In the royal court, the several princes who had always been superficially friendly but secretly at odds stood neatly in a row. They chatted occasionally, putting on a display of brotherly love and respect, which left the court officials feeling even more bewildered.
Could the Emperor's method of having them take turns overseeing the state actually improve brotherly relations?
Fang Zhiyi came to clock in as usual, just waiting to get off work and go home. In truth, he didn't want to go home at all because the food at his own estate was too poor. Nowadays, he wandered around his younger brothers' homes to mooch meals, completely losing all face as the Crown Prince.
Who knew that the old Emperor would look at him before even speaking three sentences.
"The Crown Prince has done a great deed for our Great An this time!"
All eyes turned to Fang Zhiyi, who pointed at his own nose. Me? What did I do?
"The people he sent out have found a divine crop. Once planted, it can yield thousands of catties per acre! With this, the people of our Great An will be free from the suffering of famine. This is a great blessing for the world!"
The other princes all turned to look at Fang Zhiyi.
Wait, you told us you didn't want to be the Crown Prince, but then you turned around and presented a treasure?
Fang Zhiyi's heart was in turmoil, but his face remained calm.
"Yields thousands of catties per acre? Is it true?"
"Does such a divine crop really exist?"
"The Crown Prince truly carries the mandate of heaven and keeps the common people in his heart!"
The flattery of the officials arrived right on schedule.
"I have already examined the divine crop, and it is indeed a treasure. It has now been handed over to specialists for planting. We will see the results in four to five months, so we just need to wait for the good news. And then... Crown Prince, you have rested long enough. Starting tomorrow, you will resume your position overseeing the state."
The Emperor's words were full of praise, but to the other princes, it sounded like they had been played by Fang Zhiyi.
Fang Zhiyi's brain was spinning rapidly, but he could not grasp any clues.
It was not until after the court session ended that Zhang Dafu specifically asked him to stay behind, saying the Emperor wanted to see him. Fang Zhiyi once again arrived at the long-unseen study.
"You have rested for so long, isn't it enough?" the old Emperor asked.
Fang Zhiyi tilted his head. "When did I ever present a treasure to you, Father?"
"Hmph, you certainly don't have the brains for it. It was all thanks to the exceptionally brilliant Crown Princess I found for you!"
Fang Zhiyi frowned.
"You always thought she wanted to use your name for personal gain, but what was the result? The Crown Princess did it all for our Great An. Her younger brother also endured the hardships of traveling as a merchant just to find this divine crop called the sweet potato. Yet you, because of a minor mistake, had him imprisoned. If she hadn't explained it to me, I wouldn't have even known."
Fang Zhiyi's face darkened.
He had always been the one scheming against others, but today he was actually schemed against?
"He allowed his subordinates to kill someone. Is that also a minor matter?"
"The murderer has already paid with his life. He was unaware, so he can be pardoned." The Emperor's words carried an unquestionable firmness. "I heard the relationship between you brothers is quite good now? That is fine, but... you were born into the imperial family, so put away those little schemes. You are still too green to play retreat-to-advance with your father."
Fang Zhiyi's brows furrowed tightly.
"The second is good at martial arts, the third is not decisive enough, the fourth is full of conspiracies, and the fifth is too immature. Don't think I am keeping you in suspense. Tomorrow, I will announce to the whole world that you are the heir apparent."
Fang Zhiyi's head throbbed.
This old man was definitely sick in the head.
The old Emperor did not allow him to say anything more and directly had Zhang Dafu send him out. Fang Zhiyi returned home with a dark expression. From a distance, he saw a court official walking out of his estate, bowing toward the door before leaving. The Crown Princess, who returned the bow, smiled sweetly when she saw him return, but her smile was full of smugness.
Fang Zhiyi had once been a Daoist priest, and he knew one thing very well: a person must always trust their sixth sense.
And right now, the goosebumps on his body were warning him that there was something wrong with this woman.
As if knowing what he was thinking, the Crown Princess smiled and retreated to her own courtyard. Fang Zhiyi returned to his study, looking at the memorials that once again piled up on his desk, and closed his eyes.
Xu Ruyi was more terrifying than he had thought. She had clearly won the old Emperor's favor and would even enter the palace to meet him from time to time. And every time she went, the brotherly relations Fang Zhiyi had worked so hard to repair would deteriorate a bit.
Today, the old Emperor reprimanded the Prince of Chu for not being as good as his eldest brother. Tomorrow, he would interrogate Prince Xiang about whether he wanted to usurp his eldest brother's position. The old Emperor perfectly displayed the image of an old and stubborn, foolish ruler.
Thanks to Xu Ruyi's manipulations, Fang Zhiyi's image in the old Emperor's eyes was unbelievably good. However, because of this, when he met his younger brothers again, they were noticeably distant. Fang Zhiyi didn't explain anything. He knew that once certain rifts were created again, repairing them would not be an easy task.
He had slacked off for so long, only to go around in circles and end up right back where he started.
Listening to the Emperor announce his status as the heir apparent, the court was shaken, and the officials congratulated him one after another. Fang Zhiyi's face remained incredibly calm.
And as if to make Fang Zhiyi's path to the throne smoother, the old Emperor fell ill a few days later.
This illness was very strange. Even though the imperial physicians used all their methods, nothing worked. The old Emperor was somewhat regretful that he would not live to see the day the divine crop blossomed and bore fruit. But looking at Fang Zhiyi, he let out a long sigh of relief, as if he had completed some mission.
With the Emperor severely ill, the princes had to keep watch in the palace, which made Fang Zhiyi feel rather uncomfortable.
Because he could guess that while he was guarding the palace, that Crown Princess was definitely up to something.
"The court cannot be without a ruler. Eldest son, come here!" The old Emperor now found it difficult even to speak. Looking at Fang Zhiyi who leaned in, he felt somewhat gratified. "I know you have lived bitterly these past few years, but it cannot be helped. We are the imperial family. You... you must not hate your father."
He took a breath: "Starting tomorrow, you will... ascend the throne! You few, you must protect your eldest brother, do you understand?"
The other princes nodded silently, but none of their eyes looked toward Fang Zhiyi.
For the stability of the court, even though Fang Zhiyi was unwilling, he could only hurriedly ascend the throne. Looking at the officials kneeling below, he hadn't expected to still end up sitting in this position. His gaze swept around, and he quickly spotted a few unfamiliar faces.
That familiar sense of unease lingered in his heart once again.
"Your Majesty, there is something this old minister must say." A court official stepped forward.
Fang Zhiyi looked at him; it was Xu Ruyi's father.
"According to the system of Great An, after the Emperor ascends the throne, the other princes must go to their respective fiefdoms. Please make a decision soon, Your Majesty."
Following his voice, several court officials stepped forward: "For the sake of the empire, please make a decision soon, Your Majesty."
Prince Xiang looked up at Fang Zhiyi. Fang Zhiyi closed his eyes, looked at his brothers, and slowly nodded.
"Hmph!" Prince Xiang flicked his sleeves and left immediately. Closely following behind him were Prince Qi and the Prince of Chu. The youngest, Prince Wei, wanted to say something, but in the end, he just silently followed them out.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
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.
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
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."
