Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Even though Daozhang had anticipated this, he was still stunned on the spot when he actually heard the Emperor's words, disbelievingly staring at the Emperor, unable to utter a word.

For a moment, he didn't know how to respond.

Since the day of returning to the palace, he had noticed that the Emperor treated his junior brother differently, but he never expected...

Daozhang's voice was a bit hoarse. He and his junior brother had been as close as family for many years, but even he dared not say he could do what the Emperor was contemplating.

But before he could express his shock, the door of the treasury was suddenly pushed open, and the angry voice of the Empress Dowager came through: "Emperor, have you lost your mind?"

Outside the wide-open vermilion door, a crowd of people knelt down, with the chief eunuch gagged, which was why he couldn't report immediately.

The Empress Dowager, having heard the previous conversation, looked at the Emperor with a pale face. The mix of anxiety and fear made her normally straight back slowly slump.

"Emperor, although I am not your birth mother, I believe we have shared some mother-son affection over the years. Do you truly not care about this court at all?" So many people covet and fight over this position, yet he can easily give it up like this. Does he really understand what he is doing?

The Emperor showed no reaction to the arrival of the Empress Dowager, obviously having anticipated it and not intending to hide it from her.

The Emperor waved his hand, and the guards took everyone away except the Empress Dowager, leaving only three people in the vast hall.

The Empress Dowager, who still looked quite young, completely lost her composure under the Emperor's calm and steady gaze.

Emperor Jing finally spoke, "I remember when the late emperor took me from the cold palace and wanted the Empress Dowager to raise me. She was reluctant at first, but changed her mind after re-evaluating my fate. Originally, my fate was predicted as a lonely and tragic end for an emperor, remembered in history. Outsiders thought it was because of this emperor's fate that she reluctantly took me in. But did you forget what you told me back then, Empress Dowager?"

Now, not only did the Empress Dowager's face change color, but her body also began to tremble slightly, "I, back then… I just… I just…" Pursuing benefits and avoiding harm is human nature; her considerations back then were understandable.

Emperor Jing's eyes remained emotionless from beginning to end. He met Xie Qingfeng at the age of four and was later saved from a near-death experience by the young Xie Qingfeng.

Yet, he stepped from the cold palace into another cutthroat environment.

The current Empress Dowager, then the queen, hadn't had children yet and was unwilling to raise Emperor Jing. But she was well aware of what it meant to have an emperor's fate.

She publicly agreed to raise Emperor Jing in the palace, but privately it was because of his predicted lonely life.

She wanted Emperor Jing to occupy the throne for now, and once she bore a legitimate son, she planned to replace him in due time.

Emperor Jing knew all her intentions; hence, even after he became the new emperor three years ago, following the late emperor's death, he couldn't wield real power.

The Empress Dowager's hidden agenda and her wariness towards him inadvertently gave the regent an opportunity.

From the beginning to the end, the Empress Dowager never truly saw him as a prince. The late emperor was aware of her thoughts too. Yet, even with all their schemes, he ultimately secured his position as the emperor.

The late Emperor was his biological father, yet their relationship was solely for his fate, devoid of father-son affection; the Empress Dowager, his foster mother, was always wary of him.

The Empress Dowager, with tears in her eyes, lamented, "Emperor, after all these years of raising you, are you truly willing to abandon the empire, watching the throne fall into the hands of traitors?"

The Empress Dowager wanted to deny everything the Jing Emperor said, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

She had calculated everything years ago, aiming to reap all the benefits, but she didn’t foresee that she would be destined to have no children of her own in this lifetime.

After the Jing Emperor ascended the throne, their relationship had been cold for years. Fearing his ambitions, she had taken drastic measures...

Now, any regret was too late.

The Jing Emperor didn’t look at her again, turning away with an emotionless face to gaze at two jade thumb rings bathed in sunlight on a shelf nearby: “I don’t care about the Empress Dowager’s feelings, but this empire, this kingdom, was safeguarded by the National Master with his life. I will not let it fall into the wrong hands.”

A flicker of joy appeared in the Empress Dowager's eyes: "Emperor..."

The Emperor immediately followed, "As you wished back then, you may personally select another descendant from the Jing royal family. I will stabilize the empire in five years, purge the court, and ensure its stability for a century. After five years, I will abdicate the throne and continue to assist the court until the national master's whereabouts are found."

The day he finds the national master will be the day he leaves.

The Empress Dowager understood, yet she couldn't accept it. Even though she had been wary all these years, she had to admit that he had never done anything detrimental to the Great Jing Dynasty.

She thought he cared because of his royal bloodline, but she didn't realize that, from the beginning to the end, it was only because the Great Jing Dynasty was protected by the national master.

The Empress Dowager thought of that person, elegant and serene, regretting not handing over power to him when the young Emperor ascended the throne three years ago.

But there is no medicine for regret in this world.

***

Xie Qingfeng had the most restless night since his arrival in this world. The next day, he woke up with fatigue in his brows.

His first thought was to enter the treasury. He wanted to see what caused the spiritual energy fluctuations that troubled him all night.

