Chapter 082 Do What You Must
Jun Zhantian remained silent, but he was secretly nodding in agreement within. What happened back then had occurred because he was in the depths of absolute despair. He had originally intended to die together with all of those people, but was held back by His Majesty. In addition, his grandson had returned safe and sound, leading to a change of heart for Jun Zhantian. Even if what had happened went according to His Majesty’s plans, if the one involved was not the Jun Family, if it was any other great family, then that family would have been flattened by now! Thinking about it now, Jun Zhantian could not help but feel a great amount of fear.
“Grandpa, you have chosen to place utmost loyalty towards the Imperial Family, of that there is no doubt. However, that is only your own choice,” Jun Moxie said. “Although our Jun Family seems to possess a power capable of upending the world, the truth is that our family power is dependent of a single Imperial Decree from the Emperor! With just one decree, our family would collapse to pieces in an instant! I am not accustomed to such a kind of feeling. I believe that Third Uncle is also not used to this!”
“I have never liked the idea of placing my own fate in the hands of others. That is why I would rather be a debauchee for the rest of my life. However, my life as a debauchee has been forced to an end. Thus, I needed to change. And the change that I want… is to place the fate of our Jun Family within our own hands!” Jun Moxie calmly looked at Jun Zhantian. “This is my highest goal and my ultimate intention. It is also the main reason for all my actions!”
“To place our fate within our own hands! For you to have these kinds of thought means having the desire to rebel!” Grandpa Jun shuddered as he stared sharply at Jun Moxie.
“Grandpa, you misunderstood me. In grandchild’s opinion, those who desire to be an Emperor and those who are Emperors are all fools. Especially those who desire to become an Emperor whose reputation would spread across the world, those people are a fool amongst fools!” Jun Moxie scoffed and smiled. “Even if it means grasping the power to upend the whole world, even if it means overlooking the entire world as its sovereign, even if it means being flanked by beauties everywhere I go, none of those could entice me, none of those interest me.”
“You!” Grandpa Jun’s chest rose up and down in succession, his white beard was scattered in a mess. For Grandpa Jun who had constantly upheld the ideals of loyalty, these words had profaned the one person he had sworn his loyalty to. If the one speaking was not Jun Moxie, then the person would have been killed long ago!
“Grandpa, honest people do not beat around the bush, today I am going to let it out! His Majesty would never allow our Jun Family to maintain such a huge amount of power in addition to having a highly capable heir! For His Majesty, such a kind of occurrence could only represent a threat to his sovereignty! My father, Second Uncle and my two brothers, sooner or later I will be seeking the answers to what had happened to them. If I find any conspiracy within their deaths, then I will certainly demand justice from whoever is involved!” Jun Moxie stated in a calm manner: Very well, since I have accepted my identity as Jun Moxie, it would only be fitting that I do something for this family. In addition, this matter is probably the biggest wound afflicting the Jun Family.
Grandpa Jun slumped down and gave a sigh, he slowly pondered the matter before standing up and turned around. “Back when the First Emperor was laying the foundations of Tianxiang Kingdom, he intentionally moved the great families of the kingdom into Tianxiang City and awarded them with high positions and nobility. There were two benefits to this move: First, with all the great families grouped together, the act of controlling them would also become easier. Secondly, the great families would act to mutually restrain one another, creating a balance in power amongst the great families. With such a system in place, the Imperial Family would be able to cope with anything that might happen and control everything within the kingdom.”
“With the exception of the Ye Family that was removed years ago, the current Tianxiang City has the Jun Family, Li Family, Dugu Family, Murong Family and Tang Family serving as great families, each located in different locations of the city, each holding onto a mutual understanding of non-aggression. Of course, in recent years there was the addition of the Meng and Song Families. But a closer inspection would reveal that these two are but over glorified clowns. They are in no way capable to standing on equal footing with the great families mentioned earlier.”
“The military side is being controlled by our Jun Family and Dugu Family. Even though Murong Family is currently trying to dip their hands into the military powers, they will never succeed as long as Dugu Family and I exist! As for the Li and Meng Families, they appear to be our greatest rival. They are always thinking of how to tear us apart at all times. In addition, there are some intermarriages between these two families. As for their successors, the Li Family has managed to produce a peerless talent, Li Youran! The danger posed by them would naturally increase as a result!”
“The Song Family on the other hand, have always kept a low profile and can thus be ignored for now. As for matters of the military, our Jun Family and Dugu Family had always competed against one another in that respect. We would be making a fuss even on normal days. That old thing, Dugu Zongheng and me would always bicker with one another. However, that is not the main point. The main point here is that even though our two families act to keep one another in check, the both of us have dedicated our loyalty to the Imperial Family; we would not truly go all out against one another. This is something you must remember. This is also the main reason why our Jun Family could survive this long within the Imperial Court!”
“Among the various great families, the Murong Family has great ambitions, something worth noting, and yet not worth bothering.”
