Jade of Another World

The city gates of the capital were wide open, and the people had gathered early on both sides of the street, eagerly awaiting the triumphant return of the soldiers. Sunlight shone on the ancient and imposing city walls, as if they too were welcoming this glorious moment.

Liu Jia, clad in full military attire, stood tall and imposing on his horse, its mane billowing in the wind, exuding an aura of power. He led his troops, marching with disciplined and powerful strides, in a grand and imposing procession toward the imperial city. The soldiers' armor gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, and although their faces bore traces of weariness from the long journey, they could not conceal the pride and joy of their victorious return.

Along the way, the people cheered and threw the flowers and ribbons they had prepared at the soldiers, shouting things like "Heroes return in triumph" and "Defend the country!" The lively scene seemed to set the entire capital city ablaze.

Liu Jia led his troops straight to the palace. He dismounted, straightened his clothes, and then led his generals into the palace to receive their orders. In the main hall, the emperor was already seated on his dragon throne, looking down at the returning soldiers with a smile of satisfaction and joy on his face.

Liu Jia knelt respectfully and reported loudly, "Your Majesty, I have been fortunate enough to fulfill my mission. In this battle at the border, under the leadership of General Nangong, we worked together to defeat the foreign enemy and successfully recovered the lost territory. Now I have come to report back to Your Majesty!"

The Emperor was overjoyed. He stood up and said loudly, "Excellent! Excellent! All of you soldiers are heroes of our dynasty and pillars of the nation. This great victory on the border has enhanced our national prestige and protected our people. I am very pleased and will reward you handsomely!"

Having said that, he immediately announced Liu Jia's promotion to Grand General and Nangong Jin's promotion to Prince Weiwu, bestowing upon them a royal sword. Cities, fertile fields, gold, silver, silk, and other valuables were also distributed to the soldiers, filling the entire hall with a festive atmosphere.

After the award ceremony, the Emperor looked at Liu Si and asked in confusion, "Liu Jia, why did Nangong Jin not return with me?"

Liu Jia hurriedly knelt down again and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, just as we were preparing to return to the capital, General Nangong suddenly received news that spies from Nanzhao were active in the border area and seemed to have ulterior motives. That area is the fiefdom of the Eighth Prince. General Nangong was worried about the safety of the Eighth Prince and also wanted to find out the purpose of those spies in order to prevent them from causing trouble again and endangering the peace of our border. So he changed his route to investigate and was unable to return to the capital with me. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor frowned slightly, pondering to himself that the matter of the Nanzhao spies was indeed not to be underestimated, and that Nangong Jin's actions were for the sake of the overall situation. He then said, "Nangong Jin is concerned about the safety of the border, so how could I blame him? However, those Nanzhao spies are always cunning. How many troops did he take with him this time?"

"Your Majesty, a hundred light cavalrymen," Liu Jia replied.

"Alright, you take the rest of the soldiers back to rest first."

Liu Jia quickly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. General Nangong is highly skilled in martial arts and resourceful. He will surely be able to investigate this matter thoroughly and will return to the capital to report to Your Majesty soon. Please rest assured, Your Majesty."

The Emperor nodded and gave Liu Jia a few more instructions, telling him to rest well and share the joy of victory with the soldiers.

Liu Jia left the palace and headed home, but he was secretly worried about Nangong Jin. He found the matter of the Nanzhao spies quite strange, feeling that the timing was somewhat coincidental. Originally, he was going to go with them, but Nangong Jin suggested that he investigate first before making any plans. He said that if there were any developments, he would send a message to him by carrier pigeon, and he would lead a team to meet him.

Liu Jia returned home in triumph, his house already brightly decorated and filled with joy. Grand Tutor Liu, having heard of his son's victorious return, was already waiting at the gate, his face beaming with uncontainable pride and satisfaction. His wife was also beaming, her eyes slightly reddening with tears of emotion, repeatedly murmuring, "My son, you've finally returned safely, and with such great merit! You've truly brought honor to our Liu family!"

