Chapter 47 Bestowing the Finest Sword

With the Grand Imperial Banquet imminent, many literary cultivators had already gathered within the grand city of Huangtian. Having long heard rumors of the dispute between the true and false heirs, various factions held their own speculations and thoughts.

Under the night sky, Gu Fangchen riding a crane directly into the Grand Preceptor’s Estate naturally provoked a myriad of different reactions.

Whether coming out of the Purple Polarity Palace or heading straight into the Grand Preceptor’s Estate, the implications behind these actions were profoundly thought-provoking.

Similar conversations were taking place all across Huangtian City.

Among them, many people quietly experienced subtle shifts in their internal calculations and stances...

The Confucian scholar who had delivered the congratulatory gift on behalf of the "Immortal of Poetry" bade farewell to his friend and returned to his temporary lodging.

A gust of the night wind blew, sobering him from his intoxication.

Recalling his earlier, grandiose declaration of "I will gift it," he couldn't help but look up at the starry sky and take a deep breath.

What on earth had he just done...

Scholars like them, hailing from the Academy, did not need to crowd into the White Horse Temple like ordinary cultivators; instead, they had a dedicated guesthouse within Huangtian City.

Because a large proportion of Great Wei officials originated from the Academy, shares of shared-school camaraderie naturally meant they received special consideration.

Hesitating through all sorts of misgivings, he gritted his teeth and pushed open the door, only to be greeted upon entering the guesthouse by his Junior Sister's complaints:

"Eldest Senior Brother, you've been out carousing again!"

Liu Xuan awkwardly raised his head to see Li Qingguang, dressed in pristine white and as elegant as a fresh lotus blossom, standing on the stairs, looking at him with an expression of deep disapproval.

They were fellow disciples of the Academy's "Poetry Lineage."

Both Liu Xuan and Li Qingguang studied under Li Wangji, the "Immortal of Poetry," while Li Qingguang held another identity as Li Wangji's daughter.

Liu Xuan let out a dry cough and defended himself with a solemn expression:

"How can you call this going out carousing? It's merely gathering literary inspiration."

"Without observing the myriad facets of mortal life up close, how can one ever write poetry that touches people's hearts?"

Li Qingguang had clearly experienced many similar episodes and utterly refused to believe her unreliable Eldest Senior Brother.

She narrowed her eyes:

"Myriad facets of mortal life? To me, it looks like you went out drinking with people again."

Liu Xuan scratched his head guiltily:

"Is—is that so?"

Li Qingguang sighed, shook her head, and said with a plaintive tone:

"Forget it. At least you still know how to come back instead of drinking yourself to death in the streets and dragging the reputation of our 'Poetry Lineage' through the dirt in Huangtian City."

"Tomorrow is the Grand Imperial Banquet, and we still need to present Father's congratulatory gift. I ask Eldest Senior Brother to please prioritize the matter at hand!"

Feeling even more guilty, Liu Xuan forced a sheepish smile:

"Oh, oh..."

Watching his Junior Sister depart, he returned to his own room, took out the box entrusted to him by Li Wangji, and fell into deep contemplation.

Inside this box lay the congratulatory gift the "Immortal of Poetry" intended to bestow upon Gu Yuandao—

A personal sword from Li Wangji's past, named "First Class."

The name of this sword originated from a line of poetry he had once written: *"Remember the soaring ambitions of our youth, once pledged to be the first class among mortals."*

He intended to use this sword as encouragement, hoping the Saint's disciple would possess such towering ambition and vision, eventually becoming the next pillar of Great Wei.

In terms of both value and significance, this congratulatory gift was extraordinary.

Presenting it to Gu Yuandao, the peerless prodigy who had won the top honors in all three imperial examinations, was also thoroughly appropriate and perfection itself.

Originally... it should have been like this.

Yet at this very moment, neither Li Wangji nor Li Qingguang could possibly imagine that Liu Xuan, emboldened by wine and a reckless tongue, had already directly promised to give the congratulatory gift to Gu Fangchen instead!

Logically speaking, a promise made in private like this could be treated as a joke, laughed off and dismissed.

However, despite his somewhat unreliable behavior, Liu Xuan was renowned for being a true gentleman of impeccable character.

As things stood now, since the words had already left his mouth, how could there be any reason to renege?

Steeling his resolve, Liu Xuan let out a heavy, mournful sigh, his gaze turning resolute.

At worst, he would just take a beating from his master!

Even if he were expelled from the sect, he would accept it!

...

Riding the white crane, Gu Fangchen descended into the Grand Preceptor’s Estate.

Everyone within the Grand Preceptor’s Estate had already been forewarned, and coupled with the fact that Gu Fangchen was riding Xufu’s personal mount, naturally no one dared to obstruct him.

Gu Fangchen leapt down from the white crane, straightened his robes, and was met by a young Daoist acolyte who stepped forward to bow to him:

"Your Highness, Heir Apparent."

