Chapter 148: Strike! You have truly brought ruin upon this old man!

To think that this [Xuanwu Gate Plaque] was actually in Mao Haifeng’s hands!

And by some twist of fate, it happened to come together with the [Xiangji Temple Plaque]. I can’t tell whether this is his good fortune or mine.

With this combined ability and the horizontal banner: "Destined by Heaven," the wish that my old man worked a lifetime to achieve can instantly become reality.

Clutching the exclusive royal seal, we of the Water-Harvesting Wang family will no longer be mere grassroots kings or grassroots heirs, but the true Kings of the East Sea!

We can establish our own system and laws according to our own will across the infinitely vast overseas territories.

Those so-called titles of "Crossing-the-Sea General" or "Pacifying-the-Sea General" acknowledged by the imperial court are nothing more than drizzle.

As long as we handle this well, even the nine border-guarding princes from the founding days of the Great Zhao cannot compare to this unrestricted, honorary royal throne.

However, this Xuanwu Gate plaque was enshrined upon the ritual altar in the quiet room.

Surrounded by guardian spiritual generals under the command of Mao Haifeng—a fourth-rank [White-Water Lang]—who kept constant watch, getting hold of it without alerting him was simply impossible.

Fortunately, the effect of "Destined by Heaven" was known only to Wang Cheng himself, and it would ultimately belong to the victor of the battle for the throne, regardless of whose hands the plaque was actually in.

Therefore, he decided to temporarily leave the plaque in Mao Haifeng’s custody.

He only paused to take one last deep look at the effects of this talismanic artifact:

"Upon slaying or thoroughly defeating an opponent, one will be tacitly acknowledged by other key figures within the same regime as the successor to the state and other factions; the hearts of the people will follow, and the momentum will be unstoppable.

At the same time, one inherits the defeated brother's peerage, widow, property, and all!"

As long as one could win, it was a winner-take-all scenario.

With the [Xuanwu Gate] and [Xiangji Temple] at the forefront, neither of them could afford to lose!

"However, where has my sister-in-law gone?"

Controlling his flying insects, Wang Cheng swept across the entire Qingxiang Hall and even the entire imperial lodge, yet failed to find any trace of [Official-Star Peach-Blossom Grid] Wang Cuiqiao.

Such a prominent sister-in-law had vanished into thin air, disappearing without a trace.

Shen Yueye was more meticulous. Unfolding her golden silk veil to transform into a wisp of blue smoke, she slipped into the bedchamber, checked the wardrobe and dressing table, and found that the positions of the clothing and jewelry were noticeably emptier.

Having worked for a long time at the Chewed-Wine Tavern to support Wang Cuiqiao, she understood this Qinhuai courtesan far better than Wang Cheng did.

"I see that the jewelry and clothing she frequently wore are gone. It looks as though she packed her own things and voluntarily left Qingxiang Hall.

She wasn't taken away by force."

She specifically sought out a few inconspicuous maidservants, employing the fox spirit's signature technique by exhaling a breath of fragrance to bewilder their three souls and seven魄.

Only then did she learn from their words that around the time of the disturbance at the Chewed-Wine Tavern, Mao Haifeng had personally taken her away under the guise of leaving the palace, and her whereabouts had been unknown since.

She only vaguely overheard Mao Haifeng say that he had found a folk remedy capable of inducing rapid pregnancy, and that he was taking her along to try it.

Though somewhat reluctant, Wang Cuiqiao found it difficult to defy Mao Haifeng’s will.

"Did we happen to miss each other?"

Wang Cheng remembered that there had been quite a bit of chaos in the city during that period.

The disturbance at the Chewed-Wine Tavern, dock laborers fighting, two factions of samurai from different tributary states engaging in a melee in Anqing Lane...

A Frisian and a Netherlander dueling with firearms simply to win the favor of a geisha, two subjects of the Great Zhao arguing over whether a dark-skinned Wuzhou samurai was an ancient Kunlun slave...

Most of the guards in the city port had been mobilized, throwing everything into a massive uproar.

Even the core troops under his command had failed to notice the anomaly here and report it to him in time.

"A pregnancy remedy? And he deliberately took her away in advance?

Is this true, or is he worried that the witchcraft tung-wood doll I have might affect his chances of getting an offspring and an official star?"

Wang Cheng realized that a plan which should have been proceeding smoothly had slipped out of his control.

Yet, to be entrusted with a task was to fulfill it faithfully.

Wen Long was still waiting for news of his wife, and Wang Cheng had no desire to break his promise.

After leaving Qingxiang Hall with Shen Yueye, he immediately summoned the bald-headed eagle, Ah Ji, and temporarily empowered a batch of seabirds to scatter them far and wide.

