Chapter 309: Coercion!

That bad premonition had become a reality.

Looking at the deed and the red ink before him, w.a.n.g Chong's complexion turned ugly.

Princess Ni Huang was indeed here for the spirit vein.

He knew that the exposure of the spirit vein would surely bring about great trouble, but he didn't think that it would come that quickly.

A princess had actually come before him for the spirit vein.

Even though w.a.n.g Chong knew that he was bound for trouble, he didn't expect the other party to be so arrogant. To expect him to hand over the spirit vein freely like that, how could there be something as good as that in the world?

If it was just for private purposes, he wouldn't mind giving the spirit vein away.

However, the spirit vein simply played too crucial a role for him in changing the future. Otherwise, he wouldn't have wasted his resources on it in the first place.

Not to mention, he wouldn't have continued holding onto it despite the danger of being embroiled in the War of the Princes, especially after receiving the letter from Big Uncle w.a.n.g Gen.

But from the looks of it, Princess Ni Huang would never leave unless she achieved her aims here. Most probably, the matter here wouldn't be resolved peacefully.

Glancing at the brilliant martial halo beneath Princess Ni Huang's feet, he asked calmly, "May I ask Your Highness a question? Given Your Highness's superior cultivation, what use do you have seeking the spirit vein?"

"Hmph! You need not bother about that. I'll just ask you one simple question: will you hand it over or not?" Princess Ni Huang's eyebrows shot up as she spoke authoritatively.

"Lad, I know that you are the grandson of Duke Jiu, but since Your Highness has already requested it from you, you better obediently hand it over," the austere old nanny who possessed unfathomable cultivation added.

"Indeed. Why bother speaking so much nonsense? Since Your Highness asks you to hand it over, all you have to do is to hand it over."

"I suggest you give in so that you can avoid some unnecessary suffering!"

The two court ladies behind Princess Ni Huang harrumphed impolitely with an att.i.tude of "it is your honor that our princess is interested in your possession".

"Hahaha! Princess Ni Huang, even the His Majesty has to spend his own money to purchase his meal and necessities. Yet, Your Highness actually expects me to give away a spirit vein for free? What if I reject your request?" w.a.n.g Chong sneered in anger.

"Hmph, that is not up to you!"

Having expected w.a.n.g Chong’s rejection of her request, Princess Ni Huang smiled coldly. Sou! With a flash, her figure vanished, and a slim but powerful white hand darted straight for w.a.n.g Chong's wrist.

Weng!

w.a.n.g Chong knew that Princess Ni Huang would surely make a move, so he swiftly executed the Phantom Steps. In an instant, three identical w.a.n.g Chongs appeared before Princess Ni Huang.

Princess Ni Huang had always been an arrogant person, and she didn't think highly of w.a.n.g Chong, either. Thus, she was caught off guard by w.a.n.g Chong's maneuver, and her hand grabbed onto thin air.

Princess Ni Huang was taken aback, but she swiftly recovered from her astonishment. Instead of pursuing w.a.n.g Chong, she turned around to look at the old nanny beside her with a cold smile.

"Nanny, I was right, am I? This fellow won't pa.s.s the spirit vein over to us willingly unless we show him our might."

"Your Highness, don't worry. Leave this lad to me!" A layer of frost cloaked the old nanny's face.

Even though Duke Jiu possessed exceptional standing in the royal court, and he was respected by many, the old nanny didn't have any other choice since the princess had already spoken.

Weng!

A cold gleam could be seen vaguely streaking across the old nanny's eyes. In that instant, w.a.n.g Chong felt as if he had locked onto by a venomous viper, and his gooseb.u.mps immediately rose in alarm.

This is bad!

Astonished, w.a.n.g Chong immediately tried to back away. However, he was still too late. A pair of withered claws swiftly flew toward him, and just as he was about to be caught—

"Gongzi, be careful!"

In that very moment, a figure abruptly rushed in between w.a.n.g Chong and the austere old nanny.

"Jingdian!" w.a.n.g Chong shouted in shock.

