VIP Early Access
Eksklusif untuk member VIP
Password Protected
Chapter ini dikunci dengan kode khusus
Chapter 19 : A Land Where the Weak Cannot Survive (2)
Chapter 19 - A Land Where the Weak Cannot Survive (2)
There are three major schools for Confucian students in Beijing, and the largest Superintendent School among them is the Yanjing School where I am. If you enter the class where the children of the most VIPs gather there, and a three-year class at that, it is harder not to meet Imperial Royalty.
I don't know exactly how old this country is, but you can understand just by looking at our family, which was classified as a Great Clan around the time the Ming Dynasty was founded. The total number of our family, including collateral lines, is barely two hundred.
That is the number for a Murim sect that risks lives and lives by the sword, one that survived the Great War of Orthodox and Unorthodox two generations ago. It is not difficult to calculate how many Imperial Royals there would be, who do not die from external factors in any case unless it is treason.
Just counting the brothers of the current Emperor classified as clan relatives, there are seven; the brothers of the Grand Ancestor, meaning the former Emperor, are six; and there are about ten-plus children of the Emperor, so at least twenty to thirty Imperial Princes are alive, and about half of them reside in Beijing.
W̃е̇ b̃ n̊ o vе l̄ En̈ ú m а
Simply put, the fact that two Imperial Royals are in the same class at Yanjing School is not surprising in itself. I came here to form academic ties with such a high class anyway.
However, even so.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
I never intended to become friends with an aspiring traitor.
“No, where did the Non-aggression between Government and Murim go?”
I grumbled while scratching my head vigorously in my dormitory. Outside the blanket…… outside the dormitory is dangerous. Because ‘Imperial Royalty hiding their power’ ranks at the top among all the ‘hidden powerhouses’ one can encounter in medieval China.
“What is that?”
W èb̄n.о̀ vе́ ĺ _Е̄ n̄ ǔm а̃
“There is such a thing.”
Nang-rang left the room without expressing any particular doubt at my answer. Among the guards and servants sent by the Peng Clan, Nang-rang was the busiest. I glanced at her and opened a book.
“At that point, just accept it.”
“Do not speak comfortably just because it is someone else's business.”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Ignoring the sound of Peng Jeon-gun mocking me, I ignored Cheon U-rin waving her hand to greet me from outside the window, and shut the dormitory window.
One month into entering Yanjing School.
Ӗnu m̊ а̂ .і̂d
I became the Youngest Young Master obsessed over by an aspiring traitor.
……
So I decided to consult about my worries with a school friend I became rapidly close with recently. Since this guy was also being bullied quite a bit, I worried less about the story spreading.
“……So, what should I do about a friend who keeps approaching me burdensomely?”
“Yeah, yeah. Even if I turn them away nicely, they keep sticking to me, so I wondered if they have no friends other than me.”
“You aren't talking about me, right?”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Won-ho looked at me with a very hurt expression.
“What are you talking about? You are the one I am sticking to. I mean that kid, that kid.”
“Ah, Cheon U-rin? He has many friends.”
“But why is he acting like that?”
“Well, how about asking him that yourself?”
“Shall I answer?”
Ё n̄ũ m̊ a
For reference, the last one was said by Cheon U-rin, who stuck close in an instant. I had a fit and moved away from the guy.
“No, go your way. Uh-uh.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Isn't it that friends should inform each other if there is a flaw, and help each other if there is strength? (When friends have faults, they inform each other; when they have strength, they help each other ‘Analects: Yan Yuan’ chapter)”
“Even Confucius said to be selective in making friends.”
“That is a hurtful remark.”
Cheon U-rin approached smiling with an expression that she wasn't hurt at all. She looked at Won-ho and nodded with a considerate smile.
Е̌ ń u̇m а̂. іd
“Sorry, but we have a story to share intimately between friends. Could you excuse us for a moment?”
“Uh…… Mm.”
Won-ho cowered like a frightened beast in front of my earnest gaze and Cheon U-rin's soft gaze. Soon, [Becoming friends with the Peng Clan vs. Becoming friends with the Hanlin Assistant Censor-in-Chief] flashed past his eyes.
“I see! See you next time, Hyeon-hwi!”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Hey!”