Gu Fangchen nodded and cut straight to the point:

"How much silver and gold remain in the estate's treasury?"

The acolyte was momentarily stunned, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Over the years, countless people had come to visit the Grand Preceptor’s Estate, putting on a show even when they knew full well that the Grand Preceptor herself was absent.

Everyone tried to probe even the faintest trace of Xu Fu’s intentions from this estate.

Yet never had he expected that when someone finally obtained the authority to take charge of the Grand Preceptor’s Estate, their very first action would not be anything else, but rather inquiring about how much money the estate possessed...

This Heir Apparent was truly... unorthodox.

Originally, they had all believed that the Grand Preceptor presenting Gu Fangchen with a chest of gold carried some profound hidden meaning.

Now, it seemed that was not the case at all.

The acolyte led Gu Fangchen into the treasury and tallied the accounts: a total of four hundred thousand taels of gold and six million taels of silver.

All of these were imperial rewards, stored within the Grand Preceptor’s Estate completely untouched.

Gazing at the dazzling, shimmering sea of gold and silver filling the room, Gu Fangchen picked up a piece of gold and clicked his tongue in wonder.

In his previous life, this was wealth he could never have attained in a lifetime.

Yet now, with genuine gold and silver laid out before him in the flesh, he found that he wasn't all that excited.

Back at the Northern Pacification Prince's Mansion, when facing those chests of gold, he could at least attribute his calmness to the pressing need to spend them immediately, as resolving his survival crisis was his primary task.

But now, by his estimation, this gold and silver would be more than enough to turn the fake "Lotus Hidden in the Womb" into the real article, leaving plenty of leftovers for him to pocket entirely.

"As expected... I still prefer playing games."

Gu Fangchen narrowed his eyes and tossed the piece of gold back onto the pile.

In this realistic game world, the endless new possibilities were what he looked forward to the most right now.

Stuffing four hundred thousand taels of gold into his grotto-heaven ring, he prepared to return to the Prince's Mansion.

The acolyte walked in and handed him an invitation:

"This is Grand Preceptor's invitation for the Grand Imperial Banquet. Please attend on behalf of Her Ladyship, Your Highness."

Gu Fangchen reached out, took it, and glanced over it twice.

The invitations players could acquire generally matched the standard tier available to normal cultivators.

The invitation intended for the Grand Preceptor, however, was entirely different; it was embedded with black and white Yin-Yang jade marrow, possessing a profound sense of ritual.

Prying it out would surely yield a core for a fifth-grade array formation...

Emperor Yong'an intended to firmly cement Gu Fangchen's status during tomorrow's Grand Imperial Banquet, giving everyone a definitive conclusion, which was why he had handed the Grand Preceptor's invitation to him.

After all, Gu Fangchen originally had zero qualifications to attend the Grand Imperial Banquet and naturally possessed no invitation.

Even though he was the Heir Apparent of the Northern Pacification Prince's Mansion, he could not cultivate and held no official scholarly rank. The Grand Imperial Banquet was restricted to cultivators and officials; no matter how grand one's background, it was useless.

Gu Yuandao's eagerness to eliminate Gu Fangchen was likewise driven by the desire to pave the way smoothly for Gu Yuandao prior to the banquet.

Countless people were waiting to watch a good show tomorrow.

Gu Fangchen calmly left the Grand Preceptor's Estate, carrying four hundred thousand taels of gold.

Then let them wait; the truly good show was only just beginning.

...

The next day.

Grand Imperial Garden.

Just as Gu Fangchen, accompanied by Qing Jian and Old Man Ding, stepped down from his carriage, a luxuriously dressed, rauclish young man rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then lunged forward to pat and inspect him up and down.

With a dark expression, Gu Fangchen shoved him away and scolded irritably:

"Zhao Wenyuan, have you developed a taste for men after not seeing you for a few days?"

Zhao Wenyuan asked incredulously:

"You actually managed to come out in one piece? With no news for so many days, I thought a fake like you would definitely be beaten to death on the spot by the Martial Saint!"

He looked extremely puzzled:

"Besides, isn't today the Grand Imperial Banquet? What are you doing here?"

Zhao Wenyuan, the second son of the current Minister of War, was one of Gu Fangchen's wayward companions and likewise a debauched scion.

The difference, however, was that Zhao Wenyuan's dissolute behavior was a facade; this fellow was the one truly biding his time and hiding his capabilities.

What was he doing here?

Gu Fangchen chuckled softly without a word, snapping open the folding fan in his hand with a crisp *thwack*.

Zhao Wenyuan squinted and stared at it, seeing four characters inscribed upon the surface.

*"Humanity possesses moral restraint."*

Qing Jian stood silently to the side with an expressionless face.

Although at first glance, reading from right to left as customary made complete sense, she had clearly watched Gu Fangchen write those very characters from left to right that morning...

————

ps: U-Utterly at my limit (kneeling down)

Let's see if I feel better tomorrow; I'll try harder orz