Chapter 501: with translation of chapter title

Your Majesty, you must absolutely not act so impulsively…

The old minister sighed with sorrow, his voice mournful as he advised: "The factional strife in the court is like water and fire; those people have reached the point of being utterly deranged. Fortunately, there are still many loyal and outspoken officials in the court, and with them supporting us, Your Majesty's burden is somewhat lighter, allowing you to accomplish some things."

"If Your Majesty were to send even these people away, the court might truly be overturned. Your Majesty, do not be anxious or irritable; those officials and the powerful clans behind them are deeply entrenched, and you must not rush—take your time to plan."

The Emperor shook his head. "Even a slow plan won't work now; what matters can I still decide? As soon as an edict is issued, they send it back, and my orders cannot leave this imperial city."

"'Since edicts cannot leave the imperial city, what can I still do or scheme? Then I will let them have their way and see just what they can do to me.'"

"'I am indeed the Son of Heaven, but uncle, look at what they're doing—do they still see me as emperor in their eyes? They seek to destroy my Great Yu; then I will first change this world myself!'"

"'They treat me as a mere figurehead, but I want to see whether, if the world were to have a new emperor, they could still run rampant. Then I will use that Yu Ta to exchange their lives for the new emperor's, and I will also stage an abdication, letting the new emperor ascend in glory.'"

"'This emperor is too weary; whoever wants the throne can have it, for I will not serve as emperor any longer.'"

After finishing his tirade, the Emperor truly seemed exhausted, weakly waving his hand and saying: "Uncle, later arrange for someone to transport a batch of gold and silver to Chen Wuji."

"'Furthermore, give me a pretext; I want to borrow a sum of silver from Ruan Xiang and the others. I have thought it over—doing business with Chen Wuji cannot rely solely on the little silver I hold; these dog officials are each as rich as the state, so we must find a way to use their money for my affairs.'"

"'Uncle, when I borrow silver from them, they surely won't come to my face and play at throwing themselves against a pillar, will they?'"

The old minister shook his head: "They would probably prefer that Your Majesty indulge in pleasure."

"'Then I will indulge, live in drunken dreams, and fulfill their wishes.' The Emperor waved his hand grandly and said."

"'Uncle, don't be so sorrowful; worry and anger are useless. No matter how we rack our brains, the world is already like this. Having surveyed history, at the end of every dynasty, whether the emperor is wise or not makes little difference to the whole world—it's of no avail.'"

The old minister slowly rose, bowed low, and said: "Your Majesty, there will surely be a way; I will first go attend to the two tasks you entrusted to me."

"'Thank you, uncle.'"

The Emperor courteously nodded, then lay flat and fell asleep straight away.

Not long after the old minister left, a figure emerged from the shadows of the hall.

"'Your Majesty!'"

The listless Emperor suddenly sprang up from the couch, his eyes sharp, gazing like an eagle watching a wolf.

"'Arrange for someone to meet Chen Wuji, using the Peaceful Cannon manufacturing art to try to exchange for the Shocking Heaven Thunder formula from him.' The Emperor ordered in a low voice."

The figure in the shadow clasped his fists and bowed: "Your Majesty, what identity should I use?"

"'Arrange it yourself; just don't reveal your true identity.'"

"'Yes!'"

"'Furthermore, I can arrange a death for General Xiao; I have tolerated him for too long.'"

"'Yes!'"

……

Hezhou Prefecture Office, Qinzhi Hall.

Chen Wuji was savoring the fine tea that Yuan Qi had just sent over.

Families with deep roots are simply different; even the tea they drink is tribute-grade.

Yet Yuan Qi keeps insisting that they are a fallen noble clan of Hezhou, completely finished.

If we truly applied Yuan Qi's standard, our Chen family would hardly deserve the word 'declined.'

Rather, we should use terms like 'submerged,' 'lost among the masses,' or 'extinct.'

"'How is your son's injury?' Chen Wuji sat down in the sunlit guest seat, deeply inhaling the refreshing tea fragrance; good tea really is different."

Yuan Qi, sitting upright, slightly bowed his head: "Thank you, Colonel, for your concern; it's no longer a serious issue, though he did break a bone and needs time to recuperate."

"'Once his injury heals, have him come work by my side. The Yuan family head probably has no objection to this, right?' Chen Wuji asked with a smile."

Yuan Qi immediately said: "It is an honor for my wayward son; I am delighted and have no objection. But that boy has spent these years learning nothing proper, knowing only some rudimentary martial arts, and he excels at the double‑dealing trick of speaking human words to people and ghost words to ghosts."

"'If you employ him, Colonel, you must never place him in a critical position, lest you jeopardize your affairs. But if it is for gathering information, serving as an envoy or the like, my wayward son might barely manage.'"

Chen Wuji was startled.

This old fellow's introduction of his son is truly frank; even the phrase 'two‑faced' actually came out.

"'You speak so frankly, and your words are so blunt—isn't your assessment of your son a bit too low?' Chen Wuji asked with a smile."

Yuan Qi shook his head, speaking sternly: "Colonel, my bastard son really is like that; if he truly had any other talent, I would gladly praise him more. But he only knows these lowly tricks, having learned nothing better; even if I tried to praise him against my conscience, I couldn't."

"'Then I will heed Elder Yuan's advice and steer him in that direction.' Chen Wuji shook his head, laughing helplessly; it was truly the first time I'd heard someone speak so harshly of their own son—rather excessive."

Yuan Qi took out a bamboo slip from his sleeve and placed it before Chen Wuji: "Colonel, this is detailed information on the scholars of Hezhou. I have roughly organized what they have done; you may use it as reference."

"'The information is all true, and their actions have indeed occurred. If you have doubts, Colonel, you can send people to verify.'"

Chen Wuji opened the bamboo slip; merely glancing at it filled his eyes with admiration.

This old fellow truly handles things reliably.

This information, looking at it, is truly comfortable.

This is truly a background check carried to the utmost detail; Yuan Qi listed each scholar's native place, age, current residence, which classics they study, and what they have done in Hezhou, leaving nothing out, great or small.

Especially the matters listed above, they can very directly assist Chen Wuji in judging what sort of person this is and whether to employ him.

"'Thank you, Elder Yuan.' Chen Wuji gave it a quick look, set the bamboo slip aside, and asked: 'I wonder what the Yuan family thinks about business?'"

Yuan Qi bowed his hands, saying he dared not, and asked: "Colonel, do you have any business in mind that would give my Yuan family a share? The Yuan family indeed were not merchants before, but if you are willing, we can try our hand at it."

"'This trade is not difficult; it is the scholars' business of inkstones.' Chen Wuji said."