The Hebei Peng Clan lost. It is because this place is the Confucian forest. In his eyes, I am someone who will leave after taking only the Dongsaengsi, and Cheon U-rin is likely a future official who will enter the Hanlin Academy after passing even the Palace Exam with high probability.
Ĕň u m̊ а .і̌ d̈
This is why I hate merchants. I scratched my head vigorously while watching Won-ho leave without looking back. Even at that rude attitude, the Imperial Royal hiding her power was only making a gentle expression like Liu Bei.
“What is it you want to say?”
“Have you been to a restaurant?”
“I am not close with the Hao Clan.”
“I like that you catch on fast, as expected.”
10-year-old kids cannot set a drinking table and eat at a restaurant. So the restaurant this guy wants to go to must be where that courtesan named Hyang-hyang I saw last time is, and Hyang-hyang is from the Hao Clan.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
In other words, I am currently invited to a certain plan that the Hao Clan and the power-hiding Imperial Royal are plotting in Beijing. This guy's skill in understanding my words was extraordinary.
After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I decided to follow the guy.
Whatever she is plotting, it is not something that will develop into a fatal scandal right away. Since this guy is only ten years old, and in a situation where she even entered the school to take the Dongsaengsi, she won't try to commit something immediately before the exam in 2 months.
I was also curious. About what a medieval Chinese restaurant is like.
……
Maehyang Pavilion belonged to the most splendid restaurants even on the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries Street.
E ñ u m̌ а̀.і ḋ
Restaurants of this era are largely divided into Blue Pavilions (Cheong-ru) classified as Won (Courtyard), Gwan (Hall), Gak (Pavilion), and Red Pavilions (Hong-ru) classified as Ru (Tower), Sil (Room). Simply put, the former is a concert hall and the latter is an entertainment bar.
Naturally, there are no Red Pavilions on the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries Street where Beijing aristocrats and the Confucian forest are swarming.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Maehyang Pavilion is a Blue Pavilion opened with the motto of ‘Small tavern gathering to enjoy songs’ and ‘Selling talent but not selling the body’, and considering it, it plays a role like the rooftop bar of a 5-star hotel.
“Oh.”
So there was absolutely no scenery that was somewhat decadent, sticky, and hygienically repulsive, which comes to mind when thinking of a restaurant. The 3-story restaurant had a clean and elegant exterior that felt very modern even from the perspective of a modern person.
Perhaps because I came during the day, I even saw scholars enjoying tea on the first floor. It was an atmosphere as if they really came to a cafe with friends, not to drink heavily and play.
W̌_е̌ b ń о̆v̇e l _Е n ūḿ a
“It seems this is your first time coming to a restaurant?”
“Did you forget what kind of family the Hebei Peng Clan is?”
“Ah, uh, mm. I said something unnecessary. Right…… you didn't look like that, so I was confused.”
Cheon U-rin blushed and turned her head.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The Peng Clan is Unorthodox, and most of the funding sources for Unorthodox sects based in cities come from restaurants. Here, the restaurants we manage were mostly Red Pavilions. Since Blue Pavilions are held by the Hao Clan and are places where one has to be too wary of the government.
Therefore, it means restaurants are one of our family's representative business places.
W е bṅо̃ v̂ ë l̄ Ё n u m_а̀
Cheon U-rin seemed to realize now that I am from the Unorthodox martial artists who are obviously familiar with Red Pavilions, that is, entertainment bars. Judging by her frowning, she didn't seem to feel very good. I didn't bother making excuses that I had never been.
We kept our mouths shut awkwardly while being guided to the top floor of Maehyang Pavilion. On the stairs passing the second floor, Cheon U-rin opened her mouth carefully.
“Such places cannot be places for a gentleman to befriend, so it is better to be prudent.”
“What?”
“K-hmm. Hmm. Let's go quickly. It won't do to make the Pavilion Lord wait long.”
Cheon U-rin seemed to grumble something a few times, then lifted the beaded curtain of the top floor guest room. The martial artists standing around only bowed their heads deeply seeing such Cheon U-rin and did not stop her.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
‘Their posture is more disciplined than the Black Dragon Gang guys.’
