The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 334: Seal as bait, clan set up a trap. Chatting and laughing broke the family status, seal set the first move
Outside the Wang family residence.

Gai Nie was leaning against the carriage drawn by four horses with a black bird carved on it, his hair disheveled and his white clothes not white at all.

He didn't want to go out, but his always considerate master insisted that he follow him, so there was nothing he could do.

The name of the Sword Master became more famous in the martial arts world, but the Sword Master himself was not as energetic as before.

His swordsmanship, which he was proud of, was vulnerable in front of the army. If there really was such a thing as a sword heart, then Gai Nie's sword heart was broken at this moment.

At first, I followed my master humbly and was very lazy.

The master was standing below, and he was sitting in the front carriage leaning against the back carriage, watching his master throwing the seal, and his hand intentionally or unintentionally flicked the short horsewhip with tassels at the end and cloud patterns carved on the handle.

Ying Chengjiao, who had never been the King of Qin but had held the King of Qin's seal many times, threw the King of Qin's seal up with his right hand, then caught it back, looking bored.

[Why are there so many families with the surname Wang? Aren’t surnames derived from fiefs or official titles? How did the word Wang come to be a surname? Does everyone want to be a king?] The young man rested his left elbow on the front carriage, thinking wildly.

He was not careful and failed to catch the Qin King's Seal that was thrown high into the air.

The Qin King's Seal fell to the ground and bounced twice, as if venting his grievances and anger - he had been wronged by this bastard since he was born!
Wang Kuan hurried to the gate, stopped, adjusted his mentality and walked out slowly. What he saw was a young man throwing objects, a strange man with disheveled hair, and a driver who had no respect for his superiors.

Wang Kuan frowned slightly. In the eyes of an old Qin nobleman like him, this kind of behavior was really... unacceptable!
"Sir, please wait a moment! I'll pick it up, I'll pick it up." Wang Kuan shouted loudly, with a big smile on his face, and raised his hand to signal.

Ying Chengjiao, who was about to bend down, nodded repeatedly:
"Then I'll trouble you, Lord Wang."

Wang Kuan said, "How dare I call myself sir in front of you, my lord," and bent over to pick up the object, gently brushed off the dust, and wiped the surface of the object with his sleeve.

Wipe it for the first time with a smile on your face.

The second time I wiped it, my sleeves trembled.

When he wiped it for the third time, he smiled, but a thousand spitting beasts were running in his heart.

This bastard is playing around with the royal seal! I am just nagging for it! Why should I help him pick it up?
Except for matters concerning the royal seal and imperial decrees, other officials were not allowed to take the royal seal without the order of King Zheng of Qin, and anyone who touched it could be put to death.

“My Lord.” Wang Kuan pretended not to know and held out his hands to Ying Chengjiao: “Your item.”

The boy looked down and didn't answer.

The corner of Wang Kuan's eyes twitched, and the number of divine beasts in his mind increased rapidly, reaching one hundred thousand.

[Answer it! Why not? Answer it!]
"Master Wang." The young man sighed, "Why are you the king?"

[What does my Wang clan have to do with you?] Wang Kuan was very unhappy after being tricked right from the start. He smiled and explained with a happy expression:
"My ancestor was the fifteenth son of King Wen of Zhou, so I took Wang as my surname."

"That's it..."

"...Can you please take this item away, my lord?"

"What do you say this is? An object? You don't recognize it?"

"Kuan, I really don't know."

"This is the king's seal. The king has committed a capital crime."

"..."

"Qin has only one king, Lord Wang, is he planning a rebellion?"

"..."

"Why is Lord Wang silent? Do you want me to remove the word 'Lord' and just call him 'Wang'?"

"..."

Wang Kuan had met Ying Chengjiao many times.

There was no prominent person in the Qin State who had not seen Prince Chengjiao. He was the only person that King Zhaoxiang of Qin brought to court in his later years.

But this is the first time I have formally dealt with Master Chengjiao.

Although he had little contact with Master Chengjiao, Wang Kuan believed that he knew him very well. He thought he had watched Master Chengjiao grow up.

From the child prodigy of Xianyang, to the spoiled young master, to the most virtuous gentleman in the world, to... the Lord Chang'an who killed the white horse, the crown prince of Qin.

Ying Chengjiao's development was beyond Wang Kuan's expectations, and his contact with Ying Chengjiao was even more beyond Wang Kuan's expectations than Ying Chengjiao's development!
The information obtained from his son Wang Wan, plus the information collected by the Wang family, plus the information exposed by Prince Chengjiao, none of them said that this guy was such a bad person!
A gentleman?
What a gentleman!
Is this human work? Is this human language?

Wang Kuan felt unhappy when he thought about how he had once agreed with the view that Prince Chengjiao was a better king than King Zheng of Qin.

No matter how cruel the current king is, he will not kill people just because of their ancestral clan name.

