bookbashuk Chapter 25 Qin Zhao's Marriage Contract
Chapter 25 Qin Zhao's Marriage Contract
Zhao Tianxiong walked towards the servants.
The six people were still kneeling beside the box, heads bowed, not daring to breathe.
Zhao Tianxiong walked up to the nearest one.
"You've all worked hard today!"
He raised his right hand and struck out with his palm.
The palm strike was light and effortless, without making a sound or even stirring up a gust of wind.
The servant shuddered and collapsed limply to the ground.
The second palm strike, the second one.
The third palm strike, the third one.
……
Zhao Tianxiong's attacks were very light; each palm strike landed on the chest, not breaking bones or breaking skin, but shattering the heart.
The six servants lay silently on the ground, as if they were asleep.
Blood Wolf stood still, motionless.
Zhao Tianxiong turned around and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Han Tieshan.
"Elder, it's all cleaned up."
Han Tieshan glanced at Blood Wolf.
Blood Wolf felt a slight chill run down his spine.
Zhao Tianxiong quickly replied, "The Blood Wolf Gang Leader is one of our own, Elder, please rest assured."
"You guys figure it out yourselves."
Han Tieshan stood up and placed the teapot on the stone table.
"Leave your belongings behind, and clean up the mess. The old man is tired; he won't keep guests."
Zhao Tianxiong and Blood Wolf bowed repeatedly and retreated from the courtyard.
In the alleyway, in a place where the moonlight couldn't reach, Zhao Tianxiong suddenly stopped.
"Go find a few people at the mid-stage of the Blood Condensation Realm."
He spoke in a very low voice.
"Let them participate in the competition as well. Remember, they need to suppress their strength. Elder Han will help cover it up during the blood energy test."
Blood Wolf frowned.
"Last time, even sending assassins at the Blood Condensation Realm..."
"Someone is protecting him in the shadows."
Zhao Tianxiong interrupted him.
"I've investigated. During that incident by the stream, Lu Yuan might have been hiding a master at the Meridian Opening Realm."
Those two corpses weren't killed by Lu Yuan... He didn't have that ability.
Blood Wolf fell silent.
"But in the election arena, no one can protect him."
Zhao Tianxiong continued walking forward.
"The arena is public, with thousands of eyes watching. Would the person secretly protecting him dare to step onto the stage?"
dare not.
so……"
He stopped and turned to look at Blood Wolf.
Half of her profile was hidden in shadow, which was quite unsettling to look at.
"Put the one in the Blood Coagulation Realm."
If you can kill them, then kill them; if you can't, then wear them down.
"Let him burn out until he's completely exhausted, then let Li'er clean up the mess."
Blood Wolf nodded: "Understood."
……
The next day, Qin Lie sat in his study.
His face was gloomy.
When Qin Zhao was called in, he saw the man's expression, which looked like he was about to devour someone.
Standing before her desk, she roughly knew what her father was going to say, but she didn't know where he would begin.
She went a bit too far last night.
Qin Lie had repeatedly warned her beforehand.
Keep a low profile.
Lu Yuan's poem was recited at the poetry gathering.
At this moment... news about the city lord's daughter and the Lu family's brilliant scholar has spread like wildfire throughout Qingzhou City.
Qin Lie remained silent, so she just stood there.
"father?"
Qin Zhao called out timidly.
"Do you know what status the Wei family holds in the county town?"
Qin Lie finally spoke, his tone not harsh.
But Qin Zhao could tell that this was more serious than slamming the table.
Wei Changchuan, deputy commander of the Golden Scale Guard, is a powerful figure in the army.
Three years ago, Qin Lie verbally agreed to the marriage proposal through the introduction of an old friend in the county town.
Although no formal engagement has been made, the news has already spread.
The Wei family was aware of this matter.
Qingzhou City is located on the border of the Great Qian Dynasty, beyond the reach of the central government.
