T/N: I did not intend to take this long to update again, but I returned to absolute chaos at work after being out for two weeks, and I’m still trying to put out the fires. Fun stuff!

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Bai Lihong tilted his head and asked Chu Jiubian: “Xiansheng, what is the Edict of Grace?”

Qin Xiao also asked: “Yes, Xiansheng, what is the Edict of Grace?”

Chu Jiubian: “……” He gave Qin Xiao a look.

They seemed to have become a little too familiar with each other lately. The way Qin Xiao spoke to him was becoming increasingly improper.

A few days earlier, before going to bed, they had discussed what should be done about the vassal kings. Chu Jiubian had brought up the Edict of Grace and explained how it could be implemented.

He still remembered the look in Qin Xiao’s eyes at that moment – intense, profound, and absolutely unnerving.

Chu Jiubian looked back toward Bai Lihong and said: “Why does Your Majesty think the vassal kings have become so powerful?”

Bai Lihong: “Because of their military troops, as well as the people and resources in their territories.”

“Correct, and this is the result of the absolute power they wield over their territories,” Chu Jiubian said in a gentle voice. “So what should be done to prevent them from holding so much power?”

“Weakening their entitlements, of course.” Although Bai Lihong’s voice was childish and sweet, his tone was surprisingly composed. “But Xiansheng, how can we weaken their entitlements? What if they go to extremes and rebel?”

Chu Jiubian nodded: “Your Majesty’s concern is valid. Therefore, we must increase our own strength and gain greater power and influence before issuing a decree to weaken the power of the vassal kings. Furthermore, this decree must be universally accepted, and we must remain standing on the highest moral ground.”

Bai Lihong’s eyes lit up, and he said: “Xiansheng calls this an ‘open conspiracy.’”

“Exactly,” Chu Jiubian replied with a smile.

He explained his plan to reduce the power of the vassal kings, splitting it into two steps.

The first step was to replace those influential figures in the Imperial Court, allowing Bai Lihong to establish a dominant position within the government and thus ensuring the “supreme authority of the emperor.”

Then, with influence in the court and troops at their disposal, they would no longer have to be hesitant in their actions, and nobody would dare stop them from issuing decrees.

The second step was to issue those decrees.

After the drought and flooding, the spiritual solace provided by Chu Jiubian’s ‘divine intervention,’ coupled with an Imperial Examination system that offered all citizens the opportunity to change their social class, the faction representing Imperial power currently enjoyed extremely high prestige in the hearts of the common people.

Under these circumstances, it was even more important to maintain their image, as it was beneficial to their rule.

Therefore, the decrees must be issued under the guise of being “for the benefit of the vassal kings.”

“Xiansheng, I still can’t figure it out,” Bai Lihong said with a frown. “What kind of open conspiracy can we come up with that the vassal kings won’t be able to complain about, but will still make the whole world praise us?”

Chu Jiubian smiled: “Does Your Majesty know about the current situation with the vassal kings’ descendents?”

“I know it.” Bai Lihong counted on his chubby little fingers. “Anhuai-wang Bai Liming isn’t married yet and doesn’t have any children. Nanjiang-wang has one wife and no concubines, plus two legitimate children, a prince and a princess……”

There was no need to even mention Nanjiang-wang, a hopeless romantic who was quite different from the other powerful men of this era.

And Anhuai-wang was still young, although he had reached marriageable age.

He was simply observing the mourning period for the old vassal king, which was why he was without even a single concubine to this day.

Aside from these two, the residences of the other vassal kings included one princess consort, two secondary consorts, and several concubines.

And each had a great many children.

For example, the household of Pingxi-wang Bai Lizheng, who was on good terms with Nanjiang-wang, was rather simple. Aside from his three consorts, he had only two concubines.

However, he had many children, including two sons and one daughter born to his main wife. The two secondary consorts had four daughters and three sons between them, and the two concubines had three sons and two daughters, for a total of eight sons and seven daughters.

The other princes all had at least five concubines in their households, and even the youngest, Dingbei-wang, had six concubines in addition to his three principal and secondary wives.

His offspring, however, were not as numerous as Pingxi-wang’s. He had only three daughters and one son born to different concubines.

This might also be due to the fact that three of his six concubines were men.

The most powerful figures in the royal family, namely Dongjiang-wang, Huguang-wang, and Zuiliang-wang had dozens of concubines each. Even those with less still had more than ten, and their children numbered no fewer than twenty.

