Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2806 Master Qingsong 24.0
Jin Miaomiao was stunned by Song Yaojia's words. She hadn't expected that someone praised by His Highness the Eagle King as having extraordinary talent could say such fearless words in such a calm tone.

She had met many people who considered themselves geniuses. They were talented and knowledgeable, and in many ways, they were indeed much better than most people. But these people would never say such things. They were always arrogant and conceited. If they were asked to exchange their lives for the peace of the majority who were not as good as them, they would absolutely not agree.

Jin Miaomiao had seen too many people like this, so she was stunned after hearing Song Yaojia's words. It turned out that not all geniuses were like that, and that those people were not real geniuses.

Watching Jin Miaomiao's expression shift from shock to blankness, and then to sudden realization, Song Yaojia couldn't help but smile. She then shifted her gaze from Jin Miaomiao to Shen Haolin and Shen Cha. The three of them exchanged glances and simultaneously revealed a relieved smile.

Merlin glanced at the group of people exchanging glances, then at Jin Miaomiao who seemed lost in thought, and then at Xia Jiu and Shen Jiu who were still sleeping soundly. He breathed a slight sigh of relief. The group of people had made quite a commotion just now, but thankfully they hadn't woken up the two young masters.

"How is it?" Song Yaojia looked at Meilin, smiled at her to indicate that she wouldn't wake the two sleeping little ones, then looked at Jin Miaomiao and asked, "Have you figured it out?"

"Hmm!" Jin Miaomiao nodded. "I always thought that talented people were all arrogant and haughty, but I never expected that the Yun family's ancestor was like this. It's really unexpected. No wonder the Yun family has a history of hundreds of years. Other families rise and fall, but their scale is different!"

"Compared to the Yun family, those so-called talented people are simply not worth mentioning." Song Yaojia waved his hand. "Their vision and perspective are limited. They can only see their own gains and losses, not the big picture. That's why they only have a fleeting moment of glory." He sighed softly and said, "The ancestor of the Yun family is a role model for us, someone we should learn from."

"Hmm!" Jin Miaomiao nodded. "But why has the Yun family disappeared since the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty?"

"Not only the Great Xia, but they also didn't participate much in the previous dynasty. This is a family rule left by a certain patriarch, which forbids Yun family members from entering officialdom."

"why?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Song Yaojia shook her head slightly. "I only heard that a certain emperor felt the Yun family's prestige had grown too great, surpassing even the royal family, so he wanted to take action against them. However, the Yun family noticed in time and, together with the Xuanyuan family and the Eagle King's Mansion, drove the emperor out of the palace and installed a new emperor. The new emperor was the last disciple of the Xuanyuan family head at the time, and had grown up in the Xuanyuan Mansion, the Eagle King's Mansion, and the Yun family. Naturally, he followed their will and there was no conflict between them."

"But," Jin Miaomiao stroked her chin, "the Yun family still withdrew, right?"

“Yes!” Song Yaojia sighed. “Because the previous emperor targeted the three families, the three families also suffered heavy losses, especially the Yun family, which was in charge of the Imperial Observatory. They lost many of their members, including the heir favored by the Yun family’s then-head.”

"Is the lineage about to end?"

"More or less." Song Yaojia nodded. "So, the initial decision to retire while still at the peak of their career was to cultivate a successor and prevent the Yun family's fortune from being ruined in their hands. Although there were no restrictions on clansmen entering officialdom at that time, there really weren't many people willing to go out and become officials." "Once bitten, twice shy?"

"Pretty much. Although the current emperor is his protégé, the heart of a ruler is unpredictable. Who knows if the one you've raised is a pure and harmless puppy, or a treacherous wolf who will turn his back on you?" Song Yaojia raised an eyebrow slightly. "About fifty years passed like this. When the Yun family regained their power and wanted to make a comeback, the Eagle King's Mansion disappeared from the public eye. Only the Xuanyuan family remained standing in the capital. It wasn't until the three families sat down and talked that they realized the current royal family was not the same as it was fifty years ago. New powerful families had emerged, replacing the old ones and becoming the center of power. The reason the Xuanyuan family is still around is because..."

"Holding a large army?" Shen Cha frowned slightly. "That shouldn't be the case. Isn't the Eagle King's Mansion the one that truly holds a large army?"

“No one knows exactly how powerful the Eagle King’s Mansion is. That’s why the previous dynasty and the dynasty before that didn’t dare to take action against the Eagle King’s Mansion. They felt that the Eagle King’s Mansion was unfathomable. If they were to do something wrong, they might completely destroy their own dynasty. Wouldn’t that be a loss?” Song Yaojia raised an eyebrow. “Moreover, my uncle once said that the Eagle King’s Mansion does not trust the two royal families of the previous dynasty and the dynasty before that, and does not dare to easily show its strength.”

"To put it bluntly, it's about keeping an eye on them, right?" Seeing Song Yaojia nod, Jin Miaomiao frowned slightly. "Why? Logically speaking, both royal families were established by them!"

“Supporting them is a temporary measure, since no more suitable people have been found. They are the best of a bad bunch.” Song Yaojia spread his hands. “I had a very deep conversation with my uncle about this. He said that those two royal families were chosen out of necessity because they were the strongest at the time, and, most importantly, they seemed to be more obedient.”

“Obedience is the key,” Shen Cha chuckled and said. “The previous dynasty wasn’t really chosen by the Eagle King’s Mansion, but by families like the Wang and Xie families. Both the Xuanyuan family and the Eagle King’s Mansion were just going with the flow.” She looked at Song Yaojia and said, “This must have been orchestrated by the Yun family behind the scenes? They’re pretty accurate at this, aren’t they?”

“That’s right!” Song Yaojia nodded. “After the Eagle King’s Mansion gradually disappeared from the center of power, the next patriarch set a family rule that Yun family members were not allowed to enter officialdom, and also set a rule that non-Yun family members could not inherit the Yun family’s unique skills.” At this point, he sighed softly and said, “Because the newly established center of power wanted to demonstrate its capabilities, with the tacit approval of the royal family, it wanted to take action against the Yun family.”

"What does it mean to take action against the Yun family?"

"Destroy all of the Yun family's influence in the imperial court."

"But by then, the Yun family had already gone into seclusion. What power did they have left?"

“Many of their original disciples were not from the Yun family, so…” Song Yaojia sighed, “Indeed, many people were implicated by them, swallowed up by the new forces, leading to one tragedy after another.”

"So, that's the real reason for that family rule. It's not to exclude non-Yun family members, but to protect them."