Yes, Ninth Royal Uncle's demand is to trade Liancastle for Jason Lan's life.
A whole city for one man—will they trade, or not?
Ninth Royal Uncle admits that when he wrote that letter, he was acting out of spite. He was dissatisfied—very dissatisfied—with Liancastle and the Former Dynasty crowd. He wanted to see just how far Liancastle and those people would go to save Jason Lan, and how important Jason Lan really was to them.
If they agreed, he could give up on the Former Dynasty crowd once and for all—their so-called loyalty to him was just a front, and he wouldn’t need to show mercy to Liancastle anymore. But if they refused...
Maybe he and Liancastle could still cooperate, but he’d never trust them again. In the eyes of those old foxes in Liancastle, he and Jason Lan were just tools to gain more power.
The words 'founding heroes' alone are enough to grant them overwhelming power and blessings for generations.
As for that aunt? He doesn’t know her exact status, but Ninth Royal Uncle is sure she’s someone with real authority. The only question is whether she’ll put the greater good first, or value Jason Lan above all else.
Liancastle’s people want to know that too. As soon as they received Ninth Royal Uncle’s letter, they passed the news to the Lan Princess Royal at Moonvault Palace. They thought she’d just send instructions by letter, but to their shock, she rushed overnight to Liancastle herself.
"No matter the cost, Jason must be saved—he is our Lan clan’s only bloodline." That was the Lan Princess Royal’s first declaration when she arrived. A few elders who privately favored Ninth Royal Uncle couldn’t help but ask, "What about Ninth Royal Uncle?"
The Lan Princess Royal shot them a fierce glare. "He bears the surname Dongling." Even if he conquered the world and renamed it Lan, so what? He’s still not true Lan direct blood.
"But he's also a royal descendant." The elder protested, unwilling to let it go. The Lan Princess Royal shot him a sideways look and sneered, "Royal descendant? Have you ever seen a princess's son inherit the throne?"
Those who favored Ninth Royal Uncle dared not speak further. Whether in the Former Dynasty or now, every country strictly controls consort princes—none are given real power. Their sons’ status is even more awkward: you say they're not royal, but they do have royal blood. Give them power and they might just rebel.
The Lan Princess Royal nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Jason is my imperial brother’s son, and the Lan clan’s only legitimate bloodline. His status is irreplaceable. No matter the cost, we must protect the direct royal bloodline."
Everyone fell silent... Protect him? With what? Trade all of Liancastle for him? What will become of them after that?
Was it their idea to oppose Ninth Royal Uncle and make trouble for him? Did they tell Jason Lan to court disaster and hand himself over to Ninth Royal Uncle? Now something’s gone wrong and they’re supposed to fix it? Utter incompetence.
Jason Lan keeps causing trouble, and more and more people in Liancastle are dissatisfied with him. But no one dares show it. Of course the Lan Princess Royal knows this, but right now saving him comes first—she can’t worry about anything else.
"Lord Lian, you’ll set out for Eastlyn tomorrow. Tell them Jason is Liancastle’s Young Master and demand Eastlyn release him." The Lan Princess Royal spoke as if it were only natural, but she didn’t realize who truly held power in Eastlyn now.
"Princess Royal, Eastlyn will not let him go." The Lord of Liancastle lowered his eyes, hiding his exhaustion.
He watched Ninth Royal Uncle grow up and knows his character inside out. Ninth Royal Uncle may seem cold, but he values relationships deeply. If not for Jason Lan’s mess, Ninth Royal Uncle would always treat these old heroes kindly. Even if they made small mistakes, he’d let it slide. But now...
If they gave up on Jason Lan, that would be one thing. But if they made things difficult for Ninth Royal Uncle over this, it would only hasten the severing of ties—and make him all the more determined to see Jason Lan dead.
"If they won't release him, we go to war. Isn’t Chu City itching for a fight? We'll wait for Eastlyn to attack Night City, then join forces with Chu City and Tyre City to strike Eastlyn together." The Lan Princess Royal didn't hesitate, not caring at all about the tens of thousands of soldiers from Chu City.
