"The assassin must have been a Peerless Expert to infiltrate the imperial palace, assassinate the Second Prince, and escape unscathed. His Majesty was enraged and ordered the entire city to hunt for the assassin."
Chen Li said with feeling. He neither liked nor disliked the Second Prince, but he was deeply astonished by the strength of martial arts masters.
Jiang Changsheng frowned. Weren't there Heaven-reaching Realm experts inside the imperial palace? How had they let the assassin succeed?
That was too absurd!
Could it have been the work of those powerful nobles?
But would the Emperor allow those people to lay hands on another of his sons?
Jiang Changsheng asked, "The Second Prince is not in grave danger, is he?"
Chen Li replied, "They say he was seriously injured, but it should not be fatal. Otherwise, Great General Hong would surely go mad. The Second Prince's mother is no easy opponent."
Jiang Changsheng suddenly found that he could not understand the Emperor.
After speaking with Taoist Priest Qingxu last time, he had guessed that the Emperor had most likely been behind his switch at birth. Among the great and powerful, who could be greater than the Emperor?
If the Emperor had done it, then it was easy to explain. The imperial palace was filled with experts; how difficult would it have been to take him out? If the Emperor had turned a blind eye, it all made sense. But what did it mean for the Emperor to let those people attack another of his sons?
Was he determined to slaughter all his own sons? Could it be that the Emperor himself was the one who had truly been switched at birth?
Even now, Jiang Changsheng could not figure out why the Emperor had arranged for him to be switched.
"I heard you injured that Demonic Taoist. Well done! After the Demonic Taoist was injured, His Majesty rarely saw him anymore. But recently, His Majesty has only attended court four or five times a month. Who knows what he has been doing in the palace? Now that the Second Prince has been injured again, the court is restless. The Prime Minister even took the chance to suggest that the Crown Prince oversee the state. What utter nonsense! If a rift appears between father and son someday, would the realm not descend into turmoil?"
Whenever Chen Li spoke of court affairs, he became indignant, showing no restraint even when mentioning the Emperor and Crown Prince.
Jiang Changsheng asked, "Did His Majesty agree?"
Chen Li said, "I do not know. That day, His Majesty did not attend court. After the officials of the Three Departments reported the matter to His Majesty, there was no further news."
The Great Jing Dynasty followed the system of the Three Departments and Six Ministries. It resembled certain dynasties of Huaxia, though there were differences. The Three Departments were the Secretariat, the Chancellery, and the Department of State Affairs. Their status stood above the Six Ministries, and all their heads were second-rank ministers who dealt directly with the Emperor. The Prime Minister was the head of the Three Departments, equal to them in rank, but superior to their high ministers in authority.
Jiang Changsheng asked curiously, "Brother Chen, what about you? Which imperial son do you support?"
How could an official serving in court avoid choosing a side?
Chen Li said, "Naturally, I honor the Crown Prince. Since ancient times, the eldest legitimate son taking precedence has been the proper path. It is simply that the Crown Prince gaining power too early brings more harm than benefit."
Damn.
You were actually part of the Crown Prince Party!
Jiang Changsheng was speechless. Still, Chen Li was probably not his enemy. Otherwise, he would not have spoken so many outrageous and treasonous words.
"Speaking of which, His Majesty's attitude toward His Highness the Crown Prince has always fluctuated between good and bad. In recent years, he has even begun neglecting Her Majesty the Empress. Perhaps His Majesty has started to fear the Empress's faction," Chen Li said with a sigh.
Jiang Changsheng asked, "Is the Empress's faction that powerful?"
It was difficult for him to learn about the imperial palace while living in the Taoist temple, and Taoist Priest Qingxu would not say much either.
Chen Li sighed. "Powerful? It can already shake the foundations of the state. The commander of the Imperial Guards stationed in the capital is Her Majesty the Empress's elder brother. Two of the Three Departments are headed by Her Majesty's younger brothers. When His Majesty rose in rebellion, he relied on the Yang family. After His Majesty married the Empress, the Yang family supported him with all their strength. Only then did he have the money to recruit troops and buy horses. At the time, the Yang family was a wealthy merchant clan of one region. They poured out their entire fortune to support His Majesty. Their men served as His Majesty's soldiers and generals, their talented scholars as his advisers. As tides rose and fell, whether His Majesty won or lost, the Yang family followed him without wavering. They were His Majesty's most trusted force, right up until they helped him seize this vast realm."
