Chapter 190

Chapter 190

Han Zhang was always a man of swift action. Once Jiang Liu had come to mind, he gave the orders the very next day and dispatched someone to Jiang Family Village.

With the Lord Prefect backing him, Jiang Liu not only gained a clear path to family separation but was also personally appointed as the manager of the experimental fields in Jiang Family Village.

The news scared the wits out of Jiang Liu's grandparents, who had still harbored thoughts of controlling him. How could they dare drag their feet any longer?

The family split was carried out with remarkable efficiency, with the fields and property counted down to the last detail.

The eldest son and his wife watched the fat prize slipping from their grasp and stuck out their necks, hollering about how unfair it was, even trying to egg their parents on to raise a ruckus.

But this time, the old couple did a sudden about-face. Old Madam Jiang flew off the handle, jumping a foot in the air as she grabbed the broom by the door and pointed it at her eldest son and his wife, and started cussing them out:

"You two godforsaken good-for-nothings! The Lord Prefect's mighty name has already come down on our village, and you still want us old bones to go make waves? Are you afraid your father and I have lived too long, that we're in your way, and you're deliberately trying to put us in the ground before our time?"

"Useless, just plain useless! Your father and I have played favorites for all these years—haven't we given all the good stuff to your eldest branch? And what's the result? You've done nothing with your lives, but when it comes to wrecking this family, you're number one!"

"Now Liu Geer's caught the eye of a big shot—that's his good luck, and it's smoke curling up from our ancestors' graves! But all you know how to do is get green with envy!"

"If you're really that unsatisfied, then go find yourselves a big shot to latch onto like Liu Geer did! Your father and I have slighted everyone over the years, but we've never shortchanged you eldest branch one bit!"

"This family is splitting up today, and that's that! As for Liu Geer, you're never to go near him again looking for trouble! If you dare cause any more trouble and he hauls you off to the yamen, your father and I won't say one word for you—and we couldn't even if we wanted to!"

Old Madam Jiang was spitting mad, tearing into the eldest branch from the son all the way down to the grandson with a torrent of abuse.

Old Master Jiang sat beside her, puffing on his pipe and nodding along, and added in a low, gruff voice: "Do as your mother says."

That set the final tone for the whole split.

In the end, what they truly cared about was never the eldest branch itself, but the face and glory that the eldest grandson's success could bring the family.

Now that the eldest branch had turned out to be useless, while the second branch's Liu Geer—long overlooked—had quietly latched onto the Lord Prefect as his big patron with a bright future ahead, they'd have to be out of their minds to keep butting heads with a grandson who was clearly on the rise.

If they stopped now, Liu Geer, for the sake of filial piety and blood ties, might not hand them wealth and glory, but at least he'd make sure their old age was secure, with food and clothing to spare.

If they kept throwing their weight around on the strength of their fading grandparental authority... they had no doubt that Liu Geer, bold and fierce as he was, was fully capable of arranging an "accidental" death for the two old farts.

The old couple had been sharp for half a lifetime—they had no desire to end up lonely in their old age with nobody to bury them.

At this critical moment, they naturally trimmed their sails and pulled back from the edge, making their stance clear without delay.

The eldest branch of the Jiang family had never had much going for them to begin with, and now without the old couple as their trump card, they could only raise a stink for a while before slinking off in defeat.

And so the uproar over the family split finally died down.

Jiang Liu's parents moved into their new home—a shabby little house, to be sure—but the smiles on their faces carried a lightness they'd never known before.

Yet when the couple looked at the scar on Jiang Liu's face, worry and guilt crept back onto their faces.

"Liu Geer, it's all your father's and my fault—we couldn't keep you safe. Now that your face is like this, what's going to happen with your marriage prospects?"

The couple wiped their tears, their faces full of worry.

It wasn't that they didn't care about their child. But as second-born children in their own families, they'd been overlooked and pushed around since childhood, molded into meek, timid people who simply didn't know how to resist oppression.

With their limited vision and understanding, all they could do was work even harder, skimp on their own food to feed their kids, and help Liu Geer escape when he was about to be sold off.

To modern eyes, parents like that might indeed seem like they fell short. But in truth, the limits and constraints an era places on ordinary people are just that tragic and just that real.

Those "rebels" who manage to break free from convention and fight for themselves are the ones people admire.

And Jiang Liu was exactly such a person. He touched the scar on his face without a shred of discouragement, feeling even more fired up to fight, and turned to comfort his parents:

"Father, Mother, if I can't marry, then so be it. I'm the manager of those experimental fields appointed by the Lord Prefect himself now. As long as I do a good job for Lord Han, I won't be shortchanged."

"Worst case, I'll save up silver and take in a son-in-law, or wait until my little brother grows up and has children, then have him pass one over to me for my old age. With my temper, who's going to bully me?"

Jiang Liu said it lightly.

But his parents still fretted: "We won't know what's in Mother's belly until the birth. Even if it is a boy, who knows whether he'll turn out reliable."

"If he ends up like your cousin... ah, well. In any case, you still need to find a good match—only then can your father and I rest easy."

"I know, Mother. I have it figured out. Don't worry."

Jiang Liu was optimistic, his mind now entirely occupied with taking up his post as manager of the experimental fields, with not the slightest interest in marriage.

...

The chaos of power transition in Yunyang Prefecture was quickly settled under Han Zhang's iron hand, without causing too much of a stir.

