Chapter 40 The Believers Meet

Just as the system finished speaking, Chu Jiubian saw a figure fall down from the clouds.

Free fall, without any struggle or reaction, truly fast asleep.

Just then, Jin Feng flew down from the sky and caught the person steadily.

The airflow from the flight ruffled the young man's long, bushy hair, causing him to furrow his brow uncomfortably.

"Someone come here," he mumbled, rubbing his arms without even opening his eyes, "close the window."

His response was a clear phoenix cry.

Wang Qichen paused in rubbing his arms, then suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, no trace of drunkenness visible in his eyes.

Before me lay wisps of cloud and mist, and beneath me stood a colossal golden phoenix.

Is this... a dream?

Wang Qichen relaxed his guard, and the intoxication returned, though it was stronger than before, and he was no longer sleepy.

He looked around, but all he saw was mist and nothing unusual.

The phoenix beneath it, however, had layers of long, golden feathers that were soft and smooth, and even felt warm to the touch—it was incredibly lifelike.

The view was a little blurry. The phoenix flapped its long wings and swooped down, disappearing from the clouds.

Wang Qichen quickly leaned over and hugged the phoenix tightly, but seeing that the phoenix was about to rush onto the white jade ground, he let go and lightly leaped off the phoenix's back.

This requires some skill in light-footed movement.

The person on its body dismounted, and the phoenix changed its posture, dragging its long golden tail as it flew upwards until it disappeared into the clouds.

After Wang Qichen jumped off the phoenix's back, he happened to land on the back of the only chair in the entire divine realm.

He stumbled and fell with a thud under the long table.

Chu Jiubian: "..."

He asked the system in his mind, "Wasn't it supposed to be a mental state entry? Why is he like this?"

[Host, this is a follower whose mind is affected by alcohol, which has an impact on the brain.]

very good.

Chu Jiubian looked at the long white jade table with a headache.

Two breaths later, a hand reached up from under the table and gripped the surface.

The young man struggled to get up from under the table and sat down in the chair.

With his forehead pressed against the cool jade table, his chaotic thoughts gradually cleared.

Wang Qichen then sat up straight and leaned back in his chair.

My gaze swept around, and everything, from the empty white space to the lifelike clouds, was like a dream.

A refreshing fragrance of plum blossoms wafted into Wang Qichen's nostrils. Looking ahead, he saw red plum blossoms swaying faintly in the misty clouds.

Suddenly, a distant dragon's roar rang out. He subconsciously looked up, his pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately stood up and took a few steps back, fully waking up.

As far as the eye could see, there was a huge and magnificent statue of a god, hidden in the misty clouds.

The moment their eyes met, Wang Qichen felt an overwhelming pressure sweep over him, making him tremble and completely dissipating any lingering drunkenness.

Chu Jiubian looked down at him, clearly seeing the suspicion and wariness in the other's eyes.

As expected, she's another one with a strong sense of vigilance.

During this time, Chu Jiubian also tried to find out some things about the Wang family.

Each head of the Wang family is selected from among the family's outstanding members, and there were three candidates for this position, including Wang Huanzhi.

These three candidates were similar in terms of background, talent, and reputation, so their families were also very competitive at the time.

It wasn't until Wang Huanzhi married Yuan Zhiyi, the eldest daughter of the Yuan family head in Jinzhou, that he truly stood out.

Although the Yuan family of Jinzhou was not as prominent as the four great families, it was still a distinguished family with a long tradition of scholarship and hundreds or even thousands of renowned scholars and officials under its command.

During the previous dynasty, many members of the Yuan family held great power in the court, and their influence was comparable to that of the Wang family. It was not until Emperor Taizu of Da Ning came to power that many famous officials under the Yuan family were convicted and imprisoned, and the Yuan family gradually faded into obscurity.

But even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; such a powerful family can always find an opportunity to rise again.

During the reign of Emperor Wuzong, the Yuan family rose to prominence again. By the time Wang Huanzhi married Yuan Zhiyi, the Yuan family had become the second most prestigious scholarly family in Daming, after the Wang family.

The marriage of these two families' younger generations was a powerful alliance, which naturally boosted Wang Huanzhi's competitiveness, ultimately leading him to secure the position of head of the Wang family.

Wang Huanzhi was originally in love with Yuan Yu, the legitimate daughter of the second branch of the Yuan family. However, since the daughter of the second branch could not provide as much support as the daughter of the head of the family, he proposed to marry Yuan Zhiyi. The following year, their eldest son, Wang Qichen, was born.

