Chapter 83 – Relief…
Chapter 83: Relief...
Translator:Novel_Saga
Editor:Novel_Saga
With a pleased look on his face and his hands clasped behind his back, Jun Zhan Tian slowly walked out of the room. However, as soon as he left the room, his smiling face turned expressionless, exuding an air of stifling venerance. Observing the face of Jun Zhan Tian, the servants figured that Jun Mo Xie would never recover or be much more than a cripple. Otherwise, why would Jun Zhan Tian's face be as black as soot?
Tang Yuan returned home and recounted all the details of this trip to Tang Wan Li, who sighed heavily and thought, "I would never have imagined that a mighty military family like the Juns, once full of celebrated generals, would fall to this state. It is indeed a tragedy that their last descendant has no choice but to lead the life of a mere civilian."
With much hemming and hawing, Tang Yuan told Tang Wan Li about Jun Zhan Tian's sudden burst of anger. Sure enough, Tang Wan Li, too, burst out in anger, exclaiming, "You idiot! You have no idea what kind of jerk Li Shang is! It was precisely because Jun Zhan Tian broke that old fart's dantian that year that we… argh! Scram!"
Realising that his bootlicking was only going to get him into further trouble, Tang Yuan quickly scampered away. Within a day, news about Jun Mo Xie spread throughout the entire capital.Awhile ago, in the capital, there had already been a few rumours that Jun Mo Xie, the Jun family's hedonistic young master, had turned over a new leaf and was starting to sharpen his martial art skills. However, the leaders of the other families were shocked to hear these rumours. Some even conducted secret investigations to confirm whether these rumours were actually true, tracking Jun Mo Xie's past movements. Of course, they were not actually scared of Jun Mo Xie, who was simply a weak young man. Rather, what scared them was the possibility that the Jun family would have a capable successor, helping the family to once again gain power and prominence. That would be terrible for the other families.
And today, as the "tragic" news began to spread, many people sighed with relief, even turning the news into a joke. They laughed at mealtimes about how a useless heir had tried to mend his ways and begin strict training, only to sustain crippling injuries due to overexertion after a few days. At least before he trained he had some Xuan Qi to speak of, but now he was completely crippled. What in the world could be more comical than that?This time, no one doubted the credibility of the news either, as it came directly from two extremely trustworthy sources. One was Jun Mo Xie's ride-or-die friend, Tang Yuan, who personally saw the crippled state of his dear friend. The other was the Imperial Doctor Fang Hui Sheng, who had personally diagnosed Jun Mo Xie's condition and declared it beyond recovery.
Nobody would dare to doubt the news. Those who did were simply making things difficult for themselves. The nobility knew how skilled Fang Hui Sheng was in treating injuries and illnesses. Almost every one of them had once experienced it for themselves. Cultivating an excellent relationship with Fang Hui Sheng would ensure that they could look to him for medical treatment when needed. This was akin to gaining another life!
Anyone who dared to express their doubt regarding Fang Hui Sheng's diagnosis would incur the wrath of the public. They would drown in others' spit within half a day.
Nobody imagined that trickery was involved either. As a matter of fact, even Jun Zhan Tian would not be able to trick Fang Hui Sheng, let alone Jun Mo Xie who had such little Xuan Qi to begin with.
"I didn't expect that Jun Mo Xie would become like this. Something seems off." Li Youran said, as he stood in Li Sheng's residence. With a slight frown, he said "Li Feng, are you completely sure that this piece of news actually came from Fang Hui Sheng?"
"I'm certain that it came from Fang Hui Sheng!" Li Shang said in a weak, aged voice, as he walked in falteringly. He looked at his grandsons with pleasure written all over his face. He thought, "Jun Zhan Tian, you old bull, even your strength can't help you now! The Jun family is set to deteriorate and even the gods couldn't change that. You want Jun Mo Xie, a useless idiot, to become a civil servant in the imperial court? Even if he were exceedingly talented, do you think I would let him rise to power? You should know, the entire imperial court falls under the control of my faction."With a laugh, Li Youran said, "Since Grandpa is so sure, the Jun family is no longer a threat to us."
