Grand Tutor 02

To win over the noble families of the world, Guo Siwei issued multiple decrees through the Emperor's hands. Every single one was meant to hoard wealth, causing widespread resentment among the common people. Anyone who mentioned the current Emperor would curse him endlessly, and by association, the reputation of Fang Zhiyi, the Grand Tutor, was also ruined. Many people said that the Emperor's current incompetence and cruelty were entirely due to Fang Zhiyi's flawed teachings.

However, the Emperor, who never stepped out of the palace, knew nothing of this. Fang Zhiyi knew even less, and even if he did, there was nothing he could do.

Just as the public's grievances reached their peak and civilian uprisings even began to erupt, the Guo family finally bared its fangs.

The Guo family's private army charged straight into the imperial palace. They publicly declared that they were venting the frustrations of the common people and restoring justice to the world.

Fang Zhiyi trembled as he watched Guo Siwei throw a rope at him. He knew what he had to do. In order to survive, Fang Zhiyi gritted his teeth and strangled his nominal student to death. The young Emperor died by his hands.

And then, he still couldn't escape. Convicted of murdering the Emperor, Fang Zhiyi had his tongue cut out and was paraded through the streets. The ignorant commoners threw stones and rotten vegetable leaves at him, while he could only shake his head frantically, unable to utter a single word.

Now, in the eyes of the world, he was the most wicked and treacherous official. Not only had he deceived the Son of Heaven, but out of fear that his crimes would be exposed, he had even strangled the Emperor with his own hands. This was a grave crime punishable by the execution of his entire extended family!

The scapegoat, Fang Zhiyi, went to the execution block along with his family. He looked at his relatives, their faces ashen, never expecting that the family he had tried so hard to protect would not have a single survivor in the end.

After Fang Zhiyi's death, the noble families, having lined their pockets, began to build momentum to support Guo Siwei in establishing a new dynasty. Thus, this dynasty vanished into the long river of history. The young Emperor was remembered as a foolish little tyrant, and Fang Zhiyi became known as the treacherous Grand Tutor, even more vicious than the corrupt eunuchs.

Fang Zhiyi stopped in his tracks. The young Emperor, walking ahead, noticed the lack of footsteps and turned around. Seeing Fang Zhiyi standing there staring at him, his heart skipped a beat. Grand Tutor...

Fang Zhiyi shook his head. Let's go. You are the Emperor; it is only right that you walk in front.

The original owner of this body had never cared about such things, or rather, he had always led the way, with the Emperor following behind him like a lackey on their way to court.

The young Emperor nodded, gritted his teeth, and lifted his leg to step over the threshold.

This is a dead end with no way out. Anyone who sits in this position is doomed to die, Fang Zhiyi muttered.

Little Hei said, It's fine, I think you'll be alright. If we're talking about sheer capability, you might not be able to beat them, but if we're talking about being wicked, you're much worse than they are.

Can't you say something nice?

Uh... I think that counts as a compliment for you.

Fang Zhiyi listened to the sharp exchange of words between Guo and Huang below. Right now, the two families were keeping each other in check, so no major chaos had broken out yet. But the moment one side fell, he wouldn't be far from death himself.

He glanced around at the eunuchs. It was obvious that these eunuchs were all dogs raised by those two families. This time, things were indeed a bit troublesome.

The young Emperor sat there, his eyes vacant. He couldn't understand what the Grand Marshal and the Prime Minister were arguing about down there; he only felt that these people were all very fierce toward him. In comparison, even though the Grand Tutor was also fierce, at least the Grand Tutor was willing to chat with him.

The young Emperor cast a sidelong glance at Fang Zhiyi. Seeing Fang Zhiyi deep in thought, he withdrew his gaze.

If the Grand Tutor could participate in court affairs, maybe someone would listen when he spoke? But that was impossible. He remembered a young eunuch who used to be very close to him, but a few days later, he never saw that young eunuch again. He heard from the Grand Tutor that because the eunuch was too close to him, he had been killed by them.

At this thought, the young Emperor shrank his neck.

Today's morning court had practically become a debate stage for Huang and Guo. It revolved around the management of the canal. On the surface, it was all for the sake of the common people, but in reality, both men wanted to secure benefits for themselves and their respective factions of noble families.

No wonder they say a mountain cannot house two tigers. They treat the great affairs of governing the realm as a business, and how can business rivals ever get along? After court was dismissed, Fang Zhiyi walked behind the young Emperor. According to usual practice, the afternoon was the young Emperor's study time, which frankly just meant Fang Zhiyi had to keep an eye on him.

Grand Tutor, what do you mean? the young Emperor turned around, puzzled.

Fang Zhiyi looked at the child. You don't understand?

The young Emperor blinked, his face full of innocence.

Fang Zhiyi's hopes were dashed. This little guy was purely a child, not some secretly cunning protagonist.

Do you know the story of killing three warriors with two peaches?

The young Emperor shook his head, but clearly showed interest.

Fang Zhiyi first had him sit down, then looked left and right to make sure no one was nearby before he began to explain in detail.

Let's say in ancient times, there were three generals who all had illustrious military achievements. But because of these achievements, they were all very arrogant, even toward their own monarch.

Like Marshal Guo and Prime Minister Huang?

Fang Zhiyi revealed a hint of a smile. Just keep those words in your heart.

The young Emperor nodded repeatedly; he was very happy to listen to a story.

Naturally, the monarch was not pleased. To prevent these three from threatening his position, he ordered someone to bring two large peaches. Fang Zhiyi gestured. Anyway, they were very big. Then he said to the three men that the two peaches would be rewarded to the two with the greatest merits. But since he couldn't immediately determine who had the greatest merits, he left the decision to them.

The young Emperor seemed to understand a little.

As a result, the three of them started fighting over it. First, they compared their merits, with no one willing to yield to the others, and soon after, an argument broke out...

I understand, Grand Tutor. And then they killed each other, right? the young Emperor interrupted eagerly.

Fang Zhiyi shook his head. To be a good emperor, you must first learn to listen until others finish speaking.

The young Emperor covered his mouth, looking like an obedient child.

They didn't kill each other. Instead, one of them with a bad temper felt insulted and drew his sword to slit his own throat on the spot. His death greatly shocked the other two. After the shock, both felt that they had caused the death of their colleague and were filled with guilt, so they also drew their swords and killed themselves.

Fang Zhiyi looked at him. You can speak now.

The young Emperor lowered his hand. Grand Tutor, why?

Because... of their character. But that's not important. I want you to learn something from this. This may seem like just a story, but it contains several tactics, including the manipulation of human nature. Think about it. Within two hours, I want to hear your insights.

The young Emperor blinked. This was the first time Fang Zhiyi had told him a story, but these insights...

Seeing Fang Zhiyi wandering around looking for something, the young Emperor asked, Grand Tutor, what are you looking for?

A feather duster.