"Princess Royal, Eastlyn outmatches us in both wealth and troops—we have no chance of winning." The Liancastle general stood up, clearly disagreeing. "Princess Royal, Ninth Royal Uncle knows Liancastle's forces and deployments inside out. If we really fight, we’ll lose—even with Chu City and Tyre City on our side."
"It won’t just be our three cities—the other six will send troops too. When one city suffers, all nine are affected. The others won’t sit by if we’re destroyed; they’ll be next. We just have to convince them to join us." The Princess Royal spoke as if it were obvious. The others understood her meaning, but no one responded.
If they start a war against Eastlyn, Ninth Royal Uncle will have all the excuse he needs to wipe out Liancastle. Convincing the other cities is nearly impossible, since Liancastle would be the one starting the fight.
The Nine Cities aren’t as united as outsiders think—they’re just a coalition of mutual interests. If Liancastle is destroyed, the other six can band together and move on. Most would probably laugh: serves Liancastle right for being so ambitious and picking a fight with Eastlyn.
"Princess Royal, perhaps it’s best if this old official goes to negotiate. Maybe Ninth Royal Uncle will show some mercy for old times’ sake." The Lord of Liancastle didn’t want war with Ninth Royal Uncle, but had no choice but to take on this bitter task.
The Princess Royal wasn’t foolish—she never truly wanted war. She only meant to use the threat to force Liancastle to compromise. Now that she’d achieved her goal, the eldest prince quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "Then I’ll trouble you, Lord Lian. As long as Eastlyn’s terms aren’t too harsh, we’ll accept them—but Jason must return unharmed, that’s non-negotiable."
"Understood." The Lord of Liancastle agreed, though his heart was bleak: would he live to see the Former Dynasty restored in his lifetime?
That very night, the Lord of Liancastle took the Lan Princess Royal’s instructions and set out for Eastlyn with his personal guards. Of course, the official letter arrived first, explaining Jason Lan’s identity and escalating the matter to a diplomatic incident between city and state.
Jason Lan’s status changed overnight—he became Liancastle’s designated heir. The Capital Prefecture Court couldn’t keep him with common criminals anymore; he was given his own room and much better food.
"Good thing I didn’t kill Jason Lan—otherwise it really would’ve been trouble." The Nine Cities are all linked; if the other city-lords found out Eastlyn killed Liancastle’s heir, they’d feel threatened and band together.
"No matter. If he's dead, he wouldn’t be Liancastle’s Young Master, and there’d be another way to resolve it." Ninth Royal Uncle felt disappointed, but didn’t show it at all.
Liancastle’s move was exactly what he expected, but he wouldn’t let everything go according to their plan.
Ninth Royal Uncle gave a mocking smile, casual as ever: "Feng Jin’s illness is stable now. All he needs is careful nursing. Pack up—two days from now, we leave for Skyvault Fortress."
If they don’t go to Skyvault Fortress soon, they’ll miss the Martial Arts Conference, the chance to enter Skyvault, and the opportunity to search for the Nine Provinces Map.
"You’re not waiting for the Lord of Liancastle?" Serena thought their trip to Skyvault Fortress would be postponed, since they’d already soft-detained Linden Ling. If they show up unannounced, isn’t that a slap in Skyvault’s face?
"The Lord of Liancastle? He’s nothing—why should this prince wait for him?" Ninth Royal Uncle looked disdainful. "If he doesn’t want to negotiate, he can leave; if he does, he’d better stay put in Eastlyn and wait for me to return."
Right now, it’s Liancastle and Jason Lan who can’t wait, suffering in captivity. Ninth Royal Uncle has all the time in the world to grind them down. If Liancastle wants to save Jason Lan, they’ll have to pay a price worthy of his ‘value.’
A direct heir of the Lan clan—his worth can’t be low, or it would disgrace his status...