Chapter 11623 — Good, Good, Good. After All, Han Jiechen Is the One True Legitimate Heir.

Given how much these old relics prized bloodline, there was no chance whatsoever they would genuinely hand the Han Princely House over to Wei Zhao—this was, at best, a stopgap measure.

But now, it was too late to say anything at all.

At that moment, Han Jiechen suddenly rose to his feet, wearing an ever more deranged smile.

"Good, good, good! Since you old relics chose to be heartless first, then don't blame this junior for being unfilial!"

Han Jiechen barked out abruptly, "Mr. Gu, you may make your move!"

For a moment, everyone was baffled.

Until a bone-chilling, sinister laugh drifted in from outside.

"Since the Prince of Han begs so sincerely, this old monster shall not stand on ceremony!"

As the words fell, every ancestor of the Han Princely House—Han Niansan included—wore a look of utter shock and horror.

At this point the ancestral shrine had become a realm unto itself; the people inside could not perceive the specific circumstances without.

Yet Han Niansan and the others could distinctly sense that the ancestral fortune belonging to this band of Han Princely House forebears was being rapidly eroded!

The aura of that whole company of ancestors immediately withered, visibly to the naked eye.

Han Niansan too began to show signs of weakness.

Han Niansan at once clamped a hand onto Han Jiechen's crown.

"You wretched dog, what have you done!"

Yet Han Jiechen was in no hurry, letting the man seize him and answering only with a contemptuous sneer. "I knew long ago you old relics couldn't be relied on, so this prince found himself a fine expert from the Inner Royal Court. He has already agreed to serve as chief guest-retainer of my Han Princely House. As for the recompense he asked..."

Han Jiechen paused for two seconds, his smile growing all the more mocking.

"He wants nothing at all—nothing but the ancestral fortune of you old relics. Isn't he considerate?"

At these words, everyone in the Han Princely House was stunned.

Wei Zhao and the others wore peculiar expressions as well.

Good gods! Truly, good gods!

So from the very beginning, this fellow had been nursing the notion of selling off every ancestor of the Han Princely House. Combined with Han Niansan striking him from the clan register, it really did amount to ancestral kindness and filial piety.

Han Niansan's vision went black again and again.

Half of it came from the weakness of having his ancestral fortune stolen, and the other half from being enraged by this fine grandson of his.

"You all think I'm a petty man who betrays his ancestors and abandons his clan, don't you?"

Han Jiechen went on laughing to himself. "But if you want to blame anyone for all this, you can only blame yourselves. It was you old relics who refused to answer for so long that I was forced to find another way."

"The other six princely houses—whenever trouble comes, their ancestral patriarchs are there to hold the fort. They can rest easy."

"But I couldn't."

"You old relics gave no response, time and again. To protect my Han Princely House, I had no choice but to throw in my lot with Mr. Gu!"

"I figured, since none of you old relics were ever going to manifest anyway, since you were all good for nothing, trading your ancestral fortune for Mr. Gu's protection—however you looked at it, that deal couldn't be a loss, could it?"

No one in the Han Princely House had a word to say.

At first hearing, Han Jiechen's argument actually made a certain amount of sense.

Bearing down on Han Niansan's palm, Han Jiechen forced himself to his feet, his expression wild:

"I really never imagined that at a moment like this you'd show up again!"

"Originally I'd planned to sound you out first, to give you time to prepare—after all, this Mr. Gu is an outsider, and I didn't dare trust him completely."

"But you should never, under any circumstances, have struck my name from the clan register and stripped me of my throne. So you can hardly blame me for this—the road was one you old relics chose yourselves, isn't that right?"

The crowd was speechless.

There was simply too much to mock, so much that even Wei Zhao and the other bystanders watching from the cold sidelines had no idea where to begin.

One could only say that the Han Princely House had been fated to meet this calamity, having been saddled with a grandson like Han Jiechen.

Wei Zhao looked at Han Niansan. "Things have come to this. What is there still to hesitate over, Senior? Open the ancestral sacrifice formation at once—otherwise, once that Mr. Gu outside has devoured all your ancestral fortune, your Han Princely House will truly be beyond saving."

Han Niansan gave a bitter smile. "It's no use. Once the ancestral sacrifice formation is opened, it cannot be stopped. Either the target completes the sacrifice, or it is broken from the outside. There is no third possibility."

As things stood, this Mr. Gu outside had clearly seized upon the fatal flaw of the ancestral sacrifice formation.

Had the formation not been there to tie their hands, Mr. Gu—even with Han Jiechen's cooperation—would by no means have found it easy to swallow the Han Princely House's ancestral fortune.

Strictly speaking, Han Jiechen was indeed the traitor and the inside man, but Han Niansan, who had personally laid down the ancestral sacrifice formation, was likewise a key figure in creating today's farce.

At least in this matter, the pot could hardly call the kettle black.

Han Niansan said in a heavy voice, "This man outside is a wolf with savage ambitions. Once he succeeds, it will not bode well for you either."

"The only way we can break this deadlock now is for you to perform the ancestral sacrifice at once and take your seat as the Han King of this generation."

"Once the ancestral sacrifice formation is dissolved, I can deal with this petty scoundrel outside at any moment!"

That was not entirely idle boasting.

He was, after all, the figurehead ancestor the Han Princely House had put forward. Even if he was not the strongest among all the forebears, his strength was absolutely no small matter.

Once the ancestral rites formation no longer held him in check, Han Niansan would indeed have no trouble taking down that solitary gentleman outside.

Yet Wei Zhao still shook his head.

"Sorry. I have ancestors of my own. I'm not in the habit of calling another man's ancestors mine."

Han Jiechen let out a breath of relief.

The thing he feared most right now was Wei Zhao giving in—because then he would be utterly finished.

As things stood, Wei Zhao holding firm meant Han Niansan could not withdraw the ancestral rites formation; most of his power was pinned down and had no way to be brought to bear.

Especially as time wore on: the more of the ancestors' fortune the solitary gentleman outside devoured, the weaker Han Niansan's residual strength became, and the less able he was to get a grip on the man.

"It has already come to this—why must you still get hung up on such a thing?"

Han Niansan was frantic with anxiety. "Let me put it to you plainly: unless it is an ancestral rites system like ours, bound by strict procedure, the word 'ancestor' means nothing more to ordinary folk than a concept for making offerings. The substance of the ancestor has long since scattered to the winds—it leaves no trace at all in this world."

"To put it bluntly, ordinary people have no ancestors with any substantial form. So in everything you do, you need not worry that it will have any effect on your ancestors."

"Rather than agonizing over this meaningless business, you would do better to seize the moment and get us out of this crisis first!"

If he could, he would have loved nothing more at this moment than to pin Wei Zhao down and make him kowtow to every forebear of his Han Princely House.

But Wei Zhao remained unmoved.

Wei Zhao said mildly, "I have my ancestors, and my ancestors truly exist—otherwise I would not be here. I'm afraid I cannot agree with your theory, Senior."