122: Chapter 2 The Origin of the Throne

"Do you think you should go find him, or should we send someone to call him back?"

The attitude Zhao Guicheng and even Madam Quan had toward Meng Li was a result of his influence over the years.

Having lived three lives, Meng Li easily reversed the brotherly hierarchy once he revealed his capabilities.

Nominally, Zhao Guicheng was three years older and was his elder brother.

But in reality, during their years together, Zhao Guicheng was the one being looked after and acted more like a younger brother.

Therefore, as the elder brother, he instead held great respect and even admiration for his younger brother, Meng Li.

Madam Quan wasn't quite like that.

However, in ancient times, the custom was for a widow to follow her son, meaning she would listen to him after her husband passed away.

Meng Li had also demonstrated his abilities, bringing substantial positive changes to the family.

Thus, she came to rely on her younger son as the family's pillar.

Quan Baoshou and Madam Zhang were much the same.

Meng Li thought for a moment and replied, "I'll go find him in a few days. I happen to have some business in Linan Prefecture anyway."

"Alright."

Seeing that he had made up his mind, the three of them—Madam Quan and the others—didn't say much else.

In the following days, Meng Li stayed home to accompany Madam Quan, while also observing the changes in Shanyin County and inspecting the family's businesses.

A few days later, he set off on horseback for Linan Prefecture.

Upon arrival, Meng Li made some inquiries and soon found the Yiwang Manor.

He briefly explained the situation, and the guards at the gate hurried inside to report his arrival.

Before long, a young man dressed in a python robe, whose appearance was seventy to eighty percent similar to Meng Li's, came out to greet him.

This person was none other than Meng Li's elder brother in this life, Zhao Guicheng.

As soon as they met, he smiled and said, "Meng Li, you've finally arrived. Come, come, let's talk inside."

With that, Zhao Guicheng took Meng Li's hand and led him inside.

Once they reached the front hall, the two sat down, and the servants left after serving tea.

Meng Li looked at Zhao Guicheng and said with interest, "Not bad. You look a bit like a prince now; it seems you've learned quite a lot during this time."

Zhao Guicheng curled his lip. "Don't even mention it. All those different etiquettes and rules are annoying to death. It's nowhere near as comfortable as being at home."

Meng Li said, "Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Since you've inherited the title, you must conform to the standards in all aspects; after all, this represents the face of the imperial family."

"But what's the story with this princely title of yours?"

"Did it just fall from the sky?"

Zhao Guicheng smiled. "You could say that. The specific situation is like this..."

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he recounted the whole story from beginning to end.

The general situation was similar to what Madam Quan had said before, but as the person involved, Zhao Guicheng had looked deeper into it and knew some of the hidden details.

The current emperor, Emperor Zhao Kuang, had a rival named Zhao Bing before ascending the throne.

After Zhao Bing passed away, he was posthumously honored as the Prince Yi.

His only son was named Zhao Gai. By right, he should have inherited the title, but he died young at the age of three.

This caused some controversy.

Consequently, Emperor Zhao Kuang issued an edict to establish the son of Zhao Xiqu, a member of the imperial clan, as Zhao Bing's descendant, renaming him Zhao Jun, and later changing it again to Zhao Guihe.

Unexpectedly, after some time, the current Crown Prince, Zhao Xun, passed away.

It's worth mentioning that Crown Prince Zhao Xun was not Emperor Emperor Zhao Kuang's biological son but an adopted one. It wasn't that Emperor Zhao Kuang couldn't have children; he had several, but they all died in infancy. In the end, out of options, Emperor Zhao Kuang made Zhao Xun, an adopted son from the imperial clan, the Crown Prince.

No one expected Zhao Xun to die so young.

Whether there were any power struggles or schemes involved, Zhao Guicheng didn't know and hadn't looked into it deeply.

Because while this matter was somewhat related to him, the connection wasn't significant.

With Crown Prince Zhao Xun gone, a new Crown Prince had to be appointed.

This new Crown Prince was that Zhao Guihe.

