Three days later, around the time the lanterns were lit in the early evening at the West Lake's bank. Streams of people kept swarming inside the West Lake Manor. It was bustling with noise as well as the occasional, graceful sounds of a zither disseminating across the West Lake.
"Oh! Mr. Liao, you're here."
"Director Li, you're also here!"
Waiters swaggered in and out with trays full of various types of beverages set upon them, circling across the entire area.
"As Crown Prince Ao has descended on Jiangnan, this moment might decide Jiangnan's development for the next decade. Why would I miss it? Who would dare to miss it? Don't tell me you haven't seen that yet?"
Mr. Liao followed Director Li's gaze and was stunned. He saw a smart, elegant youth at that place. He wasn't shocked due to this youth's elegance but rather his identity.
Gu Dezhi's son, Young Master Gu!
Mayor Gu had reached a point of saturation and was unclear about what path to take in the future. The chances of nabbing a promotion were quite small too. Moreover, Crown Prince Ao arrived in Jiangnan this time and campaigned so boldly by creating difficulties for Mr. Jiang's industries and closing them all down. Everyone knew that Mr. Jiang and Mayor Gu had close ties, so his actions clearly showed that he was targeting them. The people didn't know whether to laugh or cry when they saw Young Master Gu appear here as if nothing had happened.
Even Young Master Gu was looking for an escape route. He always couldn't wait for his father to fall from his position. All his industries had reached a rock bottom as well.
When mentioning Young Master Gu, he had a run-in with Jiang Xiu once. When Jiang Xiu had gone to the gathering of shamans in Belden, he had slapped this Young Master Gu.
Only, things change with the passage of time. Jiang Xiu had transformed from the 'damned fruit seller' they had addressed him as to 'Mr. Jiang' who had around half of Jiangnan under his foot.
There were a few other young masters beside Young Master Gu.
However, no matter how powerful Jiang Ao was, Mayor Gu was still in his position, so the others had to still give him face.
"I wonder why Crown Prince Ao has conducted this meeting?"
Over these three days, rumors had spread all over Jiangnan, that Crown Prince Ao had arrived in Jiangnan to deal with Mr. Jiang. The Jiang family wouldn't have usually sent the younger generation to handle Jiangnan's border region governor, but the upper levels had their own way of playing the game. As Mr. Jiang's industries got closed down one after one, the matter became clearer. It was just that Crown Prince Ao never admitted it with his own mouth, so it was all just conjecture at this point.
"Hehe. The answer will be definitely disclosed tonight."
Everyone's gaze turned serious. This was the core moment. One those make in it now would be able to make considerable profits later on.
There were many tyrants present here and were all like-minded.
"Mr. Jiang had risen to power with quite the intensity, but who could've expected that Crown Prince Ao would descend on Jiangnan with such a spectacular fanfare."
"The Jiang family on the official side and the Ji family on the martial arts side, it's a really frightening line-up."
As they discussed the details zealously, a part of the crowd became restless. Someone among them cried out. "The Dong family's family head, the Lin family, the Li family, the Bai family as well as a dozen other prominent families have arrived as well."
They were shocked that all these big shots were currently escorting a young person.
Everyone quaked in fear as his identity couldn't be more apparent.
This youth walked in a dignified manner. He wore leisurely clothes, a shirt paired with jeans. His gaze flickered with a gleam as it traveled across everyone's faces. He seemed to possess the bearing of an aristocrat which set him apart from the crowd due to the aggressive regal aura he possessed. All the seniors as well as the officials, the all-powerful young masters as well as Young Master Gu and the rest were all overshadowed by his radiating presence.
"This feeling, Mr. Jiang is also like this, right?"
A girl donned in a backless evening dress commented. She had a tall figure and wore high-heeled shoes. Her slender legs were crossed with her hand holding a glass of champagne. She possessed an extremely conspicuous feminine demeanor. Her evening dress' had a slit right to her buttocks, and her eyes were intoxicated by the wind blowing in from the West Lake. Perhaps because of the wind, the nearby people all narrowed their eyes.
Mr. Jiang was unrivaled in her heart before, but now, she fawned towards this Crown Prince Ao. Though she had never seen Mr. Jiang's elegance before, she guessed that since Mr. Jiang wasn't showing his presence after being suppressed by Crown Prince Ao, it meant that Crown Prince Ao had the upper-hand.
Not only her, but many ladies from Jiangnan's famous families were also starstruck, their heartbeats speeding up.
The men were even more excited and deeply moved that such a man existed.