At this time, with elders and strategists like Wang Zhang helping him, Wang Huanzhi's position as head of the family was completely secure.

Once a person gains power, their desires will grow stronger and they will want more and more things.

Therefore, he also considered taking Yuan Yu, the daughter of the second branch of the Yuan family, into his family.

The secrets are unknown to outsiders, but in the end, when Wang Qichen was three years old, Wang Huanzhi really did bring Yuan Yu back to his mansion to be his concubine.

Yuan Yu, the legitimate daughter of a prestigious family, willingly became a concubine, something no one expected.

But the fact was already set in stone, and in the second year after entering the family, Yuan Yu gave birth to her second son, Wang Wenyao, and the following year she gave birth to her third son, Wang Wenfu.

Because of her gentle and kind nature, she was more approachable and likable than Yuan Zhiyi's haughty and aloof personality. Therefore, everyone in the Wang family, from the elders and matriarchs to the servants, praised Yuan Yu.

In no time, Yuan Yu's reputation for virtue spread throughout the capital, overshadowing even the matriarch, Yuan Zhiyi.

It was under these circumstances that everyone suddenly heard that the mistress, Yuan Zhiyi, who was Wang Qichen's mother, had passed away.

The illness came suddenly, and Wang Qichen, who was only five years old, lost his mother at a very young age.

The wife of the previous head of the Wang family, who is now the old lady of the Wang family, felt sorry for the child who was helpless and took him in to take care of him personally.

According to seniority, Madam Wang was Wang Huanzhi's aunt, so it wasn't really reasonable for her to want to raise Wang Qichen. However, Madam Wang had a lot of say in the Wang family, and once she made a decision, others couldn't argue with her even if they wanted to.

And so the matter was settled.

Wang Huanzhi was reluctant to send Wang Qichen there, as if he was afraid that this young master, who was only five years old, would grow up and, with the help of Old Madam Wang, affect his authority as the head of the family.

However, the strategist Wang Zhang said something to him, and soon after, Wang Huanzhi agreed to the matter. Then, the Wang family, which was famous for its "rites", held another debate among great Confucian scholars.

They debated with the Yuan family and other scholarly families about whether a concubine could be promoted to the position of mistress.

After nearly three days and three rounds of debate, the final result was just one sentence: "A concubine who has performed the proper duties and has rendered meritorious service may inherit the title of legitimate wife upon the death of the mistress."

Yuan Yu has been married into the Wang family for several years and has always been dutiful and never made a mistake. This is virtuous. She has also given birth to two children, which is meritorious.

Thus, this concubine became the rightful mistress overnight, and thereafter there were many cases of concubines being elevated to the position of mistress. People gradually accepted this concept and gradually forgot where this "etiquette" originally came from.

Who started this?

But Wang Qichen will not forget.

After hearing this melodramatic story from Xiao Xiangzi, Chu Jiubian felt that Wang Qichen's mother's death was suspicious and might be related to his stepmother.

The discord between Wang's father and son clearly has deeper underlying reasons.

As for why Yuan Zhiyi's parents, as the heads of the Yuan family, did not investigate the cause of their daughter's death, it was perhaps for the sake of the family's interests.

The other party must have weighed the relative importance of family harmony versus a deceased daughter.

Moreover, their daughter's only bloodline was only five years old at that time, and she had no ability to protect herself. The Yuan family was not as powerful as the Wang family, so for the sake of their child, they had to pretend to be ignorant.

However, revenge is never too late. Now that Wang Qichen has grown up, the old stories that have been buried should gradually be wiped away to reveal the truth.

Therefore, Chu Jiubian guessed that the media group behind Wang Qichen, apart from a portion of the Wang family members who were loyal to Madam Wang, was the eldest branch of the Yuan family.

They must be waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to crush Wang Huanzhi and his gang.

This is Wang Qichen's biggest demand, and coincidentally, Chu Jiubian also intends to eliminate the four great families in the future, so their interests are absolutely aligned.

However, Chu Jiubian does not intend to use this to win over Wang Qichen for the time being. He still needs to keep his identity as the Ninth Prince a secret and interact with believers only as the "High Priest".

As he sized up Wang Qichen, the other man was looking up at him.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and Wang Qichen suddenly smiled, transforming back into the unreliable young master of the Wang family.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The person he was asking about was someone who didn't intend to regard Chu Jiubian as a god, or someone who had already realized that this was a dream and had no more reservations.