"Search! Find her for me as quickly as possible!

Qingfeng, Rumble-Rumble, the two of you are responsible for tailing Mao Haifeng. As long as he still wants to have children, he cannot avoid seeing Wang Cuiqiao."

Behind him, a trace of ominous [Witchcraft-Curse Exbaling Qi] gathered toward Qingxiang Hall, impervious to any official aura, dragon aura, or even the imperial divine aura of the First Emperor of Han, making its presence completely undetectable.

These Dao auras were further polluted by the regional treasure—the witchcraft tung-wood doll—transforming into a swarm of pale little wooden figures lacking facial features, possessing only insect mouthparts.

Together, they raised their heads, gazing at the atmospheric phenomena belonging to Mao Haifeng hovering above.

That was a massive black python that had already begun transforming into a jiao dragon, gradually growing mane, claws, and a single horn.

Then, they swarmed forward, beginning to gnaw away at the python from its tail.

The giant python formed by Mao Haifeng’s personal aura remained utterly oblivious, watching blankly as it was bit by bit gnawed down to the white bone, even the bones being chewed into pieces with a horrifying, grinding crunch.

Mao Haifeng, who was banqueting with other grand ship captains in the Zhaoyang Hall, suddenly shuddered involuntarily.

"Grand Captain, what is the matter with you?"

Gao Ren, serving in place of his adoptive father, noticed his anomaly and hurriedly poured a cup of hot tea, offering it with both hands.

Mao Haifeng took it and took a sip. Having thoroughly inspected his divine embryo—which had completed its internal refinement and fully matured within his body—and finding no abnormalities whatsoever, he dismissed the thought.

"I am fine. Gao Ren, you are much better at handling affairs than your adoptive father.

Looking at you is like looking at my former self; in my eyes, you are just like a younger brother to me.

Do a good job, and next year I’ll strive to find you a few more sisters-in-law, hahaha—"

Deeply versed in the ways of being a subordinate, Gao Ren showed a look of profound gratitude on his face, though in his heart he dared not truly take his superior's pleasantries seriously.

He was merely immensely grateful that, after changing superiors, the bad luck surrounding him seemed to have suddenly diminished quite a bit.

The rumor that his fate clashed with his adoptive father’s had not spread as widely as his adoptive father’s tradition of clashing to death four previous adoptive sons, otherwise how would he ever have had the opportunity to rise in rank?

Of course, it wasn't that his [Official-Killing Oppressing-Body Grid] had failed to take effect; it was purely because he and Mao Haifeng differed by a full three ranks, making suppression naturally much more difficult.

Yet by today, things seemed to have changed once more.

The dignified fourth-rank [White-Water Lang] had merely cracked a joke while drinking tea, only to accidentally choke on his windpipe, coughing continuously for quite a while before catching his breath.

The banquet was almost interrupted.

Xu Weiyue and Peng Laosheng showed concern on the surface while mocking this sole commander of the Five-Peak Banner behind his back:

"Grand Captain Mao is still young, yet he must mind his health. At this rate, his ability to care for himself is about to be outmatched by an old man like me."

Only Wang Cheng knew: "Both the tung-wood doll and 'Destined by Heaven' have already begun to take effect."

While outwardly expressing a few words of concern for his sworn elder brother, he secretly fanned the flames, intentionally or unintentionally provoking a dog-eat-dog struggle among the three.

The "slaves of money" he had bribed had long since reported to him that over the past few days, these three had each been rallying various factional ship captains as well as outsiders.

Most of the minor, independent pirates lacking personal strength had attached themselves to one faction or another, hoping to fish in troubled waters.

If the big bosses ate meat, sipping a bit of meat broth would be fine for them.

After all, during the Warring States period, Pinghu Port was the sole foreign trade center of Wuzhou, taking in gold by the day and serving as the focal point of contention for all parties.

Today I seize a shipping route of yours, tomorrow you seize a distribution channel of mine.

The three of them were essentially cut from the same cloth; while the latter two only wanted power and money, Mao Haifeng also wanted his life as the royal heir!

Driven by necessity, Wang Cheng had no choice but to prioritize guiding them into a siege against Mao Haifeng, ideally resulting in mutual destruction that would allow him to calmly clean up the mess.

Wang Cheng was confident that upon slaying Mao Haifeng and reclaiming the forces of the Black-Peak Banner, he could once again suppress the other two.

In fact, after successively obtaining the astronomical wealth of Mao Haifeng and Luo Wenlong, the preparations he had made in secret far exceeded what was visible on the surface.

