Sovereign Of The Three Realms Chapter 1-5

 

Sovereign Of The Three Realms

(SOTR)

Chapter 1: Son of the Celestial Emperor, Reincarnation and Rebirth

 Jiang Chen felt like his brains were made of mush - as if he was in a dream, but this felt much more real than that. Every inch of skin, every bone in his body cried out in agony.

“Am I dead? Am I suffering through the fires of purgatory that burn in hell?” Jiang Chen’s first instinct was that he was dead, but the tenuous hint of breath in his body seemed to remind him otherwise - that he was still alive.

After who knew how long, Jiang Chen suddenly forced his eyes open with a struggle, but found himself in a coffin.

In a coffin? Then, I’m really dead? Jiang Chen became depressed.

“How laughable. I, Jiang Chen, son of the Celestial Emperor, was born with a yin constitution and thus could not practice martial dao. Even when father refined the Sun Moon Pill so that I could enjoy life as long as the heavens exist, I still became father’s burden and succumbed to my death when the cataclysm descended from the heavens….”

“Eh? What’s going on with my meridians? There’s true qi flowing through them?! It’s quite weak… wait! This… this isn’t my body, this is definitely not my body! I was born with a yin constitution, so how could I have true qi present in my body?”

“And, if I was truly dead, how could there be true qi flowing through my body?” It was as if an electrical jolt passed through Jiang Chen’s brain as he laid in the coffin. At the same time, he realized that the body lying in the coffin didn’t belong to him.

“This… what is this? Whose body is this?” This unexpected discovery brought both surprise and joy to him. He quickly discovered a few fragments of memory in the body.

“This body’s owner was also named Jiang Chen? The son of the duke of the Jiang Han province in the Eastern Kingdom? The name is right, but this is obviously not me! I am the son of the almighty Celestial Emperor - how did I become the scion of such a mundane kingdom?” Jiang Chen’s mind was filled with questions.

“Did I really die in the cataclysm? Is this the reincarnation referred to in legends? The heavens were shattered and the wheel of life smashed... I should’ve been annihilated in the cataclysm with no hope of traveling along the wheel of life! So this means… I’ve really reincarnated?” Jiang Chen finally confirmed this new reality after perusing the fragments from the past Jiang Chen’s consciousness.

“To think that I was the exalted son of the Celestial Emperor in my past life, yet was barred from cultivating due to my yin constitution. Yet, now that I’ve reincarnated into the son of the duke of such a humdrum kingdom, I’ve gained the potential to train... Oh the irony!”

“The heavens were shattered and order crumbled… I, Jiang Chen, lived a million years in vain in my past life. Although I died with the sun and moon, I couldn’t offer any help when the cataclysm arrived. A yin constitution cannot train, and thus is doomed to always be at the mercy of others. My fate was like that of a floating speck of dust - easily dispelled as the wind blew.”

Jiang Chen grew somber, lost in his thoughts as he thought of the treatment he’d suffered in his past life, and of his father who had developed the Sun Moon Pill at such a great cost, so that his son’s mortal body could enjoy life as long as the sun and moon’s.

He knew that this life and death separation was possibly an eternal farewell!

Even though he’d lived a million years, even though he possessed great intelligence - when he thought of his father the Celestial Emperor painstakingly taking care of him, hot tears still spilled out of his eyes.

He knew, the heavens were shattered. Even if one were as almighty as the Celestial Emperor, it was almost impossible to survive the cataclysm. Jiang Chen became upset as his thoughts traveled to the end of this path.

However, it was as if a bolt of thunder crashed into his soul when his soul touched upon his body’s meridians. It was like a man dying of thirst finding a sweet spring! The slowly moving true qi was so weak, weak to the point of almost flickering out. But it was this fragile hint of true qi that stoked his flames of life and swept away those depressing thoughts.

“Train? Heh, cultivated! This was once a ludicrous thought for someone with a yin constitution like mine. I couldn’t train in my past life, but never acceded to fate. Now that I have gained the potential to train due to reincarnation, is this not an opening that the door of fate has cracked open for me?”

“I was the exalted son of the Celestial Emperor, and held charge of the Tianlang Library for millions of years. I have perused countless books and scrolls. I was familiar with all disciplines and methods of training. I was unparalleled and renowned for the accomplishments in my dao of alchemy, but my knowledge was forever halted and just theoretical, at an abstract level. Now that I have gained the ability to train thanks to reincarnation, what cause have I to fear? For what reason would I, Jiang Chen, bow my head in defeat?” Jiang Chen felt a weight lift off his shoulders as he explored this line of reasoning.

Those negative emotions he had slowly disappeared. He felt that this reincarnation was a turning point that would interminably change his life! Indeed, from the perspective of Jiang Chen’s past life, the identity of the son of an ordinary noble was completely inconsequential. But even the lowliest person possessed one quality that he did not in his past life, and that was the qualification to cultivate!

The qualification to cultivate was like the starting line of a race.

Although he was an eminent person in his past life, as lofty as dragons and phoenixes, he could only watch on the sidelines. Now, despite his commonness in his current life, despite being like an ant, he had the qualification to step up to the starting line and take his place.

The path of training was ceaseless and boundless. As long as one had good fortune, one could transform and become all powerful. Even wings could be stuck onto ants for them to soar in the heavens! And now, an opportunity had come!

Son of the Celestial Emperor, Keeper of the Tianlang Library. He had devoted his millions years of life almost entirely to studying. It would be no exaggeration to say that he was a walking encyclopedia and grasped the world’s knowledge.

His belly full of theories spanning from the divine heavens to common dirt, there was no topic that Jiang Chen was unfamiliar with. Although Jiang Chen could not train in the many boring years in his past life, he loved to take in disciples and conduct experiments with them, testing out one theory or another. He’d lost track of how many prodigies he’d created in his lifetime.

What was opportunity?

He had reincarnated with the memories of the son of the Celestial Emperor, and had gained the body of the unfortunate dukedom heir Jiang Chen. Those experiments he had conducted on his disciples could finally now be acted out with his own hands!

This was opportunity!

Jiang Chen could hardly contain himself. At this moment, a striking crash sounded, as if something had slipped and cracked.

Crash!

“Jiang Ying, figure it out! Find out at all costs!” Jiang Feng, the duke of Jiang Han, furiously smashed a vase, almost wishing to burn down the kingdom in his rage.

“Your Lordship, we already have a clue.” Jiang Ying spoke respectfully, dressed from head to toe in black. “Although the young master was not diligent in training, he was still a fighter of the true qi level. His control over his body would be absolute. In the face of such an important occasion, he would not have lost control and passed gas.”

“Then, someone is behind all this? Someone intentionally wanted to embarrass Chen’er during the Rites of Heavenly Worship, so that he would enrage the king and be executed?” Jiang Feng’s tone had descended to a dangerous point.

“The young master ate breakfast with friends at the Autumn Crane this morning. I did not discover anything when I investigated Autumn Crane, but found traces of “Three Laugh Powder” in the young master’s body.”

Three Laugh Powder?

