Chapter 81 - 80: Promoted! Then Off to the Capital!

Chapter 81: Chapter 80: Promoted! Then Off to the Capital!

"In that case, I will not disturb Minister Mr. Zeng any longer. I still have an imperial decree to deliver to Director Mr. Qin."

After bidding a cheerful farewell to Zeng Shilin, the eunuch led his men on horseback and headed out of the estate. This left Zeng Shilin standing in place, holding the imperial decree. He was expressionless, lost in thought for a long time.

"Father?" Zeng Anmin stepped forward and called out.

Zeng Shilin slowly snapped back to reality. He looked at his son and said in a deep voice, "Follow me to the study."

With that, he took the lead and headed toward the study without looking back. Zeng Anmin looked at his father’s back, frowning slightly. He didn’t say anything and simply followed him.

CREAK.

The study door closed, leaving only the father and son in the room. Zeng Anmin looked at his father just as his father looked back at him. As their eyes met, a heavy atmosphere filled the air. Though feeling suspicious, Zeng Anmin didn’t speak rashly. Instead, he quietly found a place to sit and waited for his father to begin.

His father’s gaze was placid, devoid of any joy over his recent promotion. His voice was calm. "Do you know why I am as still as stagnant water despite being promoted to such a heavy responsibility?"

"Well, tell me then." Zeng Anmin casually picked up the Jade Ruyi on the desk and toyed with it.

The Jade Ruyi was quite large; it wasn’t something he could easily stuff into his pocket. After playing with it for a moment, he found it dull and looked at his father out of boredom.

His father’s voice deepened. "Both imperial decrees carry the merit of us father and son..." He slowly narrowed his eyes. "Yet, they mentioned absolutely nothing about the words ’King Jiang’s rebellion’."

Hearing this, Zeng Anmin’s hand paused slightly. He slowly raised his gaze to meet his father’s eyes and asked softly, "Emperor Jianhong doesn’t want to blow this matter out of proportion?"

"Although King Jiang had lost power, he and Prince Qi were born of the same mother. Prince Qi is a Fourth Grade Grandmaster of the Martial Art, the only High Grade Martial Artist within the royal family," Zeng Shilin explained to his son. "Furthermore, he concurrently serves as a Commander of the Imperial City Department. He is the prince the Saint relies on the most."

Hearing this, Zeng Anmin slowly understood.

The Imperial City Department was a special organization of the Great Saint Dynasty, similar to the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Ming Dynasty in his past life. Four phrases could describe it: specially dispatched by imperial authority, supervising all officials, monitoring the world, and wielding supreme power over the court!

It was established with one Imperial City Director, who managed all major affairs within the department. The current Director was named Ji Qing. Holding a Second Grade position, he was a man of high status and immense authority, wielding the power of life and death.

Beneath the Director were the Commanders. There were four in total, divided into the four major Commanders of the East, West, South, and North. Each one was a Grandmaster Martial Artist. Holding Third Grade official posts, the four major Commanders each managed crucial affairs. The Prince Qi that his father mentioned held the vital position of the Imperial City Department’s North Commander.

"So, for the sake of so-called royal face, the matter of King Jiang’s rebellion has just been suppressed like this? Will it leave a mark in the future history books saying he was persecuted by you?" Zeng Anmin narrowed his eyes, his voice turning cold.

He didn’t even need to think about it—someday in the future, some "historian" would probably come out to vindicate King Jiang. And his own father would suddenly be transformed into a sycophantic minister who forced a prince to rebel?

Sure enough, upon hearing his son’s words, a cold smile appeared on his father’s face. "It doesn’t matter. Four years ago, when I pressured King Jiang, I anticipated that this day would come. Even if the Saint suppresses the charge of his rebellion..." The cold smile on his father’s face grew even icier. "His crimes of perverting the law for bribes, colluding with the Demon Race, slaughtering the innocent, and abusing his power for personal gain will be enough."

Hmm? Zeng Anmin blinked. Since his father dared to say this out loud, he must be absolutely confident.

"Do you think Qin Shoucheng is truly the kind of person who occupies a position without doing any real work? He holds quite a bit of evidence regarding King Jiang’s crimes."

Qin Shoucheng?

Zeng Anmin’s expression paused slightly. His father glanced at him and continued, "I know you harbor a grudge against him because of Zhang Lun’s death. But if he had captured Wang Lin back then, it would have alerted the enemy and ruined my four years of layout."

His father’s words left Zeng Anmin feeling extremely conflicted. He sighed inwardly. If Wang Lin had indeed been captured at that time, King Jiang probably wouldn’t have died today... He remained silent, feeling a bit hollow inside. So, in the eyes of those in high positions, Zhang Lun was merely...

