Chapter 552: Chapter 179: Identity! Orphan! The Old Emperor Passes Away! (A 10,000-word mega Chapter, please subscribe)_4
Watching Fan Wu leave, both the elderly pawnshop owner and the shop assistant looked as if a great burden had been lifted off their shoulders.
They both let out a heavy sigh of relief.
The weight that had been pressing on their hearts,
had finally disappeared.
"My goodness..." the pawnshop owner clutched the silver note worth a full five hundred taels, finding the sweat in his palm almost wetting the note. Frightened, he quickly spread it out and started blowing on it vigorously, trying to dry it.
After blowing on it several times, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself, "That’s the first time I’ve seen someone so terrifying. Just listening to him speak brought me such an oppressive feeling, as if I could hardly breathe."
He no longer doubted whether or not there was a necessary connection between Fan Wu and the suspicion of the Fu Clan’s downfall.
From this terrifying feeling, he was sure that only someone like this could be related to such an event!
...
"The Shangwu Dynasty..." The Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty was meeting Fan Wu for the second time. He muttered these four words and couldn’t help but ask, "Why do you inquire about this dynasty?"
Fan Wu simply shared the other reason for his visit to the Imperial City and also mentioned the incident at the pawnshop, but he didn’t reveal his identity from the jade pendant.
He merely informed the current Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty about the four characters "Shangwu Dynasty" engraved on the jade pendant.
"Oh?" The old Emperor suddenly nodded in realization, "No wonder I couldn’t detect the bloodline of the Great Zhou Dynasty in you. It turns out indeed you are not a subject of the Great Zhou but a person from the Shangwu Dynasty."
He explained, "As much as I don’t really want to admit it, I have to say that the Shangwu Dynasty was much larger than the Great Zhou Dynasty. Its territories were almost more than ten times that of Great Zhou."
"I remember that the royal family of the Shangwu Dynasty had the surname Fan, identical to yours. The existence of their dynasty preceded that of the Great Zhou Dynasty by a long margin."
"In fact, even if we combine the history of Great Zhou Dynasty and its preceding dynasty, it would not match the ancient history of the Shangwu Dynasty."
Having said this,
The old Emperor went on, "I can let someone provide you with books that record this dynasty for you to read, and I can also provide you with a map to examine. If one day you wish to return, you can use what you remember to avoid taking the wrong paths."
The old Emperor did not associate Fan Wu’s identity with the royal family of the Shangwu Dynasty, after all, there were far too many people with the surname Fan in the world.
Even within the Great Zhou Dynasty, there were probably over a million people bearing the surname Fan.
"Thank you," Fan Wu expressed his gratitude, and after a moment’s thought, he inquired, "Are you prepared?"
"Hmm?" The old Emperor was momentarily confused, "Prepared for what?"
Fan Wu glanced at the Emperor’s "Life" attribute and spoke directly to the point, "Yesterday, cleansing the Nanjun County Prince of his filth must have cost you a lot of energy, right?"
The old Emperor fell silent.
After a long time,
He smiled wryly, "My grandson could not see it, my son could not see it, and this morning at the court session, not a single minister or military general could see it."
"Who would have thought that it would be you, an outsider, who would notice at first glance."
The old Emperor lamented, "The existence that has misled my good grandson is somewhat beyond my expectation. But it doesn’t matter anymore; after all, I have already lived this long."
"I couldn’t always stick to this position forever, could I? Ha ha ha! Some preparations I made long ago, but sometimes the human heart is unpredictable."
"Just as I never imagined over thirty years ago that one of my grandsons would actually want to kill his own father and brothers."
"Soon, the Imperial Palace might... fall into chaos. But I believe the Crown Prince will handle it well."
Fan Wu calmly stated, "Perhaps the Imperial Palace is not the only place that will be thrown into chaos. Do you not feel that Great Zhou has now reached a point, a point that, once broken, would lead to great trouble?"
From Qiulong Temple all the way to the Great Zhou Imperial City,
Everything Fan Wu saw and heard along the way could prove that the Great Zhou Dynasty was now... just like the decayed old Emperor himself.
The Great Zhou had not yet descended into complete chaos, and Fan Wu felt it was because of the old Emperor’s support.
The old Emperor’s deterrence was immensely strong.
So strong that his mere presence as Emperor was enough to keep this decaying, broken ship afloat.
"In the end, I am just one person," the old Emperor shook his head and said, "I am not an Immortal God. To do this much in the final moments is already the limit of what I am capable of achieving."
"Future generations may call me a foolish ruler, only caring for my own blood relations and royal throne in the end, disregarding the entire realm and the common people."
"It doesn’t matter anymore. I am just such a terrible Emperor. My abilities only extend so far."
"Let them say what they will."
"Say what they will!"
In reality, there were only Fan Wu and the old Emperor in the palace chamber; they weren’t speaking loudly, so the palace maids, guards, and eunuchs outside couldn’t hear what was being discussed inside.
Fan Wu stayed a little longer, continuing to exchange a few more words with the old Emperor.
Then he left.
Before stepping out of this palace, Fan Wu paused for half a breath and, without turning back, said, "Master I may stay a bit longer in the Imperial City. However, since you have requested my assistance, you should be well prepared."