Jiang Feng’s face darkened, how would he not know what “Three Laugh Powder” was? This item cleared up a person’s internal passages. While it did not have any side effects, it would cause a person’s qi to sink through their body, and be emitted from all parts of the body. His son’s damnable gas expulsion that enraged the king during the Rites of Heavenly Worship was not out of nowhere, it was definitely due to this “three laugh powder”.

“It seems that instead of being a coincidence, this was a devious, premeditated plot!” Jiang Feng easily came to this conclusion after connecting the dots.

“Your Lordship, here is a list of whom the young master had breakfast with. However, they are all sons of other dukes, so it will be difficult to find out who is responsible.” Jiang Ying was Jiang Feng’s right hand man, and his most valued and loyal vassal.

“Go, go thoroughly investigate this matter! Even if I lose my dukedom, even if I am torn asunder, I will not idly sit by when my son has been killed!”

Jiang Feng didn’t believe the crap of absolute obedience to one’s overlord. Utter drivel!

Generations of the Jiang family had been loyal, but not stupidly loyal.

The Jiang family had toiled ceaselessly for the Eastern Kingdom royal family for generations, defending the land, fighting in wars and steadfastly holding their stations. They had won their sole dukedom at high cost, but now his only son was unceremoniously caned to death?

A vassal had no need to be loyal if the overlord was not kind. If it came down to it, rebellion then! It felt as if a volcano was on the verge of erupting in his chest whenever Jiang Feng thought of King Eastern Lu’s cold expression as he gave the order to kill; the sight of his enemies gloating in that moment, or the son that had been beaten beyond recognition as he lay in his coffin.

He itched to immediately return to his territory and stampede into the capital with hundreds of thousands under his banner, to let rivers of blood flow in the streets! Upon hearing these words, combined with the vague memories left in the body, Jiang Chen roughly understood what had happened.

It turned out that the original owner of this body had the unfortunate timing to fart during the Rites of Heavenly Worship!

These rites were hosted by the most sacred temple in the country, and attended by the king and all 108 Eastern Kingdom nobles in order to pray for King Eastern Lu’s beloved daughter. The king and his nobles had commenced many preparations before the rites were held, such as forgoing meat, bathing, and changing into fresh clothes, as well as burning lavender incense. In other words - everyone had cleaned up nicely, and was striving for perfection in order to convince the heavens of their sincerity to succeed in obtaining blessings.

Everything was proceeding smoothly at first.

But just as the king and his nobles had kowtowed on the temple steps in prayer, Jiang Chen let out an earsplitting fart. One had to know that kowtowing in prayer was the most important part of the entire rite. Absolute silence needed to be maintained during this part. This was how one could communicate with the gods and demonstrate their devotion.

However, Jiang Chen’s fart rudely broke this silence and shattered this dignified gathering.

Everyone knew that farts were comprised of unhealthy gas and were extremely unsound. If this had happened during a regular occasion, it would have been simply passed over as everyone else held their breath. However, Jiang Chen’s regrettable fart was smelly and long. It was an affront to the gods! The high priest in charge of the rite’s proceedings was appalled and started cursing loudly, as if the fart had destroyed the pillar of the world and was causing the sky to cave in.

This aroused the great wrath of King Eastern Lu, as he doted on his beloved daughter so, and he called for the guards to drag Jiang Chen away and beat him to death! Even then, his anger was not abated and he gave the order to hang Jiang Chen’s corpse on the city wall for vultures and scavengers to pick on. Jiang Chen wouldn’t even have had a body left if the kingdom’s nobles didn’t persuade the king otherwise, pointing out that openly displaying a corpse was vulgar and uncivilized, and would adversely impact the kingdom’s fortunes.

 

Chapter 2: Supportive father, loyal friends

Jiang Chen had finally figured out the who, why, when, where and how of the entire situation after some careful organization of the facts. He also knew why the previous Jiang Chen died.

“Alright! Looks like this past Jiang Chen died quite a luckless death. Death because of farting? This king of the Eastern Kingdom is quite a character. Rites of Heavenly Worship? Heh. I, the vaunted son of the Celestial Emperor, have encountered many rituals in my time, but never have I heard of obtaining heaven’s blessing via a fresh shower, new clothes, and a few sticks of incense. There is at least order under heaven. Those who are benevolent are rewarded in kind, and those who are not are punished. Ah, forget it. I have been handed this opportunity thanks to this tyrant killing Jiang Chen.”

Jiang Chen sighed as he lay in the coffin, feeling a multitude of feelings. While he was outraged on the past Jiang Chen’s behalf, he couldn’t help but be secretly delighted that he himself had reincarnated.

Except, he had also clearly heard the conversation between the two. One of them was the past Jiang Chen’s father, or rather, his current father.

Seeing this life’s father flying into an awe inspiring rage, ready to erupt into full blown rebellion at any second, warmed Jiang Chen’s heart. It gave him a sense of déjà vu to witness this kind of fatherly love and doting.

“Who would have thought that I would be so lucky to have an unconditionally supportive father in both my past and present lives. Although this duke of Jiang Han is a pillar of the kingdom, he is willing to rebel for a son unjustly killed. He is a man of courage and uprightness.”

Perhaps it was due to the blood ties between this body and Jiang Feng. Whatever it was, Jiang Chen felt very warmly disposed towards Jiang Feng as a father at first glance.

At least he wasn’t a timid, stupidly loyal subject.

And of course Jiang Chen wouldn’t let the situation get out of hand and develop towards rebellion.

Although it could be deeply satisfying to rebel against one’s overlord for a noble cause, it was a quick way to die when one considered the big picture. Not to mention that Jiang Feng wasn’t on home ground at the moment.

And even if he was, even if he rallied a million troops, it was hopelessly futile to think of a duke prevailing against an entire kingdom.

Jiang Chen was the son of the Celestial Emperor in his past life and widely educated. He understood well the meaning of “those with noble morals need not rush brashly into seeking revenge”, and would definitely prevent the father of his current life from committing such a brainless action.

It was true that he was the son of the Celestial Emperor in his past life.

But in this life, the identity of his past life was nothing but hot air!

If his father Jiang Feng rebelled and the royal family reacted accordingly, how could anyone escape unscathed? Jiang Chen had finally taken control of a new body when he reincarnated, he didn’t want to croak after he woke up.

Therefore, when he saw that his father was ready to leave behind a trail of blood at a moment’s notice, Jiang Chen couldn’t resist the urge to give a quiet “eurgh”. It was a sound that promptly froze Jiang Feng where he stood.

Jiang Feng had become completely petrified as he stared unblinkingly at Jiang Chen’s body lying in the coffin. The fierce rage in his eyes transformed into strong fatherly love in a blink of an eye.

A father’s love is like a mountain, and Jiang Feng almost launched himself into a flying leap like a tiger as he rushed to grab Jiang Chen’s hand. “Chen’er, you… you’re not dead?”

Although the face was a stranger’s face, this fatherly love was so akin to the one he’d experienced in his past life that Jiang Chen was no stranger to it.

“Father, I have dragged you down with me.”