Xie Qingfeng entered the treasury, looked around, and saw nothing unusual.

He sensed again, but even the spiritual energy around him hadn't increased.

After leaving the treasury, Xie Qingfeng sensed the cultivation level of this body. Its progress was slow, clearly not on the same level as before his arrival.

The main reason was the scarcity of spiritual energy here. Having his current level of cultivation was already considered fast.

Since his arrival, he had either used jade stones to save people or released the newly absorbed spiritual energy for the same purpose, which naturally did not advance his cultivation.

This body also needed thorough training; otherwise, in the face of danger, even if he absorbed a large amount of spiritual energy for his own use, he was concerned that this body wouldn't withstand it.

Xie Qingfeng finally decided to calm his mind and cultivate, first undergoing a marrow cleansing for this body, which would speed up his future cultivation.

Before his seclusion, Xie Qingfeng paid for two more months of room fees, which coincidentally was the day he was supposed to start school. By then, he had to come out of seclusion no matter what.

He instructed that no one should disturb him, noting that he might leave the room, but it contained important documents and did not require any housekeeping service.

Next, he sent messages to two parties, one to Hao Jixin and the other to his foster parents.

To the former, he said he was going into cultivation and would not be in contact for two months.

To the latter, he mentioned he was going abroad with friends and would return before the start of school.

Once prepared, Xie Qingfeng used his spiritual energy to write a talisman and affixed it to the door to prevent accidental entry.

He then began his meditation and entered a state of closed-door cultivation.

Once in seclusion, Xie Qingfeng immersed himself, absorbing the sparse spiritual energy around him. The cultivation was slow, but visible changes were occurring in his body.

When Xie Qingfeng felt his body had undergone a thorough transformation, awakening his consciousness, he opened his eyes feeling refreshed, with improved hearing and vision.

Xie Qingfeng first took a bath, and when he looked in the mirror afterward, he was startled by his reflection.

His original appearance already resembled him, but now he had grown taller, his features becoming more gentle and soft. Upon closer inspection, there was a moment when Xie Qingfeng thought he was back in the time before the accident.

After drying his hair, Xie Qingfeng sat on the bed and realized he was hungry, not physically but spiritually hungry.

Usually, absorbing spiritual energy was enough to sustain his bodily functions, but having tasted many delicious modern foods, he actually felt like eating something.

Xie Qingfeng's phone had been out of battery and switched off for days. He had charged it before taking his bath, and now he turned it on.

There were many messages, from high school classmates, even from Shao Shubo, Xie's father, and Xie Weihuan.

He first glanced at the time, raising an eyebrow at the date displayed. Although it was within his expectations, more than a month had passed, leaving only half a month until school started.

Xie Qingfeng marked all as read without looking and then opened WeChat, seeing messages from Hao Jixin from a few days ago and his foster parents.

Xie Qingfeng first replied to his foster parents, then opened Hao Jixin's messages.

[Jin Jin Jin: Master, reply to me when you see this message!]

Starting from a few days ago, there was a message sent every day, asking him to reply upon seeing it.

Xie Qingfeng replied with a message: [What's up?]

Hao Jixin immediately called, and as soon as the call connected, an excited voice came through, "Master, you've finally finished your cultivation, just in time! I was afraid I'd miss out, haha!"

Hearing Hao Jixin's relaxed tone, Xie Qingfeng figured it wasn't a dangerous situation: "Hmm, miss what?"

Hao Jixin chuckled, "A few days ago, I accidentally overheard my dad talking on the phone with a business partner. It seems the old master of the Zhang family in B city had some trouble, quite bizarre. Everyone's looking for someone to solve it, but because it involves the Zhang family, the news was hushed up. Still, I heard it and immediately asked my old man about it. He wouldn't say, worried that if you couldn't handle it, it might offend the Zhangs. Don't worry, Master, it's not that he doesn't trust you. It seems like a tough problem, but I believe you can handle it! Besides, with so many people going, even if it can’t be resolved, just showing up and making an appearance in front of Old Master Zhang can piss off... that Xie family, cough cough."

Hao Jixin was referring to Xie's father. Although the Xie family had some status in C city, it was only there. Outside C city, among the truly century-old prominent families, they were insignificant.

One such family was the Zhang family in B city.

The reason Hao Jixin was so concerned was that Xie's father had been trying to connect with the Zhang family for years, making quite some efforts with some success, but only managed to get acquainted with the younger members of the Zhang family.

However, if the Master could use this opportunity to get involved with Old Master Zhang, even if it doesn’t pan out, it would infuriate Xie's father, who mistook the ordinary for the extraordinary.

Imagining the scene, Hao Jixin was already thrilled: "By then, that family will regret and wish they had..."

After severing ties with the Xie family, Xie Qingfeng was not really interested in their affairs. Paying attention to irrelevant people was less valuable than spending more time on cultivation.

Hao Jixin suddenly changed the topic, "Hehe, of course, the main thing is... the Zhang family is secretly seeking a master, offering ten million."

Sure enough, the next moment, Xie Qingfeng's voice came through, cold and indifferent but decidedly firm: "Accepted."