Chapter 74: I Am Not a n.o.bleman
“This…” Yu Wenli got distracted at first, but then responded immediately, facing Ye Wuchen while cupping his fist on the other hand, “Young Master Ye, General Ye, Old General Ye… congratulations! Such huge favors have never been seen in Tian Long Nation since its inception. It shall truly cause much envy from all!”
To betroth a princess… such a huge matter was decided by Long Yin in just one statement in this particular occasion, and it didn’t even involve either the opinion of Princess Fei Huan or the decision of Ye Wuchen. If he gets married with a princess, then he will become a part of the royal family - to bestow the t.i.tle of Third Rank Marquis cannot be unusual in this case. Who can ever object this time around? This time even a fool would be able to see that the Emperor has given Ye Wuchen excessive favor, who would dare to object?
“This old servant thanks Your Majesty for your excessive grace!” Ye Nu yelled excitedly.
“This humble servant thanks Your Majesty for the generosity towards Chen-er; Ye family will be indebted to the kindness of Your Majesty! It will be forever engraved in our hearts!” Ye Wei also had the same degree of excitement. In those days, even with both his father’s accomplishment and his own ability combined were not sufficient enough to make the late Emperor betroth him to a princess, and yet his son was able to easily earn such a favor. What else could possibly cause them to be discontented.
Ye Nu and Ye Wei were preparing to strike by leaving their seats and performing the kneeling rites, but Long Yin waves his hand dismissively and said, “Exempted. Wuchen must be the unique outstanding talent bestowed upon the Tian Long Nation by the heavens, how could I possibly treat him badly. Wuchen, are you pleased with my rewards?”
“Wuchen is extremely pleased, I thank Your Majesty for your profound kindness!” Ye Wuchen answered patiently without any arrogance. However, deep inside he thought scornfully: What can I do if I am not pleased, he already made the decision before asking me, isn’t it too late for me to have a choice? Would you take it back? That Princess Fei Huang… could it be the same as that Long Huang-er which I unfortunately b.u.mped into that day on the main street?
“Hoho, great. Lin Xiao plans to let you take the t.i.tle ‘Tian Long’s Number One Gifted Scholar’ and ‘Tian Long’s Number One Outstanding Talent’, will you accept these?”
“I can’t accept them!” Ye Wuchen answered without the slightest amount of hesitation.
“Oh?” this answer was out of everybody’s expectation, Long Yin asked in doubt, “Why is that so? Don’t tell me that within the Tian Long Nation, there’s someone who could surpa.s.s your youthful talent?”
“Because Wuchen does not need these kinds of t.i.tles. If Wuchen were number one in Tian Long, then even if there’s no such t.i.tle, Wuchen would still be Tian Long’s Number One. If Wuchen were not the number one in Tian Long, even if there were a t.i.tle, he would still not be Tian Long’s number one. The true number one should rely solely on his own abilities, and he is not someone to be named out for. Besides, there’s no number one in this world. The so-called number one is just someone who had surpa.s.sed the previous person on the top. If one day there exists a person to whom n.o.body would ever be able to surpa.s.s, then that means our Tian Long Nation has reached an era of deterioration.”
Long Yin’s look went sluggish, people were one by one caught up in their own contemplation. Suddenly, Long Yin said flatly, “Good, what you said is quite right. The true number one didn’t arise from a mere t.i.tle. If n.o.body will be able to surpa.s.s the current number one, then my Tian Long Nation might actually be headed towards deterioration because a nation cannot forever keep its best but rather lose them to someone better each time!”
Not keep the best, but to get better and better… how could it be so similar to a recurring phrase from deep within my memory?
“I will agree not to give you these kinds of t.i.tles, but I believe, from this day forward, numerous people will certainly call you this way out of their own volition. I will not be able to control their mouths, Hoho!” said Long Yin, smiling while he caressed his beard.
“Wuchen thanks Your Majesty again for your grace. However, please forgive Wuchen for making another request.”
“Oh? What request, it won’t hurt telling.” Long Yin said nonchalantly.