Jiang Changsheng suddenly understood. He finally realized why the Emperor had switched him at birth.
He even felt a trace of sympathy for the fake Crown Prince.
That fellow was destined for tragedy!
The Emperor had switched him out. One day, if he exposed the fake Crown Prince as not being his biological son, would that not give him cause to depose the Crown Prince?
Though the Yang family would be furious, they would not be able to find the true Crown Prince. They could only allow another imperial son to ascend the throne, and the Yang family would gradually be weakened.
However, the Yang family still had one trump card: the Fourth Prince, Jiang Yu.
Wait!
Then Jiang Yu...
Jiang Changsheng's heart turned cold. Even a tiger did not devour its cubs, but his imperial father was truly ruthless.
Great Jing took faith and righteousness as the foundation of the state. Back then, the Emperor had promised that once he conquered the realm, he would share it with the Yang family. Naturally, he could not directly destroy the Yang family. He needed methods. He needed reasons.
Over the years, which fallen high minister had not been charged with rebellion, oppressing the common people, or other crimes? Because of this, the Emperor had not yet lost his reputation for faith and righteousness. Those ministers had simply brought ruin upon themselves.
Chen Li chatted with Jiang Changsheng for another one incense stick time. After he left, Jiang Changsheng remained in his room, lost in thought.
There truly was no familial affection in an imperial family. It was not an empty saying after all.
Jiang Changsheng sighed inwardly. He had no interest in becoming Emperor. Even if he were made Emperor now, he would not know how to govern a dynasty. But being schemed against like this, even by his own father, still left him deeply displeased.
As the saying went, he who did not avenge such a grievance was no gentleman!
Jiang Changsheng's gaze flickered as a bold idea gradually formed in his mind.
Inside the imperial palace, within the Second Prince's sleeping quarters.
Jiang Yuan, his hair half-white, sat at the bedside and looked at Jiang Ming on the bed with a pained expression. Jiang Ming had already awakened, but his face was utterly bloodless and his lips were cracked. Compared to the high-spirited figure he had been at Dragon Arising Temple that day, he was like a completely different person.
"Ming'er, go out less in the future. Though the realm has been settled, remnants of the previous dynasty still remain. Do you understand?"
Jiang Yuan patted Jiang Ming's hand and sighed anxiously.
Jiang Ming gritted his teeth. "But I was not assassinated outside the palace. I..."
Jiang Yuan glared at him and barked in a deep voice, "Were your actions at Dragon Arising Temple not imposing enough already? Even I do not dare guarantee someone's safety completely, yet as an imperial son, you dared claim that you would protect someone forever. Would others not think you unbearably arrogant after hearing that?"
"You even announced it to the entire capital. Absurd!"
Cold sweat streamed down Jiang Ming's back upon hearing this.
Behind Jiang Yuan stood someone else: the Crown Prince, Jiang Qian. He possessed a refined and scholarly temperament, lacking the spirited vigor of Jiang Yu and Jiang Ming.
Jiang Qian said, "Father Emperor, Second Brother was merely speaking boldly. He held no ulterior motive. Besides, he is injured. Why must Father Emperor frighten him?"
Jiang Ming cast him a grateful look.
Jiang Yuan glanced at Jiang Qian and snorted. "You only know how to indulge your younger brothers."
Jiang Qian smiled but said no more.
Behind Jiang Qian stood the old eunuch who had followed Jiang Yuan for years, Eunuch Li. He was also the one who had sent Jiang Changsheng out of the imperial palace.
Eunuch Li bent at the waist and said, "Your Majesty, the time has come. It is time to ask Heaven."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan flicked his sleeves and rose to his feet. With his hands on his hips, he laughed. "Recover well. Next year, once the Grand Canal has taken shape, I will take you two south of the river by boat. From childhood until now, neither of you has ever left the capital. I will show you the splendid realm I carved out."
With that, Jiang Yuan swept his sleeve and strode away with the gait of a dragon and tiger. Eunuch Li hurried after him.
