Chapter 1 A Daughter is a Father's Precious Treasure

A daughter is the apple of her father's eye. Old He was more than willing to be a devoted daughter's slave, so much so that in the He family, the son held little standing.

If it were someone of the same age, Old He's lifelong accumulation of wealth would be insignificant compared to truly wealthy families. However, among ordinary folk, he could completely retire. He could divide his property, grab a stool, sit at the end of the alley, and squint at the widow whose husband had passed, joining others to listen to gossip.

But now,

But at this moment,

After his son told him last night the true identity of "Yan Xiaoliu,"

Old He was completely dumbfounded.

Good heavens!

Once, Old He also thought his daughter was foolish, only seeing Yan Xiaoliu's handsome face and willingly giving herself to him, even defying her father and brother with a hairpin to her own neck.

But thinking about it now,

His daughter certainly had her own mind.

Without that night,

If he had really stopped her,

Wouldn't she have missed the chance to become a phoenix?

The rest was a mix of sighs and fear.

Old He had never dreamed of enjoying his children's success; he didn't entertain the idea of one person's enlightenment leading to the elevation of their entire family.

His daughter had married a prince and entered the Ji family. The plays always depicted such households as treacherous and the days as perilous.

Not to mention the imperial family, even the Zhang family in Nanan County had incidents of the legal wife drowning concubines, with no one reporting it and the authorities turning a blind eye.

The imperial palace was far more profound than even a small Zhang family.

"Dad?" He Chu came to support her father.

Old He slowly stood up. Earlier, he had deliberately pretended to be ignorant. Last night, He Chu had told him that the one coming to present the betrothal gifts today was a prince.

In other words, the one handing over the gift list today, who called himself an elder brother, should be the current First Prince, who had even been a general!

Looking at the gift list, the pork legs had doubled. His imperial in-law…

He was afraid. Old He's legs would go weak at the sight of the county magistrate, let alone a prince.

But as a father, on his daughter's wedding day,

He had to toughen up.

The harsh words that needed to be said had to be said, the warnings that needed to be given had to be given.

It was only today,

It could only be today.

After today,

The prince was a prince, and he was a butcher. He wouldn't even dare accept the respect due to a father-in-law, let alone say the kind of stern words he had said earlier.

"Chu ah."

"Dad, I'm here."

"Accompany the Sixth Prince, and greet the relatives and neighbors. Let your dad, let Dad catch his breath, catch his breath."

"Okay, Dad."

In this era, few married far away. Ordinary marriages were usually within neighboring villages.

A distant marriage like Old He's was rare in the area.

Adapting to the local conditions, the entire process couldn't be followed, but setting up a feast to treat relatives and neighbors was only right.

A wedding banquet was held, albeit somewhat hurried.

The complexities of which need not be elaborated.

The morning after the wedding banquet, Ji Chengjue, with his wife, prepared to return to the capital. Why go to the capital? Everyone knew. This was just an appetizer; the real show was in the capital.

Old He and He Chu had to pack up their belongings and set off for the capital the day after.

In fact, there wasn't much to pack, but Old He refused his son-in-law's invitation to go to the capital together.

In the evening,

In the courtyard that was lively yesterday but deserted today,

The father and son sat on the doorstep,

Together, they looked at the moon overhead.

Actually, many people had come to inquire about their son-in-law's situation, but both Old He and He Chu had brushed them off with a laugh.

Strangely enough,

When other families' fortunes rose, they were usually extremely excited, wishing the whole county knew their daughter had caught a golden turtle.

But Old He and his son didn't feel that way.

They always felt like something was weighing on their minds.

Eating and drinking didn't taste right.

"Son ah."

"Yes, Dad, I'm here."

"Double-check the things again. Tomorrow, we'll have to set off."

"Don't worry, Dad, everything's checked. But my brother-in-law said that after we get to the capital, we don't need to prepare anything. He'll take care of arranging everything for us."

Old He sighed,

And raised his hand.

He Chu obediently leaned his head over,

"Slap!"

He received a slap from his father.

"You are you, he is him. We, father and son, have our own hands and feet, and we won't stoop to licking the faces of our in-laws."

"But, Dad…"

"What is it?"

"Don't you also worship the Emperor with everyone else during festivals?"