Li Shang nodded in agreement, but warned, "That's still in the future. For now, we should continue staying out of Jun Zhan Tian's way. He's old but he can still go berserk and kill a lot of people!" As he spoke, he gave a cautionary look to Li Youran.
Previously, Li Youran had been kicked and slapped by Jun Zhan Tian in public. Although Li Shang knew that his grandson could restrain himself very well, he also knew that his grandson was extremely vengeful. Li Youran might not reveal it, but he would never forget about this incident, and if given the chance, would definitely take revenge on Jun Zhan Tian! In warning Li Youran about Jun Zhan Tian, Li Shang was trying to persuade Li Youran to give up on revenge.
After all, Jun Zhan Tian had already been driven to the point where he was literally a deranged lion. No one would dare to further provoke him, especially so since he had the protection of the Emperor. Furthermore, last night, he had displayed his real, unrevealed strength during the rampage that he had gone on, surprising everyone. Any family which had the nerve to challenge him directly would be utterly crushed and decimated by his overpowering strength. Jun Zhan Tian could even totally wipe out some of the weaker families belonging to the Major families. He was not someone to mess around with.
Li Youran smiled and said, "Don't worry Grandfather. I won't do such a thing, I'm not that reckless. However, it's fine if I trifle with Jun Mo Xie, right? Someone who just lost their Xuan Qi will probably be drinking away their sorrows. Furthermore, Grandfather, I guess you and Jun Zhan Tian probably won't care too much about the affairs of the younger generation, right?"
With indifference in his eyes, Li Shang smiled and said, "Just don't cross the line."
His four grandsons agreed in unison….Inside the Imperial Palace, the Emperor leaned back into the throne, his back propped up by a soft cushion. With a calm countenance and slightly squinted eyes, he looked at Fang Hui Sheng, who was standing in front of him respectfully.
After a long silence, the Emperor finally asked, "So… did Jun Mo Xie really become… ?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Based on what I saw, there is definitely no faking it." Fang Hui Sheng replied confidently. Brushing his beard out of habit, he continued, "Jun Mo Xie has always behaved improperly, running amok and committing outrages. However, if he were to mend his ways and become an honest, sincere citizen, it could still be considered a blessing for the capital."
"A blessing for the capital, huh? Hahaha…" the Emperor laughed mildly and closed his eyes gently.
"Then, I shall take my leave." Fang Hui Sheng bowed deeply and left the palace.
After Fang Hui Sheng left, the corner of the Emperor's mouth turned up ever so slightly, revealing his relief.
As of now, Jun Zhan Tian was as good as on a three-month-long holiday. To an outsider, Jun Zhan Tian seemed to have changed his temperament considerably. He seemed to be rather downhearted and discouraged after what happened. He took a series of actions which many felt were out of the norm, even bordering on outrageous. Even the Emperor took the trouble to specifically send someone to express his condolences to Jun Zhan Tian.
For example:
On a random day, Jun Zhan Tian walked out and flew into a sudden rage, shouting, "Why are there so many trees in this area? Cut them all down! The weather's turning cold and I can't even see the sun! What kind of nonsense is this?"
As such, because of his order, an area of about five to six li in circumference around the Jun family's residence became a flat piece of smooth ground, completely barren of life.
Another time, Jun Zhan Tian looked at the perimeter walls and shouted in anger, "These walls are so short, we might as well allow thieves to walk through our front gate as they please! Make them taller!" As such, his men worked overnight to double the height of the originally twenty-foot tall walls. Furthermore, out of the blue, Jun Zhan Tian also ordered for at least five-feet of thistles and thorns to be placed at the top of the walls. Even a bird would not dare to perch on top of these walls.
Furthermore, as if he were growing disdainful of his crippled grandson, or had gotten addicted to starting large construction projects, Jun Zhan Tian actually split his courtyard into three smaller ones. Each was surrounded by the same high walls on all perimeters, and Jun Mo Xie was locked up within one of the courtyards. The two adjacent courtyards were given to Jun Wu Yi, who had the left one, and Guan Qing Han, who had the right one.
The two extra courtyards were extremely useless and took up more than half of the Jun family's residence. Jun Zhan Tian lived alone in the other half, from which occasionally, the sound of something being shattered would resonate. The servants of the house could only quietly tremble in fear, and even passers-by would lower their voices.