Published: March 11, 2025
Chapter Two: The Unfortunate Identity
As Zhao Hai fainted, a memory that did not belong to him suddenly appeared in his mind, as if an unfamiliar program had been installed on his computer, causing his brain to nearly crash. Although it didn't crash completely, he felt his mind stuck, gradually digesting the information swirling within.
Time passed, and Zhao Hai woke up, feeling an entirely foreign memory embedded in his mind.
In this memory, his name was Adam Buddha, born into a family of military generals in the Aksu Empire on the Ark Continent. His family had served the Aksu Empire for three generations, holding the title of marquess. However, the family had fallen from grace by Adam's generation. Adam was a notorious playboy, and with his mother dying early and his father constantly leading troops in battle, he had descended into extreme lawlessness, bullying others without restraint. Yet, his father was very protective and held significant military power, so no one dared to touch him.
However, his father made a crucial mistake during the transition between the old and new kings of the Aksu Empire—he chose the wrong side.
The old king of the Aksu Empire was the 47th ruler, with a total of fifteen princes, five of whom were eligible to inherit the throne: the grand prince, the third prince, the fourth prince, the seventh prince, and the thirteenth prince.
According to Aksu Empire law, only the children born of the queen and favored concubines had the right to inherit the throne. Of course, not all children born to queens and concubines could inherit; only those bestowed a title of duke or higher could.
Royal children were born with the title of earl, and unless they achieved merit for the empire, they would remain earls without any territory throughout their lives. Only after accomplishing something significant would their titles rise, up to that of prince consort.
Naturally, the children of the queen and favored concubines would not be limited to just an earl's title; they were generally given the title of duke, and with minor accomplishments or even fabricated excuses, they could be promoted to grand duke, ultimately ascending to the title of prince consort and securing their claim to the throne.
Among the five children of the 47th king of Aksu, all were princes. The grand prince and the fourth prince were born of the queen; the third prince and the seventh prince were born of the favored concubine, Caroline; and the thirteenth prince was born of the lesser concubine, Aiweier, making him the weakest and least favored, often looked down upon. Many believed that the grand prince was the legitimate heir due to being born of the queen, and the third prince had consistently allied with him, gaining the support of many in the nobility for the grand prince's ascension. The fourth and seventh princes were also in cahoots, with the seventh prince backed by the fourth prince and the Caroline family, making their voices heard in the court. Only the thirteenth prince, being the youngest and weakest, remained unnoticed.
Adam's father was aligned with the grand prince, which was typical, given the grand prince's popularity at the time. The Buddha family was not an old noble family; they rose to marquess status only through military merit during Adam's great-grandfather's time. Eager to integrate into the ranks of established nobility, they chose to support the grand prince, who was most likely to ascend to the throne, believing that once he became king, the Buddha family could infiltrate the core of Aksu Empire’s power and be recognized as true nobles.
In the continent, nobles of any kingdom are divided into two types: old nobility and new nobility. The gap between them is quite evident. New nobles are often seen as upstarts and fail to gain the recognition of the old nobility, thereby unable to enter the power core of the state.
Over the years, the nobles have played a significant role in a kingdom, sometimes even determining its rise and fall. Particularly, those venerable families with a history spanning thousands of years and generations are a force that even the imperial authority fears. It can be said that these old nobles are the true power core of the entire empire, and every new noble aspires to gain their acknowledgment.