From the fake emperor to the concubine

Zheng Tianming spent over an hour explaining before everyone believed that he truly had no secret methods.

However, this is something everyone knows: this guy is a completely different person when he drinks alcohol compared to when he doesn't.

Even today, they are not quite sure just how smart this guy can become after drinking, given his drastic personality change.

In fact, not only Zheng Tianming, but each of them, after practicing the ancestor's techniques, more or less created something that only they themselves knew about.

Despite being in a precarious situation, almost the entire world was pessimistic about the Zheng family's so-called apprenticeship ceremony.

After all, all sorts of messy rumors were circulating, and the Zheng family's denials, while not entirely ineffective, were practically useless.

Even though everyone knows in their hearts that those rumors are almost all unfounded and exaggerated.

But what if there's even a one in ten thousand chance that it's true?

The path of cultivation is inherently difficult. For ordinary cultivators, even a single wrong step could lead to utter destruction.

If the Zheng family were a thriving sect or clan, and wanted to recruit disciples, of course everyone would flock to them.

But everyone knows what the Zheng family has been like all these years.

Even if you don't know the answer, you can find out most of it by asking around.

Although the matter of the Zheng family patriarch has been mentioned by many people.

However, those forces that wanted to suppress the Zheng family were already prepared for this.

They immediately released the news that it was just a smokescreen deliberately created by the Zheng family to find cannon fodder.

If the Zheng family really had such a powerful patriarch, how could the family's power have declined day by day?

This statement is very reasonable, and many people firmly believe it.

Many people are secretly plotting and preparing to watch the excitement of the apprenticeship ceremony.

In fact, not only outsiders felt this way, but even among the Zheng family members, many were not optimistic about this apprenticeship ceremony.

"I think the clan leader is being too eager for quick success. Now is not a good time to hold the apprenticeship ceremony at all," a junior member of the Zheng family complained to the clansmen around him, feeling frustrated.

The person listening to his complaints immediately retorted: "The clan leader must have his own ideas. Do you think our Zheng family shouldn't expand its power? We've been bullied for so long. Now that we have our ancestor backing us up, isn't it time to show the world the strength of our Zheng family?"

"You don't understand!" Zheng Hui's face was etched with deep weariness. "Of course I also believe that the stronger the family, the better. After all, even putting aside other benefits, as long as the family is strong, the resources they give us each month will increase, won't they?"

"The problem is, we survived the previous war that wiped out our race, and now should be the time to develop quietly and accumulate strength."

"You've also practiced the martial arts techniques our ancestors gave us. What do you think of them?"

Mentioning cultivation, the other person's hair stood on end with excitement: "This is the first time in my life that I've felt that cultivation is such an amazing thing."

"As long as I practice diligently according to the techniques, I can feel my strength improving every now and then."

“Unlike before, no matter how hard I tried, it seemed like I was just standing still.”

Zheng Hui nodded, spread his hands, and said dejectedly, "That's the problem. The ancestral techniques are so powerful that anyone could cultivate them and master them."

"As long as we can calm down and develop for a period of time, there will definitely be many more experts in the family."

"And perhaps by then, our ancestor will have already emerged from seclusion."

"With our ancestor, a peerless master, around, and with the other experts emerging in the family, the situation will definitely not become so passive."

Before the other member of the Zheng family could speak, a steady voice rang out from behind them: "You're right. I have something to ask you. Come with me."

The two turned around at the same time and were immediately drenched in a cold sweat.

Because it was actually the clan leader, Zheng Tianhao, who spoke.

Zheng Hui, who had been speaking eloquently just moments before, suddenly changed his expression and hurriedly explained, "Clan leader, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zheng Tianhao waved his hand lightly, and Zheng Hui immediately felt as if his mouth had been covered, unable to utter a complete sentence.

As for the other person, they were already in a panic and didn't know what to do.

Zheng Tianhao remained calm, showing no sign of sadness or joy.

Pointing to Zheng Hui, he said, "I have a phone call to make to him alone."

Another member of the Zheng family immediately understood, and suddenly slapped his forehead, saying in an extremely exaggerated manner, "Oh right, I just remembered, the quilts my mother asked me to air out haven't been brought in yet. Clan leader, I'll go and bring them in right now."

