“Imperial Edict by the Mandate of Heaven, from the Empress, declares!”
“Chen Fan, the third son of Chen Guogong, is profligate and unrestrained, unlearned and unskilled, and his virtue does not match his position. Today, We shall annul the marriage contract between Us and him.”
“Respect this!”
In Jinling, at the Chen Guogong Mansion, Chen Fan listened to the imperial edict and suddenly felt like crying!
Five years!
It had been five whole years!
Five years ago, he had transmigrated here and become the powerful and influential third young master of the Chen Guogong Mansion. He had just begun to fantasize about the beautiful life after transmigration—having three wives and four concubines, surrounded by a bevy of beauties.
But then he learned that he actually had a marriage contract with the current Female Emperor!
At the thought that he not only couldn’t have three wives and four concubines but would also have to compete for favor with a group of men in the future, engaging in constant scheming and risking being sent to the Cold Palace if he made one mistake…
Chen Fan was immediately unwilling.
He had transmigrated with great difficulty. Even if he remained single for the rest of his life, even if he jumped off a cliff, he would never risk being sent to the Cold Palace to fight for a woman’s favor against a group of men!
He immediately began to let himself go, drowning in wine and women, becoming a profligate by nature.
Finally! Heaven did not betray those who worked hard!
Finally! He had waited for this day.
“Chen Fan! Accept the edict!”
At this time, the eunuch delivering the decree spoke with a face full of disgust and disdain.
Chen Fan did not hesitate and hurried to raise his hands. “Chen Fan accepts the edict. I thank the Sovereign for her profound grace!”
“Humph!”
The eunuch glanced at Chen Fan, gave a disdainful snort, and then looked directly at Chen Guogong, who was standing to the side.
“Chen Guogong, the Female Emperor asked this old servant to send her regards to you. However, because of your son, the Female Emperor is very unhappy. Therefore, I shouldn’t need to tell you what needs to be done, right?”
“Thank you, Eunuch. This old official understands. I will personally travel to Jingdu to seek forgiveness!”
Chen Guogong spoke with a face full of guilt. After seeing off the eunuch, his expression suddenly became extremely dark and hideous.
Especially as he looked at Chen Fan, who was still looking somewhat self-satisfied.
To think that he, a dignified founding official, a veteran of three reigns who enjoyed the high regard of the late Emperor, had worked so hard to obtain a marriage contract for the Chen Guogong Mansion with the current Female Emperor.
But how could he have sired such a worthless profligate?
He was so profligate that the Female Emperor actually issued an edict to annul the marriage. Not only did this make the Chen Guogong Mansion lose all face, but it also ruined the plans he had nurtured for many years!
“Someone, come!”
“Throw this vile creature out for me and strike his name from the Genealogy. I, Chen Changfeng, do not have such a son!”
Hearing this, Chen Fan was suddenly stunned.
Just a moment ago, he was thinking about his beautiful future life, and now his father was saying this.
What did he mean?
Being struck from the Genealogy!
“Father! You’re going to kick me out of the family?” Chen Fan asked hurriedly.
“Humph!”
Chen Guogong snorted coldly. “Don’t call me father! I don’t have a son like you!”
“A concubine-born son is just a concubine-born son! I should never have let that wench, your mother, give birth to a vile creature like you! I should never have let a vile creature like you enter the gates of my Chen Guogong Mansion!”
Hearing this, Chen Fan’s expression changed slightly. He suddenly thought of something, and his brow darkened.
“So, if it weren’t for the late Emperor’s marriage decree, I wouldn’t even have the right to call you father?”
Chen Guogong remained dark-faced and disgusted. “The spawn of a lowly maid—if it weren’t for the fact that you could enter the palace in place of Hao’er and Feng’er, do you really think you could have entered my Chen Guogong Mansion?”
“Someone! Throw him out! He is not to step a single foot into my Chen Guogong Mansion for the rest of his life!”
As soon as Chen Guogong’s words fell, guards stepped forward and grabbed Chen Fan.
Chen Fan, however, did not resist.
He only now realized that he was merely a substitute intended to enter the palace in place of Chen Hao and Chen Feng!
As it turned out, Chen Changfeng didn’t want his own sons to marry into the imperial family either.
As it turned out, he had always been a mere sacrifice!
To think he had been considering that since he occupied the original host’s body, he should fulfill the host’s responsibilities, treat Chen Guogong as a father, and lead the Chen Guogong Mansion to grow and prosper after this matter was over.
Now it seemed he had really overthought it!
In that man’s eyes, he was nothing more than a vile creature born of a lowly maid!
The “Third Young Master” was nothing but a joke!
“What a ‘spawn of a lowly maid’!”
“Chen Guogong, I’ll remember that! You said it yourself! I hope you don’t regret it in the future!”
