CH 179

Fang Yun didn't expect that Nunu knew about the fur and its connection to The Holy Land, so he asked, "Do you know the use of the fur?"

The little fox immediately shook its head.

Fang Yun pretended to be angry, looking at it as if blaming it for not telling the truth.

Nunu immediately became anxious, jumped into Fang Yun's arms, rubbed its head against Fang Yun's face, and whined in a coquettish manner, full of grievance.

"Alright, I'm not angry anymore, but do you know or not? I need an answer." Fang Yun said.

Nunu looked up at Fang Yun, nodded, and then shook its head.

"Forget it, you probably only have a vague idea. If you were that smart, you wouldn't have run to my carriage that day." Fang Yun shook his head.

Nunu immediately nodded vigorously, laughing happily, and then rested its little head on Fang Yun's chest.

The night was deep, Fang Yun sent Nunu to its room, then returned to his study, preparing to delve into the art of the zither, when the county seal received a message from Feng Yuanjun.

"I just came out of the Holy Temple, where are you in the Dragon Pavilion?"

Fang Yun replied, "I'm already home, I need your help with the infusion of talent, if you're busy we can talk tomorrow."

"I also have something important to discuss with you, I'll come to your house right away."

It was midnight, and Fang Yun didn't want to disturb his family with the sound of knocking, so he went to the front door, opened it, and stood outside, looking up at the quiet starry sky.

Fang Yun suddenly realized that he had been too busy lately and hadn't taken the time to look at the night sky.

It was the latter half of the night, the moon of the Qixi Festival was no longer in the sky, and the night belonged to the stars.

The God of Literature was still as bright as ever, and seeing it warmed and calmed Fang Yun's heart. It was because of the God of Literature that the human race on the Holy Origin Mainland was becoming stronger and stronger.

Fang Yun glanced at the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl stars and felt that they were different from before.

Looking at the stars all over the sky, Fang Yun unconsciously began to recall the past, a faint smile on his lips.

The dust in his heart seemed to be gradually dissipating.

Before long, Fang Yun came back to his senses and looked at the approaching carriage.

The carriage stopped. Feng Yuanjun got off.

Fang Yun said, "Let's talk in the study."

Feng Yuanjun nodded.

The two entered the study and closed the door.

As soon as Feng Yuanjun sat down, he said, "I had a conversation with the prefect Dong and several officials from Jiangzhou State in the Holy Temple with the Empress Dowager."

"What did you talk about?" Fang Yun asked.

Feng Yuanjun said, "The Empress Dowager has tried her best to argue for you, wanting to elevate your rank to a fifth-grade state earl, but was blocked by the Left Chancellor. Last time, the Empress Dowager almost forced the Left Chancellor to turn against you. This time, she is really powerless."

"What was the Left Chancellor's reason?" Fang Yun asked.

Fury flashed in Feng Yuanjun's eyes, "The Left Chancellor said that you provoked the Dragon King, and even caused the flooding of Jiangzhou. Even if you solved the Dragon King and suppressed the Poet King, it's barely a balance of merits and demerits. As for the Dragon King's horn, skin, and scales, they should all be turned over to the national treasury! He even wants to send someone to take your Dragon King's horn!"

"This old fool!" Fang Yun didn't expect that the dignified Left Chancellor would be so shameless.

"He's afraid that you'll use the dragon horn to exchange for Treasures of Literature or other treasures, and your self-protection will be stronger! He's even more afraid that you'll use the Dragon King's horn to win over people's hearts. Many Hanlin Scholars or Grand Academicians urgently need divine objects that can sharpen their War of Words. If you want to exchange, they will definitely remember this favor. The Left Chancellor is afraid of this, so he wants to take the horn."

"What did the Empress Dowager say?"

"The Empress Dowager had no choice but to give up on promoting you, but she didn't let the Left Chancellor take your horn!" Feng Yuanjun finished speaking, but instead of being happy, he looked even more worried.

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Fang Yun frowned, "Is this a strategy by the Left Chancellor to force the Empress Dowager to give up, or does he really want my dragon horn?"

