Chapter 9

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Zong Zi Heng

formed a core when he was 10 years old. When he went travelling at the age of

12, he subdued an evil mountain spirit that was harming people, all by himself.

Since then, he became a famous young man. Virtuous and handsome, he had always

been a role model among his peers.

Soon after,

the quadrennial Jiaolong assembly was about to begin. It was a competition held

especially for talented youths. It had been a tradition in the cultivation

world for hundreds and thousands of years. Only children between the ages of 12

to 18 were allowed to participate. Anyone who left their names on the way to

immortality was almost always in the limelight during their youth.

Zong Zi Heng

has always been preparing for this upcoming Jiaolong assembly because Emperor Ninghua

had such high hopes for him and ordered him to win first place in the Jiaolong

assembly. He trained diligently every day and night. He knew that the Emperor

didn't care much about him and his mother. It was only after he showed his

talent that he got the Emperor's attention. Even if his mother didn't ask him to, he also did not want

to disappoint the Emperor.

In fact, the

path to immortality was lonely and boring. As the eldest son, Zong Zi Heng did

not dare to mess around and be lazy. But what he really yearned for was neither

ascension nor to be on the top of the world. He loved flowers, birds,

mountains, and rivers. He loved instruments, chess, books, and paintings. He

loved delicious food and wine. There were so many interesting things in this world,

and he wanted to be more knowledgeable. It was probably more meaningful than

pursuing cultivation and swordsmanship.

It's a pity

that this was something that could not be said out loud, otherwise even his

mother would reprimand him for being insensible.

That

afternoon, the golden crow* started to set in the west and it

wasn't that sunny anymore. Zong Zi Heng remembered that there had been a lot of

snails growing in his orchid garden recently and they were gnawing on his

flowers and making a mess. So, he led Zong Zi Xiao to catch the snails and to

pull out some weeds.

His orchid

garden was built in a secluded area in the palace. The insides were planted

with more than 100 varieties of orchids and other plants that he had collected

over the years. During the blooming season, all the beautiful flowers turned

into a beautiful scenery in the palace. Although there were servants taking

care of them daily, Zong Zi Heng loved to do it himself. This was what gave him

happiness outside of cultivation.

While Zong Zi

Heng was squatting down and catching snails on the ground, Zong Zi Xiao was

running around barefooted in the flowering shrubs. Occasionally, Zong Zi Heng would look at

Zong Zi Xiao with panic and fear in his eyes: "Xiao Jiu, be careful. Be sure

not to step on my flowers."

"I won't."

"You

should stop running. Come over here quickly."

Zong Zi Xiao

smiled cunningly and suddenly tripped over his feet. His whole body fell

forward.

"Ah---"

Zong Zi Xiao

pushed himself up with one hand. His body bounced up nimbly, somersaulted

once in the air, and he landed steadily outside the flower nursery and laughed

heartily.

Zong Zi Heng

feigned anger and said: "How dare you trick your big brother? Is

your skin itchy*?"

Zong Zi Xiao

spread out his small hands: "I’m helping you to catch snails. Should I

throw them back?"

"Throw it

into the bucket."

Zong Zi Xiao

skipped over to Zong Zi Heng, and he pressed his body against Zong Zi

Heng's back: "Big brother, why are you always managing these

flowers?"

"Aren't

flowers beautiful?"

"They

are."

Zong Zi Heng

handed him a shovel: "Come, let's get to work."

Zong Zi Xiao

squatted down on one side and got to work by mimicking his brother. He

originally felt hot under the sun, but he cooled down slowly.

Zong Zi Heng

turned to look at him and flashed a beautiful smile: "Xiao Jiu, Confucius

said, orchids have the virtues of a gentleman, the fragrance of kings. Big

brother loves orchids the most. Do you like orchids?"

Zong Zi Xiao

nodded his head: "I like whatever big brother likes."

"There

are 171 types of orchids in this orchid garden. Jiangnan is the hometown of

orchids. Next year, big brother plans to go to Jiangnan to collect even more

orchid species."

