Chapter 507
Chapter 507
And so, after a series of tumultuous events, Zhang Chong’s appointment as the Governor of Yan Province came to fruition. The next day, Zhang Chong left the capital to assume his post. The position had been destined for him nearly half a year ago, but in the end, it had taken a long and winding road to return to its starting point. Now, however, Zhang Chong’s status was completely different. He was no longer an official of the Zhu Faction. Though some had branded him a traitor to the Crown Prince’s Faction, after Zhu Hongzhu recommended him, Zhang Chong was cleared of this crime, becoming thoroughly neutral.
This was a kind of unspoken rule. Zhang Chong had originally grown close to Shen Lang and the Fifth Prince Ying Zheng's faction, but Zhu Hongzhu, with a masterful stroke, had gently pushed him away. From this day forward, Zhang Chong had no choice but to maintain absolute neutrality.
‘If you owe Shen Lang a debt for saving your life, you owe me, Zhu Hongzhu, a debt for not killing you, and another for recommending you. Zhang Chong, if you do not wish it, you may refuse the position of Governor of Yan Province. But accepting it is a tacit admission that you have drawn a line between yourself and Ying Zheng’s faction. We will not concern ourselves with your private association with Shen Lang, but you must never become politically entangled with him. If you accept, a place among the chancellors of the Department of State Affairs will one day be yours. If you do not, the Zhu Faction will crush you completely.’
If Zhu Hongzhu decided to strike, Zhang Chong would be powerless to resist; he would surely be destroyed. Shen Lang would not be able to save him. At best, the Duke of Wei Wu, Bian Wu, might be able to rescue him by overstepping his bounds. But Bian Wu would not risk offending the Zhu Clan for Zhang Chong’s sake, and even if he did save Zhang Chong, he could not save his political career. Zhang Chong had no other choice.
He was grateful to Shen Lang, and he considered him a confidant and a friend. But he would not abandon his own political ideals for Shen Lang’s sake. For that very reason, when Zhang Chong departed for Yan Province, Shen Lang did not go to see him off. Nor did Zhang Chong visit Shen Lang to bid farewell before leaving the capital. Though they remained friends in private, their political paths had once again become parallel lines. Shen Lang sighed inwardly.
‘The Chancellor is a true master. He moves without sound or trace, and his methods show no hint of contention. We never even fought, so I cannot even say that I have crossed swords with him.’
On the surface, Zhu Hongzhu showed no intention of targeting Shen Lang, but he had effortlessly cut off Zhang Chong's path to joining Ying Zheng’s faction. By getting close to Shen Lang, Zhang Chong could have become the sole high-ranking minister loyal to Ying Zheng—a remarkably capable and rare official at that. According to the original plan, the Crown Prince’s Faction should have attacked Zhang Chong relentlessly. Then, Shen Lang would have asked the king to protect him, and at a critical moment, Ying Zheng would have asked Bian Wu for help, prompting the Duke of Wei Wu to formally petition the king to send Zhang Chong to Yan Province. This would have completely severed Zhang Chong's ties with the Zhu and Crown Prince Factions. Since Bian Wu would have acted at Ying Zheng’s request, the governorship of Yan Province would have seemed like a gift from Ying Zheng, making him Zhang Chong’s savior. But Zhu Hongzhu had effortlessly thwarted that plan. More importantly, Shen Lang could neither defend against nor counter this move, because it had never been an attack on him in the first place.
* * *
The king knew that Shen Lang was feeling disheartened. The day after Zhang Chong’s departure, an official edict was issued.
With this, Ying Zheng had truly established his own administration, and the framework of his organization could be properly built.
* * *
In the Crown Prince’s residence.
Crown Prince Ying Yi was, as usual, fiddling with something in his hands. This time, the object was rather peculiar; it looked like some kind of bone. It was a relic, a gift from the Xuankong Temple. Something that should have been enshrined was instead being toyed with in the Crown Prince’s hands.
“Have you investigated thoroughly?”
Tuo Xiao'an said.
“It has been investigated clearly. The madman and those ten beggars all possess special bloodlines. Shen Lang used a method to activate their bloodlines, allowing their bodies to return to normal and enabling them to excel in the martial examination. It was not that they became so formidable through a month of training, but rather that they unleashed the power of their bloodlines that had accumulated over decades.”
The Registrar of the Crown Prince’s residence then asked.
“In that case, could we use this to suppress Shen Lang, branding them as remnants of Jiang Li’s faction?”
Tuo Xiao'an shook her head.
“We cannot! After the Tuo Clan was annihilated, the Great Yan Empire, on the contrary, completely relaxed its stance on this matter. Those with special bloodlines are no longer considered remnants of Jiang Li. They even released Zhong Chuke.”
The Registrar of the Crown Prince's residence asked.
“Does His Majesty, the Emperor of the Great Yan Empire, truly not care about this matter at all?”
Tuo Xiao'an said.
“The Tuo Clan was exterminated for being considered remnants of Jiang Li simply because they raised Tuo Yizhen. Since then, the Yan Emperor issued an edict. When Jiang Li rebelled, those with special bloodlines were still young and did not know right from wrong. The ignorant are without sin, so the nations of the world may employ them without worry.”
