It was still that same little house. If Mr. Li had helped, it's not impossible that Uncle Hua could have survived that chaos.
This was Huo Xiaolong's second time meeting Mr. Li. The man in front of him had the air of a master from Journey to the West, but for some reason, he was also missing something.
The girl sat there quietly, observing him, while Lan Tingche spoke first.
"Sir, I have come here today to ask for your help."
"What's up?"
"I want to clear my parents' name. I know you have physical evidence from that time. Please help me."
Mr. Li did not reply to Lan Tingche, but simply made him kneel on the ground.
Huo Xiaolong didn't mind at all. It's only natural for a student to kneel before their master. She even knelt before Leader Zhang.
The man sitting behind the table, however, was staring at Huo Xiaolong.
"Sir!" Lan Tingche pleaded again.
Mr. Li finally spoke. He picked up the teacup, placed it in front of Long'er, and gestured for her to drink it.
"I can help you, but there are conditions."
"What are your conditions?"
It was Long'er who answered him. From the beginning, Mr. Li's attention was on her, not Tingche. Then, the girl pulled Lan Tingche up from the ground and pressed him into a chair, raising her eyebrows at the man.
"I will only help the future ruler of Great Yan, and the throne must never be coveted by a woman."
Huo Xiaolong narrowed his eyes. Upon hearing this, Lan Tingche wished he could open his husband's brain to see what was inside. He wasn't like this when he was teaching him as a child. Why is he so stubborn?
The young woman tugged at her fiancé's sleeve, smiled, and then asked...
"Since you have caught the eye of the late Crown Prince and Crown Princess, you must be no ordinary person. A man like you should not concern yourself with whether a woman can hold power."
"But you've already brought this up twice, which means this is a real hurdle for you."
"So, are you afraid that after I ascend the throne, Mr. Li won't be able to reclaim the position that belongs to you, or do you really not want a woman to hold power?"
Huo Xiaolong stood up and stared at Mr. Li.
These kinds of people are all highly skilled; they are the kind of people who transcend worldly concerns and manipulate everyone else.
He knows how to wield power and understands the intrigues and power struggles within officialdom.
He could read minds and clearly arrange the positions of each minister in the court.
It was this kind of person, this kind of chosen one, who had never lost since childhood, who lost in the power struggles of those years.
He didn't lose to Yuwen Xuanhong, who was the fourth prince back then, nor did he lose to the Empress Dowager behind Yuwen Xuanhong.
He lost to the emperor who put the people of Great Yan before his own imperial power.
Therefore, he was dissatisfied.
If Lan Tingche becomes emperor, then he will be the imperial tutor.
The glory and status of the Imperial Tutor are self-evident.
But what if Huo Xiaolong takes over?
He will have nothing.
From the first moment Mr. Li met Huo Xiaolong, he knew that this young woman would not be like the others, repeatedly asking him to come out of seclusion and help them.
She has too many capable people around her.
In terms of knowledge, there is Zhao Kai; in terms of martial arts, there is Zhang Mengzhu; and in terms of manipulating minds and controlling people's hearts, there is Hua Luan.
He no longer has a place.
If Huo Xiaolong ascends the throne, he will forever remain a teacher.
How could such a person be willing to remain at an ordinary level?
Mr. Li narrowed his eyes, looked at Huo Xiaolong, and then said...
"Why can't the Prince of Zhenbei, being a woman, yield to the man she loves? Tingche is the Crown Prince's only child, the Empress's legitimate son, and rightfully the Emperor."
“But he’s not as suited to be emperor as I am. I’m much more capable than him.”
Mr. Li was taken aback by these words. He looked at Lan Tingche beside him and saw that his student was in agreement. Then he heard the girl in front of him continue.
"What does Mr. Li consider to be rights?"
Before the man could speak, Huo Xiaolong tapped the table twice and continued.
"Power is absolutely not a document that allows people to get promoted and make money, nor is it the pleasure of realizing your life's value. It can influence and control all the people in the world, and even their spirit."
"The current imperial power divides people into different classes, including us, including you."
“We are the upper class. The material life and spiritual nourishment we enjoy are beyond the reach of the lower class.”
"This enjoyment will gradually decrease until it reaches the very bottom."
"Mr. Li, have you ever seen how they live?"
The man didn't speak, but judging from his expression, Huo Xiaolong understood. She gave a cold laugh and then said...
"I've seen it."
"In order to have enough to eat and get through the cold winter, they would exchange the little good grain they had left after paying taxes for brown rice. This exchange journey would take them a day and a night."
"Just to live."
"To have enough to eat."
"The coarse rice, worth less than three taels of silver, was their family's hope for surviving the winter."
"So how could they possibly have time to think about how to live a better life? They've already exhausted all their energy just to stay alive, and in that situation, they're just numb."
"What's worse, those beggars don't even have the right to live."
"Do you know Huo Pan's Sharp Sword, the top scholar of this year's imperial examination? Where did I pick it up from?"
"A beggar's heap".
“Mr. Li, only those who have seen the people’s livelihood know what they need. What Brother Tingche can think of, I can also do; what he can do, I can also do. But what I can think of and do, he may not be able to do. Therefore, he is not as good as me.”
“I am more suited for that position than he is.”
“I like that he has me in his heart, without a doubt, but that doesn’t mean I have to give up my wishes and dreams to him. You know in your heart who is more suitable.”
Mr. Li's full name is Li Nanfeng.
Today, it seems that the last words his deceased master left him have come true.
We cunning people are like dancers dressed only in our undergarments, easily seen through when we encounter monarchs who truly have convictions and understand the needs of the people.
The girl in front of him truly understood the suffering of people everywhere, not just the kind who talked about it on paper.
"Sir, Long'er came from Pingyang County. It's true that she had the help of her older sister, but she also made her way in the world on her own."
If it weren't for her, the brothel would have been gone long ago.
This was the first time Lan Tingche had seen Long Er discuss the matter of power struggles on the table.
The girl beside him raised her head slightly, calmly and methodically recounting the word "power".
She's amazing and beautiful.
It was the kind of thing that could distract him.
“Mr. Li, I believe that you have not been enduring this capital city for more than ten years simply for the sake of a high position. I assure you that as long as I sit on the dragon throne, the Great Yan will be a golden age that you have never seen in books.”
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