Chapter 163: On Life and Death
Li Xuanji's retribution is what Su Zhenzhen often refers to as karma. Those who work in the Yin-Yang profession are most afraid of getting involved in karma; at best, their soul will be scattered, at worst...
In severe cases, there are those like Li Xuanji, and the predecessors who are still unknown to us.
However, Su Zhenzhen had reservations about Li Xuanji's words.
"Those of us in this line of work rarely end well; we're either greedy or arrogant. This is the first time I've heard of someone being coerced. Aren't you the apprentice of the High Priest of the Jiang Dynasty? Who could possibly coerce you?"
Li Xuanji suddenly smiled bitterly, his expression reminiscing, "That's why I said, as for what my original surname was, we'll talk about that later."
Su Zhenzhen rolled her eyes without any politeness. "What was your original surname? It couldn't have been Jiang, could it?"
"You got it right." Li Xuanji's smile suddenly turned sinister, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.
"My original surname should have been Jiang."
Li Xuanji looked at Hensheng, then put on a warm expression, "You should call me Uncle."
Hate moved her lips, but ultimately didn't utter the term of address.
It's truly surreal.
The comments section was also shocked by the shocking revelation of his values.
What is all this nonsense? Forget about refugees, rebels, and powerful families; it all boils down to a bunch of relatives scheming against each other.
[I thought this was already outrageous enough, but it got even more outrageous and ridiculous. Did the organizers have aliens write the script?]
[To the person upstairs: Aliens shouldn't be blamed for this. It seems like it's more likely that two or three screenwriters didn't connect the plot properly, and the company hired interns to save money.]
Su Zhenzhen cleared her mind and ate some melon seeds in her mind for a while.
After all, he didn't even know what kind of person the other party was, yet he could know everything she was thinking.
Not daring to let her thoughts linger for even a moment, Su Zhenzhen immediately returned to the main topic, "Why don't you just finish speaking in one go? You save your breath and we save our time. This senior is so capable, he should know that there is a locust plague in the south, right? We still need to rush to the disaster relief site."
Li Xuanji's beautiful face contorted for a moment, but she quickly recovered.
"The ancestors of the Jiang Dynasty made a pact with the immortals, exchanging the fact that each generation of the direct line could only have one child in exchange for the Jiang Dynasty's longevity for thousands of years. In other words, the empresses of the Jiang Dynasty could only have one child in their lifetime. Many empresses would kill their daughters if their first child was a daughter, so that the spot would be reserved for their sons who were still unknown."
Su Zhenzhen knew, of course, that Jiang Sijin was a fetal spirit who had been repeatedly reincarnated as the daughter of an empress and repeatedly killed shortly after birth, eventually accumulating resentment.
However, these things shouldn't be kept in one's mind.
As soon as Li Xuanji finished speaking, Su Zhenzhen immediately changed the subject, "Why would you kill your own flesh and blood? Even if the Empress gave birth to a daughter, there are still the Three Palaces, Six Courts, and Seventy-Two Concubines. They can also give birth."
"Little girl, you might not understand the word '嫡' (di). Not all children born to the emperor are considered legitimate. The empress is the emperor's principal wife, and only her children, born through the proper betrothal ceremony and historical records, can be considered legitimate. Children born to concubines are considered illegitimate. According to family hierarchy, illegitimate children are considered half-slaves and cannot be the masters of a household. Similarly, the sons of concubines cannot inherit the bloodline of the Jiang dynasty, as they are considered impure. Simply put, it's about establishing the legitimate heir and the eldest son."
Su Zhenzhen nodded slightly, indicating that she understood, and gestured for Li Xuanji to continue.
"As far as I know, Emperor Chang's empress, who is also my birth mother, gave birth to a child in her early years. At the time, it was publicly announced that the child was a prince, but unfortunately, the prince died not long after. Logically speaking, this should not have happened. Throughout the history of the Jiang Dynasty, the sons of empresses have always inherited the throne and died peacefully in their old age. Unless there is something strange about that child. The contract made between the ancestors of the Jiang Dynasty and the immortals is mutually reinforcing. As long as the Jiang Dynasty continues, the empress can only have one child. As long as the empress has only one child, the Jiang Dynasty can continue to exist. The two are mutually causal."
As a poor student, Su Zhenzhen didn't quite understand the convoluted relationship, especially since she couldn't think about it in her mind, lest Li Xuanji notice. She could only look at Hensheng, signaling him to answer her questions.
Hensheng understood, but while looking at Su Zhenzhen, he spoke to Li Xuanji.
"Given the premise that the Jiang Dynasty's reign is to continue, the Empress can only have one child. Traditionally, the continuation of the dynasty is only achieved when the Empress's legitimate son inherits the throne. Therefore, the Empress's first child is very likely to be a princess. The existence of a princess occupies the position of the future legitimate son, and since a princess cannot inherit the throne, according to the ancestral contract, this princess is bound to die young."
Su Zhenzhen immediately grasped the core point: "In other words, if the Empress's first child is a princess, then no matter what, that child will only die."
Su Zhenzhen looked at Li Xuanji, then at Hensheng, and to be honest, the two of them had equally prominent noses.
"So you and Jiang Yichun are twins, but because of the ancestral contract, the empress can only have one child to continue the dynasty. The emperor was afraid that something would happen to both children, so he chose one of them in advance and abandoned you."
Li Xuanji gave Su Zhenzhen an approving look.
"But why was it you who was abandoned? Why not Jiang Yichun?"
Li Xuanji withdrew his approving gaze and looked at Su Zhenzhen as if she were an idiot.
"The eldest son is the heir, and I was born late, so my fate was completely different."
Su Zhenzhen was good at comforting people. "You should think of it this way: although Jiang Yichun became emperor, he was forced to his death by the rebels and betrayed by the people he trusted. But you are still alive and have all the skills you need."
Li Xuanji's tone was low and chilling, "Do you think I'm still alive like this?"
Su Zhenzhen held up a finger and gently shook it at Li Xuanji. "It's one thing for ordinary people to have a superficial view of things, but how can someone as capable as you be so narrow-minded?"
The girl's gaze was intense. "How can the end of life be the demise of the physical body? The true end lies in the complete dissipation of self-awareness! Although you have no physical body, your thoughts remain, and your memories endure. Doesn't that count as living?"
Su Zhenzhen paused, her tone carrying a hint of disdain and insight, "In my view, how many 'people' living in this world are nothing more than walking corpses? They live in a daze, not knowing why they were born, and lacking independent thought, like puppets easily manipulated and controlled. On the other hand, some people, even if only their souls remain in the world, can maintain a clear mind, coldly observing the changing world—isn't this a higher level of 'living'?"
At this moment, Li Xuanji's lifeless heart seemed to be attacked by a thousand troops, like a mountain roaring and a tsunami crashing down, shattering all past conclusions with the force of thunder.
Yes, ever since he became conscious, he has known many secrets. Even though he no longer has a physical body, his memories have not been erased. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be able to continue as long as the Jiang Dynasty.
Could this be considered another form of longevity, like living to the heavens?
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