"That was a ruthless move. You managed to pull out two deputy generals who had an average relationship with the Xu family, trapped Xu Hu, and even forced him to kill his own trusted aides. He might even end up blaming the Crown Prince for this..." Little Hei chattered on.
Fang Zhiyi ignored it and instead turned to a boy behind him. "Did you understand?"
This boy was the original owner's Third Prince, and also the most reliable one Fang Zhiyi could pick out.
Little Hei continued to chatter, "I know you don't want to be the emperor, but aren't you being too hasty? What could this little guy possibly understand..."
Fang Zhiyi scattered a handful of fish food into the pond.
The Third Prince nodded and said, "I am dull-witted and do not know why Imperial Father did this, but I feel that... since General Xu Hu executed a few of his trusted aides before returning to the capital, the people in the army might change their opinion of him in the future."
Little Hei covered its mouth in disbelief.
Fang Zhiyi cast a sideways glance at it. You know nothing about human princes!
"How so?"
"If General Xu Hu is clear in his rewards and punishments, he is a general of the Wu Dynasty. If he is lenient or even pardons the crimes of his subordinates, he is a general of the Xu family..." The Third Prince suddenly knelt down. "Imperial Father, I was just speaking nonsense. I have no intention of sowing discord!"
Fang Zhiyi chuckled but said nothing.
Little Hei looked thoughtful. "You humans are too terrifying." It now inexplicably felt that the transmigrated girl must have had some luck on her side to have managed to cause such a stir.
Only after walking a bit further did Fang Zhiyi speak.
"Since he killed his trusted aides, the generals of the border army will only hold reverence for him as the Border-Defending General, rather than reverence for the Xu family. If he hadn't killed them... that would mean he was shielding his own people. Let alone the soldiers, any random imperial censor in the court could submit ten memorials to impeach him."
"No wonder you threw a fit in court when you pretended to receive the news," Little Hei suddenly realized.
"Nonsense. Was I supposed to act like the original owner and keep family scandals hidden? I don't have that kind of magnanimity. If that little brat wants to kick over the nest, it's a bit too early."
Xu Jiao had been having a very hard time recently. First, her father returned, but upon learning that her second and third brothers had not been transferred to the border, he stayed awake all night. Even her mother, who had always doted on her, pulled a long face. Then came the reprimands. It was not the first time, but it was the most severe one.
When had she ever suffered such grievances? For a time, she cursed this person and resented that person in her heart. The originally cheerful atmosphere of the Xu family became much heavier.
Especially when he heard that the defense map had been stolen, Xu Yuanzhi could not even bother to think about how to educate his daughter and rushed into the palace to plead guilty.
As a veteran general adorned with military merits, he knew all too well the severity of this matter. If it hadn't been accidentally intercepted by someone, many soldiers at the border defense would have died in vain, and the imperial court's finances and provisions would have been affected.
But to his surprise, the Emperor was not that angry. He merely told him to teach Xu Hu well, and then changed the subject to Xu Jiao, saying things like how much he liked this girl. This made Xu Yuanzhi feel somewhat stifled; this way, he really couldn't do anything about his daughter.
Xu Jiao also learned of this. While praising the Emperor in her heart, she secretly made up her mind: whoever bullied her, she would go and complain to the Emperor!
The faces of the Xu family members, who heard her inner thoughts, grew even darker. This was especially true for Xu Xiong and Xu Bao. They had originally wanted to serve in the army, but because of their sister's meddling, they couldn't go anymore. Now they didn't know what to do, and their attitude towards Xu Jiao was slowly changing.
The Crown Prince returned and, without a doubt, was once again severely scolded by Fang Zhiyi in front of all the ministers.
"I sent you to inspect the border, and this is how you do it? Whipping my soldiers and using your status as the Crown Prince to oppress people? Shielding spies! I think you should stop being the Crown Prince!"
However, out of Fang Zhiyi's expectations, quite a few people still stood up to plead for the Crown Prince, among whom was the Right Chancellor, Ma Guocheng.
They were clearly the Crown Prince's faction, aside from a few who were just joining in the commotion.
It seemed the time was not yet ripe. Fang Zhiyi let out a long breath. "Since that is the case, go back and reflect on your actions."
The Crown Prince walked away stiffly; he was somewhat used to this.
"Keep it up, Brother Crown Prince, you will definitely make your mark! I will definitely help you!"
The inner voice made the Crown Prince pause. He felt a bit exhausted. Were Xu Jiao's inner thoughts truly his destiny?
The court returned to its usual state. It was still Xu Jiao complaining in the background, while the officials listened and gnashed their teeth.
However, because the Emperor couldn't hear her, he was exceptionally doting on this demoness. He would even specifically keep her behind after court to give her some rewards.
But soon, the officials began to feel afraid.
Because that day during court, Xu Jiao had mentally criticized the Junior Minister of Personnel for a long time, even mentioning that he had stolen his own mother's bracelet. The Junior Minister's face darkened significantly from anger. After court was dismissed that day, Xu Jiao stayed behind.
And that very afternoon, Lord Guo, the Attendant of the Yellow Gates, led a team to raid the Junior Minister of Personnel's home. The Junior Minister had been attending court in the morning, but by the afternoon, he had become a prisoner.
This seemed like a signal.
Every day after this, as long as Xu Jiao mentally complained about someone, that person would suffer a disaster on the very same day, and every single time, there was irrefutable evidence.
It wasn't that no one suspected Fang Zhiyi could hear her, but no matter how they tried to verify or observe, they found that Fang Zhiyi truly knew nothing about Xu Jiao's inner thoughts. Then there was only one answer left: Xu Jiao was secretly snitching on them.
As if to prove this point, Xu Jiao's official rank was promoted every few days without any reason. In just half a year, she was actually appointed as a fourth-rank official, becoming the first fourth-rank female official in the history of the Wu Dynasty.
By now, even a fool could guess that it was definitely this Xu Jiao causing trouble. The remaining officials in the court finally united as one; they clearly knew who their enemy truly was.
This demoness must die!
And as Xu Jiao's status gradually rose, the Xu family was also undergoing changes.
Xu Yuanzhi understood that his daughter receiving favor was not a good thing, but when he asked her, she claimed she hadn't complained to Fang Zhiyi, and her inner thoughts reflected the same.
"Complain to that foolish ruler? I wouldn't do that. If I were to complain, I would only complain to Brother Crown Prince."
Meanwhile, because of the previous incident, Xu Hu voluntarily submitted a memorial requesting a demotion. Fang Zhiyi pretended to persuade him otherwise for a bit before approving it. He even specifically pulled Xu Yuanzhi aside to talk about a bunch of random things, starting from Xu Yuanzhi's military merits, almost moving him to tears.
Watching their sister get promoted, Xu Xiong and Xu Bao's original doting on her gradually turned into jealousy. So you stopped us from going to earn military merits, yet you yourself rely on kissing up to the Emperor to get promoted?
The atmosphere in the Xu family was bizarre, but Xu Jiao still hadn't noticed. As an ordinary person who had transmigrated, she had gained the Emperor's favor, and no one dared to provoke her. This feeling of suddenly going from rags to riches made her completely carried away.
And once she got carried away, her inner thoughts became even more unbridled. She was either looking down on this person or wanting to impeach that one, practically treating herself as an empress. The Xu family members were terrified every time they heard it.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
'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!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
