Hao Ren wasn't surprised by the fact that the lady wanted to talk to him, after all, with the wealth that was flowing in was indeed attractive, and for him it was better that someone from the royal family had come over to talk.
The young man took out a wooden stool from his space ring and placed it a few meters away from the table where the food was. The bodyguard of the princess asked, "Why do you sit so far away?"
Hao Ren replied, "I am not yet capable of sharing the dining table with the Princess. Plus, none of our hotel staff dine or share the same sitting space with the guests."
His voice was calm and firm, his eyes gazed at the lady for a moment before returning to the Princess. This time Hao Ren saw properly that the princess had a long scar on her face, her shoulders were square, and he even noticed the callous and scratch marks on her fair hands. The princess asked, "What do you think, Owner Hao, are my scars fearsome?"
Hao Ren shook his head and replied, "In this world, one has to be strong and scars from battle and martial practice are all akin to medals you won for surviving those situations, Your Highness."
The princess tasted a morsel of food and raised her brow at his words, as she remarked, "Then looking at you it seems to me that you have never walked into the life and death situations."
Hao Ren smiled and nodded, "You caught me, Your Highness."
He paused and asked, "May I ask what did you wish to discuss?"
The Princess said, "I reckon that you have been earning a lot of money. You have been paying your taxes as well, but why have you been feeding the poor by yourself, could you not go through the palace management?"
Hao Ren smiled and replied, "Your Highness, is it wrong for me to distribute the surplus food to those in need? Why bother the palace for such an insignificant task?"
The princess looked at him for a prolonged moment, and then asked, "Don't you think that your actions could cause the people to harbor ill will towards the authorities?"
Hao Ren shrugged and shook his head as he said, "If you say it like that, Your Highness, it sounds more like you are aware of the mistakes made in the administration and also of the sufferings of the masses."
The bodyguard narrowed her gaze and her grip on the hilt of the sword tightened. The maid also looked at Hao Ren with anger. After all, this commoner just denounced the Princess. However, the Princess cleared her throat and the atmosphere eased.
She asked, "I am just a wildling in the eyes of the King, and my powers are limited. How can I do anything about the mess they have made?"
Hao Ren smiled, he thought, 'This girl is ambitious but is holding her own against the King because of her battle skills. There must be one of the military factions or the Warring Peak sect that supports her.'
He said, "Your highness, your powers may be limited but they exist, nonetheless. When I was a kid, my sister used to cook for me with whatever skill she had and although it was not heavenly, it gave satiated my hunger. I have always been thankful for her for that.
The policies are made by the strong, but sometimes the strong forget a very basic thing."
The princess asked, "What basic thing?"
Hao Ren replied, "You do not have to undermine someone else to glorify yourself. Everyone is aware that at this moment, the political lobby of the great Warring Nation is rather chaotic."
The Princess smiled and replied, "Owner Hao, you are quite insightful."
Hao Ren shrugged and replied, "Your Highness, a businessman is afraid of a few things, and one of them is the unstable political lobby. The constant worry about having a leader who does not hinder the growth of his people is far more stressful than it appears."
The lady chuckled and said, "Tell me about it. Living in the palace may appear lavish but when you have to be wary of your own brothers and family members, do you think it is worth it?"
Hao Ren had been using the soothsaying skill. It was a passive skill but it affected the people greatly. Just like how the walls created by the princess has began to crumble. Hao Ren suddenly thought what a big loss he has suffered. Had he upgraded the soothsaying skill to hypnotism or something similar, half his worries would have been solved.
He sighed, and his expression made the people wonder. He looked up to the princess and said, "Your Highness, let me ask you something. What do you want to do with your life? Is your ambition limited to survival, or do you want to go further on the path of Dao?"
The princess was surprised and but she soon calmed her mind and asked, "What is it to you if I wish to survive or reach the peak of Dao?"
Hao Ren smiled and said, "It has nothing to do with me, but yourself, Your Highness. You are a person who has braved many tough situations then why not just be true and honest about your own ambition, not to the world, not to your family, not to your friends, and certainly not to me. However, we all deserve a little honesty to ourselves.
The moment you have the courage to admit your honest intentions to yourself, the situation will turn. Whether it is to survive or to climb the peak."
His words made sense and the princess began to ponder over it silently. One minute turned to one hour, but the princess sat in a daze. The food turned cold and the two ladies became anxious. Hao Ren did not speak as well, he just took out a book on medicinal herbs and began to read it as if the whole situation had nothing to do with him.
