi Bian said.
Soren stood up. From now on, he is one of the twenty one feudal lords of the kingdom, the Earl of Tianshui, and the Lord of Tianshui City.
At least in legal terms, the five hundred miles of territory in Tianshui City, several hundred thousand subjects, and tens of thousands of troops now all belong to him alone.
The reason why the king only granted the robe and treasured sword, but not the city lord’s great seal, is that the city lord’s great seal has been passed down from generation to generation by the heads of the Suo clan, rather than bestowed by the king. This also indicates that the king has no right to directly interfere in the hereditary succession of the feudal lords.
“Soren, since you are unwilling to stay in the royal city, then I will take back the royal city earl’s mansion granted to your family.” King Zhi Bian suddenly said.
As soon as these words came out, not only was Soren stunned, but all the civil officials and military generals present were also stunned.
The Tianshui Earl’s Mansion has two, one inside Tianshui City, which is not only the earl’s mansion but also the city lord’s mansion.
The other is in the royal city, which is the mansion where Soren is currently living.
The royal city earl’s mansion was granted by the royal family and has been there for several generations. However, this earl’s mansion has been unoccupied for a long time. It was only when Suo Long went to war for the country, suffered serious injuries, and contracted a serious illness that he had to come to the royal city for treatment, so he lived in the Tianshui Earl’s Mansion in the royal city for a long time.
Now, Soren is going back to Tianshui City, and the king actually wants to take back this earl’s mansion directly. This is very unexpected.
Under normal circumstances, a noble’s mansion would only be taken back if he made a mistake and was stripped of his title. King Zhi Bian doing this seems as if he is in a hurry to drive him back to Tianshui City.
Or perhaps, he is unhappy that Soren slapped the royal family’s face too hard in this bet with Zhi Ning.
In short, this move of taking back the earl’s mansion will make the king appear petty, which should not be the behaviour of a ruler.
But for King Zhi Bian, his actions are often unconstrained and cannot be judged by ordinary logic. Every move he makes has deep meaning, it just depends on whether you can comprehend it. And once you cannot comprehend it, then you are in danger.
“Yan Wuji, remember to notify the Internal Affairs Department to take back the Tianshui Earl’s Mansion within five days.” King Zhi Bian said.
“By your decree.” Prime Minister Yan Wuji bowed and said.
Soren vaguely felt that the king’s move was to cut off his retreat for staying in the royal city.
It seemed as if he was driving him onto a certain path. As for which path it was, Soren had not yet fully figured it out.
But at least one thing is certain: he cannot stay in the royal city. The king has already given a deadline, and he must leave the royal city within five days.
“Alright, Soren, you may go.” King Zhi Bian said, “When the time comes, there is no need to come and say goodbye. Just return to Tianshui City directly. Without an edict or important military affairs, you must not return to the royal city, nor privately associate with civil or military ministers, and even less privately associate with members of the royal family.”
This king is so distinctive. He says everything so directly, as if he has no scheming at all.
However, only those who have been around him for a long time know how deep the king’s schemes and stratagems are, and how terrifying they are.
” Your subject obeys the decree.” Soren kowtowed, then withdrew from the main hall.
And more than ten eunuchs, carrying the robes, treasured swords and so on, followed him out of the royal palace and returned to the Tianshui Earl’s Mansion.
After returning to the Tianshui Earl’s Mansion, elder sister Suo Ning Bing could not wait to have Soren put on the embroidered gold robe of the Earl of Tianshui, wear the gold crown, and carry the treasured sword at his waist.
“So majestic, so handsome. It really makes all the daughters in the world fall for you.” Suo Ning Bing clapped her hands and said, “You must be the most handsome and most beautiful master of our Suo clan in several hundred years.”
Then, Soren allowed his elder sister to arrange him as she pleased, posing him in various styles, and then letting the servants, maids, and family warriors in the earl’s mansion watch.
While watching, they clapped and cheered. Many maids had sparkling eyes full of admiration, only regretting that Soren had actually restrained himself and stopped flirting with them.
