Internal politics

Walking through the hallways of Nie Li's mansion Nie Wei's face was gloomy. He had miscalculated. And it may cost him his position in the clan. The servant, a young girl from the clan that called the kid a 'lord' was leading him towards the guest rooms.

Even this girl despite being not well educated and younger than some of his grandchildren judged the situation better than him. Because there was no doubt the kid would have a strong position in the clan. The attitude of the patriarch clearly indicated that.

There is no way the old fox was less informed than him. The patriarch was too wily for that. His grandnephew acted like the kid's right-hand man for heaven's sake.

And his hasty ideas like leaving his grandson Nie Xiaori here to get close to the kid may not even work.

He entered the room that was arranged for him. It was big and luxurious. Better than his rooms in the main clan mansion. Well, at least the kid wasn't showing his resentment. Or he was too busy with other matters to change the rooms that were most likely arranged beforehand.

He needed to know more about Nie Li before deciding on further actions. And he knew where he could learn it.

He asked the servant to call his grandson and Nie Wen to his room. He didn't think that the patriarch would be too put out for asking some general questions from his grandnephew.

It wasn't long before his grandson Nie Xiaori and Nie Wen arrived at his room from their tour of the mansion territories. His grandson was given a room beside him. He invited two youngsters to a talk. Nie Wen looked reluctant but couldn't refuse a direct invitation from an elder of the clan.

During their small talk, Nie Wen was a bit evasive with the information about Nie Li but even the limited information he got from him still drew a grim picture. He hadn't expected Nie Li to have a connection to the Alchemy Association and many heirs of other prominent families. That was worrying that he had heard nothing about it until now.

Granted, he didn't how close those connections were. But the fact he was invited to the expedition organized by the young master of the Divine family, where he invited only young members of other prominent families like the Sacred Family and the Snow Wind Family and only some Noble families spoke for itself. That could also explain the visit of a representative from the Sacred Family that the patriarch was keeping silent about. If Nie Li had befriended the Sacred Family's young master they could have reached their family for some business proposition.

Also, Nie Wen's words implied that Nie Li's connection's to the Alchemy Association may be deeper. That was worrying. Did he alienate the person that build connections with the second strongest family in the city and the organization that was just beneath the three great families?

If that was the case, then his fate is decided. No one in the family will choose his side against someone who could stop their clan's decline and give them a better future.

Nie Wei thanked Nie Wen and after he left he ordered his grandson Xiaori to bring Nie Ruogang and Ming Yahui. They were the main instigators of the latest events connected with the Purple Haze grass. Why hadn't they reported anything like that to him? Even when he met his grand-nephew in the morning he only complained about Nie Li, instead of reporting anything useful. Actually, without that complaint from him and his friend, he might not have acted so hard against Nie Li.

But Nie Wei couldn't blame them for everything. His impression of a meek little child from the clan that never dared to speak up against authority was also completely wrong. The kid changed so much since he saw him last. And he wanted to get to the bottom of the reason for those changes.

Or at least to know how much he screwed up.

It was a couple of hours later his grandson returned with the guests he invited. By that time the patriarch and Nie En's meeting with Nie Li also ended.

The way they were looking around the mansion meant they haven't been here before. He waited until the door behind his guests closed before starting to interrogate the youngsters. He asked Nie Xaori to guard the door from the outside so that no one would overhear their conversation. It's going to be a serious talk.

For two hours he tried to wring everything they knew about Nie Li. But the results were disappointing. Kids barely knew anything. Ming Yahui met Nie Li only once and only under the instigation of Nie Ruogang.

And Nie Ruogang also didn't know anything. He only complained. It looks like he had been spoiled too much. He will talk to his parents personally when he returned to the clan.

The only useful thing he learned was Nie Li's cultivation had already reached 5-star Bronze rank. He noticed Ming Yahui twitch at that.

No wonder, he must have thought of himself as a genius with his cultivation for many years. And meeting Nie Li, who was younger than him but had higher cultivation must have been a shock to him. This would serve as a good lesson for him in the future.

