With the three immensely powerful figures imprisoned one after another, the royal court suddenly became much quieter.
However, everyone could sniff out a sense of terror. After all, the actions of the Imperial City Department were too chilling, leaving everyone in the court fearing for their own safety. Yet, for some courtiers who despised those three, it was a cause for celebration.
Still, some upright officials submitted memorials urging Emperor Huizong of Song to dismiss Fang Zhiyi, arguing that this man would cause public unrest and destabilize the court. Little did they know, the memorials impeaching Fang Zhiyi never reached Emperor Huizong of Song; instead, they ended up in Fang Zhiyi's own hands.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, discarding the donkey once the grinding is done, these people..." Fang Zhiyi flipped through the memorials that cursed him for acting against the natural order.
"My lord, your subordinate will handle this right away." A trusted aide beside him cupped his hands and was about to withdraw. Fang Zhiyi quickly stopped him: "Handle what? If we arrest more people, are you going to manage the state affairs when the time comes? Huh?"
The aide was taken aback: "But they curse you so viciously, my lord..."
"Being cursed a few times won't cost me a piece of flesh. Send word down that all our brothers are to keep a low profile lately."
"Yes, sir!"
"Oh, and bonuses will be distributed as usual... We made quite a fortune from the confiscations this time, and every brother will get a share!"
"Thank you, my lord!"
"Get lost!"
Fang Zhiyi pondered for a moment, then stood up, grabbed a new little gadget he had just made, and entered the palace. His path was completely unobstructed, and anyone who saw him took the initiative to bow.
"Honestly, before I met you, I always thought people like Gao Qiu, Tong Guan, and Cai Jing were the villains..." Little Hei teased, watching the terrified expressions of the palace servants.
"What do you know? To achieve great things, one cannot be bothered by trivialities. Instead of this, you might as well care about the progress of the transmigrator."
"Song Jiang is almost finished. Wu Yong was killed, Song Qing was killed, and Li Kui fell into Shao Jiang's trap and has now fallen into the hands of the authorities." Little Hei fell silent for a moment. "I reckon they will use this as an excuse to attack that county town."
"Isn't that simple?" Fang Zhiyi met with Emperor Huizong of Song. Seeing him arrive, Emperor Huizong of Song's face was full of joy.
"My beloved subject, you've come? Quick, quick! I still can't beat Shishi at this poker thing you taught me last time. Hurry and teach me a few tricks."
Little Hei glanced at the emperor speechlessly. It had seen many emperors, but one this absurd was truly rare.
However, thinking about how Fang Zhiyi had said that the historical Emperor Huizong of Song was a total failure, it made sense. Otherwise, how could a normal emperor let a guy like Gao Qiu rise to power?
Fang Zhiyi patiently explained it to the emperor, and took the opportunity to present the little gadget he had just made. The emperor was overjoyed, wondering why he had never realized before that this loyal subject understood his mind even better than his adoptive father.
"By the way, Your Majesty, regarding some of today's state affairs..."
Hearing this, Emperor Huizong of Song frowned: "State affairs again. How many state affairs can there be? How do I have so much time in a day to handle them?" But glancing at Fang Zhiyi, he sighed again: "Just have what's-his-name handle it for me..."
The corners of Fang Zhiyi's mouth curved slightly: "Your Majesty... you are the ruler of a nation. State affairs cannot be neglected..."
Little Hei said sarcastically: "You spend all day teaching him either to gamble or to play. He wasn't any good to begin with, and now you want him to be a good emperor?"
Fang Zhiyi ignored Little Hei and continued: "Absolute power must not fall into the hands of others. If Your Majesty is truly exhausted, your subject has a suggestion."
Emperor Huizong of Song's drooping face brightened up again: "Speak."
"Abolish the previous Department of Palace Eunuchs... and establish the Directorate of Ceremonial."
"The Directorate of Ceremonial? What does that do?"
"Have the palace eunuchs around Your Majesty join this Directorate. They can be considered Your Majesty's close attendants. Let them handle state affairs on your behalf. For anything they are unsure of, they can mark it and report directly to you, while also supervising the transmission and execution of imperial decrees..." Fang Zhiyi paused. "This way, Your Majesty can relax and enjoy yourself, while also staying informed about state affairs in a timely manner."
Emperor Huizong of Song thought for a moment and slapped his thigh: "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Gao Lian, oh Gao Lian! You are simply... my treasure!"
Fang Zhiyi instantly got goosebumps all over.
"I leave this matter for you to handle!" Seeing a concubine peeking her head at the door, Emperor Huizong of Song's mind had already drifted away.
Fang Zhiyi bowed slightly, and Emperor Huizong of Song walked out quickly with impatience: "Today I will definitely avenge my past humiliations! Bring Li Shishi to me!"
A eunuch standing to the side with his head bowed now turned to Fang Zhiyi, looking at him with burning eyes.
Fang Zhiyi waited until Emperor Huizong of Song had completely left before straightening up: "Liang Nian'en, it's been a while since you secretly joined my Imperial City Department."
Liang Nian'en nodded: "Yes, my lord!"
"I leave this matter to you. Find some obedient and quick-witted palace servants as soon as possible... Understand?"
"Understood!" Liang Nian'en's body trembled slightly. He was originally just an ordinary eunuch. If it weren't for Fang Zhiyi's great purge, he would never have become a close attendant to the Son of Heaven in his entire life. From that moment on, he knew that following this lord would definitely bring him benefits!
Fang Zhiyi turned and took a few steps, then suddenly looked back: "By the way... a few days ago, I had someone send some money to your parents back in your hometown... I heard your younger brother is getting married. Congratulations."
Liang Nian'en was somewhat moved, never expecting the lord to actually remember his family! He was just about to thank Fang Zhiyi when suddenly a cold sweat broke out.
A few days ago? That meant the lord had already prepared everything for today at least a dozen days in advance! He had even figured out his position back then! This sentence was both a bestowal of favor and a warning!
"Th-thank you, my lord! If my lord has any needs, this lowly one will not hesitate even if it means dying ten thousand deaths!"
Fang Zhiyi said nothing, simply walking away slowly.
"You really are a villain..." Little Hei continued to mutter.
Fang Zhiyi replied: "You don't understand... In a world like this, one wrong move could lead to severe consequences... A perfectly timed warning is highly necessary."
When the news of the establishment of the Directorate of Ceremonial spread, the civil and military officials of the entire court exploded. In the past, although those few bastards were bewitching the emperor, at least the emperor still attended court sessions. Now look, the emperor has gone completely mad with play! Letting a eunuch handle state affairs on his behalf? This...
What infuriated them even more was that the eunuch claimed to represent the emperor, but every time he made a note, he would glance at Fang Zhiyi, the Director of the Imperial City Department standing at the front! It was obvious that this so-called Directorate of Ceremonial had also become Fang Zhiyi's property!
Yet no one dared to say anything. You must know, even the immensely powerful Cai Jing and the others had become prisoners overnight, and it was said they were now driven mad in confinement! Not to mention that he even sold out his own nominal father, Gao Qiu!
Who had enough heads to dare offend Fang Zhiyi? One could only say that they had hoped for the departure of three vicious wolves, only to end up with a fierce tiger!
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."
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.
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.
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
