Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 323 The Dilemma of the Dai Family
In another courtyard.

Kong Qifeng and Lin Chen chatted for about half an hour. Kong Qifeng didn't ask Lin Chen too much about his martial arts cultivation, but instead told Lin Chen about some things in the Great Liang Dynasty.

At the moment they entered Daliang territory from Yan, the Marquis of Zhenbei led 100,000 troops of the northern frontier to launch the most intense battle against the royal court of the northern demon race.

The 30,000-strong army stationed at the border by the Han Kingdom ultimately chose to stand by and watch.

"All reactionaries are paper tigers."

Lin Chen murmured softly, and for some reason, the words of a certain senior came to mind.

"Paper tiger? Why describe it that way? Don't underestimate South Korea."

“My lord, I do not mean to underestimate Han Kingdom. For thousands of years, Han Kingdom has been the number one among the nine kingdoms. Its strength is beyond doubt. But the reason why Han Kingdom has been able to maintain its position as the number one among the nine kingdoms is because Han Kingdom has been following the path of conspiracy since it rose to power. It instigates other countries to fight, takes advantage of their misfortunes, and seizes their territory and resources.”

Lin Chen wore a mocking expression. The way Han Guo acted was so similar to a country he knew well from his previous life.

"The Koreans have become accustomed to this approach, to remotely controlling the other eight countries from behind the scenes. If any country rises and threatens them, they manipulate the other countries to suppress it. But if war really breaks out, the Koreans become hesitant and indecisive."

"They fear that a battle would weaken their own strength, giving other countries an opportunity to rise. There's a saying in my hometown: 'Porcelain doesn't touch tile.' Han Kingdom is like that exquisite porcelain, while in their eyes, the other eight countries are just tiles. They have no determination to break."

Upon hearing Lin Chen's explanation, Kong Qifeng's old eyes gleamed. Given Lin Chen's background, it was truly rare for him to possess such insight.

In fact, the decision of the Great Liang to launch a final attack on the Demon Clan's royal court was based on analysis, judging that the Han Kingdom would not actually engage in war with the Great Liang in the short term.

There are several factions within Han Kingdom. It will take at least several days or even dozens of days for these factions to compromise and make a decision to go to war. This is the time difference that Da Liang needs.

However, he did not intend to explain these things to Lin Chen in detail. Lin Chen's only task now was to cultivate, and there was no need to be too distracted by this.

He informed Lin Chen of Daliang's current situation, just to give Lin Chen a general idea.

"Rest well today, and I will take you to the palace tomorrow."

"it is good."

Lin Chen bid farewell to Lord Kong and left the courtyard.

"Lin Chen, the master has already arranged a courtyard for you to stay in. Tonight, I will take you to enjoy some Kyoto delicacies."

"Lord Chu..."

"No need to call me 'sir'. I'm a bit older than you, so just call me 'elder brother' or 'senior brother' like you do with Pei Qingming. Or if you think I, Chu Zining, am not qualified to be compared with Pei Qingming, then just call me 'sir'."

Isn't this moral kidnapping?

Lin Chen's lips twitched slightly, and he said, "Then I shall respectfully accept your offer and call you Senior Brother Chu."

"also."

Although "elder brother" is closer than "senior brother," if it were any other young man, even a talented disciple from a powerful family in Kyoto, he would probably immediately call me "elder brother" to get closer to me.

But Lin Chen didn't need to do that. Lord Kong cared deeply for Lin Chen, not to mention the court officials. Several officials wanted to see Lin Chen several times, and even planned to go to Canglan Martial Academy in person, but Lord Kong stopped them all.

"Senior Brother Chu, I plan to go to Qingyun Martial Academy to find Junior Brother Kong Qing. On the way back, Junior Brother Kong Qing has been talking about showing me the excitement of the capital city many times."

Hearing that Kong Qing wanted to show Lin Chen the prosperity of the capital, Chu Zining didn't insist. After all, he was a generation older than Lin Chen, and if he were Lin Chen, he would also prefer to be with people his own age, as it would be more comfortable and casual.

"Okay, if anything happens, you can come to the Ministry of Military Affairs to find me."

"Thank you for your care, Senior Brother Chu. You don't need to see me off."

Refusing Chu Zining's offer to see him off, Lin Chen walked out of the Martial Affairs Department alone. The martial artists at the entrance of the department smiled when they saw Lin Chen come out, and Lin Chen nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"I never expected that Lin Chen, the number one genius of the Great Liang, would be so arrogant."

“We’ve seen quite a few geniuses here. Even if they tried to restrain themselves when they came to the Ministry of Military Affairs, their arrogant temperament was still undeniable. But I didn’t sense that in Lin Chen.”