At that moment, Jiang Feng was wholly immersed in the joy of regaining the son he’d lost. Who gave a crap about the flood of great changes following his son?

“Nonsense! You are my son, the son of Jiang Feng, how could you have dragged me down? Everything is so wonderful because you have not died Chen’er! So what if you farted? The daughter of that Eastern Lu contracted an incurable disease, as if holding some rites would cure that? If worshipping the heavens would heal all terminal illnesses, what use are doctors then?”

“And, his precious daughter’s life is important, but is my son’s life not equally so? Just because he held rites to beg mercy from heaven means that my son is to be caned to death for an accidental fart?”

Jiang Feng didn’t bother to hide from his son the fires of bitter anger in his belly. He even dared to call the king of the Eastern Kingdom by his name.

It would seem that this duke of Jiang Han was truly angered. Jiang Chen was certain that if he had truly died, Jiang Feng would have certainly rebelled.

This was a man who was willing to blast holes in the sky for his son.

“It’s not a bad thing to have this kind of father.” Jiang Chen’s positive impression towards this father had increased even more.

“Don’t be afraid Chen’er. Now that you’ve woken up, you will never suffer again for as long as I have breath in my body. I will contact the nobles that we are friendly with and petition that Eastern Lu to pardon those random, absurd crimes you were charged with.”

Defilement of the sacred altar, debasement of the holy temple, blasphemy against the gods, destroyer of the Rites of Heavenly Worship!

If these crimes were not cleared, they would cause no end of trouble for Jiang Chen, even if he’d come back from the dead.

At the same time, Jiang Chen knew that he could not have crimes hanging over his head if he was to live in this Eastern Kingdom in the future.

“Father, let’s not be in a rush to clear my name. The Eastern family is thoroughly enraged at the moment. We can visit after a few days when his anger has abated. I’ve already been caned once, surely he won’t forget his dignity as a king and cane me again?” Jiang Chen had a lot of ways to handle the situation at hand. He was in no rush as he needed time to get used to this new identity and feel at home in this new body.

Jiang Feng was about to respond when some sounds registered in his ears. “Chen’er, lie down, someone’s coming,” he said quietly.

Jiang Chen did so with resignation as his revival from death was simply too abrupt. This would be heaven shaking news if anyone saw him. His father was asking him to keep up the being dead cover for now.

Alright, with this coffin as a cover, playing dead was the easiest thing in this world.

“Brother Chen, you died so needlessly!” The footsteps were far away, but this wailing cry had quite a strong piercing quality to it.

The rolling sound of footsteps accompanied this mournful howl.

Yes, rolling.

The person who was arriving – well, it would be more apt to call the person a meatball. The fleshy figure was almost the same width in all directions, and his body presented perfect curves, forming a meaty meatball.

The meatball had never been ashamed of his body, but was rather proud of it instead. He had once proclaimed that out of all 108 nobles, he was neither the most bravehearted and loyal nor the most intellectual and strategic, but that no one could rob his number one ranking for weight.

It was quite a feat for someone to have such a unique body, but his father had taken it one step further and given him an exceedingly feminine name – Xuan Xuan.

Two young men, roughly the same age, followed closely behind the meatball. Both of them wore tragic expressions of grief; it was apparent that they had come to pay their respects to Jiang Chen.

The meatball was out in front and strode quickly to the side of the coffin. With his bulk planted so firmly, no one else could even come close and could only hover in the background.

The meatball wiped away tears with one hand and continuously fished out things with his other, tossing them into the brazier already burning paper money as he did so.

“Brother Chen, this was your favorite, illustrated version of the Carnal Prayer Mat. I was self-centered before and refused to lend it to you. Now that you are gone and I have lost a fellow hobbyist, what use is this to me? I’m burning this to you so that you can read it down below if you’re bored. Remember, don’t be selfish like me. Sharing is caring.”

“And, this is a note for ten thousand silver. You were the one who resolved things with ten thousand silver the last time I gave in to my urges and accidentally got that girl pregnant. My dad would have immediately beaten me to death if he found out, but I never even got the chance to return this money to you…”

The meatball cried buckets of tears and snot as he grew even more broken hearted as he cried. He lay there on the floor, pounding the floor in great sorrow after burning the items.

Jiang Chen laid at ease in the coffin and made no sound. He also wanted to use this opportunity to observe these best friends.

Fatty Xuan Xuan was undoubtedly the most loyal, staunchest supporter of them all.

“Ah brother Chen, I am fine. However, that old Eastern Lu caned you to death. I do hereby swear that if I, fatty, ever inherit my old man’s Jinshan dukedom, I will never send a single soldier or horse to fight for that Eastern family’s cause for the rest of my life!”

At this moment the fatty turned around to glare at those behind him, heckling at them, “You there, are you best friends with brother Chen? Do you view brother Chen as a brother? Come swear before his memorial tablet if you do!”

The stalwart, dependable looking young man retorted back, “Fatty, do you think you’re the only one with loyalty? That I, the heir to Hubing dukedom, is lesser than you?”

With that, the young man also rushed to the altar and swore, “Brother Chen, I, Hubing Yue, do so swear that if I inherit the Hubing dukedom in the future, I will never send a single soldier or horse to fight for the Eastern family’s cause for the rest of my life!”

Seeing that the two had already sworn a solemn oath, that left the remaining splendidly dressed youth at a bit of loose ends.

“Yang Zong, is brother Chen your brother or not?” The meatball started to grow angry as he saw the richly dressed youth hesitate.

“Have you forgotten that it was brother Chen who stood up for you when you were bullied by Yan Yiming, the heir to the Yanmen dukedom, after arriving at the capital?”

“And that time when you failed to complete your mission to cultivate spirit level medicine ingredients, it was brother Chen who used his extra portion to fill in the gap for you. Did you know that because he gave part of his portion to you, his grade of excellent was changed to average?” The fatty’s anger grew as he spoke, until he was about ready to spring up, grab the richly dress youth’s collar and punch him.

Memories started fleshing out for Jiang Chen as fatty Xuan spoke. He was able to gradually reconcile the people before him with those in his memories.

Just as fatty Xuan started haranguing the other, quick footsteps sounded as the Jiang family butler came to the door. “Master Jiang, His Majesty the King has arrived with other nobles in order to pay his respects to the young master.”

“Pay his respects?” Fatty Xuan was livid. “Is he shedding crocodile tears? Does he think burning a few sticks of incense will cover up the fact that he beat someone to death?”

Fatty Xuan could afford to be so brash. After all, Jiang Feng was a duke of the kingdom and could not engage in the same theatrics. Given that his son was not dead, he too was deliberating how to handle the aftermath.

His son’s life and position must be protected at all costs. This was Jiang Feng’s bottom line.

Jiang Feng was quite aware that as king, Eastern Lu would not feel apologetic about killing a noble’s son. One had to be coldhearted in order to reign as a monarch.

What he meant by paying his respects was undoubtedly a complete sham. An act that, on a deeper level, was to sound out Jiang Feng and warn him not to act rashly.

