After thinking for a moment, Wang Chen decided to swing by the Hongchen Family's area that afternoon, circle a bit, then head back—just enough to claim he had carried out the task.
When he returned, he could simply tell Wang Yan that the Hongchen Family wouldn't let him see Meng Hongchen.
After all, Wang Yan would never go verify such a thing with Jing Hongchen himself. In the end, everything depended on how Wang Chen spun the story with his tongue.
As for actually meeting Meng Hongchen, he'd wait until the succession struggle settled before trying again.
Right now, with the three princes sparing no means to seize the throne and the Wang Family having pledged allegiance to the Second Prince, his identity was far too sensitive. Meeting Meng Hongchen at this time would only harm her.
So, distance was the wisest choice—for now.
Wang Chen sighed, gazing out the window at the vast blue sky, his desire for strength burning even brighter in his heart.
If only he were strong enough, he wouldn't have to be so constrained, unable even to meet the people he wanted to see.
Power…
1 p.m.
On the main road leading from the Wang Estate to the Hongchen Family compound—
Wang Chen noticed the Hongchen Family guards, uniforms embroidered with the toad crest, glaring at him with unblinking vigilance. His mouth twitched.
He had only planned to walk around the vicinity, enough to fudge the Patriarch's order.
But now? He didn't even need to fake it. Jing Hongchen had clearly already put him on the blacklist.
Forget seeing Meng Hongchen—he couldn't even get close to the Hongchen compound.
He recalled Wang Yan's disinterested tone when giving him the task and couldn't help wondering: had Wang Yan already foreseen this outcome?
Did he know all along that Wang Chen would never manage to deepen his ties with Meng Hongchen, which was why he looked so unconcerned?
But if Wang Yan believed that, why give him the task at all?
Was it just wishful thinking? Or… did someone else instruct him? Could it have been the Second Prince, Xu Tianyu?
While Wang Chen pondered, the Hongchen Family guards muttered amongst themselves, eyes never leaving him:
"That's him, right?"
"Looks like it. I doubt there's a second one in all of Mingdu. Definitely Wang Chen."
"The steward made the Patriarch's orders very clear: anything sent from princes or their factions is to be rejected outright—gifts or people alike."
"This kid's from the Wang Family, backing the Second Prince. He used to be close to Miss Meng Hongchen, and the Patriarch himself named him specifically."
"If he dares move forward and tries to enter, we're to follow orders—break his legs."
"…"
Hearing their whispers, Wang Chen immediately turned on his heel and left.
The Second Prince wanted to use his connection with Meng Hongchen to make others believe Jing Hongchen supported him, dragging the Hongchen Family into the mess.
But to think such a clumsy ploy could ensnare Jing Hongchen? Foolishness!
Was an old fox like him so easily caught in a trap? Never. He wouldn't expose such a laughable weakness.
The Hongchen Family had shut its gates to all, receiving no princes, accepting no alliances. Their stance was clear: they would not involve themselves in the imperial succession.
Unless Jing Hongchen changed his mind, all the princes' little tricks would appear no more than children's games to his eyes.
Wang Chen shook his head, inwardly even more cautious toward Jing Hongchen.
Just because he knew the storyline didn't mean he could underestimate these veteran foxes. Otherwise, sooner or later, he'd pay dearly for it.
As Wang Chen was about to head home, another thought struck him. Wouldn't it be a waste to come all this way and return empty-handed?
The Wang Family's estate was far from the Hongchen compound. Though both were within Mingdu, the Wang Family lived on the outskirts while the Hongchen Family resided in the central district. The distance between them spanned dozens of kilometers.
It wasn't that the Wang Family was too poor to afford central land—far from it. But with so many clansmen, building an estate there would be absurdly costly and wasteful.
The Hongchen Family, by contrast, was small in number. Beyond Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen, Jing Hongchen had only a few distant relatives.
For Wang Chen, just traveling back and forth took nearly an hour.
He remembered that his storage soul tool still held many core arrays he had inscribed during practice.
So, he decided to head to Mingdu's busiest commercial district.
He could sell off the useless ones at Treasure Pavilion, buy cultivation supplies he actually needed, and pick up some news while he was at it.
A few minutes later, after a quick disguise, Wang Chen entered the thriving district.
Towering buildings lined the streets, many over a dozen stories high. Broad stone avenues crisscrossed the district, some main streets over thirty meters wide.
The level of prosperity rivaled the great international cities etched in his past-life memories.
Without dawdling, Wang Chen headed straight for Treasure Pavilion.
He knew its background well—the backing of several ninth-tier Soul Engineers from Mingde Hall.
Their purpose in running it was simple: to gather resources and dispose of failed products.
Every attempt at forging a ninth-tier soul tool required vast quantities of rare materials.
Success was one thing, but failure devoured irreplaceable wealth.
Top-grade rare metals often couldn't even be measured by price—for many, even if you had money, you couldn't buy them.
So, to salvage losses, the engineers would reforge failed products. Even broken remnants of ninth-tier materials still held immense value.
Recast soul tools wouldn't reach ninth-tier, of course—but reaching eighth-tier wasn't hard. And because of their premium materials, these reforged items outshone ordinary ones of the same tier.
When auctioned, they sparked frenzied bidding among soul engineers, recovering at least some of the lost resources.
After disguising himself, Wang Chen entered the Treasure Pavilion. Within minutes, he had sold off his accumulated core arrays and bought the daily elixirs he needed.
Then, with practiced ease, he rode the soul tool elevator up to the sixth floor.
This floor was reserved for VIP rooms, each belonging to a designated guest.
Wang Chen pulled out the token given to him by the little rich girl, Meng Hongchen, and swiped it at the door of Room 607.
With a soft click, the door swung open…