Not only that, but the masters of the world’s great and sacred organizations—Pavilion Master Zuo Ci of the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, the master of Xuankong Temple, and others—all vouched for those with special bloodlines and even recruited them. With these high-level figures protecting them, those with special bloodlines were finally able to shed the stigma of being traitors.
They were originally called "bloodline holders of Jiang Li's remnants," but now they were referred to as "those with special bloodlines." Otherwise, why would Pavilion Master Zuo Ci have accepted Go Duhwan (Tuo Yizhen) as a disciple in name? It was simply to state his position. Not just Zuo Ci, but many sacred organizations in the world accepted those with special bloodlines as disciples. Go Duhwan, being the one involved but at a much lower level, had always believed that the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion had taken notice of him because his innate talent was so exceptional when he became Zuo Ci's disciple in name. He was unaware that this was the collective will of several sacred organizations.
Xuankong Temple, Fudao Mountain, the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, Zhutian Tower, the White Jade Capital, and so on. With a slight move from these great powers, the identity of Jiang Li's remnant that Go Duhwan had been saddled with was instantly cleared. Consequently, the identities of the madman Nan and the ten Nan brothers could also be made public. The Tuo Clan, however, was a complete sacrifice. As a lucky survivor, Tuo Xiao'an was pitied by the sacred organizations, which gave her some compensation.
The madman Nan, being at the lowest rung of society, was completely unaware of the sympathies of the highest echelons. That was why he had feigned madness all this time, preventing his ten brothers from standing out for fear of a terrible disaster. Not only Go Duhwan, but Nampodo had also nearly died without knowing why, and the Zhong Clan had almost been implicated in treason. Thus, sometimes the truth that seems so close is, in fact, incredibly distant. Like a mirage in the desert, one can walk until death and never reach it.
The Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion was also like a mirage. To Shen Lang, it was a familiar place; the female scholar who worked there, Zhang Ogeum, was even on the verge of intimacy with him. Moreover, all the scholars at the Pavilion treated Shen Lang kindly, and he could come and go as he pleased. He had even sent the Shameless Tang Yan and Sword King Li Qianqiu's wife to the Pavilion for protection. Their relationship appeared very close, making the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion seem like Shen Lang’s ally or backer, but in reality, it was not so at all.
Pavilion Master Zuo Ci was like a god, high and aloof. He was like a figure in the clouds, completely untouchable. Shen Lang now understood why Zuo Ci was not on the list of the Six Great Grandmasters of Yue. Because being one of the Six Great Grandmasters was an honor and a rule, but Zuo Ci himself was one of the people who made the rules. Just because someone treats you kindly does not mean it is from the heart.
How illustrious was the Tuo Clan in the past? Tuo Guangfu was the Grand General of Pacifying the South; their power at the time surpassed even that of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. Yet they were extinguished without a sound, as if crushed by a finger. The annihilation of the once-glorious Tuo Clan overnight became an absolute secret in the State of Yue, seeming to hide a deep and bottomless dark conspiracy.
In the past, Go Duhwan and Tuo Xiao'an had imagined countless enemies in their minds. They had endlessly speculated about what grand conspiracy might be at play. But do you know who was responsible for the destruction of the Tuo Clan? Princess Ying Han. She, Zhu Hongxue, and a certain prince of the Great Yan Empire were studying an ancient text unearthed by the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. It was then that she saw Go Duhwan. At the time, Tuo Yizhen's body and face were twisted, and having found no cause, he had been sent to the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. With a single glance, Ying Han determined that he was one of the special bloodline holders under Jiang Li, and that his body was twisted because his power was too great but had no outlet. At Ying Han's single remark, the prince of the Great Yan Empire immediately annihilated the Tuo Clan. At that, Princess Ying Han had spoken up angrily.
“There are so many war refugees and so many with special bloodlines. Are you going to kill them all?”
Princess Ying Han then went to her master, Zuo Ci. After Zuo Ci met with the masters of other sacred organizations, these high-level figures all made a collective statement of their will, each accepting individuals with special bloodlines as disciples in name. Afterward, the Yan Emperor formally issued an edict declaring that those with such special bloodlines were innocent. The destruction of the Tuo Clan was due to a careless word from Ying Han, and their later vindication was also due to a word from her.
When Tuo Xiao'an learned the truth about her family's destruction, she despaired. Finding the culprit behind her family’s ruin only brought her more pain. There had been no conspiracy in her family's downfall; the glorious and powerful Tuo Clan was as insignificant as an ant in the eyes of those giants, easily crushed with a single finger. A careless footstep had trampled her entire family to death. After lifting the foot and seeing the countless ant corpses, a flicker of kindness arose in that person's heart, and so the lucky few surviving ants were allowed to live on.
Therefore, Tuo Xiao'an no longer thought of revenge; she only scrambled desperately to climb higher. Because she had seen the true face of the one who held the ultimate power in this world. She had come to deeply understand that among all of King Ning Yuanxian’s children, there was only one who truly held power that could blot out the sky: Princess Ying Han. Though she had never appeared before the world, everyone knew of her. She was the direct disciple of Pavilion Master Zuo Ci, and her master was one of the few who set the rules of the world.