A sudden flash of lightning tears apart the night sky, as if bringing the first hint of dawn to the world.

Pity that moment quickly darkens again.

Lightning ultimately cannot bring the true dawn.

Jiang Wang was stunned for a moment. “From the same mother and siblings?”

Jiang Wuyou said, “In the 29th year of Yuanfeng, Crown Prince Jiang Wuliang was deposed. I was five years old that year, and our mother was imprisoned in the cold palace. I was given to Ning Guifei to raise and from then on recognized her as my mother. It was forbidden to mention this matter inside or outside the palace, with execution for violators.”

She paused. “In the 30th year of Yuanfeng, my mother died of depression in the cold palace.”

The 29th year of Yuanfeng, which is also the 3893rd year of Dao Li, is an extremely important year in the history of Qi country.

That year, the Eastern Palace faction represented by Jiang Wuliang completely withdrew from the court and from public life. Countless people were implicated by the deposed Crown Prince. The most famous among them was the third holy land of Buddhism, the Kugan Yuan, with Buddhist temples throughout the eastern part of the country, which were leveled overnight. The top noble family of Great Qi, the Chongxuan clan, also faced difficulties due to Chongxuan Mingtu’s relationship with the Crown Prince.

But the root of the disaster was actually planted five years earlier, in the 3888th year of Dao Li, the year Jiang Wuyou was born. The Crown Prince was confined by the Emperor for insisting on advocating peace, and Chongxuan Futu was imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison for refusing to lead troops. That year, the Emperor personally led the army, and the grand and vigorous first Qi-Xia war formally began.

The generation’s heroic lord, Xia Xiang Emperor Si Yuan, confronted Qi Emperor Jiang Shu directly on the battlefield, attacking with the entire nation. Millions of troops, peak Derived Path cultivators, world-renowned generals… Regardless of life or death, they contended for dominance.

After a great victory over the Xia army, Jiang Wuyou was just born. News reached the front line, and the Emperor happily said, “I have no worry now!”

In the eyes of many people, this was evidence of the Emperor and the Crown Prince’s relationship easing, because Jiang Wuyou and Jiang Wuliang were from the same mother and siblings, both born of Empress Yin.

People at that time passed it around, “Giving birth to a son without measure, then can have no worry.”

The post-war Great Qi Empire was indeed very peaceful. With dominance in hand, it developed rapidly. The vast majority of people were immersed in the joy of the nation’s power increasing.

But those who truly saw through the situation could see that the Qi Emperor’s purge of the Eastern Palace faction had already begun after the war. It was only surging beneath the surface, until the 29th year of Yuanfeng, when it was no longer hidden, emerged, and deployed the final bloody giant net. That year, the entire Linzi was blood-colored!

The death of Empress Yin in the cold palace the following year was just one stroke among them. Neither too light nor too heavy.

Compared to those profound blood colors, Jiang Wuyou being transferred to Ning Guifei for raising, strictly prohibiting discussion in court and in public, and cutting ties with the deposed Crown Prince, was truly a sign of the current Emperor’s favoritism.

Jiang Wang cautiously sealed off the sound in Hua Ying Palace, then said, “I indeed always thought that Your Highness’s birth mother was Ning Guifei. Indeed, no one has ever mentioned the relationship between Your Highness and the deposed… the one in Qing Shi Palace.”

“When I was young, I always lived with my mother, and my older brother often came to see me. He became increasingly idle, spending more and more time with me… He is a very warm person, no one dislikes him.” Jiang Wuyou narrated slowly. “It was he who personally taught me the enlightenment, and my martial arts were also taught by him. He always told me, Wuyou, you have to walk your own path.”

This decisive mistress of Hua Ying Palace rarely showed some confusion, looking at the occasionally brightening sky, the silent lightning, and murmuring to repeat that sentence in her memory, “What mortals have already accomplished, cannot open this world’s new heaven.”

Without great vision and great spirit, it cannot be done for this world.

Jiang Wang did not speak.

Jiang Wuyou continued, “After the Crown Prince position was abolished, older brother still idled in the Eastern Palace, just entry and exit were not too free. But if anyone wanted to see him, the Emperor also did not stop it. Sometimes he wanted to see me, the Emperor also allowed it. Until the 35th year of Yuanfeng, I was eleven years old. He was locked into Qing Shi Palace, never seeing the sun again. Only I was allowed, each year could visit him a few times. Oh, that year, my foster mother, Ning Guifei, died of illness. Because I had grown up, the Emperor did not assign me another mother.”

