Chapter 86 Mining Planet

Chapter 86: The Mining Planet

"Don't think I wouldn't do it. I'll just go on a reality show with Yu Xin. With this face of mine, making a living would be easy..." Under the stern gazes of his two elders, Ji Mingcheng's voice grew softer and softer, until the trailing end of his sentence was almost inaudible.

"Enough!" Bai Yizhou gave him a hard smack. "Do you think everyone is like Yu Xin, talented and likable? With that young master attitude of yours, you'd be torn apart on a show and even drag your aunt and uncle into it, making people say they failed to raise you properly."

"So, the best years of my life, the original dream of my military career, has to be handed over to those trash in the Third Legion? Aren't you afraid I'll be so crushed that I never recover, that the Ji family's second rising star falls before it even shines..."

"Enough," Ji Shuwen cut him off. "The more you talk, the more absurd you sound."

She wasn’t the kind of elder who didn’t care for her nephews, but given her position, she could only make decisions that maximized the family’s interests.

Besides, Ji Mingcheng wasn’t like Ji Yixing, who was naturally steady and composed. He was young and impulsive, having had an easy path through life without facing any real setbacks, which made him prone to reckless actions. Sending him to the Third Legion to temper his character wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for him.

With her and Ji Yixing working behind the scenes, Ji Mingcheng would eventually return.

"This matter is settled. No more discussion," she declared firmly. Ji Mingcheng, after all, didn’t dare defy the head of the Ji family. Knowing that there was no room for reversal regarding his assignment to the Third Legion, he slumped in defeat.

In no mood to stay, he left resentfully and headed to the training room to work out his frustration.

After he left, the others moved to the drawing room to continue their discussion.

"Since Yixing’s recovery, some people have become increasingly restless," Ji Shuwen said calmly.

The Ji family hadn’t deliberately concealed the news of Ji Yixing’s improved condition. Those who needed to know were already aware.

Before his injury, Ji Yixing’s status in the military and among the public was already at its peak. Now that this sun was rising again, it was inevitable that some would be burned by its rays.

The conflict between imperial authority and military power had a long history, with friction dating back to ancient times.

However, the previous years had been turbulent, with constant invasions by alien creatures. The imperial family had to rely on the military to defend their territory and held little political influence. The public no longer held the same reverence for imperial authority as in the past, and if imperial family members and nobles were seen openly flaunting taxpayer money on pleasure, it would provoke public discontent.

But considering themselves superior, how could they be content with being mere symbolic figures? Thus, in the years since the borders stabilized, more and more imperial family members had entered politics. Though the imperial family had lost much of its former glory, it still retained some prestige among the people and had gained a certain level of support.

Many established noble families and monarchists in politics had naturally formed an interest group with the imperial family members involved in politics. In recent years, with Ji Yixing injured and recuperating, and the Ji family keeping a low profile, the military’s influence had waned in the absence of war. The military itself wasn’t entirely united, giving the monarchists an opportunity to grow stronger, gradually creating a situation of balanced opposition.

When the birds are gone, the bow is put away. Many were naturally unwilling to sit back and watch Ji Yixing rise again.

Among the imperial family members involved in politics, the most prominent was the third prince, Linuo.

He was handsome, had excelled academically since childhood, and was dedicated to charity work. He often personally traveled to remote planets to aid impoverished communities, using his own income to establish foundations and recruiting numerous public figures to join. He also championed environmentalism, leading by example by taking public transport. While many imperial family members had scandalous private lives that became public gossip, the third prince maintained a clean image, earning him extremely high public favor. After announcing his entry into politics upon coming of age, he gained many loyal supporters.

But this was only what the general public saw. In reality, the third prince was ambitious, and his methods were far from as clean and pure as they appeared.

Political achievements weren’t easily made. Behind many seemingly splendid accomplishments lay the blood, sweat, and tears of ordinary people who had no voice.

He simply cleaned up well after himself and hadn’t been caught red-handed.

But actions leave traces; nothing can be completely concealed. The Ji family’s intelligence gatherers had found some leads.

Ji Shuwen said slowly, "Over a decade ago, the third prince’s faction halted the mining operations on several mining planets in the name of environmental protection."

"They also sued the responsible parties of those mining planets for environmental destruction and over-exploitation, transferring ownership of the planets to the federal government."

Bai Yizhou added; "We’re aware of this matter. It was said to be for the federal government, but in reality, it ended up in the pockets of the third prince’s group. After gaining ownership, they continued mining, though they went through the motions of a public bid. Strangely, the winning bid went to a little-known company."

