When Shen Yao opened his eyes, he found himself holding a glass of wine in his hand, while in front of him, three young men in brocade hats and fur coats were slumped on the table, muttering something under their breath.
"Drink! Miss Furong, this young master likes you."
"Brother Mingguang, another cup!"
"I'm not drunk!"
Shen Yao calmly placed the wine glass on the table and rubbed his head, which was throbbing from drinking too much.
He glanced at the three drunk people in the room, then stood up and went out of the room.
"Hey! Young master! Be careful, Er Lengzi is here to help you!"
Shen Yao suddenly grabbed the hand that was suddenly extended in front of him.
"Oh! Young master, it's me, Er Lengzi! The Er Lengzi who's served you since you were little!"
Shen Yao turned his head and saw a fair-skinned servant who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old and seemed quite clever.
Shen Yao released his hand and said in the original owner's tone, "Send your master back to his residence."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Er Lengzi breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the young master was just drunk.
He was so frightened that he thought the young master knew about his conspiracy with the madam and was going to take action against him.
Shen Fu was a fifth-rank official in the Han Dynasty.
The rank of a fifth-grade official might sound higher than that of a county magistrate sent to the outlying areas, but in reality, in Xuanjing, where officials were everywhere and powerful figures were as common as dogs, it was just a trivial official position with almost no real power.
The "Shen Yao" that Shen Yao is currently possessing is the only legitimate son of the Shen family, and also a veritable playboy.
When he transmigrated, the original owner was about to receive his first customer because a courtesan he and his group of playboy brothers were adoring.
They participated in the competition but failed, so they drowned their sorrows in alcohol at a restaurant.
Shen Yao quickly understood from the original owner's memories that the reason the original owner was so dissolute was because he had a "good mother".
His biological mother's younger sister—his own aunt—became his stepmother.
A very ordinary story about a woman living in a wealthy family: for the sake of her future son, she raises her own sister's son—her own nephew—into a spoiled brat.
Shen Yao wasn't angry when he found out. Apart from her impure motives, this aunt of the original owner had always been very kind to him since childhood.
Shen Yao moved his arms, showing that he had taken good care of his body and it was very suitable for practicing martial arts.
"Father, I want to practice martial arts and study." Shen Yao ran to his father's study and said.
Mr. Shen was surprised and somewhat suspicious: "What kind of wicked idea are you up to now?"
Shen Yao calmly replied, "I want to practice martial arts to save my life. I want to study, take the imperial examinations, enter the imperial court, and become a person of high status!"
The father was dumbfounded, but in the end he naturally agreed, even though he didn't think much of his son who used to only know how to indulge in pleasure.
Shen Yao studied not to become a superior person.
He had only one purpose in studying: to establish a moral compass for the world, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations!
His previous world was a chaotic era of war and turmoil. He was an abducted child who suffered more hardship than he ate.
I've encountered many bad people, but even more good people.
From the moment he picked up the book, he knew what he needed to achieve.
Later, he took the imperial examination, entered the imperial court, rose through the ranks, and assisted the emperor in unifying the country.
From the day he took office, he never slacked off and never stopped working for the people.
In the end, he willingly died for the sake of reform.
In this life...
Shen Yao stood by the window, watching the autumn rain.
Next autumn's exams will surely be a test of my abilities!
"Young Master, Madam requests your presence," Er Lengzi said cautiously.
Over the past two months, he has become absolutely certain that his young master has changed.
Not only did he start reading and practicing martial arts, but his entire demeanor also changed, making him feel insecure.
Shen Yao glanced back at him, his expression indifferent, yet it sent a shiver down Er Lengzi's spine.
Just as Er Lengzi was feeling flustered, Shen Yao said gently, "Go and tell your mother that I still have a few pages to read. I'll go and pay my respects to her at dinner."
“…Yes.” Er Lengzi dared not stay any longer and left.
Shen Yao didn't care about her stepmother, nor did she care about the deal between Er Lengzi and her.
What he needs now is to review these books that are now somewhat unfamiliar to him.
During dinner, Shen Yao went to his stepmother's place and talked with her behind closed doors for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before leaving.
“Madam, the eldest young master has changed. Should we—” the old nanny suggested.
Madam Shen shook her head, sighed, and said in a complicated tone, "We do need to do something, which is... to ensure that Yao-ge'er has no worries and can focus on his studies."
"Madam, you..."
Madam Shen raised her hand to stop the nanny from speaking.
She rubbed her forehead and said softly, "He said he would earn me an imperial title. I believed him. Besides, after all these years of half-hearted pampering, it's finally become half-real."
======
With a swift stroke, another head was severed.
The man in black vanished into the night in an instant. The servants, hearing the commotion, pushed open the door and saw the head of Lord Qin, who had been embracing a dancer in a moment of pleasure.
His eyes were wide open, filled with fear and confusion. It seemed that even as he faced death, he didn't know why he was losing his life.
"Ah! Someone come here! Lord Qin has been assassinated!"
Hua Rong changed out of his black clothes and returned to the inn where he was staying.
As she walked in, she saw Bai Wang sitting on the bed waiting for her.
"Aww!"
It growled very low, something it had recently learned.
You must not shout in the dark.
Hua Rong smiled, walked over, and hugged the white wolf, saying softly, "The twenty-eighth one. Don't worry, we'll be in Xuanjing soon. Then we can go back to Wangsi Grassland. You must miss it there very much..."
"One strike kills, a top-tier expert!"
The coroner's words darkened the face of the official handling the case, and he threw the gavel at the soldiers below.
"Useless trash! You can't even catch a single assassin! What use are you?!"
No matter what the officers and soldiers say, even if there are many officers and soldiers around this person, they may not be able to catch him.
"No, we must report to Prime Minister Qin immediately. Judging from this person's route, it's clearly aimed at the Qin residence. I'm afraid that person is already..."
Xuanjing.
Xuanjing was the capital of the Han Dynasty, right under the emperor's nose, and it was prosperous and thriving.
However, this is only on the surface.
Along the way, Hua Rong has witnessed too many powerful people treating human life like dirt, and he has also become accustomed to the fact that the common people have no one to hear their grievances.
She has witnessed no fewer than a hundred injustices along her journey.
As for the Qin officials she killed, not one of them was without a wronged soul in his hands.
Hua Rong saved many people along the way, and they were very grateful to her.
But she was certain that she felt no unease whatsoever.
She came here solely to avenge the Qin clan for killing her family.
She is not Bai Yunfei, nor is she a hero.
Hua Rong originally thought there would be fewer injustices under the emperor's nose.
However, this is just overthinking; the situation here is even more serious than in other places!
A spoiled brat abducts a young woman, a noblewoman whips someone to death, officials turn a blind eye, and collusion between officials and bandits...
Hua Rong recalled the history she had learned and for the first time realized that this country was rotten to the core.
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