An Appetite That Must Not Be Satisfied

The garden fell silent after Mr Xu spoke, deep down they all knew he was not wrong, since they themselves where coming from aristocratic houses and clans.

They've heard the adults mention it this few days after it was announced that the Prince of the north was coming to the capital.

They also understood that it was important to clip his wings, but to kill him was too cruel, after all, he had protected the empire from invasions several times.

"Mr Xu if you were the Prince of the North, what would you have done to avoid this tragic fate" one of the guest asked.

"I would have stayed far away from the imperial capital, as long as I don't enter their den, they can't also enter mine" he answered with wisdom flashing through his eyes.

The others agreed with him, he might be powerful but imperial Domain wasn't a place he could survive without any ally.

"Well that's enough, we shouldn't be talking about such things, don't you think so Lord Gu?" Qing Ying suddenly said, turning the crowd attention back to Gu Shang, who they had ignored.

Gu Shang had heard the conversation between the elders in the sky and couldn't help but frown.

What did they mean to kill him, if he doesn't join them? And what was that about preventing him from joining the imperial Clan?

There was something fishy about that statement, as a vassal shouldn't you owe your loyalty to the emperor, but it seems the Qing Clan weren't loyal vassals at all.

The emperor was really a failure of a man, how could he let the clans under imperial authority become so audacious.

He had always known that the emperor had little control over the officials but he didn't realize it was this bad.

His disappointment of the emperor grew more.

Since he took charge of the army, the imperial capital had never sent them rations or any equipment.

The only reason why the army were able to function was because, he had taken charge of the Eight Prefectures and lower regions.

That was were he generated his income for the military expenses.

Apart from that, he had never receive any help from the capital, that was why he had always disregarded imperial decrees sent by the emperor.

The only reason why he was returning to the capital was because, he had made a promise to the old emperor.

Just then he heard Qing Ying voice and raised his head to face the crowd, he had heard their conversation, and so he knew what they were talking about.

"The Grand General is the highest ranking official in the imperial court, why would he need to fear some small fries in the imperial court" he answered nonchalantly.

The crowd was stunned, that was indeed the case, but.....

"Lord Gu is right, the Prince of the north indeed wields the most power in court officially, but unofficially

He has no power in the court because he has no foundation or backers, he has no support so that power he wields is a blunt sword" Mr Xu said whiles pulling a paper fun from his storage ring before blowing it back and forth with elegance.

"What foundation? What support? What backing? In the face of absolute strength all of this doesn't matter.

If you have strength you can crush all the obstacles obstructing your way" Gu Shang said domineering.

"I've heard Lord Gu has just returned from the military, so am not surprised you believe brute strength stops everything,

In the imperial court, brute strength doesn't matter, only strategies and schemes prevail.

Entering the imperial capital with just brute strength isn't enough, one might die without knowing how or when"

At this point, it was a debate between Gu Shang and Mr Xu.

Gu Shang didn't have time to argue with him, after all actions they say spoke louder than words.

Mr Xu couldn't be bothered to also continue arguing with someone who thought brute strength prevails over strategies.

Since time immemorial, weaker strategist have defeated greater opponents who thought that brute strength was all that matters, and the funny thing was that most of the powerful people who fell and we're defeated by schemes were all military personalities.

"Alright, it's about time we share the slots. The imperial family handed the younger generation ten slots, but five have been handed over to the imperial academy.

We're left with only five slots.

How do you suggest we share it?" Qing Ying asked.

Liu Feifei didn't dare to engage in such conversations, because only first class families could decide on this.

She might be cold and aloof, but she was not arrogant enough to engage in this, she wanted this to end so that she could leave.

She was already one of the captains on duty for tomorrow, so she didn't need a slot. She had only accompanied Gu Shang to the banquet because she wanted to help him build some connections,

But looking at the current atmosphere, it didn't seem like that was possible.

