Chapter 1625: Coda!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Your Highness, it’s a letter from the Fifth Prince!”
Xu Keyi glanced at the letter and was immediately very interested.
“It’s about the Jade Consort Xiao matter. The Fifth Prince wants to know what is going on with Jade Consort Xiao.”
Wang Chong was cultivating while seated on his throne, and after hearing this, he couldn’t help but smile. After leaving the prison, the Fifth Prince had only been able to suppress his curiosity for a few days.
“He still couldn’t wait!” Wang Chong softly chuckled as he immediately rejected the idea. “Tell the Fifth Prince that he can keep guessing. I won’t tell him.”
The Fifth Prince was merely asking out of curiosity, but he was still a Prince. Knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing.
“It’s about time. Let’s go!”
Placing the Fifth Prince’s letter on the table, Wang Chong stood up and began to head out.
Inside the hall, Cheng Sanyuan and Xu Keyi smiled at each other. Although Wang Chong hadn’t said where he was going, everyone already knew.
When leaving the residence, Wang Chong did not use his ordinary royal carriage, but instead boarded a rather unremarkable one. This carriage circled around the city before finally stopping in front of an ordinary house in the eastern part of the capital.
There was a secluded yard here, and bamboo had been planted in one corner, tall and straight, exuding vitality.
A little stream flowed past the bamboo, and standing next to the stream was an elegant and graceful woman who was seemingly waiting for someone.
Upon seeing that familiar figure, Wang Chong smiled and went up to greet her.
“When did you get here?” Wang Chong asked as he walked up with Cheng Sanyuan and Xu Keyi.
The woman by the stream suddenly turned her head, revealing her cold and beautiful face that exuded nobility. This was clearly that ‘Jade Consort Xiao’ that the palace had recently announced to have died by drowning. Upon seeing Wang Chong, Jade Consort Xiao seemed slightly panicked and startled.
“King of Foreign Lands, why have you appeared here? Impudent! Should you not kneel before this consort?”
Jade Consort Xiao seemed both shocked and furious.
While Wang Chong remained silent, Cheng Sanyuan and Xu Keyi were on the verge of exploding in laughter.
“Enough!”
Wang Chong shook his head, apparently helpless against this woman’s mischievous nature.
“The harem incident is over, so there’s no need for you to use this face anymore. Miyasame, you should go back to your original appearance.”
There was only one person so close to their group that Wang Chong called ‘Miyasame’.
Sure enough, after Wang Chong had spoken, the woman’s face began to ripple like water, revealing another, even more alluring and cold face—the face of the assassin from the Eastern Islands, Miyasame Ayaka.
Miyasame Ayaka was one of Wang Chong’s earliest followers, but unlike the others, Miyasame Ayaka had originally tried to assassinate Wang Chong but was later recruited.
Later on, because of some problems back in the Eastern Islands, Miyasame Ayaka returned to her home. Now that everything was resolved, she had finally returned to Wang Chong’s side.
In truth, Miyasame Ayaka had played a significant role in assisting Xue Qianjun and his army of tens of thousands of soldiers in occupying the Eastern Islands, and had been vital to the progress they had made as of late.
“Young Master, I did well, right?”
Miyasame Ayaka smiled. Although Wang Chong was now a King, even more illustrious than a marquis, Miyasame Ayaka still called him ‘Young Master’.
“Not bad! I’ve troubled you this time. How did you handle things in the palace? You didn’t leave behind any evidence, right?”
Wang Chong’s smile faded as he began to talk business.
“Young Master, be at ease. Although my ninjutsu is not as impressive as Young Master’s techniques, it is a secret art that has been passed down through the Eastern Islands for hundreds of years, and whether it was entering the palace or leaving the palace, I was extremely cautious and meticulous! No trace was left whatsoever!”
As Miyasame Ayaka spoke, her mind recalled the scene from before.
“The palace is constantly changing and difficult to predict, and there’s danger at every step. The Fifth Prince is humane and filial, and though prone to infatuation, he is not a fickle person. He strictly cleaves to the principles of sovereign and subject, father and son, and will never overstep them. In the Imperial Palace, the only person with the motive and drive for such a scheme is the First Prince!”
When the news that the Fifth Prince had been arrested arrived at the King of Foreign Lands Residence, everyone had gathered together for a meeting, and the mood had been oppressive. But Wang Chong had a suspect for the schemer from the very start.
But even so, they still knew nothing about the situation in the palace, so there was no means of discussing any countermeasures.
