Everyone had their struggles. The struggles of the poor were direct and visible, while the struggles of the rich and the powerful were more subtle. Often, the enemies would be members of the family itself.

Mu Chen felt sympathetic to Ming Ren's plight. "So who are we up against?"

"Too many to count," Ming Ren said.

Mu Chen almost slipped off the couch. "You're kidding."

"I wish," Ming Ren said in a self-deprecating manner.

Mu Chen's face twitched. "Is it too late for us to draw lines?"

Ming Ren chuckled. He could tell Mu Chen was just joking. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

Mu Chen could feel his forehead throb. Out of habit, he wanted to hold his sword, but he had put it in his ring before. However, Xiao Xue was available and he began to pet her. In response, Xiao Xue curled into a more comfortable position and began to purr. The soft and fluttering sound had a surprisingly calming effect. "Are things that bad?"

"The branch family has grown too strong," Ming Ren sighed.

Just a few words and they were enough to explain. "Was your main family sleeping all this time?" Mu Chen couldn't help but want to curse, even though he knew things were not as simple as they looked on the surface.

"It's hard to fault them when we don't have any proof," Ming Ren said. "But it was the customs and traditions of the Ming Family that enabled their growth..."

Ming Ren explained some of the histories of the Ming Dynasty to Mu Chen.

When the Ming Dynasty was first established, there was an intense struggle for authority among the founders. It almost destroyed the foundations of the family. So after the ruling faction came to power, they passed a decree separating the main and branch families.

To prevent internal conflicts, the main family set a custom of having only a single male child in every generation and passing the throne to him. If there were no other siblings contesting for the throne, there would be no fights.

For centuries, this custom allowed the main family to rule in peace. But there was a major issue that the forefathers failed to foresee.

Although having only a single male child prevented the main family from internal strife, it also hampered its development. The number of experts in the main family was low, to begin with. In the beginning, it wasn't a problem, since the branch family was loyal to the main family. The main family also had experts serving them and could keep the branch family in check. But as time passed, the scale of the branch family grew and it became harder to keep them in check. As the strength of the branch family grew and so did their ambitions.

"And now they want to challenge the main family?" Mu Chen frowned. "Are they so confident?"

"If all the members of the branch family united, there is a chance they might overthrow the main family," Ming Ren said. "Fortunately, not everyone from the branch family is eager for a full-scale war and bloodshed..."

The ambitious members of the branch family were in the minority. The main family couldn't take any action against them without any good reason or it would alienate the entire branch family against them. But at the same time, others from the branch family kept the dissidents in check and maintained the status quo. In this way, the Ming Family had become divided into three: the ruling faction which was in power, the rebel faction which wanted power, the conservative faction which preferred to not escalate things.

"Things should've remained so for several years to come, till I became strong enough to inherit the throne," Ming Ren said. "But recently the rebel faction became more reckless."

"What changed?" Mu Chen asked. As long as the balance was maintained, Ming Ren shouldn't have too many problems.

"One of the Elders discovered a secret realm," Ming Ren said.

"The secret realm? What has it got to do with this?" Mu Chen asked.

"Brother Chen, didn't you wonder why the Ming Family is so generous enough to share the secret realm with everyone?" Ming Ren, however, asked a question of his own.

Facing Ming Ren's question, Mu Chen recalled the conversations he had with Li Kun and others. Everyone had suspected the Ming Dynasty's intention. "We thought it was because the realm is very dangerous and the Ming Dynasty is just using..." Mu Chen began but saw Ming Ren shaking his head. "That's not the real reason, is it?"

"Brother Chen, you underestimate the significance of secret realms," Ming Ren said. "For established families and sects, they are sacred lands of cultivation. Even if the risk was high, we would never willingly expose the existence of one. Otherwise, why do you think only a handful of realms have been public so far?"

