Volume One: The Youngest Among Three Hundred Chapter 133: The Art of Imperial Governance

Hearing Chen Changan's words, Cheng Mulong, the deputy commander of the Black-Clothed Guards, was instantly displeased. What did this kid mean? He had kindly taken out his ancestral pill to save his life, yet Chen Changan was stabbing him in the back?

Knowing there was a misunderstanding, Chen Changan forced a bitter smile and wheezed, "It's... it's... Re-..."

By the time he uttered the word "Re-", his strength was completely exhausted, and he collapsed backward with a thud.

Cao Wu and Cheng Mulong stared in stunned silence. After a long moment, both pressed their palms against Chen Changan's forehead. Following a brief sensing process, they cried out in unison, "Third-rank Enlightenment Art! It's actually a Third-rank Enlightenment Art!"

They looked at each other in dismay, speculating, "So... what Chen Changan just meant by 'Re-' was... the Sixth Primordial Art?"

At this revelation, everyone was struck with shock. Just two months ago, Chen Changan was nothing more than a blind man who could see nothing at all. From the day he stepped onto the path of martial arts to now, it had been a full sixty days at most, yet he had leaped straight into the third rank.

Even more incredible was that he had awakened the high-tier Sixth Primordial Art, Reverse-Matrix, inside the spirit prison of King Jing'an, Bai Jinghu. Not even the monstrous prodigies revered within martial arts aristocratic families or major sects possessed such terrifying talent.

Ruan Jingchu gazed at the unconscious Chen Changan, lost in a daze. "I once heard my aunt mention a few defying primordial arts of the present era, and Reverse-Matrix was among them. Chen Changan... is truly amazing!"

Ye Lin stood with his mouth agape, at a loss for words. It seemed that aside from modern expletives of sheer astonishment, no other vocabulary could describe his current state of mind.

The three Xuan-grade leaders exchanged glances, their expressions vastly different—shock, disbelief, gratification...

Among the crowd, Song Jiu cursed under his breath, "Dammit!"

"Hahaha!"

Ying Hong, commander of the Azure Flower Eunuch Guards, burst into hearty laughter. Cupping his fists toward Cao and Cheng, he congratulated, "Congratulations to the two of you for acquiring a martial arts genius. This boy's future is bound to be boundless."

Cao Wu and Cheng Mulong offered polite, returning smiles.

"By the way, he has successfully emerged from the spirit prison. Why does the effect of Reverse-Matrix still persist?" Cheng Mulong furrowed his brow, muttering in puzzlement.

Cao Wu thought for a moment and explained, "It must be because he just awakened it and doesn't yet know how to specifically control the release and retraction of his primordial art."

Cheng Mulong immediately grew annoyed. "In that case, we can't treat him at all. The more we try to heal him, the heavier his injuries become."

Just as he finished speaking, while Cao Wu was still deeply pondering this rather tricky problem, Ying Hong untied the small cloth pouch from his waist and clatteringly poured out numerous porcelain bottles of various sizes, introducing them one by one: "Judging by Chen Changan's current physical condition, he definitely cannot withstand external trauma. Let's feed him some poison."

"That white bottle is Smile Half-Step Ecstasy; the cyan one is One-Day Life-Ending Powder. Ah, the most toxic one is inside the black bottle—the Tang family's heirloom treasure, a mixture of a hundred poisons mixed with Three-Thousand Intestinal Rupture. It's extremely toxic. Pour all of it down his throat."

Cao Wu: "..."

Cheng Mulong: "..."

Everyone: "..."

Cheng Mulong, in particular, rolled his eyes and stared at him with a bizarre expression.

Ying Hong turned his face away and pinched his own nose. "Don't look at me like that. All of these were confiscated from rebels who opposed the imperial court."

Cao Wu's gaze wavered back and forth between Ying Hong, the commander of the Azure Flower Eunuch Guards, and the porcelain bottles on the ground. Finally, she picked up the black bottle, opened it, and poured all the fine powder inside directly into Chen Changan's mouth. A sizzling sound, resembling sulfuric acid corroding flesh, bone, and fat, immediately erupted violently, traveling straight down his throat and esophagus into his internal organs.

Because the Sixth Primordial Art, Reverse-Matrix, was at work, Chen Changan suffered no adverse symptoms whatsoever. Instead, color began to return to his entire face, and his thread-like, feeble breathing gradually resumed the steady, powerful rhythm of a normal person. The wounds on his chest even healed and regenerated visibly before their eyes at some eerie speed.

