Chapter 434: A Way To Save the Imperial Noble Consort
Chapter 434: A Way To Save the Imperial Noble Consort
Grandmaster Liao Chen immediately understood, saying a prayer, “Turns out it was like this.”
Li Hong Yuan learned from Grandmaster Liao Chen’s expression that he most likely already knew the cause and effect of everything.
That’s why, having dealings with someone like Grandmaster Liao Chen was the most relaxing. Just, there was a premise, which was that someone like him didn’t participate in worldly affairs. If he were to participate in secular conflict, then he will be the most terrifying opponent. Even if standing on one’s own side, as the person he has vowed his loyalty towards, afraid, all would be unable to rest peacefully, because this kind of person simple can’t be tamed———regardless of whether you have transmigrated or have been reborn, ten times or a hundred times, all the ‘foresight’, all the tricks, in front of him, will all be useless.
Of course, anyone with a bit of brains will know, this kind of thing won’t happen. As the saying goes, those who have peeked into the heaven’s secret will all pay a heavy price. If still able to divulge as one pleases, and even able to exploit at will, then that was certainly being on track to fall into hell in seconds. Moreover, throwing the heart into disorder, entering the secular world, can a sage still be called a sage? And that supernatural ability, can it still continue to exist?
At least, Li Hong Yuan was very reassured towards Grandmaster Liao Chen, and has never thought of letting him leave the mountains to serve the imperial court.
“Then, presumably, there’s no need for this prince to explain. Grandmaster should know this prince’s purpose in coming.”
Grandmaster Liao Chen nodded, “For wangye to have specifically come to look for this humble monk, presumably, it’s having already met with the Imperial Noble Consort. Then, what does wangye desire?” Towards Li Hong Yuan, this demon king level existence, Grandmaster Liao Chen was also very helpless. That’s why, for all matters related to him, he had no choice but to be extra solemn, just fearing that he would do something unfixable in a moment of disagreement. Aside from him(LHY), even Le Cheng Emperor all wasn’t able to make him(LC) do anything, let alone specifically coming back during his traveling period.
Li Hong Yuan lifted the teacup, shallowly taking two sips. Although not scalding hot, in this winter weather, it was still dense with steam, blurring the expression on his face. He neither quickly nor slowly explained his meeting with the Imperial Noble Consort, also saying that he learned the reason behind his own rebirth. No matter how impressive Grandmaster Liao Chen was, it was still impossible for him to know the details, no?
“…………This prince right now just wants to know, whether or not one can keep her?”
Grandmaster Liao Chen lightly sighed. This kind of thing wasn’t too possible. This was precisely the so called a life for a life, and moreover, what was paid usually was much more than what was obtained. Even so, people that were able to have this kind of opportunity were very very few. Based on that Imperial Noble Consort’s course of fate, if it’s just extending her own son’s life, even if for another thirty to fifty years, what it affected would probably just be her fate in the next several reincarnations————an entire lifetime of hardships, unable to obtain a good end, but she absolutely wouldn’t have ended up with her soul dissipating. However, the reality was instead the time reversing, changing not just a single person’s fate, but rather many people’s, even possibly creating a completely different history. Moreover, it even resulted in producing someone as ruthless as Jin Qinwang. Unless you were that divine celestial deity, otherwise how capable would one have to be, after doing such a thing, to still be able to escape unscathed?
In reality, heavenly deities such as gods and buddhas, even Grandmaster Liao Chen was unsure whether or not they really existed. The Imperial Noble Consort was indeed special, but she wasn’t special to that degree.
Moreover, this kind of thing can’t be reversed to begin with.
That’s why, having already obtained the benefit, how can one not pay the price?
This was something Li Hong Yuan had long thought of, so towards Grandmaster Liao Chen’s silence, he also didn’t express anything. His mind right now was still tranquil. Regarding the Imperial Noble Consort, he was willing, but won’t insist. “How the future will be, this prince doesn’t care, as long as she can, regardless of in what way, ‘live’ out the lifespan of an ordinary person, it will be enough.” Li Hong Yuan paused, “Otherwise, just twenty years.”
Hearing Li Hong Yuan say this, Grandmaster Liao Chen actually slightly relaxed a breath. It wasn’t because of Li Hong Yuan’s yielding, but rather because his attitude showed that this matter had leeway for discussion. “Wangye, the Imperial Noble Consort originally should have just disappeared when time reversed. Regardless whether it’s wangye’s past life, or this life, with you having obtained the benefit, then she shouldn’t be able to exist anymore. The reason why you are still able to see her is probably because her attachment is too deep. After meeting with you, the attachment certainly will weaken, and afterwards, very quickly disappear. In reality, based on her situation, no matter how strong of an attachment, to be able to endure until now is more or less already the limit.”