Ye Wuchen looked at the direction of Leng Ya, who had been sitting in a corner as still as a cold statute, then said, “Now Wuchen had luckily surpa.s.sed Master Lin, and is also considered to have given brother Leng Yan his freedom. Just in time, Wuchen had returned home not long ago. Our courtyard needs a protector, and this person has rather extraordinary capabilities, with an age similar to mine, knowledge on a.s.sa.s.sination as well as capability in hiding and tracking. He would definitely be suitable for that duty, if you would kindly please give us your permission, Your Majesty.”
“Okay…” Long Yin nodded slowly, “Based on this statement that I’ve made, if you defeated Lin Xiao, then I would let this person go and treat him as though he never existed. Now he has earned his freedom, and he was probably not a person from the Tian Long Nation. Whether to let him stay or not, I will just let it be and shall not interrupt. You persuade him on your own, if he agrees then that is good, if not…”
“Wuchen will not force him.” Ye Wuchen said seriously, but deep inside he sneered, “This Leng Ya has really caused some restrained fear from you? You still have the intentions to kill him, and not to mention, it must be because of his dreadful air and the Shattering Wind Blade in his hands.”
Ye Wuchen and Long Yin were able to see that the current Leng Ya was like a wolf that had just come out of his lair. With the vicious nature of a wolf yet physically without its sharp claws and scary teeth, he even doesn’t have patience or the ability to cover himself up. If there comes a day that he truly became hungry, he would be every enemy’s worst nightmare.
This kind of conclusion was not difficult to obtain… because of the air of death that his breath exuded.
This kind of person… if he were truly uncontrollable then he might as well be eliminated as soon as possible.
Up to this moment, the whole stage finally closed its curtain to signify the end of the compet.i.tion. As Long Yin’s usual practice, he insipidly announced the outstanding talent that he had selected for this event, after which he returned to the palace. Of course, among the names that he had mentioned were Lin Xiao’s, but it hadn’t contained Ye Wuchen’s name because. After all, he had only set his foot during the last part of the event, making the closing part of the compet.i.tion much more interesting.
The moment Long Yin left, the people eventually began to stir up some rebellious acts without much elegance. The entire Ye family were surrounded by numerous people - receiving unending words of both flattery and praise. Ye Wuchen had already expected such things would happen, and prior to the departure of Long Yin, he had been hiding in a corner together with Ning Xue, after which he had already escaped.
“Master Ye.”
Upon hearing this voice, Ye Wuchen turned around, it was actually Lin Xiao, the one who had been observing his every move.
“Master Lin, what can I do for you?”
“Master Ye are you interested in the young lady of the Hua family?” Lin Xiao asked.
Ye Wuchen laughed and said, “That’s right. Because of young lady Hua’s beauty, that all the men of Tian Long Nation was interested in her was of no surprise. I like her, and that is normal.”
“But, young lady Hua is already engaged to me, and after all these years, no one has yet to dare mention any marriage proposal to the Hua family.” Lin Xiao said knitting his brows.
“Oh, if I’m not mistaken, Master Lin, you had mentioned this before: Beautiful girls, gentlemen’s desire, young lady Hua has not yet entered the gates of the Lin family, so any other man could have the opportunity to seek after her. Could it be that you have already forgotten your own words?” Ye Wuchen said, beaming with a smile.
Lin Xiao’s face went stiff, he shook his head and said: “Master Ye, I know I’m unable to persuade you, but you must know that a n.o.bleman never takes away what another person loves…”
“You are a n.o.bleman, but I am not. To be a n.o.bleman is very tiring, one cannot do anything unrestrained, and one has to restrict one’s own words and actions each time, taking control of one’s own bearing, sometimes even having to endure humiliations. Why should I choose to be a n.o.bleman? Whether or not young lady Hua is your one true love I don’t care, I only know that…” Ye Wuchen paused, then said these words, giving a slight pause upon mentioning each word: “I... desire… to… pursue… her!”
Translated by: Fatty_Uncle
Edited by: patrick_father_of_dragons