Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2708 Still Vigorous in Old Age 92.0
"Sever ties?" Xiao Fengqi sneered. "How could they possibly sever ties? Could they really do so clearly?"

"The so-called severing ties is nothing more than making a statement to avoid being punished," Shen Chayi raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this what those aristocratic families are best at? It's always been this way from ancient times to the present."

“That’s true.” Xiao Fengqi said helplessly. “Speaking of which, my great-aunt once told me that after Mian was eliminated, the list of people involved on our side was handed to the late king. The late king was furious and threw a tantrum at the court meeting, punishing a considerable number of people. Although the names on the list were not from our main family, but from branch families, no one is a fool. Everyone knew that our main family had also benefited from it. So, without exception, everyone from our main family was punished, even though…”

"The punishment is barely scratching the surface, right?" Chu Han smiled. "It's just a formality, something for others to see, and for ourselves to see too."

“My benefactor’s words are too blunt, but it is indeed true.” Xiao Fengqi smiled bitterly. “If the punishment had really been more severe back then, my uncles would not have had the opportunity to join the Qinglian Sect, and our family would not have been destroyed, right?” He looked at Chu Han, then at the others, thought for a moment, and said, “Actually, my guess that these aristocratic families might join the Qinglian Sect after Mian was eliminated is not unfounded.”

"You mean that some of the nobles of the Liao Kingdom came from Miantou, right?"

"Yes, before I knew about Mian, I hadn't thought of it. Now that this has been brought up, I've discovered that some of the companies that have been exposed this time have also been exposed before. However, as I said before, they weren't involved much back then, so their punishments weren't very severe."

“Our situation is a little different. The Qinglian Church cooperates with the nobles of Liao and Jin, but it will never cooperate with the powerful families of the Central Plains and Jiangnan.”

"Why?" Qi Zhifeng looked at Chu Han with a puzzled expression. "My benefactor, you just mentioned that Master Falian, right?" Seeing Shen Cha nod, he continued, "His tragic fate is also related to us. Why can he cooperate with us, but not with the powerful families of Great Xia?"

“Although his tragic fate was caused by the collusion of Liao and Jin spies, even in the previous dynasty, they were still acting for their own masters. They planted spies and informants in the previous dynasty, and the previous dynasty caused Liao and Jin a lot of trouble, right? This is a game between nations, not a personal grudge.” Shen Cha received Chu Han’s gaze and explained, “As for the aristocratic families in the Central Plains and Jiangnan, that is a truly irreconcilable personal feud, although I don’t know exactly what the hatred between them is.”

"What hatred could there be? It's nothing more than wanting to kill the other party by any means necessary!" Chu Han thought for a moment, "Those powerful families in the Central Plains and Jiangnan all stood behind certain princes and princesses of the previous dynasty. They all went against the little prince and tried to kill him. They even tried to take his life when he was young and unable to protect himself. Do you think he would cooperate with them?"

“That’s definitely not the case, but…” Shen Cha frowned slightly, “Xiangguo Temple is a royal temple. Are they going to make a move there? Aren’t they afraid of offending the gods and Buddhas and suffering some kind of retribution?”

"Of course they weren't afraid. If they were, why would they have done it? They even bribed the young monks at Xiangguo Temple to put things in the little prince's food. If it weren't for the fact that everyone around the little prince was personally arranged by his mother, he would have been dead long ago. And this situation continued until he left Xijing City." "I heard that he also encountered a serious assassination attempt on his way out of Xijing City?"

“It should be.” Chu Han nodded. “After all, we don’t dare to go too far in Xijing City, but we can make a big splash once we leave the capital.” He sighed. “Back when we were dealing with Mian, we had some information that was sent over by the Little Prince. When we traced it back through the channels, we found that it was related to the Qinglian Sect. But by the time we found out, the place was already deserted.”

“So that’s how it is.” Shen Cha stroked her chin, thought for a moment, and said, “But I still don’t understand. The little prince was sent to Xiangguo Temple to practice Buddhism with his hair still intact. At most, he would be appointed as the national preceptor when he came of age. It shouldn’t have anything to do with the struggle for the throne or the fight for the imperial throne. Why would those princes and princesses, and the powerful families behind them, still go to such lengths to kill him?”

"Because his mother is still alive, it means there might be a chance for things to change, and the dragon throne isn't unchangeable. They've targeted the Empress in the palace before, but with powerful families like the Wang and Xie clans watching, they couldn't succeed. That's why they're targeting the young prince." Chu Han chuckled coldly, sighed softly, and said, "I don't understand what's so great about an emperor who's just a puppet of powerful families. They're all fighting tooth and nail. Those princes and nobles not only fight amongst themselves, but they also have to contend with the young prince."

“It’s all the same.” After experiencing a huge upheaval, Xiao Fengqi was a completely different person, and his perspective on things was also different. He smiled bitterly, “Even if you know you’re just a puppet, you still dream that if you could sit on that chair, you could have absolute power and crush all the powerful families and nobles. What does that mean? Because I am the emperor.”

"Does the Liao Kingdom also have such thoughts?" Shen Cha looked at Xiao Fengqi. "I thought only the Central Plains would think this way."

“General, we were originally separated from the Central Plains, and many of our ideas are inherited from them. It’s just that our methods are more direct. We don’t use assassination or poisoning; we just want to steal it directly.” Xiao Fengqi spread his hands helplessly. “Let’s not talk about the distant past. Take the one lying in the palace of Linhuang Prefecture and Wanyan Qingmu, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, for example. Aren’t they good examples? Even if they know that they have seized that chair, they might not be in control of the decision, but they still want to seize it. What if they could actually have control? Right?”

"This is what they mean by 'a man's greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant,' oh, wait, that doesn't seem right?" Qi Zhifeng hummed twice, looking at Shen Cha uncertainly, "Is that what you mean?"

"Are you trying to say I'm overly arrogant? Knowing full well that I don't have the ability, yet still insisting on competing and grabbing?"

"Ah, that's exactly what I mean!" Qi Zhifeng nodded vigorously at Shen Cha. "Even a child can understand this kind of thing, but those adults who pride themselves on being talented and far-sighted just can't figure it out."

“You said it yourself, even a child can understand this, because children want fewer things.” Chu Han looked at his chubby cheeks and poked them. Seeing him glare at him, he laughed and said, “Besides eating, drinking, and having fun, they have no other desires. But adults are different; they want too many things.”