Chapter 5: The Will in the Shadows.

Since the Cheng family established themselves as a family of supernatural abilities, their overall strength has been declining over time, without any rebound.

There's a rather bleak evaluation within the clan, saying, "After Cheng Zhijie, there were no third-grade talents; after Cheng Shiju, there were no fourth-grade talents."

This means that since Cheng Zhijie and Cheng Shiju, the Cheng family hasn't produced any talents of third or fourth grade, respectively.

So, the label "old fifth-grade family" is painfully accurate.

When Wang Wanrou replied, within just over ten minutes, the number of replies quickly exceeded a thousand, soon reaching one thousand four.

By the time Cheng Jinyang noticed something was wrong and hurriedly grabbed his phone back, the number of replies had reached an exaggerated one thousand nine.

Obviously, it had been shared to channels beyond the forum, causing many family members who don't usually participate in the forum to log in and denounce the ingratitude of a certain low-born individual as "betraying ancestors."

Cheng Jinyang wanted to cry but had no tears, so he could only quickly post claiming "it wasn't me."

But as soon as he finished editing and clicked "send," a prompt popped up: "Your account has been banned."

Cheng Jinyang: ...

"Wang Wanrou!" he roared through gritted teeth.

"Sorry," Wang Wanrou said casually, "They were being too foolish, I couldn't resist."

"Then don't use my account to post!" Cheng Jinyang felt like he was about to explode.

"You can explain to them that it was actually me who replied," Wang Wanrou suggested.

"My account got banned," Cheng Jinyang said, feeling utterly helpless.

Of course, even if it hadn't been banned, he couldn't reveal Wang Wanrou's name, or it would lead to bigger problems—'Miss Wang, why are you so close to him? Using his personal account to browse forums?' If such rumors spread, it wouldn't just be Cheng family's family coming after him.

Now, blaming Wang Wanrou wouldn't help.

Cheng Jinyang was trying to figure out how to handle the aftermath when Cheng Yizhou's call came in:

"What's going on in the family forum? I heard you caused a huge uproar, and the admins are looking for me!"

Cheng Jinyang quickly explained that he wasn't the one who posted.

"If it wasn't you, then who was it?" Cheng Yizhou immediately asked.

Ah, this...

Cheng Jinyang was momentarily at a loss for words.

He really wanted to say it was Wang Wanrou who sent the message, but then he thought he would have to explain why Miss Wang had his account...

After all, it's already 9 p.m.! Are you two still chatting at 9 p.m.?

"Alright, alright," Cheng Yizhou sighed on the other end.

"Let's just say your account was hacked and ask everyone not to discuss it anymore."

Hearing him say that, Cheng Jinyang also felt relieved.

Sure enough, it was similar to what Ah Zhi said.

Because he had shown off during the afternoon test, earning fame for the Cheng family in Jiankang's aristocratic circles, he had already gained the favor of the core members of the family.

Even if he caused trouble occasionally, the higher-ups in the family would still protect him.

Of course, just because this matter was resolved doesn't mean that Miss Wang, the instigator, can be let off easily.

So Cheng Jinyang made an angry expression and was about to turn around to "scold the Five Great Families' young miss", when he heard Wang Wanrou say:

"About how to avoid being stamped by the Cheng family's seal tomorrow, and how to dispel the family's guard against you in the future, it's actually very simple."

"Hmm?"

Cheng Jinyang immediately shifted his attention, "Have you already come up with a simple and feasible solution?"

"Of course." Wang Wanrou sneered, "Because your family is full of idiots, without anyone with even basic intelligence, so it's not difficult to change public opinion."

"You just used his phone to post on his family's forum to investigate the internal situation of the Shendu Cheng family?" Xing Yuanzhi, who had been playing with her phone next to him, suddenly asked.

"Oh, just noticing now?" Wang Wanrou raised her eyebrows.

"After all, if you were just looking down on them to show superiority, I don't think you would do such a boring thing," Xing Yuanzhi said.

"Of course," Wang Wanrou said naturally, "Would the Kunpeng soaring in the sky care about the opinions of sparrows on the ground?"

Cheng Jinyang: ???

"Wait, I don't get it." He raised his hand to speak.

"What do you mean by exploring the internal situation? You just browsed a forum and fired a few shots, how does that suddenly turn into exploring the situation?"

"You won't understand even if I explain."

Wang Wanrou flattened the pillow behind her and crawled under the blanket.

"I'm going to sleep."

"Mmm, goodnight."

Xing Yuanzhi also put down her phone and plugged in the charger.

"Hey, at least explain a bit!" Cheng Jinyang's voice trailed off as Xing Yuanzhi turned off the light.

I always feel like these two girls have developed some kind of tacit understanding against me.

No, I need to figure out a way to regain the initiative.

...

In the Taiji Palace, Sister Cheng Xinnan, now Princess Nankang, strode through the spacious palace.

On both sides not far away, there are several figures draped in robes, members of the Sima family responsible for monitoring the Emperor's health 24 hours a day.

Princess Nankang paid no attention to these researchers, heading straight towards the depths of the palace.

[T/N: Taiji (太极) means "Supreme Ultimate".]

She quickly arrived at the steps of the throne, where synthetic humanoid warriors stood guard, their entire bodies composed of complex alloy armor. Sensors inside their skulls emit a warning red light, forbidding her from advancing further.

Deep within the layers of steps, the Emperor sat alone on his throne in the shadows.

Because of the distance and the lack of light sources near the palace entrance, Princess Nankang can only vaguely make out the silhouette of the figure seated deep within, like a clay puppet.

"Father." She spoke softly.

"Princess Nankang." The voice of her father echoed from deep within the imperial steps, sounding like emotionless synthesized speech.

"You did not act according to the plan. Why?"

"Because of Cheng Jinyang," Princess Nankang said in a low voice.

"He suffers from severe depression and needs brain domain development to shield his mental illness, so I needed to help him return to the Shendu Cheng clan."

"The Shendu Cheng clan..."

The voice from the depths seemed somewhat melancholic.

"In the end, they still won't reunite with us."

"But he is the son of Cheng Qinghe and Xie Guyan," Princess Nankang emphasized.

"We have already wronged Xie Guyan in the past, and now we cannot mistreat her son! Father, she is after all..."

"I understand," the voice from deep within said gently, but there was no doubt that it meant to stop her from continuing.

Princess Nankang closed her mouth with some resentment, only able to lower her head coldly and remain silent, her eyelids tightly shut.

"Alright, you may withdraw," the Emperor's voice resounded again after about ten seconds, this time with a completely icy tone of dismissal.

"Father?"

Princess Nankang immediately became puzzled.

Having acted on her own and appeared prematurely in the Cheng family's territory, which caused the failure of the Imperial Guards' mission and disrupted the emperor's original plan, she couldn't believe her father hadn't assigned her a punitive task.

"Do you still have something to say?" The Emperor's voice was elusive, like an indescribable whisper in her ear.

"Do you not have a new task for me?" Princess Nankang's voice trembled slightly, anxiously saying, "If you're angry, you can just be angry with your daughter! Jinyang knows nothing..."

"Why be angry?"

From the depths of the palace, the Emperor's voice was deep and eerie, as if questioning her yet speaking to himself, "My plan..."

"...has never changed."