Chu Fan was well aware of a figure like this in Blue Star's history. Originally a simple businessman, he relied on his wisdom and tactics to rise to the pinnacle of power. Not only did he successfully ascend to the highest echelons of the imperial court, he even became Prime Minister at one point. Even more astonishingly, he even became the Empress's favorite.
By then, he had wielded immense power, missing only the highest chair at the imperial court. Had the Qin Emperor not been the valiant, powerful, and ambitious Qin Shi Huang, perhaps he could have truly achieved his greater ambitions. However, history did not go his way, and he ultimately failed.
Another example occurred in the early Ming Dynasty. At that time, there was a wealthy man who not only generously donated money to build a strong city wall to enhance the city's defense capabilities.
He also used his wealth to reward the soldiers who had returned from the battlefield after fighting bravely. However, this wealthy man's charitable act was not rewarded, but instead aroused the suspicion and fear of the founding emperor. As a result, the rich man's property was confiscated by the emperor, and he was exiled thousands of miles away. Although he claimed that he was simply offering compensation out of gratitude for the soldiers' hard work, not trying to buy their hearts.
But Chu Fan was skeptical. In his opinion, it was impossible for someone to become the richest man without knowing the simple rules of the power game. Behind any seemingly simple act of kindness, there were often complex and unfathomable motives.
And now, a young man from the family of the Minister of Revenue is actually going into business himself? How can Chu Fan not be filled with anticipation, hoping that they can bring him some unexpected surprises and help him complete the tasks assigned by the system?
However, a few days later, Chu Fan never expected that something would happen. Even if the son of the Minister of Revenue personally led the caravan, he would still suffer losses. This was really beyond his expectations.
This ruthlessly extinguished the glimmer of hope that Chu Fan had ignited. He had originally thought that with the background and resources of the Minister of Revenue, this young man would be able to easily rise to prominence in the business world, perhaps even become a business magnate. However, reality dealt him a heavy blow.
Now not only Chu Fan is disappointed, but even the residence of the Minister of Revenue is about to be dragged down by the business adventure of this young man.
This is simply unbelievable. What kind of business talent does one have to suffer continuous losses even with such a powerful backer, putting the entire mansion in trouble.
Chu Fan knew that waiting for these unreliable second-generation officials to become the richest man and then rebel against him seemed to be a dead end.
Chu Fan had to think of other ways to incite the officials in the court to revolt. He began to consider whether he should continue to summon several women from the ministers' families into the palace. This would not only provide him with a few more beautiful ladies to play with, but also further solidify his image as a tyrant, making the officials in the court think that he was too obsessed with beauty to be worthy of being emperor.
Chu Fan, however, hadn't yet decided which family to choose as his daughter. He had once tried to recruit the daughters of military commanders into the palace, but the results were beyond his expectations. Mu Yunfeng and Changsun Dechong, the two generals, not only showed no signs of rebellion, but were actually quite willing, even vying with each other to send their daughters to the palace. Every day, they would arrange for their daughters to enter the palace in luxurious sedan chairs, fearing that their daughters would not arrive in time, as if they were afraid of missing this opportunity.
Chu Fan had a crush on someone, and he decided to target the daughter of a civil official. Although civil officials didn't possess the powerful armies of military commanders, they possessed their own unique pride. Chu Fan knew that if he forced them to send their daughters to the palace, it would inevitably hurt their hearts.
Once the civil officials became dissatisfied, they would write a poem full of rebellious sentiments and then call on their friends to start a rebellion. In this case, Chu Fan planned to make the guards in the palace not resist so that he could complete his task smoothly.
Although Chu Fan knew that this situation was almost impossible, he would never sit still and wait for death. He firmly believed that he had to try even if the chances were slim. Chu Fan knew that only through continuous hard work and attempts could he achieve success.
Unwilling to give up any possible opportunity, no matter how slim the chance of success was, he decided to adopt this seemingly unlikely strategy, hoping to achieve his goal by surprise.
Chu Fan decided to take action. He called Eunuch Li and asked him to find out which civil servants had beautiful and talented women.
Chu Fan continued to play and have fun with Mu Xi and several other women in the palace every day. During these happy times, Chu Fan would occasionally overhear Changsun Pinting discussing a woman, describing her as both beautiful and talented. According to Changsun Pinting, this woman seemed to be the daughter of the Imperial Censor. This news immediately piqued Chu Fan's interest.
Generally speaking, Imperial Censors were men of strong character and integrity, and their families often had strict family education and a good reputation. Chu Fan thought that if he could successfully bring this woman into his harem, then the Imperial Censor would most likely not let it go. After all, the daughter he had painstakingly raised was about to be defiled by this emperor who was so licentious and did not attend the morning court every day.
Even if the censor accepted his fate and allowed his daughter to enter the palace, it would not be a loss for him. At that time, there would be another beautiful woman in the palace, which would be even more pleasing to the eyes. Therefore, Chu Fan decided to personally learn about this woman's situation and see if there was a chance to welcome her into the palace.
As the sun hung high in the center of the sky, Chu Fan, Mu Xi, and several other women were sitting in a beautifully decorated pavilion, enjoying their lunch. The pavilion was surrounded by green trees and a gentle breeze brought a hint of cool air, making this noon seem particularly pleasant.
Chu Fan picked up a piece of stir-fried cabbage with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. However, he immediately felt a strong bitter taste spreading in his mouth, making him frown. This sudden bitter taste was unbearable for him, so he had to spit the food out on the ground.
This scene was witnessed by Eunuch Li, Mu Xi, and others nearby, and they immediately grew nervous. After all, Chu Fan was now the Emperor of Wei, the hope of the entire nation. If someone had truly poisoned his food in an attempt to harm him, it would undoubtedly be a huge loss for the state of Wei. For a moment, the atmosphere in the pavilion grew tense, and everyone was worried about Chu Fan's safety.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