As soon as Liu Jia entered the mansion, Grand Tutor Liu stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder vigorously, and laughed heartily, saying, "Good lad, you truly are a son of the Liu family! You performed so bravely in this border battle, I am so proud of you!"

The Grand Tutor's wife quickly took Liu Si's hand, looked him up and down, and said with heartache, "My child, you must have suffered a lot on this journey. You've lost weight. Let your mother take a good look at you."

Seeing his parents like this, Liu Jia was deeply moved and said with a smile, "Father, Mother, I am doing well. I have returned victorious this time and have not failed in my mission. I have not disappointed you."

Grand Tutor Liu nodded repeatedly and said, "Good, good! We must celebrate properly today. It is a great joy for our Liu family to receive such an honor."

Having said this, he instructed his servants to prepare a grand banquet to share the joy of victory with his relatives and friends. Once the news spread, many people came to offer their congratulations, and the entire Liu residence was bustling with activity, filled with laughter and joy.

Meanwhile, at the Lin family residence, Prime Minister Lin heard about the Liu family's celebratory banquet. Considering the Liu family's current prosperity and Liu Jia's military achievements and promotion, he felt it was only right to offer his congratulations. So, he instructed his servants to prepare gifts and, along with Consort Liu, prepared to visit the Liu family residence.

Unexpectedly, Lin Jun had just returned from his duty at the palace when he heard that he was to go to the Liu residence to offer congratulations. His face immediately darkened, and he said angrily, "Father, I'm not going! Why should I go to congratulate that Liu Jia? What's there to congratulate him about?"

Lin Xiang frowned and scolded, "What are you saying? The Liu family has made a great contribution. Liu Jia is indeed capable. It is only proper for us to go and congratulate them on their victory at the border. How can you be so insensible?"

Lin Jun, however, was unimpressed. He flicked his sleeve and said angrily, "Hmph, what's so great about him? He just helped Nangong Jin win a battle. Why should Liu Jia get promoted? I work diligently in the palace every day, but I don't see any good prospects. It's all his fault. He's doing so well, enjoying all the glory. I can't swallow this. Anyway, I'm not going!"

So, the reason Lin Jun disliked Liu Jia so much stemmed from an unpleasant past. Back then, Lin Jun had finally managed to get a job in the palace through family connections, hoping it would be a great opportunity to showcase his talents and advance his career. He was eager to rise through the ranks quickly, to earn respect from others and finally gain recognition in the capital. However, instead of focusing on doing his job well and climbing the ranks through genuine ability, Lin Jun started to scheme and try to take shortcuts.

So he secretly prepared a considerable sum of money to bribe his superior, thinking that as long as his superior was willing to say a few good words to the emperor or arrange some prestigious tasks for him, promotion would be just around the corner. However, he never expected that his sneaky actions would be discovered by a colleague.

Lin Jun's colleague, who had long disapproved of his opportunistic behavior and felt it disgraced the palace, promptly informed Liu Jia, who held a higher rank than Lin Jun. Upon hearing this, Liu Jia was furious. He felt Lin Jun's actions were a disgrace to the palace; if everyone sought promotion through bribery, the palace's atmosphere would be utterly corrupt. Liu Jia immediately decided to punish Lin Jun severely to uphold palace rules. He summoned Lin Jun and confronted him about bribing his superior. Lin Jun initially tried to deny it, but faced with irrefutable evidence, he had no choice but to confess. Liu Jia said sternly, "Lin Jun, as a palace official, you should set an example and uphold palace rules. Yet you have committed such a bribery offense. How can you expect to be respected if you are not severely punished?"

Having said that, Liu Jia, following palace rules, ruthlessly punished Lin Jun, demoting him and transferring him to the royal horse farm to feed the horses. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Lin Jun, who was eager to rise to prominence.