The person who cut in at that crucial moment was no other Zhao Jingdian, who had just returned after giving away his invitation letters. However, how could Zhao Jingdian be a match for that unfathomable old nanny given his current cultivation?

Peng!

As soon as he leaped in, he was immediately knocked flying.

"Brat, is this your subordinate? It looks you care about him a lot!"

A cold and sinister laughter reverberated in the room. Seeing w.a.n.g Chong's reaction, a vicious smile crept onto the lips of the old nanny. Before Zhao Jingdian could even land on the ground, she stretched out her right hand and grasped. Under the pull of some invisible force, Zhao Jingdian was dragged to the old nanny, and the latter immediately suppressed him and locked him under her feet.

"If you hand over the spirit vein, you'll be able to take him away. Your Highness and I can let treat as if nothing has happened today, and we'll leave immediately."

"Gongzi, you mustn't accede to her request!"

"Brat, if I am in your position, I won't dare to act so obstinately," the old nanny sneered coldly. With a flick of her right hand, a needle imbued with Stellar Energy flew out and disappeared into Zhao Jingdian's body.

That small needle might seem to be nothing much, but Zhao Jingdian couldn't help but yell from the excruciating pain coursing through his body, and cold sweat dripped profusely from his body.

"Let go of him!" w.a.n.g Chong roared, glaring at the old nanny.

There were many ways to torture another in the royal court. Without a doubt, that old hag was using some torture method on Zhao Jingdian.

"If you hand the spirit vein over, everything can be resolved peacefully," Princess Ni Huang said haughtily. "Also, I suggest you not to even think of running away. You won't be able to escape, so don't bother engaging in pointless actions!"

w.a.n.g Chong was furious, but with Zhao Jingdian locked firmly beneath the old nanny, there was very little that he could do.

The spirit vein really couldn't be handed over!

However, the old and young duo clearly wouldn't let the matter rest as long as w.a.n.g Chong refused to hand them a satisfactory answer. The only reason why they hadn't done anything yet was because they thought that there was nothing w.a.n.g Chong could do at this point.

However, their patience wouldn't last forever.

"w.a.n.g Chong, I'll count to ten. If you still refuse to hand over the deed to the spirit vein, don't blame me for getting nasty. One! ...Two! ..."

While w.a.n.g Chong was still wracking his head for a solution, Princess Ni Huang was slowly cornering him with a cold sneer.

The temperature in the Deflecting Blade Manor abruptly plunged.

The hands of the old nanny slowly tightened on Zhao Jingdian.

To this point, she had tried her best to spare w.a.n.g Chong's pride in consideration of the possible backlash from Duke Jiu's side. However, if w.a.n.g Chong still refused to give in, she would have to resort to extreme measures.

"Princess Ni Huang, you are too audacious! Aren't you afraid of His Majesty's punishment?" w.a.n.g Chong bellowed furiously.

"Hmph, that will be a thing for the future." Princess Ni Huang harrumphed nonchalantly in response.

"Six! ..."

Reasoning with another had never been her character.

It was just a moment ago that her nanny told her not to lay her hands on w.a.n.g Chong in consideration of Duke Jiu. However, Princess Ni Huang bore no such thoughts.

Ten counts was the limit of her patience. If that lad still refused to cooperate with her, she didn't mind falling out with him entirely.

It seems like he must feel some pain before he will submit!, Princess Ni Huang clenched her fists tightly.

w.a.n.g Chong remained silent. Even though Princess Ni Huang didn't say a word, w.a.n.g Chong could still feel the malicious intentions from her gaze.

It seems like escaping won't do any good now...

Many thoughts ran through w.a.n.g Chong's head. Even though it was a brief encounter, he could tell that the princess and the nanny's cultivation had already far surpa.s.sed the True Martial realm.

He wouldn't be a match for them at all.

This matter really can't be resolved peacefully anymore.

w.a.n.g Chong's heart sank. Before absolute power, there was nothing he could do. Furthermore, the other party was a member of the royal family, so the usual restraints among the high society didn't work on her, either.

