Chapter 922
At the border of the central and northern portions of the Jin Empire laid a region that was ranked among the smallest in land of the thirty-six regions of the empire but was also ranked the top five in terms of wealth . There were many fields and rivers amassing a great amount of wealth and there were many large regions of spirit mountains as well . Mortals on those mountains would even commonly see Immortals dressed in Daoist and Buddhist robes fly off into the horizon . Needless to say, Daoism and Buddhism were prevalent in the region and their temples were profusely found throughout . Regardless of one’s standing or wealth, they would always pay great respect to either of these schools .
But in addition to these two prevalent schools, one could see the influence of many Confucian schools in the many cities and towns in the area .
There were thirty-nine of these Confucian schools with one of the largest of these schools consisting of experts of Confucian teachings with many government officials in their ranks . On the other hand, the smallest of these schools only had ordinary Confucian instructors that could only explain the most basic aspects of Confucianism . If they felt that any of their disciples were outstanding, they would be recommended to a higher school, granting poorer disciples a good opportunity to advance .
After all, Confucian scholars that graduate from a high-grade Confucian School were welcomed to the higher echelon of the Jin Empire . Confucian scholars that stem from the highest schools are even heavily recruited by nobility of all ranks .
The Taichang Prefecture’s capital city, Taichang City, was the location of one such of these prestigious Confucian academies .
Although the city wasn’t ranked amongst the best in the empire, it was one of the centers of commerce in the Nan Province and was where the rich and powerful took residence . There were four families titled as nobility that resided in the city as well as countless people of every trade .
In the Taichang City’s west side resided the Gan Clan, a clan of particularly wealthy merchants . They possessed over twenty restaurants in their prefecture’s cities . In smaller cities, they were hegemony of wealth, but in Taichang City, there were simply among the many elites that resided there .
But even among the elite, the Gan Clan did own a particularly large estate in the district where the wealthy resided and had over forty servants in their employment .
One day as the sun blazed at noon, a youth in Confucian robes slowly walked down a street . The young man appeared in his early twenties and wore a package on his back that was thickly wrapped in grey cloth and covered in dust .
As he walked down the street, he repeatedly looked around and soon spotted the Gan Clan’s glossy gate . When he read the words “Gan Estate”, he unconsciously smiled .
When he approached the gate, he examined it for a moment before pounding the iron door .
Thud . Thud . Hurried footsteps arrived from the other side of the gate .
The gate cracked open to a middle-aged man wearing servant robes who had a respectful expression on his face .
When the servant saw the youth, his respectful expression suddenly froze before quickly fading away . He stood up straight and asked with a doubtful tone, “Who is your esteemed self looking for?” He then examined the youth as if trying to make out his origins .
The youth cupped his hands in a salute and smiled . “Is this Uncle Gan Chi’s residence?”
After examining the quality of the youth’s clothes, his original display of contempt had disappeared . Instead, he was now greatly alarmed after hearing Han Li speak and he respectfully said, “Uncle Gan Chi? Gan Chi is the esteemed name of my master . Then young sir must be . . . ”
“I am Han Li . Uncle Gan Chi is a distant relative of mine . I have made this trip to pay my respects to him . ” Han Li continued to smile as he spoke .
It was now a year after he had cultivated in whole-hearted seclusion . During this time, he drawn the aid of the Heavenly Corpse Pearl and the vajra relic to refine the first layer of the Brightjade Arts . With that done, the roiling baleful Qi was mostly calmed, much to Han Li’s delight, but it still remained a priority for him to deal with . As such, he had hurried over to the Gan Clan for the next step in his plan to rid himself of the baleful Qi .
After a moment of hesitation, the middle-aged servant said, “So it was Young Sir Han . Unfortunately, the Master had left in the morning to meet with his colleagues . Currently, the Eldest Young Master is in charge of the residence . Shall I make a report to him?”
“Please, I must thank you for the trouble,” Han Li calmly replied .
“Please wait a moment, Young Sir . I will immediately make the report . ” The middle-aged man bowed and closed the gate before heading back .
Han Li idly stood in front of the gate and examined the surroundings of the huge estate, occasionally catching sight of a few carriages that passed by .
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