Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Ruan Xiao openly admitted it.
“That’s right.”
For a moment, everyone at the conference table looked at him with eager eyes, some even tinged with barely concealed greed.
“If that’s the case, why hasn’t Marshal Ruan brought the mutated kumquat tree here? Are you planning to keep it for yourself?”
This question came from an impatient member of the Elder Council.
A few marshals close to Ruan Xiao couldn’t hold back. What nonsense was this?
But others remained silent; after all, who could resist such a temptation?
Knock, knock…
The sudden sound drew everyone’s gaze. It was His Majesty tapping his fingers twice on the table.
The young emperor looked at the Elder Council member with a faint smile.
“I heard that the Hong family recently acquired a new type of material to enhance kinetic weapons. Why hasn’t Elder Hong shared it with everyone? Or are you planning to keep it to yourselves?”
At his words, Elder Hong, who had spoken earlier, immediately flushed. He opened his mouth as if to respond but seemed at a loss for words.
“Pfft…”
He Feng chuckled, unable to contain his amusement.
“Oh, I thought Elder Hong was a generous person, given his words earlier. Turns out he’s just as selfish as the rest.”
He emphasized the word “selfish.”
Ruan Xiao spoke with a faint tone, “If you all want me to hand over the mutated kumquat tree, fine. But first, why don’t you share the secrets of your own family’s core industries?”
Shui Shishi laughed, “Exactly. If you want others to make selfless contributions, shouldn’t the ones making such requests set an example?”
The Elder Council members’ faces turned from pale to flushed, with two of them casting resentful glances at Almer.
Bruce also shot a subtle glance at the emperor, seemingly surprised that he would speak up for Ruan Xiao.
After all, the dragon clan was domineering, and he was the emperor. Forcing Marshal Ruan to hand over the mutated kumquat tree would benefit him too.
A gleam of calculation flashed in Bruce’ eyes.
“The mutated kumquat tree aside, it was discovered by the Ruan family. We truly have no right to demand it from them,” Bruce quickly changed his approach, recognizing that with the emperor’s backing, no one could force the tree from the marshal.
He Feng and the others sneered at Bruce’ belated diplomacy, tempted to roll their eyes.
“I wonder if Marshal Ruan is willing to sell some of the kumquat. The First Legion is willing to pay five hundred thousand for each one.”
Shui Shishi interjected, “Marshal Bruce, isn’t that a bit presumptuous? Marshal Ruan sold them to me for a million each.”
The implication was clear: these valuable items weren’t something just anyone could buy for a low price, especially with the distant relationship between Marshal Bruce and Ruan Xiao. Where did he find the gall to ask for them at five hundred thousand each?
Bruce’s face turned dark.
“In that case, one million!”
He practically spat out the price through clenched teeth.
For the value of that kumquat, a million was actually quite cheap. What really angered and frustrated Bruce was that what should have been a moral high ground for him to set the price had instead been raised exorbitantly by that troublesome woman, Shui Shishi. Not only that, but she’d made him lose face in public.
A flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes, though it was well hidden, and no one noticed.
With Bruce’s offer on the table, the council elders had no choice but to reluctantly express their willingness to buy as well.
However, their demand to buy all the kumquat was impossible. Ruan Xiao stingily gave them only one.
The elders were livid, glaring at him with indignation. “Marshal Ruan clearly has so many; why sell us only one?”
Ruan Xiao sneered, “Because I feel like it.”
If it weren’t for the complicated ties between the council and the noble families that could potentially cause trouble for Shushu, he wouldn’t have given them even one.
Almer’s eyes swept over the council members indifferently. “The item belongs to someone else. You’re lucky they’re even willing to sell you one. Didn’t you consider the consequences when you previously offended Marshal Ruan?”
The council members: “….”
What was going on? Normally, His Majesty would sit back and observe their disputes with indifference. Why was he so supportive of Marshal Ruan today?
Did he not remember that the chief elder was half-dragon, technically a distant relative?
If Almer knew what they were thinking, he’d probably scoff. Did they really think having a trace of dragon blood made them true members of the dragon clan?
He’d simply been lenient with them before.
Besides, when it came to loyalty, his beloved little lucky charm’s real father held far more weight than these distant blood relations.
Selling off some of the kumquat didn’t bother Ruan Xiao since they had a kumquat tree.
In fact, he took the opportunity to covertly secure alliances, providing additional protection for Shushu.
Of course, the origin of the kumquat tree remained a tightly kept secret.
There were still greedy and ill-intentioned people who wanted the tree, but due to His Majesty and the other marshals, they didn’t dare make a move.
However, the Li family within the council felt that their family’s interests were under threat.
That would be the Li family with the awakened wood eleJingshen.
An elder from the Li family was one of the council members, and they had long controlled the main production of inhibitors to manage Jingshen outbursts. Since they held a large monopoly on the raw materials, inhibitors had always sold at high prices despite their side effects. This was a primary source of the Li family’s income.
Now, however, the Ruan family’s kumquat, capable of perfectly soothing mental instability, had clearly taken a big slice of their profit.
Desperate to obtain the kumquat, the elder hurried back to his family to see if they could replicate the mutated kumquat tree.
But…
“It’s a failure. This won’t work. Seeds extracted from these small golden oranges simply can’t grow a mutated orange tree. Even the ordinary orange trees that do grow are contaminated with X pollutants. They’re fundamentally a different variety than the original.”
A member of the Li family with a bloodline talent shook his head solemnly after extensive testing, ruling out the possibility.
“We can only try cultivating more if we somehow get that mutated kumquat tree from the Ruan family.”
“The Ruan family isn’t easy to mess with.”
The Li family head replied calmly, “And you’ve also mentioned that, for some reason, His Majesty seems to be siding with the Ruan family. Plus, several marshals in the military are on good terms with them. Apart from Bruce, the others either have a friendly relationship with the Ruan family or remain neutral. Compared to the Council of Elders, they’re more inclined to support Ruan Xiao, who is also a marshal.”
A fierce glint flashed in Elder Li’s eyes. “That’s only because the threat and benefit aren’t strong enough yet. While that mutated kumquat can calm unstable Jingshen, remember, there aren’t many of them. Most people still rely on our Li family’s inhibitors.”