Mu Chen was surprised. If Ming Ren didn't say it, he would have never guessed that the reason the Ming Family declared the existence of the secret realm was because they were being forced. But who could force the Ming Family to share their riches? It was the same as stealing a piece of meat from the mouth of a starving monster beast.

A figure surfaced in Mu Chen's mind―it was the guy he had run into. "Those rebels, did they collaborate with people from the Central Continent?"

Ming Ren's eye's widened and he stared at Mu Chen in shock. "Brother Chen," he said, "if I didn't know you, I would've suspected you had joined those rebels."

Mu Chen wasn't the least bit thrilled at guessing right. It only meant the situation was even more complicated than what he had thought. "Those rebels, aren't they afraid of luring a wolf into the fold? Even if they are not afraid, the rest of the branch family shouldn't sit by and watch the show?"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Brother Chen, if it was some other power from the Central Continent, you would've been right," Ming Ren said. "But the people that the rebels contacted were the members of the Long Clan."

"The Long Clan?" Mu Chen was puzzled. The Long Clan was so famous because of its association with dragons, even ordinary people had heard tales about them. "Even if it was the Long Clan, so what?

"Brother Chen, not many know," Ming Ren said, "but the Ming Family once used to be the vassals of the Long Clan."

"What?" Mu Chen was startled.

"The Long Clan once sent a batch of cultivators to explore this continent. But after arriving here, they thought it wasn't worth their effort, so they gave up. However, some of those who had come decided to settle here and later established the Ming Dynasty," Ming Ren said.

"I see," Mu Chen said. He didn't know there was such a layer of relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Long Clan. If the rebels sought help outside the family, they would have met fierce opposition. But if they contacted the Long Clan―it was returning to the birth family. Wasn't that the right thing to do?

Having contributed such a big merit, the Long Clan would naturally favor the rebel faction over the main family. Once they took control of the Ming Dynasty, the rebel faction's rise would be set in stone.

Facing such a situation, the conservative faction couldn't interfere. Nor did they have much incentive. For them, it didn't matter if they were under the rule of the main family or the Long Clan.

But the same couldn't be said for the main family. The Ming Dynasty had been ruling the Southern Continent for centuries now and had become autonomous. It would be absurd to think they would welcome the Long Clan's control.

Mu Chen didn't know how strong the Ming Dynasty was, but with the rebel faction bent on strong opposition and neutral faction staying aloof, the main family didn't have any hope of going against the Long Clan. If they continued to oppose, they would only meet their demise. Even if the main family agreed to surrender, their authority would be diluted. Both these circumstances were favorable to the rebel faction but unacceptable to the main family.

"Your side is really in a pinch," Mu Chen said.

Ming Ren sighed in response. "So you see, we had to make the news of the secret realm public."

With this move, the Long Clan couldn't monopolize the secret realm, giving them few reasons to stay and control the Ming Dynasty. The rebel faction's efforts had been all but wasted. But it was also quite bold of the main family, as they could face the wrath of the Long Clan.

Mu Chen gave a thumbs up. "I assume the rebel faction wasn't happy?"

"Unhappy?" Ming Ren chuckled. "They have started making real moves. Like the incident from a few days back."

Mu Chen narrowed his eyes. "Did you identify the culprit?" Although Ming Ren hid his identity, it wasn't out of malice. Mu Chen didn't blame him. But someone had to pay the price.

"My trip to Falling Stones City was very secret, but I was still exposed," Ming Ren said. "But they only knew I was not in the capital, they didn't know where I had gone or when I was going to return. Based on these clues, I was able to narrow the list of suspects. But I don't have any evidence." Ming Ren frowned. Without concrete evidence, any accusations were empty talk. It was very frustrating. But then he looked at Xiao Xue and his expression eased. "But one of the key suspects happens to be Elder Wang. He is the one in charge of the medicine garden."

"The one Xiao Xue ruined?" Mu Chen came to a realization. The medicine garden was ruined, the one in charge would be held responsible. No wonder Ming Ren was glad to hear the news―it allowed him to vent and retaliate.

