Power in the Stone Kingdom essentially belonged to two families: Ju and Yang. For years, the Ju family had claimed the throne, with the Yang family as their subject; there had never been any deviation. But this road was soon nearing its end.
Upheaval was coming, and it would be at a scale that the nation had never seen before. Prime Minister Yang Dou felt deeply worried just thining about it – the influence he retained, along with the lives of his family depended on how he handled the events of the next few days. If it turned out well, the Yangs would continue to be in charge of the government in the Stone Kingdom. If not, perhaps even the Stone Kingdom itself would soon become a fading memory.
Yang Dou was quickly nearing 60. When he had taken over the position of Prime Minister from his father, he had experienced several big incidents during his tenure but none that made him feel as helpless as he did now.
More than 10 years ago, when the old King Ju passed on and his brother had usurped the throne, the Yangs had supported the usurper and exiled the young Crown Prince. But very soon, the Yangs realized that the new King was not such an easily controlled puppet that they had desired. After tolerating him silently for a few years, the usurper died mysteriously. Yang Dou had never dig into the details, but he would definitely not try to rake up the past as well.
Yang Dou personally went to Jade City to escort the Crown Prince back to the kingdom, and that experience was still fresh in his mind.
The Crown Prince was a disappointing weasel. Rash and ignorant, he did not understand the importance of compromise that needed to rule a kingdom. His resentment towards the Yangs was undisguised, having already thought about seeking revenge for his exile before even sitting on the throne.
It is always better to prevent trouble before it comes, Yang Dou decided. And his wish came true as the Prince was soon found murdered in a brothel; his reputation destroyed. The Second Prince was a smart man, and he was willing to make major concessions in exchange for the throne. Therefore, Yang Dou quickly reached a private agreement with him.
In the following years, Yang Dou and his clan rose to a height of power they had not achieved for the past dozens of years. He held absolute power in his hands and was like a regent of the kingdom.
The long war of attrition had exhausted the Ju family bloodline. As the royal family, they plotted and killed each other for the ridiculous puppet throne, and the dwindling number of family members had created a situation where, for the first time, there was no heir in line for the throne.
The Second Prince had already been in poor health even before he ascended the throne. This was also a major reason why he was willing to cede most of his power to the Prime Minister. But he was more than willing to bear a son for the Ju family. It was a pity then, that the heavens failed to grant his wishes, as the Queen still did not showing signs of pregnancy even after four years. Even the women who had been secretly sent into the palace did not manage to conceive as well.
This should have been the perfect opportunity for the Yangs. But Yang Dou had not expected that this situation had also lured several opportunistic suitors to the Stone Kingdom, each of them wielding even more influence than his own clan.
Today, he would be meeting these suitors.
He would have to focus all his energy on the meeting. If he handled the situation well, perhaps he could still secure the independence of Stone Kingdom and maintain the standing of the Yangs. An even better victory for the Yangs, of course, was to chase away all these suitors who were eyeing the throne of the Stone Kingdom as well.
Immersed in his fantasy, Yang Dou let out a sigh. He knew very well that the only choice for the Yangs right now was to choose a less ruthless master among these suitors. Perhaps, he might be able to get some of the leftovers after the new heir apparent had had his fill, renewing the bitter struggle between his clan and the royal family.
The guests were slowly arriving, one after another. Yang Dou dismissed his fantasies and summoned the composure of a Prime Minister before going out to greet the guests.
The Prince of Kang Kingdom was the first to arrive. He was a boorish-looking young man, and he did not look too pleased. Yang Dou met his rudeness with a flattering smile and invited him into the Council Chamber; he understood where his anger was coming from.
Xiaoyao Lake was a big lake surrounded by five small kingdoms that were comprised of the Stone, the Kang, the An, the Sha and the Hui Kingdoms respectively. These five kingdoms were linked by common rivers and mountains and were closely connected to each other. By convention, the royal families practiced intermarriage. For example, the current Queen of Stone Kingdom was from the Hui Kingdom.