Lin Jun felt that he had a bright future ahead of him, but because of this one incident, not only were his dreams of promotion shattered, but he was also reduced to a lowly horse feeder at the stables. This made him lose face in front of everyone, and now he had to work from dawn till dusk, often unable to go home, which made him feel even more exhausted and hopeless. Thus, hatred for Liu Si was planted in his heart. From then on, whenever he heard Liu Si's name, it felt like a huge stone was pressing on his heart, making him extremely uncomfortable, and the hatred in his heart continued to spread and grow, refusing to dissipate.

So now that Lin Jun saw Liu Jia achieve military merits again, get promoted, and return to the capital in glory, all the jealousy and resentment in his heart surged up at once, which is why he was so angry that he didn't even want to pay attention to the basic etiquette of going to Liu's residence to congratulate him.

Seeing Lin Jun's angry and unyielding demeanor, Lin Xiang and Aunt Liu were somewhat worried. They knew that Lin Jun's resentment towards Liu Jia had been brewing for a long time, and they feared that he might bring this resentment to the Liu family and cause some unpleasant incident at the banquet. So, after thinking it over, the two decided not to insist any further. They gave Lin Jun a few words of advice, telling him not to sulk at home, and then went to the Liu residence on their own.

Lin Jun remained in the mansion, but the anger in his heart wouldn't subside; the more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt. He stormed into the courtyard, picked up the whip he usually used for martial arts practice from a corner, and began to wield it. The whip in his hands moved like a nimble snake, cracking and snapping in the air, each strike seemingly carrying his resentment as it lashed the surrounding air.

Just then, Lin Ning passed by the courtyard and saw Lin Jun angrily brandishing his whip. She immediately understood what was going on. She thought, "This is a rare opportunity. Let's see if we can get any useful clues out of Lin Jun."

So Lin Ning walked over to Lin Jun with a gentle smile on her face and praised him, "Little brother, you're really good at whipping! Look at your technique and the power. If others saw this, they would definitely praise you."

Hearing Lin Ning's voice, Lin Jun paused slightly, turned to look at her, and said irritably, "Hmph, what's the use of being powerful? All you can do is vent your anger by whipping her here."

Lin Ning sighed softly, walked to Lin Jun's side, and continued, "Little brother, I've heard everything. If it weren't for that incident before, with your abilities, you would definitely have risen through the ranks in the palace. You might have become a young hero praised by everyone long ago. It was all because of those jealous people who did bad things and deliberately tripped you up, which is why you were harmed."

Hearing Lin Ning's words, Lin Jun felt a little relieved of the pent-up frustration in his heart. He looked at Lin Ning, his expression softening, and said, "Sister, you really understand me. Even you could see that I was tripped up by someone out of jealousy, but that Liu Jia couldn't see it at all. He was so ruthless to me over such a small matter."

Lin Ning frowned slightly, looking indignant on Lin Jun's behalf, and said, "Little brother, I understand you feel wronged. Anyone would feel the same way in this situation. But I don't think you need to be too upset. As the saying goes, 'Where there's life, there's hope.' With your skills, you'll definitely have opportunities to make a name for yourself in the future. You'll show those who looked down on you what you're made of."

Lin Jun felt quite pleased with Lin Ning's words of comfort, and his complexion gradually improved. He put away his whip and carefully examined his sister. He wondered if it was because the living environment in the manor had improved since returning home, or if his sister had simply blossomed, but today she seemed exceptionally beautiful. Her skin was fair, her face like a peach blossom, her lips cherry-like, and her eyes sparkling with smiles. Everyone said that Lin Wan was the most beautiful woman in the capital, but today it seemed that this Ning'er sister was truly beautiful, even surpassing Wan'er in beauty. Thinking this, he smiled and said, "Sister, you have such discerning eyes. Hearing you say that makes me feel much better. Humph, I refuse to believe that I, Lin Jun, will never rise above my station. I will make those people regret it."