Mu Chen looked at the sleeping Xiao Xue. By now, he had petted her so much, she had begun to drool, forming a big water stain on his robes. Mu Chen's face twitched. Was this little ball of fur a star of calamity or a good luck charm?

"If you are looking for evidence, perhaps Old Shi might be able to help," Mu Chen said.

"Old Shi?" Ming Ren asked. "Who is he?"

When Mu Chen told Ming Ren about Old Shi, his mood improved a lot.

"Brother Chen, you have given me too many surprises," Ming Ren said.

"I should be the one to say that," Mu Chen said, half-joking but also serious.

Ming Ren laughed. "This deserves a toast." He filled their glasses once more and the two of them toasted.

"So how are you planning to deal with the current situation?" Mu Chen asked as he put down his glass.

"The current period is rather sensitive. People from the central continent have arrived, and more of them will be coming later. The rebel faction shouldn't make any more overt moves for now." Ming Ren paused, then added. "But you should be very careful after you enter the secret realm. Don't trust anyone, even if they are from the royal family."

"You won't be coming?" Mu Chen asked.

Ming Ren shook his head. "I'm not sure. Even if I enter, it will be under a different identity."

"I see," Mu Chen said.

The two of them chatted for a bit more. After which, Ming Ren arranged for Mu Chen to sneak out of the palace.

As Mu Chen was ready to leave, one of the portraits caught his eye. It depicted a valiant figure of a middle-aged man. He couldn't tell why, that figure in the portrait looked vaguely familiar.

"Say, why did you come to Falling Stones City?" Mu Chen asked.

Ming Ren was taken aback by Mu Chen's question, but still answered, "I came to find someone."

"Did you find them?"

Ming Ren sighed. His lack of enthusiasm was enough for anyone to guess the answer.

Mu Chen didn't probe further. Like Ming Ren said, some words couldn't be said.

A masked expert guided Mu Chen out of the palace.

Even after he came out, Mu Chen's head was swirling full with tangled thoughts. The situation was getting more complicated than expected. How things would turn in the secret realm, he didn't know. Fortunately, his strength had also increased.

"B-brother Chen?"

Mu Chen was heading towards the Su Family when he heard someone call out his name. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure peeking from behind a tree. It was Su He.

Seeing Mu Chen walking in one piece, Su He rubbed his eyes. He came out of hiding and began to circle him, observing him from head to toe. Seeing him without the slightest injury, Su He's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Brother Chen, how come you are completely fine?"

Mu Chen knocked on Su He's head. "Were you hoping for me to get hurt?"

"I, I didn't." Su He rubbed his head, his face still full of disbelief.

"Didn't I let you go back?" Mu Chen asked. Since Su He seemed to be a bit scared, he had told him to go back. If he didn't come back by tomorrow, Su He was supposed to tell Su Rong and others what happened. But this guy was still loafing around.

Su He patted his chest. "How can I run back alone?"

Mu Chen didn't buy it. "You were just scared of facing your sister, weren't you?"

Su He almost choked. "Did you find your pet?"

"Yes, let's go back."

The two of them headed back to Su Family villa.

#

"You could have just told him the truth." After Mu Chen had left, a petite girl in tight-fitting robes had taken his place on the sofa.

"I didn't want him to think that I'm using them." Ming Ren was slouched on the couch, looking tired. He downed a complete glass full of Water of Life, but it did little to alleviate his mental exhaustion.

Ye Lanlan shook her head. "By not telling the truth, you have put yourself at risk."

"I—" Ming Ren wanted to refute, but couldn't find a way. A while later, he opened his mouth, "Then what should I do now?"

"You are still the Crown Prince." Ye Lanlan winked at Ming Ren. "Your Highness."

Ming Ren bolted up straight. "That's right!" He no longer looked so dispirited. "If I take a few things from the treasury, they can't object."