Deadly poison instantly turned into a miraculous medicine, causing Cheng Mulong to shudder involuntarily. He couldn't help thinking that if he had really fed Chen Changan his ancestral healing pill, the boy would have dropped dead on the spot.

"The Sixth Primordial Art, Reverse-Matrix... truly miraculous!" he exclaimed from the bottom of his heart.

At that moment, Ye Lin, standing among the rear ranks of the Black-Clothed Guards, raised his arms in immense excitement and shouted, "Brothers, everyone take out the poison you have on you and feed it to Chen Changan! Hurry, human lives are at stake, this is an absolute emergency! I have a pack of rat poison here, I'll offer it first as a gesture of respect!"

The men on all sides responded enthusiastically.

The unconscious Chen Changan: "..."

***

After stabilizing his injuries, Cheng Mulong, Cao Wu, and Ying Hong walked side by side to the front of Empress Bai Wan, knelt, and reported: "Reporting to Your Majesty, all the rebellious party members of the Dragon-Slaying Society have been captured and subdued. Their leader, King Jing'an Bai Jinghu, ultimately died at the hands of Chen Changan after a fierce battle. The deputy leader, Cheng Jianzhi, has been apprehended!"

It was worth noting that Cheng Jianzhi was not only captured, but he was also the very first person targeted within the entire Dragon-Slaying Society. This was because Chen Changan had left a special reminder in a letter delivered to Cao Wu via Gouzi. Just as Cheng Jianzhi was preparing to leave the King Jing'an estate through the back door to attend court, he was intercepted midway by Cheng Mulong.

The Chen family making things difficult for the Chen family.

"Mhm!"

Bai Wan nodded expressionlessly, cast a glance filled with imperial majesty toward the guards nearby, and commanded, "Order Feng Yuanyi to inform all civil and military officials that today's morning court session will be relocated here."

"Yes!" The guards acknowledged the order and immediately set about handling it.

About half an hour later, the civil and military officials who had originally gathered at the Vermilion Bird Gate of the Dayang Palace were all arrayed in left and right ranks in front of the King Jing'an estate. Right Chancellor Zhang Huaimin, attired in purple official robes, looked to his left and sighed softly upon seeing that Left Chancellor Cheng Jianzhi—who always stood right beside him during morning court—had an empty spot.

With all officials assembled, Bai Wan cut straight to the core of the matter: "Today, I will not look at memorials, nor will I listen to affairs of state. I merely wish to have a heart-to-heart talk with all my beloved ministers."

Seated on a golden chair that Feng Yuanyi had specifically brought from the palace, she produced a sheet of white paper, slapped it face down on the adjacent table, and said with a calm expression: "Misfortune has fallen upon our household, and the imperial lineage fails to flourish. My brother, King Jing'an Bai Jinghu, secretly established the Dragon-Slaying Society with the intent to seize my empire and replace me."

"What?"

"Ah... This... King Jing'an would actually commit such a deed? It's simply unimaginable!"

"Who's to say otherwise? Holding the position of Prince Equal to the Throne, he was second only to one and above ten thousand, yet he remained unsatisfied and plotted rebellion. Truly an unforgivable crime."

Upon hearing this, the civil and military officials immediately began whispering among themselves in heated discussion. Some were genuinely righteous and indignant in their condemnation, while others were multitasking—chattering away while simultaneously distracted, casting nervous glances to observe Bai Wan's reaction, their leg tendons trembling slightly, with beads of fine sweat oozing from their palms and foreheads.

After three or four minutes of condemnation, the civil and military officials collectively dropped to their knees before Bai Wan and spoke in unison: "King Jing'an Bai Jinghu's crime is treason, and he deserves execution. Fortunately, Your Majesty possesses boundless fortune and heavenly blessing, able to nip this disaster in the bud, prevent misfortune before it occurred, and eradicate it in advance. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live Your Majesty!"

"Heh!"

Bai Wan curled her lips into a cold smile, and imperial fury instantly flared across her face. "Wonderful 'nipping the disaster in the bud and preventing misfortune before it occurred'! Well spoken! Do you know that the successful eradication of the Dragon-Slaying Society this time is entirely thanks to the Black-Clothed Guards' newcomer, Chen Changan? Do you know that when he was rooting out the Dragon-Slaying Society for me, he was still subjected to a city-wide manhunt, huh?"

"Did you know?"

"Yet what about you? What were you high-ranking, luxuriously living ministers doing? What use do I have for any of you?"

