After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

These words were spoken.

The expressions of everyone in the basement changed.

The five people on the left stood up one after another, their expressions filled with joy, clearly having been waiting for a long time.

The seven people on the right all turned their gaze to a middle-aged man in front of them.

The middle-aged man, Ge Jianhong, had a dignified appearance, but his expression turned quite grave as he said, "Third Brother, isn't the Left Protector's action a bit too hasty?"

A man with a hooked nose on the left shouted, "Hurry? What's the rush? We should be in a hurry! The Tartars and the Rakshasa have both made peace in the north. If we don't seize this opportunity to start a rebellion, what will we be able to do when the Tartar soldiers from the Plain Yellow Banner and the Green Forest Army from the Nine Garrisons return?"

Ge Jianhong sneered, "Brother Zheng, the Tartars have been ruling for sixty years. If it were ten years ago, when there was a great disaster in Jiangbei, the Tartar emperor's land tax reform caused public outrage, and the Eight Banners soldiers were killing people until their hands were sore, we might still have a chance to fight if we started a rebellion. But now..." He snorted a few times, but stopped talking.

Just as the man with the hooked nose was about to speak again, Chen San waved his hand.

Chen San said, "Elder Ge, I wonder about the Right Protector's situation..."

Ge Jianhong said, "There's not much to say. The Right Protector's meaning is that our sect can only relieve the people's suffering and drive the Tartars out of the pass by by cooperating with the Southern Dynasty and launching an uprising north of the Yangtze River when the Southern Dynasty launches a northern expedition or the Northern Dynasty marches south!"

The man with the hooked nose sneered, "The Northern Dynasty sees our sect as a thorn in its side, but does that mean the Southern Dynasty is any different?"

A female Taoist priest said, "Many of my brothers are still imprisoned in the imperial prison."

Someone sneered, "The Southern Dynasty launched a Northern Expedition? In all these years, has the Southern Dynasty ever launched a Northern Expedition? Don't even mention that half-hearted Northern Expedition more than twenty years ago. Ning Changling and that Shangguan fellow caused trouble in Jiangbei, and so many of us suffered. If they could have driven out the Tartars, they would have died! Even if they had just captured the Huai River, they would have died! But what did they do? They built two cities on the banks of the Yangtze River and have been defending them for twenty years! What good has that done!"

Ge Jianhong said seriously, "So what? Just because the Southern Dynasty doesn't launch a northern expedition doesn't mean the Northern Dynasty won't go south either. According to our information, the Tartars and the Russians are probably already negotiating peace..."

Chen San interrupted, saying, "If that's the case, we should welcome our leader back north as soon as possible to plan our grand scheme!"

The five men on the left were all delighted and agreed, while the seven men on the right, including Ge Jianhong, remained silent.

One of the men on the right said, "Third Brother, I heard that the sect leader is only eighteen years old?"

Chen San said, "That's right."

Ge Jianhong said directly, "What use is a child?" The five men on the left all stood up, glaring angrily. "You, surnamed Ge, are you insulting the sect leader?!"

The person on the right coldly retorted, "He doesn't even have an altar yet!"

Chen San narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at the people on his right, and smiled, "So, you all intend to disown this leader?"

"It's not that I deny it," Ge Jianhong said initially, then slowly continued, "It's just that the old leader has been missing for so many years, and the Right Protector has been in charge of the sect's affairs. To be fair," he looked at Chen San, then at the five people on his left, "do you all think it's appropriate for the Right Protector to be in charge of the sect's affairs?"

Upon hearing this, the five people on the left paused again.

Ge Jianhong glanced at Chen San and said, "Third Brother, I know that three years ago, the Left Protector suddenly appeared at the headquarters with the old leader's warrant. You old friends were overjoyed to see each other again, and we were also very happy. We have always respected the Left Protector, and he later made many great contributions to our sect. However, the protector is the protector, and the leader is the leader..."

Ge Jianhong gave a soft snort. "If I and the Right Protector were to rely solely on a single decree from the long-absent Old Master to force my million followers to serve a random eighteen-year-old as our master, and watch helplessly as our sect's great cause is destroyed, Third Brother! To be honest, I... would not agree!"

Upon hearing Ge Jianhong's words, the other six people on the right also fell silent, but their expressions clearly favored Ge Jianhong.

Chen San saw that the seven people on his right were not in agreement, and that although the five people on his left were happy, there was also some unease and anxiety in their eyes.

So he could only put it aside for the time being and said to Ge Jianhong, "In that case, I will go back and discuss it with the Left Protector." The Left Protector had said that the most important thing was to keep the people of the sect united. If more than half of the altar masters disagreed, they should put it aside for the time being and agree with the Right Protector's strategy first.

