The Crown Prince Jing was Tong Yan.
He was a master of chess playing, and good at scheming and calculating.
It was because of him that Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui were able to kill Lo Huainan across the state.
He had only lost once in this aspect in his life, and that was when he was defeated by Jing Jiu in the chess tournament of the Plum Meeting.
As such, he didn't care about the world or the other twenty-three participants of the Dao Competition; he only cared about Jing Jiu. He had also recorded this statement in that book. Of course, there were many other contents in the book, such as the truth of this world and the purpose of his coming here: to help his Young Sister become the final participant of the Dao Competition and obtain the Fairy Book of Longevity.
The door of the study room was pushed open, and someone walked in along with the wind and snow.
He knew that the person who came in was his father, Jing Of Silla, without using the secret code of knocking on the door or asking for permission.
"The little princess of the Qin Kingdom has been found. She is in Beihai County. She should have been brought into his manor by the governor of Beihai. In your opinion, when will Beihai rebel?"
It was evident that Jing Of Silla trusted his son, who had just turned ten years old. He even asked for Jing Jiu's opinion on such an important matter.
After thinking for a while, Tong Yan said, "I'm afraid that the governor of Beihai will hand the princess over to the Qin Emperor in exchange for some benefits."
Jing Of Silla was surprised by Jing Jiu's judgment.
"The people of Beihai are valiant, and their army is very strong. The son of the governor is called the young martial god. Now that the little princess is in their hands, how can they not be tempted?"
Tong Yan knew the identity of that young martial god. In fact, he had been communicating with Beihai County in private over the last two years.
"The governor of Beihai is a bit cowardly, and it's too cold to make up his mind. It's hard for him to make up his mind."
After some thought, Jing Jiu said, "Try to find a way to send the Qi Kingdom to help them. In addition, ask my father to send some spies to spread the news in Xianyang City. Maybe it will work."
Jing Of Silla was overjoyed. "My son's plan is brilliant," he said.
Tong Yan thought that this wasn't a scheme, so he didn't want to continue this topic. "What does father think of Zhao State?" he asked.
Jing Of Silla said disdainfully, "That fatuous ruler won't die no matter how you look at it. Zhao still has to suffer. When he dies, I'm afraid Zhao will be crippled."
…
…
In just a few years, two emperors had died in the Five Kingdoms, and two new monarchs had arrived.
The new emperor of the Qin Kingdom already had the reputation of being cruel and tyrannical. The new emperor of the Chu Kingdom was not only an idiot but also a fatuous emperor.
However, if one were to talk about a truly incapable ruler, it would have to be the Emperor of the State of Zhao who had a pair of fish eyes.
If one were to write down all the evil, scandalous, and absurd things that this incapable emperor had done, the paper in the capital Luoyang would be unreasonably expensive.
Since ancient times, eunuchs had always been accompanied by incompetent rulers.
The chief eunuch who was most favored by the emperor of the State of Zhao was surnamed Hong. Although he wasn't extremely powerful, he was still feared by everyone.
One evening, when the sky was dark, Eunuch Hong didn't leave the palace. He was resting on a chair in the courtyard.
A young eunuch about ten years old knelt beside him. He held a palm-leaf fan in his hand and carefully fanned him. At the same time, he quietly drove away the mosquitoes and flies.
After fanning for a long time, Eunuch Hong still didn't open his eyes. The young eunuch's arm became heavy, but he didn't dare to stop or change hands.
The day before yesterday, he had fanned here all night. His right arm was red and swollen, and he had no strength at all.
When the last trace of twilight disappeared, Eunuch Hong finally opened his eyes.
The young eunuch was somewhat happy, thinking that he finally didn't have to fan all night. However, he was also somewhat disappointed. He wondered if Eunuch Hong felt that his fanning wasn't good enough.
Eunuch Hong looked at him. A trace of interest appeared in his murky eyes. "How long have you been in the palace?" he asked.
The young eunuch put on a smile and replied, "Grandfather, almost five years."
Eunuch Hong said, "At the beginning, you were beaten for a year. Then you spent a year not being beaten again. You spent another two years before I could see you again. What did you pay to pick up this fan?"
Just as the old eunuch was beginning to speak, the young eunuch had already begun to kowtow. His forehead bumped against the floor.
Hearing the last question, the young eunuch lowered his head and said, "I gave away all the money I had saved in the previous four years. I also … stabbed someone with a knife."
"You're so young, yet you know how to give your weakness to me. You're really smart. In order to improve yourself, you're willing to use any means necessary.
Eunuch Hong narrowed his eyes and said, "Even your aptitude is not bad. But why should I teach you?"
…
…
He Zhan turned his head to look at the small courtyard. There was no resentment on his pale face, only gratitude and reverence.
