Chapter 12: Keeping Mum (1/2)
Chapter 12: Keeping Mutian fell silent upon hearing his wife’s words The founder of the Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Taizu, had lost his sons to the war that founded the eer brother offered his second son—the current King Qi—to Taizu for adoption
However, Taizu sacrificed his own life in a bitter fight to defeat an expert fron tribes Mindful of the instability of the newly-fore of his adopted son, Taizu no breath This led to the rise of E the will of Taizu, Ereatly expanding the territories of the Zhou Dynasty The many battles—and the injuries which he suffered—took their toll on his physical body, and he reached his limit prematurely When it was time to choose an heir, he was put in a bind
By convention, the throne belonged to Taizu’s lineage He had only assuovern Now that King Qi was a grown ht for hireed lurks in the hearts of all ’s blood, he had been adopted by Taizu, and thus Taizong did not see hi Jin, instead
Taizong hatched a clever plan He issued an edict, declaring that the first of the two to reach the Earth I Jin, as the eldest son of Taizong, was naturally older than King Qi He also enjoyed the full backing of Taizong, which granted hi that King Jin was the first to reach the Earth Ie, and succeeded his father to beco
This decision caused much controversy, as many older subjects in the i Qi’s right to rule To placate the Qi could one day succeed Gaozong when he passed on
A hundred years had passed since then, and Gaozong was nearing the end of his life The issue of succession ca chose to proclai Qi’s folloere upset by this pronouncenated crown prince was far less talented than the prodigious King Qi
Despite their opposition, E had ruled for a hundred years, and had consolidated great power and influence during his reign Clashes had erupted between both factions in recent years, both openly as well as covertly
The Chu clan, through its dominance in both the salt trade and the arms trade, had unbelievable wealth that rivaled that of a country Given the significant resources at its disposal, it was inevitable that both factions would seek to win their support However, Chu Zhongtian had taken a fiercely neutral stance, as he had no wish to embroil the Chu clan in the current war of succession In response, the Imperial faction had intensified their overtures, and were pushi+ng to cetian and his wife had been deeply troubled by this matter because the Chu clan, unlike other clans, harbored a huge secret Furthere role in the business empire of the Chu clan If she were to be married into the I shole
Chu Chuyan are of as at stake, so she proposed taking the initiative to hold an open selection for her spouse She chose the e ceremony in order to crush any ideas that the I Qi’s faction had in mind
This sequence of events had led Qin Wanru to suspect the culprit who ruined the spirit creek had been sent either by the eardless of who the culprit is, we have troubling days ahead of us,” Chu Zhongtian said gravely “Sang Hong is going to take over as the governor of Linchuan Cohtmoon City was under the jurisdiction of Linchuan Commandery
Qin Wanru exclai!”
The Minister of Finance was one of the Nine Ministers that ed the finances of the empire, with the Vice Minister of Finance as the second-in-charge Sang Hong, who supervised the salt and arms trade within the e assigned to the Linchuan Commandery in order to deal with the Chu clan
“I’ve heard ru his kin if he needs to Many noble clans have fallen apart due to his intervention I fear that our Chu clan is in grave danger,” Qin Wanru re the traces of fear streaking the face of his usually headstrong wife, Chu Zhongtian ely when it co is no h!”
Qin Wanru rolled her eyes at her husband “Is his cultivation the only thing that on Mountain is no ed to eradicate hitian harrumphed coldly “That Chen Xuan is a sly fellow Every ti news of him, he disappears without a trace I suspect he has an insider within this city that has been tipping hio!”
A thought popped into Qin Wanru’s ally peddles salt and plunders passingthe’s hands He won’t be able to turn a blind eye to this tian’s eyes lit up as well “What a wonderful idea! That remindsover to Brightet aroup—yowch ouch ouch ouch”
Before Chu Zhongtian could finish, Qin Wanru grabbed his ear tightly, saying, “You are just worried about their matriarch, Yu Yanluo, aren’t you? She was the number one beauty of the capital back then I know that you sha the Cloud the spark between you two?”
Chu Zhongtian desperately pleaded for mercy, “My dear wife, they have already beenHow could I possibly bear such intention toward her? You mustn’t spout such nonsense!”
However, Qin Wanru still refused to release her grip, sniffing coldly instead “I heard that the Cloudmidst Duke recently passed away in an accident Doesn’t that tian’s eyes lit up “Is that true?”
Skewered by his wife’s ed his tone and said, “My dear wife, doesn’t the fact that I’norant about her affairs show that my eyes have never been on her? Besides, you know the current circumstances I am in How could I have any intentions towards her?”
Seeing the hurt look on Chu Zhongtian’s face, Qin Wanru hurriedly released his ear “Husband, I’tian shook his head “No, I’m the one who has let you down”
Qin Wanru hated to see her husband so downcast, so she quickly changed the subject “Where did Chuyan go?”
Chu Zhongtian replied, “She’s bringing the young miss of the Pei clan around the city”
Qin Wanru furrowed her brows “As so Qi’s faction I can’t help but think that she has darker intentions in httian chuckled in response, “Rest assured! Our daughter is a smart child, she knohat to do”
Qin Wanru harru, but she has the face of a cunning vixen Those peach blosso the tian burst into laughter “Are you worried that she would snatch your daughter’s ht of Pei Mian for Zu An’s witless features It was inconceivable! “I would celebrate if she took that scoundrel away from Chuyan!”
“Achoo~”
Zu An suddenly let loose a powerful sneeze He wondered which younght a cold? I’ll find soht away!” Before Zu An could react, a young man had already wrapped a robe around him
The stupefied Zu An took a closer look at the young man before him He appeared to be fourteen or fifteen years old, and was dressed in a set of blue clothes His hair was tied into two buns on top of his head Together with his large eyes, they lent him a docile, youthful look