Chapter 331 Imperial Envoy
The gates gradually swung open and revealed a frantic Du Gaoge sprinting into the room. Upon reaching Ou Yangming’s side, he then excitedly stated, “Master Ou, the imperial envoy is here to see you!” Ou Yangming calmly turned to look at him, but deep down, he thought to himself, ‘The imperial family responds pretty fast, huh.’ When Ou Yangming completed the nine-ringed saber under public scrutiny the previous day, he was already prepared for the imperial family to respond. To put it another way, he had purposely chosen to smith the magic tool into the form of the nine-ringed saber to draw the imperial family’s attention.
Nevertheless, if things had gone according to his plan, the imperial family would take at least two or three days to respond. To his surprise, they had appeared the very next day instead.
After giving a slight nod, Ou Yangming asked, “Who’s the envoy?”.
Du Gaoge stared enviously at Ou Yangming, as the young man before him was starting to act more and more like a true powerhouse. “Master Ou, it’s the Fourth Prince!”
“Oh, so it’s a familiar face, eh.” Ou Yangming stifled a laugh. Had they sent one of the Five Imperial Elders over, then it would be tough to turn things around should negotiations break down. However, seeing as they had only sent their prince over, it seemed that the imperial family was rather smart.
“Head Shopkeeper Du, can I trouble you to invite His Royal Highness in?”
“Ehh?” Du Gaoge was startled at the remark. He carefully pieced his words together. “Aren’t you going to retrieve him, Master Ou?”
Ou Yangming snorted, “If it were His Majesty or any of the Imperial Elders who had paid me a visit, of course I would greet them personally.”
Du Gaoge was shocked at Ou Yangming’s words. However, he dared not impose his opinions any further. After giving a quick bow, he left the room. While he was leaving, he mentally noted, ‘Isn’t Master Ou acting too pompously? To think that he would think so little of His Royal Highness!’
Although Du Gaoge was indeed the Head Shopkeeper of the Yi Pavilion, it was only a coincidence that he had been assigned to serve Ou Yangming. Due to his relatively low standing in the hierarchy, he was oblivious to the secrets that Ou Yangming had put into motion.
The extent of his knowledge regarding Ou Yangming’s feats had only included the birth of the 26 Supreme Great Ancestors.
As such, he was unaware that Ou Yangming had smithed an interspatial bag and a magic tool.
With an anxious heart, Du Gaoge arrived at the courtyard. As cold sweat dripped profusely from his forehead, he bitterly stated, “Your Highness, Ou Yangming invites you in.”
Wu Hanfeng’s escorts were enraged upon hearing this. One of them stepped up and yelled at Du Gaoge, “His Royal Highness has chosen to grace Ou Yangming with his presence, why won’t he…”
“ENOUGH!” Wu Hanfeng’s expression sank as he chided, “You are NOT to be disrespectful to the host! Now, back down!”
The escort was startled by his prince’s order. Nevertheless, he dared not disobey it, and as such, he unwillingly backed off.
Wu Hanfeng mentally shook his head. He had his own share of troubles as well…
Interspatial bag! Magic tools!
Even if Ou Yangming had only mastered the technique to forge only one of the two, he would no longer be someone who Wu Hanfeng could cross. However, as Ou Yangming had mastered the techniques for both items, the young man’s position had shot up to the roof. At this point, aside from His Majesty or the Imperial Elders, no one else had the right to push him around.
However, since the secret was only known to a select few individuals, it was not Wu Hanfeng’s escorts’ fault for not realizing it.
Wu Hanfeng then turned his head around and feigned an earnest smile. “It’s my pleasure to meet Master Ou. Haha, please lead the way.”
Du Gaoge’s jaw dropped, and he nearly swallowed his tongue.
‘What’s this? Is His Highness trying to prove to the outside world that he is a man with a big heart?’
No matter how Du Gaoge looked at it, His Highness was still too generous. Nevertheless, as this was a matter between Master Ou and the prince, he had decided not to interfere.
He respectfully led Wu Hanfeng into the residence, and after giving orders to serve tea to the prince, he then carefully backed off. As for Wu Hanfeng’s escorts, the prince had ordered them to stay outside the residence, and because of this, Du Gaoge had to serve them as well.
Upon Ou Yangming’s arrival in the living room, Wu Hanfeng immediately stood up and greeted, “Your residence is rather… dull, Master Ou.”
Ou Yangming was slightly startled. He had visualized several scenes playing out in his mind, but never did he expect Wu Hanfeng to greet him with such strange words.
Ou Yangming looked at his surroundings and responded, “Your Highness, the place looks fine to me.”
“Haha, this is nothing more than a minor residence of the Yi Pavilion! How is it fitting for a man of your caliber?” Wu Hanfeng complained.
Ou Yangming chuckled and answered, “Pavilion Master Bai suggested a change of residence to me a long time ago. However, I declined her offer as I’m only staying in the capital for a few days. Moving is a pain, after
all.”
Ou Yangming had earned himself an honorable status, and as the days went by and his list of achievements grew, so too did Bai Cangling and Bai Shixue’s respect for him. As such, they had always fulfilled his requests and were at his beck and call.
Wu Hanfeng was slightly perturbed at those words. “You’re leaving the capital, Master
Ou?”
Ou Yangming responded profoundly, “I am. I came to the capital with only two objectives in mind. The first has already been accomplished, and as for the second, it’ll depend on Lady Luck.”
Wu Hanfeng lapsed into thought. A moment later, he asked, “Does the second objective have anything to do with the magic tool?”
Ou Yangming let out a chuckle. “You overthink, Your Highness.”
