The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

The candlelight in the duty room flickered gently in the night breeze, casting his shadow, which was sometimes long and sometimes short, on the wall as he wrote furiously at his desk.

After writing the last line, he put down his pen and read the memorial from beginning to end.

If this memorial is submitted, the Fourth Prince will surely launch a full-scale counterattack.

But this time, he was prepared.

He closed the memorial, leaned back in his chair, exhaled a long breath, and then closed his eyes.

The newly generated righteous energy in his dantian was still slowly circulating, warm and steady, like a deep pool warmed by the spring sun.

The next morning, he went to the Censorate for roll call as usual.

When he encountered Chen Qi, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, in the corridor, the latter was carrying a pot of freshly brewed Longjing tea toward his duty room. Upon seeing him, Chen Qi suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Chen Qi's gaze lingered on him for a full three breaths before he slowly put down the teapot, looked him up and down, and asked, "Wang Jingli, you... have you reached the fourth rank?"

"I had a sudden realization last night and managed to break through it by chance," Wang Anshi replied, bowing.

Chen Qi fell silent.

He was Pei Du's old partner, having worked in the Censorate for over a decade and seen dozens, if not hundreds, of literary cultivators break through to higher realms.

However, someone like Wang Anshi was only a third-rank official when he entered the Censorate, but he broke through to the fourth rank in less than half a year.

Moreover, he broke through the border at a time when he was being impeached by the entire court and beset by rumors. He had lived most of his life and this was the first time he had ever seen such a thing.

His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something.

In the end, he simply patted Wang Anshi on the shoulder, said, "Vice Minister Pei is waiting for you in the duty room," and then left with the teapot.

Pei Du was indeed waiting for him.

There was no one else in the duty room, and the tea on the table had gone cold.

Pei Du leaned back in the old wooden chair, his fingers tapping slowly on the armrest. He didn't say anything when he saw him come in, but simply pointed to the chair opposite him.

After Wang Anshi sat down, Pei Du stared at him for a long while, then suddenly asked, "Was that righteous aura in the backyard last night yours?"

"Yes." Wang Anshi did not hide anything.

Pei Du remained silent for a long while, gradually slowing down the rhythm of his tapping on the armrest before finally stopping.

He picked up the cool tea, took a sip, put down the teacup, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh, as if he had put down a burden he had carried for a long time: "I have been an imperial censor all my life, and you have studied Legalism all your life."

"I cannot give you your path, but I can tell you what kind of path is a dead end. Have you found your path?"

Wang Anshi raised his eyes and looked directly into Pei Du's eyes, his voice steady and firm: "Teacher, I have found you."

"The law is the bone, the Tao is the spirit, Confucianism is the heart, and Mohism is the application. The mistake of the past was clinging to one thing, and the enlightenment of the present is to embrace all things."

"But inclusiveness is not a mixture; it is to use the Legalist way to govern all schools of thought, to use the law as the backbone to support the framework, to use the Dao to nourish the spirit and adapt to the times, to use Confucianism to cultivate the mind and be considerate of human feelings, and to use Mohism to practice and be down-to-earth."

"Only when these four elements are combined can one attain the 'Way' for a student."

Pei Du remained silent for a long time, so long that the sparrows on the old locust tree outside the window had changed their calls three times, and then he smiled.

That smile was extremely rare on his stern-faced, ruthless face, like a crack suddenly appearing on a river that had been frozen for many years, revealing the gurgling spring water beneath.

He said he had served as an imperial censor his whole life and taught countless students, but today someone finally told him that he had walked a dead end.

His greatest fear in life was that his students would follow in his footsteps.

Now it seems that Wang Anshi will not do it.

The thing he was most proud of in his life was not becoming the Left Censor-in-Chief, but taking Wang Anshi as his student.

Pei Du stood up, walked up to him, placed his hand on his shoulder, and looked at him solemnly: "From now on, I can rest assured that you will stand up for me in the court."

Meanwhile, in the Grand Tutor's study, Kong Yan was sitting behind his desk, twirling a string of black jade prayer beads in his hand, with Su Shi standing in front of him.

Su Shi rushed to the Grand Tutor's residence before dawn this morning, excitedly telling him that Wang Anshi had broken through to the fourth rank in one go last night in his duty room, and he was so happy that he wanted to drink.

Kong Yan paused for a moment, a slight sigh in his heart: Jie Fu has finally figured it out.

Legalism is the bone, Taoism is the spirit, Confucianism is the heart, and Mohism is the application.

These four things combined constitute his own Dao.

For a scholar, finding their own path is more important than breaking through several ranks.

That very evening, before Su Shi could even offer him a drink, another incident spread throughout the Hanlin Academy.

The next morning, while reviewing case files in his office at the Censorate, Wang Anshi suddenly stopped writing and became engrossed in his work.

His righteous energy circulated slowly in his dantian, growing faster and deeper with each rotation.

Finally, it transformed into a warm torrent that surged out along the meridians, more than doubling the original vortex of energy in the dantian.

Fifth rank!

He took the second step steadily on the path he had come to understand.

On the evening of the third day, the twilight bathed the windows of the duty room in a dark gold hue.

After finishing reviewing the last case file and putting down his pen, he suddenly felt the warm vortex in his dantian surge again.

This time it was more composed than the previous two, lacking the intensity of a surging torrent, but rather a natural and unhurried ease.

Rank 6!

He reached a level he couldn't achieve in most of his previous life, but in this life he accomplished it in just three days.

When the news reached the Hanlin Academy, Su Shi was proofreading classics with several colleagues in the duty room.

Upon hearing the news, he put down the book in his hand, tilted his head back and took a big gulp of wine, clapped his hands and laughed: "One rank a day! Jie Fu is not breaking through, he is clearly paving the way for himself."

"Let's drink! He can't escape this drinking session tonight!"

Yao Guangxiao sat in the corner, holding a cup of cold tea, a very faint smile on his lips.

He had long known that Jie Fu's comprehension was second to none; he was just waiting for the right opportunity.

The joint trial by the three judicial authorities was his opportunity, as was the Fourth Prince's counterattack.

A knife becomes sharper the more it is sharpened on a stone.

In the study of the Fourth Prince's residence, Zhou Bin slammed the secret report from the Censorate onto the table.

The teacup was jolted awake, spilling tea all over the table and soaking the copy of the impeachment memorial.

Three grades in three days!

He sent people to impeach him in the imperial court, sent people to Wangjiazhuang to dig up his old grievances, and sent people to spread rumors about him in the streets and alleys. And what was the result?

Not only did he not fall, but he also broke through three ranks amidst the rumors and gossip!

His fingers trembled slightly, not from fear, but from anger.

He finally realized that he was never facing Wang Anshi alone.

That chain of evidence, stretching from Runzhou to the capital, from the Imperial Textile Bureau to the Censorate, and from Liu Heng to the Assistant Magistrate of Jiangning Prefecture, could not have been completed by one person alone.

Wang Anshi had powerful backers; he had many people behind him.

Those people are still hiding in the shadows, and he doesn't even know who his opponents are.