Actually, Wang Chong had already noticed Zhao Jingdian from the moment he stepped into the conference hall. However, before the entire room of elders, he couldn’t recklessly rush over to reunite with him.
More importantly, even though he remembered Zhao Jingdian, the same could not be the said about him.
In his previous life, he didn’t get the opportunity to enter the conference hall to meet Zhao Jingdian. It was many years later that they met under distress, and after exchanging names, they realized that their grandfathers were in a master-subordinate relationship. After that, Zhao Jingdian became his closest brother, and followed him through all tribulations, until… the final battle!
This was one of Wang Chong’s regret, and in this life, he finally found an opportunity to make up for it.
“Good brother!”
Even though Zhao Jingdian was surprised by Wang Chong’s actions, it did little to dampen Wang Chong’s spirit. This was probably his happiest moment of the entire day.
“Hmph! I don’t want to! I refuse to acknowledge him as young master! ——”
Just as Wang Chong was reuniting with Zhao Jingdian, the shrill voice of a young lady echoed. In an instant, the entire conference hall fell silent. All eyes immediately shot toward the source of the voice.
Not too far away, a sixteen to seventeen-year-old young lady was trying to struggle out of her grandfather’s grasp. She had an exquisite and beautiful face, but her expression betrayed her haughtiness and obstinacy.
“Ping-er, be obedient, don’t create a ruckus here! ——”
Stared at by everyone in the room, including his old brothers, Elder Ye’s face reddened in embarrassment.
“I said that I don’t want to! Look at him! ——”
The young lady named ‘Ping-er’ suddenly pointed a slender finger at Wang Chong, and in an instant, everyone’s gazes turned from Ping-er to Wang Chong.
“Look at his cultivation, he’s only at Origin Energy Tier 5 or Tier 6! That’s so much weaker than me! How can I, Ye Yinping, acknowledge a weakling as young master?”
Pointing at Wang Chong, a trace of disdain appeared on her proud face.
“Awkward!”
For a moment, Wang Chong was unable to say a word. To be able to discern his cultivation realm with a glance, that lady’s eyes were indeed incredible. Even the fact that he has just reached Origin Energy Tier 6 was unable to escape her notice.
Despite being looked down by the other party in public, Wang Chong was unable to refute her words at all. That was because Wang Chong knew that she was a figure who he could only look up to.
The other party had the qualifications to say such words!
In his previous life, there were only a few talented young ladies in the military, and Ye Yinping was one of them. Of all of grandfather’s old subordinates, as well as the Wang Clan, there were less than a handful who had talents exceeding this proud young lady.
Little Sister Wang Xiao Yao might be able to surpass her, but she often slacked off. Given her lack of determination, it was likely that she would never catch up with the latter.
While Cousin Wang Zhu Yan’s cultivation realm exceeded that of Ye Yinping, it was mainly due to her age.
This granddaughter of Elder Ye was nothing short of the word, genius. Not only was she talented, she was extremely diligent in her training as well, to the point that she seemed as though she was putting her life on the line. Wei Hao might be diligent as well, but he was no way up to the level of Ye Yinping.
She only rested four hours a day, and she trained even through the night. Thus, despite her young age of sixteen or seventeen, she has already reached the True Martial Realm. Even Yao Feng wasn’t a match for her.
If not for the fact that the ranking of geniuses in the capital mainly focused on males, Ye Yinping would have already made a name for herself.
“Ping-er, how can you speak like that! Young Master Chong is Duke Jiu’s grandson, hurry up and apologize!”
Elder Ye panicked. With a stony face, he reprimanded his granddaughter.
For this gathering with Duke Jiu, he brought this child over, intending to continue the friendship of the Ye and Wang Clan for the next generation. Furthermore, Wang Chong was indeed not bad, and of all of the offsprings of Duke Jiu, he was the only one whom he and his old brothers were satisfied with.
He had been considering how he should bring Wang Chong about to groom him, but before he could do anything, his daughter has already smeared Young Master Chong’s face. How could he possibly groom him personally now given the current state of events?
To be embarrassed before so many old brothers, how could he face them in the future!
“Hmph, I don’t know what this little lad spoke of that bewitched all of you, but in any case, I don’t understand a single word at all. If you want me to acknowledge him as young master, I can tell you right now—— Dream on!”
The proud young lady harrumphed obstinately before turned around, disregarding her grandfather. Then, with a face tilted upward, she walked out of the room alone.