"Everyone, let me introduce someone to you!"
The Dong family's family head wore a serene expression on his face. Currently, his Dong family was soaring with success.
"This is Mr. Jiang Ao, grandson of Elder Jiang of the Imperial Capital's Jiang family as well as the recently famous personage dubbed as Crown Prince Ao."
Everyone applauded vehemently.
The young masters present on the scene, including Young Master Gu, Young Master Lin, as well as Young Master Bai and the rest were all distressed. These young masters were the most amazing before, and men usually liked to compare each other. Now that a person more amazing than them had appeared, they didn't feel good at all, but Crown Prince Ao was too powerful. This could be inferred from the fact that some of the young masters had all bowed their heads on the side.
"So that's Crown Prince Ao."
"It's the person who has the support of the Jiang family, the Ji family, the Dong family as well as a dozen more prominent families. Of course, he wouldn't be someone common."
The family heads of these families all had flushed appearances. They were recruited by Crown Prince Ao this time to handle Mr. Jiang and worked hard to close down his industries. After Jiang Ao won, they would inevitably reap the benefits.
Jiang Ao came forward, "Many scholars have embellished on Jiangnan's splendor since the ancient times so I won't repeat it again. I've long since admired this place and thought of coming here. Today, I feel very excited after seeing Jiangnan's famous West Lake and am overjoyed to see the gifted men and beautiful ladies of Jiangnan."
"I offer this toast to thank everyone for coming here today."
"Cheers!"
Jiang Ao downed the glass in one go then continued, "Everyone must have guessed the reason I've arrived in Jiangnan. You have it right. I came for Jiang Luoxia."
This created another uproar in the crowd, or to say more accurately, it made them restless.
"There's no place for this man in Jiangnan!"
"Crown Prince Ao is right. My Ji family is in favor of this."
The one who said this was Ji family's delegate, Ji Yicong!
"I'm also in favor!"
Dong family's family head.
"Me too!" Jiangnan's wealthiest individual, Ma Dexing. This person was also on the Forbes ranking and possessed a social status worth several billion. He had ventured into overseas trading in the eighties and dabbled in appliances, selling antiques and what not. After mingling in the business world for a few decades, he had amassed such an astonishing amount of assets. What's more ridiculous was that he had converted this nationality to Indian. However, he had a considerable influence in Jiangnan.
The others were shocked after watching all the big shots support Jiang Ao.
A group of critics gathered at a distance.
"Though Jiang Ao has the authority, influence, and money, Mr. Jiang established his power in Jiangnan by relying on his martial arts. He ranks 11 on the Demigod Ranking now. Descend, the nine mythical arts, cleanse the heavens, a thousand years of karma, an artless heart yet romantic. Jiang Ao's words don't mean anything unless he can oppress Mr. Jiang using martial arts."
"Indeed. All this is just to show off. The key point is whether the expert from the Ji family can defeat Mr. Jiang."
"Mhm!"
One of the old men asked, "But will Jiang Luoxia dare to battle Ji Wudao?"
Mr. Jiang's industries were all closed down yet he hadn't made an appearance even after three days had passed. He had already fallen into a disadvantageous position. Everyone believed he was scared to come out to battle.
As the situation in Jiangnan became more chaotic, news spread in China's martial arts circle, that Jiang Luoxia will have to battle Ji Wudao. The discussion in the martial arts circle was fiercer than the discussions in Jiangnan. Even the martial arts circle of nearby countries such as Japan and Korea paid close attention to this matter.
A battle between Demigods was quite rare to see after WW2, so their anticipation was imaginable.
"Jiang Luoxia won't dare!" someone said.
"He won't dare!" Another person spoke up.
There was a member of the Ji family among these people. Before he had come here, he had conversed with the Ji family head who said that Jiang Luoxia might not necessarily decide to fight. It looked like their inference was correct.
Demigods were strong and possessed great power, but because they possessed such great power, they had to act very cautious and cherish their life. Wealth meant nothing to Demigods, and they didn't care if they lost it. If a powerful enemy could be avoided, they could still make a name somewhere else. There were many such cases. Someone had gone to Europe and established Heaven's Gate while someone controlled a small nation.
Right now, a car left the airport, going towards the West Lake. An eighteen-year-old girl was inside the vehicle. She actually didn't know what had happened, but Ouyang Qian and Li Dan, who liked to show off, mentioned in the class group chat that the elite circle of Jiangnan was undergoing a change. Therefore, she believed that as Jiang Xiu's wife, she should be standing beside him to support him.