"Ah?"
"Enough with the 'ah'." Shen Xun turned and ordered, "Kill that eunuch. Later, we'll say bandits did it."
"Yes, sir!"
"You..." Wei Kaiyuan's eyes widened. "This is defying the emperor's decree! It's a capital offense!" He truly couldn't understand why.
Shen Xun smiled. "Relax. The Chancellor has already thought it through. Kill him, and it's done. The two who returned from your place last time? He killed them too."
"You—Shen Xun! Are you conspiring with Fang Zhiyi? Are you rebelling?"
"Rebelling? What rebellion? If you don't talk and I don’t talk, who’ll know? It’s chaos out here." Shen Xun paused. "The moment I agreed to the Chancellor’s plan, I was already deceiving the emperor. The commoners along the way have long fled—what bandits? It’s just the Chancellor’s excuse to send me here with supplies. If he doesn’t die, will you return or not?"
Wei Kaiyuan was momentarily speechless.
"If he lives and reports back, do I die or not?"
Wei Kaiyuan lowered his head.
"Look, if we break through here, we can reclaim the lands overlooking the Hu people’s territory." He pointed at the pass ahead.
"The commoners are burning incense in secret, praying for your success. You wouldn’t turn back now, would you? Think—would your father beat you to death if you did?"
Wei Kaiyuan raised his head, his eyes filled with resolve. "Wei Kaiyuan has failed the people of Yan!"
"Ah, that’s more like it." Shen Xun exhaled in relief. The Chancellor was truly formidable—the script he’d prepared worked perfectly on Wei Kaiyuan!
"Since we’re here, let me stretch my legs up there."
"Ah?"
"I brought out so many men. If we all return unscathed, do you think the court officials are fools?"
With supplies and reinforcements secured, the Hu forces in the old capital were caught off guard. In three days, they retreated in defeat.
Fang Bufan’s hand trembled as he gripped his blade, staring at Shen Xun, who had taken a slash meant for him.
"Kid, killing on the battlefield isn’t like street brawling. Don’t swing so wildly—didn’t I teach you that?" Shen Xun paid no mind to his wound.
"...I..."
Shen Xun sighed. "The Wei army has strict discipline. Your father wanted you stationed here. I’ll talk to Wei Kaiyuan—get you assigned to logistics, somewhere safer. If anything happened to you, your father might not say it, but he’d grieve to death."
"Lord Shen, I was wrong." Fang Bufan suddenly knelt, weeping.
Shen Xun quickly sidestepped. "Get up! Kneeling at the drop of a hat—where’s your dignity as a man?"
Shen Xun led the remnants back to the capital, while Wei Kaiyuan remained in the old capital to plan the next move. He’d wanted to return, but Shen Xun stopped him.
"The Chancellor was right. You can’t go back. If you do, the entire Wei clan will perish."
Wei Kaiyuan, irritated at the mention of Fang Zhiyi again, stubbornly stayed put.
Meanwhile, resentment festered in the capital. Corrupt Chancellor Fang Zhiyi’s extortion never ceased, and he’d invented new schemes—royal lotteries promising instant wealth, installment plans for unfinished houses. But the court officials bore the brunt of his greed, their coffers plundered repeatedly.
Impeachment memorials against Fang Zhiyi piled up like snowflakes in the palace.
Yet the emperor paid no heed, indulging in the new palace Fang Zhiyi had designed for him—even his amusements were Fang’s inventions.
He knew Fang Zhiyi embezzled, for much of it lined his own pockets.
In that regard, the emperor was thoroughly pleased.
He’d chosen Fang Zhiyi precisely because the man knew how to entertain him. So what if he was greedy? Without his corruption, where would the emperor’s wealth come from? And if public fury ever boiled over, executing Fang would not only replenish the treasury but also prove the emperor’s righteousness.
Shen Xun returned to report: the courier had been ambushed by bandits (fate unknown), half the troops were lost, and he himself bore three wounds.
The court buzzed with murmurs.
The emperor frowned.
Suddenly, Shen Xun turned a grief-stricken gaze to Fang Zhiyi. "Chancellor... your son..."
"We encountered a Hu patrol during retreat. Fang Bufan... was killed by them!"
Fang Zhiyi staggered two steps, nearly collapsing.
"Hu raiders?" The courtiers whispered, many gloating—Serves you right, Fang Zhiyi! All your ill-gotten wealth couldn’t save him!
"Report!" A guard rushed in. "Hu envoys demand an audience!"
"Hu?!" Fang Zhiyi roared. "Where? I’ll butcher them!"
Chaos erupted. The emperor acted swiftly. "Escort Chancellor Fang home to rest! My lord, grieve in peace. We will avenge this!"
Fang Zhiyi was half-dragged away. Shen Xun also withdrew.
The Hu envoys swaggered in, immediately chastising, "Yan Kingdom breaks its word! First promising us the north, then attacking! Emperor, do you seek war?"
The court fell dead silent.
Only then did they recall—Fang Zhiyi, their usual negotiator with the Hu, had just been hauled off.
"Then... what do you propose?" the emperor hedged.
"Withdraw and pay reparations!"
Debate flared.
But the shrewd among them noticed something: the emperor, typically ambivalent when Fang Zhiyi was present, now leaned toward appeasement. With Fang absent, the court floundered, forcing the emperor to negotiate terms—compensation and punishment for the "rogue" Wei army.
Meanwhile, in Fang Zhiyi’s residence, vendors knelt under sword-point. Shen Xun stood tense while Fang Zhiyi waited, eyes lightly shut. Footsteps approached as guests filed in.
"Hah! The traitor meets his reckoning! Lost your son?" The loudest was General Huang, long retired.
"Shen Xun, you summoned us to witness his downfall?"
"Duke Wei too? Old Wei, your boy fights like a demon!"
As the room filled, Shen Xun glanced at Fang Zhiyi. The Chancellor opened his eyes—no trace of earlier anguish remained.
"Gentlemen, my past actions were... necessary. But today, I ask your aid."
"Fang Zhiyi, forget that—why are these commoners here? Planning to slaughter a few for show?" A ruddy-faced man demanded.
"Commoners?" Fang Zhiyi chuckled. "They’re the emperor’s spies, here to monitor me."
He rose. "Every tael I embezzle, every visitor I receive—they report it all to His Majesty."
"This..." The crowd exchanged puzzled looks.
"Tch. Fang Zhiyi, as a corrupt official, can you blame the emperor for distrusting you?"
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?
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
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.
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
