5: The Grand Secretary's Daughter

[The third year,]

[During these six months since entering the Literary Academy, your reputation has soared.]

[Many were unconvinced and tried various ways to make things difficult for you with their questions, but you resolved them all with ease.]

[Every day, people would come to challenge you to literary competitions, so you have grown accustomed to it.]

[The number one talented woman of the Literary Academy, Cheng Rongrong, also came to challenge you to a literary competition.]

[You readily accepted the challenge: Fortunately, you used to love reading history books and power-fantasy novels; classic famous quotes rolled off your tongue effortlessly.]

[The topic Cheng Rongrong set was: Policies for Governing the Nation.]

[With a quick turn of thought, you immediately thought of the Seven Policies for Governing the Nation.]

[You stood with your hands behind your back, gazing up at the blue sky.]

["This topic is not difficult; I have seven policies."]

["First, strengthen the foundation. A nation takes its people as its foundation; governance succeeds by following the people and fails by opposing them."]

["Second, clarify the laws. Amend civil laws to pacify the commoners, establish commercial laws to circulate goods and wealth, enforce strict military laws to strengthen national prestige, and define martial laws to stabilize the four directions."]

["Third, nurture the people. Abolish slavery, enlighten the populace, reduce corvée labor, lower taxes, eliminate redundant officials, save on unnecessary expenses—when the administration is clean, the people's livelihood is secure."]

["Fourth, refine the military. Troops value quality over quantity; generals value strategy over bravery. Streamline the ranks and choose generals carefully, and combat power will naturally become formidable."]

["Fifth, promote education. Establish official schools throughout towns and cities, invite famous teachers to educate the talented, and ensure that even brilliant talents from humble families have a path to advancement."]

["Sixth, strict inspection. Dispatch imperial censors to patrol the four directions, conducting open investigations and secret inquiries to impeach the lawless, making officials as cold and upright as frost."]

["Seventh, cultivate diplomacy. Maintain harmony with neighboring states, form alliances, and open markets for trade so that everyone finds their place and the borders remain naturally peaceful."]

["If these seven policies are implemented together, the nation will be wealthy and the military strong, education will flourish, distant peoples will submit, and the world will be well-governed."]

[After finishing, the corners of your mouth curled up slightly as you looked at the woman before you with a faint smile.]

[Cheng Rongrong's eyes widened and her small mouth hung slightly open, her gaze toward you sparkling brightly.]

[You have seen this kind of worshipful gaze quite often lately.]

[Although the woman before you was indeed very beautiful, you merely curled your lip disdainfully, shook your head, and turned to leave.]

[In fact, you had already conducted a secret investigation and had long ago identified the best candidate to 'live off of'—none other than this Daughter of the Grand Secretary, Cheng Rongrong.]

[Because you understood that without money, there was no way to increase your strength.]

"I f***ing... you idiot!"

"She's the target you picked out, and you didn't even ask for her name or identity."

"Dumbass!"

Looking at the simulated Qin Chen, he couldn't help but curse at himself.

[Three days later,]

[You discovered that you had inexplicably become famous again. The reason was your 'Seven Policies for Governing the Nation.']

[Your 'Seven Policies for Governing the Nation' spread throughout the Imperial Capital. It was heard that the Emperor held your proposal in court and scolded the civil and military officials until they were covered in dog's blood.]

[Now this was just great; more than half of the officials in court held a grudge against you.]

[Dean Han was overjoyed, boasting to everyone he met that you were his closed-door Disciple. He even went as far as to have your Seven Policies for Governing the Nation carved onto a stone tablet and erected at the academy's main gate.]

[Now, every time you go out, you can feel the gazes of envy, jealousy, and hate from the male Disciples.]

[As for those female Disciples, the way they look at you is practically bursting with stars.]

[There are at least a hundred girls secretly paying attention to you every day, and Cheng Rongrong is one of them.]

[However, you were completely immersed in your own world; besides studying and researching information, you were practicing martial arts.]

[You researched information mainly to find clues about immortal cultivation, but unfortunately, even the Literary Academy had no related records.]

[You felt that practicing martial arts was too bitter, and you couldn't help but think: How great would it be if I could cultivate immortality? Why endure this suffering?]

