My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 421 - 283: King Rui’s Discovery

Chang'an.

During this period, the tumultuous case of the Eastern Palace had finally settled.

But the ramifications of the case had yet to conclude.

The Three Provinces had officially decreed that an additional Imperial Examination would be held next year, which would admit three hundred Advanced Scholars.

This examination was an extra session, admitting triple the usual number of candidates.

The students from various academies in Chang'an were ecstatic.

The case of the Eastern Palace was initially unrelated to them, but it could potentially change their destinies completely.

Those who would have ranked beyond one hundred in the usual examinations, utterly without hope of becoming Advanced Scholars, now had a chance to reverse their fortunes.

All thanks to one man.

In recent days, it had become somewhat embarrassing for the academy students to curse Li Xuanjing.

Similarly joyful were the courtiers who, through this affair, found themselves unexpectedly promoted.

Without doing much, they ingeniously received promotions, becoming substantive officials in the Three Provinces and Six Ministries, bypassing at least ten years of detours—who wouldn't be delighted by that?

If not for the fact that many families in Chang'an were holding funerals, making it inappropriate to be too overt, they would have thrown a three-day feast to celebrate.

However, for the nobles of Chang'an, this half month had been a time of palpable dread.

Li Xuanjing had executed many among the nobility, and His Majesty had completely ignored the bloodshed; everyone was afraid that they might be next.

But they dared not flee.

It might have been fine had they stayed put, but fleeing could lead Li Xuanjing to accuse them of evading punishment by escaping, potentially leading to their execution right then and there.

He was certainly capable of such actions.

Following the Ministry of Justice's announcement of case closure, Chang'an witnessed an unprecedented migration of nobles.

Dozens of noble families sold all their assets in Chang'an at low prices and relocated elsewhere.

As long as Li Xuanjing remained at court, they had no plans to return.

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This incident had caused them immense psychological trauma; the power of nobility was supposed to be a privilege, but in Chang'an, even with a Death Exemption Token, they felt no sense of security.

Though Chang'an was incredibly prosperous, allowing one to fully enjoy the beauties of this fleeting world.

But as beautiful as the world might be, one must still cling to life to experience it.

For various reasons, those who couldn't relocate also became much more compliant, warning their descendants sternly to indulge responsibly within the bounds of the law—anyone who dared to offend would be thrown out of the family and left to the mercy of the Ministry of Justice...

Just half a month, and both Chang'an and the court dynamics had drastically shifted.

From the struggle of the Eight Princes, the situation had transformed into a tripartite stand-off.

King Chun, King Gong, and King Rui had become the remaining Princely Regents, each taking turns to rule for four months.

Behind King Rui were the Cui and Pei of the Six Great Families.

King Rui's mother was a direct

In recent days, both the public and the courtiers had been endlessly debating which of the three princes would come to power.

King Chun Mansion.

Kitchen.

King Chun had a taste for fine food, which was no secret in Chang'an.

The kitchen of King Chun Mansion was even larger than the Imperial Kitchen, and the chefs of the mansion were nearly as skilled as the Imperial Chefs.

At this moment, in the kitchen of the mansion, King Chun tasted the soup with a jade spoon. After savoring it, he shook his head and said, "No, it's fine for me, but Xuanjing prefers a lighter taste; he might not like it. Remember to use less salt next time…"

After shaking his head, he began to taste the next bowl.

This soup was time-consuming and labor-intensive; it took a whole day to prepare. If there was a problem with the taste, redoing it would delay another day.

Therefore, he had people prepare ten bowls at once.

Choosing the bowl with the most suitable taste, he wrapped it with cotton cloth, placed it in a food box, left the kitchen, and said, "Prepare the carriage; to the Ministry of Justice…"

King Rui Mansion.

Study.

It was already cold in the winter month, but inside the study, the warmth of the stove was enough to prevent any feeling of chill. King Rui was shaking a feather fan in one hand and flipping through the pages of a book with the other.

Thinking about what had happened in the past half a month, he still felt as if he were dreaming.

King Han and King You had abruptly disappeared; those three brothers had also lost their qualifications as Prince Regents.

For years, he had competed with King Han, King You, and King Chun, employing every stratagem, yet the struggles yielded no results. Instead, his own power had diminished.

This time, he had done nothing, yet he had reached the peak of his life overnight.

As long as he could defeat King Chun and King Gong, he would have no more rivals.

He dared not challenge King Chun.

Li Xuanjing was in full swing; he needed to avoid his edge.

He did not need to challenge King Gong.

With King Gong's intellect, if he became Emperor, Daxia would surely be ruined in his hands.

Now, all he had to do was wait.

King Chun and King Gong were almost forty, while he was not even thirty.

Youth was his greatest advantage.

The Immortality Technique researched by the Father Emperor seemed to be very effective; perhaps he could outlast King Chun and King Gong. Even if he couldn't outlast them completely, he could wait until they were old and frail. By then, he wouldn't need to fight for power…

King Rui continued reading. The page he was on discussed watching tigers fight from a mountain.

Suddenly, King Rui looked up, a flash of insight crossing his mind.

Several times, he had been manipulated, first by Li Xuanjing's revenge, then by King Han's strikes.

Only a few princes had such capabilities.

He had always thought it was King You who harmed him.

Competing with King Han was most advantageous for King You.

It wasn't until both King Han and King You fell that he realized he had overlooked someone all along…

King Gong Mansion.

A richly dressed middle-aged man poured a handful of rice grains into his hand, and a green-feathered thrush immediately flew over, pecking continuously in his palm.

The man gently stroked the thrush's head. The bird just looked up, then continued pecking at the grains.

Once it finished all the grains, it flapped its wings lightly and soared into the sky.

King Gong dusted off his hands and said softly, "How unpredictable life is…"

In fact, he had always considered King Rui his primary rival.

The Father Emperor was reluctant to relinquish power; the longer time passed, the more remote the chances became for King Han, King You, King Chun, and himself to ascend to the throne.

Therefore, he had repeatedly schemed against King Rui.

This included pinning the death of Li Xuanjing's son on King Rui, but miraculously, he survived.

It also included the assassination of Li Xuanjing's family; that time, the scheme succeeded, and Li Xuanjing's revenge resulted in heavy losses for King Rui.

The Fengyang County son case involved King Han, Li Xuanjing, and King Rui, prompting a fierce retaliation from King Han against King Rui later on.

However, the events had spun completely out of his control.

The Fengyang County son case had become a catalyst that led to Wang Hang's downfall, involving the Wang family. Then, King You joined forces with others to cleanse the palace side, Li Xuanjing fought fiercely, King Han and King You were demoted to commoners, the Wang family was decimated, and King Rui became one of the biggest beneficiaries.

Although the outcome wasn't bad, for some reason, he always felt a sense of unease.

Li Mansion.

Li Xuanjing opened a cabinet in his study, wiped each of the several spirit tablets inside, then lit a few incense sticks to place before the spirit tablets.

Housekeeper Wu came in from outside and said, "Master, a letter has arrived from King Rui Mansion; it's for you…"