Chu Jiubian smiled silently and said, "I am the High Priest."

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Wang Qichen's expression change, and asked, "Is it the High Priest from the Northern Desert?"

In order to help Chu Jiubian gather faith, Jiang Shuoye spread the title of "High Priest" to almost everyone, and naturally, these people in the capital also knew about it.

Therefore, Chu Jiubian was certain that as long as he mentioned this name, Wang Qichen would associate it with the northern desert.

That is indeed the case.

However, Chu Jiubian neither said yes nor no to Wang Qichen's question.

Sometimes, deities need to be a bit mysterious. Many things cannot be said openly, and it is more interesting to let believers guess.

Seeing his silence, Wang Qichen's attitude subtly changed, and he asked another question: "Why did you choose me?"

We were drawn by the system; we're destined to meet.

But Chu Jiubian obviously couldn't say that, so he said, "It is fate."

Destiny?

Wang Qichen narrowed his eyes slightly.

Previously, the Northern Army had spread rumors that an immortal had appeared in their dreams and given them the methods for making stirrups and saddles for wild horses in Jiangshuo, but Wang Qichen did not believe it.

But he couldn't guess Jiang Shuoye's purpose in making up such a lie.

But now that this high priest has actually approached him, even Wang Qichen, who was still skeptical, is starting to waver.

Is everything I'm experiencing now a dream, or reality?

Was it a hallucination caused by his drunkenness, or was there really a "fairy in his dream"?

If this high priest really is an immortal...

Previously, the other party had given him stirrups and saddles for the northern desert army. Now that they've approached him, what do they want? Do they want to give him something?

There's no such thing as gold falling from the sky, so what does he need to give up?

His thoughts raced, and Wang Qichen thought of many things in an instant.

Suddenly, that clear and distant voice spoke again, saying, "We are destined to meet, so I will give this to you."

After he finished speaking, two thin sheets of paper appeared on the white jade table.

Wang Qichen paused for a moment before taking two steps forward to the table.

He first examined the two pieces of paper before carefully picking them up.

The moment he picked up the paper, his heart skipped a beat. He couldn't help but carefully stroke the pages and lean closer to examine them.

The Wang family's most profitable business was "selling paper." Ordinary paper was so expensive that ordinary people couldn't afford it, let alone the rare and precious "Langya Gold Paper," a single sheet of which could be worth a gold ingot.

But the two sheets of paper in his hand were as white as snow, thin and flexible, and did not feel rough to the touch. On the contrary, they were smooth and delicate, much better than Langya gold paper.

Is this really paper?

Or is this the paper used by immortals?

Wang Qichen's heart was beating a little fast, and the scales in his mind began to tip regarding whether the High Priest was "human or god".

He calmed himself down and forced himself to ignore the quality of the paper itself, focusing instead on the content on it.

Upon seeing this, he was startled once again.

The characters on this paper are perfectly square, and each one is so standard it's almost unbelievable.

Each pair of identical characters looks exactly the same, without any difference, as if... as if...

He didn't know how to describe it.

If Chu Jiubian knew what he was thinking, he would definitely tell him, just like "copying and pasting".

However, Wang Qichen quickly understood why the words were written like that, because one of the two sheets of paper had the five large characters "movable type printing" written on it, along with related explanations and methods.

He looked at it closely, and the more he looked, the more wonderful it seemed.

He hurriedly looked at the contents of another piece of paper, and his hands trembled even more as he looked at it.

It was papermaking!

The Wang family's most profitable business was "selling paper," but ordinary sheets of paper were too expensive for ordinary people to afford.

Naturally, paper was expensive not only because the Wang family wanted to make money, but also because the cost of papermaking was indeed high.

The high prices of paper are due to the manpower and resources required, the papermaking cycle, and the high demand for paper from wealthy and powerful families.

However, the papermaking method on this paper is simple and efficient. Although the quality of the paper produced is not as good as the two sheets in Wang Qichen's hands, it is still several times better than Langya Gold Paper.

A variety of thoughts flashed through Wang Qichen's mind.

The most important reason why powerful and influential families have always been able to maintain more wealth and influence is that they control thought.

They pursued a policy of keeping the people ignorant, controlling the minds of the uneducated masses. They hid all the classic books and writings, refusing to share or circulate them. They also used the high price of paper to discourage ordinary people from reading and learning to write.