Judging from his exaggerated manner, it was as if taking in the blankets was some kind of important and significant task.

Zheng Hui was speechless. He thought to himself, "If you're going to make an excuse, can't you come up with a better one?"

Treating the clan chief like a fool is no different from slapping him in the face.
What truly left Zheng Hui speechless was that the clan leader seemed completely oblivious, instead smiling and waving him away: "Since you have important business to attend to, hurry up and do it, don't waste time."

The man didn't even bother to bow to the clan chief; he turned around decisively and disappeared in a flash.

"Come with me." Zheng Tianhao told Zheng Hui to follow, and then walked quickly toward his study without looking back.

Zheng Hui was feeling very uneasy, wondering how much of what he had just said had been heard by the clan leader.

A junior member of our own district dares to speak so brazenly about the clan leader behind his back.

I'm afraid I'm going to have a really bad day.

Whenever Zheng Hui thinks about this, he feels like slapping himself a few times.

You say you have opinions about the clan leader, so you should just keep them to yourself. How dare you not keep your mouth shut and tell others?

It would have been one thing to tell others, but of all times, the clan leader overheard it.

At the beginning, Zheng Hui was indeed nervous and worried.

I wonder how the clan leader will punish me.

Gossiping behind someone's back isn't a particularly serious offense, but if it leads to a reduction in your monthly resources...

However, as he walked, Zheng Hui gradually calmed down.

After all, if the clan leader is really angry, he can just send someone to deal with him.

Although he had some talent, he was just an ordinary member of a family and didn't have any particularly extraordinary cultivation aptitude. His parents were also ordinary people.

I can't possibly make the clan chief wary of me by taking care of myself, can I?
Since the chieftain wasn't going to punish him, the reason he asked him to go with him is quite thought-provoking.

Although the Zheng family's territory is quite large, it doesn't give Zheng Hui much time.

Soon, Zheng Hui, who was obediently following behind the clan leader, arrived at the study.

The study looked a little messy, with many books on strategy and tactics casually tossed on the floor.

Just by looking at the current state of these books, Zheng Hui could almost see the frustrated and irritable expressions of the people reading them.

This person didn't even have the patience to turn the pages of the book, because many pages had been torn out.

After seeing so much, Zheng Hui felt as if he had been affected, and his mood suddenly became irritable.

Upon entering the study, a maidservant came to serve tea. She had barely put down the teapot, and hadn't even had a chance to refill the cups, when Zheng Tianhao shooed her out.

Afterwards, Zheng Tianhao stood up and personally poured tea for Zheng Hui, which made Zheng Hui feel flattered.

Even while pouring tea, Zheng Tianhao seemed lost in thought, unaware that the teacup was already full.

This is why he is the head of his own clan. If it were someone else, Zheng Hui would never have given them a kind look and would have left decisively.

Although the tea was scalding hot, it didn't bother Zheng Hui.

If someone with his cultivation level can't even withstand a little hot tea, he might as well just die.

Even after the teapot had been emptied, Zheng Tianhao held the teacup for a long time without making any further moves.

Zheng Hui is now absolutely certain that his clan patriarch was distracted.

So he quickly coughed lightly to remind his family patriarch.

Zheng Tianhao then realized that he had lost his composure.

Since he had already lost face in front of his juniors, Zheng Tianhao simply let it go.

"Zheng Hui, right? Do you know why I called you here?"

Zheng Tianhao originally thought that after hearing what he said, Zheng Hui would definitely panic and apologize to him, and swear that he would never gossip again.

And you, on the other hand, will put on a tolerant and magnanimous appearance and forgive the rudeness of this younger generation.

Then, he took the opportunity to ask his own questions, hoping that this seemingly very clever young man would provide them.

When Zheng Tianhao first discovered that this kid dared to make fun of him, he was indeed very angry.

Although our family is currently in a weakened position, we will not tolerate your gossip here.

Unfortunately, his tricks were nothing compared to Zheng Hui's.

“Ancestor, I don’t know why you summoned me here.”

