Chapter 100: Emperor Jing

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Emperor Jing

The Imperial Palace.

When news that Prince Jing’s troublemaking Crown Prince had returned to the Imperial City began to spread throughout the capital, Su Han was already standing before the Emperor of Jing Country.

"Your nephew greets you, Uncle. I wish Your Majesty boundless health."

Emperor Jing personally took Su Han’s hand and led him to a chair. He looked the young man up and down, having not seen him for several years, and nodded in satisfaction.

"It has been a few years. Han, you’ve grown into a man. I was too tied up with state matters to attend your coming-of-age ceremony earlier this year. Are you satisfied with the gift I sent?"

Su Han thought for a moment, trying to recall what exactly his uncle had gifted him, but he couldn’t remember a thing. He nodded anyway. "I love the gift you sent, Uncle. I simply can’t put it down."

"Oh?" Emperor Jing cast a surprised glance at Su Han. "To think you have such a hobby, Han."

Su Han was speechless. He wondered if it was just an illusion. Why did he feel like his uncle was looking at him with a rather bizarre expression? Just what in the world was that gift?

After a moment’s hesitation, he felt too embarrassed to ask directly, so he just gave a vague nod. "I hope I haven’t made a fool of myself, Uncle."

Emperor Jing pondered for a moment. He opened his mouth, but swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. "Well, as long as you are happy, Han."

Seeing the look on his uncle’s face, Su Han felt even more perplexed. What exactly was going on? Why did his uncle’s expression look so weird? No, he couldn’t keep dwelling on this topic. Noticing Emperor Jing’s odd expression, Su Han decisively changed the subject. "We haven’t seen each other in years. Have you been in good health, Uncle?"

Emperor Jing smiled and nodded. "By a stroke of luck, I broke through the Spirit Platform realm this year and successfully opened my Divine Sea. With my lifespan extended, my body is naturally in much better shape."

Su Han opened his mouth, but he didn’t have the heart to tell him that his father had already reached Divine Sea Perfection. Looking at it this way, his father’s absolute refusal to become the emperor back then seemed like a very wise choice. Look at his uncle, who had only just managed to open his Divine Sea this year. Then look at his father—younger than his uncle, yet already at Divine Sea Perfection.

When he thought about it, his uncle really was quite pitiful. He figured it would be best not to mention it and deal him an unnecessary blow.

With these thoughts in mind, Su Han put on an expression of sheer admiration. "To be busy with state affairs every day and still open your Divine Sea so quickly... No wonder Father often praises your aptitude in private, Uncle."

Hearing Su Han’s praise, the smile on Emperor Jing’s face grew even wider. "Haha, let’s keep a low profile. Old Eleventh was exaggerating. Speaking of which, it’s been a few years since I last saw him. How is Old Eleventh doing these days?"

Su Han was rendered speechless once again. He thought, "I deliberately avoided mentioning Father’s cultivation base, so why do you have to go and ask? Do you really have a masochistic need to be dealt a blow?"

Forcing a somewhat stiff smile, he asked, "Are you asking about... Father’s health, Uncle?"

Emperor Jing nodded.

Su Han smiled. "Father is in excellent health. Every day, he tends to his flowers and plants, goes fishing, walks his birds, and occasionally goes out for a cricket fight.

"A few days ago, Ning Caishen managed to procure a Seven-Quartet Parrot for him from heaven knows where, and lately, Father has been busy teaching it how to speak. By the time I left, the Seven-Quartet Parrot had already learned a few basic greetings."

"Oh? Is that so?" Sure enough, Emperor Jing’s attention was successfully diverted, completely forgetting to ask about Prince Jing’s cultivation base. "Since the parrot is so smart, what has it learned to say?"

Su Han thought for a moment. "Because it had only been trained for a short time before I left, it seemed to have only learned one phrase."

"Which phrase?"

"Fuck you!"

Emperor Jing was speechless. He nearly choked to death on his own saliva. After coughing violently for a while, Emperor Jing gave Su Han an erratic look. "Han... Do you perhaps have some sort of misunderstanding regarding the word ’greeting’?"

He racked his brain, trying to recall which grand scholar had been Han’s enlightenment teacher. Well, whoever it was, just based on this interpretation of a "greeting," that entire group of grand scholars could all go back home and feed the pigs.

Noticing Emperor Jing’s expression, Su Han quickly explained, "Father uses that Seven-Quartet Parrot for birdfighting. In that context, these are considered basic greetings."

Emperor Jing was speechless yet again.

Old Eleventh was truly Old Eleventh. Even with his child all grown up, he was still just as idle and unbothered with honest work. It honestly made him, as the older brother... sigh, a little jealous!

Thinking back to the girls they had chased together in their youth, Emperor Jing had to admit that when it came to courting women, there was a slight gap between him and Prince Jing. Otherwise, the current Princess Jing wouldn’t be Princess Jing, but the Empress of Jing Country.

Oh, wait, that wasn’t exactly right either. She might still be Princess Jing, but that would bring up the matter of the battle for the throne. It was just that... whenever the battle for the throne was brought up, Emperor Jing felt nothing but stifling frustration.

Back then, among the many princes fighting for the throne, it had ultimately come down to the two of them. Originally, their father, the late emperor, had already subtly hinted at his intention to pass the throne to Old Eleventh. Just to be safe, Emperor Jing had prepared a backup plan. He had figured that on the day of the succession, he would take the opportunity to flee at the crack of dawn, virtually forcing the throne into Old Eleventh’s hands.

Who would have thought that when it came to fleeing, he would still lose by a margin? Old Eleventh hadn’t even waited for dawn; he had eloped with his fiancée overnight.

Otherwise, if he had just run away a little earlier, this battle for the throne wouldn’t have ended in his "defeat."

Emperor Jing couldn’t help but feel a pang of frustration when he recalled the scene from that day. He had gotten up at the crack of dawn, just about to pack his bags and make a run for it, only to find his father personally blocking his door with his men, his face dark as he announced that Old Eleventh had absconded. It seemed that no matter what they were fighting over, he could never win against that younger brother of his.

Harboring a mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment in his heart, Emperor Jing looked at Su Han and, possessed by some inexplicable urge, asked, "By the way, what stage is Old Eleventh’s cultivation base at now?"

Su Han was exasperated. He thought, "Hadn’t we already changed the subject? Why do you have to be a glutton for punishment and ask this question anyway?"

"Well... Father’s cultivation base is about the same as yours. Both of you are still a bit of a distance away from the Immortal Platform realm."

Hearing this, Emperor Jing felt a bit more balanced in his heart. How much time did he waste handling state affairs every day? And yet, he could still maintain a cultivation base similar to his brother’s. So, he had finally managed to regain a little bit of confidence in this regard.

However...

"When you say ’a bit of a distance,’ how much is a bit?"

"COUGH, COUGH!" Su Han couldn’t help but cough twice. Looking at Emperor Jing, he truly felt that the other party was practically begging to be dealt a blow. "Just... a tiny step away."

Emperor Jing paused. "The late stage of the Divine Sea realm?" he asked tentatively, his voice cautious and hesitant.

Su Han shook his head.

"The peak?"

Su Han shook his head again.

Emperor Jing secretly let out a sigh of relief. "Not even at the late stage, huh? That’s not bad at all."

Although he was only at the initial stage of the Divine Sea realm himself, how much of his cultivation time had he wasted handling state affairs? If he hadn’t been delayed by his duties, he might have reached the middle or even the late stage by now.

However, just as Emperor Jing was comforting himself with this thought, Su Han shook his head.

"Divine Sea Perfection."

Emperor Jing was speechless.

"Get out!"