All of this is hampered by the limited scope and medium for the dissemination of knowledge.

But now he possesses the skills of papermaking and printing.

If the books stored in the archives of these noble families were printed again and again on cheap paper, the thinness of the paper, unlike bamboo slips, would ensure that the knowledge in these books could be transmitted further and to a wider audience.

When this becomes the norm, then ordinary people will be able to access education.

Even if one cannot become an official, being literate and understanding principles means that one should know why one is alive in this world.

Knowing right from wrong makes one less easily swayed and manipulated, and prevents one from dying without realizing that they are merely an insignificant speck of dust on someone else's chessboard.

The high priest wanted to "enlighten the people"!

Wang Qichen quickly grasped the implications of the situation, and the shock lingered in his heart for a long time.

He couldn't help but think of the stirrups and saddles he had seen in the northern desert.

The appearance of these two items greatly increased the strength of the Northern Desert Army, and with their increased strength, the people of the Northern Desert who were under their protection would be safer.

Therefore, all the things the high priest did were for the common people and for all living beings!

After an unknown amount of time, Wang Qichen finally forced himself to calm down and looked again at the huge and sacred phantom of the high priest.

This time, a hint of respect, which even he himself was unaware of, appeared in his eyes.

He did not refuse the two treasures bestowed upon him by the gods.

"Thank you, High Priest."

He knelt down and kowtowed three times with perfect decorum, his demeanor as graceful as a painting.

Chu Jiubian was very satisfied with his attitude and used the clouds to help the person up.

Wang Qichen straightened up and said, "Is there anything the High Priest needs me to do down there? I will do my best."

He accepted the two pieces of paper, but he also had his own selfish motives.

The Wang family's papermaking skills were considered unparalleled in Da Ning, and only the head of the family was qualified to know how to make Langya gold paper.

If he could secretly produce better paper and then anonymously expand the business...

Once the clan elders realize that the business belongs to him, Wang Qichen's status in the Wang family will rise accordingly.

At that time, he would no longer need to pretend to be a useless person to deal with Wang Huanzhi.

He could compete with the other party for the position of "head of the family" fairly and squarely.

This was Wang Qichen's obvious selfish motive, and the High Priest couldn't possibly be unaware of it.

So he readily accepted the two pieces of paper and then repaid the high priest with other matters.

His intentions, to put it bluntly, were more like a transaction than submission.

Chu Jiubian wouldn't let him keep thinking like that, but right now he did have something he needed the other party to do.

"The people of the capital are ignorant and foolish; I want them to see what the truth is." Chu Jiubian stopped there, adding, "Can you do that?"

The common people of the capital?

reality?

Wang Qichen immediately thought of the rumors circulating in the capital today about Qin Xiao's cruelty.

The rumors downplayed the seriousness of the matter, portraying the younger generation of the Lu and Wang families as pitiful and innocent children, while concealing the reasons for their deaths and focusing instead on Qin Xiao's ruthless methods.

Wang Qichen knew about this, and he wouldn't let that idiot Wang Wenfu die innocent.

Therefore, even if the high priest did not mention it, he would find a way to change public opinion and make Wang Wenfu's mistakes public.

Moreover, half of the reason he drank so much today was to celebrate the death of Wang Wenfu and the suffering of Wang Huanzhi and Yuan Yu, and the other half was to talk to people about how to reverse public opinion, which is why he got carried away and drank too much.

They already have a plan: by tomorrow, before noon, the rumors about Qin Xiao will be completely reversed.

On the contrary, Wang Wenfu will be cursed for a long time even after he dies.

"This is what I have been thinking all along. Please give me your instructions, High Priest." He was quite frank.

As expected of a system that rigorously selects individuals, their character is trustworthy.

only......

Chu Jiubian looked at his faith points, which hadn't increased at all, and knew that although Wang Qichen had come to believe in his divine identity, he didn't actually worship him.

That means deterrence and shock are not enough to make the other party unwilling to be deeply bound to him.

It seems we need to take drastic measures.

Chu Jiubian asked the system in his mind, "Can I summon Jiang Shuoye or Si Tu Zhaoling?"

[Host, believer Si Tu Zhaoling is currently researching a waterwheel with his younger brother and cannot be summoned. Jiang Shuoye is drifting off to sleep and has been summoned for you.]

Summoning successful.

