Chapter 817: Chapter 71 Changle
The Eastern Palace was named Changle, serving as the residence of the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince’s Pavilion.
Following the old practice, the Crown Prince also had a group of civil servants to handle some political affairs.
It was only right for the Crown Prince to share the nation’s concerns.
Just like the previous Crown Prince, Jiang Wuliang, he was even directly involved in the royal court and made his moves across the realm.
Political Affairs Hall, Military Affairs Hall—all state affairs could not bypass him. Even during the struggle for dominance with Qi Xia, his opinions contradicted those of Emperor Qi, and disputes over whether to engage in war or peace were at a stalemate across the court and political circles...
Of course, everyone knew the final outcome.
However, the current Crown Prince, Jiang Wuhua, indulged in laziness, unlike his predecessors. He avoided responsibilities whenever possible, resolutely steering clear of affairs not managed by the Eastern Palace, and absolutely shunned handling ambiguous matters, dealing with mandated political affairs only reluctantly. Although he managed them exceedingly well, his responsibilities were few and light, showing hardly any achievements.
The entire Eastern Palace was just like him; barely handling a few proper matters throughout the year. He could be said to be the Crown Prince with the weakest presence since the establishment of Qi Country.
No wonder his brothers and sisters rose up one after another, each vying for his position as heir. Jiang Wuyou, Jiang Wuji, Jiang Wuqi, which of them wasn’t exceptional? They had talent, they had methods, and each had their own support as well.
As for Crown Prince Jiang Wuhua, his talents, aptitude, and handling of affairs were not at all remarkable, and even his maternal family was very ordinary. The He Family had little to no influence. When Jiang Wuliang was deposed, his mother, Empress Yin, was demoted to the cold palace and died of depression within a year.
The emperor likely appointed the unremarkable He Zhen as the queen to balance the influence of the external families.
The He Family was too ordinary; among a hundred noble families in Linyi, the He Family would not even be listed. The only brother of Queen He, He Fu, was mediocre in his capabilities, and the next generation, He Zhen, was only good at trifling with birds and dogs... providing no support whatsoever.
Jiang Wuhua seemed to have secured his early advantage and position as the eldest only because he was born earliest after Jiang Wuliang was deposed.
But what kind of advantage is "being born early, being older"? There’s still an older one trapped in the Blue Stone Palace!
The waters of Linyi City run deep, everyone scheming for their own agendas. Countless undercurrents clash beneath the surface. Until the waters recede and the rocks emerge, no one can see the outcome clearly.
At this moment, Jiang Wuhua was holding a sharp, gleaming pair of large scissors, trimming the branches in the garden.
His movements were slow and meticulous, paying great attention to every detail.
A beardless eunuch stood behind him, slightly leaning forward to whisper, "The man from Qingyang Town returned from the Warm Jade Pavilion without success, likely unable to come to an agreement. However, it seems that he achieved a favorable result at Hua Ying Palace. There has been no movement from the Long Life Palace; it seems like the eleventh prince has no intention of contacting the man from Qingyang Town. Nevertheless, the Lei Family is quite interested in him. As you instructed, to gather information without revealing ourselves, we couldn’t obtain more detailed reports."
He spoke quickly but clearly, "The Blue Stone Palace still remains silent, with not even a sound. In my humble opinion, Your Highness, you really don’t need to..."
He stopped speaking.
Because Jiang Wuhua’s large scissors had stopped, and he was looking at him.
"I only listen; you only observe. There’s no need for opinions, no need for thoughts, and no need to tell me what you or others think."
"Do you understand?" he asked.
The eunuch swallowed, "... Yes."
Jiang Wuhua wore no stern or imposing expression while speaking those words; even the muscles on his face were completely relaxed, without any aggression.
But who could ignore his opinion?
Hearing the eunuch’s response, Jiang Wuhua nodded in satisfaction, then took a good look at the branches in front of him, pausing to decide before continuing to wield his scissors.
The eunuch stood by, motionless.
It was unclear how much time passed when Jiang Wuhua’s nose suddenly twitched.
He smiled happily, "My soup is ready!"
Handing the large scissors to the eunuch, Jiang Wuhua instructed warmly, "Continue pruning, and make sure it satisfies the Crown Princess Consort. There must be no mistakes. Set aside other matters for now; this is the most important."
Then, with light steps, he turned and walked toward the direction of the dining hall, alone.
It seemed that the Blue Stone Palace, Hua Ying Palace, Yangxin Palace, and Long Life Palace were all less important than the soup he was brewing.
...
...
Upon returning to Qi Country, Jiang Wang was rushing and only hurriedly attempted the land of blessings challenge on the fifteenth of February, hastily retreating after a defeat.
From the fortieth-ranked land of blessings, the Pot Mountain, he fell back to the forty-first-ranked Discussion Mountain.
This direct slide was something Jiang Wang had grown accustomed to. Sparring with the strong was delightful. Under the premise of no life-threatening danger, it was an extreme pleasure for someone with his great aspirations. Of course, achieving victory was even more satisfying.
Whenever he had the time, he would not miss a battle. His only concern was the possibility of falling from the land of blessings, no longer having such opportunities. Fortunately, within the Taixu Illusion Realm, there are seventy-two lands of blessings, offering some leeway to fall back on.
The monthly challenge of the land of blessings in the Taixu Illusion Realm hardly ever gave him a chance to win. Unlike at the Discussion Platform, where he had aggressively progressed, finally breaking into the top one hundred, ranking ninety-sixth.
Worth mentioning is that Zuo Guangshu is currently ranked sixty-fourth in the Inner Mansion Realm of the Taixu Illusion Realm.
