The charcoal fire burned vigorously in the study of the Yongchang Marquis Manor, yet it brought not a shred of warmth.

Wen Ce stood at the Marquis’s side, stepped forward, and presented the strategy he had long contemplated.

“Currently, the war in the Northern Frontier is on the verge of erupting, and military supplies are at their most critical. Although Xu Qing’s memorandum from the Ministry of Revenue was suppressed, it successfully drew Xu Qing’s attention towards the malpractices in military funding.”

“We can exploit this tense situation in the Northern Frontier to make an issue out of the military supplies. The Marquis Manor has people in both the Ministry of War and the Armaments Bureau.”

Wen Ce’s voice dropped even lower, laced with a venomous cunning. “We will forge evidence that Su Ming ‘sought political achievements and misled court officials,’ then link him to a batch of ‘faulty leather armor’ that has been tampered with in advance. As long as a single casualty occurs at the front, it will be ironclad proof.”

“The leather armor splits, causing dozens of soldiers to be killed or injured. The charge will be ‘colluding with unscrupulous merchants and jeopardizing military operations.’ This crime is sufficient to warrant the extermination of his entire clan. By then, even if Zhou Wenhai’s old faction wants to rescue him, they will have no way to intervene.”

After listening, the Yongchang Marquis offered no comment, merely giving a slight nod to indicate his silent approval.

“This matter must be swift, covert, strike with one blow, and ensure he can never recover,” Wen Ce emphasized. “Simultaneously, it must appear as an internal conflict among the upright officials or his personal corruption, minimizing any trace of the Marquis Manor’s direct involvement. Over at the Censorate, I will arrange for our people. We only need to wait for news from the front to launch the attack immediately.”

“Go and handle it.” The Yongchang Marquis waved his hand, picked up the curved blade again, and resumed polishing it.

Wen Ce bowed and retreated, his mind already beginning to mobilize the Marquis Manor’s forces within the military supply system and the Censorate.

A net targeting Su Ming was being meticulously woven on the vast chessboard of the capital, awaiting only a suitable moment to completely engulf him.

……

One week later, Xu Qing arrived.

He looked even more haggard than last time, the bloodshot veins in his eyes almost seeming to bleed.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he nervously looked left and right, confirmed the alley was empty, then hurriedly closed the gate.

“Brother Su, have you heard?” Xu Qing lowered his voice, his tone laden with deep guilt. “Over at the Ministry of Revenue, people are spreading rumors… rumors that my memorial was… was instigated by someone, intended to undermine military morale.”

He walked up to Su Ming, his lips trembling.

“Brother Su, I… I truly am sorry. I never imagined that simply trying to increase revenue and reduce expenditure for the national treasury could potentially bring a calamitous disaster upon you!”

Xu Qing finally realized that in the capital, any attempt at idealism could become a deadly trigger.

Su Ming turned and patted his shoulder, his gaze firm and composed, without a trace of blame or panic.

“Brother Xu, this matter has nothing to do with you,” Su Ming’s voice was soft, yet carried a reassuring power. “The fact that I achieved Second Class, tenth rank, already placed me at the center of the storm. What the Yongchang Marquis Manor wants to move against is not your memorial, but Zhou Wenhai’s disciple, this ‘disobedient’ pawn that is me.”

“Your memorandum is merely the kindling they used to start the fire. Even without it, they would have found another excuse.”

Su Ming led Xu Qing to sit at the stone table, poured him a cup of hot tea. The curling steam from the tea slightly dispelled the chill in the courtyard.

“Brother Xu, listen to me,” Su Ming’s tone turned serious. “You must protect yourself now. Your memorial has already been suppressed by the Minister. In the short term, no one will use it to make an issue.”

“But from today onward, you and I must no longer meet privately.”

Xu Qing looked up sharply. “Brother Su, what do you mean by that?”

“You and I only need to greet each other in public settings like the Hanlin Academy and the Ministry of Revenue, as ordinary colleagues would,” Su Ming looked directly into his eyes, his tone leaving no room for doubt. “No matter what happens, you must insist that you and I are merely fellow graduates from the same imperial examination year, acquainted through our writings, with no deep personal connection in private.”

“If anyone asks about your memorial, you say it was the result of your own independent contemplation, unrelated to anyone else.”

Looking at Su Ming’s calm face, Xu Qing felt a surge of immense sorrow and gratitude. He knew Su Ming was using his own safety to carve out a path of survival for him, taking all the danger upon himself.

“Brother Su…” Xu Qing’s voice choked. “If I truly protect myself, wouldn’t that confirm your…”

“Let it be confirmed then,” Su Ming interrupted him, his voice carrying a touch of detachment. “I am, after all, a son of a humble family, without roots or backing. If they need a scapegoat, I am more suitable than you. You have entered the Ministry of Revenue, holding real power, with a promising future ahead.”