As one could imagine, the Stone Kingdom’s decision to choose the Princess’ husband from the entire Western Region had caused great dissatisfaction among the other four kingdoms, especially the Kang Kingdom. The Prince of the Kang Kingdom was of suitable age and unmarried. He had long regarded the Princess of Stone Kingdom as his own fiancee and had harbored the thought of taking over the throne of Stone Kingdom. He never imagined that he would need to compete with a other suitors, some of which were not even of royal descent.
“Prime Minister, since when did the royal families of Xiaoyao Lake decided to mix their bloodline with impure blood?” asked the Prince of Kang Kingdom as he walking in furiously, wanting to clarify the situation.
“Please calm down, Your Highness. Our kingdom has had no choice but to resort to this. The five kingdoms have been intermarrying for many years now and although it’s a good thing to cement our kingdoms’ relationships with one another… Your Highness, as the Princess’ uncle, this is somewhat…”
“So what? Didn’t the King of the An Kingdom marry his aunt as well? What’s wrong with me marrying my sister’s daughter?”
“It’s not always a good thing to be so closed off, and it’s not like Your Highness doesn’t stand a chance…”
“This is an insult to the Kang Kingdom, as well as towards the royal families of the five kingdoms. Prime Minister, I don’t need to remind you that the coalition forces of the four kingdoms are just stationed at your nation’s border, right? It must be me who marries the Princess.”
Yang Dou continued smiling, but his heart was full of contempt for the Prince of the Kang Kingdom. Even though the Kang Kingdom was not the weakest among those that had surrounded the Stone Kingdom, they did not have what it took to compete with the strongest contender. They were no better than the Stone Kingdom. The coalition forces of the four kingdoms were probably made up of hired machetemen from Golden Roc Fort, using money from the Meng family of Jade City as well. Yang Dou scoffed inwardly.
Yang Dou tried his best to appease the Prince of the Kang Kingdom without telling him the truth, wanting to let this young man learn his lesson by himself.
The second and third guests arrived almost at the same time, and after exchanging greetings at the doorstep, they entered together, hand in hand.
Yang Dou could not help but tense up once he noticed the Special Envoys from the Central Plain and Norland. They were the main contendors and it was because of their interference that the Stone Kingdom was now in a dilemma. One Princess was indeed not enough to save the kingdom.
It would be ideal if the two countries could send a Prince each from their homeland to ask for the Princess’ hand in marriage, ensuring that the remaining four kingdoms would not dare to oppose to it as well. What made Yang Dou resentful was the fact that the two bigger countries would rather hide behind the scenes and choose to pick a candidate instead, and now the Stone Kingdom was caught in between each side.
The biggest disaster to a small kingdom would be to be the target of large countries. Even now, Yang Dou was at a loss to who to greet first when the two Special Envoys walked in together. He could only extend his arms and pretend to be overjoyed at the sight of them together, exchanging greetings like old friends. He had act informally and go against normal diplomatic protocol so as to not offend either party.
Unlike the Prince of the Kang Kingdom, the two Special Envoys had communicated with Yang Dou before –making their own speeches and issuing their threats. Today, the purpose of their visit was more to judge and supervise the competition for the princess.
Despite facing the messengers from the big countries, the Prince of Kang Kingdom did not mask his displeasure. It was as though everyone was his enemy and was trying to snatch the Princess away from him. This made Yang Dou suspect that the next kingdom to fall among the five kingdoms would be the Kang Kingdom.
The guests who arrived after that were much easier to handle as they were all here to ask for the princess’s hand. There were three Princes from faraway countries, and even the Prime Minister was confused as to how they managed to get hold of the news of the marriage. Five chiefs from nearby tribes had also sent their sons. Compared to the five of them, the Prince of the Kang Kingdom appeared refined and cultured. There were also several sons of wealthy businessmen, but rather than propose, they were primarily here to catch a glimpse of the Princess’ beauty so that they would have something to talk about.
These people were like dancers in an arena of beasts, helping the bloody scene appear less savage.
The Ninth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort arrived and Prime Minister Yang Dou went to greet this unusual suitor with mixed feelings.