Fatty Su couldn't be also bothered to fight for such a slot, he would just tag alongside his old man to join the welcome party.

Gu Shang didn't really need a slot to go welcome himself, did he? He found this all amusing.

The heirs of the first clan families decided to hold a fighting Contest to determine which of them would be given the slots, but of course Mr Xu was given a slot without any problem.

With three slots left, since they all agreed to also to give Qing Ying a slot, the battle between the young heirs began untill three winners were decided.

The the young masters of the Jun and Di clans had prevaied over the others. The last slot was handed to the young Mistress of the Zhao Clan.

Gu Shang almost fell asleep watching them battle, he was sure that in a real battle, the only person who would survive among the three was Zhao Qiuqiu, the young mistresses of the Zhao Clan.

"The Zhao Clan are indeed a family of generals" Gu Shang commented whiles glancing at the young Mistress of the Zhoa clan.

Though she was not breathtakingly beautiful like Feifei and Qing Ying, she still carried herself in a graceful way, which made her look attractive in her own way.

She slightly bowed to Gu Shang when she heard his compliment, of course she was just being courteous.

After the slots were distributed, the banquet officially came to an end.

The guest began to bid their fair wells before leaving. When Gu Shang was about to leave, Qing Ying approached him.

"Lord Gu, why don't you follow me to have a conversation in the clan hall" she offered politely.

"I'll love to, but I'd prefer it if you got straight to the reason why you seek my presence so that I won't inconvenience you" Gu Shang said nonchalantly.

"Lord Gu is a straight forward person I see" Qing Ying giggled with her melodious voice which could drive any man crazy, but not just this man.

"Lord Gu have you considered joining my Qing Clan for a change, We know you just came to the imperial capital after leaving the army.

Things can really get rough, but if you join the Qing Clan, we promise to protect you and the Liu family.

You might even get a chance to raise your status, what do you say?" She charmingly asked.

Gu Shang expected this so wasn't surprised, "How about I give you an answe tomorrow! will that do?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Of course Lord Gu, you can take your time to decide on it" For some reason, an unsettling feeling took place in her heart which she couldn't understand.

Gu Shang turned around to catch up to Liu Feifei and fatty Su, but before he left, he turned around and said, "Qing Ying, though this is our first meeting, I can tell that you are not a bad person,

Your Qing Clan has a very big appetite, but it would do you no good to satisfy it. The last thing I want is to tear this place down" Gu Shang said before leaving.

Qing Ying was left in a daze, if it was anyone else saying this, she would have brushed it off as nonsense.

But for some reason, Gu Shang warning couldn't help but ring within her conscience, making her feel that something was wrong.

When Gu Shang arrived at Liu Feifei side, she curiously asked if Gu Shang had accepted it.

"I'll give them an answer tomorrow," he simply replied.

Liu Feifei nodded, "I'll head to the capital command, I have wall patrol duties" she said before leaving Gu Shang and fatty Su.

"Brother Gu, you really have to earn a place for yourself in the capital wuici, look at how the Zhang Clan is suppressing your wife.

I can't bear to see such a beauty suffer in the cold all alone, sigh" fatty Su said seriously.

He wished he could have helped, but the Su Clan influence wasn't strong enough. Though the were the richest family in the empire, they didn't involve themselves in power struggles weakening their influence.

"Don't worry about that, today would be her last day to suffer all this injustice, tomorrow the Zhang clan will pay a thousand times for what they have done" Gu Shang said coldly.

"Brother Gu, What do you mean by that?" fatty Su asked excitedly.

"You would see tomorrow" Gu Shang simply replied.

"Hahaha, Brother Gu I believe in you. you've never said something you couldn't archive" Fatty Su had absolute believe in Gu Shang.

"By the way brother Gu, How about we go to the brothel and... Ah" before he coul

d finish Gu Shang kicked him, which sent him flying 30 meters away.

"Damn bastard, you've still not changed a single bit" Gu Shang uttered in annoyance.