When the news reached Kyoto, the entire city was in an uproar.

The Imperial Preceptor's residence, bestowed by the Emperor, was located next to the Princess's residence, and thousands of people flocked to pay their respects.

Many of them had relatives from Anbei County and came to express their gratitude to the Imperial Preceptor for saving their lives.

The Imperial Advisor made a high-profile entry into the capital, and his first move was a brilliant one, saving the lives of tens of thousands of people. Overnight, the Imperial Advisor's position became unshakeable.

However, the Imperial Preceptor's residence has always been closed to visitors.

Oh no, I should say that ever since the plaque for the Imperial Preceptor's Residence was hung up, the gates of the Imperial Preceptor's Residence have never been opened to receive guests.

This made the powerful and influential people of Kyoto, who were always on the lookout for trouble, extremely anxious.

The one who was most anxious and regretful was the Third Prince.

That day, Yun Tianbai came to the mansion to find him, saying that within a month, the area of ​​Anbei County west of the capital would experience an earthquake.

Yun Tianbai's original intention was to use this matter to get the Third Prince to speak to the Emperor and ask the court to step in and settle the people of Anbei. If this was successful, the Third Prince would be able to make a great contribution.

Unexpectedly, the Third Prince did not believe it at all, and at the same time, the Imperial Preceptor requested an imperial decree the next day to relocate the people of Anbei.

Yun Tianbai was extremely disappointed, but there was nothing he could do.

Upon learning that Anbei County had indeed been struck by an earth dragon, and that the people had all been saved under the guidance of the Imperial Advisor and the Emperor's decree, he was filled with deep regret.

What a great opportunity to show off in front of the Emperor!

He immediately summoned Yun Tianbai to his residence and asked him bluntly, "How did you know that there would be an earth dragon rising up in Anbei County?"

Yun Tianbai sighed, "This humble general was just having a dream."

He had already prepared his explanation.

In his previous life, the earth dragon's reversal caused the deaths and injuries of tens of thousands of people in Anbei County, shocking the entire country. So even though he was still in the Northern Army Camp at that time, he heard about it.

He couldn't remember the exact time, but he vaguely felt it was in October.

The expectation on the Third Prince's face instantly vanished.

He had thought that Yun Tianbai possessed some extraordinary ability, but it turned out that it was just a dream.

Yun Tianbai continued, "Third Prince, in my dream I saw you... inheriting the throne."

The Third Prince's face turned shocked again. "What did you say?!"

Yun Tianbai remained silent, simply pointing to the sky and nodding firmly.

The Third Prince suddenly understood why the heir of the Duke of Pingguo had gone to such lengths to get close to him—it was because he had dreamt of the Prince ascending the throne and was trying to curry favor with him ahead of time.

He laughed heartily, "Young Master Yun, do you even believe that yourself? The Crown Prince has fought against the enemy in the Southern Border for six years, achieving remarkable feats, and Father has always doted on him. The Consort and her son are deeply favored by the Emperor. What are my mother and I, who have been confined for over a decade, compared to him?!"

Yun Tianbai smiled and said, "Has Your Highness seen His Highness the Crown Prince recently? The Crown Prince has a hidden ailment in his leg that will never heal."

The third prince was stunned.

These words are very profound; a crown prince could never be someone with a lifelong leg ailment.

You mean...?

Yun Tianbai nodded, "Prince Rong has never given up his wicked intentions. If this information can be leaked to them... I believe we will soon have a deposed crown prince!"

The Third Prince's eyes darted around, and he suddenly burst into laughter, "Yun Tianbai, Yun Tianbai, I never imagined you would hate your stepsister and stepmother so much?"

Yun Tianbai cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, this humble general only wishes to lend you a helping hand, and at the same time, to secure his own future."

"Haha, you've got potential!"

"I wonder... about the vacancy for the Commander of the Five Cities Garrison..."

"Rest assured, I will definitely recommend you if I have the opportunity!"

...

Meanwhile, at a street corner not far from the Imperial Preceptor's residence.

The unshaven senior brother, leading his seven junior brothers, strode around the street corner with a menacing air, heading towards the gate of the Imperial Preceptor's residence.

The people who had gathered around the gate hoping to catch a glimpse of the Imperial Preceptor and receive some good fortune automatically blocked his way. "What are you trying to do?"

The eldest disciple was taken aback. "Why are you stopping us?"

What are you going to do?

What we do is none of your business.

"The Imperial Preceptor is the benefactor of our Great Zhou Dynasty; his affairs are our affairs!"

Senior Brother and others: ...

Someone nearby recognized him. "I know him. Isn't he the charlatan who sets up a fortune-telling stall at the market and charges 100 taels of silver per reading?"

"This one, I recognize it too. It's that swindler who sells some kind of golden pill for 100 taels a piece at a stall in the West Market!"

"And this one, claiming to have changed the feng shui of the Zhou family, charging 100 taels for each feng shui consultation! I think they're just a bunch of fake Taoist priests!"

These words made the eldest brother and the seventh brother blush with embarrassment.

Last time, under Su Youran's guidance, the two of them actually earned two hundred taels of silver from the Zhou family. So they believed Su Youran's method of making money at one hundred taels per time. So they went back and brainwashed the other fellow disciples, and finally set the price at one hundred taels per time!

To avoid running out of money, the fellow disciples set up stalls in various markets and streets of Kyoto. Some told fortunes, some sold pills, and some offered feng shui consultations, all starting at one hundred taels of silver.

For a whole month, they didn't open for business even once.

They could only console each other, saying it wasn't that their great-aunt's price was too high, but that they simply weren't capable enough.

At this moment, the third senior brother who was refining pills reacted quickly, bowing and scraping to the people, "Please make way, everyone, we mean no harm."

The people clearly didn't believe it. "You bunch of fake Taoist priests, you've actually dared to deceive our all-powerful National Master!"

The seventh senior brother said with a wry smile, "You all know that the Imperial Preceptor is incredibly powerful. We just want to see him once."

The common people then mocked, "Do you think you can just see the Imperial Advisor whenever you want?"

The eldest disciple knelt down in front of the gate of the Imperial Preceptor's mansion with a "thump".

The people were startled and quickly stepped aside, for having someone kneel before them for no reason was considered a bad omen.

But he still watched this strange person warily. Fortunately, he was kneeling, and he thought that he couldn't possibly be a threat to the Grand Preceptor.

The eldest disciple's face was filled with sorrow. He crawled on his knees seven or eight steps toward the gate before stopping, wailing, "Uncle-Master! You've deceived us so badly!"

The other junior disciples also rushed to the gate and knelt down, wailing in unison, "Uncle-Master! You've deceived us so badly!"

The people: ...

What's going on? Where's the murderous aura they had when they arrived?

One commoner remarked, "It's ridiculous! A random group of Taoist priests comes along, claiming to be the Grand Preceptor's nephews. Who would believe that?"

"That's right, our Imperial Preceptor is wise, powerful, and possesses great supernatural abilities. How can these charlatan Taoist priests compare to him?"

"These...fake Taoist priests, take my advice. Don't think that just because you're fortune tellers and feng shui masters in the same line of work as the Imperial Preceptor, you can benefit from his reputation. The Imperial Preceptor is not someone you can just try to curry favor with..."

"That's right, hurry up and leave! We've been waiting here all day and haven't even seen the Imperial Preceptor's holy countenance. You think a few slanderous words can make our compassionate and powerful Imperial Preceptor, who saves us from suffering, come out to see us?"