As soon as he finished speaking, another figure fell down from the clouds.

Wang Qichen turned around suddenly, but only managed to see a figure disappear into the clouds.

Then he heard faint footsteps approaching from the clouds.

Wang Qichen frowned slightly as he watched, and soon enough, he saw a tall figure emerge from the clouds.

The other person noticed him immediately, their sharp eyes staring straight at him.

Their eyes met, and both of them were stunned.

Jiang Shuoye was the first to regain his senses. Suppressing his shock, he walked to a position next to Wang Qichen and bowed in the direction of the High Priest.

Chu Jiubian gave a faint reply, then remained silent, watching the two young men below with great interest.

These two have probably never met before. I wonder if this will be awkward for them?

As it turned out, the atmosphere was indeed a bit strange.

Wang Qichen subtly observed the man beside him with his captivating peach blossom eyes. The man was tall and robust, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and his black outfit accentuated his menacing aura.

He must be a general.

Sensing his intense gaze, Jiang Shuoye turned his head to look at him, then bowed respectfully and said, "My name is Jiang Shuoye. May I ask your honorable name, sir?"

"So it's General Chi Feng." Wang Qichen smiled slightly and returned the bow. "I am Wang Qichen. I have long admired your name, General. It is a pleasure to meet you today."

"I have long admired your name, young master," Jiang Shuoye said dryly.

I've certainly heard a lot about the playboy young master of the Wang family.

Wang Qichen stared at him for two breaths before lowering his eyes.

Jiang Shuoye reacted similarly.

They appeared calm on the surface, but the shock they felt inside was indescribable.

The high priest was able to make them meet in both the capital and the northern desert; it was truly a divine feat.

Chu Jiubian saw that his faith points had suddenly surged by three points and knew that it was Wang Qichen who had contributed them.

His faith value is increasing slowly now; only the faith of these believers he draws out can make his points "jump in leaps and bounds".

The fact that Wang Qichen was able to contribute faith points shows that Chu Jiubian played his hand well.

He had considered many ways to quickly convince Wang Qichen of his beliefs, but in the end he chose the simplest and most direct one.

Being entered into a dream by a deity is a completely different concept from meeting other strangers in a dream.

Therefore, Chu Jiubian directly placed Jiang Shuoye, who was far away in the northern desert, in front of Wang Qichen, not believing that the other party could remain calm.

Now it seems this move worked well; Wang Qichen's mentality has collapsed, hasn't it?

"If there's nothing else, then go," Chu Jiu said.

Knowing that the person was referring to him, Wang Qichen bowed and said, "This subordinate takes his leave."

Before he was completely enveloped by the white mist, he looked at Jiang Shuoye again, and their eyes met.

The white mist passed by like the wind, and the youth, whose beauty was so striking that it was impossible to tell whether he was male or female, had vanished without a trace.

This was the first time Jiang Shuoye had ever seen believers leave, and the first time he had ever known that the High Priest had other believers besides himself.

However, given the high priest's abilities, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to have as many believers as he could want.

As for Wang Qichen, he's a playboy; I wonder if he can be of any help to the High Priest.

Jiang Shuoye didn't dwell on it for long; he believed the High Priest had his reasons.

He hadn't been idle these past few days either. Now that he had met the High Priest, he took the opportunity to report on his progress in blacksmithing and steelmaking.

"My subordinates have found a group of blacksmiths willing to sign a life-or-death contract and built a small steel mill..."

Unlike Si Tu Zhaoling, he didn't like to share, so he quickly explained his recent work in a few words.

"Well done," Chu Jiubian praised, then asked, "What's troubling you?"

The conflicted look in Jiang Shuoye's eyes was obvious; it was hard for Chu Jiubian not to notice it.

Jiang Shuo, realizing that nothing could be hidden from the High Priest, said, "There is indeed something I would like to ask the High Priest to clarify for me."

This matter had been on his mind for several days; he was very curious about it, but he hadn't had a chance to ask.

Now that the High Priest had asked, he didn't mince words and asked directly, "High Priest, do you know an official in the capital named 'Chu Jiubian'?"

Chu Jiubian: "..."

He knew this day would come, but luckily he was prepared.

“Every deity has a companion deity, representing the will of the deity.” His usually aloof tone revealed a hint of emotion. “I coexist with the Holy Star God.”

Holy Star God?

Is this the true identity of the "Ninth Young Master"?

The other party was indeed connected to the high priest.