"That Imperial Eunuch should have gone to placate that man surnamed Qin." His father looked deeply toward the window. "If nothing unexpected happens, he should also receive a promotion and be allowed to return to the Capital City. The future situation may not look good." His father looked back at Zeng Anmin, his voice filled with extreme caution. "Your promotion to the Crown Prince’s Tutor may not come with any real power, but it also represents the Saint’s appeasement toward me."

Zeng Anmin knew this. It had been shown in many ancient dramas from his past life. In order to express his reliance on a minister, an emperor would let the minister’s son become a tutor to the crown prince. This was also a way of telling the official that his family’s future was secured. The Crown Prince was the heir apparent, the future emperor.

"Huang Yuangao will take over my position as Governor, and I will take his position as Minister. Heh, Your Majesty has certainly played a beautiful hand of checks and balances." His father chuckled coldly before resting his gaze on Zeng Anmin. "Your position is low and your words carry little weight, so you don’t need to concern yourself with the partisan factions in the court."

After speaking, Zeng Shilin’s gaze shifted to Zeng Anmin. He smiled coldly and said, "As the Crown Prince’s Tutor, you have the right to peruse all the books collected in the palace. Among them are many handwritten manuscripts from various Great Confucian Scholars, and possibly even the personal Enlightenment of the Confucian Saint. It could be said that if you become an Imperial Tutor, your progress in the path of Confucianism will undoubtedly be rapid.

"But once you arrive in the Capital City, you must claim to be ill. You cannot take up this role as the Crown Prince’s Tutor."

"Huh?" Zeng Anmin was stunned for a moment before asking in bewilderment, "Why is that?"

In his eyes, no matter how one looked at it, this was a good thing.

His father’s gaze was deep and dark, staring straight at him. The intense look made him a little nervous.

"Becoming the Crown Prince’s Tutor requires an assessment," his father explained. "The method of assessment is an Illusion Array set up by the Profound Array Department. This array primarily tests one’s temperament and talent. The profound mysteries within the array will forcibly suppress your soul and Spiritual Power. Therefore, upon entering the array, you will lose your memories and be unaware that you are inside it. You will likely expose your identity as the Black Cat Martial Artist. Although you awakened the Dragon Inspection Map and have its help to face the interrogation of the heart without fear, we cannot take that gamble."

His father had always believed that Zeng Anmin’s ability to ignore his interrogation of the heart was related to him awakening the Dragon Inspection Map.

Zeng Anmin’s expression turned bizarre. Suppressing the soul and Spiritual Power? His gaze imperceptibly flicked toward his Golden Finger panel.

[Unyielding Martial God: Immune to all Divine Soul and Spiritual Attacks.]

He thought to himself, "Wait, isn’t this kind of assessment tailor-made for me?"

"I understand," Zeng Anmin said, earnestly brushing his father off.

He even felt a faint sense of anticipation in his heart. "If I can perform exceptionally well during the assessment and make the little Crown Prince admire me deeply, won’t I be able to run amok in the Capital City in the future?" he thought. "That would make me the true prince of the capital circle. I need to fast-forward straight to entering the capital for the assessment so I can blind everyone with my brilliance! Moreover, casually browsing the palace’s collection of books... The foundation of the palace is far stronger than any academy!"

Early spring had passed, and deep spring had arrived.

In just a short time, tender buds had quietly sprouted on the trees. Carriages lined up like a long dragon, slowly leaving Liangjiang Commandery.

The current Governor of Fengqi Road, Zeng Shilin, had been promoted. He was heading into the capital to become a First Grade official—Minister of the Ministry of War, Grand Scholar of the Martial Hero Hall, and the youngest Cabinet Scholar!

Meanwhile, Zeng Anmin, the son of the Minister, was currently staring in astonishment straight ahead of him. Qin Wanyue was riding a handsome horse, looking at him with a smile in her exceedingly quiet eyes.

"Quan Fu, it has been a long time."

"Uh..." Just as Zeng Anmin was about to speak, he saw Qin Shoucheng looking at him expressionlessly from a short distance away. He was sitting inside a carriage, lifting the window curtain, and giving him a death stare.

Zeng Anmin simply pretended not to see it. He turned his face, revealing a radiant smile, and looked at Qin Wanyue. "Ms. Wanyue, why don’t you ride alongside me?"

"Alright." Qin Wanyue was not a pretentious person. She magnanimously rode her horse to travel side-by-side with Zeng Anmin.

The young man was high-spirited and vigorous, while the young woman possessed a pure heart and unparalleled beauty. A talented man and a beautiful woman—they looked just like a pair of Immortal lovers.

Watching the backs of the two, the veins on the back of Qin Shoucheng’s hand, which was holding up the window curtain, suddenly bulged.