Chapter 347: Tides of Intrigue in Mingsha City
by xennovel“What’s wrong?”
“Brother Hao, do you remember that online influencer who stirred things up by claiming that our Dreaming of the Past Entertainment City discriminates against foreign tourists?” Zhu Qiang asked.
Zhu Qiang spoke.
“I know. Weren’t we supposed to let Lawyer Zhang San handle it?”
Xu Hao’s expression shifted.
“Here’s the deal: Lawyer Zhang has already filed a lawsuit with the court, and now Gao Nan has hired a lawyer and filed an application to have the trial held publicly with live streaming.”
“This afternoon, the court called Zhang Lu to ask what our stance was!”
Zhu Qiang explained the situation.
“They can live-stream the trial?”
Xu Hao was stunned.
“Yes; the court staff said as long as we agree, it’s a go. And since this case is representative with a clear warning effect, they’re inclined to live-stream it.”
Zhu Qiang added.
“Then let’s go for the live stream! It’ll teach those pseudo-intellectual troublemakers a lesson—and might even keep future hassles to a minimum.”
After a moment’s thought, Xu Hao made his decision.
Though he was unsure exactly what Gao Nan was planning, with Mingsha City on our side and Zhang San at the helm, the live broadcast posed no threat.
“Alright, Brother Hao! I’ll inform them.”
“When is the trial? And will Lawyer Zhang go alone?”
“The trial is set for June 10—just twelve days away. Given the live broadcast, having Lawyer Zhang alone might not be enough. I figure that if Little Luo or I are free, one of us can go over with him.”
Zhu Qiang said.
Their contributions to the Technology Expo exhibition hall’s construction had dried up, and even the display items were handed over to the carpenters trained by Mingsha City.
“Mm!”
“Oh, and Qiangzi, one more thing—the work on our theme park’s rating! The Leader called a few days ago saying the organizing committee rejected our application dossier. I reckon if it’s rejected, we might as well drop it and focus on our own business.
The staff at Mingsha Tourism mentioned that keeping visitors happy is far more important than ratings.”
After a pause, Xu Hao suddenly remembered something and continued.
“Rejected? Well, if it’s rejected, so be it—it doesn’t really affect anything. In fact, it lightens the load for the staff.”
Zhu Qiang was momentarily surprised but quickly recovered.
“Mm!”
Meanwhile, as Xu Hao and Zhu Qiang discussed the theme park rating, over at Mingsha Fudi and Biyou Palace,
You Gong sat behind the rear hall, surrounded by his disciples, as tension filled the air.
“I didn’t expect Cangshan to pull a move like this!”
After a long pause, You Gong looked out defiantly at the hall’s entrance.
Ever since Wuzhuang Temple made headlines, although Biyou Palace still attracted many worshippers, its numbers couldn’t match those of Wuzhuang Temple—after all, visitors to Biyou Palace were leisure seekers after trying The Long Road of Life, unlike the devout crowd at Wuzhuang Temple.
The thought made him increasingly restless!
“Master, shouldn’t we consider another approach?”
Wu Yun, equally defiant, agreed.
In terms of divine charm, Wuzhuang Temple was now on par with Mingsha Fudi, or even just a bit behind. To give up now would be a real shame.
More importantly, this was just the beginning—who knew what tricks Wuzhuang Temple might have up its sleeve?
“Another approach? What else can we do? After Wuzhuang Temple hit trending topics, the City Master spoke with all three of us, making it clear that neither Wuzhuang Temple nor Biyou Palace could appear any more ‘celestial.’ Our current divine charm is the ceiling.”
You Gong smirked.
“Divine charm? Master, that’s not the issue now. The key is to attract worshippers. I have an idea.”
At these words,
Wu Yun leaned in to whisper into You Gong’s ear, and with each word, You Gong’s eyes sparkled brighter.
It wasn’t until a few minutes later that You Gong stroked his beard thoughtfully.
“Excellent! That idea is brilliant. But how do we implement it? Biyou Palace alone won’t cut it—we need backing from someone at the level of Mingsha City Director.”
