"Minister, have the men been dispatched yet?" The Emperor changed the subject.
Fang Zhiyi nodded: "They have, twelve in total. The imperial decree will surely be delivered."
The Emperor was satisfied: "Now, how should we deal with Wei Kaiyuan when he returns?"
Fang Zhiyi glanced around and made a gesture to the Emperor.
The Emperor's brows relaxed completely. Indeed, Fang Zhiyi was truly a good Prime Minister, so attuned to his thoughts!
Fang Zhiyi did as he said.
Upon returning home, he encountered Shen Xun, who had come to visit with his son, followed by Li Li.
Fang Zhiyi was pleasantly surprised—this was an unexpected delight.
Immediately, he warmly received Shen Xun and Li Li, even ordering the servants to prepare a feast. Shen Xun was flustered by the hospitality. Recalling recent events, he steadied himself.
"Prime Minister Fang, regarding the matter of your son..."
Mentioning Fang Bufan only made Fang Zhiyi's eyes flare up: "That disgrace! Have you caused trouble again?" He bent down to remove his shoe, ready to beat Fang Bufan. Shen Xun hurriedly intervened, while Li Li was stunned. He had only accompanied Shen Xun to gauge the situation, never expecting the Prime Minister to resort to violence so quickly.
"Prime Minister, please calm down! Your son hasn’t done anything wrong."
Fang Zhiyi looked at Shen Xun, his expression shifting rapidly: "Good then. I entrust my son to you, Minister Shen. Scold him or beat him as needed—don’t hold back!"
"Prime Minister, what exactly... what has Shen Xun done wrong?" Shen Xun finally blurted out.
If Fang Zhiyi had merely reprimanded or impeached him, he would have understood. But the Prime Minister’s recent behavior had left him uneasy.
"Done wrong?" Fang Zhiyi paused, then laughed. "You’ve done nothing wrong, Minister. It is I who am at fault."
Shen Xun stared at him in shock.
"Let’s drink, gentlemen!" Shen Xun and Li Li, being military men, had little resistance to alcohol. Besides, they couldn’t refuse the Prime Minister’s hospitality. The three sat down and began drinking.
After several rounds, Fang Zhiyi suddenly waved his hand: "I entered officialdom young, and I earned my position fairly." He poured wine for Shen Xun, who accepted it respectfully, then filled Li Li’s cup.
"But back then, the Emperor was young, and the court was in chaos."
Shen Xun nodded repeatedly—he knew that history.
"Minor officials like me had no chance of rising—until one day, I met the Emperor. After a conversation, he took a liking to me. From then on, my career soared."
Shen Xun grew uneasy. Why was Fang Zhiyi reminiscing?
"In the 32nd year of the old calendar, the barbarians invaded. I petitioned to resist them. That night, the Emperor summoned me to the study and spoke with me at length." Fang Zhiyi’s grip on his cup tightened, veins bulging on his hand.
Li Li noticed this detail.
He had joined the court later and knew little of this incident. Fang Zhiyi? Opposing the barbarians? Nonsense! Everyone knew he was a pacifist.
Fang Zhiyi took a sip and lowered his voice: "The world calls me a treacherous minister."
Shen Xun was terrified. If others said this, fine—but for the Prime Minister himself to say it? And to him?
"But they don’t know... they don’t know."
Fang Zhiyi’s gaze grew distant: "I, too, grew up reading the classics. I understand that every man bears responsibility for his country’s fate."
The two men stared at him in disbelief.
"But what could I do? The world sees a villain, but who has seen my struggles?"
"The military funds for Liaodong—I embezzled them! You knew that, right?"
Neither dared respond. They regretted coming today. After this conversation, their heads might roll tomorrow—Fang Zhiyi had executed several officials before.
"Did you see me spend that money? This residence looks exactly as it did when I first arrived!" Fang Zhiyi stood and pointed upward.
"It was for The Imperial Concubine’s moon-viewing pavilion."
At this, Li Li sobered instantly. Shen Xun turned to exchange a shocked glance with him.
"The former head of the Ministry of War—I submitted a memorial, the Emperor approved it." Fang Zhiyi drew a finger across his throat. "Executed."
"You all say I killed him, but why would I? I barely knew him!" Fang Zhiyi staggered, and Shen Xun rushed to steady him.
"Resisting the barbarians... the border troops had no funds." Fang Zhiyi slumped back into his seat. "Then, a young general emerged from the Liang State’s household. When I saw the barbarians retreat, it was glorious!"
He took a fierce gulp of wine: "But a few days ago, you saw—he’s being recalled to the capital."
Shen Xun and Li Li sat rigidly. Were these words meant for their ears? Yet piecing it together, they realized Fang Zhiyi was merely the Emperor’s scapegoat.
No wonder his temperament had changed—even his son wasn’t spared.
It all made sense now!
"Regardless, I ask you both to take my useless son away. Let him learn what the border soldiers endure while he wreaks havoc under his father’s name!"
Fang Zhiyi bowed deeply.
The two exchanged glances and hastily returned the gesture.
"Prime Minister, I cannot promise much, but I accept this task," Shen Xun said, deeply moved.
Watching them lead away his dozing, foolish son, Fang Zhiyi sighed in relief, his drunken gaze clearing.
"I can’t clear my name, but at least I can shift some blame."
"Do you think the Prime Minister was sincere today...?" Shen Xun couldn’t help asking.
Li Li immediately raised a finger to his lips in warning.
"It didn’t seem feigned," he whispered. After Fang Zhiyi’s "heartfelt confession," even a fool could see the truth. Why had so many impeachment memorials against him vanished? People said he suppressed them, but now it was clear—the Emperor simply ignored them.
A Prime Minister held great power, but without the Emperor’s approval, could he embezzle funds or impeach colleagues? The more Li Li thought, the more it made sense.
How pitiful. Li Li shook his head. As an overlooked imperial guard captain, he understood the frustration—like a general forced to obey a eunuch’s orders.
Meanwhile, in the northern Liang region, Wei Kaiyuan’s army rested. By candlelight, Wei Kaiyuan studied the map, planning the next advance. Along the way, he had absorbed scattered border troops, and now his forces were formidable—victory seemed within reach!
"Report! A courier from the court has arrived!" A soldier rushed in.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
u serious?" Chen Feng watched helplessly as his painstakingly trained disciple, fresh off a championship victory, publicly abandoned him. "You had your chance, but you didn’t appreciate it. Now, face the consequences of your choice!" Chen Feng possessed the "Master System," a treasure trove of supreme martial arts techniques, capable of molding ordinary individuals into peerless prodigies. "Legs like yours? A shame not to train in the Crippling Kick." "Ever heard of a palm strike that descends from the heavens?" "Auntie! I see extraordinary bone structure in you—a martial arts prodigy, one in ten thousand." The once-defiant senior disciple, now watching her juniors rise to fame one after another, dominating the internet, was consumed by endless regret.
