The meeting ended on a somewhat discordant note.
Yet the ripples of the discussion would continue to spread.
Minister Wang’s explosive proposal would not fade simply because he himself had dismissed it—there would undoubtedly be those who supported his strategy.
After all, ruthless as it was, could it not also be the optimal solution at present?
Or rather, the optimal solution for those currently holding power.
After the meeting concluded, Zhao Xuan did not linger in the council hall as he usually would.
Now, he felt utterly drained, a deep weariness creeping into his heart.
Minister Wang’s plan would, without question, make Zhao Xuan the greatest beneficiary.
As a man, he had merely followed his instincts in making his choice.
But as an emperor, Minister Wang’s strategy was the correct path.
Cold detachment was the most essential virtue for a ruler.
Making this decision left Zhao Xuan feeling as though he had tied a noose around his own neck.
Zhao Xuan returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, his expression grave as he waved away the palace maids and eunuchs in attendance.
Those who served close to the emperor were masters of reading the room.
They immediately lowered their heads and retreated with hushed steps, closing the doors behind them.
Yet one figure remained—an elderly man in pale-red eunuch robes, his hair white as snow, standing motionless in place.
His gaze followed Zhao Xuan as the emperor, disregarding all royal decorum, threw himself onto the dragon bed and buried his face in the pillows.
In the past, he would have spoken up to remind him of propriety.
But now…
Lin Wen spoke softly, "Your Majesty has done well enough."
A muffled voice emerged from the pillows:
"Lin Wen, leave me be for a while…"
Lin Wen said nothing, standing silently where he was.
In troubled times, no amount of caution was excessive—even an emperor could not control everything.
Receiving no reply, Zhao Xuan understood.
But he did not press further.
Zhao Xuan lay still for a time, his mind growing heavy with drowsiness, when suddenly a eunuch’s voice called from beyond the doors:
"Your Majesty! A distinguished guest has arrived!"
Lin Wen watched as Zhao Xuan, who had been on the verge of sleep, jerked upright in fury and turned to snap:
"What fool of a eunuch dares breach protocol like this?! Drag him out—"
"It’s fine!" Zhao Xuan cut him off, smoothing the creases in his dragon robes as he asked, "Which family does this guest belong to?"
Lin Wen quickly stepped forward to help straighten the emperor’s attire.
The eunuch outside replied, "They bear the Xuanwu Token—they claim to be from the Tianyan Sect of Central Province."
Zhao Xuan froze, his face first blank with shock, then alight with unrestrained joy.
Without waiting for Lin Wen to finish adjusting his robes, he pushed open the doors himself and demanded:
"Where is the guest?!"
"Waiting in the side hall."
Zhao Xuan trembled, feeling as though he were in a dream. He took two deep breaths to steady himself.
Abandoning all imperial pomp, the emperor broke into a sprint toward the side hall.
"What kind of tea is this? You serve a guest this?" Chu Xingchen took a sip and nearly winced—the brew was weak, with a stale, musty aftertaste.
The palace maid serving him bowed deeply in apology.
"This is our finest Da Hong Pao, reserved only for the most honored guests. Even His Majesty rarely drinks it."
Chu Xingchen didn’t press her further. With a flick of spiritual energy, he gently lifted her back upright.
Then, he retrieved a pouch of his own tea leaves from his spatial ring and set it before her.
"Use mine instead," he said.
The maid exhaled in relief, nodding as she took the pouch.
Chu Xingchen leaned an elbow on the table, glancing at Li Yingling, who was flipping through a royal chronicle nearby.
"Find anything useful in there?"
Li Yingling, having read halfway through, didn’t hesitate:
"Less informative than unofficial histories."
The maid’s hands trembled slightly.
Couldn’t they have waited until she was gone to say such things?!
Chu Xingchen’s gaze shifted to the entrance, and he sighed.
"Finally, the man himself arrives."
The maid peeked toward the doors just as they swung open.
There stood Zhao Xuan—breath ragged, hair windswept and disheveled, robes slightly askew—with Lin Wen, the emperor’s shadow, close behind.
The maid’s heart nearly stopped at the sight. She hurriedly turned back to her task.
Zhao Xuan’s eyes locked onto Chu Xingchen, seated at the head of the room. He remembered him vividly—the star of the banquet, the sect that had drawn the attention of every attending faction.
He had suspected then that the Yuzhou City sect had the Tianyan Sect’s backing.
Now, his guess was confirmed. And thankfully, he had ordered his court to extend goodwill to Chu Xingchen.
Whether it was the Xuanwu Token or the generous subsidies for Yuzhou City’s sects, Zhao Xuan had ensured all formal courtesies were observed, regardless of whether Chu Xingchen needed them.
He didn’t know the man’s purpose, but things couldn’t possibly get worse now.
Best to treat him as reinforcements.
Zhao Xuan clasped his hands and bowed. "Esteemed Senior—"
"Tired from running?" Chu Xingchen interrupted, gesturing to the seat opposite him. "Have some tea first."
Zhao Xuan blinked, studying Chu Xingchen’s calm expression before cautiously taking the offered seat.
With a wave of spiritual energy, Chu Xingchen sent a freshly poured cup to Zhao Xuan.
The emperor glanced between Chu Xingchen and Li Yingling, still absorbed in her book.
Lin Wen stepped forward, resting a hand on Zhao Xuan’s wrist before he could lift the cup. Bowing to Chu Xingchen, he said humbly,
"The Xuanwu royal family has long-standing protocols—"
"Lin Wen!" Zhao Xuan snapped, shaking off the eunuch’s grip. Without another word, he downed the tea in one go.
Lin Wen could only retreat with a resigned sigh.
A tense silence settled over the hall.
Chu Xingchen broke it gently:
"You didn’t have to drink it. I just thought you might be thirsty after running here."
"My apologies for the undignified display," Zhao Xuan said with a strained smile.
Chu Xingchen shook his head, taking a sip from his own cup. One sip was all it took to confirm the truth—the tea wasn’t bad. The maid simply didn’t know how to brew it.
Chen Baiqing had served him this same variety before, and it had been incomparably better.
He shook his head again—his palate had been spoiled by his third disciple.
After a pause, Zhao Xuan could wait no longer. "Might I ask if Senior has come to aid Xuanwu in its plight?"
Lin Wen sighed inwardly. From the moment Zhao Xuan entered, he had surrendered all control of the conversation.
Whether it was the unbearable weight of his burdens or Chu Xingchen’s masterful grasp of human nature, the emperor was entirely at the other man’s mercy.
Chu Xingchen chuckled. "Naturally."
Zhao Xuan exhaled as if a mountain had been lifted from his shoulders.
The mountain-like pressure weighing on him was, in truth, nothing more than a trivial matter for the Tianyan Sect—resolved with just a word.
Yet, he swiftly shouldered that burden once more.
Chu Xingchen continued, "We came to intervene, but the Tianyan Sect will not intervene on His Majesty’s behalf."
Zhao Xuan was taken aback. What kind of answer was that?
If those were his words, wasn’t he just here to sightsee and mock the situation?
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."
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
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.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