Left on the spot, Elder Ye was embarrassed. He blushed so furiously to the point that his face was turning purple! He lifted his hands up a few times, only to put them down each time. He couldn’t bear to hit her!
Without a doubt, this child was proud, rebellious, and she disregarded his words. However, her talent was truly extraordinary. Despite being a lady, she worked diligently in her martial arts. Without anyone to urge her on, she would devote even her mealtime and sleeping time to her martial arts training. Even as her grandfather, he couldn’t pick a single flaw with her.
Sometimes, seeing how hard his granddaughter worked and the blisters on her hands, he felt his heart ache.
“Sigh, I truly can’t do anything about her!”
Elder Ye felt angry, but a pang of heartache struck him as well. Turning around, he faced his old brothers, but he was unable to say a single word. The conference hall was silent for a moment before it burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, Old Ye, to think that you would have such a day! You fought so valiantly against millions of soldiers, yet you were unable to settle a sixteen-year-old granddaughter!”
“A dragon births a dragon, a phoenix births a phoenix. Given the personality of that old fellow, it is no wonder why his granddaughter would have such a personality! Hahaha!”
“Hahaha, despite knowing you for so long, this is the first time I’m seeing you so embarrassed!”
“Even the old fellow is unwilling to hit her. I wonder who will be able to tame this young lady of the Ye Clan in the future.”
“That little child sure has a strong character. I wonder if our Young Master Chong is worthy of her.”
…
Initially, everyone was still laughing at Ye Dong, but in the blink of an eye, the topic suddenly returned to Wang Chong.
Awkward, Wang Chong’s face turned scarlet!
“Young Master Chong, I’m truly sorry. I’ve spoilt Ping-er from young, and she’s really getting out of hand. I’ll teach her a lesson when I get back!”
After making Wang Chong’s pride suffer a loss, Elder Ye hurriedly apologized.
“It’s nothing, Elder Ye, there’s no need for you to worry about it.”
Wang Chong shook his hand casually and smiled calmly, indicating that he didn’t take the matter to heart. He was acquainted with Ye Yinping in his previous life, and he knew what kind of person she was.
Even though she possessed outstanding talents in martial arts, just like most other ladies, she wasn’t interested in politics. Regardless of whether it was on the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganate or the tariffs, she probably understood very little of what was spoken. In fact, if one were to ask her whether the Abbasid Caliphate and the Charax Spasinu were in the east or the west, she would probably respond with a confused expression.
It would be a wonder with Wang Chong’s performance could win her respect.
An obstinate lady like Ye Yinping would only submit to someone stronger than her. Just like she said, given that Wang Chong was only an Origin Energy Tier 6 weakling, what rights did he have to make her call him young master?
“Since you’re unwilling to submit, I’ll beat you into submission. One day, you will willingly call me young master.”
Wang Chong smiled within.
He suffered greatly under Ye Yinping hands in his previous life. This Ye Clan genius seemed to be displeased by the fact that the standing of her own grandfather was beneath that of his grandfather, so she was reluctant to lower her head to any Wang Clan members.
In her previous life, she went all out just to cause him trouble.
However, if Ye Yinping intended to find the value of her existence on him like she did in the previous life, she would be in for hardship.
As he thought so, Wang Chong turned around and walked out.
Reuniting with his brother, Zhao Jingdian, was a huge unexpected gain. However, Wang Chong didn’t act too warmly or passionately. After all, the current Zhao Jingdian wouldn’t understand why he felt so close to him.
“Wait a moment!”
Outside the Erudite Pavilion, just as Wang Chong was walking past a fake hill, through a bamboo forest, a voice suddenly sounded.
Hearing that voice, Wang Chong’s footsteps halted.
“Why did you help me?”
A voice echoed from the back.
“What?”
Wang Chong turned around, and to his astonishment, Cousin Wang Li was staring at him with unreadable eyes.
“Hmph, surely you don’t think that I am that foolish as to not remember what I have spoken? Furthermore, I would never rest on a fake hill. You might be able to fool the others, but you can’t fool me.”
Cousin Wang Li said.
An experience of falling off the fake hill when he was younger left him with a trauma. Even though he didn’t fear it after growing older, that experience caused him to instinctively avoid climbing fake hills.
Wang Li never told this matter to anyone.
