The emperor realized that the Grand Preceptor of Chu was the biggest obstacle to their peaceful melon-eating today.

His deep gaze fell upon the crown prince.

The crown prince was startled for a moment, then instantly understood, suddenly feeling aggrieved: “Usually, I’m the one who takes the blame, but now I can’t even finish eating my melon?!”

Nevertheless, the crown prince responsibly stood up and calmly walked over to the Grand Preceptor of Chu to discuss the auspicious timing with him.

The court officials clapped enthusiastically: “The crown prince has worked hard! The melon-interrupting person has finally been led away! Hooray, we can now eat melons in peace.”

At this moment, Yuan Ruan’s puzzled inner voice happened to chime in.

Yuan Ruan looked confused: [Wait, wait, System, pause this melon for a moment. How did we suddenly jump from ‘the emperor sleeping with his subject’s wife’ to ‘breaking ties with the fourth prince’? Can you help me sort out the connections here? Please explain the middle part in detail!]

The melon-eating crowd was almost in tears: Yes, yes, explain it again. We missed the earlier part, so this way we won’t miss any melons.

They all pulled out bamboo scrolls hidden at their waists.

The System: [Alright. Let me give you the backstory first. Here’s what happened: After the old emperor of Chu sobered up, he was afraid that sleeping with the female official would affect his relationship with the Grand Preceptor of Chu. So, he secretly ordered the female official to be killed and even pretended to offer a reward for the capture of the murderer.]

Yuan Ruan was full of question marks: [What the… Is the old emperor okay? Isn’t this just adding mistake to mistake? No wonder they say alcohol messes things up. His brain must have been soaked in wine…]

The officials of the Da Xia were also stunned by this move: !!!

Prime Minister Li noted down: The old emperor of Chu is extreme.

The System: [Yeah, I think it’s really stupid too. And the Grand Preceptor of Chu is very smart. He saw through the issue at once and harbored resentment toward the old emperor. But the Grand Preceptor is also intelligent, loyal, and soft-hearted. He couldn’t let go of his hatred for the old emperor, nor could he take revenge on him, so he proposed to retire to the countryside.]

Yuan Ruan frowned: [What the heck? His wife really had the worst luck reuniting with him.]

The System: [Exactly. The old emperor of Chu probably guessed some of this. Out of guilt, he sent his sons to curry favor with the Grand Preceptor, saying that whoever could become the Grand Preceptor’s disciple would have the right to inherit the throne.]

Yuan Ruan: [Is the old emperor of Chu okay? He killed the man’s wife and still wants to keep him in Chu? What kind of logic is that? Does he think he’s so charming that the Grand Preceptor wouldn’t hate him or harm him?]

The melon-eating crowd was also thunderstruck by these actions.

They all wrote on their bamboo scrolls: The old emperor of Chu is arrogant and self-important.

The System: [Who knows? Maybe it’s just blind confidence. The Grand Preceptor couldn’t withstand the princes and their factions’ relentless pursuit, so he ended up taking all the princes as disciples. But in his heart, he only valued the fourth prince because the fourth prince’s mother had once saved the female official’s life. Okay, that’s the backstory.]

Yuan Ruan: [Got it. So, what’s the melon that caused the Grand Preceptor to break ties with the fourth prince?]

Everyone was all ears: …

Come on, we’ve already prepared blank bamboo scrolls.

The System: [It’s about the Grand Preceptor’s granddaughter. Oh, I forgot to mention something earlier. After the Grand Preceptor’s wife died, he became extremely controlling. To protect his daughter, he raised her very strictly. But his daughter couldn’t take it and eloped with a man. A few years later, she secretly sent a letter saying she had given birth to twin daughters. After that, there was no news for over a decade. It wasn’t until a year ago that the Grand Preceptor learned his daughter had died long ago, and the twin granddaughters had completely disappeared. That’s when he started searching for them.]

Yuan Ruan: [Hiss. One of them ended up in the Da Xia palace. Could the other granddaughter have ended up in the fourth prince’s palace in Chu?]

The melon-eating crowd nodded in agreement.

The little national fortune’s mind works fast. They also thought this was the most likely scenario.

The System: [No. That granddaughter was trained as a spy. Her first mission was to infiltrate the fourth prince’s circle.]

Yuan Ruan: [Hmm… Let me brainstorm a bit. Since it led to a breakup, the granddaughter must have been harmed by the fourth prince. Is the fourth prince a romance novel male lead? Is the granddaughter a tragic female lead? Or a miserable side character?]

The System: [No, no, the fourth prince is following the path of a domineering male protagonist in a power struggle. There’s no emotional connection with the granddaughter. The spy granddaughter successfully discovered one of the fourth prince’s secret weapon stashes, but before she could send the information out, she was captured by the fourth prince’s men. The Grand Preceptor was also present and devised a ‘counter-scheme’… In the end, the granddaughter died as a result of the scheme.]

The melon-eating crowd: !!!