The secrets of the Great Qi court, the waves of that political struggle back then, were revealed with more gentle details through Jiang Wuyou, who was from the same mother as Jiang Wuliang.

But the matter involved the struggle between the current Emperor and the deposed Crown Prince, which truly made Jiang Wang’s mood complex.

He looked at Jiang Wuyou. “Could it be Your Highness…”

Although Jiang Wang’s words were not finished, Jiang Wuyou seemed to already know his thoughts and shook her head. “No, I do not want to save him.”

Jiang Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

But in his heart, new doubts arose.

In Jiang Wuyou’s description, Jiang Wuliang is such a good person. As a sister from the same mother and siblings, why would she not want to save Jiang Wuliang?

Jiang Wang did not ask that directly but asked, “In your eyes, what kind of person is the former Crown Prince?”

Jiang Wuyou looked up at the night sky. “I think he is a born emperor, in all aspects not inferior to my father.”

Jiang Wang secretly clicked his tongue.

Of course, he knew that the deposed Crown Prince Jiang Wuliang was definitely not a simple character. Not to mention that Chongxuan Futu, such a world-renowned general, almost certainly the next Marquis of Bowang, bet his political future to support him, even when he had already lost everything and was imprisoned in Qing Shi Palace, he still stood out to plead for him, thus implicating his family, and finally had to go to the Maze World to die.

Jiang Wuliang’s personal charm was beyond doubt.

But Jiang Wuyou’s evaluation was too high.

The current Emperor is already the upper limit of emperors that Jiang Wang can imagine. So far, among the monarchs he has contacted, only Mu Emperor can be mentioned in the same breath. Jiang Wuyou, as an imperial daughter qualified to contend for the dragon, certainly has a clearer understanding of the current Emperor.

And she actually said that Jiang Wuliang was not inferior to the current Emperor?

“The former Crown Prince actually has such talent. That now such a result… too pitiful.” Mentioning the former Crown Prince, Jiang Wang’s voice also unconsciously lowered.

“No pity.” Jiang Wuyou said. “Ending his life in Qing Shi Palace is his best destination. Although that time… possibly ten thousand years.”

Jiang Wang was startled. “The former Crown Prince is a Derived Path cultivator?!”

Jiang Wuyou glanced at him. “Otherwise, what do you think he relied on to contend with the Emperor? What did he rely on to hold opinions contrary to the Emperor on matters like attacking Xia, and still get so many people to support him? You look at us few, which one dares to say half a word of disagreement in front of the Emperor?”

When Jiang Wuyou said Jiang Wuliang’s cultivation level back then, when Jiang Wuyou used the word “contend.”

Jiang Wang then profoundly realized—

Back then, the internal peace and war factions of the Qi court were not just simple disagreements in opinion, differences in policy. It wasn’t something that could be resolved by discussion and unifying opinions. In fact, it was a confrontation between Jiang Wuliang and the Qi Emperor, a struggle between the Eastern Palace party and the Emperor’s party!

From this perspective, in the first Qi-Xia war, the Emperor suppressed Jiang Wuliang’s voice, and beheaded Xia Xiang Emperor Si Yuan on the battlefield, winning the key national war. Carrying this great momentum back to court, it also took a full five years before launching the final purge, deposing the Crown Prince in one fell swoop. After that, it took another six years before locking Jiang Wuliang into Qing Shi Palace.

Upon careful thought, it is extremely terrifying.

Previously, when Jiang Wang listened to this history, he thought this reflected the current Emperor’s soft spot in his heart, that he repeatedly gave Jiang Wuliang opportunities. Now looking back… this perhaps is exactly a manifestation of Jiang Wuliang’s power!

From this, more details spread. Jiang Wang recalled the bits and pieces related to the deposed Crown Prince that he had seen in Qi country over the years, and he could almost glimpse the giant net that was spread with Jiang Wuliang as the center back then.

