Chapter 390

Not many people present recognized the Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation, but Wei Xikang, Wei Xi Yuan, and Yan Wu recognized him!

Back then, Wei Xikang was able to escape from Jingcheng entirely thanks to the other's help; counting it up, the Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation was actually Wei Xikang's savior!

Wei Xi Yuan, however, laughed loudly: "Master, I haven't seen you since I fainted last time. I know you saw that my Da Qian was going to perish, so it is understandable that you left! But why did you run to Beijiang? And why have you ended up in this state?"

Wei Xi Yuan's words were not concern; they were full of cold sarcasm and mockery!

In his view, this person was just a fence-sitter; being able to see him suffer was naturally satisfying!

But Wei Xikang frowned as he looked at the Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation, because he noticed Jiang Jinshi's words just now; could there be some hidden story in this?

Jiang Jinshi did not explain too much, instead saying to Wang Hou: "Make him repeat those words again!"

Wang Hou nodded and then looked at the Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation: "Speak! Otherwise, you know my methods!"

The Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation shivered, then raised his head to look at Wei Xikang and Wei Xi Yuan:

"Logically speaking... you should call me 'Big Uncle'!"

Wei Xi Yuan frowned: "I am the Son of Heaven, and the Father Emperor was the Former Emperor; how can I allow a charlatan like you to speak nonsense?!"

It was only because Wei Xi Yuan now had no power and had been reduced to a prisoner; otherwise, based on this one sentence, he would definitely have given the other a "nine-generation extermination" package.

The Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation slowly raised his head; those eyes that were once full of wisdom now held only exhaustion.

"Big Uncle? Hahaha... That's right, by blood, I, Wei Ziqiu, am indeed your Big Uncle."

Without waiting for the two to speak, the Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation continued: "My father was the founding Taizu Emperor of Da Qian! My mother... was an ordinary cleaning palace maid in the Yonghe Palace, who was favored by the Former Emperor after he was drunk—a night of folly."

"You are spouting nonsense!" Wei Xi Yuan interrupted sternly, "The Taizu Emperor was wise and martial; how can I allow you to defile him! Furthermore, the Imperial Jade Genealogy has never recorded this!"

"The Jade Genealogy?" The Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation sneered, a deep hatred flashing in his eyes, "How could a 'bastard seed' born to a palace maid whom the Empress regarded as a thorn in her side ever be entered into the Jade Genealogy?

After my mother discovered she was pregnant, before she could tell the Former Emperor, she was thrown into the Cold Palace by the then-Empress Gao on the charge of 'seducing the ruler and behaving improperly'!

She originally thought that by giving birth to me quietly in the Cold Palace, there might be a glimmer of survival..."

Speaking to this point, the Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation had tears in his eyes: "But she was wrong! Empress Gao's eyes and ears were everywhere; the birth almost cost her half her life, and I... this child who should not have been born, was even more of a death warrant for her.

She knew she wouldn't live long, and she knew even better that if I remained in the palace, I would sooner or later be discovered by Empress Gao's people and quietly killed.

How could a palace maid with no power or influence, thrown into the Cold Palace, send a living person out of the heavily guarded Imperial Palace?"

The Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation paused here; he opened his mouth but could not speak, his turbid eyes already bloodshot, and two lines of tears streamed down.

Finally, he continued, trembling: "What else could she rely on?

Only herself... that body that had been briefly favored by the Former Emperor.

She used her body to trade for the help of a few guards and eunuchs...

They helped her dig a secret passage leading outside the capital, and the price was... herself."

"Eunuchs? Can they do that sort of thing?" Huang Yan muttered softly, though fortunately, his voice was not loud enough for anyone to hear.

It was just that most people present understood that eunuchs indeed could not do that sort of thing, but they were even more psychologically twisted and perverted!

The things they did... were unspeakable...

The Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation said with a choked voice: "Mother took me and crawled out of the Imperial Palace like a rat through that secret passage, escaping the capital.

Having experienced such torture, she fell ill shortly after leaving the city...

Finally, tortured by illness for several months, she died in a dilapidated Earth Temple!

She named me 'Ziqiu,' hoping I could be as resilient as a catalpa tree and survive this eventful autumn..."

The hall was deathly silent; even Wei Xi Yuan temporarily forgot to mock, shocked by this unheard-of secret of the Imperial Family.

Wei Xikang was even paler; as the former Crown Prince, he was well-versed in palace history, yet he had never heard of the existence of such an "Imperial Eldest Son" in any records or oral traditions.

Yan Wu, however, suddenly realized: "So... the secret passage you took me to back then was..."

The Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation looked at Yan Wu and nodded: "That was the Cold Palace where my mother once stayed, which is why I could understand where the secret passage was!"

When Wei Xi Yuan launched the palace coup, if not for the help of the Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation, who had Yan Wu take Wei Xikang through the secret passage to escape, Wei Xikang would likely have died at Wei Xi Yuan's hands long ago, and Jiang Jinshi would not have obtained the Imperial Jade Seal.

And a secret passage leading directly from the Cold Palace to outside the capital could not be dug in just a few days; furthermore, whether it was eunuchs or guards, they all had shifts, and this was not something that could be done at any time!

They also had to find a way to transport the excavated soil to avoid being discovered, especially since the Imperial Palace was crowded with people.

Therefore, this secret passage took a full several years to dig, and that cabinet was the Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation's hiding place.

During the day, he hid in the cabinet, only occasionally opening the door to get some air; at night, he had to hide in the cabinet, listening to the perverted laughter of those guards or eunuchs and his mother's wailing.

Those people had perverted psyches; even if she had been thrown into the Cold Palace, she was still the Emperor's woman, and they could vent on her and find a sense of achievement!

This could also be considered as having slept with the Emperor's woman!

It was precisely because of this point that the Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation's mother could, in turn, manipulate them; if this matter were exposed, not one of them would survive!!

So the eunuchs and guards dared not slack off, and later they were even eager to send the two of them away quickly to avoid bringing disaster upon themselves!

"And then?" Jiang Jinshi asked, completely as if he were listening to a story unrelated to himself.

"And then?"

The Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation wiped his face and continued: "I became an orphan, wandering the streets, almost freezing and starving to death.

Until I was picked up by a wandering old Daoist; he taught me to read, taught me medicine, and even taught me star-gazing and divination. Fortunately, I had some talent in this field.

I survived, but the hatred in my heart grew deeper with age and experience!

I hated Empress Gao, hated that Taizu Emperor who was high above but knew nothing of my mother's plight!

I hated this cold and heartless Imperial Palace! I hated the entire Wei Imperial Clan!"

"So, you have been looking for an opportunity for revenge?" Wei Xikang asked bitterly.

"That's right!" The Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation's eyes flashed with madness, "I changed my name and traveled the world, studying arts and numbers, just so that one day I could approach the center of power and stir up the winds and clouds!

I finally waited for the opportunity.

At that time, your Father Emperor was still just an unfavored prince, struggling and fighting with several brothers, including the current Western Liang King, for the throne.

I saw that he had ambition but lacked decisiveness and the momentum of being favored by 'Heaven's Mandate.'

I took the initiative to approach him, using divination to gain his initial trust, and then used 'auspicious signs' and 'prophecies' I carefully designed to help him create public opinion, strike at his opponents, and even... use some extraordinary means to clear away several stumbling blocks on his path to the throne."