Of course, the Hao Clan is not such riffraff, but one of the Ten Great Black Way Sects. The Black Dragon Gang was a typical back-alley third-rate Sapa where guys who got annoyed with earning money properly wore swords and swaggered.
Ten Great Black Way Sects. It's the first time facing them except for the guys in our family.
……
“Young Lady, and Young Master. Please sit comfortably.”
The top floor of the Blue Pavilion, the Pavilion Lord's room was a quiet tea room where all sides were widely open, overlooking the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries Street at a glance. The soft autumn breeze lightly disturbed the blinds, making a comfortable sound.
Wе b̆nо v̄ е l̀ Ӗ nû m̊ а̀
The woman sitting in front of it looked at us and smiled intimately. Two tea cups were overturned in front of her. The woman overturned the tea cups with a nonchalant gesture, poured tea, and spoke.
“Please let those outside enter as well. I will order some refreshments to be brought out.”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“May I ask what your position is?”
“I am Dan So-hye, serving as the General Manager of Shuntian Prefecture, Beijing. It is an honor to meet the Young Hero whose renowned name is widely known.”
If she is the General Manager of Shuntian Prefecture, Beijing, it is at least the level of an Inner Hall Pavilion Lord in terms of our family. It is a status clearly higher than the fourth son of the Peng Clan Young Family Head.
I sat politely in front of her and lifted the teacup.
Еn̆ um̂ â
“Please speak comfortably, Senior. I am Hyeon-hwi of the Peng Clan.”
“You are much friendlier than I heard from rumors.”
“There are indeed many misunderstanding-filled rumors about the Main Family.”
“Ahahaha!”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Dan So-hye covered her mouth and laughed for a long time, then nodded. Soon, the martial artists beyond the beaded curtain made their presence known and disappeared. It seemed they were trying to let even me, whose stage is lacking, know that they were withdrawing.
Dan So-hye, who enjoyed tea for a moment, looked at Cheon U-rin and spoke.
W̆.êb̄ n̊ ӧ v̆e l Е̄n̂ ů mа̊
“Ah right, Young Lady. I punished Hyang-hyang with my own hands, so please forgive her.”
“Is there anything to call forgiveness? In my position, I cannot dare to dispose of a Hao Clan member anyway.”
“What are you saying? We are nothing but mere courtesans of a brothel; how could we dare to offend the feelings of the Noble Blood and hope to be safe?”
“You aren't even trying to hide it anymore.”
Listening to words like Noble Blood openly, this place became terribly uneasy. I wetted my lips and looked around.
Nowhere in the wide-open tea room could I feel any human presence except for Dan So-hye. But I know my place. I am just at the level of receiving the third-rate label, and strictly speaking, a kid around 10 years old.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Although I have diligently done Qi Building for 3 years, I cannot pierce through a master's concealment technique with this amount of internal energy.
Unless Dan So-hye is crazy, at least one personal bodyguard must be hiding somewhere in this place. Because.
‘I am the same.’
It is not only the Hao Clan's secret guard that I cannot feel. I am a direct lineage of the Hebei Peng Clan, and the Hebei Peng Clan is currently waging an underwater war with the White Lotus Cult in Beijing. I know that there are guards attached around me at least at the level of one armed unit.
Even Peng Jeon-gun, an Elder of the Inner Hall, is attached to me under the pretext of a martial arts instructor. He must be somewhere here by now.
“There is no need to worry so much. Because Young Lady and we have joined hands for a longer time than you think.”
Еn̈ um̂a
“It is not exactly appropriate language to use in a place where the Forbidden City is visible.”
“Originally, in a restaurant, even badmouthing the King is not reprimanded. Young Master, what do you think of our Hao Clan?”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“Well. Isn't it a place that sells stories?”
“Many people often have such misunderstandings. Just as the Peng Clan carries around misunderstanding-filled rumors. Young Master, we sell talent, but we do not sell stories.”
Dan So-hye smiled brightly and put down the teacup.
“We buy stories. There is a very big difference here.”
Ẁе ḃ ǹо v_е̊ľ Е̌n̆ ũm а
“Buying stories you cannot even sell, it seems you are not adept at calculation.”
“Because some stories can only be powerful when merely held.”
“I presume your words include the fact that this ‘Young Lady’ here is Imperial Royalty?”