Obviously, Eastern Lu had no fear of Jiang Feng hating him, or even rebelling. However, as the ruler of a kingdom, he did not wish for such a thing to happen.

After all, who knew what other situations may develop if civil unrest began. And in fact, Jiang Feng had a few connections in the Eastern Kingdom.

Chapter 3: Can’t take a hint, thrash them brutally

The duke’s manor had become quite lively with this development.

King Eastern Lu had arrived in person with an entourage accompanying him. Although there weren't that many, only seven or eight people, they included other dukes as well as royal officials. The most surprising fact was that the king had brought his sickly daughter with him, Eastern Zhiruo.

One had to give it to them, these dukes and officials were top of the line actors. From the king to the dukes, each one bore an expression more tragic than the last.

As if the Jiang Chen lying in the coffin was a child of their family.

Jiang Feng was expressionless as he woodenly returned the visitors’ greetings. If playacting was what they wanted, then playacting they would receive.

However, when Eastern Zhiruo stepped up to light her incense sticks, the sickly girl said in a quiet voice, “Big brother Jiang Chen, I’m sorry, you were drawn into this situation because Zhiruo is so useless. But don’t worry, Zhiruo will personally apologize to you if there is another world after death. When we are there you are free to hit me, yell at me, or do whatever. Father held the Rites to pray for me, so your death is Zhiruo’s fault. I hope the heavens can understand and blame Zhiruo alone; not my royal father, nor my kingdom’s citizens…”

Although the little girl spoke in halting bursts, even while she lacked the proper amount of breath to do so, she was sincere and quite serious. These words caused the nobles who were acting up a storm to feel slightly ashamed at their actions.

Even fatty Xuan found it hard to hate her, and he hated the Eastern royals with a passion.

“I say Princess Zhiruo, the guy’s dead already, there’s no point in saying all this. If you really feel guilty, then marry my brother Chen when you’re down there. He was not qualified to be your consort when alive, but dead...! Heh! Oh yes, my brother Chen loves a nice butt. In terms of body, he…”

No one could shut fatty Xuan’s mouth once he’d started speaking. His words completely incensed Eastern Lu. You damn fatty, are you cursing my daughter to die as soon as possible?

Meanwhile, the dukes were striving mightily to control their facial expressions. They were desperately afraid of being amused by the buffoon that was fatty Xuan, and of revealing a smile at inappropriate timing.

Jiang Chen had been lying quite comfortably in the coffin when he heard fatty Xuan start to lose control of the situation. How could one continue to lie down when such a thing was happening? He sprang into a sitting position and scowled, “Damn fatty, can’t you even let me die in peace?”

With the exception of his father, Jiang Chen’s action froze everyone solid for a good couple of seconds.

Fatty Xuan was the closest to him and was absolutely overjoyed, “Brother Jiang, are you pretending to be a corpse or playing dead?”

“Pretending my ass. Playing dead is extremely tiring, why don’t you try it?”

Eastern Lu’s face stilled when he saw Jiang Chen suddenly sit up. A follower beside him immediately proclaimed, “Jiang Chen, how dare you pretend to be dead! You have misled your king and committed treason! You and your family clan should be executed!”

A king never failed to be short of these sycophants.

Jiang Chen was too lazy to pay him any attention, and slowly pulled himself out of the coffin. He asked Eastern Lu with a calm gaze, “Your Majesty, Jiang Chen was lucky and did not die. I merely wish to ask, do you intend to cane me to death once again, or will you forgive your subject’s unintentional crimes?”

Eastern Lu was the king of a nation but his strong heart skipped a beat when Jiang Chen swept his gaze over him. This youth that had climbed out of a coffin had a mysterious, indefinable quality about him that made even Eastern Lu a bit wary.

“Hmph! I am the king of a nation! Why on earth would I dignify your impudent question with a response? You will be spared since you had the great luck to survive.”

Eastern Lu actually really wanted to choke Jiang Chen to death, but reason told him that he needed to conduct himself in a manner befitting a king.

If he made a move against Jiang Chen now, his underlings would think he was not acting as a king should, not to mention that the duke of Jiang Han would rebel without a doubt

“Your Majesty, this devious rat was playing dead to avoid being executed. This treacherous intention is worthy of a death sentence! This duke petitions your majesty to judge harshly and exact justice.”

It was that sycophant again.

However, Jiang Han’s duke, Jiang Feng, wasn’t playing along this time. He leapt up and bawled, “What is the meaning of this, duke of Tianshiu? His Majesty has said he won’t be pursuing the matter further, just what are you trying to accomplish here with your jumping up and down?”

It wasn’t exactly a harmonious picture between the 108 dukes of the Eastern Kingdom. This duke of Tianshui and Jiang Feng, the duke of Jiang Han, were notorious rivals.

The duke of Tianshui laughed coldly, “Jiang Feng, don’t you find it odd that your son has arisen from the dead? I suspect you were also involved in misleading his majesty. I petition His Majesty to thoroughly investigate the Jiang father and son. If I speak the truth, then the entire Jiang family clan should be executed.”

Jiang Chen gave a quiet chuckle as he saw his father was about to erupt into full-blown anger, and swept his eyes in an interested gaze between Eastern Lu and Eastern Zhiruo.

He then casually spoke, “Your Majesty, it would be simple to execute the entire Jiang family clan, but it wouldn’t be as easy to save her Highness’ life, now would it?

Eastern Lu’s expression froze, “What do you mean by that Jiang Chen?”

“Nothing much, just that when I was being beaten to death in the temple just now, I seemed to hear a divine voice whispering next to my ear. It conveyed a great deal of words that seemed to have something to do with the princess’ illness. I found the will to live again when I thought of the princess’ illness, so I clawed my way back to life. If Your Majesty thinks I should die, then please give the order to cane me to death again!”

Jiang Chen was a smart fellow; he knew what to say in order to whet someone’s appetite. What he just said had precisely struck Eastern Lu’s weak spot.

As the ruler of a kingdom, Eastern Lu was tyrannical and paranoid. But as a father, Eastern Zhiruo was the apple of his eye.

He was tempted upon hearing that a divine being had taken an interest in his daughter’s illness. What were the Rites for? Who else if not his daughter?

An illness that no elixir or medicine could cure was in the hands of the gods.

“Jiang Chen, do you mean what you say?” Although Eastern Lu was a king, he still felt a bit of apprehension in that moment. After all, he had ordered this fellow to be caned to death.

“How would a subject dare lie to Your Majesty?”

“Alright! Jiang Chen, any request you make will be granted. All the riches, splendor and power in the Eastern Kingdom shall be yours if you can cure Zhiruo’s sickness.”

Now it was Jiang Feng’s turn to be nervous. He was afraid that his son had gotten it in his mind to play games with the king since he had been beaten. If this was the case, they would be in a lot of trouble later on.

“Chen’er, your knowledge of medicine is not strong. Many of the esteemed doctors in the royal hospital have been stumped by the princess’ illness, yet you speak of it lightly?

“Be at peace father. Although your son does not profess deep knowledge of medicine, I believe there should be no room for error given that I have received divine guidance.”