With such complex family dynamics, it was impossible for everyone to peacefully coexist.

But aside from needing a larger population to expand the family, the reason they didn’t hesitate to produce so many children was precisely because the vassal kings wielded considerable power.

Such that those below them, even their own children, would not dare disobey.

The throne was hereditary, and only the eldest son could inherit, so when the father died, the remaining sons would still obey the eldest’s rule. Because if the eldest son chose not to support them, they would be no different from ordinary servants.

However, among those secondary sons, there were many whose intelligence and ambition outstripped that of the eldest son. How could these people truly remain content as mere subordinates, forever languishing in an inferior position?

Chu Jiubian patiently explained these things to Bai Lihong, saying: “These secondary sons only refrain from resisting because they are being suppressed by the system. But if they were given an opportunity to compete with the legitimate heir, they would surely cling tightly to it and not let go.”

Bai Lihong was still young, and although he understood the reasoning behind what he had just been told, he was still a little confused, and wasn’t sure what steps should be taken.

But he seemed to have vaguely grasped some of the key points.

Chu Jiubian continued: “What we need to do is provide them with the same inheritance rights as the legitimate son.”

Bai Lihong’s eyes lit up: “Xiansheng, I get it!”

“Like this, even if those vassal kings and legitimate sons are unwilling, there’s nothing they can do. Because those secondary sons will surely unite to support this decree, and their families will be thrown into chaos.”

Unless the vassal kings killed the rest of their children, they would have no choice but to accept this decree, and their households would remain turbulent in the aftermath, with everyone vying for the right to succession. The vassal kings would no doubt be overwhelmed by endless troubles.

Chu Jiubian nodded and smiled: “Your Majesty is correct, but there is one more thing that must be prepared in advance.”

Qin Xiao’s gaze was fixed unwaveringly on Chu Jiubian, and he caught the subtle glint in his eyes as he spoke gently to the child.

Those eyes were no longer as lifeless as they had been before, sparkling with vitality and light.

Chu Jiubian instinctively glanced at Qin Xiao and met his smiling eyes.

They were soft, understanding, and with something mixed in that Chu Jiubian couldn’t identify.

He reflexively averted his gaze and dismissed such thoughts, not allowing himself to get caught up in them.

“What else needs to be prepared, Xiansheng?” Bai Lihong urged.

In his opinion, it would be best to simply let these vassal kings fight amongst themselves.

Chu Jiubian composed himself and went on: “The secondary children, if they unite, will indeed cause unrest in their households. But due to the vassal kings’ long-standing power and influence, the children won’t dare openly challenge their authority.”

Bai Lihong nodded.

That was exactly the case. Powerful rulers like Dongjiang-wang and Huguang-wang were so formidable that even their heirs wouldn’t dare to contest them, let alone their secondary sons.

Therefore, even though this decree might cause unrest and frequent scheming and infighting within their households, the vassal kings’ status and power would not be diminished.

“Therefore, we will need to issue a second decree.” Chu Jiubian’s eyes darkened slightly. “It must be mandated that a vassal king divide their power amongst all of their children, not just the eldest son.”

This way, even if the vassal kings were not eliminated within a decade or two, their power would be fragmented.

Each generation, their power would be dispersed further, and they would not longer be a significant threat.

When the Emperor issued these decrees, he could even claim that they were for the benefit of the vassal kings’ descendants, thus demonstrating his benevolence and generosity.

This was the Edict of Grace.

“Wow!” Bai Lihong’s eyes lit up. “Amazing!”

The Edict of Grace was indeed a difficult-to-counter open conspiracy.

Chu Jiubian looked toward Qin Xiao again, and their eyes met. Without speaking a single word, they came to a tacit understanding.

Although this edict was a good idea, it would take a long time to implement, and there was no telling what sort of unforeseen complications might arise. Plus, dividing up their power wasn’t even their main goal.

Their goal was to use the Edict of Grace to put pressure on those vassal kings, making them realize that if they didn’t resist, all they could do was wait for their power to be divided up.

Yes.

They were deliberately forcing these vassal kings to rebel.

In this way, the Imperial Court could legitimately wage war against these vassal kings, preventing the young Emperor from being accused of being a ruthless ruler who disregarded family ties.

Bai Lihong seemed unable to process all of this information. He was lost in thought, presumably analyzing the data while imprinting it into his mind.