"When I

can get out of the palace, I will accompany big brother to travel around

Jiuzhou and help you to plant all the orchids in the world in this orchid

garden."

"Really?"

Zong Zi Heng smiled and said, "You aren’t saying these nice things to coax

me into giving you more food, right?” He took a clean handkerchief and wiped

Zong Zi Xiao's sweat.

"Of

course, it's true." Zong Zi Xiao's eyes were bright, just like the

stars in the night sky. “You always say gentlemen are like orchids. Big brother

is a gentleman just like an orchid."

Zong Zi Heng

said dotingly: "What do you want to eat tonight?"

"I want

to eat soy-braised pork!"

While Zong Zi

Xiao was babbling on and on about what kind of food he wanted to eat, he heard

footsteps and conversation approaching from the other side of the

wall. The two of them were immortal cultivators, so they had sharp ears and

keen eyes. If they listened attentively, they could hear sounds from very far

away. They vaguely caught the words "Consort Shen" in the

conversation, causing them to pause.

"When the

empress said those words today, did you notice Consort Shen's expression?"

"Well, I

saw it. If not for the fact that everyone thinks highly of His Highness, how

would she dare to show such a face in public?"

"Yeah,

Consort Shen has changed. She’s merely an orphan with no one to depend on. Back

then, she almost made that hot-tempered empress regret her marriage, and now,

she's depending on her son's rank*."

"If His

Highness gets first place during the Jiaolong assembly, that would be even more

remarkable. Sigh, it's a shame that Second Highness is not as good as His

Highness."

Zong Zi Heng's

expression became unsightly. Before he could flare up, Zong Zi Xiao had already

leapt over the wall, and the two maidservants were surprised.

Zong Zi Heng

rushed out and saw the two servants were already kneeling on the ground and

begging for mercy: "Your Highness, Ninth Highness, this servant is wrong,

this servant is wrong."

Zong Zi Xiao

flicked his sleeves high up in the air and slapped those two people to the

ground: "Garrulous and lowly slaves. Don't you want your tongue

anymore?!" The young and tender voice was full of intimidation.

"Spare my

life, Your Highness. Spare my life, Ninth Highness."

Zong Zi Heng

was burning with anger: "As servants, you dare to talk about your master

behind your back. Do you know that this is a felony? "

"Spare my

life, Your Highness. This servant is wrong. Please punish us lightly."

Zong Zi Xiao

raised his head and looked at Zong Zi Heng: "Big brother, I'll cut their

tongues out."

Seeing that

the two were just teenagers and were so terrified that they were curled up into

a ball, most of Zong Zi Heng’s anger was gone. He took a deep breath: "I

punish you...to kneel here for one night. If you do it again, I will not

tolerate it."

"Thank

you, Your Highness, thank you for showing us mercy!"

Zong Zi Xiao

frowned and said: "Big brother, you're letting them go just like that?"

Zong Zi Heng

took Zong Zi Xiao's hand: "Let's go." When he lowered his head and

saw that Zong Zi Xiao was barefooted, he carried him back to the orchid garden

and let Zong Zi Xiao sit on his thighs while silently putting on his shoes.

Zong Zi Xiao's

lips were pursed into a line. He suddenly wrapped his arms around Zong Zi

Heng's neck. The two of them were so close that he seemed to be able to feel a

quiet sadness through the

connection between his big brother's repressed breathing and the tremor of

his chest.

After putting

on his shoes, Zong Zi Heng stood up, looking as if nothing had happened:

"Let's go."

Ever since

her family fell into decline when she was young, Shen Shi Yao was taken in

by the late emperor. Due to her extraordinary talent, she became one of the

Zong Clan's disciples and was considered to be Zong Ming He's senior sister.

But when they were teenagers, the two of them had a secret knot*.

At that time, Zong Ming He's fiancée had not even passed through the door*. This made the two families very embarrassed, so they had to accept

her as a concubine. After giving birth to their eldest son, both mother and son

were treated coldly.

