The sound of heavy slapping ended their conversation. They watched as Lin Yanqing, her face dark with anger, walked out of the broken-down temple.
"What's her problem now?"
"Shh, keep your voice down."
They were afraid of Lin Yanqing. Initially, they had looked down on her because she was a woman, but they had gradually been intimidated by her domineering and ruthless demeanor.
Fang Zhiyi learned the news of Lin Yanqing's disappearance and then looked at Liu Acai's smug, sneering face. "You..."
Liu Acai waved his hand. "Just a little trick, a little trick! No need to praise me!"
This guy is really quite wicked, Fang Zhiyi thought, shaking his head helplessly. He could only hope that if Liu Acai ever went to hell, he wouldn't be assigned to dig the nineteenth level.
Nian'an was greatly favored by the Emperor. Also, because rebellions were erupting everywhere, with several rebel forces fighting back and forth against the imperial suppression armies, the Emperor was deeply worried.
He didn't really care about the rebellions themselves, but he knew that if left unchecked, his throne would become unstable.
However, the money had all been spent on his own pleasures. The army's pay had not been fully distributed, and because of this, those rebel armies had been able to gradually grow stronger.
Hearing the Emperor's sigh, Nian'an knew his opportunity had come.
"Your Majesty, this humble official has a plan that could relieve the immediate crisis."
The Emperor looked at him in surprise.
"That Fang Zhiyi possesses considerable wealth."
Who would have thought that upon hearing this, the Emperor's expression gradually turned serious. He looked at Nian'an and remained silent for a long time.
Just as Nian'an was growing uneasy...
"Ah," the Emperor sighed. "What you say, how could I not know? It's just... now, too many people in this court have ties to him. Even I..."
Nian'an's heart sank, but he gritted his teeth. "I have a plan that can both remove this local tyrant and ensure Your Majesty's interests are not harmed. Moreover, it will provide even more funds for suppressing the rebellions afterward!"
"Oh?" The Emperor became interested. He had also heard that the lottery business was growing larger and larger, and there was something called the Slumber Moon Pavilion. Yet, the funds entering his private treasury hadn't increased much; in fact, they had even decreased somewhat. He also felt some dissatisfaction toward this legendary Fang Zhiyi, but he couldn't find a suitable pretext to move against him. As the Emperor, he couldn't just kill anyone he disliked. He still needed to maintain some semblance of propriety, not to mention that almost all the civil and military officials had some connection with this man.
It was a very unpleasant feeling.
"Your Majesty, summon him to the capital, saying you wish to reward him. Once he enters the palace, apprehend him immediately!"
The Emperor was puzzled. "Why?"
"I have a way to force him to produce that anti-counterfeiting coating. Then, Your Majesty can issue the lottery tickets in the name of the Imperial Family. Though I am untalented, I am familiar with many of Fang Zhiyi's methods. I will share Your Majesty's burdens..." Nian'an's voice gradually lowered, becoming so fragmented that the eunuch not far away looked confused.
The Emperor suddenly understood. "Good, good, good! I indeed did not misjudge you! My dear minister! You, you are truly clever!"
Nian'an bowed deeply, a smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.
Fang Zhiyi, your good days are over. Now I have the Emperor's backing. And you?
Meanwhile, Fang Zhiyi had finally lain down on a soft, large bed and let out a comfortable sigh.
"Look at you, lazing about like a salted fish," Little Hei circled continuously. "That godson of yours is about to make trouble for you."
Fang Zhiyi smiled. "That guy really holds a grudge. Little Hei, do you know what sound a fox makes?"
Little Hei shook his head. "I never really paid attention."
"The Chu shall rise, Chen Sheng be king."
Little Hei looked utterly confused. "Really?"
The next day, not long after the imperial edict summoning Fang Zhiyi was sent out, the entire entourage escorting the eunuch came running back.
The Emperor was bewildered. "What happened?"
Nian'an was also puzzled. Looking at these people, they seemed as if they had been robbed.
Before they could speak, urgent reports began pouring in from outside: "Your Majesty! Urgent military report! Rebellions have broken out in the four southern provinces! The rebels killed the gate guards and opened the city gates for the rebel army!"
"Your Majesty, the rebel army north of the Huai River has begun marching toward the capital!"
"Your Majesty..."
The eunuch holding the imperial edict, his legs giving way, also knelt down. "Your Majesty, the place you sent me to... has also fallen into the hands of the bandit army. We ran right into their scouts!"
"Ah?" The Emperor plopped down onto his stool.
Nian'an was shocked. Just when he was about to get his revenge, why... But then he thought, if Fang Zhiyi fell into the hands of the rebel army, wouldn't that also mean his death? Thinking this, he felt somewhat relieved. Such a vile villain would surely be the rebel army's primary target.
News from the front lines quickly spread back. Some armies, lacking pay, had defected or mutinied. The rebel armies merged into one force, advancing with unstoppable momentum. In just over a month, the rebel army was at the city gates.
Nian'an supported the Emperor, whose legs were weak, as they went up the city wall to survey the situation, but his mind was calculating his next move.
The rebel army below was well-trained and well-equipped. If he didn't know their identity, Nian'an would have thought they were coming to protect the Emperor. These rebels looked quite wealthy. Then he saw a somewhat familiar face among them but couldn't remember where he had seen it.
That night, after attending to the Emperor, Nian'an had just lain down when he suddenly sat up. That's it! The commanding general was the son of a hunter from the western suburbs! Back when his father was injured by a wild beast, Fang Zhiyi had hypocritically sent him food and drink!
Instantly, a terrifying conjecture formed in his mind.
Fang Zhiyi had curried favor with corrupt officials, using businesses like the lottery and the Slumber Moon Pavilion to amass wealth on a large scale, but in reality, he was secretly providing supplies and weapons to these rebel armies... Corrupting court officials on one hand, while strengthening the rebel forces on the other?
Right! The Slumber Moon Pavilion? Those branch stores! After all, Nian'an was the male lead; he understood. These so-called branch stores were merely a front. Besides amassing wealth, their biggest function was to collect intelligence!
The people frequenting the Slumber Moon Pavilion were all "high society," so naturally, a lot of information circulated there daily. This could explain why the resistance in various provinces was always so easily broken.
"Impossible..." Moments later, Nian'an shook his head again. How could Fang Zhiyi have foreseen such things? He was overthinking it.
He smiled self-deprecatingly. Indeed, smart people like him were prone to overthinking.
But what should be done now? Perhaps tomorrow he should advise the Emperor to move the capital? Avoid the enemy's sharp edge for now. As long as they waited for the imperial princes stationed in various regions to arrive, they could turn the situation around.
However, that very night, the gates of the imperial city were opened from the inside.
The sounds of killing and shouting woke Nian'an. He fell out of bed and heard his own mansion gate being pounded violently.
That night, Nian'an hid in a latrine, barely avoiding three waves of searches. Then he disguised himself as a beggar and slipped out of the city. He heard from the fleeing refugees that the Emperor had been hanged by the rebels inside the palace.
Nian'an sighed with emotion.
"Did you hear? The one who opened the city gates and surrendered was the Grand General."
"Ah? Impossible."
"That treacherous official!"
Nian'an kept his head down. He needed to escape quickly.
But he never expected that while passing through the second checkpoint at the city gate, a man walked straight toward him, then grabbed him and looked him up and down.
Nian'an wanted to break free, but when he saw the man's face, he froze.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
