Yuan Ruan first noticed a middle-aged man with a bald head and no eyebrows. She quickly matched him with the description she had heard; this was most likely the Grand Preceptor of Chu.

But then…

She saw a tall, burly man with dark skin, wearing a headdress adorned with three-colored feathers, dressed in attire resembling that of an ancient shaman, draped in a black sable robe. His exposed muscular arms were covered in indigo and white tattoo patterns.

Ah, this… this wild appearance didn’t seem to match the descriptions of the preceptors from the other two countries as described by the eunuch.

Just then, the sound of a sliding door came from another part of the side hall.

A handsome, tall Daoist priest dressed in luxurious feathered robes walked in. Behind him followed more than a dozen young Daoist acolytes, some holding whisks, others carrying boxes. The grand display was far from the image of an ascetic Daoist; he looked more like a noble young master from a wealthy family.

Yuan Ruan was even more confused. This one might match in age, but he was the complete opposite of “plainly dressed.”

Could it be that these two were not the preceptors?

The two men, whom Yuan Ruan suspected, almost simultaneously bowed to the Grand Preceptor of Chu.

The Grand Preceptor of Chu returned the gesture, respectfully addressing them as “Preceptor of Shu” and “Preceptor of Chen.”

Yuan Ruan: …

She tugged at the Empress’s sleeve, softly babbling and pointing at the people inside.

The Empress glanced at the preceptors, whose appearances didn’t match at all, and her expression darkened. She shot a stern look at the eunuch.

The eunuch, who had also noticed the two unfamiliar Daoist priests, broke into a cold sweat and quickly said, “This old servant deserves death. I beg Her Majesty’s permission to go and gather more information.”

The Empress waved her hand lightly.

The eunuch disappeared in a flash, and moments later, he reappeared before them.

The eunuch reported, “Your Majesty, the one wearing the feathered headdress is the newly appointed Preceptor of Shu this year. The other, dressed in luxurious attire, became the Preceptor of Chen last year.”

Yuan Ruan understood: the shaman-like figure was the Preceptor of Shu, the noble-looking one was the Preceptor of Chen, and the bald, eyebrowless man was the Grand Preceptor of Chu.

At that moment, voices were heard again from inside the hall.

Yuan Ruan strained to lift her head a little. It turned out that the Preceptor of Chen had initiated a conversation with the Grand Preceptor of Chu.

The Preceptor of Chen bowed first and said, “I didn’t expect the Grand Preceptor of Chu to personally attend this year’s Spring Sacrifice. I thought I would meet Senior Brother Xu, who is in seclusion in Chu. It’s been a while, and I’ve missed him.”

The Grand Preceptor of Chu smiled but didn’t respond directly. He only said, “If you don’t mind, after the Spring Sacrifice, I invite you to visit Chu.”

The Preceptor of Shu suddenly sneered, “It’s better that the Grand Preceptor is here. If it were just some pretty faces, I’d feel like this whole thing was a joke.”

The Preceptor of Chen chuckled sarcastically, “Are you calling me a pretty face?”

The Preceptor of Shu didn’t hold back, sneering, “Did I mention your name? Why are you so eager to label yourself?”

But as the Preceptor of Chen stiffened, the Preceptor of Shu added, “It seems you do have one tiny redeeming quality: self-awareness.”

The Preceptor of Chen was also angered and retorted mockingly, “Ha, have you even studied the basic Daoist scriptures? Have you ever seen alchemy? Do you know what the Back-Pushing Trigram or immortality is? When it comes to discussing the Dao, you might not even compare to an infant. A brute who only knows how to play with bugs—I really don’t know how my senior brother lost to you…”

Without another word, the Preceptor of Shu flexed his muscular arm and snorted, “If you want to ask, you can try me.”

The Preceptor of Chen choked, forcing a smile, “Ignorant brute, I’m ashamed to be associated with you.”

…

Yuan Ruan was surprised: [System, the relationship between the preceptors of Chen and Shu is so tense. They’re already arguing like this.]

The system replied: [This is perfect! If they don’t get along, we have a chance to strategize and form alliances.]

The Emperor, who was walking over, raised an eyebrow: [This silly system knows about forming alliances?!]

Yuan Ruan: [Don’t get your hopes up. How are we going to form alliances? Do they understand baby talk?]

The Crown Prince, Prime minister Li, Prime minister Wang, Wu Yi, and the officials from the Ministry of Rites, who were accompanying them, nearly burst out laughing at the mention of “baby talk.”

Seeing the system deflated, Yuan Ruan added: [Of course, nothing is absolute. Let’s watch their drama first and see if we can find any weaknesses to exploit.]

The system immediately perked up: [Leave it to me! Drama incoming!]

Everyone: !!!

Here it comes, the main event.

The system began: [First, let’s look at the Preceptor of Chen. Ha, this Preceptor of Chen is the biological son of the Blue-Robed Daoist Zhao from the Longhu Temple. When the Grand Preceptor of Chu was at the Longhu Temple, his father was the Grand Preceptor’s master, essentially his superior. No wonder the Preceptor of Chen doesn’t show much respect to the Grand Preceptor.]

Yuan Ruan: [Oh, Daoists aren’t like Buddhists; it’s normal for them to have sons.]

However, the court officials familiar with the identity of the Blue-Robed Taoist from the Longhu Temple were shocked: !!!

Wait, little national fortune, this isn’t normal!

The only Blue-Robed Taoist surnamed Zhao from the Longhu Temple is the master of the Quanzhen Sect.

The Quanzhen Sect’s doctrine forbids marriage and having children!

The Minister of Rites pulled out a blank bamboo slip from his robe sleeve and began scribbling excitedly: Evidence against Master Zhao…

The system continued: [The Preceptor of Chen has some other scandals, but most are trivial. For example, he once had white bugs in his hair from not bathing, but he blamed it on a servant, who was then beaten by the master… It’s a bit boring. Let’s move on to the Preceptor of Shu. Let’s see… Hiss, the Preceptor of Shu, he’s got something!]

Everyone’s eyes lit up with excitement: …

Good, good.

This is going to be exciting, right?!

Yuan Ruan: [I knew someone dressed so wildly would have some secrets. Tell me.]

The system explained: [This Preceptor of Shu was the former sworn brother of the old Emperor of Shu’s male favorite. However, no one else in Shu knows about this because they publicly refer to each other as blood brothers.]

The court officials: !!!

Starting off with something this spicy?!

Yuan Ruan: [Wait, wait… This is too much information at once. What do you mean by sworn brother and blood brother?]

The system clarified: [Oh, this relates to some local customs in Shu. In certain regions of Shu, sworn brothers are essentially men who have sworn an oath before the gods, equivalent to a formalized male-male partnership.]

Yuan Ruan: [!!!]

The system continued: [Alright, I’ll keep going. Homosexuality has always been prevalent in Shu, but after the old Emperor developed a particular fondness for it, it became even more widespread. This Preceptor of Shu’s sworn brother was forcibly taken by the Emperor.]

Yuan Ruan: [Ugh, how tragic.]

The system added: [Indeed, he was forcibly taken three times.]

Yuan Ruan: [??? Please elaborate.]

Everyone: !!!

At this point, not only did the officials from the Ministry of Rites pull out their blank bamboo slips, but Prime minister Li and Wang also took out their little notebooks.

Yes, one of their purposes for being here was to gather intelligence.

By observing people through their scandals, one can know oneself and the enemy, ensuring victory in every battle.