Initially, when Wang Chong spoke of the matter, he nearly believed it. However, when Wang Chong claimed that he heard it from him while he was resting on a fake hill, he immediately knew that Wang Chong was making things up.
“Hehe, is that so? Maybe I’ve remembered it wrongly. Perhaps I might have heard it from somewhere else.”
Smiling, Wang Chong persisted with his view.
For an instant, the bamboo forest grew quiet.
Wang Li stared deeply into Wang Chong, and his eyes were flickering with uncertainty, as though he was re-evaluating this cousin of his. But soon, Wang Li’s eyes slowly grew cold, reverting back to their original appearance.
“Hmph, don’t think that I’ll thank you for helping me. You’re just wasting your efforts!”
Even though Wang Li spouted these cold words, his expression has softened greatly. He didn’t seem as distant as he was before.
After saying so, he turned around and disappeared in the other end of the bamboo forest.
“He’s still the same as before! …”
Wang Chong chuckled as he watched Cousin Wang Li’s departing back, and a surge of warmth flooded his heart. His cousin was exactly as he remembered him. Even though the other party’s view of him has changed, it seemed like he would never admit to it verbally.
Thinking so, Wang Chong turned and walked toward his mother.
…
At the same time, after the offsprings and Wang Chong have left, the few subordinates of the old master gathered in another room in the Erudite Pavilion.
“What do you all think of the grandson of Duke Jiu?”
Elder Ye was the first to speak.
After a few decades of brotherhood, they could tell what the others were thinking with just a glance. Without a doubt, everyone hoped to gather and discuss this matter.
“Smart, astute, experienced, and courageous! More importantly, he has a heart that beats for the country!”
Elder Ma said.
He recalled how passionately Wang Chong spoke. To him, the content of Wang Chong’s words wasn’t the most important. What was the most important was that he could sense his love for the country.
When Wang Chong spoke of the ‘regional commander’ and ‘utilizing Hu talents’ policies, even he himself might not have noticed the sincerity behind his words, his sympathy toward the population, and his worry for the empire.
From that brief encounter in the conference hall, Duke Jiu’s grandson has displayed intelligence, astute, courage, decisiveness, wisdom, and leadership.
But these talents were like a double-edged sword. It could be used to strike down one’s enemies, but it could also hurt oneself.
Compared to his other talents, what the crowd valued the most was Wang Chong’s earnest love for his country.
Wang Chong couldn’t have imagined that the reason why everyone suddenly acknowledged him wasn’t because of his view on the ‘regional commander’ and ‘utilize Hu talents’ policies, but because of his earnest love for his country.
To the elders who have weathered through innumerable hardships, there was nothing more precious than that.
“During the late years of Eastern Han, Physiognomist Xu Shao met Cao Cao and said that he would be a capable minister during times of peace, and an unscrupulous hero during times of chaos. At the very least, we need not fear that Young Master Chong’s talents would be used for tyranny.”
(Physiognomist refers to someone who can divine one’s fate through their faces)
Elder Sun said. Of everyone in the room, he was the last to express his approval of Wang Chong.
The elders in the room immediately nodded in agreement.
Astute, smart, courageous, decisive, wise, charismatic, as well as a heart that beats for the country. At the very least, he wouldn’t bring calamity to the empire.
In the view of the elders, this was a person who could unite the soul of the Wang Clan’s influence and win the recognition of the entire group. After being disappointed for several decades, they finally found someone worthy of serving!
“There’s a successor to Duke Jiu!”
“He has passed our test, but the true trial has just begun. Whether he can win the recognition of those old acquaintances and students of Duke Jiu would depend on his performance from now onward. That is the true trial, and none of us here will be able to help him on that!”
“Words speak louder than actions! Those who would be assessing him this time would be the talents of the world. Duke Jiu is already old, and I truly hope that this child would be able to win their recognition. This way, we would have another figure who could stabilize the Central Plains, and the Great Tang Empire would be able to sustain for another century!”
A long sigh, and the entire room fell into a long moment of silence!
Cao Cao is one of the warlords (as well as the final Chancellor, aka Prime Minister) of the Eastern Han Dynasty (206-220). He is also the central figure of the Three Kingdoms, as well as the protagonist and antagonist of many literature works.
Unscrupulous hero
This is one of the phrase I hate the most because it is impossible to translate.
It refers to figures who achieve great things, regardless of their means (as contrast to the conventional idea of hero).