Although Chen San was very curious about the true identity of the eighteen-year-old cult leader, since half of the altar masters disagreed, the Left Protector, for the sake of protecting the cult leader, probably wouldn't tell him the other party's true identity... which was a bit of a pity.

The group, led by Ge Jianhong, immediately showed gratitude and repeatedly cupped their hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you for your understanding, Left Protector and Third Brother!"

Chen Sanchao said solemnly to Ge Jianhong, "The Left Protector said that if Elder Ge and the other altar masters do not agree to welcome the sect leader first, he has already read the strategy for uniting with the South submitted by the Right Protector... The Left Protector fully agrees!"

"Great!" Ge Jianhong and the others were overjoyed!

The five people on the left also breathed a sigh of relief. They had a close relationship with the Left Protector. If the other side had forced the young leader not to succeed to the throne, there might have been a bloody battle within the sect. Fortunately, the Left Protector compromised.

Chen San clasped his hands and said, "In that case, I would like to trouble Elder Ge to preside over the meeting and show us the Right Protector's strategy."

"Thank you very much, Third Brother." Ge Jianhong said gratefully, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

Even though he was much older than Chen San, Ge Jianhong still addressed him as "Third Brother".

Ge Jianhong stood up, glanced at everyone, and then clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Gentlemen, the Right Protector's strategy can be summarized in one sentence!"

His voice trembled as he said:

"Capture Ning Baixuan alive! Lure and kill Zhu Cuiwei! Support that prince who is on good terms with us to ascend the throne!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was immediately taken aback.

"Ning Baixuan?!" someone exclaimed.

The recently famous Ning Baixuan from all over the country?!

"Ning Baixuan?! Elder Ge!" A female Taoist priest on the left stood up and exclaimed in surprise, "This Ning Baixuan... is he that cold and aloof man?"

Old Master Ge solemnly replied, "That's right, it's that talented scholar from both the North and South who rose to fame two months ago!"

A scholar-like man on the right stood up and exclaimed in surprise, "Master Ge, I heard that this person recently wrote another poem, 'When Will the Moon Be Bright?'"

All those present were descendants of Han Chinese from the Northern Dynasties. Many of their teachers were great Confucian scholars from the Northern Dynasties who were unwilling to serve in government or leave their homeland to join the Southern Dynasties. Literacy was their most basic ability. Even if they had no particular interest in poetry, they would inevitably discuss literary matters when traveling around under false identities.

"Excellent!" a bearded man exclaimed excitedly, "This very poem surpasses even Nalan Ruo's from the Northern Dynasties!"

Immediately, the room erupted in discussion.

Chen San frowned as well. He didn't like poetry, but he really liked the other person's line, "The misfortune of the nation is the fortune of the poet; the lines are most skillful when they capture the vicissitudes of life." He asked, "Elder Ge, we naturally know that Zhu Cuiwei is Prince Xin, but what about Ning Baixuan?"

Everyone was also confused. As fellow Han Chinese, especially those who knew that Ning Baixuan had outshone Nalan Ruo, a Manchu, during the Mid-Autumn Festival a few days prior, they couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for his talent.

Ge Jianhong sighed, his gaze heavy. "Gentlemen," he said, his voice suddenly turning weary despite his forties, "do you know... who killed Xiao Chun?"

Swish swish!

Everyone stood up, their eyes suddenly turning fierce.

Xiao Chun!

Master Xiao!

Ge Jianhong glanced around at everyone and sighed sadly, "Xiao Chun... died at the hands of Ning Baixuan!" Ge Jianhong's face was somber as he recounted how Ning Baixuan, as Gu Xichuan's advisor, had plotted to ambush Xiao Chun at Shili Gorge, then colluded with three counties to defeat Black Tiger Mountain, and finally killed Xiao Chun by the lakeside of Yucun.

In an instant!

"Bang!"

With a hooked nose and red eyes, Zheng suddenly stomped on the chair beneath him, smashing it to pieces!

"Damn it!" he cursed through gritted teeth.

"You son of a bitch!"

"Mommy's egg!"

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is..."

A wave of indignation swept through the crowd.

Chen San clenched his fist and slammed it on the table. With a loud "bang!", the plates of broad beans and dried bean curd on the table jumped.

Ge Jianhong slowly raised his hand, suppressing the sense of shared hatred among the crowd.

"If it were merely for this reason, each serving their own master, we wouldn't have bothered to seek revenge against Ning Baixuan. My sect has many enemies, he's not even in the top ranks... Even if we were to seek revenge, we should have killed this fiend honorably, not captured him alive... The reason we wanted to capture him alive..."

Ge Jianhong's eyes darkened, and he let out a few low, sinister laughs.

"It's all because of this person..."

"It was Prince Xin, Zhu Cuiwei—her husband whom she secretly married!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned and their faces showed great shock!

"Is that so?" Chen San's eyes widened in surprise.