When similar situations arose in the future, he would be able to apply what he had learned and respond appropriately.

Chu Jiubian then glanced at Qin Xiao and asked: “Have there been any updates on the gu matter?”

Chu Jiubian and Situ Anli had eliminated all of the gu Dingbei-wang had brought to the palace banquet, but whether or not the man had released more gu on his way to the palace was unknown.

Therefore, he had ordered that the sedan-bearers and palace servants who’d had contact with Dingbei-wang be brought to him, as well as all of the people who had come into contact with those servants, which brought the total to several hundred people.

Then Qin Xiao summoned Situ Anli to the palace, and after examining each person one by one, they actually did find a gu on one of the palace servants.

Chu Jiubian was endlessly worried that there might be other people in the palace who were already being controlled by gu.

Due to the sheer power the gu master instilled in his creations, there was one major drawback: none of these creatures could be used a second time.

Once activated, a gu could only affect one person, and all of its toxins would infiltrate that person’s body.

However, while this could be considered a drawback, it was, in some sense, an advantage. Because once this sort of gu was activated and its toxins were released, it became exceedingly difficult to detect.

Previously, when Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian went to visit Cheng Shuo after he was infected, the System had not given any warning about the toxin in his body.

This indicated that the gu had already been activated at that time and was bound to its host, therefore incapable of infecting others.

Because of this, the System was unable to detect any abnormalities in a person who was under the control of gu.

And since Chu Jiubian was unable to make use of the System in this regard, he could only rely on Situ Anli.

However, Situ Anli explained that the gu master had used specialized methods, and that the activated gu were capable of hiding themselves flawlessly within the host’s body, making them undetectable even to her.

The reason they were able to extract the gu from Cheng Shuo’s body before was because it was a sizable centipede, and its energy signature was more distinct that that of a tiny, transparent spider.

Even though the spiders had not yet entered a human body, Situ Anli and her little green snake had been unable to detect them at the banquet.

It was only when Chu Jiubian notified her that she let the little green snake lick a special herbal concoction from her fingernail, which temporarily enhanced its abilities and allowed it to find and consume all of the gu.

However, once a spider entered the human body and was activated, the little green snake would be unable to detect it even with the help of multiple herbal stimulants.

The only reason they were able to find that person among the palace staff was because the gu had not yet been activated.

Both Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao suspected that there were already multiple activated gu at work, but were unable to determine who was infected.

They didn’t know what Dingbei-wang might be planning to do with them, and could only raise their vigilance when it came to protecting Bai Lihong.

Everyone in the palace was instructed to pay attention to any unusual behavior among those around them, and to report it immediately.

Meanwhile, Qin Xiao also instructed Qin Chuan to search for and investigate reclusive sects throughout the jianghu, hoping to locate the gu master and thus eliminate the threat.

“There is no news yet,” Qin Xiao said with a slight frown.

It was truly unsettling to know that danger was lurking in the shadows, yet a solution was so difficult to find.

Seeing him like this, Chu Jiubian’s anxiety eased. He said: “It doesn’t matter, the gu won’t be able to hurt anyone anymore. We’ll definitely notice any unusual activity once they’re activated.”

Qin Xiao nodded: “I know.”

Their eyes met again, and silence fell between them.

“Let’s get to work,” Chu Jiubian said, averting his gaze and focusing on the document in his hands.

Qin Xiao gave a silent smile and lowered his head to read a memorial.

The backlog of memorials that had built up during the holidays had been mostly dealt with, but many news ones had now arrived.

The one Chu Jiubian was currently reading had been penned by Han Yuandao, the current deputy governor of Hexi Prefecture.

Chu Jiubian had personally selected this person. Before, he had been a mere agricultural official, but he now embodied the spirit of a high-ranking minister.

The other party must have known that this document would pass through several sets of hands before reaching Chu Jiubian, because the content was written in a very cryptic manner.

For example, regarding the sweet potatoes Chu Jiubian had instructed him to plant, he wrote that it had been too late in the season to plant them last year, but that he had followed Chu Jiubian’s instructions to build greenhouses, and that the crops planted inside them had indeed produced a high yield.

Therefore, he would instruct all the common people of Hexi Prefecture to set aside a few mu of land this year to plant sweet potatoes.