The only thing that bothered him was the lack of a back support on the stool.
Finally, a little over an hour had passed when the Princess's aura changed. Everything about her became ferocious as if a sword had been unsheathed. Hao Ren sighed and closed his book before he said, "Congratulations, Your Highness."
The two subordinates were a bit confused and Hao Ren said, "Her Highness just resolved the knot in her heart. May she be the sword that not only survives the war of fate, but climbs the peak of martial world as well."
The princess reined her aura and said, "Owner Hao, I have been cultivating for thirty years, but I have never met someone who dispelled the knots in my heart with a few words."
Hao Ren smiled and said, "The world has its way of leading all of us into the places we need to, your highness. I am glad I could be of help. However, please call me Hao Ren. I am not used to being called Owner Hao."
The princess smiled and said, "From now on, you are my, Hu Baihe's friend. Nice to meet you."
She stood up and extended her hand to Hao Ren. The young man stood up and calmly held her hand with a smile as he said, "It my fortune to befriend a princess."
Hu Baihe exerted some strength in her grip but was surprised to see that Hao Ren was unaffected, as she said, "I did not expect you to be so strong as well."
Hao Ren smiled and replied, "Without strength it is not possible to run such a big business, is it?"
The lady nodded and said, "Well, I shall get going, how much do I owe you for the food?"
Hao Ren shook his head and said, "You are my friend, the first meal is free. However, next time, I will ban you from the shop if you wasted food."
The lady was stunned, after all, she was a princess and then she chuckled and said, "Agreed!"
After a few more words and the promise to come back soon, she left. Hao Ren looked at the food and then at Jian who was standing at the threshold of the courtyard and said, "Jian, take this food away and use it as fertilizer for the Crimson crown lilies."
The young man bowed and said, "Right away, Young master."
Hu Baihe was riding in her carriage, when her maid asked, "Your Highness, how presumptuous of that Owner Hao to joke that he would ban you. How could he?"
The princess smiled and said, "He was not joking."
The face of the two ladies changed and the princess continued, "Food is a luxury, and wasting it is a bad thing. On the battlefield many times we have to go without eating anything for days, so we know that wasting food is a bad thing. We even have a punishment for those who waste food, so he is right."
The maid did not and wanted to say something when Hu Baihe, said, "Sister Ao, inform Master, I would like to meet her."
The bodyguard was surprised and asked, "Miss, are you sure about this?"
The princess looked out of the carriage window and nodded resolutely. She was going to join the fray and compete for the throne.
Hao Ren came back to his courtyard and sat in a rocking chair. As he was thinking about things, he made five small flame balls, all as small as specks of grain and they were revolving around his head. This was a method he had come up with to learn flame control. The darkness of night shrouded the world and Xi, Yan and Reni came up to him.
They had been waiting to report about the crucial details they found about the royal family.
As they reported Hao Ren began to take note of a few things, and when they were done, he asked, "The Princess, Hu Baihe, her standing in the royal family is that of an outsider, you said that the reason she has not been murdered by the people just yet is because she has support from the Grand Elder Of The Warring Peak, right?"
The three ladies nodded, and Hao Ren said, "Hmm, the upcoming competition is not only a chance to get on the heroes list, but also an opportunity for the king to decide who will become the next heir."
Yan nodded and said, "The king did not even announce who the crown prince would be to avoid the conflict as much as he can but now his cultivation has regressed because he has been embroiled in the affairs of the secular world. To extend his life, he will retire within five years at most. This is a crucial time for them."
Hao Ren nodded and said, "Well, the strength of the other Princes is below Hu Baihe, because she is not a green house flower like them. So even if they have skills they will not last for too long. Keep an eye on them, the moment she announces her intention to participate, they will try to attack her. Unless they use poison or similar means for assassination you do not need to act. Can that be done?"
Xi nodded and said, "There are four princes that are the mastermind of such things, we will be placing in pawns with the help of the soul slaving talisman. It won't be difficult." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveI★Fire.net
Hao Ren nodded and said, "Good, lets go and have dinner."
Today was not an opportunity for Hu Baihe, but also for Hao Ren. He was going to use Hu Baihe to win the Warring Nations' throne. The game was sinister, but it will get him results. Hu Baihe wanted to pursue the peak of martial arts, and Hao Ren wanted the throne. He will use Hu Baihe to make a deal with the Warring Peak as well, to make sure that when Han Lingshi arrives, everything is ready.
Looking at the declining amount of power stones, I will try to update a bonus chapter (2000+ word count) every 150 power stones.