Of course, this was a pretense. However, even though Eunuch Hong had refused his request, he had indeed gained some benefits.
There were so many eunuchs in the royal palace, but how many of them were qualified to fan the Eunuch Hong and drive away the mosquitoes? It was thought that he would live a better life in the near future, and the Concubine Ping might even reward him with some good things for the sake of the Eunuch Hong. Yet, he still felt a bit depressed when he thought of what Eunuch Hong had said.
That's right, why should I?
He also wanted to shout at the sun in the sky, "Why should I?"
Why should I live such a miserable life and live such a servile life? "
Eunuch Hong was the strongest swordsman in the royal palace of Zhao Zhao, but he was merely in the middle state of the Golden Pill if he were in Chaotian. Yet, he had no choice but to bow and scrape to the Eunuch Hong, trying to please him. It was because he had no way to cultivate his own magic method after being castrated. All he could do was find a suitable magic method in this world.
Yet, what Eunuch Hong said was right. Why?
There was a fork in the road ahead. One road led to the Concubine Ping Palace, and the other led to the royal garden.
The royal garden was a bit desolate in recent years. It was said that the Emperor had drowned too many palace servant girls there, and the place was haunted by ghosts.
Even the girls waiting to be selected wouldn't go there to try their luck, to say nothing of the eunuchs who believed in ghosts and gods in the afterlife.
He Zhan walked toward the royal garden, intending to take a walk.
It was getting late at night. The lights in the distant palace were very bright, and the wild grass grew very long in the royal garden, looking like the shadows of ghosts.
He Zhan was of course not afraid. He walked to the deep end of the royal garden, ready to climb up the artificial hill and lie down for a while.
All of a sudden, he found someone else was in the royal garden that night.
There was a small chestnut tree by the lake.
A thin and weak youth stood under the chestnut tree.
The youth wore a light yellow cloth, his expression a bit gloomy.
He Zhan knew that he was the Crown Prince of Zhao State, a few years older than him, and that he was not a participant in the Dao Competition.
…
…
In the next few nights, He Zhan saw the Crown Prince of Zhao State in the royal garden.
What he didn't understand was why the Crown Prince looked at the distance thoughtfully while stroking a tree branch, even though he was not a participant in the Dao Competition.
Your father is a bad emperor, and it's indeed a disgrace; but do you think your life is worse than a little eunuch like me?
Looking at the figure under the small chestnut tree and the terrain by the lake one night, He Zhan made up his mind.
He came to the royal garden ahead of time. After making sure that nobody was by the lake, he walked under the tree and took out the small knife that he always carried with him, starting to cut the tree branch slowly.
He was careful not to cut the tree branch in half. Then he sealed the cut with the mud and cleaned up the wood shavings and other traces of the tree branch.
Then he waited for the Crown Prince to fall into the lake because the tree branch was cut off.
Yet, the event that He Zhan thought would change the history didn't happen, either because he didn't cut it deep enough, or because the Crown Prince's hand was too weak and weak.
Summer passed and autumn came. He Zhan had given up, and he even forgot about it.
One afternoon, as he squatted by the lake to reward himself, he suddenly heard a cracking sound from above.
…
…
The Crown Prince fell down the slope and rolled to the edge of the lake.
Then he saw a little eunuch with an oily mouth looking at him in astonishment.
The Crown Prince was slightly angry, thinking that if he hadn't been frightened by the smoke and fire, he wouldn't have broken the tree branch and fallen down, ending up in such a sorry state. He was just about to teach the little eunuch a lesson when the eunuch suddenly pounced on him and covered his mouth, shushing him incessantly, his eyes pleading for mercy.
Seeing the little eunuch's pitiful appearance, the Crown Prince's heart softened.
The little eunuch slowly released his hand and said fawningly, "Don't shout, don't shout. I'll share the fish with you."
The Crown Prince looked at the roasted fish on the tree branch in his hand and asked in surprise, "Where did this fish come from?"
The little eunuch replied matter-of-factly, "Of course the fish comes from the lake. How could it come from the tree?"
The Crown Prince became even angrier, wondering which palace this little eunuch came from to have such a sharp tongue.
The little eunuch tore off a piece of fish and handed it to the Crown Prince, saying, "I didn't give it to you to shut your mouth. Look at how thin you are and how pale your face is. Tsk, tsk, how miserable … Which palace are you from? Look at your cheeks, they're so thin they've sunk in, and your mouth is so sharp. "
The Crown Prince was startled and unconsciously took the fish and put it into his mouth. Then he was stunned and said, "It's really delicious."
…
…
The next day, He Zhan entered Eunuch Hong's courtyard again.
Summer had already passed, so he didn't need to fan himself. To get this kind of good job, he needed to put in more effort.