"That’s not the only odd thing," Ji Shuwen continued. "Not only was this company small in scale, it also had very little experience in mineral extraction. Yet it secured such a massive project and subsequently engaged in a series of extensive collaborations with the government, including mineral processing and sales. A private enterprise managing nearly an entire supply chain—where did they get the capability?"

"The accounts they produced were impeccable... taxes were fully paid. But a few years ago, an inspection team sent by the central government for a routine review was blocked without confrontation, causing some controversy. Later, the owner of that private company personally issued a series of statements proving their production process was lawful, and the third prince also publicly supported him, so the matter was dropped."

"That company... actually has some connection to Yu Xin." As soon as Bai Yizhou finished speaking, everyone’s eyes turned to Yu Xin.

The black-haired young man, who had been listening quietly to their exchange, didn’t seem very surprised.

"The owner of that company is my so-called birth father, Yu Zhengqian, right?"

"Smart." Ji Yixing’s lips curved slightly.

Yu Xin wasn’t surprised because his sham father’s rise to wealth was no secret. Yu Zhengqian took great pride in his journey from an unknown nobody to a newly wealthy individual and often mentioned it in various interviews.

Through the things the original host had left behind, Yu Xin had sensed something wrong about the Yu family and had conducted some investigations privately.

"Correct," Bai Yizhou continued. "The actual person in charge of that private company is Yu Zhengqian. His fortune and status grew rapidly accordingly. It’s very strange. Those old noble families have always looked down on so-called new money. Why were they so quick to accept Mr. Yu? In their eyes, his background was, at best, that of a commoner."

The behind-the-scenes benefit transfers were almost blatant. Yu’s father was no self-made success story; he had simply backed the right people and taken a shortcut.

But this alone didn’t clarify the role the third prince’s faction played. If truly confronted, they could easily pin everything on Yu’s father as a scapegoat and emerge clean.

"Don’t worry, Mr. Yu won’t be so easily discarded as a pawn. He’s done plenty of dirty work for the third prince’s group. How did the ownership of those mining planets end up in their hands? The original owners had been developing them for years without issue. A few baseless environmental accusations later, and the mines changed hands, with the original owners facing prison. And they didn’t even appeal—just accepted it?"

"A front man once worn isn’t so easily removed," Ji Shuwen said meaningfully.

"Mr. Yu has done plenty of charity over the years... aside from tax avoidance, I wonder if it’s to buy peace of mind?"

Yu Xin suddenly spoke up: "What year did Yu Zhengqian get involved in the mining planet development?"

Yu Xin had looked into this himself, but Mr. Yu, who loved talking about his rise to wealth, was unusually evasive about this period. Even when he mentioned it, he was vague, skimming over details.

This was clearly abnormal.

"It was in Star Calendar 1044," Ji Yixing replied.

Star Calendar 1044... This year is Star Calendar 1063, meaning 19 years ago.

The original Yu Xin and the accidentally swapped real young master, Yu Ning, are both 19 this year.

According to the Yu family, the original host and Yu Ning were swapped at birth. Upon closer thought, this story was full of holes. As parents, how could they not recognize their own child?

Yu Xin had long had these doubts, but by the time he crossed over, the original host had already left the Yu family for a long time. Aside from the supposed older brother who sought him out and the real young master Yu Ning, he hadn’t seen any other members of the Yu family and had no way to investigate further.

Strictly speaking, this was a private matter of the Yu family. They had no obligation to disclose the details. The general public, after getting their fill of the emotional swapped-at-birth drama, were satisfied and moved on. Even if some noticed something off, they didn’t pursue it further.

Come to think of it, aside from the original host, no one else had the standing—or the desire—to uncover the truth of what happened back then. It was as if they had decided that the original host, as the beneficiary, had no right or reason to dig deeper. So the original host drifted along until nineteen, then was ruthlessly kicked out.

In the end, he left alone, burdened with disgrace and blame.

If not for his arrival, the truth of this matter would have been forgotten entirely with the original host, never to be mentioned again.

Thinking of the original host’s diary, Yu Xin reflected that while he had enjoyed Yu Ning’s wealthy life and seemed like the beneficiary, he was profoundly unhappy.

He had no family, no lover, no friends.

No one cared about him. With time, no one would even remember him.

Perhaps it was the lingering emotions of this body surfacing, but Yu Xin felt an inexpressible grief.

Don’t worry.

He placed a hand over his heart and silently vowed, I will uncover the truth of all this.

I won’t let you go through life confused, carrying doubts and regrets.