“Master, the City Master is right. But why not follow Daoist Master Cangshan’s lead? This time he approached President Luo. We could do the same.”
From the side, Wu Ming quickly interjected.
Clearly,
Wu Yun was well aware of the plan he had just whispered.
“President Luo? No way! The City Master specifically warned us not to mislead or pressure President Luo.”
At the mention of Luo Peng, You Gong rubbed his temples.
It seemed that Xu Hao had blocked every possible path.
“Master, if President Luo isn’t an option, can we approach General Zhu? The City Master never forbade contacting him. Besides, I reckon Brother Hao might also reach out to Mr. Fang of Haofang Culture, who wields considerable influence in Mingsha City.”
Wu Yun’s eyes lit up at the thought.
“Mr. Fang?”
You Gong stroked his beard again as the image of a clear-eyed young man flashed in his mind.
“Mr. Fang just returned from Yan City these days and wasn’t involved in the Technology Expo construction at all—he’s got plenty of free time.”
“Then let’s contact Mr. Fang! If he’s unavailable, we can always approach General Zhu. Either way, our number of worshippers must rival those of Wuzhuang Temple.”
“Mm!”
As tides ebb and flow,
three days passed in the blink of an eye, and before they knew it, it was 8 PM.
With the debut of Joy of Life, Yan City TV’s ratings soared after a long drought. Ten minutes into the broadcast, the ratings had already surpassed 4.
Much as Eggplant TV’s Channel Director predicted—by 10 PM,
online forums were flooded with posts about Joy of Life. The show’s reputation was solid, though its genre sparked heated debate.
“A costume sci-fi drama? Honestly, I haven’t seen any real sci-fi elements so far!”
“Exactly!”
“I won’t deny it’s a great show. The character of Little Fan Xian, that sleazy Master, and the mysterious Uncle Wuzhu captured attention instantly. But calling it sci-fi is a stretch.”
“I don’t know what Haofang Culture was thinking. It’s a historical costume drama—adding sci-fi elements shouldn’t matter, even if it’s purely historical, it won’t stop us from checking in at Mingsha City.”
“Absolutely! Look at the announcement: Mingsha City is styled after Nanking Capital, packed with guesthouses and shops. With that alone, Nanking Capital will never lack tourists.”
“So what exactly is Mingsha City up to?”
In a business hotel in the Third Ring of Yan City,
the online influencer Gao Nan sat at his computer, reading the flood of comments online, a sly smile slowly curving his lips. Soon, he picked up his phone and dialed.
Beep beep beep. Moments later, the call connected.
“Chairman Chen, have you had any rest?”
Gao Nan said.
The call was directed to his secret boss, Chen Yuan.
“Not yet! What’s up?”
“This afternoon, I got a call from the court. They said Mingsha City has agreed to a public, live-streamed trial.”
Gao Nan replied quickly.
“Agreed?”
Chen Yuan hesitated before replying,
“Agreed! And today, Haofang Culture’s new drama premiered on Yan City TV—it’s drawing high ratings but also plenty of controversy! With the right news drop now, we could stir up quite a wave. Who knows, we might even ride the lawsuit buzz for extra exposure.”
Gao Nan glanced at his computer screen.
“That may be so, but are you absolutely sure? I can’t shake off a sense of foreboding—if Mingsha City dared agree, they surely had it well planned.”
Chen Yuan’s voice was laced with worry.
Ever since Mingsha City smoothly weathered the sandstorm and launched Wuzhuang Temple, in his eyes Mingsha City had reached an almost superhuman status.
If it weren’t for Gao Nan still wanting to push back,
he truly felt like giving up.
“Chairman Chen, I’ve got complete confidence this time! To be honest, I had a long chat with Lawyer Zhang Yida last time—I’ve never met a more reliable lawyer. With him in court, even if the other side has that so-called Zhang San, it won’t matter.”
Noting a trace of hesitation in Chairman Chen’s tone, Gao Nan smiled confidently.
He wasn’t just flattering or boasting!
He truly believed that the lawyer he hired was supremely reliable.