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Although the extent of his power was hard to say, his body was undoubtedly incredibly strong and even now, he brimmed with vitality like a young man barely into his twenties.

For the Emperor, this was undoubtedly a great blessing, but for the Crown Prince, who was next in line for the throne, it was a situation as bad as it could possibly get.

After all, who is a temp worker that doesn’t want to become permanent?

There’s no true affection in the imperial family.

Thus, even though one could say he was second only to one and above ten thousand, the Crown Prince of the Zixuan Dynasty lived his days on thin ice, extremely fearful to the utmost degree.

Especially under the current circumstances, which were the least the Crown Prince wanted to face.

If he answered well, his father would think—this unfilial son is so cunning, could he have been eyeing my position for a long time now?

But if his answer was poor, then his father would think—unable to handle even this minor matter, how can I entrust the reign to him? Should I appoint another heir?

So, while others envied his position as the Crown Prince, the reality was that even being the Crown Prince was difficult!

How ruthless his old man was, others might not know, but as his son, how could he not be clear about it? Others only knew that the Tan family had dominated thirteen states, a formidable force indeed, but did they know that his father could ascend the throne all thanks to the Tan family? And what about the Tan family now?

All that remained was an illegitimate child, utterly non-threatening!

"Father, your son is not entirely clear about this matter. If you ask me to make a decision now, I would have Tan Shuchang investigate this issue and assign someone to supervise it," the Crown Prince thought quickly and gave an answer that he deemed could get him through the situation.

The Emperor heard this, only smiled slightly, and then asked his attendants, "How goes the investigation I ordered?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, your servant has found out that Tan Shuchang demanded the Upper Profound Seal from the Ning family, and upon failing, he wrote a letter of accusation," a eunuch promptly stepped forward to answer.

"How much did he ask for?" the Emperor’s interest was immediately piqued.

"Tan Shuchang asked three times, the first time was the year before last, for fifty Upper Profound Seals. The second time was last year; he still asked for fifty but the Ning family gave him seventy. This year, he’s still asking for fifty."

"Just over a hundred?" The Emperor sneered, involuntarily shaking his head repeatedly, "I remember this Ning family. If it weren’t for Minister Tan’s appreciation of his talents, and lending him a helping hand, he would probably still be copying books, right?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, that is indeed the case."

"Other than not giving, did the Ning family take any other actions?"

"Ning Jiaheng took the letter to the Heavenly Sword Mansion of Chu State," the eunuch said, presenting a secret report.

"Mount Wujian has a major plan in the way of righteousness, could it be that Heavenly Sword Mansion is also plotting something?" Having read the secret report, the Emperor frowned deeply.

With the Tan family, a formidable force that could threaten his rule, no more, the Emperor’s gaze inevitably turned to those cultivation sects.

Do not be fooled by the otherworldly demeanor of these cultivation sects; in reality, how many among the civil and military officials of the court were not disciples of the Immortal Sects?

Even he, as the Emperor, was a disciple of a sect.

Although within that sect, his status was high, and the Sect Leader had to respect him as an Elder Uncle, the fact that he, the Utmost Supreme, could not directly demand a Cultivation Technique but had to join the sect to obtain it, showed the formidable influence of these cultivation sects.

Were it not for the fact that the Upper Profound Seals needed the Zixuan Dynasty to maintain their value, these sects would probably not even give him this trifling bit of face!

"Heavenly Sword Mansion is a family sect. The current Family Head of the Dong family dislikes strife; this visit by Ning Jiaheng must be at the behest of Reverend Wangyue. After all, the young Miss Dong of that family has reached a marriageable age. Delivering that letter must have been just a matter of convenience," the eunuch answered.

"As for that Sword Gentleman from the Dong family, it’s rumored that he detests evil as if it were his enemy; it seems that the Ning family is planning to use a borrowed knife to kill. This is indeed clever, knowing that they can’t make a move against that Tan Shuchang themselves." The Emperor, having heard this, finally put his mind at ease.

If the Heavenly Sword Mansion were to come up with some grand plan of righteousness, he would have to consider passing the throne to his son, and then dedicate himself to cultivation.

"Since this is the case, then let’s entrust this matter to that young Tan! Just say I have long been aware of his talents, bearing in mind the challenges he has faced in his studies, restoring his former rank. As for how to arrange his official position, you all see to it.

Crown Prince, who do you think would be suitable to supervise the accompaniment?" The Emperor said, and then looked towards the Crown Prince.

"In your son’s view, the second, third, and fourth princes are all suitable."

"Then let the three of them go together. It just so happens that the Fairy of Wondrous Mountain in Luo State is taking apprentices; let all three of them give it a try." The Emperor nodded.

"Father’s wisdom is brilliant."

"The Emperor’s wisdom is brilliant."

The Emperor waved his hand, and the Crown Prince along with his entourage immediately took their leave. While reaching the palace gate, the Crown Prince suddenly called out to the head eunuch.

"Eunuch, there is something I would like to consult with you about."

"The Crown Prince flatters me too much. If the Crown Prince has any questions, I shall answer whatever I know and spare no detail," hastily said the eunuch while showing a sincere and frightened manner.

"Eunuch, I wish to know how to arrange an official position for that Tan Shuchang?" the Crown Prince asked directly.

"How did His Majesty just refer to his father?" Instead of directly answering, the eunuch responded with this question.

"I understand now, thanks to the eunuch for the guidance." The Crown Prince nodded, acknowledging that human hearts are complex. It was the Emperor who had exterminated the man’s family, yet it was also the Emperor who now had thoughts of remembrance.

With a single address as ’Lord Tan’, the Emperor’s complex thoughts were completely revealed.

"I dare not take credit, I dare not. I still need to inform the three princes about drafting the imperial edict; this task, I’m afraid, will require the Crown Prince to be especially diligent," said the eunuch.

There are three steps to processing an imperial edict: drafting, submitting for review, and finally issuing it after approval.

The step of drafting is normally undertaken by the heir apparent, after all, the Emperor too needs to cultivate.

…

Zixuan Dynasty, Emperor Yi Year, July, nineteen.

By chance, I saw a disciple of Caiyun Valley compete in alchemy with someone else. I found the Caiyun Valley’s disciple’s morals lacking; even after defeating the opponent, he still mocked them for only managing to explode their furnace. Therefore, I generously threw down ten Upper Profound Great Seals, bought that young girl ten Alchemy Furnaces, and encouraged her not to be upset.

At her age, she need not bow down to the complexities of human relations and propriety.

Upon hearing this, the young girl’s eyes brimmed with tears, seemingly deeply moved.

Zixuan Dynasty, Emperor Yi Year, July, twenty-one.

While visiting Qinghe City for procurement, I happened upon a father and son playing chess, quarreling incessantly over a single chess piece to the point of nearly coming to blows. Finding it uninteresting, I advised them—that arguing was detrimental to familial harmony—they might as well slap each other ten times and be done with it.

Unfortunately, the father and son did not appreciate my advice and instead wanted to lay hands on me.

The River City really is full of Demon Cultivators!

July, twenty-two.

On this day, Tan Shuchang did not write in his diary, because the invitation to the eerie game had finally arrived again!