Ah, Politics (2)

The scattered crowd bellowed in rage, but showed no interest in moving away even when threatened by Elder Wang.

A mental whisper traveled to Shi Yuanfe's ears, who was curiously staring at the aggravated men. "Don't leave the carriage, young master. It's better if they don't see you…"

Spiritual Transmission. A rather easy way to communicate with others. He nodded, while on the other hand Elder Wang tried his best to clear the crowd.

"Whether or not we'll be able to take care of this city depends on us. I admit that the previous administration has acted aggressively towards the common people, but blocking the road of the new Deputy Mayor won't solve the problem. Whatever you're trying to do, you're just worsening the situation! "

Acting as a voice of reason, Elder Wang somehow managed to dilute the anger in the commoners' hearts.

As if the aggression displayed by them was justified, he said, "The Shi Dynasty promises; we will definitely investigate the situations caused by the previous mayor, and mete out justice. For now, I invite the men of Seahaven to return to their homes. "

Like an expert politician, he lead the people round and round in a circle and deflected the responsibility of the matter on top of Shi Dynasty's head. Shi Yuanfe shook his head with an amused smile at the display.

"Then, we shall leave, " The eyes of the red-clothes man darted around, as he didn't know how to address the elder, "senior. But before we leave, we have one thing we want to request from the new Deputy Mayor… "

Realizing that the men had turned calm from their nationalistic rage, he clicked his tongue. Nonetheless, he was clever. A bit too clever for a commoner. He knew that trying to bark in aggression would be met with an equal reaction, so he assumed a submissive position in front of Elder Wang.

"We, the Seahaven Union, would like to have a meeting with the new mayor. Please, it's our sincere request. "

Unfortunately, Elder Wang had no option but to agree. "Yes, of course. Lord Shi Yuanfe is here to listen to all of your problems."

The man reluctantly cupped his hands, and quickly walked away from the square with a jittery gait. The rest of his followers hesitated, and followed after seeing Elder Wang move his hands towards them.

Seeing that the matter had been dealt with, he turned towards the military personnel blankly looking at him, " Officers, this isn't a circus. Return to your posts, and don't allow them to riot in front of government buildings again."

"Yes, sir! "

The bowed and swiftly left the square. Elder Wang sighed, and massaged his forehead for a few moments before returning to the carriage and opening the door.

Shi Yuanfe, who had been cooped up in the carriage for an entire day, came out and stretched. A tiresome expression was drawn on his youthful face, as his white scholar gown drifted in the wind. From behind him, a small group of servants dressed in casual attires came out, among which a fresh-faced thirteen-year old girl was the most enchanting.

After seeing his servants, Shi Yuanfe suddenly turned a bit nervous. He asked Elder Wang, "Do you think I did right by leaving a majority of our servants behind? "

Although Shi Yuanfe's mansion didn't have a legion of mindless servants, he still had what one would call a 'sizeable' servant group. He had left behind a large portion of the group behind, saying that he'd come back to pick them up, which now seemed quite impossible.

"I knew this'd would happen. Thus I selected the most loyal servants to come with you. A total to seven men and two women. "Elder Wang chuckled.

Shi Yuanfe shook his head, and felt heartache. He was a kind man, but he wasn't an idiot. He already knew that they had been apprehended by the authorities the moment he left.

"Inhumane would be a word too lacking for my brother. Uncle Wang, are you sure they won't do anything to them? "

"I doubt it. They're rather insignificant in their eyes. But that allows more room for them to, well, kill them?"

It was rather mystical. A certain change had occurred to Shi Yuanfe but even he couldn't ascertain it.

Shi Yuanfe shook his head, and entered the Mayoral Palace. It was four-floors tall, and luxurious from the inside. The lower two floors were assigned to the administration, while the upper two floors were the offices of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor.

"Young master, young master! "

Like a little doe, the green-clothed Ruo'er rushed in with him and tugged on his clothes curiously.

"Yes? "

Shi Yuanfe looked around the mansion, and nodded when he saw the officials bow to him.

"Is…is this your office, young master?! It's big, very orderly too! "

The servants walking with her chuckled, and rubbed her head in unison. She was a bit air-headed, as expected of children her age.

"Of course it's clean. Ruo'er, if you study well, and cultivate meticulously, you'll be able to sit in the same office as me. It's not easy, but if you try... "

Ruo'er wasn't just an ordinary servant girl…if she was, Elder Wang wouldn't value her that much.

Of course, not even she knew of it. As far as she knew, she was just a servant that her young master was fond of, and due to his kind nature, wanted to train her to be a literati.

The other servants kindly smiled, fully knowing that Shi Yuanfe's words were merely niceties. On the other hand, Ruo'er turned abnormally quiet.

"Well, young master, we're here. "

As soon as he ascended to the third floor, the mahogany wooden corridors and expansive interior caught his eyes. A familiar scent entered his nose, as he looked towards the office and discovered an entire garden inside filled with spiritual plants.

Ruo'er and the other servants solemnly bowed, and left. A few officials walked along with them, and directed them to the servants quarter.

Elder Wang opened the door to the office, and retreated back to whisper a few words for him, "Be careful. The nobles of the city have been holed up in your office for half an hour. "

Shi Yuanfe nodded, and briskly entered and saw two elderly men sitting before a desk. They swiftly stood up and bowed once they saw him enter. Out of them both, one was clothed in blue and the other in red; the latter seemed to be a bit unenthusiastic to be here.

"We, the Li House elders, pay our respects to the Third Prince!" The blue clothed elder draped in dozens of talismans said, with a few mistakes in his speech. It seemed that he wasn't fluent in the language of the Shi Dynasty.

"Sit down, sit down. I appreciate that you elders have come here. " Shi Yuanfe took the seat before them, and assumed an expression of curiosity.

"Please, mayor, accept our gifts. We have come with hope that you will help us. "

A deep voice slipped from the red-clothed elder's mouth, as he smoothly moved a jade box atop the desk. During the sly move, his facial expressions didn't change even a bit.

"Of course I'll help, that's my duty. " He nodded, but didn't touch the so-called 'gift'.

"At first, it was only a few single villages under our jurisdiction. They, uh, began to report cases of mysterious disappearances, strange diseases causing men to rot in broad daylight… we-we didn't bother, and instead sent a few teams to investigate. "

The blue-robed man was nervousnly explaining, but to his derision, the man in red interrupted him.

"The demonic cultivators have built their sect in this city! You have to help us, the one before you did damn! "

"Grand Elder, calm down. We still don't kn—"

"Stop f***ing with me! They're fu***ing demons! They sucked an entire armed legion of our house dry; I watched them return as mummified corpses! Do you think a normal cultivator can do that?! "

The blue-clothed elder turned silent. The red-clothed man heaved, and heaved, as he coughed.

"Please, Mayor Shi, help us… if you don't, the other noble clans will swallow us alive. Anything-anything you want, we'll give you… "

A classic baiting tactic. Shi Yuanfe sneered in his mind, but nodded in reality. He assumed an entirely empathetic expression. "Elders, don't worry. I will take care of this matter myself. I'll tell my secretary to gather information of this matter. For now, you can return, elders. "

Both of the elders stood up, with apprehensive expressions, and bowed before leaving. Instantly, Elder Wang entered like the wind.

"Young master, I half expected them to sell their daughters to you in exchange for your help. " He chuckled.