Zong Zi Heng

was aware of their statuses and situation in the palace, but as he

grew older, he became more renowned. After he formed a core, the emperor

thought more highly of him. He did not expect that after all these years, the

people in the palace were still so unforgiving behind his back. If these words

reached his mother's ears, she would be very sad.

"Big

brother." Zong Zi Xiao whispered, "Don't be sad. When you win the

championship during the Jiaolong assembly, we will see if anyone still dares to

disrespect Consort Shen."

Zong Zi Heng

sighed, "Zi Xiao, you are still young, you don't understand. Even the most

powerful method in this world cannot stop the mouths of others."

"If you

are a dragon, why do you need to care about the ants*?"

Zong Zi Heng

lowered his head and looked at Zong Zi Xiao with a faint smile. Zong Zi Xiao's

mother's beauty was comparable with heavenly immortals and was highly favoured.

He himself was born with superior roots, so he had never suffered even a bit of

grievance since he was a child. Such an unworn pride was truly enviable.

Zong Zi Xiao

said seriously, "Big brother, don't be unhappy. When I grow up, I will make all of the

people and things that make you unhappy disappear."

Zong Zi Heng

rubbed Zong Zi Xiao's chubby little round face to the point of deformation:

"If you skip lesser classes, be less lazy, and eat more green vegetables,

big brother will be happy."

"Then I

won't be happy!"

"You

still dare to be just and forceful?"

The two

brothers began to laugh, diluting the gloomy atmosphere.

----

As everyone

expected, Zong Zi Xiao formed a golden core shortly after his ninth birthday,

six months earlier than Zong Zi Heng.

If the age of

fifteen was the coming-of-age ceremony for the general public, then obtaining a

golden core was a sign that a person had officially entered the path to

immortality. As long as one formed a core before reaching adulthood, it

represented superior qualifications and unremitting efforts. Not to mention

that the Zong family had produced two geniuses in one generation. Emperor

Ninghua announced this happy news to the world and even hosted a banquet for

the occasion. Whether as a father or as a king, this was an extremely proud

moment.

During the banquet,

everyone was overflowing with joy, but only the empress looked dull and

absent-minded. She came from a wealthy family, so even the Zong's had to be

courteous. Her son's roots could not say to be bad, but when compared to the

elder brother and the youngest brother, it was barely satisfactory.

Shen Shi Yao

held Zong Zi Heng's hand, smiled and said in a low voice, "It's good that

my son is ambitious. Otherwise, it would be hard to sit in that seat and watch

another person's son be better than my own."

Zong Zi Heng

secretly smiled bitterly. The fact that the concubines always competed both openly and in

secret had always made him feel helpless. In fact, he and his siblings got

along well, even with his second brother. They were the same age and grew up together.

There was never any bad blood between them. In the future, when his second

brother inherited the throne, he and his siblings would support him with all

their hearts to build the Zong clan's hundred-year foundation. So, whether if

it's the empress or his mother, there was really no point in comparing the two.

But it’s not

good for Zong Zi Heng to throw his mother's face, so he remained

silent.

"Zi Heng,

you must win first place during the Jiaolong assembly." Shen Shi Yao held

her son's hand tightly, "Although Zi Xiao is still young, one day, he may

also overshadow you."

Zong Zi Heng

said warmly, "Mother, your son will definitely do his best during the

Jiaolong assembly. But Zi Xiao and I... are like the sun and the moon, each

shining brilliantly. There is no one overshadowing anyone."

"How can

the sun and the moon be compared to each other?" Shen Shi Yao glared with

her pair of almond eyes. Her voice still had her usual softness, but her tone

had changed, "The sun and the moon cannot be in the same sky."

Zong Zi Heng

did not expect that a casual analogy would be interpreted by his mother in such

a way. He frowned and said, "Mother, Zi Xiao and I are brothers, there is

no need to compare us like this."

Shen Shi Yao

stared at her son for a long time, let go of his hand, and said faintly,

"You are still too young."

After the

banquet ended, the guests gradually dispersed, and only the Zong clan's people

remained in the main hall.

