As Fang Zhiyi had predicted, the mutually antagonistic Guo and Huang once again found themselves at odds over the administration of the Spring Examination. Neither even considered asking the emperor to mediate; instead, they secretly set traps for one another.
The Huang family's men collected entry fees at the city gates from scholars arriving for the exam, only for the Guo family's men to immediately play the righteous heroes and brawl with the Huang soldiers. Even trivial matters like providing accommodation for the scholars became pretexts for their clashes. For a time, brawls broke out all over the capital. The patrolling city guards didn't dare intervene, pretending they saw nothing at all.
The cheating lists provided by the Huang family, who had taken bribes, were stolen in the blink of an eye by the Guo family's spies. What followed was a barrage of mutual mudslinging and verbal abuse.
A perfectly good Spring Examination turned into a complete joke. More than half of those sitting in the examination hall were there through connections. The invigilators stared straight ahead, while scholars getting up to peek at their neighbors' papers did so as casually as if they were dropping by for a visit.
However, halfway through the exam, another squad of soldiers charged in and began arresting people without hesitation, citing examination fraud. The examiners knew this was the Huang family arresting the Guo family's cronies, so they could only continue to look the other way. As a result, the Guo family's men also arrived in the afternoon, this time arresting the Huang family's cronies.
The entire examination hall was noisier and more chaotic than a vegetable market.
The Young Emperor only heard about this after the exam had concluded. The conflict between Guo and Huang had deepened significantly. They stood far apart from each other, looking as though they were ready to come to blows just by exchanging a glare.
"Then, then is this Spring Examination considered a failure?" the Young Emperor asked cautiously, a tone perfectly fitting his persona.
"Hmph! If the Grand Marshal hadn't interfered and arrested innocent candidates, we wouldn't have made such a laughingstock of ourselves in front of the world's scholars! How will they ever trust the imperial court again?" Huang Huaili immediately unleashed his ultimate move.
Guo Qianyue was not to be outdone: "Lord Huang, I had evidence for every arrest I made. It's one thing for you to let people in to cheat, but you even had them bring their tutors directly inside? Isn't that going too far?"
"You're spouting nonsense!"
"You have no respect for your own age!"
"You..."
"Grand Marshal, Chancellor, what, what should I do? With the Spring Examination turning out like this, it's our face that's being lost," the Young Emperor asked timidly.
The two mortal enemies glared at each other. Huang Huaili had some fondness for the Young Emperor, considering he had spoken up for him before. "Your Majesty, there are still some candidates who managed to finish their papers. They are currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Rites." He shot a sidelong glance at Guo Qianyue. "This incident was caused entirely by certain people acting on their own authority and handling matters unfairly. Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will handle this matter properly and absolutely will not let the world make a joke out of Your Majesty."
"Who are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about you."
Watching them start attacking each other again, the Young Emperor couldn't help but glance at Fang Zhiyi. The Grand Tutor was truly amazing to have predicted all of this!
Fang Zhiyi felt a bit smug inwardly. Kidding aside, the tricks these guys were playing were just the leftovers of what he used to do.
"Grand Tutor, you said they would let me preside over the review of those exam papers. Is that true or false?"
"It's nine times out of ten a certainty. After all, this was a massive embarrassment. They both want to save face, so wouldn't you make the perfect scapegoat? That way, even if news of this Spring Examination farce spreads, it will be blamed on you, the emperor, for giving blind orders. It will have absolutely nothing to do with them."
"That's too much."
"We want them to go too far." Fang Zhiyi looked at him. "Think about it. Once the waters are muddied this time, who stands to benefit?"
"Commander Guo? No, his connections were all arrested by Chancellor Huang's soldiers... But Chancellor Huang's connections were also taken away by Commander Guo's men... I can't figure it out."
Fang Zhiyi raised his hand and flicked him on the forehead.
The Young Emperor covered his forehead, looking utterly aggrieved.
"You."
"Me?"
"Think about it. Since their well-connected cronies couldn't successfully finish the exam, who are the ones that did finish?" Fang Zhiyi stood up. "Poor scholars from remote areas, descendants of fallen noble families, and maybe even self-taught scholars..."
"What do these people have in common?"
He looked at the Young Emperor, who hemmed and hawed for a long time without coming up with an answer.
"They have no backing, dummy. The imperial court is full of their people, but these scholars have no backing. That is to say, they will only have eyes for the Emperor. If you give them enough signals, they will become your people."
The Young Emperor's eyes lit up. His own subjects?
"But don't get happy just yet. If you really do that, Guo and Huang will quickly realize something is wrong, and then, you know." Fang Zhiyi poured cold water on his excitement. "Even without passing the Spring Examination, their cronies can still enter the imperial court. Otherwise, did you think they would need your nod of approval?"
"Then, Grand Tutor, why did you say it benefits me?"
"It does benefit you. What you need to do now is plant a few nails."
"Nails?"
"When the results are announced, do exactly as I say. Symbolically offer these successful scholars a few inconspicuous official posts, and throw the rest to... Chancellor Huang to decide."
"Give them to Chancellor Huang again? Commander Guo will want to kill me." The Young Emperor hesitated a little.
"If you do nothing, he'll want to kill you even more."
"But..."
"Do you know what a sunk cost is?" Fang Zhiyi asked.
The Young Emperor shook his head honestly.
"The more you invest, the harder it is to pull out. That's exactly Huang Huaili's mindset right now. The first time you added weight to his side, he accepted the favor, and then the Black Armor Guards saved you once. That was his investment. Then came the administration of the Spring Examination. Although Guo Qianyue snatched half of it away, he still has to appreciate the gesture. What you need to do now is make him feel that you subconsciously favor his side, and he will continue to invest in you." Fang Zhiyi glanced at two eunuchs whispering to each other not far away. "Those two eunuchs are also the Huang family's people."
"The more he invests in you, the more unable he will be to extricate himself. And because of this, you will be safer. Even if Guo Qianyue wants to make a move against you, he won't allow it."
"I think I understand, Grand Tutor."
"You understand my foot. Write down your reflections before dark, recite them to me, and then burn the paper."
"Ah?"
"Otherwise, skip dinner."
"Oh..." The Young Emperor felt a bit gloomy, but he listened anyway.
Just as Fang Zhiyi had said, the few scholars selected by the Ministry of Rites were somewhat terrified. Meanwhile, Guo and Huang, despising each other as they did, paid them no mind at all. Ultimately, they would use their own methods to promote their respective cronies anyway. These current candidates were merely putting on a show for the world.
Sure enough, when the Young Emperor proposed a few dispensable positions and looked to Huang Huaili with an expression of seeking advice, Huang Huaili was amused. This Young Emperor truly understood nothing at all. However, seeing the Young Emperor's pleading gaze, he still felt quite a bit of satisfaction.
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.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
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."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
