The Demon Lords-Chapter 657 - 122 Proclamation_1

The citizens of Li Tian City had been living a year filled with unease. When the Wenren family ruled here, they had always prided themselves on being the pinnacle of culture in the Three Jin. Compared to the Helian Family, whose lineage was considered impure, and the Situ Family, who were known only for their warmongering, the Wenren family was indeed the most refined of these three prominent clans.

To say nothing of other matters, consider the tales of fox spirits and ghosts prevalent in the Three Jin. In these stories, any scholar who appeared was invariably introduced with the preface, "a destitute scholar from Li Tian City," or words to that effect. This alone was enough to demonstrate the perception of Li Tian City among the common folk of the Three Jin.

The Wenren family had also produced several great Confucian scholars and academics. In those days, stories from within the great families were common, providing abundant material for popular imagination and creative works. The people of Li Tian City and its denizens enjoyed a relatively leisurely existence back then.

In later eras, it truly had the air of a "Rong City" of the Three Jin.

However, everything changed when the Yan people invaded, replacing the Wenren family as rulers of the region.

This wasn't to say the Yan people were exceptionally vicious. The Yan State's imperial court genuinely intended to govern this territory as their own. Thus, apart from the initial, necessary purges, they committed no acts that provoked widespread outrage or divine retribution.

The taxes and punishments here were comparable to those in the Yan region. Occasionally, Yan people who broke the law here might receive lenient treatment. However, the people of the Jin land understood this; after all, hadn't their own armies been thoroughly defeated?

But ever since Lord Jingnan's manor was established in Li Tian City, the city's inhabitants had truly lived on edge, their hearts leaping in fear every few days.

It was like a slap to the face: it hurt, but only for a moment, followed at most by a lingering sting. But this situation was like someone repeatedly feigning a slap, forcing you to flinch and recoil time and again. The psychological pressure endured was infinitely greater than that of a single, swift blow.

The Southern Marquis of the Yan people was a legendary figure; this, the citizens of Li Tian City knew all too well. They were, in fact, mentally prepared for him to fill the prisons and carry out mass killings in Li Tian City. It was merely a matter of waiting for him to finally erupt.

Then came the sudden "death by illness" of Marquise Jingnan. The eyes of the Jingnan Army soldiers, both inside and outside Li Tian City, were bloodshot to a terrifying degree.

Just when that incident had slowly, and with great difficulty, begun to fade from memory, and just as everyone was starting to feel they could relax a little, new troubles arose.

Inside a spice shop on Changchun Street, a regular customer sat behind the counter, helping the owner sort through newly arrived spices while whispering,

"That business the day before yesterday... that was the second one, right?"

The shopkeeper, a man over fifty, cautiously lifted his teacup, took a sip, and then, as he set it down, silently nodded.

Neither of them were agents of the Spy Bureau or members of the Silver Armored Guard. However, the intermittent high-pressure atmosphere that had pervaded Li Tian City for the past year had undeniably driven the local populace to a state of near-neurosis.

"Sigh... I've never seen anything like this in my entire life."

"You'd also never seen the Wenren family fall before," the shopkeeper retorted, glancing at his old customer and tea-drinking companion.

For the people of Li Tian City, the city had belonged to the Wenren family since the time of their great-grandfathers.

"Dynasties change, families fall to ruin—we hear about such things in operas all the time. But this... this is the kind of stuff they wouldn't even dare write into the scripts!"

The shopkeeper picked up his teacup again and nodded.

"Tell me, do you think this Southern Marquis of the Yan people is really going to rebel?"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "It's unclear."

"Things have come to this, and he still won't rebel? Both stone lions at the gates of his manor have been stained red, you know. I heard another one is due today." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"There are some things about the Yan people that we just can't figure out," the shopkeeper said.

"Heh, whether we figure it out or not, if you were the Emperor... if you were, you know, *him*... could you tolerate this?"

"The affairs of that Yan Emperor... those are even harder for us to comprehend."

"You old rascal, stop giving me the runaround with all this beating around the bush."

"Hmph. Once you've collected your goods, you'll be leaving the city. I, on the other hand, have to keep running this shop. My entire family is here."

"What's there to fear? To tell you the truth, just yesterday I bought back the house and shop I sold last year."

"Why the sudden decision to re-establish your business here? Is business outside not going well?"

"Business is actually still decent. Shengle City is always producing novel items. As long as you can get your hands on the goods, there's no worry about sales. I heard their orders are backlogged for three months. I got in early and managed to stockpile some."

"So that's why you're thinking of moving back?"

"That's not the only reason. I'm calculating that if this Southern Marquis truly rebels, Li Tian City might just become the land beneath the Son of Heaven's feet again, wouldn't it? If that happens, the shops, houses, and land prices here will surely skyrocket!"

"That's logical. But what if he's defeated?"

"Heh, where in this world can you find a business venture that's a guaranteed win with no risk of loss?"

"True enough."

"Still, I have a good feeling about this Southern Marquis. Think about it: when the Yan people previously put him in command of their armies, did he ever lose a battle? Not only did he never lose, but he achieved great victories several times! This time, the Yan people suddenly switched to that... that good-for-nothing Eldest Prince as commander. And look what happened! He actually got defeated by the wild people! What are the wild people? In the past, they were the kind of slaves our Three Jin merchants loved to buy—utterly base. That Eldest Prince of Yan couldn't even defeat that bunch of contemptible wretches. It just shows what a useless piece of trash that Eldest Prince truly is."