"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.
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
