The history of the Chen Household is almost unfathomable, because no one can say for sure when the Chen Household was founded. Some say the Chen Household existed ten thousand years ago, while others say Chen Household before the Warlock Dynasty.
In the Chen Household, even their own descendants don't know the family's true history. Only a small number of core descendants and elders who succeed the family's power are barely qualified to know that the Chen Household is actually Central Plains sorcerer family that has been serving the Dragon Clan since the Dragon Clan's heyday.
In other words, the Chen Household's Genesis actually lie in serving demons.
This is something that no one knows after so many years. Even if two families passed down their family history together, they would not mention it. In each generation, only a few outstanding heads of the branches know some secrets. And coincidentally, the third branch of the Chen Household is one of those marginal members who are completely unworthy of knowing the family history.
In the main hall of the Chen Household, Chen Baiye summoned all the descendants of his third branch of the family. His branch had four sons and two daughters, and including grandchildren, there were about fifteen people in total, which was considered a large and prosperous family.
At this moment, he held the letter from the Jiangnan delegation, but instead of opening it immediately, he told his descendants about the family's affairs.
"After I learned of the family's true plans, only our third branch of the family remained in the entire capital."
Upon hearing this, the young men all wore complicated expressions and were momentarily at a loss for words.
The Chen Household once served the Dragon Palace. A hundred years ago, when the King of Qin sealed away the ancient world, the family began to plot against the King of Qin and revive the Dragon Palace. Before heading to Jiangnan, the family head, Chen Baifeng, arranged a way out for the Chen family members, but none of the members of the third branch knew about it.
Clearly, in the Chen Household today, the descendants of the third branch are already marginalized.
"Father, has our third branch been abandoned?" The speaker was Chen Baiye's youngest son, who was only fourteen years old this year. He was the most talented sorcerer among his sons. According to the normal trajectory, he could have entered the Yin-Yang Academy next year. With his aptitude, Chen Baiye felt that if he was properly nurtured, he could have earned a position as an academic official, which would greatly improve the status of the third branch.
Hearing his youngest son's words, Chen Baiye's heart tightened, and he forced a smile, saying, "It's not a matter of giving up. My third branch is in charge of general affairs in the capital, and the sixth branch, which is in an even worse situation than us, hasn't even had time to evacuate from the north."
Everyone: "."
Is this a competition of who's worse?
"I'm telling you all this so you can see one fact clearly," Chen Baiye sighed, looking at the children. "We... at least for now, aren't qualified to have any contact with the family's core interests. It's not that we've been abandoned, though. The capital is still important. To allow me to work here with peace of mind, the family will give your children a few spots so they can go to the South Sea and enjoy some resources. However, naturally, it won't be comparable to the direct descendants of the first and second branches, and it might not even be comparable to the other major families that the family is trying to win over. Do you understand?"
The group fell silent upon hearing this. Their aptitude was average, at least not outstanding. If they had had more resources back then, they could have entered the academy. But what could they do when they weren't born into the first or second branch of the family? Ultimately, their lack of success was due to their insufficient aptitude. Even if they had entered the Yin-Yang Academy, they would at most become record officers, at the Fifth Rank rank at most.
There's not much you can fight for for the next generation; it might be better to honestly manage the family's affairs and get your share.
But the next generation is uncertain. Most of you here are very young, and your children are only two or three years old. Whether they have the aptitude is anyone's guess. Of course, everyone hopes for a higher starting point from a young age—that's an ancient secret!
But my father meant that the number of spots provided by the main family was definitely not enough for all of them.
The thought that one's children can only choose one to go, or even none at all, and that the resources they receive will be of lower quality compared to the children of the other two families, makes one feel extremely uncomfortable!
"Father, did you have other plans in telling us all this?" The second son, who was in charge of managing Chen Household's affairs and external business, mainly business in Jiangnan, was the one who spoke. It was because he knew Jiangnan well that he sent both sets of children there without hesitation and successfully admitted two of them.
He is still grateful for this decision, because as it turned out, the situation in the capital worsened, and his children at least had a way out there.
At this moment, his father had gathered everyone here, which he believed must also be related to Jiangnan.
As expected, Chen Baiye glanced at his second son and nodded, saying, " The Jiangnan delegation sent a letter hoping to have a talk with us."