Chen Fan spoke with a dark face, and then he shook off the hands of the two guards. “No need for you to do it! I’ll leave on my own!”
“The Guogong Mansion? I, Chen Fan, don’t even want it!”
After saying that, Chen Fan turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
But Chen Guogong and the others looked on with expressions of disgust and disdain!
Just a piece of trash, yet he dared to speak such big words about not regretting it?
Who gave him the courage!
“Someone, announce it: from now on, this trash has no relation whatsoever to our Guogong Mansion! No one is allowed to give him help! Let him fend for himself!” Chen Guogong shouted.
Chen Fan heard it clearly, but he didn’t care in the slightest!
If it weren’t for the marriage contract with the Female Emperor, how could he, the youngest PhD from a top-tier university in the twenty-first century, have been a mere profligate?
So what if no one helped him?
He would still make a name for himself!
The Guogong Mansion, Chen Changfeng—he, Chen Fan, would remember today’s events!
“Get lost! You are not allowed to step foot in the Guogong Mansion ever again!”
After the two guards pushed Chen Fan out the door, they gave a disdainful shout and turned back inside.
Chen Fan didn’t mind. Without looking back, he started walking forward.
But just then, two voices suddenly came from behind.
“Young Master! Young Master!”
“Wait for us!”
Hearing the voices, Chen Fan quickly looked back and saw two identical-looking young girls running toward him in a hurry.
“Xiao Ke, Xiao Ai, why are you here?” Chen Fan frowned slightly.
“We were brought back by the Young Master. We go wherever the Young Master goes!”
“Young Master said he would protect us for a lifetime. Young Master isn’t allowed to leave us behind!”
The two girls each grabbed one of Chen Fan’s sleeves, their large eyes staring at him with a hint of reproach.
Chen Fan was somewhat surprised.
Xiao Ke and Xiao Ai were bought from the Slave Market after he transmigrated.
When he first bought them, they were only twelve or thirteen years old. They were dirty, thin, and small, and no one liked them.
But after these three years, both of them were sixteen or seventeen. Although they hadn’t quite reached the standard of being “willowy and elegant,” they were very cute, with features as delicate as carved jade, like two porcelain dolls.
They were actually quite popular within the Guogong Mansion.
Chen Fan hadn’t expected that now that he was expelled from the mansion, not a single person had stood up to say a word for him—even the servants and guards dared to tell him to get lost!
Yet these two little girls were still willing to follow him.
“Alright! Young Master won’t leave you behind! I’ll take you with me and take you to live a good life!”
Chen Fan smiled with relief and rubbed the heads of the two girls.
“Mhm!”
“Young Master is the best!”
Hearing this, the two girls both smiled happily, their eyes curving into beautiful crescents, looking incredibly adorable.
“Good girls, let’s go!”
Chen Fan truly liked these two girls. He took them by the hand and walked forward.
But at this moment, in the shadows, two women watched the three of them, both frowning slightly.
“Female Emperor, is something wrong with this Chen Fan? He’s been kicked out of his home, yet why doesn’t he seem sad at all? In fact, it feels like he’s actually a bit happy!”
“And he talked about taking those two girls to live a good life. With him being such a profligate, what kind of good life can he lead?”
Xue Ying, dressed in black tight-fitting clothes and holding a sword in one hand, spoke with a deep frown.
“Just a profligate. He probably doesn’t even know what being expelled from the Guogong Mansion means yet. After he leaves, he’ll realize that without the Guogong Mansion, he is nothing,” the Female Emperor, Ji Qianxue, said indifferently, not wanting to bother with it.
Meanwhile, as Xiao Ke and Xiao Ai followed Chen Fan, they suddenly thought of something.
“Young Master, where are we going now?”
“Also, we’ve been kicked out of the Guogong Mansion. What should we do in the future?”
Chen Fan, however, laughed heartily, not caring at all.
“The crouching dragon shall finally meet the rain; today the crane is released to soar to the heavens!”
“Know well the soaring ambitions of youth; once promising to be peerless in this world!”
“Don’t worry. Now that I’ve left the Guogong Mansion, I can truly be myself!”
“Let’s go! I will definitely let you live the best life in this world!”
“Mhm!”
The two of them nodded very seriously. They didn’t care if they could live a good life or not; as long as they could follow the Young Master, it was enough!
But in the shadows, the Female Emperor, Ji Qianxue, frowned as she heard the poem Chen Fan had just recited.
“The crouching dragon shall finally meet the rain; today the crane is released to soar to the heavens!”
“Know well the soaring ambitions of youth; once promising to be peerless in this world!”
Could such ambitious and heroic verses really be written by a profligate son?
And what Chen Fan said just now—that after leaving the Guogong Mansion, he could finally be himself…
What did that mean?
Could it be that his profligacy was an act?
Thinking of this, Ji Qianxue’s brow furrowed.
“Xue Ying! Go and follow him!”