"My Lord." Wang Kuan smiled bitterly, "There is no point in saying this, right? It is beneath my Lordship."

After forcing the Qin King's Seal into Ying Chengjiao's hand, Wang Kuan looked solemn and turned aside to ask:
"Please come into the mansion for a chat."

Ying Chengjiao threw up the Qin King's seal, caught it, and threw it up again.

As Wang Kuan's eyes twitched uncontrollably, the young man smiled and said:

“I think it’s quite interesting.

“When Lord Wang handed over the seal just now, I accidentally missed it and it fell to the ground.

"Is this my fault or is this the fault of the Lord?"

Wang Kuan looked embarrassed.

Ying Chengjiao turned his head and glanced at the wide-open door of the Wang family mansion, then got back on the carriage with four horses, and his voice slowly floated over:
“It would be bad for Lord Wang if I entered this door, so I will leave now.

"I am thinking for Lord Wang, and Lord Wang should also share my worries.

"I believe that Lord Wang understands."

The young man who had already entered the carriage stretched his hand out of the window and shook the Qin King Seal in his hand:

“No matter how much Master Wang pretends to know, I will never pretend to know.

"Before I became a gentleman, I was a boy."

The strange man with disheveled hair stepped onto the carriage in one step and disappeared into the carriage.

The driver, who had no respect for his superiors, whipped the horses and the sound of the four horses' hooves was rhythmic and orderly.

Wang Kuan's face was gloomy, and he spat fiercely in the direction where the carriage left. He flicked his sleeves, angrily entered the mansion, and showed a bad face to all the servants in the mansion.

Walking along the road, crossing the small bridge and passing by the flowing water, Wang Kuan returned to his residence, the absolute center of the Wang family mansion, the main house symbolizing the highest power of the clan.

Wang Kuan's father died early.

In the Wang family, Wang Kuan has absolute say—as long as he does not lead the Wang family to a dead end.

"Please ask Mr. Shan to come in!" Wang Kuan seemed to be still very angry, and his voice was much louder than before.

"Yes." The servant responded and left quickly, fearing that he might bring bad luck to the master of the house.

Not long after, a man wearing a very loose Confucian robe, who looked like a scholar from his clothes and a strong man from his physique, walked in.

"Master." The man closed the door and bowed.

"Mr. Shan." Wang Kuan's face was no longer angry, and he was hesitant. "Kuan has something that he can't make up his mind about. Please teach me, sir."

"My lord, please speak." Mr. Shan was neither lukewarm nor arrogant.

This look touched Wang Kuan, and his heart calmed down a little. The head of the Wang family told him everything he had just said to Chang'an Jun. He also had a very good memory, and he remembered everything, even the tone of both sides was almost the same.

After telling his experience, Wang Kuan sighed:

“I don’t know whether to say that the youth are formidable, or that Kuan is old and has lost his ambition.

"The rhythm of the conversation was firmly controlled by him, and Kuan was completely led by him. Looking back now, I'm afraid that even my emotions were planned by him."

Mr. Shan closed his eyes and replayed the conversation between his master and Chang'an Jun over and over in his mind.

During this process, Wang Kuan remained patient and silent, for fear of disturbing his most capable followers.

Before his death, Lü Buwei sent out invitations to recruit his Mr. Shan as a retainer, ranking him among the Thirteen Lords.

Mr. Shan politely and firmly declined, and so the thirteen kings under Prime Minister Lu were reduced to twelve.

"I think so." Mr. Shan spoke first and then opened his eyes.

Wang Kuan had a look of anticipation on his face, eager to get Mr. Shan's opinion.

"My lord, you underestimate Chang'an Jun." Mr. Shan said slowly.

"How could it be?" Wang Kuan's tone was slightly higher. Realizing that he had lost his composure, he put on an apologetic smile and continued, "This boy traveled around the countries and made a great reputation. The princes of various countries all praised Qin Gongzi Chengjiao as a virtuous man. He also served as the chief priest of the Jixia Academy and the chief priest of the Imperial Academy in the Xianyang Academy. These are things that Kuan cannot do. How could Kuan underestimate him?"

"If the Lord did not underestimate Chang'an, why would he be in such a dilemma?" Mr. Shan looked calm and spoke even calmer: "Is it possible that what Chang'an did and said is something that no one else can do or say?"

Mr. Shan sighed, but there was no regret or sigh on his face:
"Chang'an Jun threatened the master with the royal seal and his clan name. Would the master be worried about this matter itself? No, because this is something that will never happen.

“If the lord is really executed for picking up the royal seal without knowing it, the Wang family will be exterminated because of the clan king.

"In our country right now, it's not just the military officers who are in danger, but every noble is in danger.

“Who wouldn’t be scared when people are killed and their families are exterminated so casually?
"Since what Chang'an Jun said is impossible, why is the master worried? Because it means that Chang'an Jun will do everything he can to deal with the master.

“Picking up the royal seal and clan king will not threaten the master, but what about the others?