Eastern Lu spoke hurriedly, “Yes, yes. Jiang Chen feel free to speak your mind. You will be pardoned even if you are wrong, but will be rewarded with endless honors if you can help.”

Honors? That wasn’t important to Jiang Chen. It wasn’t as if he would really play this out to the end. Haggling over titles, trumpeting one’s abilities, or making various demands – that was the path to death.

The Jiang Chen of today understood the idea of the situation being more important than the person. He knew that being as humble as possible now would result in the greatest amount of protection, while wrangling over honors would one, earn the Eastern royal family’s enmity and secondly, jealousy from the other dukes.

Jiang Chen spoke as he thought of this, “Your humble subject is a criminal and dare not ask for any honors. Your subject will be able to carry out his duties without fear of others only if Your Majesty pardons my crimes.”

Dukes friendly with Jiang Feng snickered inwardly when they heard Jiang Chen’s words. This kid was quite a talker; he handled things even more smoothly than his old man.

Pardon Jiang Chen of his crimes, this was something Eastern Lu could easily accomplish with a single word.

“Alright, as We stand before our nobles today, We do hereby pardon you of all your crimes. From this moment on, you are still the heir of Jiang Han dukedom, with all your titles and accomplishments unchanged. If anyone brings up the past again, they will have the Eastern royal family to contend with.”

Eastern Lu’s words were quite magnanimous; he had not only pardoned all of Jiang Chen’s crimes, but had forbidden anyone from bringing them up again. This was obviously the mark of a generous heart, as the Jiang family could now avoid worrying about these crimes resurfacing in the future.

Jiang Chen flashed a dazzling smile accordingly and delivered shocking words, “Actually, Her Highness is not sick.”

These words stunned all those present.

Did Jiang Chen want to die? He dared to say that the princess was not sick after all that hoopla? Why would she be like this if not sick?

Eastern Lu had an overwhelming urge to stomp on Jiang Chen’s face, but the reasoning of a king told him to be calm, be calm. He had to let this brat finish even if he was full of hot air.

“I say, what’s with all your expressions? Do you actually want the princess to be sick?”

The duke of Tianshui could hold it in no longer, “Brat Jiang, this is making fun of the king. You are asking for death!”

Jiang Chen rubbed his nose self consciously and said, “Your Majesty, I’ve already said that I received divine guidance to shed light on the princess’ illness. Someone might anger the gods if they continue to jump up and down and make a fuss here.”

Under any other circumstances, Eastern Lu would have definitely thought Jiang Chen was full of nonsense about the entire matter.

However, he couldn’t afford to not believe him at this moment. Firstly, this matter had to do with his beloved daughter’s life and secondly, the kid was caned to death, but not really. Even he didn’t believe that this wasn’t proof of divine intervention. He was well aware of the efficiency of those in charge of carrying out executions, how was it possible to mess up torturing someone to death?

Eastern Lu had no choice but to believe in Jiang Chen due to those two points. He sternly commanded, “Duke of Tianshui, you are dismissed.”

“Your Majesty, this rat is spreading wild rumors…” The Tianshui duke hastily spoke.

“Dismissed!” His king was quite angry.

The duke of Tianshui backed meekly into the crowd. Despite wanting to bring the Jiang family down a notch, he didn’t have the courage to butt heads with his king.

“Your Majesty, the divine being is quite angry. He will not speak until the witless person who spoke out of turn slaps himself three times. But the duke of Tianshui is a mighty duke, wouldn’t it be difficult for him to slap himself?”

“Not to mention considering Your Majesty’s dignity and grace, how could you possibly command a duke to slap himself? It seems that it comes down to a matter of if the duke of Tianshui is truly self aware and loyal to the kingdom. If it was me, I would not hesitate to slap myself 30 times, not just a mere three times.”

The nobles who had come with Eastern Lu started whispering amongst themselves after Jiang Chen had spoken. Some thought Jiang Chen was making it all up, while others thought there was a great deal of truth in the situation.

Of course, they weren’t the ones who needed to slap themselves. They were all audience members and thus felt no pressure. They cast their eyes as one to the duke of Tianshui in the middle of the crowd.

Those around the duke consciously vacated the vicinity and consciously maintained a certain distance from him, highlighting the duke’s location.

The duke of Tianshui suddenly felt a cold breeze wash over him. He realized with despair in that moment that out of all his peers, not a single person was willing to stand up for him. It was as if the whole world was ostracizing him.

Chapter 4: Go Thrash Yourself

Many of the nobles were present because they had accompanied the duke of Tianshui to fuel momentum; they all wanted to take the Jiang family down a notch.

But at this moment, who would dare speak up?

If someone stood up for the duke of Tianshui, that would mean defying the gods. If they argued with the king instead, that would mean they didn’t want the princess to recover.

It was at this moment that fatty Xuan mind connected the dots as well. He was always someone who loved creating a ruckus and immediately joined in, “Duke of Tianshui, you’re always shooting your mouth off about how if you’re ranked number two for fealty and valor out of all the nobles, then no one else would dare claim number one. Now that the moment to prove your loyalty has arrived, you make excuses and avoid doing anything. What’s going on here?”

“Duke of Tianshui, you waxed eloquent about executing the entire Jiang family clan earlier. Now, no such demands have been made on you, and yet you shrink from merely slapping yourself three times?”

Jiang Chen would definitely not let this opportunity pass him by; he tutted as he took another jab at an already downed enemy, “It looks like this so-called fealty and valor that is ranked first under the heavens is just a joke that the duke of Tianshui trotted out to amuse others. Best not to put too much stock in it.”

The duke of Tianshui had originally come to laugh at the duke of Jiang Han, but who would have thought the tables would turn on him and he’d become the target of everyone’s attacks instead?

However, the duke of Tianshui was an old hat at these political games and quickly found his footing again. He spoke with a self righteous air, “This old duke would not even furrow his brow if his Majesty commanded me to take my own life, not to mention a mere three slappings. If it would benefit our country and homeland, I would willingly help shoulder part of His Majesty’s burden. Little Chen’er, I could easily slap myself three times and disperse some of His Majesty’s worries, but if you are playing a game with us, then what?”

Indeed, if this brat was just joking, then he’d be making a fool out of all the nobles and the king!

Jiang Chen’s voice grew colder, “Duke of Tianshui, you can insult me, but you cannot blaspheme against the gods! Your Majesty, this man has not only once, but on multiple occasions, spoken gravely out of turn. The gods are enraged and I am afraid I can no longer help with her Highness’ sickness…”

Eastern Lu was appalled by these words and inwardly furious. You damn duke of Tianshui, what are you dragging your heels for? If you’re that loyal and patriotic, then slap yourself three times already! Make it easy for yourself and find a way out. Must I really command it, and be seen as the king who bullies his subjects?

As his thoughts traveled down this path, Eastern Lu grew irate and cocked his eyebrow. The duke of Tianshui was an expert at observing expressions and had spent much time studying the king’s emotions. He knew that the king was truly incensed and without any warning, hastily slapped himself eight times.