Jiang Qian shook his head with a laugh, then looked toward Jiang Ming on the bed. "Second Brother, recover well. I must go attend to matters too."
Just as he turned around, Jiang Ming's voice drifted over, stopping him in his tracks.
"Eldest Brother, do you think someone in the palace might want me dead?"
His tone was meaningful. He stared at the ceiling rather than looking at Jiang Qian.
Jiang Qian turned his head slightly, showing Jiang Ming his profile. "Second Brother, read fewer history books. Our Jiang family is a family of true dragons. How could we slaughter one another? I will investigate this personally. I will not allow such a thing to happen."
With that, he stepped out of the room.
Jiang Ming revealed a mocking smile, then slowly closed his eyes.
After the Second Prince was injured, he sent no more gifts. Jiang Changsheng was pleased to have the peace and quiet, allowing him to focus on cultivation.
A month later, the snake egg finally hatched. A small white snake emerged, thinner than Jiang Changsheng's little finger and nearly ten centimeters long. Newly born, it was no different from an ordinary small snake. Jiang Changsheng had no choice but to care for it personally, even feeding it as carefully as possible for fear that it might choke to death.
That year, Jiang Changsheng encountered no further danger. The Second Prince did not come visit him, nor did those powerful nobles who opposed him send anyone to assassinate him again.
The eighteenth year of Kaiyuan!
That year, the Emperor took the Crown Prince and Second Prince by boat into the Grand Canal, heading south of the river.
The Grand Canal ran from north to south and was still under construction, but more than half had already been completed, enough for boats to travel through.
The Emperor leaving the capital was a major event. The disciples of Dragon Arising Temple had heard of it as well. Jiang Changsheng had learned it from Qing Ku. Since the founding of the state, it was the Emperor's first time leaving the capital.
Jiang Changsheng did not care much. If the Emperor was absent from the capital and those powerful nobles attacked, they would be delivering survival rewards right to his doorstep.
He spent most of every day cultivating the Dao Follows Nature Skill. His spiritual energy was boundless. To say that a Peerless Expert was one-thousandth as strong as him would already have been praise.
One day, in the courtyard.
Jiang Changsheng sat on the threshold. Before him stood two children, both six years old, one boy and one girl. Their Taoist robes draped loosely over them, making them appear even more adorable.
Looking closely, the two Taoist children stood utterly motionless. A faint golden glow even shone from their pupils, making them appear extremely eerie.
Jiang Changsheng, on the other hand, had golden eyes. Even in broad daylight, they gleamed brilliantly. He was using the Illusory God Eyes to alter the memories of the two Taoist children.
He suddenly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his pupils had returned to normal, and the two Taoist children awoke as well.
The little Taoist girl asked sweetly, "Senior Brother Changsheng, why did you stop?"
This was the memory Jiang Changsheng had implanted in them, making them believe they had been listening to his teachings. In truth, they had only just arrived, and Jiang Changsheng had not lectured at all.
The little Taoist boy scratched his head, equally puzzled.
Jiang Changsheng smiled. "Nothing. Let us stop here for today. Come again tomorrow, and I will teach you some martial arts."
The two immediately cheered and then departed.
After they left the courtyard, Jiang Changsheng let out a long breath. Altering nearly five minutes of memories for just two children had left him somewhat dizzy. The side effects of the Illusory God Eyes were truly severe.
Jiang Changsheng was not disappointed. Instead, he was exhilarated. As long as he became strong enough, could he directly alter someone's memories of the first half of their life, thereby changing their personality and even making them serve him?
Too tyrannical!
A white snake emerged from behind Jiang Changsheng's neck and flicked its tongue at his cheek, appearing extremely affectionate.
More than half a year had passed, and the white snake had grown to nearly half a meter long. It was gentle and intelligent, able to understand human nature. Jiang Changsheng named it White Dragon, hoping that one day it could transform into a dragon.
That evening, Chen Li came to visit.
"Changsheng, you must be careful. His Majesty has left the capital, and undercurrents are surging through the city. The martial men of my Chen family have learned that the Devil Sect is preparing to enter the capital. They are likely coming to avenge Ghost Eye Evil King," Chen Li said solemnly, his face full of concern.
Thanks to Wen Ah for the reward of 5,000 Qidian coins
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