He didn't fully understand this "companion deity," but could only understand it as the high priest and the god-king coexisting and having some kind of unbreakable connection, but they were not the same god.

The so-called "divine ruler" was, of course, something Chu Jiubian made up himself.

There are now only two "gods" in Da Ning: one is "Chu Jiubian" who fell from the sky, and the other is the "High Priest" who Jiang Shuo dreamed of. Everyone would associate these two identities together.

Moreover, what the High Priest is doing now will gradually be discovered to be all for the purpose of helping "Chu Jiubian".

Others might discover it later, but his intelligent followers would certainly have identified the connection between the two identities much sooner.

In that case, we might as well just tell them directly that these two identities are related.

But they cannot be the same person.

Furthermore, there must be a higher and lower position between these two identities, and "Chu Jiu Bian" must be in the higher position.

For no other reason than for the system.

Chu Jiubian was unsure when he would complete the system's mission. When the system was gone, the Divine Realm would also be gone.

But he could not sever his connection with his followers. Even if he could no longer use the identity of "High Priest," he would continue to have the absolute loyalty of these followers as "Chu Jiubian."

Only when the "Nine Arguments of Chu" are of a higher status than the "High Priest" can everything proceed logically.

But he couldn't just lay all that out in front of everyone; that would be beneath his dignity.

So he's deliberately speaking vaguely and mysteriously right now, just to give Jiang Shuoye enough room for imagination.

“If there’s nothing urgent, then go,” he said.

Jiang Shuo bowed deeply and said, "This subordinate takes his leave."

The next morning, Jiang Shuoye wrote a reply to Qi Zhili.

The high priest's words implied that the Ninth Prince was not only a god, but also a particularly powerful one, and had a close relationship with the high priest.

Perhaps the High Priest came to this realm to protect Chu Jiubian, who was descending to the mortal world to undergo tribulation.

Jiang Shuoye filled in some strange scenarios in his mind, and he also mentioned some of them when writing the letter.

Then he ordered someone to send the letter to the capital.

September 12th was the day Chu Jiubian predicted a large-scale rainstorm in the north.

As expected, the heavy rain arrived before dawn.

The servant hurriedly ran from outside the mansion into the backyard and found Qi Zhili, the Imperial Censor, who was brewing tea and enjoying the rain.

"My lord, it's a message from the northern desert."

Qi Zhili reached out and took it.

He had previously written to Jiang Shuoye about Chu Jiubian's various "miracles" in the capital, but had not received a reply since.

We've finally arrived.

He opened the letter, quickly read through the words of concern he received, and then saw the important part.

[Chi Feng knows his cousin is upright and incorruptible, but Grand Tutor Chu is indeed a deity. Cousin must not offend him, and must support and serve the deity.]

Qi Zhili was initially bewildered; when had his old-fashioned and upright cousin become like this...?

never mind.

He took out a tinderbox and burned the letter.

As the flames gradually turned to ashes, Qi Zhili thought of what his cousin had said in his letter and smiled silently.

What's this talk about serving Chu Jiubian? There are plenty of people in the capital who would fawn over him. Does he even deserve to serve anyone?

He got up and walked to the pavilion, gazing at the continuous drizzle.

Flashes of white light appeared in the sky, accompanied by rumbles of thunder. Startled, a bird flapped its wings and flew over several spacious courtyards before finally landing among the branches of a large tree.

A servant walked briskly under a tree, holding an umbrella, his boots splashing mud into the water.

As they made their way to the inner courtyard, the servant finally stopped outside the study in the main courtyard. He raised his hand and knocked lightly on the door three times, saying respectfully, "Sir, the carrier pigeon has arrived."

"Enter."

Minister of Revenue Su Sheng was playing chess with his advisor Fan He when a servant handed him a note. Only then did Su Sheng take his eyes off the chessboard.

The servant bowed and left the room, leaving only the two of them inside.

The window beside the tatami mat was open, facing the newly planted begonias in the backyard.

Amidst the continuous rain and rumbling thunder, Su Sheng handed the note he had finished reading to Fan He and looked out the window.

"This rain came at just the right time," he said softly, as if in admiration.

Fan He burned the letter and said, "It is fate. Even Heaven is on the prince's side."

The letter fell onto the table, and the words "Hexi Prefecture" and "Dike" were faintly visible on the charred pages. Fan He swept it away with a light touch, and it was completely reduced to ashes.