In the past few months, the atmosphere in the Tianshui Earl’s Mansion had been filled with depression and pain, and even breathing felt difficult.
Because in these few months, the Suo clan had been in a precarious state, on the verge of collapse.
But today, it was filled with laughter and joy.
Indeed, this was Suo Ning Bing’s happiest day. Soren had finally overcome all difficulties to inherit the position of Lord of Tianshui City. The foundation of the Suo clan for several hundred years had not been lost in her hands after all.
Because Soren had turned the tide and saved the Suo clan from this destruction crisis.
As for the Soren in front of her, he was actually not the real Soren. She really did not care about that at all.
She had not even thought about it at all, because this Soren in her heart was not only a younger brother and relative, but also vaguely… a lover. It is just that she completely dared not admit it, nor dared to accept it.
“Sister, the king’s decree is to take back this earl’s mansion. We are limited to leaving within five days, and without an edict, we must not return to the royal city.” Soren said.
“If it is taken back, then so be it. This place is cold and icy. I do not like it at all.” Suo Ning Bing said indifferently, “Only Tianshui City is our home, our roots. We do not need five days. Within three days, we will move out of this earl’s mansion and return to Tianshui City.”
Then, the jubilant Suo Ning Bing had the servants and maids pack up the luggage and prepare the carriages overnight. She was completely eager to return home, wishing she could leave tonight and return to Tianshui City.
“We will return to Tianshui City in three days. We will go home.” Suo Ning Bing rarely raised her voice.
At once, all the family warriors, all the maids and servants cheered in unison.
They had been suppressed for a very long time. Finally they could cheer, because they were going home.
Then, everyone happily packed up their luggage overnight and prepared to move.
When elder sister Suo Ning Bing left and was completely out of sight, the smile on Soren’s face instantly disappeared completely.
He came to the outside of the courtyard, closed his eyes, and faced the bright moon in the sky, as if to let the moonlight heal the burning and aching pain in his eyes.
Although his eyes had regained their sparkle, they had after all been damaged and often burned with pain.
“I have really never seen the young miss so happy.” Ye Jing Yu said from the side, then came behind Soren, reached out and gently massaged his eyes, and said, “Young master, what exactly are you worried about?”
Feeling the firm and bouncy elasticity from Ye Jing Yu’s chest, Soren gently leaned back against it and said slowly, “Jing Yu, we cannot return to Tianshui City anymore. We cannot go home anymore.”
“What?” Ye Jing Yu said in a trembling voice.
“Before, I vaguely felt this point. Today’s king’s decree has made me completely certain. We cannot return to Tianshui City, and the earl’s mansion in the royal city is gone too.” Soren said, “So, in five days, we will be homeless. I really cannot bear to tell my sister. I really cannot bear to let her lose the smile on her face. She smiles so rarely.”
“What exactly is going on?” Ye Jing Yu asked painfully.
“We have entered a vortex. Prince Zhi Li’s strategy is only the first layer.” Soren said, “Behind this, there is another vortex. This vortex is bottomless, because it is the king’s strategy. He wants to push me onto another path, and this path is fraught with nine deaths and one life. It will completely smash me and the people around me to pieces.”
“Which path? What path?” Ye Jing Yu said.
“I cannot tell you. It is too dangerous.” Soren said, “Everyone says that King Zhi Bian is the most terrifying person in the world. Today he only revealed a scale and half a claw, and it has made me deeply realise this point. It is truly too terrifying. No wonder all the civil officials, military generals, and noble feudal lords of the entire kingdom are not his match.”
Taking a deep breath, Soren said to Ye Jing Yu, “Go down and tell the family warriors to sharpen their blades and spears. Do not bring anything. Prepare the warhorses. We… are going to fight.”
“Moreover, that legendary Princess Zhi Yan should be returning from the Yan Capital Divine Dragon Holy Temple soon.” Soren murmured to himself in a low voice.