The Beautiful CEO’s Dragon Blood Bodyguard
Chapter 1005: Imperial Family Infighting

Chapter 1005: Chapter 1005: Imperial Family Infighting

Prince Yu, seeing the princess treat him so indifferently, huffed with some displeasure, "Her Royal Highness The Princess, according to seniority, I am also your Imperial Grandfather. When you see me, do you not even have the proper courtesy?"

Ji Wanyu was in a foul mood and had not expected someone to come trouble her.

She snorted lightly, "Prince Yu, are you senile or something? You stem from the bloodline of our ancestor, Emperor Chongning, separated by six generations from my family. Although we both share the surname Ji, with such a separation of generations, how much of the same blood do you think runs through our veins? By your logic, shouldn’t we all be calling this Master Long our grandfather?"

Long Fei raised an eyebrow, wondering how he got dragged into this.

Prince Yu exclaimed in agitation, "This is outrageous, what are you saying?"

Ji Wanyu smiled with narrowed eyes, "We all claim to be descendants of dragons, and our ancestors proclaimed themselves True Dragon Emperors. Since Master Long’s surname is Long, aren’t we all his descendants?"

The guests burst into laughter, even though they knew it was impolite, they just could not help themselves!

They had not expected this princess to be so cunning and witty; it was truly amusing.

Long Fei chuckled as well, looking up at the frustrated prince.

Prince Yu, his face red and ears steaming, banged the table and exclaimed, "Well done, a sharp-tongued girl. Just remember, your father, the Crown Prince, has not yet ascended to the throne!"

He left, fuming, with a sweep of his sleeve.

Governor Zhang Yannian hurriedly went to see him out, and the other guests awkwardly bowed their heads, fearing bad luck.

A few guests at the main table remained calm, clearly influential figures, not putting the prince in high regard.

After Zhang Yannian returned, he immediately summoned dancers to perform and ease the awkward atmosphere.

He knew there had always been a rift between Prince Yu’s bloodline and Ji Wanyu’s branch.

Ji Wanyu wasn’t being rude for no reason, nor was Prince Yu needlessly causing trouble.

Prince Yu, along with others like Prince Ji and Prince Lu from the North Yangtze region, actually supported the Third Prince, Ji Wanyu’s uncle.

The current Crown Prince, the Grand Crown Prince, had offended these royal families by suggesting an imperial policy to reduce their power.

In the South Yangtze region, commerce was flourishing.

The major emerging noble families had substantial strength and exerted a strong restraining effect on the royal families.

For instance, the Liuu Family held sway over the South Yangtze and couldn’t care less about the royal affairs.

It was mainly the royal families from the North Yangtze whose power was significant.

They maneuvered in the shadows, which was why the Old Emperor had delayed naming a successor.

There were rumors in the market that the Old Emperor might pass the throne to the Third Emperor, not the current Crown Prince.

It was for this reason that Ji Wanyu viewed Prince Yu unfavorably.

Liuu Jiangnan sipped his wine and transmitted the court’s secrets to Long Fei through spiritual power.

After Zhang Yannian had settled back in his seat, he introduced several people to Long Fei.

One was the owner of the Dragon and Phoenix Restaurant, a woman dressed in brightly colored garments and exuding a charming demeanor.

Another was the largest local salt merchant, and yet another was the largest cloth merchant.

Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—the four pillars of business.

In this world, the salt industry held a monopolistic position, much like the ancient world outside.

In the end, the whole canal system was essentially for the service of salt merchants.

Commoners could go a day without meat but not a day without salt.

There was also one guest who surprised Long Fei, dressed in grey cloth, unassuming in appearance, and around fifty to sixty years old.

His trade was a side business called the Stone Workshop.

Liuu Jiangnan explained to Long Fei that in this world, mountain ranges everywhere contained mines.

These were no ordinary mines of gold, silver, copper, or iron but Spirit Stone mines.

Spirit Stones, in this world, could be used as currency, essential for Cultivators, their value a hundredfold greater than gold.

Generally speaking, the good mines were monopolized by the Royal Family and Sects.

Some remote mines were monopolized by bandits.

The freshly mined Spirit Stones were not the glittering Crystal Stones but were rough stones wrapped in a skin-like crust.

These objects were similar to the jade stones of the outside world, except that the jade stones of the outside world lacked Spiritual Energy.

But in this world, the jade stones contained Spiritual Energy, so they were called Spirit Stones.

In the outside world, there was the practice of gambling on stones; in this world, it was even more prevalent.

There were many gambling stone workshops everywhere, with large ones backed by complex powers.

There were the Royal Family, Sects, and even bandits providing support.

The Official Residences generally did not dare to provoke them, as they were formidable forces in various places.

The rough stones mined were specifically selected by masters.

The rough stones with good outer appearances were kept, while those uncertain were sent to the Stone Workshops to be sold to ordinary people.

The prices varied greatly for the various rough stones, depending on their outer appearances.

Among these people, Long Fei was particularly interested in the Dragon and Phoenix Tower and this stone gambling workshop.

According to Liuu Jiangnan, the mastermind behind the Dragon and Phoenix Restaurant was likely the Third Prince.

These restaurants that spread across the country, on one hand, operated as businesses, and on the other hand, acted as intelligence networks constantly funneling information back to Chang’an.

The Old Emperor, being a Cultivator, did not have many children.

There were princes and princesses, fifty-three in total.

Among these princes, the Third Prince had the highest talent, studying under Kunlun, and his current Cultivation Level was already at the Nascent Soul Realm.

The Kunlun Mountains had always been the divine Temple of this world, and only a few princes could go there to seek mastership and learn skills.

It seemed like offspring such as Ji Wanyu were disciples of places like Mount Shu or Divine Sword Sect.

Compared to a prince coming out of Kunlun Mountains, they were a level behind.

Long Fei understood that the struggles within the Royal Family were, in the end, also struggles among the major forces.

The entire Royal Family was but spokesman on stage.

Behind them lay a web of intricate interests, with each spokesman backed by their own supporting forces.

Take the Divine Sword Sect, for example, they accepted Ji Wanyu as a disciple, which was undoubtedly supporting the current Crown Prince.

Long Fei was familiar with Ji Wanyu, but he had no intention of taking sides in advance.

Only by navigating between various interest groups and remaining neutral could one gain the utmost benefit.

After a banquet, he had drunk with the hosts and guests at the table, showing no particularly special favor nor particular malice towards any one party.

Ji Wanyu clearly disliked the manager of the Dragon and Phoenix Restaurant, very dissatisfied with Long Fei’s pleasantries.

She did not expect Long Fei to be so mundane as to be interested in a woman dressed like that.

When that woman had toasted him, she obviously touched his hand, with an affectation that was nauseating.

After the banquet dispersed, she ignored Long Fei and took Lin Shanshan to the room Governor Zhang Yannian had prepared for her.

Murong Chong and Liuu Jiangnan, who stayed next door, took the security of the Princess very seriously.

Under the invitation of Zhang Yannian, Long Fei went to his room for tea.

The room was illuminated with Light Gathering Stones, covered with thick rugs.

Landscape Calligraphy Paintings hung on the walls, and the tables were filled with books and antiques, evidencing that this Governor Zhang was a person of refined tastes.

He had a servant outside prepare a pot of fine tea and personally brought it over, pouring it for Long Fei at the table.

A Governor, in front of Long Fei, still had to humble himself in such a way.

There was no choice, this was the rule of the world.

Cultivators held absolute power; ordinary people, no matter how great their authority, had to bow their heads in the presence of Cultivators.