"It's not surprising that he could threaten the master in front of him with such absurd words as if it were a joke, so he would do anything afterwards.

"If the two prime ministers could use torture on Baili Sheng, the head of the Baili family, then the crown prince can use it on the master. After all, although the master's status is much higher than that of the Baili family head, the crown prince is even more different from the two prime ministers.

"only……"

Staring at his master, Mr. Shan said something unfinished:

"Master, haven't you heard enough of these words over the years?

"Those who spoke were not as noble as Chang'an Jun, nor as high-ranking as Chang'an Jun. However, their threats of a desperate struggle were almost the same, and some were even more serious than Chang'an Jun.

"Why did the Lord lose his composure when faced with the threat from Lord Chang'an? Is it because Lord Chang'an is of noble status and high position? I don't think so."

Pointing to the master rather rudely, Mr. Shan slightly emphasized his tone:
"It's because the master never thought that a boy under the age of thirteen could say such words. What disturbed the master was not Chang'an Jun's words, but the master's own heart.

“I ask my lord to treat Chang’an Jun as an equal, and regard Chang’an Jun as the patriarch of the Mengxibai clan, or even the old patriarch.

"Master, please see if your heart is still confused."

Wang Kuan shuddered, as if he had suddenly realized something, and muttered to himself:

"If these words were said by the head of the Mengxibai clan, would I be upset..."

The Wang family has always been the first tier under the Meng, Xi and Bai families. What they lack in is not strength, but foundation.

The Wang family rose to power in Qin State fifty-three years after Meng Xibai, who rose to power during the reign of Duke Mu of Qin.

Fifty-three years is a chasm that the Wang family can hardly overcome.

The older the family, the more noble it is. This is an unwritten rule among the nobles of the world, except for the State of Chu.

If there were no such unspoken rule, Yan State would have nothing to be proud of in front of other big countries except being able to jump around a bit in front of Han State.

Originally, nobles competed with each other based on their strength and background.

However, as wars broke out everywhere and social order collapsed, countries began to focus more on strength than on their foundation, and the aristocrats, the actual leadership of the countries, followed suit.

Background is not as important as before, but it is not unimportant.

Ever since Wang Kuan became the head of the family, the Meng, Xi, and Bai clans have been suppressing the Wang clan for fifty-three years. The time they spent unable to catch up was much more painful than the tangible threat from Chang'an Jun.

If he can stand this, why can't he stand a few threats?

"Because Kuan doesn't regard Chang'an Jun as a person of the same class, I still regard Chang'an Jun as a child." The gleam in Wang Kuan's eyes reappeared, and he figured it out.

The knot in his heart was untied, and the head of the Wang family regained his confidence:
"It is natural for me to threaten Chang'an Jun. It would be strange if the crown prince of a country did not have such skills.

"Although Chang'an Jun is not as old as Wan'er, his mental maturity is no less than ours."

"That's right." Mr. Shan finally smiled. "My Lord, it's good that you understand. As long as you don't look down on Chang'an Jun and don't feel ashamed of being threatened by a child, Chang'an Jun's behavior is actually very polite. He hasn't even entered the Wang family's gate."

The crown prince of a country was turned away. Isn't this behavior sincere enough?

Wang Kuan smiled and nodded, saying "yes" three times in a row, and said:

“He was extremely polite.

“This is a tense moment for the king and us. If I meet with the crown prince in private, it will eventually cause discord among the old Qin nobles.

“It is just as Chang An Jun said, he is thinking about me.

"If someone gives you a peach, you should give me a plum in return.

"Since Lord Chang'an is so polite, we should return the favor.

"Wan'er has followed the right person, the king will not treat him unfairly.

“It would be fine if we have no options but to wait, but since we can prepare for a rainy day, why not do it?

"Mou Wanghe, isn't he waiting for such a rule-abiding person, waiting for a possible opportunity?"

"My Lord, that's a good idea." Mr. Shan applauded and said, "No one knows Chang'an's face, only we do, so this is an advantage."

"It's all thanks to your enlightenment, sir." Wang Kuan bowed and thanked him: "Wait a moment, I will send a hundred gold coins to your residence, sir, please don't refuse."

Mr. Shan did not show any joy at all even though he received hundreds of gold coins that the common people could not earn even after working hard for eight lifetimes with just a few words.

Money is no longer what he pursues now.

What he pursues is identity, status and fame.

But these seem so far away... Mr. Shan really sighed this time:
"Then thank you, my lord."

"Sir, what you wish for is in mind. I will never let you down," Wang Kuan said sincerely.

Mr. Wakasugi did not want to pursue identity, status and fame at the same time, so he gave up fame and pursued identity and status.

When Wang switched to Lu Buwei's army, his achievement had already been achieved. Wang owed Mr. Shan.

On that day, Wang Kuan, the head of the Wang family, expelled one branch and left the Wang family.

(End of this chapter)