In short, Zhao Guihe had been adopted twice and had a total of three fathers: the first was his biological father, Zhao Xiqu; the second was the Prince Yi, Zhao Bing; and the third was Emperor Emperor Zhao Kuang.

But he couldn't be called a "servant of three surnames," because all three fathers were surnamed Zhao.

These two consecutive leaps brought enormous changes to Zhao Guihe. The first leap took him from an ordinary member of the Zhao clan to a titled prince, and the second leap made him the Crown Prince, renaming him Zhao Hong.

As a result, the title of Prince Yi became vacant.

To avoid further controversy, Emperor Zhao Kuang ordered Grand Councilor Shi Miyuan to find an upright member of the imperial clan to inherit the title of Prince Yi.

Shi Miyuan entrusted this task to his aide, Yu Tianxi.

While passing through Shaoxing Prefecture, Yu Tianxi encountered a heavy rainstorm and took shelter in Quan Baoshou's home, where he happened to meet Zhao Guicheng, who was still known as Zhao Yuju at the time. Through their conversation, Yu Tianxi learned that Zhao Yuju was of the Zhao clan and felt his behavior was proper, thus considering him a suitable candidate to inherit the title of Prince Yi.

Consequently, he recommended Zhao Yuju to Shi Miyuan to become the Prince Yi.

Later, Shi Miyuan personally evaluated Zhao Yuju and also deemed him a suitable candidate for the inheritance.

And so, Zhao Yuju was chosen to enter the palace, inherit the title of Prince Yi, and was renamed Zhao Guicheng.

Having figured out all these twists and turns, Meng Li couldn't help but complain to himself—the relationships within the imperial family were truly a mess!

However, for him, this could be considered a good thing.

Zhao Guicheng was his biological brother in this life, and they had grown up together. Although his name had been changed due to the adoption, blood is thicker than water. With his brother inheriting a princely title, the status of the entire family rose accordingly, and his mother Madam Quan's safety was also greatly guaranteed.

Thus, Meng Li would have fewer worries and concerns when he went out to travel in the future.

Once the origin of the title was explained, Zhao Guicheng turned to ask about Meng Li's travels.

Meng Li picked out some interesting stories to tell.

By the time they finished talking, it was already getting dark.

Zhao Guicheng then arranged for Meng Li to stay at the mansion.

Since they were biological brothers, Meng Li naturally didn't refuse.

Afterward, he stayed for two days before leaving.

Both because life in the mansion was boring and because he had things to do.

Having failed to persuade him to stay, Zhao Guicheng had no choice but to give Meng Li a token representing his status and let him go.

After leaving the Yiwang Manor, Meng Li made some inquiries and headed straight for Niu Family Village in Linan Prefecture.

He didn't remember the timeline of "legend of the condor heroes" very clearly. There were two points in his memory that left a deep impression: first, the great upheaval that befell the Guo and Yang families at the start; and second, when Guo Jing went south for revenge and to fulfill his promise, marking the official beginning of the plot.

There was an eighteen-year gap between the two. As long as Meng Li figured out how long ago the former occurred, he would know the current time period.

Once the timing was clear, it would be more convenient for him to plan for certain things.

And Niu Family Village in Linan Prefecture was precisely where the great upheaval of the Guo and Yang families took place.

Furthermore, that place was also considered a treasure site, related to Medicine Master Huang's Disciple, Qu Lingfeng.

According to the storyline in Meng Li's memory, after Qu Lingfeng was expelled from Peach Blossom Island by Medicine Master Huang, he lived in seclusion in Niu Family Village and had a daughter.

Despite being in seclusion, Qu Lingfeng always wanted to return to his sect. Knowing that Medicine Master Huang loved collecting treasures and famous paintings, he broke into the imperial palace more than once to steal treasures from the emperor's vault. Eventually, he was discovered by the imperial guards and hunted down, ultimately dying together with his pursuers in a secret room at his secluded residence.

His daughter also seemed to have been frightened because of this, becoming mentally unstable and was called "Silly Aunt."

Thinking as he walked along the way, it didn't take long for Meng Li to reach Niu Family Village...