Jiapingguan Chronicle

"Are you worried that your master's lineage will be broken?" Song Yaojia looked at Jin Miaomiao, smiled, and said, "Don't be so nervous, there's no such possibility."

"why?"

“I don’t know either, that’s what my uncle said. The Yun family has been passed down for hundreds of years and still stands strong today, still admired by the royal family and other aristocratic families. They are naturally blessed by heaven. Such a family will not easily lose its lineage.” Song Yaojia smiled and made a reassuring gesture to Jin Miaomiao, saying, “They have their own set of rules and regulations, and we mortals don’t need to worry about them. My uncle once said something that I deeply agree with: as long as their family doesn’t use their abilities to do things that are immoral and unethical, there will basically be no problems, and they will continue to pass on their lineage.”

“That makes sense.” Jin Miaomiao nodded, exchanged a subtle glance with Shen Cha, then turned to Song Yaojia, grinned at him, and said cheerfully, “Your Highness.”

Seeing her expression, Song Yaojia couldn't help but shudder and quickly waved her hand.

"Hey, hey, get to the point! Don't treat me like this, I'm a little scared!"

"We're asking Your Highness for a favor, so naturally we have to be more polite and obsequious, right?"

What do you want to ask?

Upon hearing Song Yaojia's words, Jin Miaomiao's smile widened, and her attitude became even more obsequious. She said, "Do you know anything about my master's past? Could you tell us about it?"

"I do know more than you, but not by much." Song Yaojia pushed her teacup towards Jin Miaomiao, raising an eyebrow at her. "If you want to know, why don't you offer some help?"

"Alright!" Jin Miaomiao readily agreed, poured Song Yaojia a bowl of hot tea, pushed it over, and said, "Your Highness, please have some."

"Good attitude." Song Yaojia blew on her drink, took a sip, and said, "What do you want to know?"

"Your Highness, please don't keep things to yourself, just tell us everything you know!" Jin Miaomiao thought for a moment, then added, "Actually, what I want to know most is his relationship with Gongsun Yue, and some of the stories that happened between them. My advisor didn't seem like the type to associate with someone like Gongsun Yue, I never expected this."

"I didn't expect they were so close, was it?" Seeing Jin Miaomiao nod, Song Yaojia raised an eyebrow and said, "Gongsun Yue."

"What?" Jin Miaomiao stroked her chin. "Hard to say? My grand-uncle's assessment was that he wasn't very good at judging people, but otherwise he was fine. What was His Highness the Eagle King's assessment?"

"Indeed, as my uncle said, he is a good person overall. But according to my father and uncle, the reason he chose the old Marquis of Xibo as his successor was not for the reason that was rumored outside, nor for the reason that my uncle knew."

"Even your great-uncle doesn't know? Why?"

"Because he didn't believe in fate before, he couldn't explain to his uncle the reason why he chose to become the Marquis of Xibo."

"Even your great-uncle has gone through such a thing, yet you still don't believe in destiny?"

"That's why I don't believe it," Song Yaojia said helplessly, spreading her hands. "My uncle once said that back then, the Prince of Jing's Mansion invited Elder Heng of the Yun family through the royal court to read the fortunes of my two great-uncles and see if they had any major setbacks." "And what happened? He didn't see anything?"

"Pretty much. He didn't point out the future direction of the Jingwang Mansion, nor did he predict the future fate of the two great-uncles, let alone mention such a miraculous encounter. Later, after the incident, the great-uncle went to the Yun family and specifically asked the elder from back then, but still didn't get a clear answer."

"Would you say that this elder of the Yun family is not skilled enough?"

"I don't think so." Shen Cha shook her head slightly. "This elder must have seen something, but just didn't say it."

"why?"

"The ordeal of the Jingwang Mansion and the extraordinary encounters of my two great-uncles, I believe, are the true secrets of heaven, the kind that must not be revealed. The Yun family already suffered a shortened lifespan because of peeking into heavenly secrets. If this elder were to reveal even a fraction of it," Shen Cha looked at everyone and sighed softly, "he would probably stage a tragic scene of my great-uncles vomiting blood and dying on the spot, and the Yun family would likely be punished as a result."

“What you said,” Song Yaojia stroked her chin, looked at Jin Miaomiao, and then at Shen Haolin, “makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?”

“That’s true.” Shen Haolin nodded. “Those in their line of work probably understand the risks involved and won’t say things out loud easily. They can talk nonsense normally, but when it comes to crucial moments, they’ll have to shut up, or they might bring disaster upon themselves.”

“That’s right!” Shen Cha sighed. “I’m afraid my great-uncle realized this later, so he wasn’t so averse to Master Qingsong and Gongsun Yue. In fact, he was quite supportive.”

"You admire them, don't you?" Seeing Shen Cha nod, Song Yaojia smiled. "Gongsun Yue didn't make that decision on his own back then. He invited two elders from the Yun family, one of whom was Master Qingsong."

"He's using this to decide his successor? Isn't that a bit too careless?"

"It's not about choosing an heir, but about choosing who to let go." Song Yaojia looked at Jin Miaomiao and smiled. "Lord Tan and the Third Young Master have always been out of place in the entire Xibo Marquis's mansion. They are both very studious and excel at their studies, but according to the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty, they cannot participate in the imperial examinations. They can only succeed Gongsun Yue and become members of the Imperial Observatory. However, Lord Tan and the Third Young Master have clearly stated that they do not want to join the Imperial Observatory. Although they are both very accomplished in this field, it is insignificant compared to being local officials."

"But their backgrounds destined them to never be able to fulfill their wishes."

“Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “So, Gongsun Yue invited two elders from the Yun family to do divination with him. The three of them did divination once each and then together once. The results were the same: Gongsun Yue’s kinship with Lord Tan and the Third Young Master is very weak. If it is forced to maintain, the Xibo Marquis’s Mansion will face an unprecedented crisis.”

"Isn't this pretty much what's being said outside?"

“No, it’s different.” Song Yaojia shook her head gently. “There’s a second half, and no one else knows about it except my father and uncle.”

"The second half is..."

"Not only will the Marquis of Xibo's mansion face an unprecedented crisis, but Gongsun Yue's three children may also die young, or even violently," Song Yaojia sighed. "When the first divination came out, Gongsun Yue was skeptical, but after repeated divinations, the result was always the same, so he had no choice but to believe it. That's why Lord Tan and the Third Young Master separated from the family and were included in the Lady of Xibo's maternal family's genealogy, thus severing all ties with the Marquis of Xibo's mansion." (End of Chapter)