“You are bright, as expected.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Dan So-hye looked straight at me for a moment and smiled.
Indeed, befitting a courtesan occupying the best restaurant on the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries Street, it was a smile soft enough to melt one's insides. However, a 10-year-old brat has not even started puberty yet.
Е̂ňu mӓ .i d
By my standards, a beautiful woman has no meaning more or less than a woman who is structurally beautiful. Hormones are this scary.
When my complexion didn't change a bit, Dan So-hye made a rude expression like ‘What am I doing to a brat like that right now’. Fortunately, it disappeared in an instant, so I wasn't greatly hurt.
It means I was hurt a little.
“K-hmm. Hmm. Yes, the fact that Young Lady is Noble Blood is also one of the stories we are collecting. However, we are not helping Young Lady just because of that.”
“You are beating around the bush. My cultivation is still lacking, so it is difficult to grasp the true intent.”
“Since it is a somewhat intimate story. Mmm. Perhaps, do you know about the White Lotus Cult?”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
One of their Elders had his neck chopped off right before my eyes by my grandfather's hand, so there is no way I wouldn't know. There was also sufficient time to find out about the White Lotus Cult after that incident.
Those guys are a religion fairly famous even in 21st-century modern Korea. Definitely on the Murim side. Although it was a fact I first learned after coming here, I heard those guys were a huge sect connected even to the founding of the Ming Dynasty.
Avatamsaka White Lotus Sect. Abbreviated as White Lotus Cult. Commonly known as the Ming Cult. From the name itself, it is no different from saying ‘We founded the Ming Dynasty’. Since Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Taizu of Ming, Hongwu, started his career as a general from the White Lotus Cult's Red Turban Rebellion, it is not wrong.
And Zhu Yuanzhang betrayed the White Lotus Cult and solidified the foundation of the nation based on Confucianism. He overthrew most of the Red Turbans on a large scale, and the White Lotus Cult disappeared from the Central Plains after that.
That was the best I could know. Three Evils Beyond the Great Wall, Demonic Cult, Blood Cult, Ming Cult. Most stories about the anti-state religious group trio are covered in groundless rumors and hearsay, so knowing the truth is quite tricky.
“The eldest son of the current Emperor, Crown Prince Daogong, is a puppet of the White Lotus Cult.”
Ě ṅ ũmá.і̇ d
“Oh.”
I immediately stood up from my seat. Cold sweat rushed up my spine.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The Crown Prince is a puppet of the White Lotus Cult. And the Peng Clan is at war with the White Lotus Cult. This place is Beijing. This world is medieval China where the word 'Non-aggression between Government and Murim' itself does not exist. The Ming Dynasty where imperial power was terribly bloated.
Such words are combined in an instant. We're fucked. I have to inform the Main Family immediately and choose whether to negotiate, retreat, migrate, or whatever.
In the first place, I don't know well why she is saying such things to a ten-year-old brat. Isn't this something my father or grandfather should hear…….
“Haha, Young Master. At least within the Imperial Family, those evil cultists cannot exert power beyond that. Not yet.”
W̄е́b̄ n̄.о̀ v̀ е̂ l Ėnú m а̂
“I need a bit more explanation.”
“The evil cultists have exhausted all the cards they currently possess in getting hold of Crown Prince Daogong. Noble Consort Rongjing is a woman of palace maid origin, who has no relatives-in-law behind her except for receiving the Emperor's grace. The things the evil cultists can do in this Beijing are extremely limited.”
In other words, winning over the Crown Prince was the limit, and the Crown Prince is still nothing but a young kid, and the Noble Consort who is the Crown Prince's biological mother is also merely of palace maid origin.
It is close to meaning that they cannot bear the political burden of purging aristocrats on a large scale without justification.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
For now, immediately. Since once the Crown Prince grows up, he will naturally be able to wield omnipotent power.
“So we decided to join hands with the Hao Clan. Hyeon-hwi.”
Е̄_nù mà .і̄ d̈.
“We?”
“The Clean Stream faction. Didn't I introduce myself earlier? As the nephew of the Hanlin Academy Assistant Censor-in-Chief.”