He held no fear that the people would disapprove, because after the land was re-surveyed in the wake of the flooding, he had discovered properties that had been concealed by the local nobles and landowners, and subsequently declared it the property of the common people. Official documents were issued bearing government seals, and this land was distributed among the commoners.

No longer would they be forced to work as tenant farmers for others. The land was their own.

These wealthy landowners and nobles naturally tried to kick up a fuss, but then Han Yuandao produced their tax records from previous years.

These people had been happy to conceal their land holdings in order to evade taxes, but now they were struck dumb.

If they wanted the land, they would have to pay years’ worth of back taxes on these concealed properties. Furthermore, according to the laws of Great Ning, they would be fined three times the amount of tax for the crime of “tax evasion” and be given twenty lashes.

In the end, these people had no choice but to accept the loss.

Losing so much money for the sake of land was simply not worth it.

At some point in the future, they would inevitably find ways to coerce or seize that land from the common people again, something they had done countless times before.

But they were unaware that with Han Yuandao in charge, and with the six new students who passed the Imperial Examinations with a focus in law and criminal justice, the laws would be revised to make it much more difficult for them to harbor such malicious intentions.

Han Yuandao spoke of these matters so cryptically that only Chu Jiubian, who was aware of the task he had assigned the man, would be able to comprehend them.

He is truly a promising talent, Chu Jiubian sighed.

Further down, Han Yuandao mentioned that some students had already passed through Hexi Prefecture. He had ordered his soldiers to meet them at the border and escort them until they were safely outside the prefecture before sending them on their way.

Once they passed through Hexi Prefecture, they would soon reach the capital. It was likely that students would begin to arrive within the next few days.

And aside from the students, people from all walks of life would be coming to the capital to join in the festivities.

An Wuji was in a perpetual state of business during this chaotic period, and had mobilized the entirety of the Imperial Guard and City Defense Force to ensure order in the capital city.

As they mingled among the people on the streets, the city proper became even more lively and crowded than before.

However, while the capital itself was safe and secure, the journey there would certainly not go as smoothly as planned. Trouble was bound to rear its head along the way.

None of the forces opposing them would allow Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao’s plans to proceed unhindered.

All it would take was the death of one or two students, and once the news spread, even more students would be deterred from making the journey to the capital.

The deaths of these students would cause the Imperial Court to forfeit its prestige, and no one would be willing to risk their lives in service to it.

However, given how shrewd and calculating Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian were, they had surely sent people to protect these students from the very beginning.

Therefore, although there was no communication between the various factions in this regard, they all sent their most proficient assassins to carry out the deed.

*

*

On a bright, sunny day, outside the border of Hexi Prefecture.

Lu Yao and his servant, A-Chuan, sat in a carriage, with a coachman steering the horses outside. Behind them was another carriage filled with luggage, along with more than a dozen Lu family guards. The group traveled along in a grand procession.

Their pace was not swift, because the delicate Lu Yao couldn’t withstand being jostled around.

At this moment, rather than reading, Lu Yao was staring intently at the servant opposite him.

“Is something the matter?” Qin Chuan asked.

Lu Yao said curiously: “I’ve never asked you why you wear a disguise.”

“It’s because I don’t want to be recognized,” said Qin Chuan.

Lu Yao’s curiosity grew: “Are you very well-known?”

Qin Chuan let out a light chuckle and said: “Very well-known.”

Satisfied, Lu Yao disregarded him and lowered his head to read.

Qin Chuan: “……”

People with exceptional minds could sometimes be exceptionally strange.

He reclined against the carriage wall with his arms crossed and closed his eyes, feeling a little drowsy as the carriage swayed.

But suddenly, his eyes snapped open and fixed sharply on the carriage curtain, as if looking through it to something outside.

Lu Yao paused and looked up at him.

The carriage continued to bump along as usual.

“Is someone here to kill me?” Lu Yao asked.

Qin Chuan raised an eyebrow: “Are you afraid?”

“Are you afraid?” Lu Yao retorted.

Qin Chuan: “What could I be afraid of? I’m not the one they’re here to kill.”

“I’m asking if you’re afraid that I’ll die.” Lu Yao said seriously, “If I die, you will have failed your mission. Even if your superiors don’t hold you accountable, you will still lose face, and might have to live in disguise from today onward.”

Qin Chuan gave this some serious thought: “You’re not wrong, but…..”

The carriage came to an abrupt stop.

The sound of swords being drawn by the guards rang out around the carriage as they all encircled the vehicle, keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings.