“Grandmaster means to say that you’re powerless to do anything? Since she is able to exchange with me, then does it mean that she can also exchange with others? If one is not enough, then what about ten, a hundred, or a thousand? If not, then how about ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or million?”
What Grandmaster Liao Chen feared the most was precisely just Li Hong Yuan acting as such, having no qualms, doing as he pleased. “Wangye, through the Imperial Noble Consort’s matter, you should know, some things emphasize on the cycle of karma. For the sake of extending the Imperial Noble Consort’s existence for ten to twenty years, you just sacrifice in millions of lives, you yourself may not care, but have you considered for wangfei? When wangfei joined in matrimony with you, her fate has already become closely linked with yours. You think, this kind of killing sin won’t affect her?”
Li Hong Yuan fell silent. Between the Imperial Noble Consort and Jing Wan, it was obvious, he would unhesitantly choose Jing Wan.
Grandmaster Liao Chen was also glad that Jin Qinwang had a weakness.
A moment later, “Just, based on grandmaster’s meaning, exchanging the life actually is feasible, right? Even if she’s relatively special, and can’t exchange everything for her, but at least can be a portion, right?” Clearly, Li Hong Yuan won’t give up that easily.
“This is correct.” As the saying goes monks do not tell lies, so Grandmaster Liao Chen naturally was unable to say something that went against his heart. “Just, this exchange of life is also different from what occurred between you and the Imperial Noble Consort. Rather than say it’s exchanging the life for the Imperial Noble Consort, it’s more accurate to say that it’s substituting the fate, using someone else’s fate to replace the Imperial Noble Consort’s and let them take the Imperial Noble Consort’s place in disappearing. But, this has two conditions, one, it must be voluntary, and two, their fate must be close with the Imperial Noble Consort’s, the closer, the better.”
Upon hearing this, Shu Consort Qin’s image just flashed through Li Hong Yuan’s mind first thing, “She didn’t attach onto others, instead just happening to possess Shu Consort Qin. Did this mean that in the entire world, this scope was too big, so at least in the entire capital, their fate was the closest?”
Even given Grandmaster Liao Chen’s temperament, this while, he was all very helpless. What was this, practically just the model example of ‘repaying kindness with animosity’. One can say, it was Shu Consort Qin that ‘sheltered’ the Imperial Noble Consort, thus the Imperial Noble Consort was able to ‘survive’. If Shu Consort Qin herself were to very much reject, then the Imperial Noble Consort actually wouldn’t have been able to ‘leech on’. But now, great, it was practically just becoming that Scholar Dongguo[1], the good intentions not being repaid, eve possibly having oneself thoroughly sacrificed in.
Grandmaster Liao Chen merely just hesitated for a moment, yet Li Hong Yuan was already able to obtain an answer, “This matter, I will think of a way to facilitate. When time comes, afraid will still need Grandmaster Liao Chen’s hand.”
[1] This is a saying similar to something like a ‘goody two shoes’, it comes from an old story from the Ming dynasty, a fable tale of the Scholar Dongguo and the ungrateful wolf. I won’t narrate the entire story, but roughly what happens is the kind scholar encounters an injured wolf that was being chased by a hunter. Taking pity on the wolf the scholar hides the wolf in his sack to avoid the hunter. When the wolf hears that the hunter has gone far, the wolf asks the scholar to let him out. The kind and naive hunter agrees, but once he lets the wolf out, the wolf says that since he is so kind to save him, then he should just kindly let him eat him since he’s starving. In the end the two of them fight and the scholar is saved by an old farmer.
At first, the scholar tells the farmer that he’d saved the wolf, yet got attacked, and the wolf lies and says that the scholar didn’t save him. The old farmer then tricks the wolf back into the sack by saying that he didn’t believe either of them because the wolf is too big to fit in the small sack, and the two of them beat the wolf to death. The old farmer then scolds the scholar for being so muddled as to speak benevolence and gratitude towards a wolf, because this kind of animal won’t change their inherent nature. And that is the moral of the story.
T/N: When referring to Shu Consort Qin and the Imperial Noble Consort being close in fate, it refers to both their eight characters being close as well as the overall fortune in their fate being similar. The phrase ‘命理’, loosely translating to ‘the principle of life’, is a terminology used in chinese traditional fortune telling, and it’s determined using a person’s eight birthdate characters. Another way to phrase it would be that their fate is relatively compatible.