Chapter 250 - 108: Smoother Than Imagined, the Backup Plan Left by the Previous Emperor

One by one, rare and priceless Celestial and Earthly Treasures were sent from all over Great Xia, piling up in a side hall for his cultivation.

The Imprint Jade Talismans for two pages of the Wordless Celestial Book were also sent over from the Li Family.

Jiang Lan was initially a little worried that the Mysterious Ancient Vine wouldn’t be able to absorb the imprints, since they were from Jade Talismans and not the original scripture.

He later discovered his fears were unfounded. Two streams of light flew out from his Sea of Consciousness, transforming into two balls of misty radiance that instantly enveloped the Imprint Jade Talismans.

Two new simple, ancient leaves, seemingly wreathed in Chaos Material, appeared on the Ancient Vine. With the one from before, that made three.

This meant he now possessed three Innate Immortal Patterns.

In the courtyard, maple leaves drifted down as figures crossed paths, the hems of their skirts fluttering.

Several bursts of glowing light collided, erupting in a dazzling radiance like flowing fire that caused the surrounding Restriction Array Patterns to flicker and tremble.

Immediately after, a delicate figure landed steadily on a bluestone. Her black hair was silky smooth, but the light veil that once concealed her face was gone. On her flawless, jade-like cheek, there was a mark as if it had just been pinched.

"It seems, Mengning, that you’re almost no match for me anymore when you suppress your cultivation to the Spirit Sea Realm." Jiang Lan casually tucked the veil into his robes.

Li Mengning chose to ignore him.

In her eyes, Jiang Lan’s cultivation was improving so quickly that describing his progress as changing day by day was no exaggeration.

A few days ago, she could still beat him. The next day, it became a bit tricky. By the third day, if she still suppressed her cultivation, she would just get bullied by him.

"Are you angry?"

Jiang Lan walked over and gently pinched her other cheek. Her skin was delicate, fair, and smooth, like suet-fat Immortal Jade, gleaming with a soft white luster.

"No..."

"Your cultivation is improving so fast. I’m very happy," Li Mengning said, her clear, tranquil eyes fixed on him.

Jiang Lan smiled, handing the veil back to her and helping her put it on. He then sat down on a nearby bluestone and pulled her into his arms.

He lived such a simple, unadorned life every day.

By day, he cultivated. By night, he frequented pleasure districts to enjoy music, surrounded by dazzling dancers and the sweet songs of courtesans.

In his spare time, he had Ye Shiyin keep an eye on Xiao Teng’s movements using a Communication Jade Talisman.

He hadn’t forgotten that the Palace Master of the Divine Maiden Palace and Ge Qixing were trying to help Xiao Teng successfully activate his Star Mark and awaken his past-life memories as the Master of Stars.

Not only had they sealed one of the Divine Maiden Palace’s Supreme Treasures, the Shaking Light Immortal Jade, within his Spirit Sea, but they were also secretly gathering and refining the Seven-Star Origin for him.

But it wasn’t yet time for the Seven-Star Origin to appear.

With the Southern Hunting imminent, Jiang Lan was also planning his second great gift for Emperor Xia.

’In the original story, the late emperor had foreseen that his heirs would be assassinated one after another, so he prepared a contingency plan. The current Emperor Xia, Xia Junxi, is the seventh child. By birth order, she should actually be the Seventh Princess. Before her, there was a Sixth Prince, born to Princess Consort Xuan. However, on the day of his birth, he was switched by a palace maid and sent to be raised outside the palace. The fake Prince, meanwhile, was plotted against by various court factions and later met a violent end. The late emperor had Xia Junxi disguise herself as a man and be established as the Crown Prince. While there were compelling reasons for this, the greater purpose was to create a diversion, having Xia Junxi draw the court’s attention to protect the Sixth Prince and allow him to grow up safely. To this end, the late emperor even secretly left behind a will, just in case.’

’At this point in time, Xia Junxi has probably learned about this. But she doesn’t know where the Sixth Prince is, or who he is. Still, with her network of spies, it won’t take her long to investigate the family lines and whereabouts of those palace maids from back then... I have to get my hands on the Sixth Prince before she does.’

Jiang Lan planned to secretly develop his own power during this time.

’Right now, there aren’t many people I can use. Just Song Youwei and Ye Shiyin. As for Li Mengning, I don’t want to involve her in too many things. Besides, if something happened to her, it would cast suspicion on me as well. I’m already inextricably linked with the Blood Immortal Sect...’

’Regarding the Sixth Prince, it looks like I’ll have to make a trip myself. Song Youwei is tied up dealing with the Blood Immortal Sect’s plans these days. Ye Shiyin was injured that night and is still recovering. Plus, she can’t easily show her face right now... I really need to find more people to work for me.’

Jiang Lan fell into deep thought.

「Linjiang County, Yangchun City.」

「The Qi Family.」

"The ancients who wished to spread virtue throughout the world first governed their own states. To govern their states, they first managed their own families. To manage their families, they first cultivated their own persons..."

In a courtyard that appeared somewhat humble and poor.

Beside a willow tree, a dignified-looking man with his hair tied up, dressed in a gray cotton robe, sat on a stone bench, engrossed in an Ancient Scroll he held in his hands.

He had a vigorous spirit, and his eyes were clear and bright, seemingly filled with great wisdom.

From his face, he looked to be in his twenties, but if a cultivator were to assess his bone age, they would discover he was already past thirty.

’"To govern the state well, one must first manage one’s own family. Without family, what is a state? Family, state, state, family..."’

’"What a pity that in the world today, those who can manage their families well are few and far between. As for those who can truly govern the state, where could they be?"’

’"The imperial court is in chaos, and the provinces are even worse. The Immortal Sects are watching like vultures, the Dukes are entrenched in their territories, and the great clans and Noble Families only look out for themselves."’

A moment later, the man sighed and closed the scroll in his hands.

There were three great families in Yangchun City, and the Qi Family, to which he belonged, was one of them. In fact, the Qi Family was the leader of the three.

As the Third Master of the Qi Family, he should have been living a life of wealth and glory.

But the courtyard before him was poor and simple, without even a single maidservant in attendance.