Each slap was heavy handed and resonant, he knew that the harder he slapped himself, the more it would placate his king’s anger.

His face began to swell up and almost resembled a pig’s head after this round of slapping.

After that round of slaps, all eyes focused on Jiang Chen again.

Jiang Chen said unhurriedly, “You were told to slap yourself three times, what is the meaning of slapping yourself eight times? Feeling mutinous? Are you disgruntled with the will of the gods? Or disloyal to his Majesty? Ah, forget it. You will be grudgingly forgiven this one time regarding this matter.”

Although he indicated that he would pursue the matter no further, the same couldn’t be said for the duke of Tianshui’s friends. They could only sit idly by and watch while the duke of Tianshui slapped himself, but they could no longer contain themselves after the slapping had happened. It was alright to stand up for him now, right? His slaps couldn’t be in vain, right?

A fellow immediately jumped out, “Jiang Chen, how long are you going to keep that act up? The duke of Tianshui has already slapped himself. You will be adding to your list of crimes if you can’t offer a full explanation.”

“Yes, if you can’t say anything then you would be misleading the king and mocking the country’s nobles. The entire Jiang family clan should be executed in that case.”

These fellows were definitely cut from the same cloth, they even shared the same mantra of executing someone’s entire family clan.

On the other hand, Jiang Chen gave a lazy yawn and said carelessly, “Your Majesty, the manifestation of the gods is an exceedingly sacred matter. These fellows can’t stop going on about executing an entire family’s clans. Are they not afraid of endangering the princess’ health if they enrage the gods? Do they want their family’s clans to be executed?”

Jiang Chen took a few steps forward after he’d finished and and stood in front of the crowd of old fellows, lecturing them in a righteous anger.

“All of you make a lot of fuss but have you ever really thought about the princess’ illness?”

“What has the holy task of curing Her Highness become in your eyes? A tool with which to persecute political enemies and oppress the kindhearted?”

“Duke of Tianshui, you keep calling for the execution of the entire Jiang family clan. If I had not had the great fortune to survive and was instead truly caned to death, then how could I have carried this message regarding the princess’ sickness to His Majesty? Is your so-called loyalty nothing more than forcing your king to a cliff’s edge and ending the princess’ life?”

“You’re awesome, you’re powerful, yet which one of you can step forward and tell me what is the matter with Her Highness? You don’t have the ability to do so but envy those who can, and even forbid me to relay the message from the gods? And at the heart of it, I only received this divine vision after being nearly caned to death. Was this easy for me? What if the gods are infuriated and thus depart, can you bear the responsibility?”

“I have one final question for you, what if the gods are truly angered and require the execution of your family clans in order to save Her Highness? You speak of fealty and valor, would you be willing to erase your family clans in order to ease some of His Majesty’s burdens?”

Jiang Chen gave voice to a variety of frustrations and took great pleasure in these questions that descended like a barrage of arrows. He used this excuse to wax eloquent and hovered stiflingly over these nobles like black clouds over a city. They were at a loss for words and could only stare in disbelief!

Particularly that last question, that one caused each of their expression to drastically shift and shudder in horror and fright.

They had originally come to help the duke of Tianshui suppress the Jiang family and kick a defeated enemy when it was down. But now, Tianshui’s supporters couldn’t find the courage to even if they tried.

If this brat really used the will of the gods as an excuse to convince His Majesty to execute their family clans…

Considering His Majesty’s unconditional love for the princess, it was a legitimate possibility!

Jiang Chen had only one thought as he looked at the faces pale with terror around him ---

Who knew it would be such a satisfying thing to heckle these morally lacking old guys.

Especially since these old geezers actually thought they were something, simply because they held power and prestige.

“Alright, alright. Young duke Jiang you’ve said your piece, and those at fault have punished themselves. The real issue at stake here is the matter of the princess’ illness.”

It was at this moment that a neutral third party stepped forward and smoothed things over. Logically speaking, neutral bystanders were only along for the ride and even less worried about the situation getting out of hand. But things heating up more would not help the king, and the king’s heart was very anxious indeed.

“The princess’ illness?” Jiang Chen paused in surprise. “Who said the princess is sick? Didn’t I say earlier that the princess isn’t sick?”

This again! Eastern Lu raked his gaze over Jiang Feng, causing cold shivers to travel up the latter’s neck. He grumbled inside, darn kid, finish your thought and stop talking in cliffhangers.

“Your Majesty, your humble subject has one question. When her Highness was born, was it a day of a solar eclipse?” Traces of a calm smile could be found in the curve of Jiang Chen’s lips.

Eastern Lu inwardly started in shock. How did he know that? Had he really had a dream from the gods? Society regarded the solar eclipse as an unlucky omen.

Thus, Eastern Lu had always avoided this topic.

“Not only Her Highness, but when the princess’ mother was born, the day must have also seen a solar eclipse. This phenomenon had continued for nine generations of girls, and as this heritage continued, yin and yang became out of balance. The body slowly lacked yang, and upon the ninth generation, a body with a yin constitution was born!”

When Jiang Chen spoke the words “a body with a yin constitution”, he did so with a heavy heart. This had plagued his past life for many, many years. Even his old man the Celestial Emperor could not fully resolve this problem.

Therefore, he had felt an immediate kinship born out of shared misery when he saw Eastern Zhiruo, and had immediately diagnosed the source of the problem.

It was due to this pain of shared misery that he stopped playing dead, because he saw in the princess a way to settle the Jiang family’s current crisis.

How else had he offended the royal family, if not by farting during the Rites? And why had the Rites been held? Were they not to obtain blessings for Eastern Zhiruo?

If he could solve Eastern Zhiruo’s problem, was that not the best way to clean up after his mess?

Who would have thought that Eastern Zhiruo would be born with a yin body; these kinds of people were one in hundreds of millions. Who could have foreseen that the wheel of reincarnation had brought Jiang Chen in contact with one.

One had to say, fortune was a mysterious thing.

Eastern Zhiruo did not have the same birth as the past Jiang Chen, and thus her fortunes were much more unlucky. Without the Celestial Emperor for a father and lacking the Sun Moon dan to prolong her life, her lifespan would naturally be much shorter.

She was 13 at the moment and all diagnoses indicated that it would be difficult for Eastern Zhiruo to live past 14.

This was why Eastern Lu, a father who loved his daughter more than anything, had held the Rites of Heavenly Worship in order to pray for his daughter.

“A body with a yin constitution?” The assembled nobles started whispering to each other. It was apparent that none of them had heard the term before. If it wasn’t for the fact that Jiang Chen spoke with such self assurance and specifics, they would have all loudly denounced Jiang Chen as a pathological liar.

It took a while for Eastern Lu to recover from his shock. Jiang Chen was at least correct with regards to the solar eclipse.

Eastern Zhirou and her mother had both been born under a solar eclipse.

At the moment, Eastern Lu became a believer. It would seem that this Jiang kid had truly received guidance from the gods and was conveying their messages.