Zheng Hui smiled confidently and said, "But I believe that you definitely did not call me here to scold or punish me."

"I am also a member of the Zheng family, and I am willing to do anything for the Zheng family."

Zheng Hui looked at Zheng Tianhao with a sincere expression, hoping to show the other party his true feelings.

Zheng Tianhao hesitated again. This was a serious matter, and even if it was his own family, he dared not easily reveal everything.

Seeing Zheng Tianhao hesitate, Zheng Hui felt extremely frustrated. He just couldn't understand what could possibly make the patriarch of the Zheng family so hesitant and conflicted.

As he was pondering, Zheng Hui suddenly looked up in astonishment, staring at Zheng Tianhao in disbelief, and asked, "Clan leader, could this matter be related to that person?"

He subtly pointed to the location where the ancestor Zheng Yi was in seclusion.

Zheng Tianhao couldn't help but gasp; he hadn't even said anything yet.

That kid Zheng Hui actually managed to guess that this matter was related to our ancestor.

It's such a failure that I was completely unaware that there was such a talented person in my family.

Since this kid is so smart, Zheng Tianhao is no longer burdened.

He glanced cautiously in Zheng Yi's direction and lowered his voice, saying, "You're right, this matter is indeed related to our ancestor."

Then Zheng Tianhao briefly told Zheng Hui about Zheng Yi's suggestion to Zheng Tianming to expand the family's strength.

Of course, Zheng Tianhao kept the fact that his own younger brother, Zheng Tianming, was wailing and crying in the place where their ancestor was in seclusion a secret hidden from him.

It only mentioned that the ancestor Zheng Yi passed on his skills to Zheng Tianming and gave him orders.

“Kid, I think you have a point. Our family isn’t strong right now, and forcibly expanding would only make us a laughingstock.”

"With the ancestral techniques in hand, as long as we lay a solid foundation and take one step at a time, becoming the most powerful family in the Xuanzhou Continent is only a matter of time."

"But for some reason, our ancestors' ideas were different from ours."

Zheng Tianhao sighed as he spoke.

As the head of the family, the burden on his shoulders was far too heavy.

Even if he doesn't understand or comprehend many things, he absolutely cannot show it.

Therefore, during this period, he always presented himself as someone who understood everything and knew the meaning of the ancestors, but he couldn't say it.

However, in reality, he was probably the most anxious and irritable person in the entire Zheng family.

It was precisely because of this that Zheng Tianhao unknowingly developed the habit of reading military books and strategies.

He had hoped that these things would give him some inspiration.

result……

It's better not to look at it; the more you look, the more irritable you become.

So today I simply left the books behind and went for a walk.

As they walked, they overheard Zheng Hui complaining about himself to his friends.

So Zheng Tianhao was immediately intrigued and wanted to chat with this younger member of the family.

He didn't think a junior could know much, but unexpectedly, the kid turned out to be really amazing.

"Tell me, what exactly was our ancestor thinking?" Zheng Tianhao himself probably didn't realize that he was now not speaking to a junior as an elder, but as an equal.

“Well…” Zheng Hui stroked his chin and said, “Clan leader, based on my understanding of this ancestor, he used to be a very powerful person.”

Zheng Tianhao rolled his eyes: "Isn't that obvious? If our ancestors weren't powerful, how could they have left behind such a glorious family? Tell me something I don't know."

Zheng Hui solemnly said, "Clan leader, although this is nonsense, it does illustrate a point..."

Zheng Tianhao immediately perked up his ears: "What's the problem?"

Zheng Hui laughed and said, "Because this shows that our ancestor was a smart man, not the kind of reckless fool who just charges ahead blindly."

"You tell me, how could our ancestors, who were so wise, possibly issue orders that were clearly detrimental to us?"

"Therefore, our ancestors must have had a deeper meaning, but we just haven't understood it yet."

"Once you figure this out, I think all the problems will be solved."

Every time Zheng Hui spoke, Zheng Tianhao would nod, like a chick pecking at rice.

"That's absolutely right. In that case, what do you think our ancestors meant?"

Zheng Hui was speechless for a moment: "I don't know." (End of Chapter)