Xiao Ping narrowly escaped and blended into the rebellious refugees, seizing the opportunity to uncover the truth—behind it all stood the powerful aristocratic families.
Knowing he couldn’t challenge them and realizing he’d been discovered, Xiao Ping killed those who threatened him and became the leader of the rebels.
He had hoped to reveal the truth when the imperial court came to suppress the rebellion, but the ones who arrived were allies of those pulling the strings. Forced into a corner, he led a group into the vast mountains of Liangzhou.
"So he was driven to rebellion. What about the other one?"
The other man was named Wang Zhi, a scholar from Taoyuan County, Qingning Prefecture, Yizhou. Though his early experiences differed from Xiao Ping’s, their later paths converged in a startlingly similar way.
Both were coerced into joining the rebellion, reluctantly rising to leadership, only to face ‘suppression’ officials who sought to eliminate them rather than negotiate.
With no other choice, they each gathered their followers and retreated into the mountains.
Thus, like Xiao Ping, Wang Zhi became one of the Great Yan Dynasty’s two stubborn thorns—impossible to uproot.
These two forces acted like magnets, drawing in more and more desperate souls—those who had lost their land and could no longer feed themselves no matter how much they toiled as tenants.
Over a decade, their numbers swelled from a few hundred to nearly thirty thousand. When the Xiqiang and Beili forces first attacked the Great Yan Dynasty, these rebels were the earliest to resist.
Both men painstakingly relayed this intelligence to the imperial court through different channels, but the officials were too consumed by power struggles to care.
The new emperor even suspected they were fabricating threats to manipulate the court into offering them amnesty, hoping to leverage their position for greater gains.
What fools!
"Emperor Mingxi’s sons grow more useless by the day. Look at the second, third, fifth, and sixth princes—aren’t they practically dozing off during court sessions?"
The four princes in question: Excuse us? We’ve been nothing but obedient since the Imperial Tutor arrived, living like shadows!
Even the second prince, Xie Zhimin, who once rivaled the crown prince in ambition, had toned down his antics. Yet somehow, the Imperial Tutor still noticed them?
[These four idiots need a proper disciplining from the emperor. Otherwise, a few well-placed words from schemers might convince them they’re destined for the throne.
Next year, after the snow disaster comes the floods. The funds for dam repairs were embezzled, turning the structure into a crumbling deathtrap. What should’ve been a minor flood became a catastrophe, drowning tens of thousands.
A natural disaster twisted into man-made tragedy!
When Emperor Mingxi traced the corruption, he found his second son’s faction at the core—with hints of his third son’s involvement.
He had both princes’ legs broken and imprisoned.
Honestly, breaking their legs is too lenient. Such worthless scum should’ve been executed.]
"So the second prince embezzled to fund his coup? From your tone, it sounds like he’s being manipulated?"
[He craves the throne, and the stolen silver was meant to bribe officials and raise a private army. But what he doesn’t realize is that he’s taking the fall for someone else.
His uncle, Marquis Yingping Fu Hong, pretends to support him while secretly serving another master. Nephews? Pfft.]
Xie Zhimin, the would-be emperor, broke into a cold sweat at the Imperial Tutor’s derisive scoff. As for his uncle Fu Hong… he glanced back at the man standing behind him.
Fu Hong met his gaze, their faces equally grim.
Fu Hong’s heart sank deeper than the prince’s. After all, Xie Zhimin was still the emperor’s son. But Fu Hong? A mere outsider meddling in the succession, backing the wrong horse…
The thought made his vision darken. He longed to defend himself, but the figures surrounding him left no room for movement.
If he stayed still, his family might survive—his crimes falling on him alone.
If he acted, the emperor would ensure he memorized every name in his nine-generation clan registry.
Fu Hong’s heart bled. Why did I only hear the Imperial Tutor’s thoughts today? Had it been a few days earlier, could I have prepared?
He thought of his newborn grandson, held only once…
With a hollow gaze, Fu Hong knelt before Emperor Mingxi’s impassive face.
Before his knees touched the ground, Wei Shouyi—wearing a guileless grin—pulled him up. Leaning in as if sharing office gossip, Wei whispered, "Marquis, don’t move. Keep your expression neutral."
"Fu Hong won’t even support his own nephew? Did this ‘outsider’ offer him more?"
[A nephew can’t compare to a son. Fu Hong isn’t the only one loyal to that man—many in this court serve him too.]
The officials: The Imperial Tutor’s death-naming us again? Unavoidable, as expected.
[Take the Ministry of Revenue’s so-called ‘Abacus King’ Qu Bing, for instance. No ledger escapes his ‘balancing’ touch.
Pity he never met the forensic accountants of modern prisons—else he’d never dare claim that title.
Introduce double-entry bookkeeping, and his tricks would crumble to dust.]
"Qu Bing? Which one is he?" Yue Fuguang scanned the crowd.
The moment he spoke, the courtiers straightened their postures, eyes downcast but ears pricked—masters of the ‘suddenly attentive during meetings’ act.
[Master, see that middle-aged man beside Wu Yong? Pale, deceptively simple face, black mole on his left brow.
That’s the ‘Abacus King.’ First-ranked abacus? Laughs in calculator.]
"Ha! Little Pearl, if his fingers are fast enough, he might keep up with your calculator!"
[Hmph. Isn’t your uncle joining the Ministry of Revenue soon? Give him that calculator and let them duel—see who’s faster.]
"Don’t sabotage me! How would I explain that gadget? Claim it’s from overseas? No foreign land has such technology. Little Pearl, some advancements are too advanced to reveal!"
Too advanced to reveal? The Ministry of Revenue officials itched with curiosity. The more forbidden, the more they craved a glimpse.
Their collective gaze landed on their superior, Dong Qianli.
Dong Qianli: What am I, a magician?
Internally, Dong was panicking. Of course the rot is in my ministry. And it’s my most trusted subordinate…
Staring at the oblivious Qu Bing, Dong sighed. I should’ve known.
[Why not teach your uncle modern accounting? Little Pearl guarantees he’ll obliterate the ‘Abacus King.’]
"You’ve got a grudge against him? Or is there some benefit to taking him down?"