“Is it possible that we have moved the heavens and gods with our sincerity?” Eastern Lu asked in excited agitation, his posture as humble as could be. “Then, Jiang Chen, is it possible to cure this yin constitution?”

“A yin constitution itself is not a sickness, it is a disability. If her Highness had never practiced martial dao or attempted to train her qi, then there would be no problem for her to live thirty or fifty years. It was wrong to force her to train, this weakened her already fragile middle qi. Therefore, if there is no outside intervention, then it would be difficult for her Highness to live beyond the age of sixteen.”

This diagnoses was actually similar to the ones from the royal doctors.

After hearing these words, more and more starting wondering, had this Jiang Chen really received divine guidance from above? How else could he talk in such specifics?

Eastern Lu hurriedly asked, “Outside intervention? Does this mean that there are still some methods to deal with a yin constitution?”

“It’s not an illness to begin with, so naturally there are methods. The first step is to halt all martial dao practice, and to discontinue taking the pills that improve the body’s inner energy passages, the meridians. Otherwise, even if divine intervention happens, we would not be able to do much in half a year.”

These words caused Eastern Lu’s heart to race as he felt that he had narrowly escaped death. He had always thought that Eastern Zhiruo had a weak body and thus had been a strong champion of her training. Even if she did not succeed in her training, it would not be a bad thing to strengthen her body.

But who would have known that the training would completely backfire, and those pills would become fatal poison.

“What should we do next?” It was as if Eastern Lu had become a devout, knowledge seeking student as he asked in disgrace.

“Pardon my candor, the princess will never be able to train in this life. A body with a yin constitution does not live long. The most pressing issue is to prolong her life. This process will be lengthy as there is no quick fix. If your Majesty trusts your humble subject, then please give the princess’ life into my keeping. If your Majesty does not trust me, then please give the orders to haul me off to the dungeons…”

“Speak not this way minister Jiang. It is as if the sun has broken through clouds and we have been enlightened after we have spoken with you. Zhiruo’s matters are in your hands now. Whatever you ask for will be granted. In addition, we are granting you the royal engraved dragon medallion. You can freely enter and exit the palace with this token, and do not have to kowtow when you see our royal presence.”

Eastern Lu was definitely the ruler of a kingdom. No ordinary person could match up to his generosity and shrewdness. He had been calling for Jiang Chen’s head a second ago, but had awarded the engraved dragon medallion the next. Jiang Chen would not even have to bow when he saw his liege, this was an honor that not even the three excellencies in the palace enjoyed.

The duke of Tianshui desperately wished a hole in the ground would swallow him up. Although the king had not deliberately caused him to lose face; but to reward Jiang Chen so richly was worse than slapping the duke across the face.

Chapter 5: If I can’t cure you, then I’ll go down with you

What did it mean to receive the engraved dragon medallion from the supreme ruler of a kingdom? 

This meant Jiang Chen could freely enter and exit the palace. 

If this kid really did cure the princess, then he would be the king’s favorite and harbinger of fortune. He would enjoy the king’s love and goodwill. Who in the kingdom wouldn’t treat him with all due respect then? 

Jiang Chen merely went along with the situation and the assembled crowd’s expectations when he genuflected and accepted the engraved dragon medallion. To be honest, as the venerated son of the Celestial Emperor in his past life, he really could not bring himself to bend his knee to a common king. 

He naturally would not decline something that waived the need to kowtow to a king. 

And of course, one had to make some sort of statement when one had accepted such a gift. He slapped his chest and proclaimed, “Your Majesty, your humble subject does not make empty boasts. I will say only this, if any accident befalls her Highness due to my incompetency in curing her, then your humble subject will join the princess in death.” 

There existed many beautiful words and sentences to express loyalty, but none were more straightforward than that sentence. Can’t cure her? Then I’ll die with her! 

This was a grand gesture that involved the lives of one’s own family! 

Out of all the nobles under heaven, who would have this kind of spirit; this amount of loyalty? 

In that moment, even Jiang Chen was almost moved by his mesmerizing performance. 

A performance that could touch even the performer’s heart naturally conquered others. 

The nobles and high ranking officials who had accompanied Eastern Lu were also secretly surprised. Who would have thought the heir of Jiang Han would have such spirit. Like father, like son. A tiger father would not beget a dog son. 

Even the crowd with the duke of Tianshui felt that, if their positions were reversed, they would not have this strength of character. 

Jiang Chen’s performance was not yet over. He continued, “Your Majesty, the gods have further guidance. The events of today must remain a secret, with not a single word leaking out. This is to firstly avoid dishonoring the gods, and secondly to preserve your Majesty’s reputation.” 

If word got out, the comical events of tonight might actually harm Eastern Lu’s reputation. After all, watching his duke slap himself was not exactly a dignified thing to witness. 

And of course, the most important thing was to avoid dishonoring the gods. If someone leaked the secret and angered the gods, who in turn blamed it on Eastern Zhiruo, then the situation would be very grave indeed. 

Eastern Lu commanded without hesitation, “Not a single word regarding the events of today shall be discussed after leaving this room. Whoever does so defies the Eastern royal family!” 

It was a good thing not that many people were present. Excluding those associated with the duke of Jiang Han, those who had accompanied the king numbered only six or seven. 

They were all crafty foxes in politics and knew that the king was deadly serious. If even a hint of this matter got out, then all of their lives would be at stake. 

And not to mention that their performance today wasn’t exactly the most ideal; their reputations would suffer along with the king’s if any gossip circulated. 

Jiang Chen scaring the nobles silly in the name of the gods, like a fox borrowing a tiger’s fierceness, primarily had to do with his desire to stay under the radar. 

He didn’t want the people of this country to view him as a freak of nature if this got out! 

Eastern Lu was quite touched and spoke a rare sentence filled with emotion as he grasped Jiang Feng’s hand, “Duke of Jiang Han, your loyalty and your son’s fealty are greatly moving.” 

Jiang Feng could only smile wryly. His son had courage enough for two people, and had, fortunately, handled the situation beautifully. If he protested otherwise, he would be creating needless trouble. He could only nag inwardly. 

“You darn kid, you’re having a ball of a time. You had better not mess it up. Ah whatever, you’re my son after all. If it all goes south, your old man will step in and take the hits for you no matter how bad things get.” 

Jiang Feng’s mental state had calmed down quite a bit after the emotional and situational rollercoaster he had just been on. 

They said that a long suffering patient becomes a doctor for that ailment. The past Jiang Chen had been plagued by his yin constitution since birth, and thus had naturally committed quite a bit of study in this area. 

Of course, with his current circumstances, it would be more than impossible to refine a Sun Moon pill like his past father had. It would be idiotic nonsense to even think of doing so. 

The Sun Moon pill was a medicine that violated the course of nature in granting the user more life. Even the Celestial Emperor had exhausted his spiritual energy and sacrificed some years of his life in order to successfully refine one. 

It was possible that not even one of the ingredients needed to refine the Sun Moon pill existed in this world. Even if they did, there was absolutely no way anyone could expend the level of resources that the Celestial Emperor had to create the pill. 