Emperor

Ninghua Zong Ming He beckoned Zong Zi Xiao to his side and looked at his young

son with doting eyes full of pride: "Xiao Er, today is the celebration of

your core formation. Father is so proud of you. If there is anything you want,

just ask."

"I want a

good sword." Zong Zi Xiao's attitude was natural and at ease. Obviously, his

request would most likely be satisfied.

"Haha, I

have long prepared one for you, this sword is..."

"I want a

sword quenched by Shen Nong Ding."

The hall was

suddenly quiet.

Zong Zi Xiao's

mother, Consort Chu Ying Ruo, scolded, "Zi Xiao, don't talk nonsense."

One of the

four ancient magic weapons, the Shen Nong Ding, could refine all things in the

world. The swords that the Shen Nong Ding quenched were rare and famous. It was

a treasure that every sword cultivator could only dream of. Just opening the

furnace once required a great consumption of energy. At least hundreds of

high-ranking cultivators were needed to sustain the fire with spiritual power

at the same time. A little mistake midway through would lead to all previous

efforts being wasted. So, this Shen Nong Ding might not even be opened once in

a few decades. Even the Zong clan would only open the furnace for their own

family members.

Zong Zi Xiao

was young and only wanted a good sword that everyone wanted, so he didn't know

what waves his words would stir up in the hearts of the adults.

Zong Ming He

stroked Zong Zi Xiao's head: "Does Xiao Er know that the sword quenched by

Shen Nong Ding is not something that ordinary people can obtain?"

"I'm not

an ordinary person."

Zong Ming He

laughed out loud, "My son naturally is not an ordinary person. Okay, I

promise to quench a sword for you with Shen Nong Ding."

Several

suppressed huffing sounds rang out in the hall.

"But..."

Zong Ming He tapped his finger on Zong Zi Xiao's forehead, "you have to

win first place at the Jiaolong assembly."

"That

will take another four years." Zong Zi Xiao pouted.

"Four

years? You want to win the championship at the age of thirteen?" Zong Ming

He laughed, "So confident."

"It's

just four years." Zong Zi Xiao said arrogantly.

Zong Zi Heng

looked at Zong Zi Xiao's confident look, and his face subconsciously revealed a

smile. Regardless if those were big words or not, at least in these next four

years, Zong Zi Xiao would strive to work hard.

"Okay, I

will wait for you for four years."

"By the

way, Father, I have one more request."

"Speak."

"I have

never been out of the palace before. Big brother promised me last time that he

would take me on a trip out of the palace once I have formed a core, as long as

Father agrees."

Zong Ming He gave

Zong Zi Heng a look, "Really? Where is your big brother going to take you

to have fun?"

Zong Zi Heng

said, "I can take ninth brother to exorcise evil so that he can gain some

experience."

"Alright,

you can take him out. He can follow you to the Jiaolong assembly."

"Yes."

----

Translator Thoughts:

PS: I have the tendency to write calm as

clam, pardon my hunger...

golden crow*[金乌]---the sun

skin itchy*[皮痒]---this term is the same as 找打, meaning ‘are you looking for a beating?’

depending on her son's rank* [母凭子贵]

---idk how to really translate this, basically, it means...In the past, in a

family with multiple wives and concubines, if a concubine (regardless of

ranking) gives birth to a son first, her position in the family will be higher,

or if her son became a government official, her position would also become

prominent.

secret knot* [珠胎暗结]

---a human embryo was formed in the woman's body.; a woman conceives, having

had illicit intimacy with a man.; be pregnant; become pregnant out of wedlock

passed through the door* [过门]

---meaning she hasn't officially married yet

the ants*[蝼蚁]----nobodies/insignificant things/people

Editor Thoughts:

A servant's life is tough too ~ Don't you think so?

Leave a comment if you liked this chapter! See you in the next chapter ~

Edited on 11 Mar. 21 (Emzie)

Edited on 9 Jul. 21 (Ari)

Edited on 26 Jul 21 (Limit)

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