Chapter 74 The Grand Tutor Reports Back, Emperor Yi Adds More Than Meets the Ban

By the time Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong returned to the palace, the sky had already turned dark.

As the Ink Kirin stepped through the palace gates, none of the guards dared to stop him.

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong dismounted, and without even removing his iron armor, he walked straight toward the inner hall.

Emperor Yi was waiting for him.

Inside the hall, the candles were brightly lit, but not a single palace servant remained.

Emperor Yi had personally barred the doors, leaving even his personal eunuch outside.

"Please take a seat, Grand Preceptor."

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong did not sit. Standing in the center of the hall, he cupped his fists and began his report immediately.

"I spent half an hour with Chen Yuan at the Hunting Grounds. The man's conduct was proper, his words humble, and his responses measured. I observed his Luck with the Heavenly Eye; it was unremarkable, with no unusual fluctuations in cultivation."

Emperor Yi sat upon the Dragon throne, his fingers resting on the armrest, expressionless.

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong continued, "From my observation, his talent is genuine, but I saw no ambition."

Emperor Yi remained silent for several breaths.

"With your power as a Golden Immortal, Grand Preceptor, even you cannot see through an eighteen-year-old youth?"

As those words fell, the hall fell silent.

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong's expression darkened slightly.

He did not argue, for Emperor Yi spoke the truth.

He truly could not see through him.

Under the Heavenly Eye, Chen Yuan was as clean as a blank sheet of paper.

His Luck was ordinary, his cultivation non-existent; he appeared to be nothing more than a frail and sickly noble youth.

But the cleaner he seemed, the more something felt wrong.

After a long silence, Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong said in a low voice, "Indeed, I cannot see through him."

Emperor Yi let out a cold laugh.

"Being unable to see through him is precisely the biggest problem."

He stood up, descended from the Dragon throne, and paced the hall with his hands behind his back. His voice was not loud, but every word carried heavy weight.

"Since his childhood, there has been a prophecy of the Guardian Qilin. The late King's secret edict explicitly stated that he could bring prosperity to Shang, but he could also overturn it."

"In the war against the Eastern Yi, he never stepped onto the battlefield nor killed a single person with his own hands, yet he became the greatest contributor."

"Zi Shou calls him brother at every turn, and over a thousand soldiers hail him as the Qilin. Even the newly appointed Female Guardian General has publicly taken his side, saying that anyone who wants to touch him must first answer to her spear."

Emperor Yi stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong.

"Grand Preceptor, if this man were truly loyal, why does the world revolve around him instead of around me?"

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong looked up.

"Your Majesty, if you harbor suspicion simply because a subject's merit is too high, then the state itself will be in the greatest danger."

Emperor Yi did not respond.

He walked back to the Dragon throne, sat down, took a silk scroll from his sleeve, and tossed it onto the desk.

"I intend to bestow Huang Yuerong's hand in marriage to Chen Yuan."

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong's brow furrowed.

"The Huang Family is a lineage of loyal subjects to the Great Shang, with generations of their blood spilled on the battlefield. With Huang Yuerong married into the Chen Manor, everything inside and out will be right under my nose."

Emperor Yi's voice was calm and measured.

"If he accepts gladly, it shows he is susceptible to human sentiment and has weaknesses that can be exploited."

"If he refuses—"

Emperor Yi paused.

"To refuse a marriage bestowed by the Human Sovereign is to harbor ulterior motives and reject the monarch's grace."

Both paths lead to a dead end.

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong understood.

He said solemnly, "Your Majesty, regardless of whether he accepts or not, this move will break the heart of a loyal subject."

Emperor Yi's face was like iron.

"I do not need his heart."

His voice was lowered to a whisper, almost squeezed through his teeth.

"What I need is a chain to tether the Qilin. Grand Preceptor, deliver this imperial edict for me."

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong stared at Emperor Yi for a long time.

This was no longer the monarch from three years ago who would be overwhelmed by reports from the North Sea.

After three years, something new had appeared in Emperor Yi's eyes.

It wasn't anger, nor was it fear.

It was a coldness that treated everyone as a chess piece.

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong accepted the edict and turned to leave.

Just as he stepped over the threshold, Emperor Yi's voice came from behind him.

It was very soft, like a whisper.

"Grand Preceptor."

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong stopped in his tracks.

"You were away at the North Sea for three years, and I have lacked a pair of eyes that can see clearly. Look for me once more."

"See clearly his reaction to this imperial edict."

He paused for a breath.

"And also see clearly the backgrounds of those few maidservants by his side."

The crack of the Heavenly Eye on Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong's forehead twitched slightly.

Maidservants.

He didn't know when Emperor Yi's secret guards had started watching the Chen Manor.

But since Emperor Yi had said this, it meant those women had already drawn attention.

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong did not look back as he stepped out of the hall, the doors closing behind him.

He mounted the Ink Kirin and rode out along the palace path.

When he reached Vermilion Bird Street, he suddenly pulled the reins and stopped.

He glanced back.

Above the palace, the purple Qi representing the Human King's Luck was churning incessantly.

It was murky and stagnant, more than twice as bad as it had been three years ago.

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong whispered, "I have been gone for three years, and Zhaoge has changed too much."

The Ink Kirin let out a low cry, as if in response.

Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong changed direction and headed toward the north of the city.

Less than fifteen minutes after he left, Emperor Yi summoned the Commander of the Secret Guards into the hall.

The hall doors were locked once more.

"Deliver my secret edict."

Emperor Yi took out a silk scroll he had already prepared from beneath the desk and handed it over.

"Under the pretext of guarding the northern border, transfer the Front Army Commandant, Chen Lie, to his new post effective immediately. His station—Xuanshuang Pass."

The Commander of the Secret Guards took the scroll without questioning. He knew where Xuanshuang Pass was—the most bitter and cold mountain pass in the north, perpetually covered in snow, with a garrison of no more than three hundred men.

A promotion in name, but a demotion in reality.

Removing the last pillar of the Chen Family in Zhaoge.

"This edict must be delivered before tomorrow's morning court. Not a single word must be leaked."

"Yes."

The Commander of the Secret Guards withdrew from the hall, his figure vanishing into the night.

Emperor Yi sat alone on the Dragon throne, staring at the empty hall.

The candlelight flickered on his face, mirroring his unpredictable mood.

"Don't you like playing chess?"

The voice echoed in the empty hall, unheard by anyone.

"I can play too."

—

The back garden of the Chen Manor.

Late at night, the window of the bamboo building was open, and moonlight spilled across the floor.

Chen Yuan sat alone by the window, a chessboard laid out before him.

There were no pieces on the board, only the intersecting lines.

His fingers rested on the edge of the chessboard, tapping silently. One, two, three.

The rhythm was slow, as if he were counting something.

Bixiao's voice came from outside the door, kept very low.

"Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong has left the palace and is heading this way."

Chen Yuan's fingers did not stop.

"I know."

"He is a member of the Jie Sect, yet today he acts on Emperor Yi's behalf. What do you think?"

"He is a loyal subject. His loyalty is to the Great Shang, not to any single individual."

Bixiao fell silent for a breath, and her footsteps faded away.

Chen Yuan stopped tapping, his gaze piercing through the moonlight toward the direction of the palace.

Whether it was the bestowed marriage or his father's transfer, he had already deduced Emperor Yi's moves the moment he returned from the Hunting Grounds. Not a single step was off.

A faint curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"It's time."