Xu Qing abruptly stood up and bowed deeply to Su Ming.

“Brother Su’s great kindness, Xu Qing will remember it in my heart. If misfortune befalls, I will definitely…”

“No need to say such things,” Su Ming stopped him.

Xu Qing knew Su Ming’s mind was made up; further persuasion was useless. He gave Su Ming a deep look, transforming that guilt and gratitude into a heavy weight, pressing it down into the depths of his heart.

“Brother Su, take care.”

Xu Qing turned and left the small courtyard with heavy steps.

……

One month later.

Su Ming received a secret letter from Liu Wenyuan. It stated: The Yongchang Marquis wants to eliminate you! And it detailed the other party’s method of framing him.

Lin Yu’s voice exploded in his mind, carrying an unprecedented gravity.

“Disciple, the net is tightening! It’s tightening far too quickly!”

“Master, I sense the two presences at the mouth of the alley have disappeared.”

“Those were the overt spies,” Lin Yu’s voice carried a slight tremor. His soul body’s fluctuations were more intense now than ever before. “Your master senses a more sinister, deeper malice, like a huge fishing net closing in from all directions. This isn’t ordinary surveillance. This is… this is meant to take your life!”

Lin Yu paced anxiously within the ring space, his soul body’s phantom image somewhat blurred.

“They’re mad! How dare they directly use such a killing move? This is no longer political maneuvering. This is breaking the rules, intending to directly wield the state apparatus to commit murder!” Lin Yu’s analysis carried the keen judgment of a transmigrator regarding power operations.

“They are no longer planning to play by the rules with me,” Su Ming’s voice was very calm, but his hand had already reached the bundle by the bedside. Inside the bundle was the small Turtle-Knob Seal he had been nurturing with his spiritual energy for a long time.

“Disciple, listen to your master. Now is not the time to play the hero. We must prepare for the worst,” Lin Yu quickly planned. “You must immediately pack all important items, especially that incomplete copy of the ‘Greenwood Longevity Art,’ and your master’s ring. They absolutely must not fall into others’ hands!”

“Contact points! When you went to the Liu residence last time, did you notice any noteworthy back doors or secret passages? Plan three escape routes! One by waterway, one out the north gate, one through the Western Hills!”

Su Ming said nothing more and immediately stood up. He placed the thick ‘Da Xing Compendium’ on the table, then neatly folded his official robe and placed it beside it.

“Master, I will not leave.”

Lin Yu was stunned. “What? Are you insane? If you don’t leave now, when they come to your door, you won’t have wings to fly away!”

“If I flee now, I will confirm the charge of ‘fleeing from guilt.’ The Yongchang Marquis Manor’s goal is to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, to purge their ranks,” Su Ming’s tone carried a calmness and resolve beyond his years.

“If I flee, they will immediately redirect their fury towards Brother Xu, even implicating Teacher Zhou’s old faction.”

“Most importantly,” Su Ming walked to the window, looking out at the deep night sky beyond the courtyard, “if I flee, I will completely lose this lead in the capital. The Lantai Secret Garden, the Chief Administrator, Chief Judge Li… these leads, I cannot abandon them.”

Lin Yu fell silent. He knew Su Ming’s temperament; once decided, he would not change his mind.

“Alright, my disciple of the Way of Survival, you truly are a madman,” Lin Yu sighed, his tone carrying a hint of helpless pride. “Not fleeing is fine, but we must push the ‘art of survival’ to its extreme. From now on, your every move must fit the persona of a ‘son of a humble family scared out of his wits.'”

“I want you to act as innocent and terrified as possible. They want to kill you, right? Then let’s make them kill you ‘justifiably,’ kill you with a ‘clear conscience’!”

“I understand,” Su Ming nodded, tucking the Turtle-Knob Seal into the clothing against his skin.

……

Deep night, Qianqing Palace, Western Warmth Chamber.

The warmth chamber was brightly lit, the air permeated with a faint scent of ambergris.

The Great Xing Emperor, wearing a casual robe embroidered with coiled dragon patterns, was bent over, reviewing the mountain of accumulated memorials. His face, illuminated by the candlelight, flickered between light and shadow, revealing no true emotion.

The Seal-holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Eunuch Wang, knelt respectfully in the corner, quietly presenting a freshly compiled secret report directly before the Emperor.

The content of the secret report was precisely about the Yongchang Marquis Manor’s actions against Su Ming, and the origins of Xu Qing’s memorandum from the Ministry of Revenue.

The Emperor took the secret report but did not open it immediately. Instead, he slowly set down the memorial in his hand.

“It seems the Yongchang Marquis is determined to eliminate that little disciple of Zhou Wenhai,” the Emperor’s voice was flat, like a calm lake surface, betraying no ripples.