As the gatekeepers of the Martial Arts Department, the four of them weren't even Rank 1 martial artists; they were merely Qi Opening martial artists. No one dared to cause trouble at the Martial Arts Department. Their presence here was more about demonstrating the authority of the Martial Arts Department.

Because the four of them weren't even at the entry-level stage, many geniuses wouldn't even glance at them when they came and went. But when Lin Chen just stepped out, he gave them a slight nod and exchanged glances, showing no arrogance because they were just Qi Opening martial artists. "Lin Chen comes from an ordinary family, unlike those geniuses from wealthy and powerful families. I've heard that the younger generation of martial artists in Jiangnan are very impressed with Lin Chen. At first, I thought it was an exaggeration, but now it seems the rumors are true."

"A super genius who is not arrogant is someone everyone would admire, and I certainly admire him."

……

……

Lin Chen, who had already walked quite a distance away, naturally had no idea that his polite nod would elicit such sentiments from the gatekeepers and martial artists. He wasn't putting on a show; rather, his mindset from his previous life prevented him from harboring any sense of superiority.

On the way from the Ministry of Military Affairs to Qingyun Martial Academy, Lin Chen stopped again in front of the Dai family's pharmacy. This time, there were no more pedestrians watching the excitement in front of the pharmacy, but the shop was also deserted.

After hesitating for a while, Lin Chen stepped into the shop. Seeing two pairs of eyes immediately fall on him, Lin Chen smiled and said, "I'm here to buy medicine."

"Are you from Beijing or from out of town buying medicine?"

"What, do I need to tell you where you're from when I buy medicine?"

Lin Chen was puzzled, and just as Dai Yuze was about to speak again, a voice came from behind him: "Little brother, don't talk nonsense."

Dai Yuxi lifted the curtain from behind and came out. Dai Yuze said in a muffled voice, "Sister, I'm not talking nonsense. What if it's another troublemaker?"

"Alright, you should go inside and rest for a bit."

Dai Yuxi patted her younger brother's shoulder, but Dai Yuze didn't move. Dai Yuxi had no choice but to ignore her brother and look at Lin Chen who entered the store, asking, "What medicine does the customer want to buy?"

"I'd like to know, what did this person mean by 'people from Beijing' and 'people from other places'?"

Although he roughly guessed what the young master of the Dai family meant, he came in specifically to find out about this matter, so he could only pretend to be confused.

"Because some martial artists from other places come to my house to buy medicine, and then falsely accuse my family of selling inferior medicine, saying that my family only dares to sell inferior medicine to them because they are from other places and have no background or backing, and that we dare not sell inferior medicine to people from the capital."

Dai Yuze couldn't help but speak up. After what had happened before, he now felt that everyone who came in was arranged by someone behind the scenes, someone who came to buy medicine and then framed their family.

"Is there still this?"

Lin Chen was surprised and then asked, "If there's nothing wrong with the pills sold in your pharmacy, why don't you report it to the authorities?"

“What’s the use of reporting to the authorities? The government will take the people away, which will indeed warn them not to cause trouble in our shop again. But in other people’s eyes, it will become that our Dai family has connections in the capital’s government and is using this method to bully martial artists from other places.”

Dai Yuze pursed his lips, while Lin Chen's eyes showed a thoughtful expression. If what this descendant of the Dai family said was true, it was indeed difficult to prove his innocence.

The officials would inevitably demand that the other party produce evidence. If they couldn't, they would be reprimanded, but the damage to the pharmacy's reputation would be irreparable, because the Dai family also couldn't provide evidence to prove that the other party's health problem wasn't due to their pills.

Moreover, judging from the young master of the Dai family's words, this must have happened more than once. With such incidents occurring repeatedly, the authorities might start to suspect that the Dai family was indeed passing off inferior pills as superior ones.

This matter suggests that either the Dai family was indeed selling inferior pills, but the good ones were sold to people in the capital while the bad ones were sold to people from other places.

Either the Dai family has offended someone, or someone is targeting the Dai family behind the scenes.

"I see. By the way, judging from your accents, your ancestors were from Jiangnan?"

"If you want to buy it, just buy it. Why ask so many questions?"

Dai Yuze was very impatient, and Dai Yuxi immediately scolded him, "Little brother, go into the backyard."

"Sister, I..."

"Go in."

Faced with his older sister's stern face, Dai Yuze didn't dare to insist any longer and turned to walk towards the backyard.

“Our ancestors did indeed come from Jiangnan. You are not here to buy elixirs, are you?”

Dai Yuxi stared intently at Lin Chen, her eyes filled with scrutiny.

(End of this chapter)