During major holidays, there was usually a ritual of looking towards the capital and kowtowing to His Majesty the Emperor.

Old He pursed his lips,

And stubbornly said:

"The Emperor is the Emperor, and my in-law is my in-law."

"What's the difference?"

"Son, your dad has been selling pork for most of his life, and I understand these principles, these little ways of the world.

Let me put it this way,

This marriage is a step up for our family, a step up to the heavens.

Our Old He family's little bit of land, and the few pigs we've lent out to the farmers, are really nothing in our in-law's eyes.

All that's left for the Old He family,

Is integrity."

"Yes, Dad."

"Chu ah, you have to be strong. Let Sixth Prince... Let Sixth Son teach you how to read and write. You learn, you study. We'll pay for the teacher ourselves.

When Sixth Son invites you to eat something, you have to think about whether you can afford it. If he invites you to eat a fish, you have to return half a chicken the next day.

If you don't think you can return it tomorrow, then don't go eat it today.

In life, in business, in dealing with people, dealing with people is about give and take. You can't just eat without giving back, understand?"

"I understand, Dad."

"It's good to be able to read, it's good to study. It was Dad who held you back back then, thinking that reading and writing would only lead to being a bookkeeper at best, and that it would be better to follow Dad and butcher pigs to earn a living.

Now,

You have to read more and learn more words."

"Why, Dad?"

Your sister is already a member of the Ji family, a member of the imperial family. In the future, if it gets out that her brother is a crude man who can't even read a single word, we, father and son, will be losing face for your sister."

"My sister won't care about that, Dad."

"Whether she cares or not is her business. We, father and son, have to care. Your sister's future days won't be easy. Social status, social status, in the past, our Great Yan emphasized social status, which was higher than the heavens."

"There are no more aristocratic families now, Dad."

The Yan Emperor trampled down the aristocratic families, causing rivers of blood to flow.

Old He sighed again,

And held out his hand,

He Chu, seeing this, once again obediently leaned his head over.

"Slap!"

Another slap.

He didn't use much force, not because he felt sorry for his son, but because he felt that hitting his son hard would be a waste of effort.

Old He pointed to his chest,

And said earnestly:

"Social status, is in the heart."

…

"Now, there's a saying going around, I don't know if you've heard of it, Sixth Prince.

It's said that in this current era, ever since His Majesty swept away the aristocratic families, this world has become an era of great contention.

In ordinary peaceful times, the martial world is vibrant, hence the Four Great Swordsmen, the Seven Great Saber Masters, and the Nine Great Spearsmen, as well as various other martial arts sects, all vying for recognition.

The outer sects, the monastic orders, the great celestial masters, the ancestral temples, all competed for incense and fame.

But when the era of great contention arrives, the martial world is instantly ravaged by war, and the ancestral temples are trampled upon.

The Jin swordsaint still relies on the iron cavalry of my Yan Empire, and Tiger Mountain was completely destroyed by the Jingnan Marquis. The Chu swordsmith fled far away from Jade Plate City. The ancient temples were stripped of their gold. In short, they ended up in a rather miserable state.

But the idle are never idle. For example, recently, a new saying has started to circulate, focusing on rising military stars, supplemented by those with high status and prestige."

Ji Chengjue picked up his teacup and smiled at the young man in front of him:

"Oh, does that include the Jingnan Marquis and the Zhenbei Marquis?"

"Not at all. When making the evaluation, it is mainly focused on the younger generation.

The Little Prince of the Desert Barbarians has been frequently active in recent years. The reason why the Barbarian King watched from the sidelines when my Great Yan launched a war against Qian Jin was to free up his hands to focus on handing over the royal court to that Little Prince.

It is said that this Barbarian Little Prince is highly valued by the wise kings and generals of the royal court, and he himself is known as the eagle of the desert, a rare sight in a hundred years.

Perhaps, he will become a future threat to my Great Yan."

Ji Chengjue shook his head and said:

"As long as the barbarians can still breathe, they will always be a threat to my Great Yan."

"There is also Zhong Tianlang of the Qian Kingdom's Zhong family. This person is the next generation's banner-bearer of the Zhong family. When my Great Yan and the Qian Kingdom went to war, this person once led light cavalry into my Yan territory to raid military camps.

In that battle, the various troops of the Qian Kingdom were defeated one after another, and only he barely managed to save some face for the Qian Kingdom, for the officials of the Qian Kingdom."