"At first, I thought he was just bluffing. But on the way here, I realized something was wrong. The Left Chancellor's ruthlessness is far beyond your imagination. You're too young to know how he dealt with those who opposed him in the past. Think about it, he used to just suppress you, more like forcing you to admit your mistakes. But this time he suddenly wants to take your dragon horn, even if it's just a bluff, it's a wake-up call."

"What did you think of?" Fang Yun had some guesses himself.

"It won't be long before the Left Chancellor might take action against you personally. This isn't scary, what's scary is that this means that the attitude of that person from the Miscellaneous School towards you has been determined. That person, I'm afraid, has completely regarded you as an obstacle on The Path of the Saints!"

"He's a Semi-Saint, can't he tolerate a Talented Scholar like me?" Fang Yun felt a sense of injustice.

Feng Yuanjun's eyes darkened, "The problem is, he might be able to tolerate you, but those who support and help you are all advocates of war against the barbarians. If he tolerates you, it's equivalent to giving up the fight against other Semi-Saints, equivalent to giving up his own Path of the Saints. So, he must remove you, this obstacle!"

"He won't take action personally, will he?" Fang Yun asked.

"Of course, he wouldn't directly confront you. A mere hint from him, and his disciples would know he's displeased with you. When a Semi-Saint is dissatisfied with a Talented Scholar, what more needs to be said? So, after discussing with Prefect Dong, we speculated that he might have spread some rumors, which led the Left Chancellor to propose taking your dragon horn."

"What exactly is the relationship between the Left Chancellor and him?"

Feng Yuanjun sighed deeply, "Actually, there's no need to hide it from you. We had already guessed last year that after becoming a Semi-Saint, he began to lay out his plans. We suspect that he didn't dare to interfere with the four major nations, but he has his people in almost all of the remaining five nations. The Left Chancellor is likely a pawn he had placed in our Jing Kingdom long ago, possibly since the time of the Left Chancellor's grandfather. If the late emperor were still alive, we could have taken down the Left Chancellor together. But now, the Left Chancellor has grown too powerful, and we are truly helpless."

"Can't the Great Scholar Wen do anything?"

"Great Scholar Wen is a man of integrity. He does everything openly and honestly. Whether it's in terms of knowledge or literary combat, he surpasses the Left Chancellor. But when it comes to political maneuvering, ten Great Scholar Wens are no match for the Left Chancellor. It's not that Great Scholar Wen doesn't understand, but even if he does, he can't act on it, while the Left Chancellor acts without any restraint."

"Why doesn't anyone deal with him?"

"In the Battle of the Two Realms Mountain, except for Sage Dong who was stationed in the Ten Nations and remained unharmed, all other Semi-Saints were more or less injured. Why did the Northern Saint sneak into the Demon Realm to stir up trouble? It's nothing more than to delay the Demon Realm, allowing the Saints to recover. Because all the Saints have noticed that with the increasingly rich talent and energy of the Holy Origin Mainland, more and more geniuses have emerged in the past hundred years. As long as we can delay for another two hundred years, the strength of the human race will inevitably advance further. Yi Zhishi, Shi Jun, Li Wenying, Yan Yukong, Meng Lintang, and of course, you, are all the hope of our human race."

Fang Yun sighed helplessly, "I see. So, I can infer that it's precisely because the Battle of the Two Realms Mountain was so fierce. In the end, it was only by relying on the Dragon Saint that we could resist, so the plan of that person to unite the barbarian tribes tempted a few Semi-Saints. Although they didn't support him openly, they tacitly approved in secret. Because if the plan fails, the loss wouldn't be greater than the Battle of the Two Realms Mountain. But if it succeeds, it would bring the human race to a peak that even Sage Confucius couldn't reach."

Feng Yuanjun said, "Yes, that's the idea. Fortunately, Sage Dong is extremely firm and has always advocated for war. But he also didn't fall out with him, so even when our army suffered a terrible defeat last year due to the Left Chancellor's obstruction, Sage Dong only took the opportunity to punish two Hanlin Scholars, without punishing the Left Chancellor."