So the Sun Moon pill was out of the question, but medicines imitating the effects of the Sun Moon pill existed. Even if they could only offer one ten thousandth of what the Sun Moon pill could do, it was enough to prolong someone’s life by a hundred years. 

Remember, the past Jiang Chen had taken the Sun Moon pill and lived millions of years. He was nigh well immortal if it hadn’t been for the cataclysm. 

With Eastern Zhiruo’s situation, there was no way she could live millions of years; even if the Celestial Emperor came back from the dead. 

But to help her live another eighty or a hundred years...that Jiang Chen could do, and in more ways than one. 

However, Jiang Chen had no intention of doing that in one fell swoop. If he quickly resolved Eastern Zhiruo’s problem with minimal effort, then Eastern Lu’s gratitude would fade away just as easily. 

The hearts and minds of kings and emperors were constantly and easily changed. Long term peaceful coexistence never followed short term gratefulness. 

Jiang Chen needed time, and given enough time, he wouldn’t even deign to worry about the mere ruler of a common kingdom. 

Thus, he decided to go slow and steady. After all, the only thing he needed to accomplish was to prolong the princess’ life. 

This way, not only would he win the extra time he needed, but also gain an invisible layer of protection as well. 

Anyone who wanted to create trouble for her Highness’ exclusive royal physician needed to first decide if they could afford the consequences of the king’s wrath. 

Jiang Chen held many profound and flowery conversations with the visitors before finally agreeing to treat the princess in three days. Only then did the crowd of people leave. 

But then it was fatty Xuan who drifted closer with a mournful face, “Brother Chen you are too cruel. You should have given your brother a hint. That illustrated version of the Carnal Prayer Mat was the last of its kind, and now it’s gone up in flames. What am I going to do during those long and lonely nights now?”  

“And that note for ten thousand silvers, that was an authentic…” 

“Damn fatty, you dare say that note was authentic?” Jiang Chen watched the morally lacking fatty with a smile playing around his lips. 

The fatty laughed and scratched his head, “I wasn’t done yet. That was an authentic Hall of the Nine Underworlds production, I spent a solid five silvers on it.” 

Hall of the Nine Underworlds was a time honored store that specialized in printing paper money to burn for the dead. 

The fatty’s face jiggled twice in pain when he spoke of the five silvers. 

All fatties were quite miserly, asking them to take money out of their pockets was as painful as bleeding for them. 

“Brother Chen, I can put the note for ten thousand silvers behind us. But that copy of Carnal Prayer Mat was really the last…” 

“Put it behind us? I’d forgotten before you brought it up. Damn fatty, when are you going to return that ten thousand silvers you borrowed?” Jiang Chen laughed as he spoke. 

“Eh? Brother Chen what’s that you say? You were too convincing when you were playing dead, I completely believed you. I cried too hard because I was heartbroken and injured my eardrums. I can’t hear very well now. No no this will not do, I need to go find a doctor. Brother Chen, rest up and I’ll be back to see you….” 

Fatty had already slipped out the door before his last sentence was delivered. 

In addition to Xuan fatty, Hubing Yue and Yang Zong were steadfast friends with Jiang Chen. 

Seeing that fatty Xuan had fled, Hubing Yue spoke briefly with Jiang Chen and took his leave as well. 

Yang Zong had wanted to offer an explanation, but said nothing in the end after Jiang Chen clapped his shoulder. He left as well. 

When all had left, only the Jiang father and son were left in the hall. 

Jiang Feng drew his sword without a word. Brilliantly cold light flashed with a shake of his wrist, and the ebony coffin occupying the center of the hall promptly splintered away into wood fragments. 

“Come, someone clean up and take that away to be burned. Clear out this unlucky air!” Mere words could not describe how elated Jiang Feng was to regain a son he thought he’d lost. 

On the other hand, Jiang Chen looked at his father with a small smile, “Father, do you not have anything to ask me?” 

“Hahaha,” Jiang Feng laughed heartily and patted Jiang Chen’s shoulder. “You are my son, I will deal with the consequences no matter what you do!” 

That left Jiang Chen speechless. This dad was seriously lacking in principles. 

But one had to know that the prior Jiang Chen in this body was as close to an incorrigible rascal as one could get. If he had really died, then only one line needed to be written for his epitaph: Here lies a noble who did everything but his duty. 

A small mishap every three days, a large calamity every five days. 

Jiang Feng had almost forgotten how many times he’d cleaned up after his son. 

Of course, that wasn’t to say that this kid didn’t have any positive traits about him. At least he was loyal and had that smallest amount of dependability. Otherwise he wouldn’t have a crew of fellow ne’er-do-wells around him calling him their leader. 

To sum up, it would have been difficult to find something positive to say about Jiang Chen. It would have been easier to find a needle in a haystack. But to identify some of his cons… those were numerous and easy to pinpoint. 

It would have been fine for the privileged children of noble households to have some character flaws. But this kid’s greatest failing was that he was extremely lazy about training! 

“Ai, what a fellow who didn’t value what he had,” Jiang Chen had to admit that much when he had finished sorting through the previous fellow’s memories. That Jiang Chen had truly been a bit of a lost cause. 

An unconditionally supportive old man, and not too shabby potential. He had been born with a gold spoon in his mouth in the Eastern Kingdom. 

But amongst his peers, this fellow had fallen to the last in his class. 

As the heir to each respective dukedom, they could not take up residence within the kingdom’s capital. They should have actually been in their own territory. 

The heirs and rulers of each dukedom had gathered in order to participate in the vicennial Hidden Dragon Trials. 

There were 108 dukedoms in the Eastern Kingdom, but the rulers of these dukedoms were not carved in stone. The Hidden Dragon Trials that took place every twenty years were a test for the designated heirs. 

Only if the heir successfully passed the Hidden Dragon Trials was he allowed to retain command over the family’s dukedom, territory and heritage. 

If he failed, the family would have to relinquish command, have their lands seized and their title revoked. They would revert to being a wealthy family with no power or prestige. 

If they became a family with no might or clout, then their collapse and eventual demise would be very likely. Just as monkeys scatter when a tree falls, it would be a foregone conclusion that their influence would be diminished, and that people would abandon the family. 

After all, losing the dukedom meant that the family had lost all trappings of power and many sources of income. The family would have to subsist on their savings, and that was not enough to feed an army of underlings and guards. 

The royal family would also not allow those who had lost their dukedoms to thrive and grow stronger than the current dukes. 

The Hidden Dragon Trials were quite lengthy as they spanned over three years. 

At the end of the three years, a ceremony of inheritance would be held in the capital for the heirs who had successfully passed the tests. This meant that the power of a duchy and its lands were retained for another twenty years. 

And after twenty years, a representative from the new generation must be sent to participate in the Hidden Dragon Trials. 

The purpose of the Hidden Dragon Trials was to ensure that each dukedom maintained a situation of cultivating a plethora of talents, and to avoid halts on the path of self-improvement. 

If you couldn’t pass, then you lost the family’s dukedom. 

These were the rules of survival in this world. 

Simple. Direct. Brutal. Violent!