“The First Prince has been scheming for a long time. For him to suddenly act now, he must be planning to push the Fifth Prince into a dead end. The Imperial Clan Court is no ordinary place. If my guess is correct, no matter what happens, the First Prince will leak the news to the Imperial Court, upon which the Fifth Prince’s reputation will be destroyed and he will lose any right to the throne. We don’t have much time. Miyasame Ayaka, follow me to the palace and be ready for my order at any moment. We will respond according to the situation!”
The situation had been urgent and there was no time to waste. Not even Miyasame Ayaka had known what Wang Chong was thinking.
But not long after they had entered the palace, Miyasame Ayaka had received the next order from Wang Chong, and everything truly did develop as Wang Chong had predicted.
In this world, there’s probably no one who can defeat Young Master!
As she gazed at the eighteen-year-old face, her eyes glazed over for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure, and her respect for this youth only increased.
To Miyasame Ayaka, if there was anyone in the world who could defeat Wang Chong, it was her!
But these thoughts resided in her mind for only the briefest of moments.
Wang Chong had no idea what Miyasame Ayaka was thinking.
“Miyasame Ayaka, now that this matter is over, you should disappear for a while and wait to return to the residence,” Wang Chong said.
“Yes, Young Master.”
After a few moments of silence, Wang Chong took out a letter and handed it over. “In addition, Xu Keyi, investigate this letter and report back to me in three days.”
Xu Keyi scanned the letter, and he could see from the elegant handwriting that it was written by a woman. However, he did not ask any questions and merely bowed.
“This subordinate will go!”
Three days later, Xu Keyi returned with his report. His investigation had turned up a great deal of previously unknown information.
Upon receiving Xu Keyi’s report, Wang Chong couldn’t help but deeply sigh, falling into a long silence.
The letter Wang Chong had given to Xu Keyi was one that he had found in Shuhua Palace. Jade Consort Xiao had lived a simple and thrifty life, her food and clothing expenses much smaller than those of the other consorts and concubines. The bookshelves in her room only contained plain Buddhist texts. The only exception was this letter hidden under her copy of the ‘Diamond Sutra’.
After reading through the letter, Wang Chong had developed some conjectures. Xu Keyi’s investigation had verified them.
It turned out that Jade Consort Xiao’s austere life had not been without reason. She had a younger brother outside the palace whose inborn illness kept him in bed year-round. Moreover, several years ago, Jade Consort Xiao’s parents both passed away, leaving her younger brother in an even worse situation.
Jade Consort Xiao sent almost all her salary, besides that needed for the daily expenses of Shuhua Palace, to her younger brother. This younger brother was constantly on her mind, and she was always worried about his condition.
“Haaah…”
Wang Chong put down the letter and sighed.
Everyone had a story that they weren’t willing to talk about, and in this harem incident, the one neglected the most had been Jade Consort Xiao.
“Xu Keyi, take care of this matter. Make sure that Jade Consort Xiao’s younger brother is well taken care of!”
The palace had many rules that made things difficult for even someone like Jade Consort Xiao, but Wang Chong did not have the same restraints, and he could handle many matters as easily as raising a finger.
Taking care of Jade Consort Xiao’s crippled younger brother was the only thing Wang Chong could do. As for the rest…
“Be at ease! A day will come when he will pay for his conduct!”
Wang Chong’s eyes flashed for a moment, but he quickly calmed back down.
Once he had finished settling everything, he began to cultivate again.
Bang!
A few moments later, there was a massive boom. Now that this last mental knot had been untied, Wang Chong was able to easily break through that threshold.
A beam of light soared into the air, and Wang Chong finally ascended into the eleventh level of the Trayastrimsa Heaven.
With this qualitative evolution, the air several feet above Wang Chong began to ripple, and at the center of these ripples, one could see another world bursting with dazzling, golden, and blazing energy that was hotter than the sun.
As Wang Chong established a connection with this higher dimension, he finally stepped into that realm that most martial artists could scarcely imagine.
The Subtle realm!
In the past, Wang Chong had only been able to reach the Subtle realm through the power of the Origin Immortal Sword, but now he had ascended to that unfathomable realm both mentally and physically.
But it was still not over. Now that he had opened the gate to this higher dimension, he once more began to erupt with power.
Swish!
Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Chong sent his soul out of his body and into that mysterious world.
Wang Chong had learned from the Origin Immortal Lord that each martial artist would have a single opportunity to obtain an enormous boost of power when they first opened the gate to this realm. If it were used well, one could receive a simply unbelievable boost in potential!
All was quiet in the capital, and within this quiet, Wang Chong was getting stronger and stronger!