"Why did he kill a Great Scholar from the Qing Nation a few days ago? It's said that the Great Scholar was his disciple. This is even more aggressive than killing the Left Chancellor, almost accusing him."

Feng Yuanjun smiled, "In your words, it's because he's too involved. Sage Dong suddenly did this, not for others, but for you. You're worth him stepping forward to kill a Great Scholar."

"Alas, I really don't want to get involved in this whirlpool."

"You're not just involved, you're stirring this whirlpool yourself! So, you mustn't harbor any illusions."

Fang Yun said, "It's a pity that Sage Dong didn't directly kill the Left Chancellor. Then I wouldn't have to be so cautious all the time."

"The Left Chancellor's mistake last year has already been punished by Sage Dong, it's not appropriate to punish him again. And from beginning to end, the Left Chancellor has never actively harmed you. As long as he exposes his flaws, Sage Dong should bring him to justice. Of course, Sage Dong may have deeper considerations."

"Forget it, after all, the Sage has too much to consider. It's better to rely on oneself than on others. As long as Sage Dong is here, the Left Chancellor wouldn't dare to openly harm me. So, does the court mean that my merits and demerits offset each other this time?"

"Yes, but your achievements in the Holy Academy will naturally increase, so you don't need to worry about that," Feng Yuanjun said.

"Okay, I understand. Please thank the Empress Dowager for me," Fang Yun said.

"The main purpose of this conversation with the Empress Dowager was to discuss this matter. The Empress Dowager also asked about Yang Yuhuan's recent situation. She didn't say much else, but she seemed to feel guilty towards you. But after all, she is the Empress Dowager of a nation, and it's not appropriate for her to speak her mind in front of us," Feng Yuanjun said.

"Alas, I understand the Empress Dowager. She's a widow and an orphan, and her situation is much harder than ours."

"If you can think this way, the Empress Dowager will definitely be relieved. Alright, let's talk about your matter."

Fang Yun said, "Starting fifty years ago, unless there are special circumstances, the infusion of talent energy needs to be registered at the Literature Academy. Although not many people comply, and the Literature Academy doesn't strictly enforce it, I can't be careless about this. I have a zither, and I want to ask you to help me register it. I also want to ask you to help me find an Imperial Scholar who is about to die to infuse his talent energy into it, and refine it into a Treasures of Literature."

"This... think about it, buying a Treasures of Literature that still has twenty to thirty years of talent energy left costs only a quarter of the price of asking an Imperial Scholar to infuse talent energy. You've been promoted so quickly, you'll probably become an Imperial Scholar in two years. By then, you can find a way to exchange it for a Grand Academician's Treasures of Literature zither, which would save a lot," Feng Yuanjun said.

"I understand this, but that zither has undergone three infusions of talent energy before, and it can withstand a fourth infusion.""After infusion, it becomes a four-layered Treasures of Literature Guqin? Its power would even surpass that of an ordinary Hanlin Scholar's Treasures of Literature Guqin!" Feng Yuanjun exclaimed in surprise, laughing, "What a lucky man you are, Fang Zhenguo. You managed to trade for such a treasure. Did you exchange it for a small piece of dragon horn? It couldn't have been half a horn, could it?"

"It cost me twenty-six thousand taels." Fang Yun replied.

"You must be joking!" Feng Yuanjun laughed, his subtext clearly implying not to treat him like a fool.

"No, really. The Guqin appraiser made a mistake, and I took advantage of it. The Guqin will be delivered by Wenyou Xuan tomorrow." Fang Yun said.

"You really spent twenty-six thousand taels of silver on it? You... you're really good at everything, even identifying ancient Guqins! You've basically picked up half a Dragon King's horn for free!" Feng Yuanjun shook his head and laughed, full of envy.

"Yes, indeed I was lucky. Now I'm just short of an Imperial Scholar." Fang Yun said.

...(To be continued.)