Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Celestial Rain Falling on the Crown
The Fang Rui affair involved a power struggle between the Weishui Families, and Chen Ping’an wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. But with Fang Rui locked up in the South City Prison, he had no choice but to get involved.
After leaving Mu Wanjun, Chen Ping’an went straight back to his small courtyard. When he got home, he found Chen Erya diligently reading.
Ever since she started attending school, the little girl had spent most of her time buried in a pile of books.
Though she was still young, she was already showing the faint air of a talented scholar.
Chen Ping’an felt quite gratified by this.
’It’s good that the little one has found a hobby she’s passionate about! As her older brother, it makes me happy to see.’
"Brother, you’re back!"
Seeing Chen Ping’an home from his duties, the little girl put down her book and greeted him with a smile.
"Young Master."
Peony also gave a slight curtsy, greeting Chen Ping’an.
Chen Ping’an nodded in return and said with a smile, "Reading, are we?"
Chen Erya stood up. "Yes, I’ve been reading some miscellaneous records recently. They’re quite interesting."
Chen Ping’an glanced down and saw that the little girl was reading a book called *A Brief Record of Famous Figures in Canglong Province*.
’Hm, not bad!’
The two chatted for a while before Chen Ping’an stretched and walked into the small courtyard to begin practicing his Martial Arts.
"The Young Master is truly diligent in his training!"
Peony couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
Chen Erya watched Chen Ping’an’s acrobatic figure and nodded in agreement. "Yes, he is. If Brother is working so hard, then I have to work hard too!"
...
The Fang Rui affair continued to escalate, showing no signs of ending.
The Fang Family behind Fang Rui was constantly using their connections, trying to get the Outer City Garrison Command to expedite their procedures and release him.
Meanwhile, the Mu Family was exerting the opposite pressure, doing everything they could to drag out the process.
In the process, the clash between the two Noble Families expanded into various other fields beyond the Fang Rui incident. It was a so-called cold war of noble family politics. In terms of family strength, the Mu Family had a slight edge over the Fang Family. Overall, however, the two families were of the same magnitude. For a time, it was difficult to determine a winner.
The real-world consequence of this was that Fang Rui remained locked up in the South City Prison.
Chen Ping’an didn’t pay it much mind.
Two days had passed since he learned the truth of the matter from Mu Wanjun.
The Fang Family sent another representative, telling Chen Ping’an to take good care of Fang Rui in the South City Prison. His words were laced with threats.
Chen Ping’an didn’t give this so-called Fang Family representative any face whatsoever.
"Heh, the great Noble Families..."
"They’re so used to being high and mighty, they have no idea how to get things done!"
If the other party had spoken politely and offered a hefty gift, Chen Ping’an might have even considered taking good care of Fang Rui. But this man came here, flaunting the Fang Family name in front of his subordinates, speaking rudely, even threateningly—and that was it? He expected him to yield?
What a joke!
’Who does he think he is?’
Chen Ping’an shot the so-called Fang Family representative a glance, let out two cold laughs, then turned and shut the gate.
"Go, cut off Fang Rui’s food and water for the next few days!"
Chen Ping’an ordered the Prison Guards and constables at his side.
"Yes, sir."
The Prison Guard took the order and left.
The surrounding Prison Guards and constables who heard Chen Ping’an’s words couldn’t help but look at him with awe.
’Lord Chen is a real man! Tough as nails!’
’He doesn’t give the Fang Family any face at all!’
In reality, Chen Ping’an understood the situation perfectly. In this game between Noble Families, as the South City Prison Chief, even if he did nothing, the Fang Family would still see him as being branded with the Mu Family’s mark.
Even if he tried to curry favor with the Fang Family now by taking care of Fang Rui, never mind how the Mu Family would react, the Fang Family themselves wouldn’t hesitate to settle accounts with him when the opportunity arose. They wouldn’t give a damn about his supposed goodwill.
When it’s time to pick a side, trying to play both ends against the middle rarely ends well.
However...
After ordering his subordinate Prison Guards to cut off Fang Rui’s food and water, Chen Ping’an went to the South Town Garrison Command to find Mu Wanjun.
"Lord Chen!"
The constables guarding the gate greeted Chen Ping’an respectfully.
"Mm."
Chen Ping’an nodded slightly.
He walked through the gates of the South Town Garrison Command under the awestruck gazes of the constables.
To these constables, a Candidate for Chief Constable was already an extremely high position, someone worth fawning over and looking up to.
But when facing truly powerful families, the position of a mere Candidate for Chief Constable was far from enough.
In the power struggles between Noble Families, a so-called Candidate for Chief Constable was nothing more than a pawn.
In the game between Noble Families the size of the Mu and Fang, even the Commander-in-Chief of the Outer City Garrison Command was likely just a small boat in a storm, tossed by the wind and swept along by the waves.
Chen Ping’an found Mu Wanjun, explained the situation, and even briefly recounted the threats in the words of the so-called Fang Family representative.
Mu Wanjun expressed her support for Chen Ping’an’s subsequent actions.
"Ping’an, you don’t need to worry too much about this. Even if the sky falls, the Mu Family will be there to hold it up. Next time something like this happens, just do what you have to do! If they dare run their mouth again, just slap them across the face!"
Er!
Chen Ping’an hadn’t expected Mu Wanjun to be even more aggressive than he was!
’Just slap them across the face, huh...’
Chen Ping’an recalled the mockery and scorn on the face of that so-called Fang Family representative. He then remembered the threats in the man’s words.
’Imagine just slapping him right then and there!’
’Yeah!’
’That would feel pretty damn good!’
’Too bad...’
Mu Wanjun was the legitimate daughter of the Mu Family. If she really did that, he believed the Mu Family would definitely protect her.
As for him, he didn’t dare to be so blindly confident.
’Mu Wanjun would definitely support me! But the Mu Family behind her? Not necessarily! When things truly get out of hand, they’d sell me out if they had to.’
’I can’t trust in human nature!’
’A man can borrow power, but in the end, he has to rely on himself!’
Mu Wanjun looked at Chen Ping’an and offered a few more words of comfort.
"Ping’an, don’t worry, just pick a side with confidence. If anything really happens, I’ll protect you with my life!"
"Yes, thank you, my lord."
Chen Ping’an smiled and cupped his fists.
Mu Wanjun shot him a glare.
...
「In the small courtyard.」
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
The gleam of the saber flashed, like cascading moonlight.
+1!
A flash of Cultivation Experience passed before Chen Ping’an’s eyes.
"It’s enough!"
Chen Ping’an’s eyes lit up.
After all this time, the Experience Points for his Gale Sword Technique had finally reached Perfection.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Ping’an didn’t hesitate for a second. With a sudden surge of his spirit...
RUMBLE~
The Experience Points on the panel floating in the void began to churn wildly.
The experience transformed, turning into motes of starlight that entered his body. A vast amount of experiential insight was born from nothing.
Inside his Dantian Qi Sea, his Inner Qi surged madly, rising like the great waves of the Yangtze River, rushing straight for his Celestial Gate.
The next moment, it felt as if something had broken through the location of his Celestial Gate, and a feeling of sudden clarity washed over him!
The Third Pass of Inner Qi—broken!
Celestial Rain Falling on the Crown—achieved!