And standing outside their encirclement were dozens of masked assassins wielding longswords. They charged forward without a word, and the clash of weapons instantly filled the air.

Qin Chuan lifted the window curtain, tilting his head to peer outside.

A faint smile curved the corners of his lips as he said: “I won’t lose face so easily.”

Fifteen minutes later, the carriage was trundling along the road once again, and there were no casualties among the accompanying guards.

Their nerves, which had been tense throughout the journey, had relaxed considerably – for no other reason than the fact that before they could even confront the assassins, a group of men in black had appeared out of nowhere and quickly dealt with them in their stead.

Then, in a demonstration of their extraordinary martial arts skills, the men in black vanished one by one, leaving behind fleeting afterimages. 

But before he left, one of the men in black spoke to Lu Yao where he remained inside the carriage: “His Majesty has given orders to ensure the safety of all students. Please rest assured.”

Similar scenes unfolded in various locations throughout Great Ning.

And without exception, all of the assassins returned in defeat.

The Qiu family was deeply involved in the jianghu, and had even hired two sects known for their concealed weapons to assassinate these students. But unexpectedly, before they could even leave their mountain gates, their paths were blocked off by members of neighboring sects.

“The Alliance Leader has issued the order that no martial arts practitioners are allowed to interfere in affairs of the Imperial Court,” the leader of a sword sect announced coldly.

The leader of the Yuexi Sect, which was known for manufacturing hidden weapons, narrowed his eyes slightly: “By stopping us now, are you not also interfering in affairs of the Imperial Court?”

“We are stopping you to prevent you from violating regulations. Please do not misunderstand our intentions, Sect Leader.”

After much discussion, the two sects who had received the mission from the Qiu family ultimately failed to take action, and were forced to return all of the valuables they had received in payment.

Thus, the Qiu family didn’t suspect that the Alliance Leader was actually deeply involved with the Imperial Court, and simply abandoned this approach entirely due to the assumption that this was the way things were done in the jianghu.

In addition to the Qiu’s, other noble families and vassal kings sent out wave after wave of assassins.

Lu Yao, with his top-ranking academic performance, was certainly among those most heavily protected. Furthermore, he came from a strong background, possessed substantial family resources, and even had his own bodyguards, which made attacking him a very difficult task.

They were incapable of killing someone of his caliber, but they still stood a chance against ordinary farmers and those students with lesser academic achievements.

However, no matter who they targeted, no one was harmed.

Not only did they fail to achieve their goal of committing murder and tarnishing the reputation of the Imperial Court, they actually enhanced the court’s reputation and instilled greater trust in the government among the common people.

If the Imperial Court was able to protect these scholars, then it could certainly protect the common people as well.

And those students who had personally experienced such protection felt even more gratitude and loyalty toward the court and Bai Lihong, becoming even more determined to dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to serving him.

It was unknown how each of the various factions reacted to this news, but it was certainly not met with celebration.

The Lu family, however, was somewhat different.

Minister of War Lu Youwei held a thin piece of paper in his hand, which was densely covered in scraps of information about a certain person.

This person was none other than Lu Yao, also known as Lu Zicheng, the top scorer in this year’s Imperial Examinations.

“This Lu Zicheng actually has some connection to my Lu family.” Lu Youwei handed the paper to his advisor, Lu Tong.

Lu Tong looked it over, then said with a smile: “Since that’s the case, we should act as hosts when he comes to the capital and hold a welcoming reception for him.”

Of course, this so-called welcoming reception was naturally for the purpose of building a good relationship with Lu Yao and bringing him into their own camp.

Lu Youwei truly had not expected Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian to be so careless as to allow a member of the Lu family to win first place and even be admitted to the Imperial Academy.

He didn’t know if they thought Lu Zicheng was uninvolved with the Lu family, or if they genuinely hadn’t uncovered the connection.

But no matter what the case may be, the Lu family was set on having this person.

Their methods, however, would have to be more discreet. Even inviting Lu Yao to a welcoming reception required an abundance of caution in order to avoid discovery.

If they happened to be discovered, they would have to pretend that they hadn’t reached an agreement, putting Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian at ease so that they would continue to make use of Lu Zicheng.

In this way, the days passed.

On the second day of the second month, it was the Dragon-Head-Raising festival.

And at last, all of the students had arrived in the capital.

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Chapter 78 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 80