But when the capital received word from Yunyang, everyone was once again astounded by Han Zhang's methods.

Inside the imperial study, Emperor Taixuan set down the secret memorial and let out a long sigh, his voice echoing clearly through the vast hall:

"I was not wrong about him back then. Unfortunately, a man whose heart holds no sovereign—even with talents that could order heaven and earth—is nothing but a calamity."

He sat in silence, his fingertips tapping lightly on the memorial's cover. After a long moment, he turned toward the shadows and said in a flat, even tone: "No need to hold the Crown Prince back any longer."

Han Qinzhang's displayed abilities had exceeded his expectations by some margin. Since the man harbored resentment toward the imperial house, then even at the cost of a reputation for burning bridges, he could not be allowed to live.

The Eastern Palace.

The Crown Prince clutched the thin sheet of intelligence, his knuckles turning slightly white.

The expression on his face shifted and flickered—regret, grief, fury—until it all settled into an impenetrable gloom at the bottom of his eyes.

He knew he couldn't blame Han Zhang for what had happened back then. Everything was Jiayou's own doing, a path he had chosen himself.

But when his brother lay wasting away in illness, and in his final moments still gripped his hand tightly, eyes wide open as he repeated over and over: "Brother, I won't accept it... I won't accept it..."

Dying with his eyes unclosed—the Crown Prince couldn't help but harbor resentment toward Han Zhang.

Since ancient times, taking multiple wives and concubines had been perfectly ordinary. However many faults his brother had, he was still the noble Chang Gongjun, His Highness. Jiayou had already condescended to become a co-husband in the Han family—why wouldn't Han Zhang simply agree?

One nod was all it would have taken, and everything would have been perfect.

But now, his brother had died of a broken heart because of that man, unable to close his eyes even in death!

Whenever the Crown Prince thought of those eyes full of unwillingness and obsession in his brother's final moments, reason and emotion tore at each other, and hatred grew like wild grass.

Since Jiayou could not rest in peace, then Han Qinzhang... should suffer the same.

"I want the nine clans of the Han and Shen families to be buried with Jiayou Chang Gongjun." The Crown Prince's gaze shifted to the advisor standing with bowed head at his side, his voice cold as forged ice. "Do you have a plan?"

The advisor's breath caught. After a long pause, he bowed low and spoke in a lowered tone: "Han Qinzhang rendered great service to Your Highness and holds the moral high ground. Your Highness cannot move against him openly."

"However, to destroy a man, one must first let him run wild. Since he uses the people's support as his shield, we shall use the people's support as our blade. Your Highness need only wait a few years, let his reputation soar in Yanzhou, let the people acclaim him—"

He paused briefly before continuing, "By then, if a 'convenient' civil unrest breaks out in Yanzhou, saving them would break the law; not saving them would cost him the people's support entirely. Let us see how he chooses."

After a moment, he added softly, "If the people of Yanzhou can offer themselves as sacrifices to honor the spirit of His Highness Chang Gongjun in heaven, it would be their good fortune."

The study fell silent, broken only by the occasional faint crackle from the lamp wick.

After a long pause, the Crown Prince gave a cold nod. "Granted."

...

Meanwhile.

At the Shen residence, in the study.

Shen's father stared at Han Zhang's secret letter for nearly an hour, still unable to snap out of his daze, seriously wondering if he was dreaming.

The reason was simple: the letter's contents were too shocking for anyone of this era to wrap their head around.

"Father-in-law, your son-in-law plans to rebel. I'm begging you to stir the pot in the capital, buying me a few years."

"I've enclosed dirt on some officials; you may use it wisely... Rest assured, Father-in-law, once I ascend the throne, Lan Geer will be my one and only Empress, and the only kids I'll ever have will be Lan Geer's."

"The royal family's cold as ice. If we fail, we're dead. Father-in-law, let's push forward together!"

Shen's father: "..."

Push forward together? Like hell!

Shen's father stared at the letter, almost in tears. A cold shiver ran through him, and he nearly slumped into the armchair.

Good heavens, what sin had he committed to be saddled with such a reckless son-in-law as Han Zhang?

This was rebellion—a crime so serious that one wrong move meant the whole nine clans wiped out, bodies and all! Yet look at how this fellow phrased it, as casually as if he were grabbing a cup of tea!

Wasn't it just getting demoted to some godforsaken backwater by the Emperor?

Wasn't it just the Crown Prince tossing him aside like trash after using him up?

Wasn't it just a rough patch in his career and unfulfilled dreams?

Every official in court had kowtowed and swallowed their pride at some point! But this son-in-law of his, with pride sky-high, couldn't take the slightest insult and was quietly planning something this huge!

What now? What the hell was he supposed to do now?

If his son-in-law failed, the Shen family was done for.

But if he ratted him out now, would the Emperor and Crown Prince really believe his loyalty and let the Shen family off the hook? Even if they did, would the Shen family have any future afterward?

So, other than hopping on his son-in-law's sinking ship, he had no choice!

"Oh, wife, you really picked a fine son-in-law for me..."

Shen's father took a deep breath, held the letter to the candle, and burned it to ash.

Since there was no turning back, he'd have to see this through to the bitter end, betting everything on his son-in-law.

After all, his son-in-law had a point—if they failed, they were dead.

And if they won, he'd be the Emperor's father-in-law.

He'd never even dared to dream this big!