Ji Chengjue said dismissively:

"Just picking a general from among dwarfs. I've also heard of that Zhong Tianlang, but I don't think there's anything special about him.

The Qian Kingdom has a vast territory and a large population, and there are countless so-called star seeds, but in the end, they can't support the collapse of the Qian Kingdom."

"The third one is Nian Yao of the Chu Kingdom, who came from a private servant background in the mansion of the current Regent of the Chu Kingdom, the Fourth Prince of Chu. He contributed greatly to the swift suppression of this internal strife in Chu. He not only led troops to capture two princes of Chu who were vying for the throne, but also deterred the Shanyue people.

The people of Chu call him the Regent's number one hunting dog."

"In my opinion, this one is even worse than Zhong Tianlang. At least Zhong Tianlang won a few small victories against my Great Yan, and at least it was against a foreign country. That one was just a civil war, which is nothing great."

"Sixth Prince, who is the fourth one? I think I don't need to say much more, right?"

Nowadays, those who are interested in selecting a ranking may not distinguish the order, because the disputes are endless, and it is difficult for outsiders to determine the order, but they often like to collectively refer to a large category.

They have to gather four, seven, nine or ten and so on.

Now, the Jin Kingdom is destroyed, and the Jin Kingdom, which should have occupied a place, is out of the question, so they selected a little prince from the desert barbarians.

That fourth one, the finale, naturally belongs to the Yan Kingdom.

Young,

But also have to have outstanding military achievements,

And be known as a military star.

Ji Chengjue reached out and patted his forehead, and said:

"Zheng Fan."

"That's right, it's the Earl of Pingye." The young official nodded.

"Phew…"

Ji Chengjue let out a long breath.

"The Earl of Pingye broke through Mianzhou with three hundred riders, beheaded the Prince of Fu, and then followed Li Fusheng deep into the Qian Kingdom's hinterland, and went to the capital to face the Qian Kingdom's officials;

Later, he followed the Jingnan Marquis to quell the rebellion in the Jin Kingdom's capital and conquered the snowy plains.

Not long ago, the war to expel the wildlings came to an end. The Earl of Pingye led a lone army deep behind enemy lines and took the Xuehai Pass by surprise, helping my Great Yan's Eastern Expeditionary Army to wipe out the main force of the wildlings who had entered the pass.

With such military exploits and such momentum, he should be the leader of the four."

First of all, a civil war, no matter how powerful, is nothing compared to a foreign war.

Furthermore, Zheng Fan also participated in this kind of war that hit the enemy's capital or even destroyed a country.

It can be said that it is full of gold content. The Yan people naturally have no objection to the Earl of Pingye, the four major military stars, sitting in the top seat. Even the Qian people, who have always been protective, can't say anything against it.

"Time flies so fast. I still remember the first time I met Zheng Fan. He was just a merchant guard captain. Now, when we talk about the world situation after drinking tea after dinner, he can sit in the finale position."

There was a sentence that Ji Chengjue didn't say;

The reason why he tore off the headhunter's clothes and returned to Yanjing in a dignified manner was not because everything was ready except for the east wind, but because he was stimulated by Zheng Fan, who was thousands of miles away, so he launched it ahead of schedule.

However, in fact, it didn't make any difference whether his affairs were advanced or not. As long as his old man didn't die, no matter how much he tossed, it would be the same.

The young official suddenly muttered:

"You said, this world is so exciting, why do you and I have to be here and only be able to comment on them with tea?"

Ji Chengjue paused,

Said:

"Feeling unbalanced?"

"Your second brother is sitting in the position of crown prince, are you balanced?" The young official didn't even use honorifics, and directly asked back.

Ji Chengjue was silent.

"Hahaha, right, you can't stand it either. The eldest son of the legal wife, the eldest son of the legal wife, the son of a concubine, the son of a concubine, in their eyes, this rule is bigger than the sky.

But are we, the sons of concubines, destined to be like this?"

"What does the distinction between the legal wife and the concubine have to do with you?"

"Yes, it really has nothing to do with me. I envy you, relying on the identity of the son of a concubine, you can also fight for it. To be honest, I am quite optimistic about you, Ji Lao Liu.

I hid so deeply, but you could still recognize me and find me. Hehe.

