"Master, I'm just as confused as you are! If those two beautiful ladies hadn't explained it to me, I wouldn't have known I had such an impressive background."
My dad, Li Tiezhu, from the twenty-first century had somehow turned out to be the younger brother of Murong Bo, a peak grandmaster in the Comprehensive Martial World—and a prince of the already Fallen Kingdom of Great Yan.
My grandmother, who had been dead for who knew how many years, had apparently been the consort of the emperor who had failed to restore Great Yan.
Li Hao didn't know his grandmother's name. He'd only seen the ancestral tablet at home. The first two characters on it were Li Shi...
But once Li Hao said those two characters aloud, everyone at Canhe Manor agreed that the tablet belonged to Consort Li.
What the hell, that works too? Don't the tombstones of married women in China usually have "Shi" after their surname?
Of course, Jiumozhi hadn't been there for any of this discussion. By the time he entered, everyone had already stopped talking.
After all, some secrets couldn't be shared with outsiders.
But Li Hao was feeling pretty uneasy—not that kind of uneasy, mind you. He was worried, not impotent. If they found out later that he wasn't the second young master, would they chop him into minced meat and wrap him in dumplings?
"Since Young Hero Li is Mr. Murong's nephew, perhaps we could go pay our respects at his grave together," Jiumozhi suggested.
"The second young master can certainly visit Murong's grave now that he's returned to the manor. But as for the master... that place is a forbidden area of our manor. Even members of the family can't just go there," Deng Baichuan said. He had served Murong Bo for many years and naturally knew the secrets involved.
Murong Bo wasn't dead. The grave was only a burial mound containing his clothes, and it also served as a secret meeting place.
Whenever Murong Bo had a task for them, he would send it through a mechanism into the burial mound. They simply had to carry out the instructions written there.
"Brother Deng, it's all right. Master Jiumozhi is a friend of Mr. Murong. He's here to burn the sword manual and fulfill the old gentleman's last wish." Li Hao hurriedly spoke up for Jiumozhi.
"Since the second young master has spoken, I'll take the master and the young master there myself. But let me make this clear beforehand: it's the ancestral grounds of the Murong Family. No one is allowed to make a racket or damage anything there," Deng Baichuan said sternly.
"Don't worry, Brother Deng. We're just going to burn a sword manual," Li Hao said casually.
"Dear, I think Young Master Duan seems like a good person. Are you really going to burn him?" Yi Lin had been a nun and was kindhearted; she couldn't bear to see anyone suffer.
As for Ning Zhongze, she wasn't close to Duan Yu. If her little man wanted to burn him, then let him. As long as he was happy.
Lin Shiyin thought the exact opposite. She wasn't close to Li Hao, and if she pleaded for Duan Yu, Li Hao might think she'd taken a fancy to him. That could make Li Hao even more ruthless.
"Hmm, I guess burning someone alive is a little inhumane," Li Hao said, stroking his smooth chin.
"This humble scholar thanks Madam Li for saving my life." Hearing someone plead for him, Duan Yu was overjoyed. He hurriedly thanked Yi Lin for speaking up.
"Then let's cut him down first and burn him afterward! Xiao Hei, take a few men and bring some firewood over. Make sure you build the pyre properly. I'm worried he won't burn completely, and Mr. Murong won't be pleased if he goes down there missing an arm or a leg, or with half his wits gone."
"Yan Shun, sharpen that blade. Make it quick—a single stroke, so Prince Duan won't feel any pain. That way, burning him won't be inhumane." Li Hao took Yi Lin's advice and decided not to burn him alive.
"Don't worry, young master. I prepared it long ago." As Yan Shun spoke, he drew his saber.
Everyone looked over. Its blade gleamed brightly, and its edge was razor-sharp. It would have no trouble cutting Duan Yu down.
"Fine blade," Deng Baichuan said. He was a swordsman himself and genuinely appreciated a good weapon.
Of course, there was someone who didn't appreciate it. That someone was the heir of Dali, Duan Yu.
At first, when he heard they weren't going to burn him, he'd been overjoyed, thinking he'd finally escaped. But then...
They'd just given him a different way to die. Being cut down by a blade was indeed less cruel than being burned alive. It was practically merciful.
"Second young master, the head steward sent word. This boy is the only son of Duan Zhengchun, Prince of Zhennan of Dali. The current emperor of Dali intends to pass the throne to Duan Zhengchun, then go to Tianlong Temple to devote himself to Buddhism. If we kill him, it could spark a conflict between the Duan family and our Canhe Manor!" A Bi had heard what Li Hao said and suddenly realized that the young man Jiumozhi had brought along was no ordinary beggar.
"That's right, second young master. Keeping him alive would be a great help to our efforts to restore Great Yan. Killing him would do us more harm than good." Deng Baichuan also stepped forward to urge him.
Apart from A Zhu, all of them had served the Li family for generations. Everything they did was in the cause of restoring their kingdom.
"Nonsense! You think he's Duan Zhengchun's son? Duan Zhengchun doesn't know who he is. Who knows what he'd do if he found out?" Li Hao said with a curl of his lip.
His words left everyone in the hall stunned. Even Jiumozhi perked up his ears.
Who said that monks had to be free of all worldly concerns? Hadn't they seen how even the enlightened Master Jiumozhi loved gossip?
"Lies! My father is Duan Zhengchun, and my mother is Dao Baifeng, the Princess of Zhennan. Don't try to slander me. My father is about to become emperor of Dali. If you let me go, I promise Dali will give your Murong Family its full support when you rise up to restore your kingdom." Duan Yu began trying to tempt Li Hao.
He had no choice—he was afraid to die! He was still so young, hadn't even lost his virginity, and was as inexperienced as a fledgling. It would be a terrible waste to die.
"Heh, you call yourself the heir of Dali, but hasn't your mother told you that you're the bastard she had with a beggar? What's more, that beggar was Duan Zhengchun's mortal enemy. If he found out who you were, he'd probably kill you himself."
Li Hao dropped another bombshell, directly declaring that Duan Yu was a beggar's son.
"Outside Tianlong Temple, beneath the bodhi tree; a disheveled beggar, a long-haired Guanyin. Could he be that man's child?" Lin Shiyin said, covering her mouth.
Lin Shiyin had been clever from a young age. She'd read the Four Books and Five Classics, histories of every dynasty, and all manner of unofficial histories. She was fascinated by the old scandals of royalty.
When Li Hao had fought Duan Yanqing, she'd been held in his arms. She'd heard every word he said, and remembered it all exactly.
"Beautiful miss, my mother, Dao Baifeng, is the Princess of Zhennan and the daughter of the Baiyi Tribe's chief. She hates nothing more than men who behave improperly, flirt around, and leave women everywhere. How could such a noble woman have an affair with a beggar?" Duan Yu hurriedly explained.
Li Hao had tarnished his mother's reputation. As her son, Duan Yu couldn't just sit by and watch, enjoying the spectacle.
However, everyone else present was skeptical of what Li Hao had said.
The second young master was probably just making it up to fool Duan Yu. After all, it was the family history of a prince, and it had happened more than ten years ago. How could the second young master know about it?
Before you continue