Chapter 53: What on Earth is His Background?

Is this the price of being an AFK grinder?

Zhang Rui felt a faint, painful sensation in his chest, and his heart instantly plummeted to the bottom!

He had originally thought that gaining a cheap wife was the maximum price of being an AFK grinder, but it turned out he was still being too naive.....

During the time he was away, how many traps had he dug for himself?

However, he quickly had no time to ponder these things, because the arrival of a certain voice caused his heartbeat to accelerate instinctively, and an extremely familiar sense of panic spread throughout his body.

"Lord Zhang has arrived?"

The newcomer's voice was rich with a hint of magnetism, much like the speaking style of those leaders who took the stage to give speeches in his past life. What puzzled Zhang Rui was his own physical reaction; he seemed..... to be terrified of the owner of this voice.

"I pay my respects, Milord." Zhang Rui adjusted his mindset and delivered a very formal bow in response.

"This old man no longer holds an official position in the imperial court, so Lord Zhang need not address me as Milord." The other person looked at Zhang Rui with a smile.

"Regardless of whether you are in the court or not, you are still my superior, Milord." Zhang Rui replied tactfully.

"Hahahaha....." The other man immediately burst into hearty laughter: "Three days apart, and the once timid little scholar has truly transformed. They say that after parting with a scholar for three days, one should look at him with new eyes. The words of the ancient sages are indeed reasonable."

"You flatter me, Milord." Zhang Rui replied, neither servile nor overbearing.

Lu Chengfeng nodded slightly, then gently raised his hand. Zhang Rui instantly felt something tearing at his chest, as if as long as the other party desired, that thing could rip open his chest and burst right out.

"The imprint is still there, looks like the person is still the same person as back then." Lu Chengfeng approached, looking at Zhang Rui, who was sweating profusely from the pain, and smiled: "Just what has Lord Zhang experienced all these years?"

"Didn't the Grand Duke just say it moments ago?" Zhang Rui raised his head again, his gaze turning cold: "After parting with a scholar for three days, one should look at him with new eyes!"

Lu Chengfeng, standing within arm's reach, twitched his eyelids slightly, and an unprecedented sense of crisis welled up in his heart, followed by extreme shock. The Lu family had been passed down for a millennium, and those upon whom the Divine Sovereign had planted an imprint had to obediently submit, no matter how heaven-defying their abilities were. Over the years, his Lu family had collected countless powerful figures under their banner, and even that most prominent individual could not escape the Lu family's control. He had never encountered a situation like the present one.

This brat......

Zhang Rui looked squarely at the other person, enduring the pain in his chest, pressing his tongue against the roof of his mouth to bite onto a piece of jade he had prepared long ago.

It was the piece of jade he had previously used in the temple. The empowerment talent of the evil spirit (Chun) had already been repaired on the journey to the capital. Using it now would allow him to possess Grandmaster-level capabilities in an extremely short period of time.

He did not expect this extremely short period of time to allow him to fight his way out of the Lu family estate, but once he possessed Grandmaster abilities, he could quickly use his brush to rewrite the current ending, and could even completely erase the Lu family. Although the side effects would be massive, it was a matter of life and death, so he could no longer afford to care about that.

"It seems this old man truly misjudged you back then."

In the end, Lu Chengfeng withdrew his raised hand, and a smile returned to his face: "Lord Zhang, please take a seat so we may talk."

At this moment, the pain in Zhang Rui's chest instantly subsided, but he did not relax his vigilance in the slightest. He tucked the jade back under his tongue and, accepting the other's invitation, sat down in the upper-left seat of the main hall.

The steward behind him looked in astonishment at his master. In the Great Jin Dynasty, the left side was the seat of honor, and under normal circumstances, only the master of the house sat there. Among the guests coming and going to the Grand Duke's Mansion, he had only ever seen the master yield the right seat to three people: the first was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the second was the Lu family's Second Elder who traveled the world, and the third..... was that prominent figure once chosen by the Lu family who now dominated the Central Plains.

How could this mere county magistrate, a running dog upon whom an imprint had been planted, be treated by the master in such a manner?

"Serve tea....."

Recovering his senses, the steward hurriedly bowed and retreated, while Lu Chengfeng looked at Zhang Rui and said: "Since Lord Zhang possesses such ability, why did you choose to defect to my Lu family back then?"

He certainly didn't believe any bullshit about looking at someone with new eyes after three days; the other party's current capability was impossible to have been acquired in just three years.

Zhang Rui rubbed his fingers, his mind rapidly searching for an answer.

He knew this was a test from the other party, and a single misstep today might spell the end for him.

"May I ask the Grand Duke, ever since the Grand Patriarch founded the Great Jin, how many hermit families from the previous dynasty have managed to make a name for themselves here in Shengjing?" Zhang Rui asked with a smile in return.

"That depends on how big their ambitions are." Lu Chengfeng smiled slightly: "If they only wish to infiltrate the imperial court's apparatus to protect and continue their family line, our dynasty still offers plenty of opportunities. Many descendants of previous dynasty families have managed to become provincial education commissioners and local overlords."

"What about serving a Yin Deity?" Zhang Rui asked directly.

Hearing this, Lu Chengfeng gave Zhang Rui a deep look: "When the Grand Patriarch started his enterprise back then, he relied solely on a mysterious army. Although it caught those aristocratic families off guard, it was difficult to sustain. Therefore, back then, the Grand Patriarch signed blood pacts in order to win over some powerful families. The families capable of serving Yin Deities are limited in every dynasty. Yet, the Grand Patriarch was not only formidable in conquering the realm, but equally adept at governing it. Within mere decades, he brought peace to the world and made the martial arts factions—which had been the biggest headache for successive dynasties—submit to the imperial court. How could those aristocratic families that backed the wrong side back then still have any opportunities?"