For example, the inscribed words of Jiang Wuliang still remain on the Changji Water Fortress. Court Discussing Doctor Song Yao personally said that the prosperity of Great Qi’s water army was all the result of Jiang Wuliang’s personal organization. And in the several fierce battles of Jueming Island, Jiang Wuliang participated and made key contributions.

Another example is the widespread Buddhist temples in various counties. Kugan Yuan, with the power of the third holy land of Buddhism, gave Jiang Wuliang unreserved support.

Another example is that when the Emperor went on expedition, Jiang Wuliang had to supervise the country. Even when the Emperor was in court, Jiang Wuliang often shared state affairs.

Another example is that Jiang Wuliang initially made multiple diplomatic trips to the grasslands, and the diplomacy with Mu country was almost all handled by him. And Kugan Yuan’s Guangwen Bell is now in Minhe Temple…

Just simply sketching a few strokes like this, the huge political force back then already showed immeasurable power.

It was indeed a terrifying force second only to the Emperor’s party.

Perhaps, this was also the root of the Emperor’s suspicion of Jiang Wuliang back then…

Because this Emperor, who has sat in court for fifty-nine years, has already been challenged once by his own child.

Only until today, Jiang Wang vaguely understood why Jiang Wuqi had to prove himself so decisively back then. Only by truly dying could he thoroughly prove his love for his father, for the country, and his loyalty to the Emperor.

Because the dead cannot change anymore.

His love is forever fixed.

He used this method to awaken the Emperor’s warmth.

“I am very curious about Your Highness’s view of the former Crown Prince.” Jiang Wang sighed in his heart, and with a calm expression asked, “Because you seem to both like and dislike?”

Jiang Wuyou was silent for a while, then said, “He is the person I am most vigilant of, and also the person I trust the most. I admire him the most, and fear him the most.”

To make Jiang Wuyou use words like “vigilant” and “fear,” that political struggle back then certainly still has many unknown details.

But Jiang Wang knew she did not plan to elaborate.

The lightning in the night sky became increasingly rampant, at this time already woven into a net. Jiang Wang remotely pointed, dispersed it, and stopped a rain that was about to fall.

Jiang Wuyou glanced at the sky. “Heaven’s way has constancy, the sun and moon revolve. If you disperse the rain now, tomorrow it will only fall even bigger.”

Jiang Wang said, “At least this moment is not bothered.”

“Yes,” Jiang Wuyou said. “At least this moment.”

Jiang Wang thought for a while, still saying, “I previously thought that Your Highness’s reason for contending for the dragon was related to the former Crown Prince.”

Jiang Wuyou shook her head. “Older brother ending his life in Qing Shi Palace is what he deserves. This palace’s efforts over these many years are not to replace anyone, become anyone, or inherit anyone’s ideals.”

“I have my own path.”

“Father, older brother, I respect them very much. But I must surpass them, so I walk the most difficult path.”

Under the night sky where the lightning had dispersed, she spread her arms, as if already embracing the rivers and mountains—

“If I become ruler, I shall make the world without worry!”

Jiang Wang was silent for a time.

About ‘Wuyou,’ he had heard it three times in the history of Qi country. Respectively from the Emperor, from those who supported Jiang Wuliang or Jiang Wuliang himself, and tonight from Jiang Wuyou’s self-narration.

Each time was different.

He thought, this is indeed Jiang Wuyou.

“And one more thing.” Jiang Wuyou said slowly. “Although older brother should end his life in Qing Shi Palace, how innocent was my birth mother? I want to restore her reputation with the name of Great Qi Emperor.”

Jiang Wang nodded. “I know.”

True Person Jiang is absolutely not a person who loves to show off.

He can now be said to have returned home in glory, but he doesn’t make a show of it.

He only set up a table at An Zhi Lou, which has become extremely famous in Linzi city recently, and invited Li Longchuan, Chongxuan Sheng, Yi Shisi, Yi Huaiyong, Yi Huaimin, and Zheng Shangming, all gathered together.

Their relationships, although with varying degrees of closeness, can still be considered friends.

As for why he didn’t invite Brother Yan Xian…

Furthermore, look at the name of the wine house.

Yan Fu is famous for his wide social circle, known as the person with the most friends in Linzi city. After all, he is generous and not calculating, with a gentle personality, and rarely argues with people. To be friends with him, not only can you freeload food and drinks and often receive luxurious gifts, but you also don’t have to suffer grievances. Who doesn’t love Yan Fu?