"What does Father think?" asked the eldest son Chen Song.
"My idea is to have more options, more choices."
The second son's eyes lit up, while the Laoda and Laosan frowned. The two daughters' eyes flickered, and the youngest son tilted his head, listening attentively.
" Jiangnan must have come at a price for coming to us, right?" the Laoda said in a deep voice.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world," Chen Baiye laughed. "After all these years in business, haven't you learned this lesson yet?"
"So what are their requirements?"
"What else could it be?" the Lao'er chuckled. " Chen Qing's visit to the court during the day has caused quite a stir. Clearly, this was a test between the royal family and Jiangnan. Chen Qing brought a strong force, only to have it wiped out by the royal family using unknown methods. He must be trying to gather some intelligence, and as the most prominent family in the capital, our Chen Household naturally has the most comprehensive intelligence network."
"Intelligence?" The Laosan sneered, "The consequences of that are considerable. At this stage, what will His Majesty think of us for providing intelligence?"
Chen Baiye remained silent for a moment, then directly pulled out a second letter. Everyone present was a sorcerer, and they could immediately tell it was a royal sorcerer's envelope.
"His Majesty's letter?"
"His Majesty anticipated that the Chen Household would seek intelligence from us, so he made arrangements with us in advance. Do you understand his intentions?"
"Your Majesty foresaw this all along?" the Laosan asked in astonishment.
"What's so hard to guess?" The Laoda shook his head and said, "In the entire capital, my Chen Household is the easiest to win over. Chen Qing wants to gather intelligence, my Chen Household is the best target. It would be strange if His Majesty couldn't guess it."
He then looked at Chen Baiye and asked, "What does Father mean by this? Are you helping His Majesty plot against Jiangnan?"
"This is the path you've chosen today!" Chen Baiye said sternly to the Human Dao. "You can guess this, and so can those in Jiangnan. But the reason they invited us is because they're betting on which side is offering the bigger stakes, betting on which side we'll ultimately choose!"
"Is that even a question?" the Laosan chuckled. "Of course we'd gravitate towards the capital. Why would we side with a illegitimate prince?"
" Chen Qing's throne was bestowed by the imperial court and won by force. If it's not legitimate, what in this world is legitimate?" the Lao'er retorted directly.
"Second Brother seems to favor Jiangnan?" the Laosan said, squinting. "But that makes sense. After all, Second Brother sent his children to Jiangnan a long time ago, so it's normal for him to favor that side."
"Was there anything wrong with my decision to send my children to Jiangnan?" The Lao'er looked at the other man. "Isn't the reason why our Chen Household's business can always seize the initiative in the capital because of the first-hand information from my children who went there? Without them telling us which products would be the most popular, would our family have so much money now?"
"That's because His Majesty allowed trade!" the Laosan said in a deep voice. "If things fall apart completely, what good are all the treasures Jiangnan has to do with us?"
"It's none of your business that you've been staying in the capital."
"What? Is Second Brother going to run off to Jiangnan?"
Is there a problem?
"Are you crazy?" The Laosan stood up on his own. "You want our entire family to give up Beijing for your two children?"
"Is the capital city such a good place?" The Lao'er looked at the other with amusement. "What's left here? All the major families are fleeing to the South Sea. Do you think the academy's Daoist scriptures will still be preserved? Without the Yin-Yang Academy, what's so good about this capital city? Is it the scenery or the quality of the spiritual fields?"
"This is at least the capital of the Central Plains!"
"The capital?" The Lao'er scoffed. "It's practically a ghost town now. The capital? Jiangnan has Warlock Academy that rivals the capital. My children have also sent word that Jiangnan has a secret Dragon Palace in the West Sea. Isn't that better than you guarding some shabby property here?"
"The capital is a good place. If this place is truly so good, why didn't any of the first and second wives leave behind any descendants here?"
Laosan: "."
Tomorrow is Mofang's birthday, another year older. Mofang is 32 this year. In the blink of an eye, we're all middle-aged. I'm so sad.
I was supposed to post three chapters today, but I'm definitely going out for dinner tomorrow and having some fun in the evening, so this saved-up chapter will have to be used for tomorrow's regular update... Bonus chapters will have to start the day after tomorrow. Hope you all understand, hehe.