Her face flushed with anger, Bai Wan roared at the top of her lungs.

The civil and military officials kneeling on the ground started violently, bending their waists even lower until they were almost parallel to the ground, burying their heads between their legs.

"Slap!"

Bai Wan bellowed, "How many more organizations in Chang'an City harbor such intentions to rebel against me? How many more across the entire realm of the Nine Provinces? Do you know?"

"Naturally, you do not know. You only know how to indulge in extravagance and merrymaking, listening to song and dance. If it were merely that, so be it, but some among you even joined the Dragon-Slaying Society, attempting to conspire against my empire together, huh?"

She stood up, slammed her hand wildly onto the white paper flipped face down on the table, and shrieked, "Had this roster of the Dragon-Slaying Society not been recovered from within, I fear I would never have known just how towering the ambitions of my ministers truly were."

Instantly, more than half of the civil and military officials began to tremble violently. It was abundantly clear that they had connections to the Dragon-Slaying Society and King Jing'an Bai Jinghu.

Without changing her expression, Bai Wan noted which officials exhibited extreme reactions on the spot, before tossing the white paper into a pre-prepared brazier where it was reduced to ashes. Taking a deep breath, she feigned suppressed anger and shifted the tone of her speech: "However, I know that some among you may have been coerced. Furthermore, the Dragon-Slaying Society has already been crushed, and King Jing'an is dead. Pursuing the matter further holds little significance. To those whose names are on the roster, conduct yourselves accordingly."

With that, she stood up, looked toward Cao Wu and Cheng Mulong, and instructed, "Once Chen Changan wakes up, summon him to the palace to see me!"

"Yes!" The two nodded.

Bai Wan swept her gaze across the scene one last time and returned to the palace accompanied by Zhang Youzhi—who had miraculously "returned from the dead"—and Feng Yuanyi. The civil and military officials maintained their kneeling, bowed postures for about half a quarter of an hour before cautiously grabbing their numb legs and standing up. After exchanging covert, meaningful glances with trusted allies on either side, they immediately adopted expressions of absolute detachment, as if to say they barely knew one another, and dispersed one after another.

Ying Hong patted the dust from his robes, shaking his head and swaying. "Sigh... It seems my Azure Flower Eunuch Guards will have a busy night tonight!"

Cheng Mulong chuckled. "You're going to kill them all?"

Ying Hong shrugged. "Otherwise? In the eyes of our Empress, she cannot tolerate a single grain of sand!"

Cao Wu gazed at the leaping, burning flames within the brazier and reflected, "Using a blank sheet of paper to ferret out the civil and military officials in the court who truly have ties to the Dragon-Slaying Society... Her art of imperial governance is growing more consummate by the day!"

***

In Cell Number Three of the Heaven Grade in the Jingzhao Prefecture Prison, Qin Fuluo leaned against Su Qingtang's shoulder and fell into a deep sleep, though her body twitched from time to time due to lingering anxiety.

Su Wanqing kept sighing continuously, repeating various pessimistic remarks about people dying and losing their heads. Zhu Jiawen sat beside them, wearing out his tongue as he used various philosophical and classical doctrines to comfort and counsel her. The third sister, Su Wanqiu, hugged her knees and leaned against the wall, radiating a rather solitary and lonely aura. As for the eldest son, Su Fengding, he wore an indifferent expression as he used a chopstick to trace the outline of a human figure on the ground, wrote the name "Bai Wan" beside it, and cursed through gritted teeth, "Tyrant!"

Clack, clack. At that very moment, the metallic sound of a key scraping against a lock rang out. The prison door opened, and Zhao Gang—the constable who had tried to throw his weight around and take advantage of Qin Fuluo and her daughters last month because he caught Zhu Jiawen causing trouble, only to be taught a lesson by Chen Changan—walked in with two lackeys.

He swept a cold gaze across the room, triumphantly dug a lump of earwax out of his ear, flicked it away with a *thip*, and said with an arrogant swagger, "People of the Su family! I told you long ago, if you ever landed in the Jingzhao Prefecture, don't you fucking..."

"Bang!"

Before he could finish his sentence, his entire body flew backward at high speed, slamming into the rear wall with a dull thud. Countless spiderweb cracks shattered across the wall, his complexion instantly turned deathly pale, and he vomited a mouthful of blood.

Inside the cell, Su Fengding withdrew his palm and muttered, "Noisy."

The two lackeys: "..."