He often signed bills for friends at various wine houses, and over time he found it troublesome, so last year he opened a wine house himself, hired the best chefs, made the best decorations, stored genuine good wine, specifically to entertain his friends and also do some business.

But unexpectedly, this shop opened and immediately became popular, with business booming, and instead, he made a lot of money!

As a close friend, Jiang Wang of course wants to support his business—supporting popularity is also supporting!

Just like this, a table of people sat together, everyone talking and laughing.

Yi Huaimin curiously asked, “Brother Jiang, have you taken a title for yourself? What is your True Person title?”

Yi Huaiyong seriously said, “A True Person’s title is fought out by oneself, not granted by anyone. It’s also not something you can just say it is, and others will recognize it. Not all True Persons have titles, and True Person Jiang may not need one. Huaimin, you are too impolite.”

Yi Huaimin rolled his eyes.

The personalities of these two brothers are really completely opposite. The younger brother is never serious, and the older brother is always serious. They basically can’t play together. Although their brotherly feelings are still good, if it weren’t for Jiang Wang inviting them, they wouldn’t come out to eat together.

Yi Shisi smoothed things over for the two brothers. “Otherwise, let’s all help Jiang Wang think of a more imposing title?”

Zheng Shangming, the current Vice Minister of the North Yamen Patrol Inspector, was the first to agree. “Otherwise, let’s just call it ‘Qing Yang.’ This is Brother Jiang’s first noble title and also his first fief. Use this as a title to indicate not forgetting the past. How about that?”

“Not appropriate, not appropriate.” Yi Huaimin smiled and shook his head. “Is Wu An much bigger than Qing Yang? Taking a name like this has no meaning. In my life, I love reading poetry the most, ‘Guo Feng’ and ‘Li Sao’ are both absolute masterpieces in poetry. As the saying goes, ‘Generations of talents emerge in the Jiangshan, each leading the wind and Sao for hundreds of years.’ In my opinion, Brother Jiang might as well use ‘Feng Sao’ as his title!”

Yi Huaiyong has a rigid personality and does not participate in this game.

Li Longchuan was too lazy to bother with that brain and just cheered, “Feng Sao is good!”

How could Chongxuan Sheng let his wife’s suggestion fall flat? He burped from the wine and hurriedly joined in. “You all don’t understand Jiang Wang’s taste. What you’re saying he won’t like. Let me tell you what he likes—”

He brewed slightly, then shouted with full momentum, “Flip Heaven! Dominate Heaven! Proud Heaven!”

“Can’t get over with ‘Heaven,’ right?” Yi Huaimin couldn’t help but laugh. “Brother Jiang, do you really like it?”

Jiang Wang had silently listened for a long time. At this moment, he said with a leisurely ‘oh,’ “Titles and such, I’ve never thought about it. I feel it’s very boring. But if I must say a title… ‘Qing Shi First True’ is not enough?”

The table was silent for a moment.

No one wanted to see him show off, so everyone quickly forgot about this topic and successively raised their cups. “Come on, drink! Drink!”

Yan Fu, in his own wine house, was instead not as convenient as usual. Wherever he went, there were people pulling him to say a few words, so he and Wen Tinglan arrived late.

Coming together was also an unexpected woman for everyone—

Bao Zhongqing’s widow, Miao Yuzhi, daughter of Cang Shu County Governor Miao Jingyang.

Jiang Wang subtly glanced at Yan Fu.

Yan Fu returned an innocent look, indicating he also didn’t know.

Obviously, it was all Wen Tinglan’s idea.

Wen Tinglan, holding Miao Yuzhi’s arm, as if she was very good friends with her, said to the people present, “Yuzhi is my close friend. She’s always busy taking care of her children and hasn’t been out for a long time. I thought today was a small gathering for everyone, so I brought her out for some air and to meet the various heroes! I didn’t notify you in advance, I hope everyone doesn’t mind.”

The room was silent for a time.

“Why would we mind?” Chongxuan Sheng smiled and looked at them. “Bao Zhongqing is also my close friend. We’ve been on the battlefield together, studied together… Come, Madame Bao, quickly please sit!”

(For everyone’s common goal, I need to fight until the last moment.)

(Last day of July,

)