[You also felt that: Practicing martial arts burns too much money!]

[You now finally understood what it meant for 'a single penny to stump a hero.']

[Although Dean Han waived your tuition, the cost of living plus martial arts expenses still left you strapped for cash.]

[You suddenly missed your former days of fine clothes and rich food.]

[What gave you even more of a headache was that making money in this world was too difficult.]

[Things like perfume, salt, clothing, food, housing, and transportation were all no worse than what you knew from your previous life; you simply couldn't find a path to fortune.]

[After all, the Yan Dynasty had been passed down for over nine hundred years, and any way to make money you could think of had long since been taken by others.]

[Even harder was that in this world, if you wanted to make money, you had to have strength to back you up; otherwise, you wouldn't even know how you died.]

[You couldn't help but lament: Without money, what's the point of practicing martial arts!]

[You currently can't even afford a medicinal bath, let alone Medicinal Pills, and you can't even provide the most basic martial arts equipment.]

[Among the four major academies, the Literary Academy is the poorest. You began to wonder if you had chosen the wrong major.]

[But you didn't have the talent for the Martial Arts Academy, you didn't have the craftsmanship for the Heavenly Works Academy, and you didn't have the background or connections for the Merchant Dao Academy.]

[Being able to enter the Literary Academy was thanks to the benefits of Transmigration.]

[You couldn't help but sigh: If it weren't for the System, you would truly be no different from an ant.]

[You were grateful to the System from the bottom of your heart, even wanting to call it 'Daddy.']

"Am I really this useless?" Qin Chen frowned as he watched the simulation.

As he watched, Qin Chen felt something was wrong.

"System, are you doing this on purpose?"

"What good does belittling me do for you?"

"Can't you give me some encouragement?"

[Ding! Host, please do not interrupt the simulation.]

[Sigh... where did the simulation leave off just now?]

[Timeline found, please continue watching the simulation...]

[After much thought, you decided to quickly latch onto the thigh of the Daughter of the Grand Secretary.]

[You found a scholar from a humble family named Fu Qian to ask for news about Cheng Rongrong.]

[Fu Qian saw through your intentions and glared in anger: "Brother Qin, to admire the wealthy and bow your head, is that the true character of a scholar?"]

[You felt that there was a reason why Fu Qian was poor.]

[You retorted without politeness: "When you enter officialdom, you will feel that I am right."]

[Unfortunately, Fu Qian didn't know Cheng Rongrong either; after all, the identities of these children of the powerful were kept secret in the academy.]

[Just as you were worrying about how to have a chance encounter with Cheng Rongrong, the girl who had tested you on the policies for governing the nation took the initiative to come to your door.]

[You didn't give her a good look; after all, only the two of you knew about the 'Seven Policies for Governing the Nation' at the beginning.]

[Now that it was known to everyone, she must have been the one to spread it.]

[You couldn't understand why she wanted to make you famous.]

[Seeing you, she introduced herself with a beaming smile: "Hello, my name is Ronger."]

[One doesn't slap a smiling face, so you responded to her as well.]

[After a simple exchange of pleasantries, she suddenly stuffed a money pouch into your hand. You opened it to see that it actually contained a hundred taels of silver!]

[You looked at her with a face full of suspicion.]

[She explained: "I heard you are an orphan and have to both study and practice martial arts; you must be very short on money, right?"]

[You were muttering in your heart: How does she know your business so clearly?]

[Of course, you didn't know that she had been secretly paying attention to you. Every move you made, including your lack of money, was seen by her.]

[Seeing you both studying and practicing martial arts, she admired you even more.]

[She was even more expectant than you were for you to make a name for yourself.]

[Looking at this hundred taels, your favorability towards her in your heart increased by 1.]

[You couldn't help but sigh: As expected, money can buy favorability.]

[However, fearing the Daughter of the Grand Secretary might misunderstand, you quickly said: "Consider this a loan; I will definitely pay it back later."]

[She covered her mouth and chuckled: "Alright, you can pay it back slowly, I'm in no hurry~"]

[Next, you had a very congenial conversation, and you found that she considered your interests in every way.]