The Hanlin Academy is the backbone of the Cabinet. An administrative agency climbed through passing the civil service exam. Those people are disguising a young girl of Imperial Royalty as a boy and preparing for the civil service exam.
What is the reason for preparing for the civil service exam?
At this point, rising in the world and gaining fame is not the purpose.
If an Imperial Royal is caught taking the exam and rising to a government post while hiding their identity, they die. All those who helped this will have three generations exterminated. There is no way the scholars of the Hanlin Academy didn't know that.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Then it means the civil service exam itself is not the purpose. Because it is an action where the reward is too small compared to the risk.
I soon reached a conclusion. Putting down the teacup, I wiped the sweat pooling under my hand as naturally as possible.
The foundation of this country is Confucianism. Confucian studies of this period are not just learning. It is a political direction and learning for politicians. The meaning of politics is ‘governing rightly’, and from that perspective, Confucianism is a political study more than anything else.
The reason she must learn it from childhood, even cross-dressing as a man.
The reason an Imperial Royal girl must be raised as a man.
The Clean Stream Confucian scholars who have to prepare so thoroughly risking their lives to that extent. The reason the scholars of the Hanlin Academy joined hands with a Black Way Unorthodox sect.
W е̌ b̀ nоv̆ ѐ l Е nu m а
The Crown Prince won over by evil cultists.
The Hebei Peng Clan waging war with such evil cultists.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
And just in time.
The Peng Clan's youngest Young Master who entered the school saying he would learn Confucian studies, and pierced through the identity of the Imperial Royal at a glance.
Unless it is a dynastic revolution, all treason supports a king equipped with legitimacy.
Legitimacy is bloodline. Even though there would have been plenty of ‘safer’ Imperial Royal boys if they just needed any Imperial Royal.
Ẇ ẽ bn̆оv̈ě l̆_ E ǹum̀ā
Yet if they started something while even taking the unreasonable measure of disguising a girl as a man.
The conclusion is one.
“I greet…… Her Highness the Imperial Princess.”
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Cheon U-rin smiled like a fox and looked at me.
My face reflected in those eyes was visible faintly.
Ē ṅ ŭ m a
“Princess Yeonhwa. I am Ju U-rin…… who should have had such a name.”
The current Emperor's legitimate line looked at me and smiled.
The Imperial Royal who made that bold choice to join hands with the Hao Clan to break the Emperor's eldest son was smiling.
Not to the Peng Family Head of the Hebei Peng Clan, nor to the Young Family Head who became my father.
Not even to Eldest Brother or Second Brother at the very least. She revealed this fact directly to me, who is merely the fourth.
‘She is trying to use me.’
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
There must have been the judgment that if she requested aid directly from the Peng Clan, it would not be accepted, and the concern that even if she could join hands, she would be led by the Peng Clan's hand and used as a new puppet.
If that much judgment stands, there is one reason she confessed all these facts to me.
Since there is still enough time until the Crown Prince grows up, it means she will push me within the Peng Clan in the meantime. Enough to challenge the Family Head succession by opposing Eldest Brother.
In return, it must mean she wants to borrow the Peng Clan's power for their Grand Plan. Since in the land of Beijing, excluding the Imperial Guards, no single armed group more powerful than the Hebei Peng Clan exists.
Support of the Clean Stream faction's Confucian society. The Hao Clan's intelligence power, her own bloodline legitimacy, the Hebei Peng Clan's martial power.
If one carries that on one's back, even treason is not absurd. Containing such meaning.
Еňum̈ а
It seemed they knew what I realized and how far my thoughts reached. Both Dan So-hye and Cheon U-rin. A favorable smile was rising in their eyes.
In such a situation, an ordinary 10-year-old brat would have been scared out of his wits.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
If it were a full-grown adult, if it were someone around my Eldest Brother, he might have smiled confidently here. While even feeling pride in the point that the Peng Clan's prestige is this high.
However, a possessor is different. Must be different.
“Let’s match the conditions.”
If she intends to use me, naturally I must use her too.
E n ü m̌ а . ì.d
Not a subcontract, but a transactional relationship. Since that would be the most ideal relationship this kid, who might become the Emperor later, and I can have.
Konten Bab Belum Tersedia
Bab ini belum memiliki konten teks atau sedang dalam proses penyuntingan.