The Golden Roc Fort had once been the best ally of the Yang family. Although Yang Dou detested the killing profession, he was very satisfied with the assassins from the Golden Roc Fort after working together with them on a few occasions.
At that time, the Golden Roc Fort had been very professional and seemed to take on work only for money. It did not appear to harbor any improper thoughts of expanding its influence.
It was not until the Supreme King sent someone to reveal his plans for the Princess to become his daughter-in-law that Yang Dou realized his long-time partner was already on the offensive. The Supreme King not only wanted money, but the title of a real king as well.
Even if Norland no longer supported Golden Roc Fort, the Stone Kingdom would probably not be able to reject the marriage proposal. The Stone Kingdom only had a guard force of fewer than 300 men, one-third of which was provided by Golden Roc Fort. The large sums of money spent by the Ju’s and Yang’s were borrowed from the Meng family under the guarantee of the Golden Roc Fort as well.
Now, the Stone Kingdom would have to pay for their short-sightedness and greed.
In all fairness, Yang Dou would have picked the Ninth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort out of all the suitors. Not only would the problem of the huge debt be solved, it would bring the support of a major power for the Stone Kingdom as well. Yang Dou was familiar with how the Golden Roc Fort worked and strongly believed that the Yangs would still survive under the wing of the Supreme King.
The only problem was Shangguan Fei’s lack of enthusiasm. He did not seem very interested in becoming the Stone Kingdom Emperor’s son-in-law, or sitting on the throne that would come with it. It was said that the Ninth Young Master was cowardly and useless, and Yang Dou could not help but agree with that description. The few times they had met, he had spoken incoherently, or not at all, apart from conveying his father’s orders.
Shangguan Fei seemed like the odd one out when he entered the Council Chamber. After greeting the Special Envoy from Norland, he sat daydreaming in his seat, expressionless. Even when the Prince of the Kang Kingdom glared at him, Shangguan Fei did not seem to care.
At least he’s not ugly and somewhat worthy of the Princess, Yang Dou comforted himself.
Finally, the last guest arrived.
Yang Dou once thought that Dragon King would never reach the Stone Kingdom, and thus save him from being in a dilemma. But the suitor who suddenly appeared was merely late for a few days. Not only that, his killing intent was strong as he entered the room. It was said that he and a female bodyguard had killed almost a thousand bandits in the desert and escaped unscathed.
Xiaoyao Lake and Jade City were separated by a desert, but communication between them had never been disrupted. The stories about the Dragon King were exaggerated as they spread, and by the time they reached the Stone Kingdom, they had become horror stories.
It was said that the Dragon King had killed tens of thousands of people within a short span of three years, and this alone was enough to make the people of Stone Kingdom terrified beyond words; the population of the Stone Kingdom was only about 40000 to 50000 people. The population of Stone Kingdom itself was not enough for the Dragon King to kill in the next few years.
It was only after more and more real news spread to the Stone Kingdom that Yang Dou realized he had actually met Dragon King a few times before. It was he who had cracked the murder of the First Prince. Not only did he manage to force the murderer, who tried to attack him, to surrender, but also managed to salvage the reputations of all parties involved.
The incident had left a deep impression on Yang Dou, but he would never have expected that the smart young man would actually choose to become an enemy of the Golden Roc Fort.
However, Yang Dou was still unwilling to let the Princess marry the Dragon King. The Great Snowmountain was still a fairly new power and their future was uncertain. It would be a huge risk to tie the fate of the Stone Kingdom together with that of the Great Snowmountain .
Because of this, Yang Dou was warmer towards the Dragon King than to any other suitor. If someone would offend the Dragon King, he hoped it would not be himself.
Gu Shenwei walked into the Council Chamber and swept his eyes over the crowd. Everybody quietened down and gazed at the monster in the their legends.
Gu Shenwei did not care about the others and only nodded his head in the direction of the Special Envoy from the Central Plains.
Everybody believed that the Central Plain supported the Great Snowmountain, but only Gu Shenwei knew that the Central Plain had just planned an assassination attack against him.