Jiang Wang believed that if he were to fully unleash his combat power, he would be significantly stronger than Zuo Guangshu, and advancing into the top thirty should not pose a problem given enough time.
However, he had no idea how many cultivators of the Inner Mansion Realm the Taixu Illusion Realm had absorbed, nor what level of strength that represented in the eyes of the entire modern world.
Because rankings after the hundredth place were not displayed, perhaps only those behind the Taixu Illusion Realm knew the answer.
During this period, Jiang Wang had faintly sensed some subtle and profound changes occurring within the Taixu Illusion Realm, yet if he attempted a detailed investigation, he could not pinpoint what exactly had changed. But it was certainly no illusion.
It was impossible to keep the existence of the Taixu Illusion Realm a secret from everyone; however, the attitudes of the major powers were quite ambiguous. None promoted it openly, nor did any explicitly oppose it. Figures from backgrounds like Zuo Guangshu and Zhongxuan Sheng were vague in their discussions about the realm.
Perhaps it would not be long before changes would occur.
And Jiang Wang was quite looking forward to such changes.
After completing his daily cultivation routines, Jiang Wang continued to focus his mind on information related to the Near Sea Archipelago, seeking to forge a new path to rescue Zhu Bijing.
The difficulty of this task was immense. Even with the help of Jiang Wuji and Zhongxuan Sheng, the chances of success were extremely slim.
A hundred percent effort for a one percent yield.
While he was pondering, a hubbub erupted in the outer courtyard.
Considering this was Zhongxuan Sheng’s Xia Shan Villa, such noise was unusual.
With curiosity, Jiang Wang pushed open the door and heard from a distance the voice of Zhongxuan Sheng’s uncle, the eldest son of the Marquis of Bowang, Zhongxuan Mingguang.
"These widows and orphans have sought us out, and our Chongxuan Family cannot ignore them. Where is Xiaosheng? Where is he? Call him out! Does the Marquis of Bowang’s mansion allow others to challenge our spine?"
Ignoring capabilities and morals, Zhongxuan Mingguang indeed looked imposing.
He was quite old and his cultivation had not kept up, but he was still exceptionally dashing. His attire and accessories were impeccable, and every strand of hair was meticulously styled.
Even his voice sounded rich and added a touch of intimacy. Those unfamiliar with him would find it hard not to trust him upon their first meeting.
As Jiang Wang approached, he saw a large crowd of the weak, elderly, and women ensconced in the courtyard, children crying, elders howling; each seemed more miserable than the last, creating a distressing scene.
One complained of hunger, another wept with a desire to die, while others claimed they were being driven to death and so on.
An uninformed bystander might even assume Zhongxuan Sheng had committed some outwardly disgraceful act like desecrating the graves of extinct families.
And there stood Zhongxuan Mingguang among these people, repeatedly stating, "The Chongxuan Family will stand up for you," clearly signifying bad intentions.
Two doormen stood to the side with troubled expressions, clearly not daring to block the eldest son of the Marquis of Bowang.
After listening for a while, Jiang Wang roughly understood the situation.
After Wang Yiwu was expelled from Linyi City, Zhongxuan Zun’s operations were heavily disrupted. Inevitably, some people were left without something to lean on, losing their livelihood.
This was not an issue. If there was no work, then finding new employment was the solution. Could a person with hands and feet starve to death in Linyi?
Moreover, who would dare to trouble the Chongxuan Family?
It was obvious without further probing that Zhongxuan Mingguang had sinister intentions, having orchestrated these people’s family members into pressuring Zhongxuan Sheng for an explanation. Clearly, he aimed to severely damage Zhongxuan Sheng’s reputation.
Such tactics were extremely crude. Yet looking at Zhongxuan Mingguang, who seemed to think the situation was well within his grasp and appeared quite pleased with himself, he evidently believed he was controlling the situation.
Jiang Wang, initially worried that something serious had occurred, felt relieved upon seeing Zhongxuan Mingguang. Observing the chaotic scene, he even felt a laugh rising.
Such a trivial problem, how could it be difficult to deal with?
Zhongxuan Sheng seemed to feel similarly, as he burst angrily into the courtyard from another door, beaming upon seeing his uncle.
"Uncle is busy managing countless affairs daily, making I don’t know how many formal visits. What brings you to my Xia Shan Villa today?"
Zhongxuan Sheng’s words implicitly contained barbs, subtly mocking Zhongxuan Mingguang for doing nothing more important daily than keeping Zhongxuan Yun Bo happy.
Unfortunately, Zhongxuan Mingguang seemed oblivious to the sarcasm and looked at his hefty nephew earnestly, "A-Sheng, this matter could be big or small, you must handle it well. Uncle doesn’t want to intervene, but you youngsters are too worrying! It’s not me criticizing you—those businesses were well managed; why dismantle them so suddenly? Even dismantling is fine, young people will compete, uncle won’t comment. But how can you leave people with no way out? Who will respect and trust the Chongxuan family in future?"
Zhongxuan Mingguang might not be good at much, but he certainly had a knack for saying the right things at the right moment, probably because he was accustomed to social interactions from a young age.
"Uncle’s reprimand is just," Zhongxuan Sheng showed no irritation, smilingly responding, "I wonder why these people have gathered today, trying to force me into doing something?"
He stood there like a small mountain, "Feel free to speak up."
Though the voice was light.
With that said, suddenly in the entire courtyard, the crying, noise-making, and clamor, all fell silent.
Such was the prestige of Young Master Zhongxuan.