Wu Hanfeng’s face turned slightly red as he responded, “Master Ou, I’d like to ask something.” In a serious tone, he continued, “When you smithed the magic tool, why did you choose to make it into the shape of a nine-ringed saber?”
Ou Yangming calmly answered, “Why not?” Wu Hanfeng paused. He mentally yelled, ‘The material you used to forge the magic tool was provided by the imperial family! So, logically speaking, shouldn’t the magic tool belong to the imperial family? But no, you chose to forge it into the form of a nine-ringed saber, a weapon that none of us in the imperial family use, and you even claimed that you were going to send it away as a gift!
‘Need I remind you, it’s a magic tool! Do you know how restless the imperial family is because of you?’
Despite that, Wu Hanfeng kept those words to himself, as doing otherwise would no doubt upset Ou Yangming.
Wu Hanfeng chuckled bitterly and responded, “Feel free to smith whatever you wish!”
Ou Yangming noticed Wu Hanfeng’s pained expression and responded by slapping his own forehead. “I understand.”
Wu Hanfeng heaved a sigh of relief. ‘It seems that he’s finally understood. Phew, that was pretty difficult.’
However, Ou Yangming’s next words had instantly shattered Wu Hanfeng’s relief.
“Your Royal Highness, I’m aware that the material must have been incredibly precious to the imperial family. How about you name a price then. I’ll have the Yi Pavilion reimburse you. Worry not, I’m not attempting to take advantage of the imperial family!” Ou Yangming proudly declared. Wu Hanfeng’s expression turned dark as he mentally shouted, ‘Are you sure you want to twist the situation like that?’
Should those words reach His Majesty or the Imperial Elder’s ears, it would be too late for Wu Hanfeng to turn the situation around.
‘Why would the imperial family even be concerned over those petty materials? Did you think that I, a prince, would make my way over just for such a trivial matter?’
After taking a deep breath, Wu Hanfeng swallowed his rage, feigned a smile, and stated, “No no, you’re mistaken, Master Ou.”
Ou Yangming blinked and asked, “What did I get wrong?” Wu Hanfeng’s face twitched as he finally stated, “I’ll cut straight to the chase then, Master Ou.” While looking at Ou Yangming in the eye, he stated, “The reason I’ve come here today is to express my father’s gratitude in his stead.”
“Oh? What does His Majesty plan to do with a commoner like me?” Ou Yangming asked with a chuckle.
Wu Hanfeng stated with a serious expression, “His Majesty intends to make Master Ou the nation’s head blacksmith. You’ll be in charge of all the blacksmiths within the country.”
Ou Yangming furrowed his brow and stated without hesitation, “But Your Highness, I doubt I’m reputable enough to hold such a heavy title.”
Wu Hanfeng shook his head and stated, “I doubt that there’s anyone else besides you who can hold this position, Master Ou.” He then added, “My father has already notified the aristocratic families regarding this matter, and he has also received the unanimous approval of the families within the capital.”
Ou Yangming mentally laughed out loud. Most of the aristocratic families within the capital had been blessed with his grace during the Myriad Treasure Meet, and as such, unless they had a screw loose, no one would dare to object. After all, the birth of 26 Supreme Great Ancestors was no small matter. As for the credentials to lead the nation’s blacksmiths… Through his accomplishment of the interspatial bag and the magic tool alone, he was already more than qualified for the position. Nevertheless, Ou Yangming shook his head slowly and answered, “I appreciate His Majesty’s offer, but that is not where my goals lie.”
Wu Hanfeng froze, and asked, “What exactly are your goals, then, Master Ou?” He carefully minced his next few words, “As long as we have the means to assist you with your goals, then this negotiation would be a cinch to resolve.”
Ou Yangming paused, and with a weird expression, he responded, “You misunderstand, Your Highness.” He then added, “Why does Your Highness assume that my goals are related to the imperial family?”
For many people living in their world, being able to live in the royal south-facing northern residence[1] was the greatest goal that many had dreamed of. However, such was not the case for Ou Yangming.
Wu Hanfeng exhaled a sigh as he asked with yet another bitter smile, “Since the first magic tool you smithed is in the shape of the nine-ringed saber, isn’t it obvious that you’re trying to seek the favor of the Woo Family? In that case, could you blame us for assuming your goals?”
Ou Yangming spat, “It’s okay, there’s no need in hiding my goals anyway. My second objective for coming to the capital is to seek out the manpower necessary to deal with the spirit beast that is threatening Changlong County.”
Wu Hanfeng exclaimed, “Spirit beast? Are you saying that you want the Great Ancestor to take action?”
“Exactly!” Ou Yangming responded. “The only one who is capable of defeating these beasts is the supreme powerhouse!”
There was an enigmatic expression on Wu Hanfeng’s face, but a moment later, he stated, “Master Ou, though the threat that Changlong and Linlang County faces is dire, it is not a completely hopeless situation. I believe that both counties have already deployed measures to deal with the threat.”
Ou Yangming sneered, “Indeed they have, but they require human sacrifices to do so. And unfortunately for me, I do not wish for one of the sacrifices to lose her life.”
Wu Hanfeng’s eyes gleamed and he responded in a solemn tone, “Master Ou, I will relay your message as it is to His Majesty. However, the decision still lies with His Majesty himself.”
Ou Yangming nodded and thanked, “I appreciate your assistance, Your Highness.”
With that, Wu Hanfeng left the residence together with his escorts. While leaving, a weird emotion welled up within him.
Despite being a prince, Wu Hanfeng had been demoted to a lowly messenger. As such, he was unsure whether to be glad at how smooth negotiations were, or whether to be ashamed of his task.
[1] Oftentimes ancient Chinese emperors would build their abodes on the northern side of their nation while facing the south