Chapter 139: Chapter 89: Usurping the Nest
Zhang Chen listened to Zhang Xiaolan’s words, his whole body feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp, as a chill rushed from the soles of his feet straight to his heart!
How could there be such a coincidence in the world?
His own name and Zhang Chen’s are so similar?
And the most critical thing is, Zhang Chen actually goes by the name Zhang Xiaohua; this is truly bizarre to the extreme!
Prince Pingbian’s Mansion surely has bad intentions!
The siblings walked down the street like ordinary people, the pedestrians hurriedly passing by, unaware that the siblings’ conversation involved a world-shaking plot.
"Why?" Zhang Chen’s eyes looked at Zhang Xiaolan, his voice seemed very calm, without the slightest ripple, as if their conversation hadn’t affected him at all.
"Because you are not my real brother! You are the son of Prince Pingbian!"
"What!!!" Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen’s expression changed instantly, his eyes filled with shock. He never expected to unwittingly overhear such an earth-shattering secret.
"Back then, Prince Pingbian was monitored by the court, newborns in the mansion died mysteriously, all were secretly harmed by the court. To protect you and confuse others, Prince Pingbian deliberately sent you out of the mansion to my family. To avoid exposing your identity, although I knew you were being bullied at home, everyone tacitly refrained from helping you because the more low-key and unremarkable you were, the more you could avoid the court’s investigation."
"The prince named you Zhang Xiaohua, to make the Inspection and Supervision Department mistake you for a girl, and had long arranged for a stand-in at the mansion."
"Later, you were forced to leave home, actually because the Inspection and Supervision Department was closely pursuing. Prince Pingbian’s Mansion found traitors who infiltrated the investigation, compelling your departure and disguise. Then Mr. Wuliu took you as his disciple, arranging for you to settle in that village, all personally arranged by Mr. Wuliu to ensure you had an escape route should the court truly pursue you later! That neighboring hunter Zhang Chen was a convict exiled from Shangjing, whose family status in the Capital City was extraordinary. Previously the prince was handling certain matters, if failed, Zhang Chen would be killed, and you would replace his identity to go to Kyoto, smoothly integrating into the Zhang Family, taking over Zhang Chen’s place to avoid being implicated by the prince."
The girl’s tone shifted at this point: "Even to flawlessly create your identity without flaw, the prince personally harmed Zhang Chen’s father, leaving him a lonely orphan and widowed mother. As for his little sister and widowed mother, they are all under the prince’s surveillance, as soon as something goes wrong, the widow and child could be killed, allowing you to take their place. You have been neighbors with Zhang Chen for ten years, knowing everything about him, knowing all his details, to ensure a smooth response to the Zhang family’s inquiries upon reaching Kyoto. But it’s not needed now, the prince’s plan succeeded! Very successfully! You no longer need to live under an alias."
"I’m here this time carrying an order from the prince! You should return to the Prince’s Mansion! The great enterprise of the mansion still needs you to inherit it! As for the hunter Zhang Chen, for daring to oppose you over the years, he’s been directly thrown into prison, to give you a bit of relief."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen felt as though he was struck by thunder, completely stunned, his eyes full of daze.
He somewhat suspected whether his ears had heard wrong! Why would so many things occur out of nowhere?
The girl looked at Zhang Chen, thinking he couldn’t accept it, smiling as she said: "I know you find it hard to accept the identity change suddenly, but this is your true identity, you will be the Crown Prince of Prince Pingbian, the only heir to the Prince Pingbian’s Mansion. You can now change your name back, no longer needing to live under Zhang Chen’s identity."
Zhang Chen listened to Zhang Xiaolan’s words, feeling his head buzzing, the crystal core within his body swiftly operating, trying hard to suppress the blood flow.
He truly didn’t expect that while blowing up a Fox Spirit, he’d uncover a shocking secret.
"This is big trouble! Trouble as big as the sky!" At this time, Zhang Chen felt his spine grow cold, a sweat rising from his back, his eyes full of fright.
Could it be his cheap father was actually murdered?
He had been arranged by others, unsuspectingly placed as a backup, ready to be sacrificed once the opposite party faces threat, allowing the other to replace his identity and continue living?
"This is simply flawless!" Zhang Chen couldn’t help but internally marvel at the opponent’s plan without a single flaw.
First, the names, the issue of two Zhang Chens, as long as he died, in the future when the Shangjing family comes to investigate the Northern Land, the villagers speak of two Zhang Chens, the family finds it easy to overlook.
His father’s disappearance, with the younger sibling and stepmother silenced, wouldn’t this eliminate any evidence?
Who could prove the impoverished scholar Zhang Chen is fake?
At that time, the fake is also true!
"What exactly is Prince Pingbian’s Mansion plotting to cause such trouble?" Zhang Chen’s heart turned cold, his eyes filled with fright, if he hadn’t accidentally reversed identities at this moment, he would certainly be in great trouble.
"But there’s still a chance, if I kill the real Zhang Xiaohua, now is the best opportunity for me to infiltrate Prince Pingbian’s Mansion to replace Zhang Xiaohua. However, my flaw is too big, the villagers know all the details of me and Zhang Chen, if I go to Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, there will inevitably be people secretly investigating me carefully. Moreover, I have one biggest flaw, which is that I am illiterate." Numerous thoughts swirled in Zhang Chen’s mind, considering how to muddle through, or directly seize the identity of Zhang Xiaohua to complete an ultimate counter-kill.