I envy you, you can still fight for it, whether to establish the eldest son or the virtuous one.

What about me?

I don't even have the qualifications to fight!

I even,

Don't exist in this world!

Have you seen the one in the Jingnan Marquis family? What is the difference between me and that child?"

The young official picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. Drinking tea like drinking wine, his eyes began to turn red, and he began to get drunk, stretched out his fingers, knocked on the coffee table,

Said:

"If I were given a chance, I certainly might not be as powerful as the Earl of Pingye, but I would never be a waste!

What Zhong Tianlang, what Nian Yao, what barbarian little prince, they, they all have to line up behind me!

His Majesty suppressed you so much and refrigerated you, but in the end, didn't he still give you a chance? What about me? What about my dad? In my dad's eyes, this son of mine may have already died long ago, long gone!"

"Keep your voice down, my wife is pregnant, she needs to rest well."

"Heh."

The young official waved his hand,

"Ji Lao Liu, you have to fight, if you don't want your son to end up like me, you have to fight. If you don't fight, your unborn child will find it difficult to even have the right to bear the Ji surname in the future, believe it or not!"

Ji Chengjue nodded.

"The Zhenbei Army was disbanded by my dad and given to my sister as dowry. He didn't want to leave it to me, not even a little bit. I won't have a share in the inheritance of the Marquis Mansion in the future either. He's forcing me to accept my fate, to accept my fate!"

Ji Chengjue silently refilled the tea for the two of them.

"You say, why, just because they are our dads, the rules set by those old guys decades ago, do we juniors have to be forced to follow them?"

"You've had too much to drink." Ji Chengjue said.

"I'm drinking tea, what's there to be drunk about!"

"Ji Lao Liu, your eldest brother is already standing behind you, can you free up a little more space and leave a place for me to settle down too?"

"I don't understand what you're saying. My eldest brother is just helping me clear the trade routes, a mutual support between brothers, how can you say who is standing behind whom?"

The young official smiled,

Smiling until his snot dripped out,

He simply wiped it casually with the sleeve of his official robe,

Pointing at Ji Chengjue,

"Ji Lao Liu, are you playing dumb with me? You were the one who recognized me, you were the one who found me, you were the one who asked me to come over for tea.

I came, I drank the tea, and I even prepared a congratulatory gift for your unborn child. Do you know how much my salary is? I squeezed out the money between my teeth to buy the congratulatory gift.

As a result,

I bared my heart to you,

And you just sit here unmoving like a mountain?"

"No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."

"What is the relationship between the Earl of Pingye and you? Who in the world doesn't know? How many percent of the money and food you, in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, allocated to Xuehai Pass, do you think the discerning people can't see it?

You also know the relationship between the Earl of Pingye and the Jingnan Marquis.

If I stand behind you, you are equivalent to inserting one hand into the Zhenbei Army. Even if my status cannot command the Zhenbei Army, it is enough to prevent those Zhenbei Army generals from interfering in your Ji family's own affairs.

In Great Yan, whoever can get the support of the Jingnan Army and the Zhenbei Army will be able to…"

Ji Chengjue looked surprised and said:

"Listening to you, it suddenly seems very simple, I'm even tempted."

"What exactly do you mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything."

Ji Chengjue sighed,

Put the teacup in his hand back on the coffee table,

And sighed:

"It's just that you made my Ji family's dragon throne sound so simple that I feel a little uncomfortable.

Also,

There's just one thing,

I've never been able to figure it out."

"What is it?"

"Who are you?"

"Who am I? Don't you know?"

"No, I'm asking, who are you."

"Ji Lao Liu, you!"

"Who told you that you are the young marquis of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion."

"You…"

Ji Chengjue reached out and took the other party's teacup lid and placed it on his own teacup. This teacup had two lids on it.

Then,

Ji Chengjue picked up the lid that had been added later,

And threw it on the ground casually,

"Crack!"

The teacup lid shattered.

Ji Chengjue pointed to the lid that was still covering his own teacup,

And then pointed to the broken lid pieces on the ground,

Said:

"Can you be sure which one you really are?"

——————

My schedule has collapsed. The next chapter will be after dawn, so good night everyone, no need to stay up late waiting. Don't panic, hold on tight to the Dragon! chun jie di xiao long