Eunuch Wang kept his head lowered, his voice thin and respectful. “Reporting to Your Majesty, the Yongchang Marquis has always acted with ruthless decisiveness. This time, the evidence is crafted to be seventy percent true, thirty percent false. The key is that batch of leather armor; it has indeed been tampered with, showing traces of someone from ‘over there’ having a hand in it.”

“Over there?” The Emperor’s tone slightly emphasized, his fingers gently tapping the table.

Eunuch Wang immediately understood. “Yes, Your Majesty. Within the Armaments Bureau, there are several officials who have had ties to the Marquis Manor for many years. They mixed a batch of old leather armor into the new military supplies and tampered with it, waiting only for the frontline war to erupt to immediately expose the problem.”

“What is Liu Wenyuan’s reaction?” The Emperor slowly set down the memorial, his face showing neither joy nor anger.

“Minister Liu has united with several censors and is strenuously refuting, saying this is factional strife and framing,” Eunuch Wang replied.

“Framing?” The Emperor chuckled lightly, the laughter carrying a hint of mockery. “Of course it’s framing. I have an impression of this Su Ming. Second Class, tenth rank, his essays were steady and balanced. He has been inconspicuous in the Hanlin Academy for a year. For the Yongchang Marquis to make such a great stir actually makes me somewhat curious.”

The Emperor stood up and walked to the giant map of the Northern Frontier. That enormous map laid bare the entire border of the Great Xing Dynasty.

“The Northern Frontier needs the Yongchang Marquis’s military talent to stabilize morale, but his influence in the court also needs some checks and balances,” the Emperor’s gaze fell on the several war zones marked in red along the border. “The upright official faction has also been somewhat disappointing lately. This Su Ming is a good piece on the board.”

Eunuch Wang immediately understood that this piece was not one the Emperor intended to easily abandon, but neither would he directly step forward to protect it.

The Emperor turned, his tone flat yet brooking no doubt. “Issue the decree. Hanlin Academy Compiler Su Ming, negligent in his duties, implicated in military supply malpractice, is hereby stripped of his scholarly honor and official position, exiled three thousand li, to serve in the ‘Blackwater Camp’ in the Northern Frontier to atone for his crime through labor.”

Eunuch Wang’s heart tightened. He immediately grasped the Emperor’s deeper meaning. Exile, not execution, gave the Yongchang Marquis an explanation while also leaving hope for the upright official faction.

“Your Majesty is sagacious,” Eunuch Wang said respectfully. “The journey into exile is perilous. Should we…”

“No need,” the Emperor waved his hand, his voice carrying a trace of cold decisiveness. “If he cannot even survive this journey, then I have misjudged him. If he can reach it… Liu Wenyuan and Zhou Wenhai will know what to do.”

“Withdraw.”

Eunuch Wang bowed and retreated, tightly clutching that secret decree in his hand, sighing inwardly: The art of rulership is indeed unfathomable. This young man Su Ming, his life, death, glory, and disgrace were themselves a counterweight for fine-tuning the two factions. If he succeeded, he was a hidden piece; if he failed, he was insignificant.

The snow from the Northern Frontier finally fell upon the capital.

The first snow of early winter, carrying a knife-like cold wind, swept through the entire Hanlin Academy.

Inside the Wenyuan Pavilion, the atmosphere was even colder than the wind and snow outside.

“Have you heard? Something happened in the Northern Frontier!”

“The Black Rong launched a night raid! Three military forts were lost! Dozens of brothers died!”

The news spread through the Wenyuan Pavilion like a plague.

Qian Bin immediately jumped up. He slammed the table, his voice filled with indignation. “Utterly disgraceful! How could our Great Xing border army be so utterly defeated!”

He walked over to Su Ming’s desk. Looking at Su Ming, who was still copying the compendium, that neat handwriting seemed to mock the clamor of the world.

“Compiler Su, you certainly remain composed!” Qian Bin sneered. “Northern Frontier soldiers are shedding blood at the border, yet you sit here copying the rituals of a bygone dynasty? Is your heart made of stone?”

Su Ming set down his brush and looked up, his face wearing a perfectly measured expression of panic and bewilderment.

“Brother Qian, what… what are you talking about? The border…”

“Still pretending!” Qian Bin roared, his voice drawing the attention of Reader Guo.

Reader Guo emerged from the inner room, his face as dark as if it were about to drip water.

“What is all this noise! Utterly disgraceful!”

At that moment, a man wearing the official robe of a Censorate censor, accompanied by several yamen runners, strode purposefully into the Wenyuan Pavilion.

The censor’s face was stern. His gaze swept over the room, finally fixing on Su Ming.

“Who is Hanlin Academy Compiler Su Ming?”

Su Ming’s heart clenched violently.

“They’re here,” Lin Yu’s voice sounded in his mind, carrying a determined calmness of one burning their boats. “Disciple, don’t panic. Play your part well.”

Su Ming stood up, his voice carrying a slight tremor. “This… this official is Su Ming.”

“Seize him!” the censor bellowed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep