April 22, 2018

When the public trial assembly notice was announced in the sky of Golden Jade City with the City Lord’s Order, the city finally reacted, falling into a massive panic. People rushed about, confirming the shocking news with their equally anxious neighbors.

So, the coup rumors in the streets and alleys over the past few days were indeed true!

It was true that Lord City Lord had been placed under house arrest and had lost his freedom!

The former Deputy City Lord Zhao Hongwu, who was nicknamed the Ninja Turtle, indeed made a surprising resurgence in his later years, boldly launching a counterattack and turning the tables!

Although it remains uncertain whether the coup could ultimately succeed—after all, there are cases where Zhao Chenlu deliberately created so-called desperate situations only to strike back at the last moment.

But reaching this point, launching the City Lord’s Order into the sky for the entire city to see, was enough to make him proud—many predecessors only realized their impassioned articles had been swapped for Zhao Chenlu’s smiling face after the City Lord’s Order was launched, instantly plummeting from the Immortal Realm into the abyss.

And reaching this point somewhat proved that this coup had perhaps genuinely exceeded Zhao Chenlu’s control, that the 17-year-old girl who had suppressed Golden Jade City and dominated Xiangzhou for two decades seemingly reached the twilight of her political career.

For according to her previous habits, when crafting those dramatic reversals in desperate situations, she would always leave various clues for the audience, and at the final turnaround, all the clues would link together like a grand performance. However, this turn of events had no foreshadowing, no leads, and the climax emerged suddenly, which was really unlike Zhao Chenlu’s consistent style.

So, either Zhao Chenlu was seeking innovation in her career for a return to simplicity in dramatic effect, or... she finally overplayed her life-long game.

In any case, as the City Lord’s Order shone in the night sky all night long, the entire Golden Jade City endured a torturous sleepless night.

People began to seriously consider what Golden Jade City would become without Zhao Chenlu, and how they would survive in such a city? 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

And what did Zhao Chenlu’s downfall signify? Was it that her revolutionary innovations over the years had shaken too many vested interests’ foundations, or was it simply a failure to manage her own core, leading to the fortress’s internal collapse? How many lessons could these events impart to future generations?

Amidst countless chaotic thoughts of countless people, time arrived at the morning of the 22nd.

After a similarly sleepless night in a tavern suite, the Cyan Cloud City group also made their decision.

Or rather, followed Wang Jiu’s decision.

Wang Jiu would never abandon his comrades, whether amidst political whirlpools or surging Demon Tides. As long as a companion was in trouble, the Celestial Divine Sword would surely come to the rescue.

And with Wang Jiu making the decision, the others naturally followed suit, meanwhile, formal feedback from the Elder Council of the Li Family had already been sent via Flying Sword Communication.

During last night’s sleepless night, the Li Family Mansion in Cyan Cloud City was also brightly lit, with senior elders almost fully gathered for an emergency meeting to discuss the coup in Golden Jade City—even the long-absent-from-politics Li Fengyun attended as the host, while Lu Xin, who usually hosted on his behalf, sat in an assistant’s seat—but due to the negligence of the Li Family’s administrative staff in not adjusting the seat height in time, the deputy clan leader level figure ended up showing just a small portion of his head and his ornate hair ornament throughout the meeting, losing all dignity.

During the meeting, various elders passionately expressed their views, thoroughly proving that the stipends they received over the years as elders were indeed well-deserved.

After the meeting, Lu Xin meticulously documented the meeting minutes and summaries. According to the meeting summary, among the 13 elders of the Li Family Mansion with voting rights, five supported involvement in the Golden Jade City coup, three supporting Zhao Chenlu, and two supporting Zhao Hongwu. Six opposed, and two abstained.

Ultimately, Patriarch Li Fengyun fully embraced the Li Family’s democratic tradition and, after integrating the elders’ opinions, decided to formally participate in the coup and stand with Former City Lord Zhao Chenlu, opposing the current interim government.

Of course, this position is currently only in private, as both the Saint Sect and other major clans have remained silent toward Golden Jade City’s coup. Everyone has chosen to wait and see, and naturally, the Li Family felt no need to take the lead; everything could be done privately while maintaining public calm.

In this delicate situation, it would be inconvenient for all parties to send any conspicuous major figures to act in Golden Jade City. Instead, younger figures like Shen Qingming appeared to be more adaptable, as they were guests invited by Zhao Chenlu and personally welcomed at the Golden Jade Immortal Platform. Hence, during this period, their actions in Golden Jade City seemed appropriate.