However, waiting around for death wasn't w.a.n.g Chong's style.

Suddenly, a thought flashed across w.a.n.g Chong's head, and an idea popped in his mind.

"Princess Ni Huang, given how the spirit vein is useless for your cultivation, you are probably here for the Second Prince, am I right?"

"I was still wondering what you will talk about. Who doesn't know that the Second Prince and I are siblings from the same mother. If you intend to talk your way out of this matter, I advise you not to waste your breath,"Princess Ni Huang replied in contempt.

"We are already at nine. Have you made up your mind yet?"

That is indeed the case!

Hearing those words, w.a.n.g Chong suddenly saw a ray of hope.

He hadn't gotten involved in the matter in the royal court back then, so his knowledge of the various matters occurring there was terribly limited. Thus, he had to verify the fact personally before he could put the pieces together.

The Second Prince, she is indeed acting for him!, w.a.n.g Chong thought.

The world's most disharmonious and scheming family was the royal family. Princess Ni Huang could have never imagined that her words had cleared up many things in w.a.n.g Chong's mind.

If w.a.n.g Chong's memory failed him not, the Second Prince seemed to have suffered some kind of severe damage when he was sixteen, putting him in a highly disadvantageous position in the intense War of the Princes.

This was the reason why Princess Ni Huang, as the other party's blood kin, sympathized with him and wanted to help him.

The reason why she was intent on obtaining the spirit vein was also due to him.

However, Princess Ni Huang probably could have never imagined that the Second Prince had already recovered from his injuries. It was just that he had never shown it in public.

Furthermore, he knew that he could win Princess Ni Huang's sympathy in such a manner, so he intended to continue hiding this matter from her to make use of her.

But on the surface, the Second Prince still upheld the image of a doting brother in front of Princess Ni Huang.

This made Princess Ni Huang even more infatuated with her brother. Indignant in his stead, she was determined to help him.

Alright I think this chapter will probably leave many of you with a bad taste in your mouth, but I think this just reflects w.a.n.g Chong's current standing. 

No matter how much you achieve, it is still hard to stand right up to the royal family. After all, blood is still thicker than water.
a.s.suming that Princess Ni Huang did kill w.a.n.g Chong, Duke Jiu could try to push the Sage Emperor to kill Princess Ni Huang, but that would be no benefit to the w.a.n.g Clan other than exacting vengeance, potentially creating a rift between the Sage Emperor and the w.a.n.g Clan, and completely offending the Second Prince and his supporters.
Some officials might stand up in support of w.a.n.g Chong, and there will surely be letters to admonish Princess Ni Huang, but many of them will have to consider the w.a.n.g Clan's falling status after w.a.n.g Chong's death and consider whether it is worth it to offend the Second Prince should they attempt to push for Princess Ni Huang's death. Most of the followers w.a.n.g Chong have are still young and lack power. Yang Zhao and Consort Taizhen are more of like fair-weather friends at the moment; they will help if it's beneficial to them, but if the w.a.n.g Clan show signs of decline, they could just abandon the s.h.i.+p altogether. After all, their goal is to find a footing in the royal court, which the w.a.n.g Clan is doing well in providing at the moment. Rather than saying they are close, their profits are just aligned.
Well, King Song might stand up for w.a.n.g Chong, but the Hu and King Qi are likely to stand up for Princess Ni Huang then, and the pressure on both sides will balance out. There is too much power balancing involved for justice to be served that simply. Make no mistake, I do think Princess Ni Huang would be punished for doing so, but the problem is with the extent. She could be jailed for a few months just for show and let out right after that, and that could be considered as a punishment too (such as in w.a.n.g Chong's case previously).

Basically, what I am saying is that the w.a.n.g Clan is powerful, but not strong enough to dominate Great Tang or the members of the royal family yet. It is frustrating to see the MC get bullied, but at his current state, he is indeed powerless in comparison to Princess Ni Huang, and it'll be illogical for it to occur otherwise.

Anyway, accepting donations for bonus chapters! I guarantee that the plot in front will be much more exciting, especially in 4xx