“Each of the great families has their own thoughts. However, until the day His Majesty chooses to clear the entire structure and change the balance of power within Tianxiang, the great families will remain safe. This is something that every one of the great families have come to understand.”
“As such, we are presently at a time where you members of the younger generation move about against one another. We of the older generation would simply observe the mess that you make on the side lines, but at the same time we are also noting down which one amongst the younger generations could pose a threat. For you to be able to see through this aspect, Grandpa feels very pleased.”
Grandpa Jun had avoided discussing the subject of Jun Moxie investigating into the deaths of the two generations of Jun Family members. Instead, he chose to discuss about the current situation within the capital city.
“Three years ago, His Majesty had planned on establishing a Crown Prince. But after some tests, His Majesty had to let go of that idea. His Majesty decided instead to let the three Princes compete against one another while he observes from behind the scenes. His Majesty believed that all three sons of his are wolves! And in the ensuing struggle between these three wolves, the winner would become His Majesty’s successor.”
Jun Moxie sneered, but chose to remain silent on the subject.
At the same time, Grandpa Jun gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “However, in the end, a wolf will remain a wolf. It can never transform into a tiger, nor could it transform into a dragon! Even if it becomes the king of wolves, a wolf is still a wolf! Unfortunately, His Majesty does not have any other candidates and could only force them onwards, suppressing them when needed, deterring them when necessary, taming them continuously and teaching them when possible!”
“The old foxes from each great family would most certainly be able to identify this situation. Thus, for the sake of preserving their family, they would never join the struggle between the Princes. However, there would still be some people from the great families who would get close to one of the Princes. These men would maintain their anonymity and also the balance in power!”
“At present, the only ones with absolutely no involvement with the three Princes are our Jun Family, Dugu Family and the Li Family.”
Grandpa Jun’s words seemed inexplicably irrelevant to what Jun Moxie had said earlier. It almost seemed as though he was talking to himself, and yet it also seemed like he was talking to Jun Moxie. At this point however, he finally concluded. “Thus, as long as you know what you are doing and do not go too far in creating a mess, I will not care about what it is you plan to do; I will only support you. So, go ahead and do what you must.”
After saying that, Grandpa Jun rose up with a somewhat tired expression. “As of now, Grandpa can no longer deny that I am old. I can only watch on the side lines. As for your Third Uncle’s body… uh, disabled or not, our Jun Family, all will depend on your actions. No matter what happens, as long as you do not lead our Jun Family down the road of no redemption, that is enough!”
Jun Moxie’s eyes glinted, he had clearly grasped the meaning behind Grandpa Jun’s words: “Do what you must.” These words were quite meaningful.
No wonder he had given me a detailed analysis of the situation within the capital first. It turns out the gist of what he wanted to say are these words. The meaning behind these words is that I can do whatever I want, while the Jun Family will remain as a source of support and yet would not interfere. However, once shit hits the fan, we will fish you out…
However, why did he pause once he mentioned about Third Uncle’s disability? This question was answered almost immediately –
Jun Zhantian’s face revealed an expression of comfort as he looked at his grandson. “As for your Third Uncle’s legs, if you really have a method of healing it, you had better grasp onto the current time and proceed. Regardless of what the results may be, it is best for you not to delay it anymore. If you keep delaying, it won’t just be your Third Uncle who is anxious, someone else would be even more anxious.”
Having said that, Grandpa Jun glared at him and scolded. “Heng! You two, do you take this senior to be a senile fool? One is my grandson, the other is my son, while this is my Jun Family’s Residence! You think you could hide this from me? Could you? What a ridiculous joke!”
“Err,” Jun Moxie felt awkward. Tapping his nose, he explained. “I was simply worried that you would become disappointed if this attempt fails. That would be bad.”
“I have never had any hopes at all regarding this matter!” Grandpa Jun blew on his beard, his words shooting out like a punch, severely striking at Jun Moxie.
“In the event that a ‘what if’ actually occurs and you brat actually manage to cure him, did you think this senior would be so stupid as to declare it to the whole world? Would I fear that the whole world do not know about it? If I did that, won’t everyone would start moving their gaze and attention towards you two, creating conspiracies after conspiracies to harm you? If you dare hide anything from me again, this senior will smash both your buttocks! I will make sure that the both of you cannot even crawl out the door!”
Jun Moxie stared in a dumbfounded manner and could only say “uhh” repeatedly.
[TL: Well, this is it. I tried thinking about saying something, but in the end, I could come up with nothing… Hmmm, ‘coincidentally’, the title for this chapter is “Do What You Must” … Oh well, goodbye, Jun Moxie… ]
[PS: Anyone who wishes to pick OEM up may use my translation if they want.]
[PS: If anyone is interested, the racism starts at Book 4 Chapter 95 & 96. It then continues in the later part of Book 5 as far as I can tell.]