Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2662 Still Vigorous in Old Age 46.0
“Of course, they are a huge threat. They can easily change a person's fate, and they can easily change the fate of a dynasty. This is unimaginable to everyone.” Chu Han sighed. “You should know that after all this talk about the Mudfish Prince, you still don’t know his name, right?” Seeing the children nod in unison, he added, “His secular name was Yuan Da. He thought it was too common and tried to change it several times, but he couldn’t. Later, he became a monk and took a Dharma name called Zhi Shan. From then on, he never used his secular name again.” He paused for a moment. “Later, because of the Qinglian Sect, he changed his Dharma name again.”

"The Buddhist name Zhishan isn't much better, but it's definitely much better than Yuanda." Xue Ruitian rolled his eyes. "His parents aren't exactly good at naming things either."

“His name wasn’t given by his parents, but by the Imperial Observatory at the time.” Shen Cha looked at Xue Ruitian. “Because his birth was considered inauspicious, they wanted a name that could suppress his fate, regardless of whether it sounded good or bad, or whether it was in line with the fashion of the time.” She thought for a moment. “However, I have seen the imperial edicts from the previous dynasty, and there is no name Yuanda in them. Instead, his religious name was used.”

“I see.” Xue Ruitian nodded. “His father and mother would rather have a son who is a monk at the Daxiangguo Temple than a prince with an ominous fate. It’s quite pitiful, he was abandoned from birth.”

“Have you noticed that their selection of people seems to follow a certain pattern?” Shen Haolin raised an eyebrow as he noticed everyone’s attention was on him. “There was something my uncle didn’t finish saying earlier. Master Falian is probably not the first, nor the last person they put forward, but he must be someone who is very dedicated to serving them. He has his own convictions, his own ambitions, things he wants to do, and things he wants to prove to the world.”

“Haolin is right. As Xiaotian just said, Master Falian was abandoned by his closest relatives from the day he was born. As a prince, although he enjoyed the treatment that a prince should have, the throne had nothing to do with him, right?”

“Yes.” Shen Cha nodded. “Even though his brothers and sisters were all gone, and there was no heir to the throne, his father refused to choose him, preferring to adopt someone from a collateral branch. This was a huge blow to Master Falian. He felt he was excellent, more capable than anyone else of that position, but because of the Imperial Observatory's conclusion, no matter what, his abilities couldn't be used. He must have been extremely frustrated and resentful. So, my brother and I discussed this with the elders before. All the things he did were to prove his abilities, to prove that everyone's choices were wrong.” She paused, then said, “That's why the people behind the scenes chose him, to let him stir up trouble, to let him…” At this point, an idea suddenly flashed through her mind, and she looked at Chu Han, “Grand Uncle.”

"What's wrong?" Chu Han looked at her with a smile. "Did something come to mind?"

"Is it possible that during the Lantern Festival that year, they actually saw Master Falian with the people behind him? But at the time, they didn't know who those people were or what they were doing, after all, they were still young and hadn't yet become involved in politics. But when they saw them again later, they realized that they were the people they were looking for. Once they confirmed this, perhaps they took action, but due to their lack of experience, they were discovered by the other party, and then..."

"Murder to silence them." Xue Ruitian finished Shen Cha's sentence, glancing at the others and then at Chu Han. "I think Xiao Cha's guess is the closest to the truth, right?"

"Hmm!" Chu Han stroked his chin, thinking seriously for a moment. "Currently, this should be the last possibility. They ran into Yuan Da and his men during the Lantern Festival. Although they only glanced at them, after so many years, they might have bumped into each other on the street, recognized each other, and then taken a series of actions. They thought they were being very discreet, but they were quickly discovered." He nodded slightly and looked at Shen Cha. "See if Xiao Si is here. Have him come over."

When Shen Cha heard the name Xiao Si, she was stunned for a moment, then realized that Chu Han must be referring to Master Jiang.

"Okay." She stood up, walked to the entrance of the flower hall, and waved to the plum grove not far away. "Go and invite Fourth Grandfather."

Merlin responded and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Grand Uncle, did Fourth Grandfather go with him back then?" "I don't know, I'll have to ask."

Chu Han picked up the teapot from the small stove, poured himself some hot tea, and refilled the cups of the children. Seeing that they were all a little reserved, he gently waved his hand, telling them not to be so polite.

"By the way, we've been talking about Yuanda, but I haven't had a chance to ask you guys yet." Chu Han looked at Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, and Xue Ruitian. "What do you think of Bu Hui? He was a little regretful after he went back because you guys didn't keep him."

“He’s a good person, but he’s not suited to stay here,” Shen Cha said with a smile. “He’d be better suited to stay with my great-uncle.”

"His meager skills aren't enough to keep him here, are they?"

"No, it's just completely different from ours." Xue Ruitian spread his hands. "Here, we either protect ourselves or strike decisively. It's a life-or-death struggle, but we don't regret it. I should say that neither of these two approaches really suits our style. If the Shadow Camp is dissatisfied, Xiao Cha could really keep him, but unfortunately, it's already full."

“He’s fast on his feet and quick-witted. If there’s a real need,” Shen Cha looked at Chu Han, “he could be a good bridge for us, wouldn’t he?”

"You're thinking the same thing as me." Chu Han reached out and gave Shen Cha a high five. "This kid's greatest strength is speed. He's fast on his feet, quick-witted, and, most importantly, quick-tongued."

Shen Cha chuckled and took a sip of tea. "However, we all think he has a great personality. Even when he's misunderstood, he doesn't get flustered and explains things in a nice tone, which is really rare."

Chu Han nodded, but before he could speak, he heard hurried footsteps coming from the entrance of the flower hall.

Shen Cha turned around, walked to the entrance of the flower hall, looked outside, and saw Mei Lin leading Master Jiang hurriedly walking over.

"Fourth Grandfather is here."

She turned around, opened the door to the flower hall, and invited Master Jiang in.