The red and swollen face was only a small price to pay. What was really useful was the jade pendant the Crown Prince had given him last night.
As long as the Crown Prince was here, he would always have the jade pendant, so he didn't feel bad about it.
He cleaned up the courtyard and then walked into the inner room, kneeling in front of Eunuch Hong.
Eunuch Hong was surprised to see that it was this child and asked, "Have you thought of an answer?"
That question could be summed up in three words: Why?
He Zhan said, "Last night, I had a roasted fish with His Highness the Crown Prince."
Eunuch Hong's murky eyes lit up and he laughed, saying, "Not bad! Not bad! "
…
…
With the Blue Bird's attentive observation, the people outside the Huiyin Valley naturally wouldn't miss the wonderful stories in the Illusionary Realm.
Seeing that Eunuch Hong finally began to teach He Zhan martial arts and thinking of his miserable life in the past ten years, the people couldn't help but feel sentimental and silent.
Suddenly, a crisp clap came from under a tree.
It was Sensei who was clapping. She had a piece of dried fish in her mouth, looking like those cute little sea animals on the shores of the West Sea.
"I'm a little tired from sitting here, so I'm going to walk around somewhere else. Do you want to come with me?"
She said to Shui Yue Nunnery.
Shui Yue Nunnery was a little surprised, asking, "You don't want to watch the rest?"
Sensei said, "There's nothing to watch in the middle. It'll be more interesting when those guys grow up."
Growing up overnight was just an adjective in the real world, but it would happen in the Dao Competition.
Five days later, Sensei and Shui Yue Nunnery came back from the Hanshi Valley with the fragrance of flowers all over their bodies. The participants in the Illusionary Realm were already fifteen years old.
Regardless of which world they were in, fifteen years old was considered an adult.
They would encounter many troubles when they grew up, and they would face life and death.
After years of effort, Tong Yan had found out the whereabouts of a dozen participants in the Dao Competition. He didn't do anything right away. All he did was observe their growth in secret. He would only help them at certain critical moments, or strike them down, or even kill them directly.
Yet, something strange had happened this spring. A few participants of the Dao Competition had died mysteriously before he could strike.
According to the investigation of his subordinates, the killer didn't belong to any force, and he struck alone every time.
The twenty-six participants were all the strongest swordsmen of the young generation. They entered the Illusionary Realm at the same time and started cultivating at the same time. Normally, their Cultivation states should be similar; but the killer could kill them so quickly and cleanly. It was evident that his Cultivation state was much higher than that of the dead.
Who was it that could cultivate so quickly? Tong Yan took out the book from a secret drawer, and moved his finger slowly over the names. In terms of talent in Cultivation and Cultivation state before entering the Illusionary Realm, Jing Jiu was the strongest; but it was difficult for him to leave the royal palace. Even if he could, he wouldn't bother to do so. Who was the killer then?
Tong Yan rubbed the center of his brows. He found that his impression of these names was fading away, like the ink characters on the paper.
Over the years, he would take out this book and review it from time to time. But the memory was still fading away, as if it had happened a long time ago, or even in his last life.
Time was indeed the most dreadful, merciless, and irresistible divine weapon.
He wondered how the rest of the participants could retain their memories, or had many of them lost themselves in the mortal world?
…
…
Jiang Rui left his small courtyard to buy a horse-drawn carriage.
He hadn't lived a good life over the years, but as a Cultivation practitioner, he had enough money to buy a horse-drawn carriage.
He hadn't forgotten about the assassination of He Zhan's entire family; but he had forgotten most of what had happened before entering the Illusionary Realm.
Fortunately, he hadn't forgotten about the Dao Competition and those participants.
He knew that he had to keep on climbing until he reached the peak of power and influence, and then meet the godly commissioner to ask for the Tripod.
No matter how big the goal was, he had to start from a small one.
A few years ago, he did something trivial.
He pushed his father, who was addicted to gambling and drinking, into the river, and threw many stones into the river.
Then, he used the money he had stolen and robbed to buy a dozen acres of land for his mother, and hired a few honest and capable workers, and arranged a good marriage for his younger sister. Later, he went to the town to study, read books and write poems, and made a name for himself. He became acquainted with the county magistrate, and advanced step by step.
But it was too slow to do so, and he always felt that a force was hindering his progress.
He didn't know that this force came from the distant Cangzhou; he thought it was because the town was too small.
There must be something wrong with the Crown Prince of King Jing, the idiotic little emperor, and the young martial god from Beihai County.
Those people were already in high positions, but he was still trying to please the county magistrate. How could he do that?
While walking on the street and thinking of all this, Jiang Rui felt his body heating up, and a lofty feeling arose in his chest.
Then, he suddenly found that something was wrong.
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