Holy crap, that’s so messed up. It’s like he personally orchestrated his granddaughter’s death.

Yuan Ruan: [What the… The Grand Preceptor, who had been desperately searching for his granddaughter, ended up designing her death to save the fourth prince. If he finds out, it’s no wonder they might part ways.]

The System: [Yeah, superstitiously speaking, the Chu royal family seems to bring him bad luck.]

The Da Xia officials’ eyes gleamed: …

Write that down, quick! That’s a golden line.

Perfect for shaking the Grand Preceptor’s loyalty.

Yuan Ruan: [Is this melon over?]

The System: [Yep, but there’s another melon about the Grand Preceptor. It says here that the Grand Preceptor discovered that Da Xia’s intelligence system seems quite powerful, so he deliberately used carrier pigeons to test Da Xia’s ability to intercept intelligence.]

The emperor, Prime Minister Li, and Prime Minister Wang exchanged knowing glances.

So, it was a test. Good thing they also disguised their actions and released the pigeons.

The System continued: [Then, on the very first day, he discovered Da Xia’s ability to intercept and disguise intelligence wasn’t very good.]

“Pfft!” The emperor spat out his tea.

Prime Minister Wang and Prime Minister Li quickly lowered their heads, desperately holding back their coughs.

Yuan Ruan looked over worriedly: [Brother, are you okay?]

The System: [Probably just choked. You know what? The Grand Preceptor of Chu is really smart. He prepared two layers of encryption for the message. First, the message inside used a cipher-like anti-counterfeiting method. Second, he also engraved the message on the copper tube used to hold the letter. It’s that kind of micro-engraving technique. So, even if Da Xia captured the pigeon, imitated the handwriting, and altered the letter’s content, the message on the copper tube remained unchanged, and they still couldn’t intercept the Grand Preceptor’s intended message.]

The emperor and his entourage’s faces turned red with anger.

So, it was secretly engraved on the copper tube.

What a disgrace!

Yuan Ruan: [Hiss, let me think how to remind them. Should we just zap all the birds?]

The System: [No, that won’t work. They release the pigeons in the middle of the night. That would disturb your sleep.]

The court officials, however, remained calm. They had already decided to find a plausible reason to uncover this secret later.

To stop the little national fortune from worrying further.

The System added: [Also, the Grand Preceptor of Chu is quite cunning. He guessed that Da Xia had discovered and threatened the illegitimate son of Daoist Zhao, the National Preceptor of Chen. He deliberately mislead the National Preceptor of Chen into thinking he didn’t need to worry about rumors being exposed, which fueled the Preceptor’s intense hostility toward Da Xia. But in reality, the Quanzhen sect Leader has no way to deal with it.]

The melon-eating crowd: !!!

What?!

What a deceitful Grand Preceptor of Chu!

Prime Minister Li and Prime Minister Wang’s expressions instantly turned grave. They simultaneously put down their bamboo scrolls, deep in thought.

Yuan Ruan: [What?! Is the National Preceptor of Chen planning revenge? At the spring festival? Tell me more, so I can prepare.]

The System: [Yes. It’s particularly vicious. The melon says that the National Preceptor of Chen plans to arrange for someone to tamper with the agricultural deity’s statue during the spring festival, causing Da Xia and you to be hated by the people of the four nations.]

Yuan Ruan: [This infuriates me! I need to think carefully about how to make him suffer the consequences.]

The emperor’s face darkened completely.

The Da Xia officials’ veins bulged, their expressions serious, with intense anger bubbling in their eyes.

Even the most “proper” Minister of Rites flashed a cold glint, as if ready to kill the National Preceptor of Chen on the spot.

At the same time, the Grand Preceptor of Chu, who had just finalized the spring festival date with the crown prince, suddenly sensed a series of strange gazes.

He abruptly looked up, scanning the surroundings, but saw no one looking at him.

What’s going on?

The Grand Preceptor of Chu felt a chill run down his spine.

…

When he and the National Preceptor of Chen were about to leave after finalizing the date with the crown prince,

The Grand Preceptor of Chu couldn’t help but approach the National Preceptor of Chen and whisper, “Do you feel like the Da Xia officials are acting a bit strange today?”

The National Preceptor of Chen looked puzzled: “Are they?”

The Grand Preceptor of Chu frowned: “Yes, like… a dangerous vibe?”

The National Preceptor of Chen glanced at the Grand Preceptor of Chu and said dismissively, “No. I think they’ve just been distracted all along, not taking us seriously at all! But that’s good… Two more days.”

A flash of malicious excitement crossed the National Preceptor of Chen’s face: “I’ll nail them to the pillar of shame.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the hairs on the Grand Preceptor of Chu’s arm stood on end, as if sensing something ominous. He shuddered, momentarily feeling as if countless hostile eyes were watching them from the shadows.

But the feeling quickly faded, leaving the Grand Preceptor of Chu with an inexplicable sense of unease.