Therefore, the next task for the Cyan Cloud Group was to use the Li Family resources in Golden Jade City to assist Zhao Chenlu in regaining her position to the fullest extent possible.

——

The Cyan Cloud Li Family had an official office in Golden Jade City, along with several discreet operational outposts—just like other major families did.

The official office primarily handled public affairs and interactions, while the discreet operational outposts served primarily as contingency measures.

During Zhao Chenlu’s twenty-year rule over Golden Jade City, he fortified the city to be as strong as an iron wall. There was absolutely no room for underhanded dealings. Initially, some disbelieving families dispatched aces to try to establish a foothold in Golden Jade City, only to be intercepted by Zhao Chenlu on their way. With just a few words, he turned them into loyal dogs for the City Lord of Golden Jade, and then used expensive classified Glazed Flying Swords to send them large batches of explicit images home every day, causing mental discomfort among many staff and elders.

So ever since then, the major families only set up a few token espionage agencies as a formality, and assigned disillusioned, near-retirement seniors from the political arena to manage them. These seniors were tasked daily with using their brains to pen the latest intelligence from Golden Jade City for the enjoyment of their families’ top echelons.

But now, with Zhao Chenlu caught in the vortex of a coup, these dormant agencies were finally able to officially operate.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, under the guidance of Li Wanqing, Wang Jiu arrived at a small eatery in the southern part of Golden Jade City.

The shop appeared aged yet tidy, clearly often maintained. However, during meal times, the place had few customers, creating a stark contrast with the bustling state of similar establishments nearby. Occasionally, uninformed passersby, hoping to try their luck, would be quickly stopped by well-meaning locals who would share the dark culinary history of the shop, dissuading them from entering.

When Wang Jiu and a group of well-dressed young individuals came to the place, the surrounding diners exchanged knowing looks but refrained from stopping them. Only after the group entered the shop did someone chuckle, "I wonder which family’s spies they are."

"Indeed, aside from spies, whose affluent sons would plunge headlong into this pile of trash... But, these youngsters seem quite distinguished, and yet they have already become political pawns—it’s truly pitiful."

"Truly pitiful, truly pitiful, but think about Lord City Lord—oh no, the Former City Lord—wasn’t he the same? Experiencing a betrayal at his tender age of 17..."

"Yes, Heaven’s jealousy of beauty always holds true..."

——

Amidst the chatter, Wang Jiu led the team straight into the eatery, showing the Cyan Cloud Li Family’s talisman to the snoozing owner at the counter, whose eyes immediately lit up with golden light.

"Someone from the family?"

Almost 50, the bald and potbellied owner asked excitedly, his voice trembling, "Hurry, please come in, I will report my work results to you esteemed envoys right away!"

For those greasy middle-aged men long fighting in the Qingshui Government Office, these young men from the power center were simply a godsend—an opportunity to change their fate!

So with little need for Wang Jiu and the others to say anything, the greasy owner pulled out all his stops.

"You esteemed envoys must be here concerning Golden Jade City’s recent coup, right? I do have crucial information about this; I obtained it with great difficulty in the early hours yesterday, intending to draft a report this morning to send back to QingCyan Cloud yun City. But happened to have had someone with bad eyesight place a massive takeout order this morning. Anyway, esteemed envoys, please come in."

The greasy owner led them to the back kitchen, opened a wooden plank on the ground, through which they descended into a basement, the office of this espionage agency.

Unlike the slightly run-down and chaotic shop above ground, the basement was spotless, with all documents, magical artifacts, etc., neatly organized. Vibrantly colored flower pots adorned the office desk, the fresh air revealing even this greasy owner had the heart of a young girl.

Moreover, there was a photograph on the desk, depicting a handsome young man, seemingly no older than 30, with a brilliant smile.

"Who’s this?" Li Chaolu instinctively asked.

While rummaging through a safe, the owner paused and turned back with a bitter smile, "It’s me, but that was ten years ago, before being exiled here."

"My god... wait, ten years ago? So this year you’re?"

"I’m 36 this year."

"...My god." Witnessing the bald head, Li Chaolu took two steps back, a chill creeping over.

Moments later, the owner retrieved a crumpled paper, saying, "This is a piece of documentation inadvertently leaked from the temporary government, which they plan to use nine days from now to expose City Lord Zhao Chenlu’s crimes during the public trial. This particular piece was discarded due to inappropriate wording, but the content is genuine and I believe it’s quite valuable."

Hearing this, Wang Jiu felt a stir in his heart as he took and looked at the paper.

The title was just one line.

Immoral conduct between men and women.