Cultivation Simulator: Starting From The Empress' Palace

Until after the young man departed, everyone remained astounded by his words.

The name of Chen Hong, Deputy Commander of the Infantry Department, was familiar to those present, many of whom were children of nobility.

Chen Hong was originally a eunuch beside the Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace, who recognized his talents and brought him into the Infantry Department to suppress the rebellion in Nanyang, where he rose to fame by single-handedly killing Zhang Ping, the leader of the Nanyang rebel army.

There are rumors that during the Nanyang rebellion, Chen Hong killed thousands, and as the tales reached the capital, it was exaggerated to tens of thousands, making him out to be a veritable demon in the eyes of some uninformed commoners.

During a recent mutiny, he also performed notably, earning him a promotion from Military Commander to Deputy Commander of the Infantry Department, commanding a force of fifty thousand troops, and becoming a trusted favorite under the Duke of An Yang, who valued him greatly.

There were even rumors that the Xiao Family sent a Xiao daughter to become a maid for Chen Hong, further proving the family’s regard for him.

But since when did he have a brother?

However, if that young man truly was Chen Hong’s alleged brother, Chen Mo...

Then Hu Xian might find it difficult to reclaim this venue.

Though Hu Sheng seemed aligned with Xiao Yunqi, their hearts were not one.

And Hu Xian was merely Hu Sheng’s nephew, not his biological son; Hu Sheng wouldn’t necessarily seek out Xiao Yunqi or Chen Hong for an explanation over him.

Hearing this, Hu Xian’s face darkened.

His five fingers clenched into a fist, the sharp nails digging into the flesh of his palm.

Though he was Hu Sheng’s true nephew, Hu Sheng did not hold him in high regard, quite the opposite; he found him somewhat troublesome.

This was due to Hu Xian often using his connection to Hu Sheng to stir up trouble, which Hu Sheng then had to clean up.

If it were just some ordinary children of officials, trouble was trouble.

With his identity, such issues could naturally be smoothed over.

But if that young man truly was Chen Hong’s brother...

This identity would not suffice; Hu Sheng couldn’t possibly offend a commanding general for him.

Especially when that general was aligned with Xiao Yunqi.

Moreover, Hu Xian had been the one to make the first move.

”Find out his identity,” Hu Xian hissed through clenched teeth.

If the young man’s words were false, Hu Xian would certainly show him just why the flowers are so red.

The madam’s face alternated between black and white.

Disaster, disaster.

Hu Xian’s side wasn’t even resolved, and now they’ve provoked another fearsome power.

If it were true, she could forget about receiving the silver for Lianyi’s night out, or even the ransom for her freedom.

She might even need to prepare silver to visit the Chen Mansion and apologize.

After all, they had stirred the other side up, and they could very well bring troops to raze the Qinyun Pavilion.

That night.

The news of ”the Deputy Commander’s brother beating up Hu Xian and taking away the new courtesan of Qinyun Pavilion” spread like wildfire in Bianliang City.

As such, those with some official clout began to inquire about the veracity of Chen Hong’s brother.

After some investigation, it turned out Chen Hong indeed had a brother.

Moreover, they were twins.

However, it’s said that a flood had submerged their hometown, and Chen Hong had returned home recently to observe the mourning.

Yet whether his brother Chen Mo was dead or alive, people were unsure.

And all of this was orchestrated by Chen Mo.

There was no Chen Hong in the world anymore, only Chen Mo disguised as Chen Hong.

And the reason Chen Mo was doing this was to reclaim his original identity.

To restore his original identity, he had to make people aware of the existence of Chen Mo.

If he outright declared that Chen Hong was Chen Mo, and Chen Mo was Chen Hong, it would cause uproar, for as a real man, staying in the harem for so long would be a slap to the Emperor’s face, no?

Though imperial power had waned, it could still be exploited by those with ulterior motives.

But if he introduced a ”brother,” things would be different.

Thanks to being twins, Chen Mo could easily switch identities between the two, and ultimately, he could claim that Chen Hong had succumbed to illness, and thus fully embrace this identity, taking over the entire Chen Mansion.

After all, nobody knew that Chen Hong had already died.

When Chen Hong took leave to mourn at home, it was under the pretense of mourning his parents.

This indicated that Chen Mo was alive at that time.

Only a select few knew about Chen Hong’s passing and Chen Mo replacing him in the palace.

Such as Xiao Yunxi and Ye Wanqiu.

To stir things up and let more people know about ”Chen Mo,” he went to Qinyun Pavilion on purpose, deliberately sparked conflict, intentionally revealed his identity, and even made himself look younger beforehand to contrast with the ”Fake Chen Hong.”

The few burly men who accompanied him even believed him to be their master’s genuine younger brother.

Now Chen Mo needed to be mindful of one thing.

Avoiding the simultaneous appearance of ”Chen Hong” and Chen Mo.

After all, he had no ability to be in two places at once.

But he could look for a master of disguise, in case a situation arose where both brothers needed to appear together, to temporarily hold the fort.

Chen Mo brought Lianyi to the mansion, threw her onto the large bed in the inner chamber of the rear courtyard, instructed her to stay still and wait, then transformed back into ”Chen Hong” to clean up after Chen Mo’s mess.

”Chen Hong” specifically instructed Su Mu to handle something: ”Prepare some gifts for me and send them to the Hu Mansion, as an apology for my brother.”

”Yes,” Su Mu responded respectfully after sizing up ”Chen Hong.”

This left her somewhat confused, didn’t they say above that Chen Hong wasn’t a fake eunuch?

What was the deal with his brother?

However, the courtyard where Chen Mo resided had already been cordoned off by ”Chen Hong,” and without ”Chen Hong’s” permission, nobody was allowed near.

Chen Mo later summoned Chun Lan and had her take some silver to ransom Lianyi’s freedom.

For after tonight, regardless of whether he had touched her or not, in others’ eyes, she was Chen Mo’s woman, and naturally, Chen Mo wouldn’t just send her back to receive guests again.

Of course, Chen Mo could have taken advantage for free.

But he had his principles.

Taking advantage was simply out of the question.

With Chen Mo’s machinations, even Yi Yao and the others thought his brother had arrived.

In Chen Mo’s heart, Yi Yao was trustworthy, so he disclosed the truth to her and mentioned that Su Mu might have come with a purpose but told her not to spread this information.

She should treat Su Mu as usual.

And truly act as if he had a brother.

After handling these matters, Chen Mo went to play with Xiao Jiu.

Ever since discovering that Xiao Jiu was the fox king of the Qingqiu Spirit Foxes, Chen Mo had been setting aside time each day to bond and play with it, to deepen their relationship.

”Xiao Jiu, how has your aura become so much more vigorous?” Chen Mo asked, petting the white fox’s head and feeling its aura was much stronger, its fur more pure and silky.

”Chirp chirp chirp...” Xiao Jiu gestured with its paws.

Over the past few days, Chen Mo had come to understand the meanings behind its gestures.

”Xiao Jiu, you mean to say your strength has reached an innate level?” Chen Mo exclaimed in surprise.

Xiao Jiu nodded happily.