Farewell Procession, the Worldly Grace of William Wang Jinling

As an emperor, one's duty is not to seize all power for oneself, but to balance the forces of all sides and prevent any one faction from becoming dominant. Seated high on the dragon throne, wielding imperial tactics, making everyone fear, respect, and flatter him—that is what a true emperor should do.

In the previous dynasty, the aristocratic clans did not wield such influence. Though the former emperor valued their service, he never let any one clan grow too powerful. Before him, the great houses could only bow and call themselves subjects, taking what the emperor gave and unable to grasp what he withheld.

But alas... Eastlyn is still a young nation. The education of princes and heirs remains incomplete. The emperor is eager to consolidate his power, yet fails to see that such impatience only drives people to desperation.

Take Yu Wen Yuanhua, for example—military command is his lifeblood. If stripped of his command, he couldn't even protect his own life. He would rather rebel than surrender his troops.

Before the empire is unified and before the new emperor secures his throne, whoever sits on the dragon seat will need the strength of the great clans. Until then, William Wang Jinling's status will not change.

Thus, when William Wang Jinling appeared in Eastlyn’s imperial capital the next day, the emperor sent the crown prince to personally greet him—showing the importance he placed on the great clans.

"So, it seems the great clans aren’t actually as powerful as people imagine. They still depend on imperial authority to survive." Serena Feng listened to Dominic Zhai’s explanation and asked.

A personal welcome from the crown prince was no small matter. Though Serena was still recovering from her injuries, she was doing well enough that, upon hearing the news, she hurried over to greet William Wang Jinling and watch the spectacle.

At that moment, Serena, Dominic Zhai, and Simon Sun were seated together in a teahouse, waiting for William Wang Jinling’s arrival and chatting idly.

With the crown prince personally greeting him, how could the officials not follow suit? How could the common folk not come to watch the excitement? Even the noble ladies flocked out to catch a glimpse of the famed young lord. The city gates were livelier than New Year’s.

Dominic Zhai nodded, lowering his voice again: "That's right. The great clans have always depended on imperial authority to survive. Without the throne as their backing, how could they ever have risen to power? At least in the previous dynasty, they held no military command—the only rights they could fight for were those the emperor allowed them to contend for."

Later, when the realm fell into chaos, the clans did gain some military power, but it didn't matter much. Their greatest influence has always been in court politics—most officials come from the great houses. People like Duke Allen won their power through martial skill, but their actual ability to govern is lacking.

In the early days of the new dynasty, the emperor was wary of these war heroes, so he relied heavily on the sons of the great clans. But he went too far, and now he can't suppress them. It's a mess—but if you have the skill, you can use the struggle between the nobles and the clans to gather power for yourself."

In the past, Dominic Zhai would never have spoken so candidly. Lately, his dissatisfaction with the emperor has only grown, and after learning the truth about his parents' deaths, it reached its peak.

His parents were probably framed and killed by the emperor, all to seize the Zhai family's military command. Only after his grandfather surrendered the command did the emperor finally spare their house.

In truth, Dominic was too naïve—the emperor spared the Zhai family because Prince Su lost his temper. On the surface, they surrendered their command, but secretly still controlled the elite Shenji Battalion that should have gone to the emperor.

"It's a real mess. Being emperor is truly exhausting." Serena shook her head. Even though she was surrounded by her own people, she still didn't dare speak loudly.

"He brought it on himself—too impatient." The current emperor is talented, but his ambitions are too grand. He wants to conquer the other three kingdoms and nine cities in his lifetime, to unify the realm, but he doesn't realize that haste makes waste.

The emperor's first two years on the throne were fine; he acted steadily and consolidated power gradually. But as he aged, he grew more and more restless, desperate to seize all of Eastlyn’s authority at once. Unfortunately, impatience leads to mistakes. Eastlyn hasn't fallen into civil strife yet, but it's getting close...

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered—let alone these powerful nobles.

This year, the emperor suffered two major defeats—one at the hands of Yu Wen Yuanhua, and one because of William Wang Jinling.

And in both cases, Serena Feng was involved, one way or another.

Serena smiled and kept her opinions to herself. The emperor is human, not a god—humans make mistakes. She didn’t know his true character, but from these encounters, she could see he was cold, unfeeling, stubborn, and obsessed with glory.

"Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s just wait for the young lord to enter the city. Jinling’s travels have made him famous across the realm—he’s truly earned his title as the number one gentleman. I heard the scholars at Jixia Academy even invited him to lecture." Serena changed the subject with a smile. She couldn’t control these power struggles; all she cared about was that the people she cared for were safe.

Jixia Academy gathers the wisest scholars of the land, embracing all schools of thought. It’s the place every scholar dreams of attending.

"Exactly. Jinling’s reputation has truly spread everywhere. Wherever he goes, he’s received with the highest honors. I hear many want to marry into the Wang family, but Jinling has turned them all down." Whenever Dominic Zhai mentioned Wang Jinling, he looked proud, especially when talking about all the women interested in him—hoping to see how Serena would react. But Serena just nodded and smiled, as if she hadn’t heard a word.

It left Dominic Zhai utterly frustrated. What kind of man does Serena Feng even like? Jinling is so outstanding, and she’s still not interested—she really is an oddball.

"Master, it’s the young lord! His carriage is here—there are so many people!" Simon Sun pointed outside the city gates, shouting at the moving crowd.

"He’s here, he’s here! Where is he?" Dominic Zhai jumped up in excitement. Serena, whose leg was nearly healed, also walked to the window at these words, looking out expectantly...

After all this time, it would be a lie to say she hadn’t missed William Wang Jinling.

Wang Jinling’s carriage rolled slowly toward the city gate. The lead carriage belonged to the Wang family, followed by all sorts of other carriages, with guards and wandering heroes in different attire.

"Those must be people from Southern Lyn, Lyndaria, and various cities who came to see Jinling off. The guards were sent to protect him—he didn’t have many when he first set out." Dominic explained, knowing Serena wasn’t familiar with these details.

Serena nodded, indicating she understood. As she got closer, she noticed several carriages carrying women behind Wang Jinling’s. Dominic had said many wanted to marry him, and it seemed true—these must be the ones chasing after him.

And it made sense—whether in looks, bearing, learning, or family background, Wang Jinling was second to none. How could anyone not be moved by such a man?

Serena didn’t know how long the send-off procession was; she only knew Wang Jinling’s carriage had reached the city gate, and she still couldn’t see the end of the line.

At that moment, Serena finally understood why the emperor had arranged such a grand welcome for Wang Jinling.

The emperor had no choice—so many people had come to see Jinling off outside the city, proving just how popular the Wang family’s young lord was. If the emperor didn’t show respect, wouldn’t everyone laugh at him for failing to appreciate talent?

Under everyone’s expectant gaze, Wang Jinling’s carriage stopped at the city gate. Clad in a royal blue robe, Wang Jinling stepped down from the carriage...