He asked them to stay and apologize to Nie Li during the dinner. This way the patriarch also would be witness to the process. That would hopefully allow him to avoid the worst consequences of his confrontation with Nie Li.

That was one of the reasons he hadn't joined the patriarch for discussion. He was afraid he would be told that he and his family are relieved from their positions in the clan.

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For the family dinner, Nie ordered two extra seats to be added. Nie Li knew about the guests Nie Wei was bringing and his plans for them. He would have known even without surveillance systems.

Nie Wen and he were in the dining room when the patriarch and the elder Nie En arrived talking excitedly. When they sat down Nie Wei also arrived with his two guests. Nie Ruogang was gloomy and Ming Yahui looked indifferent. His eyes meet Nie Li's and disinterestedly continued looking around. He was a good actor.

"Elder Nie Wei," Nie Li said standing up.

"Nie Li, I wanted to apologize for my words in our previous meeting. I was misled by some very very irresponsible individuals." Nie Wei said glaring at his two proteges. "Apologize now!" he ordered them.

"Nie Li, I apologize for trying to steal from you. And for telling lies to make you look bad in the eyes of the elders." Nie Ruogang said bowing deep. Ming Yahui repeated after him. Unlike Nie Ruogang it wasn't difficult for him. He knew the real power of this monster in human form. None of the people sitting as well as him, how dangerous this kid actually was.

So apologizing to him wasn't a problem. Just recently as an experiment he tried to tell some of Nie Li's secrets to the elder. But the pain of the seal quickly reminded him why he was in this position. So, he bowed his head and waited for the sham to end. The elder screwed up and now was trying to pass the blame to him and his grandnephew. His grandfather was right, he shouldn't have gotten involved in the matters of the nobles.

Nie Li looked at the two 'delinquents' and simply said, "Okay, since elder Nie Wei himself is asking I forgive you. Will join us for dinner?"

"Uhm" elder Nie Wei was lost. He had expected some kind of resistance or even a refusal. But Nie Li nonchalantly dismissing the issue knocked him out of the loop. Both of the 'delinquents' were also looking at him now, waiting for his instructions.

"No, I think they should think about their actions further. Return to your school. I will talk to you tomorrow again about your behavior." He said looking at them harshly. Nie Ruogang and Ming Yahui left the room.

Elder Nie Wei awkwardly joined the table. Everyone around the table was looking at him. He didn't bring his grandson to the dinner despite the invitation, because he didn't want him to be associated with the two idiots that left. That could make it difficult to have good relations with Nie Li in the future. But if he were here he could have helped to alleviate some of the awkwardness.

For Nie Li, this was not an unexpected move from the elder Nie Wei. He had done it in the novel as well. After losing his position, he sent his two grandsons to apologize to Nie Li immediately. He didn't want Nie Li to become hostile against them.

But all this sham trial was unnecessary. Nie Li wasn't going to alienate an entire branch for one person's actions. Elder Nie Wei led the second-largest faction in the clan. The first was the patriarch's faction, where elder Nie En was also included. There was also a third, less numerous neutral faction which was led by Nie Zexi's relative.

So it was not easy just to remove the elder from his position. The patriarch could, but that would have annoyed several elders. In the novel, the patriarch didn't have a choice. Yan Xin was pressuring him because of Nie Li and Nie Li was a kid that didn't care about the internal politics of the clan. And considering the clan's relations with the Alchemy Association completely depended on Nie Li's mood the patriarch decided not to risk it.

Most likely there had been some kind of secret deal between the elders and Nie Wei kept some of his powers even after being dismissed. In other words, no one dared to refute the demands of the spoiled young master to his face. Later, when Nie Li's cultivation soared, they simply idolized him so the matter of Nie Wei was never opened again.

But current Nie Li couldn't act like that. Both the patriarch and elder Nie En took him seriously, so if he tries to act like a spoiled brat that would ruin his image. But that does not mean he would go unpunished. Nie Li would demand some kind of punishment. Just not the one in the canon, where not only he but his sons were also punished. Maybe release him from the position of the grand elder.

There weren't any serious topics raised during the dinner and they finished their meal and returned to their rooms.