"Our dynasty has been established for a millennium, and to this day it remains exceptionally prosperous and politically stable, so naturally the opportunities are even fewer. The only two exceptions were caused by the rare succession turmoil resulting from Emperor Hongzhi's lack of male heirs in that single year, which allowed those two families to exploit a loophole. If Lord Zhang is seeking that kind of opportunity, you are probably overthinking it."

"Why?" Zhang Rui smiled.

"His Majesty and the Empress share a deep and devoted love, and three of the Four Imperial Consort Palaces stand empty. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's position is rock-solid. Neither His Majesty nor the major aristocratic families wish to see drastic changes. If Lord Zhang wishes to make waves, you are expecting too much."

"Master, the tea is here....."

As they were speaking, the head steward brought in an exquisite tea set and took out a jade teapot to pour a cup for Zhang Rui first.

As he poured the tea, he carefully sized up Zhang Rui. When he went out just now, the First Elder had explicitly instructed him to handle things with caution because just moments ago, when the master and this Lord Zhang were locked in a standoff, the Divine Sovereign had transmitted an oracle to the elders: Do not act rashly!

No wonder the master hadn't continued his threats earlier and had instead invited the other party to the upper-left seat. This brat had actually almost threatened the Divine Sovereign just now!

Even that currently most prominent figure, when he came to the Lu family's main hall the year before last, hadn't caused the Divine Sovereign to proactively send down an oracle. What on earth was going on with this brat?

"There are plenty of people who want to make waves." Zhang Rui took a sip of tea, replied indifferently, and then his eyes lit up: "Good tea!"

In his past life, he preferred the rich taste of black tea and wasn't fond of green tea, but the taste of the green tea before him was truly unique, possessing a genuine fragrance that seemed to cleanse the entire body.

Seeing that the other party drank the tea without the slightest hesitation and showed no worry that they might have tampered with it, the steward felt even more wary in his heart.

The more unconcerned and fearless a person was, the more thoroughly prepared they were. The Divine Sovereign was right; they truly could not act rashly.

Drinking this fragrant tea, Zhang Rui bore no great burden in his heart. Since they had already planted that thing in his chest, he wouldn't care even if they put something else in there now.

"Lord Zhang is referring to the mastermind behind the North Sea incident, correct?" The Lu family head smiled, took a sip of tea, and then said: "This old man has also heard of this matter. My Lu family invested heavily in the Painting Market, yet it was wiped out in one fell swoop. The person behind the scenes actually wanted to kill the Crown Prince; their plot must be immensely large."

"The mastermind behind the Painting Market is an imperial prince." Zhang Rui said bluntly.

Lu Chengfeng's smile froze, and the teacup in his hand tilted due to his extreme shock, spilling scalding tea that instantly turned his hand fiery red!

"Master?" The head steward hurried forward.

Lu Chengfeng waved his hand to signal him to retreat: "So that's how it is. Ever since the North Sea incident, this old man has been investigating the cause. At the time, I was also curious what purpose the other party had in sacrificing the Painting Market business just to kill the Crown Prince. So it was like this!"

With that, ignoring the pain of his scalded hand, he stroked his beard and said: "His Majesty is too doting on the Empress, and all the women he has married are daughters of ordinary families. I never expected that such a huge loophole would be exploited. Does Lord Zhang know which one it is?"

"This subordinate wouldn't know." Zhang Rui put down his teacup: "After all, this subordinate is an outsider and is unfamiliar with the situation in the capital. I don't know the background of any of those princes, so how could I analyze who the owner of the Painting Market is?"

"That's true as well......" Lu Chengfeng then asked curiously: "Since that is the case, why did Milord prevent the Crown Prince from being harmed? If you wanted to muddy the waters and have the family behind you plot for the position of a Yin Deity, shouldn't you want the situation to be as chaotic as possible?"

"This subordinate lacks influence; what opportunities would there be for me no matter how chaotic the situation gets?" Zhang Rui smiled: "If not for this, why would this subordinate need to defect to the Lu family?"

"My Lu family is utterly loyal to the imperial court......" Lu Chengfeng smiled: "We harbor no other intentions. The Great Jin has worshipped my Lu family for a millennium, and my Lu family's status in the entire capital ranks among the top five. If Milord is plotting for this, I'm afraid you've taken the wrong path."

"Utterly loyal?" Zhang Rui pointed toward a certain direction outside the door: "I'm afraid the Divine Sovereign you worship doesn't think so, right?"

Lu Chengfeng's pupils constricted. For the first time, he put away his smile and looked at the other person with solemnity.

Even when the other party had previously appeared unfathomable, he had still been able to remain calm, but this time, the fellow before him had instantly pinpointed the exact location of the Divine Sovereign!!

Every major family kept their respective Yin Deities strictly confidential. Even among internal descendants, only a few elders and the family head knew the location of the Yin Deity. The only reason his Lu family dared to place it within their own residential compound was because of the illusion array passed down through the Lu family's millennium.

Back then, this illusion array had stopped Chen Liuwang's army of one hundred thousand soldiers beneath Qingyang City without a single soldier or a blade. It was universally acknowledged as the number one illusion array in the world, and no illusionist dared claim they could see through it.

Yet the Divine Sovereign himself excelled in the art of concealment. Within his own illusion array, the other party had instantly spotted the Divine Sovereign's location. Such a thing—let alone himself—probably hadn't been encountered by any of the Lu family's seven generations of family heads over the past millennium!

Just what background did this brat have?