Chapter 4645 — The West Island Banquet

Kang Jingming was unconvinced—utterly, thoroughly unconvinced. Every time he laid eyes on Zhong Yongliang's smug, strutting air, he felt a knot of loathing tighten in the pit of his stomach.

But now, at last, a golden chance to win merit and make his name had fallen into his lap. He would make the higher-ups see exactly what he was capable of, and when that day came he would grind that whelp Zhong Yongliang back under his heel and show everyone once and for all who was truly cut out to lead.

"Mm. As for the first task—gathering the Thunder Mystic Vine—there is no rush yet; we shall see when the time comes. For now, your priority is to keep a close watch on Wei Zhao and nothing else," Xu Lingchong said, narrowing his eyes. Gathering the Thunder Mystic Vine meant entering the West Island Trials, and for the moment there was no other way but to wait.

"Yes, yes—rest assured, Young Master Xu, leave it all to me," Kang Jingming pledged again and again.

Even as the two of them spoke, a woman's voice suddenly came from outside. It was the steward of the West Island Legation House, come to inform the North Island delegation that a banquet was to be held that evening.

Once the North Island party had assembled, the steward at once led them to the banquet hall of the Island Lord's palace, where a sumptuous feast had already been laid out—prepared expressly to welcome the visitors from North Island and wash the dust of travel from their brows.

The others arrived one after another, and only then did Wei Zhao, Han Jingyi, Shangguan Lan'er, and Ning Xuefei finally make their belated appearance, still chatting and laughing the whole way there. Their banter had left both Wei Zhao and Han Jingyi somewhat flushed with embarrassment—the two girls were teasing them mercilessly about what had happened earlier.

"Feifei, what kept you all so long?" At that moment a woman rose from the seat of honor at the very center of the banquet hall and waved to Ning Xuefei from afar.

Wei Zhao looked over at the sound. The woman appeared to be in her thirties, strikingly beautiful, and possessed of a mature, gentle grace that lent her a charm altogether different from that of young girls like Ning Xuefei. Yet what truly drew Wei Zhao's attention was not her looks but the way her cultivation was utterly concealed—he could detect not the slightest trace of it. She was, clearly, unfathomably deep.

"Aunt Yan, I was just showing them around a bit," Ning Xuefei said with a mischievous grin, sticking out her tongue, then stepped forward and affectionately took the woman's arm. "This is the Vice Island Lord of our West Island—the renowned heroine Yan Xinlan, famous throughout all five great islands of the Heavenly Steps. And Aunt Yan has doted on me since I was little."

"This junior, Wei Zhao, pays his respects to Vice Island Lord Yan," Wei Zhao said, greeting her with grave formality. His present station was that of official envoy of North Island, and his every gesture reflected upon the image of the entire Threefold Pavilion of North Island.

This Yan Xinlan was the Vice Island Lord of West Island and a remarkable woman whose fame spanned the five great islands of the Heavenly Steps. That she should personally receive them already showed considerable regard for Wei Zhao and his party—after all, North Island had not sent any truly weighty figure this time, and however cordial the ties between the two islands, there was no question of the West Island Lord himself stooping to appear. The gap in rank between them was simply too great.

"Envoy Lin is young and full of promise. Do be seated, everyone," Yan Xinlan said with a composed and gracious nod, her gaze resting on Wei Zhao for a long, searching moment before shifting to Han Jingyi and Shangguan Lan'er, nestled close at his side. She noted, too, that even Ning Xuefei had unconsciously drawn rather near to Wei Zhao—and at the sight, her brows knit slightly.

As Vice Island Lord of West Island, Yan Xinlan was naturally a staunch champion of women's rights. The whole business of a man taking multiple wives and concubines she considered contemptible in itself—and here it seemed to entangle Ning Xuefei, the future heir of West Island. How could that be allowed?

Still, displeased as she might be, this was a banquet to welcome the North Island envoy and to proclaim the enduring friendship between West and North. Whatever her feelings, Yan Xinlan would never make things difficult for Wei Zhao on such an occasion; she had at least that much magnanimity.

Wei Zhao and the others exchanged glances, then nodded and took their seats. The delicacies spread across the table set every one of them salivating; at sea there had been no lack of food, but it had been monotonous and bland beyond bearing. What lay before them now were authentic West Island dishes, and Wei Zhao could not help swallowing hard again and again.

"Eat up, everyone—there's no one here but our own people, so stop holding back!" Ning Xuefei said with a laugh.

At that, Wei Zhao and the others exchanged a glance and wasted no time falling to. Theirs was the head table; apart from Yan Xinlan, Ning Xuefei, and Han Jingyi on the West Island side, only Wei Zhao and Shangguan Lan'er from North Island were of sufficient standing to sit there. The rest were unqualified.

To be sure, figures of the stature and strength of Gongyang Jun and Lan Tieshan would have had no trouble joining the table, but in a public setting like this they would never show themselves, much less take seats at the head table with all eyes upon it.

Among the five at the table, Yan Xinlan, though the loftily placed Vice Island Lord of West Island whose rank stood far above the rest, might under ordinary circumstances have found it hard to keep the atmosphere harmonious. But she was a remarkably clever woman, uniquely gifted at setting people at ease; a few warm words and pleasantries, a handful of harmless little jests, and the mood naturally grew genial.

Especially since everyone at the table save Yan Xinlan herself were close friends already—at such a time there was no need to stand on ceremony. The one thing that made Yan Xinlan's brows draw together was how very attentive and familiar Ning Xuefei was being toward Wei Zhao. That the Princess of West Island should openly serve him food with her own hands—what would people think if word of it got out?

This sight merely furrowed Yan Xinlan's brow, but when Xu Lingchong and Kang Jingming, seated far off in a corner, caught sight of it, their whole faces twitched. Damn it all—this was the very task the higher-ups had just handed down!

They had been racking their brains over how to sow discord between Wei Zhao and the West Island leadership, and then in the blink of an eye they saw Ning Xuefei herself serving Wei Zhao food. Where did that leave them?

Ning Xuefei might not be strong, but she was the future helm of West Island. If she were allowed to grow this close to Wei Zhao, it might come to pass that the whole of West Island answered to his word—and then Xu Lingchong and Kang Jingming would be cursed to hell and back by their superiors!

"Zhaoming, how do we deal with this?" Xu Lingchong muttered, frowning, as he nudged Kang Jingming. He knew there was some personal connection between Ning Xuefei and Wei Zhao—after all, when she had visited North Island before, Wei Zhao had accompanied her the whole way. At the time he had assumed it was because of Shangguan Lan'er, but now it looked as though that was not the case at all.

Kang Jingming nodded without betraying a thing, his eyes darting back and forth between Wei Zhao and Ning Xuefei, now and then flicking toward Yan Xinlan, his mind churning out one wicked scheme after another. After a moment he suddenly slapped his forehead and, greatly excited, leaned close to Xu Lingchong's ear and whispered a few words.