The reason he was able to remain the city lord for ten years was not because of the imperial court's favor, but because there was no evidence to hold him accountable.
But now they've found a weakness...
Qin Lie knew that the Zhao family and the Blood Wolf Gang were secretly gathering evidence of his "poor governance" and were determined to bring him down.
Some people in the county town also wanted to remove him and replace him with one of their own.
After his death, Qin Zhao will have no one to protect him, and his fate will not be any better than that of the orphans of families that have been wiped out.
His marriage to the Wei family was not about selling his daughter, but about entrusting his orphan to someone else.
"I guarded Qingzhou City for ten years, watching over you from the age of six to sixteen."
Your mother passed away early, and before she left, she only told me one thing…
"Protect me."
Qin Zhao raised his head.
"You say this once a year."
"Because every year someone tries to take me down."
He used to be a person in the imperial court, but now he is Zhao Tianxiong, the Blood Wolf Gang, and one of the powerful families in the county who are eyeing this position.
I've sat in this chair for ten years.
For the past ten years, not a single day has passed without me thinking... what if tomorrow brings a transfer order that will uproot me from Qingzhou?
Qin Lie looked at her.
"Your engagement is the last way out I'm leaving for you."
It's not a great match, but at least it's safe.
The Wei family was powerful and had connections in the court.
"Now that you've entered the Wei family, even if I'm no longer in this chair one day, no one will dare to touch you."
Qin Zhao remained silent.
"I really think highly of Lu Yuan."
A person with the bloodline of a Qilin, skilled in both literature and martial arts... such a person is one in a hundred years in Qingzhou City.
But he offended too many people.
The Zhao family and the Blood Wolf Gang both wished him dead.
Your ostentatious display yesterday must have made the Wei family aware of his existence.
The closer you get to him, the more dangerous he becomes.
The closer you get to him, the more dangerous he becomes...
Qin Zhao's body trembled upon hearing these words.
"Wei Zhaoming, the eldest son of the Wei family, is a man who cannot tolerate any dissent."
After a brief pause, Qin Lie spoke again.
"Three years ago, a deputy general in the county town offended him with his words after drinking, and the next day it was discovered that his hand bones were completely broken."
"Some say it was done by an assassin, others say it was done by Wei Zhaoming himself, but neither theory has been proven."
Qin Zhao lowered his head and remained silent for a long time before speaking.
"Father, you saw so many dead people in the army back then, and each one of them had a name."
You've held your life firmly in your own hands, that's why you've survived until now.
You also taught me... to take control of my own life.
I don't want to be at someone else's mercy for the rest of my life.
I want to live in my own hands!
Qin Lie did not answer.
Another silence fell between the two.
Qin Lie recalled the last look his wife gave him before she passed away ten years ago...
It's not about him guarding Qin Zhao, it's about him protecting her. Guarding and protecting are two different things.
Guarding means keeping her in a cage, while protecting means letting her grow wings on her own.
but……
"Fine, you all..."
Just then, footsteps outside the door interrupted him.
Then, the butler rushed in in a panic.
"Master... Master."
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"It's the Wei family! People from the Wei family have arrived!"
Upon hearing the words "Wei family," Qin Lie's expression changed slightly.
The teacup in Qin Lie's hand suddenly fell to the ground.
"How...so fast?"
He quickly calmed himself down.
"What am I thinking about?... "
"father?"
Seeing his father's expression, Qin Chao tentatively spoke.
"It's alright, Zhao'er."
Qin Lie stood up and affectionately patted Qin Chao's head.
"You go down first... Father will go check on things first."
Qin Zhao wanted to say something more.
Qin Lie straightened his clothes and, led by the butler, walked steadily toward the side hall.
Qin Lieren had not yet entered the side hall.
A middle-aged man's voice came from the side hall.
"Oh, Lord Qin has arrived!"
"We just arrived in Qingzhou City today, and we've already heard that Lord Qin has a wonderful daughter!"