"With abundant funds this time around, there are still good plays prepared for all three of them to perform later on."

The next day, a startling piece of news spread like wildfire through Pinghu Port and the East Sea Kingdom.

The Heir Apparent had suddenly fallen slightly indisposed and ordered the palace grounds to be sealed off.

The louse spirit, Grandpa Dragon-Tail, entered the imperial lodge holding the array talisman of the [Five Mountains Towering-Splendor Bureau], declining all outside visitors and casting a legal boundary across the entire Litang Hall to forbid anyone from entering or exiting.

The core boat-people under Wang Cheng's command—whether armed personnel or ordinary citizens settled in Pinghu—concentrated together as if facing a formidable enemy.

Opinions outside were divided, yet no explanation was ever issued by the higher-ups.

Only Mao Haifeng and Jiang Wenyuan exchanged congratulations:

"Wang Cheng is finished!

He is merely a lower third-rank at best; at the quickest it will take three days, and at the latest seven, depending entirely on how much of a price Master Carpenter Chen is willing to pay to urge the tung-wood doll into action."

As day after day passed, Wang Cheng failed to show his face.

His core forces abandoned many of their inherent spheres of influence, contracting along the entire line, and the atmosphere in Pinghu Port grew increasingly oppressive.

Conflicts among the Black-Peak Banner's [Black Qilin] Mao Haifeng, the merchant faction's [Thousand-Gold Peddler] Xu Weiyue, and the [Credit-Knife Peddler] Peng Laosheng also grew increasingly intense.

Before Wang Cheng returned, Mao Haifeng could still rely on the righteous cause of avenging his adoptive father to suppress the others.

The moment Wang Cheng returned, this East Sea Kingdom of "one port and seven fiefs" no longer had room for him to carry the burden as the adoptive heir, and he was immediately knocked back to his original prototype, returning to the exact same horizontal level as the other two.

Such was the might of "fame and implements."

Moreover, having prematurely exposed his ambition to command the various feudal lords under the banner of righteousness and thereby seize the throne of the Prince of Jinghai, his predicament could well be imagined.

However, Xu Weiyue and Peng Laosheng had grown older and timider in the jianghu, deeply aware of just how formidable this young-generation powerhouse—who was merely half a step away from advancing to the upper third-rank [Living Ghost and Deity]—truly was, and how ferocious the guardian spiritual generals he kept under his command were.

Otherwise, he would not have been the commanding head of the First Mountain of the Five Peak Banners even while the old ship master was still alive, earning the devotion of numerous younger-generation members.

The fiercest and most lethal batch of desperate outlaws were basically all under his command.

Therefore, no one wished to make a move rashly, keeping them trapped in hesitation.

The unexpected development occurred three days after the Heir Apparent sealed the palace grounds, when news suddenly spread among the Five Peak Banners that Mao Haifeng had also fallen indisposed, nearly fainting in full view of the public.

Then he completely vanished from public view, retreating into his own naval encampment headquarters.

Thus, the previously undercurrent-ridden situation in Pinghu Port was abruptly pushed onto the fast track.

On the evening of the sixth day, two naval fleets quietly slipped out of the naval encampments of Xu Weiyue and Peng Laosheng without warning, simultaneously charging toward the Black-Peak Banner's stronghold before fiercely bombarding the naval fort.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The soldiers aboard, their eyes flashing with gold and silver light, shouted aloud:

"It's getting cold in April, so let's add a piece of clothing for our Grand Captain Xu (Peng)! Brothers, take out the Black-Peak Banner, and we too shall share the merit of supporting the dragon!"

Yet, Xu Weiyue and Peng Laosheng only hastily received the news after the tripartite battle had already broken out, nearly vomiting blood on the spot.

They spoke with one voice: "Add a piece of clothing? You lot are truly driving this old man to ruin!"

This time there was no polite pretense whatsoever—it was all bare, unadulterated enmity!

Even if one were to add a piece of clothing, one had to go through the proper procedures first, fulfilling the achievement of the "Three Non-Courts": entering court without hurrying, paying homage without being named, and walking up the palace steps with sword and shoes!

You're adding it to me right now? Are you afraid this old man isn't dying fast enough? Having subordinates like you is truly my greatest blessing!

Though they cursed their uneducated, blockheaded subordinates countless times for lacking any culture, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and dispatch troops to provide backup, lest Mao Haifeng slaughter these fools and seek retaliation afterward.

Following that same script whose repetition had lost count, they involuntarily shouted out the slogan passed down through the Central Plains for a millennium:

"Clear away the imperial side! In this East Sea Kingdom, Mao Haifeng is the Sima Yi of our time!"