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

…………

On the 27th day of the second month of the year Wuchen, a strange tale was published in the Capital Daily.

…………

Sixty years ago.

Mashang Guanke, the Grand Prince Consort of the Southern Liang Dynasty, worried that his unfilial descendants would not even be able to hold onto half of the country.

He then packed a huge amount of treasure into hundreds of treasure chests and offered a sacrifice to the heavens at Xuanwu Lake, which awakened the Xuanwu that had been sleeping in the lake for thousands of years.

Xuanwu asked Shangguan Ke, "Why did you awaken me?"

Shangguan Ke said, "I wish to entrust the Emperor with a matter."

Xuanwu asked, "What is it?"

Shangguan Ke said, "I wish to see the golden-faced Dragon King of the Great River."

Xuanwu, with drooping eyelids, said, "The great river belongs to Heaven. The river has not been granted the title of Dragon King."

Shangguan Ke asked, "Where is the Dragon King?"

Xuanwu glanced westward and said, "The Qinhuai River is home to the Qinhuai Dragon King."

Shangguan Ke clasped his hands in greeting and said, "I humbly request that Your Excellency grant me an audience."

Xuanwu said, "One must be courteous when meeting the Dragon King."

Shangguan Ke pointed to the offerings he had brought: "If this gift is insufficient, I am willing to give ten times more. I humbly request that Your Majesty grant me an audience with the Dragon King of Qinhuai."

Xuanwu shook his head: "Common etiquette is unacceptable; the Dragon King will not accept it."

Shangguan Ke was taken aback: "May I ask what gift the Dragon King wishes to receive?"

Xuanwu said, "Lifespan."

Shangguan Ke lost ten years of his life.

I met the Dragon King at the Dragon Palace on the Qinhuai River.

At that time, a high-ranking monk from India who had just been conferred the title of Arhat happened to be a guest at the Dragon Palace.

Shrimp soldiers and crab generals cleared the way, while the river turtle prime minister sang hello.

The Dragon King asked, "You are a hero, and you have lived ten years to see me. What do you wish to do?"

Shangguan Ke said, "I possess three thousand treasures and one hundred thousand soldiers and armor, which I wish to leave to my descendants. I earnestly request the Dragon King to protect these treasures. If the country is ever overthrown, the Dragon King may open these treasures and bestow them upon my descendants to restore the land."

The Dragon King shook his head: "The rise and fall of dynasties in the human world is governed by fate, and I am not concerned with cause and effect."

Shangguan Ke pleaded with him three times, but he refused.

The Venerable Arhat asked, "You are a hero, why not lead your troops north to relieve the worries of your children and grandchildren?"

Shangguan Ke shook his head and said, "Fate is determined by heaven. The Northern Dynasty is at its peak. I am not destined for this. I can only guard half of the country."

The senior monk smiled and said, "Excellent, excellent. To be benevolent and kind without losing sight of the will of Heaven—no one possesses greater wisdom than you."

"Thank you, Arhat."

The senior monk said, "Would you be willing to shorten your lifespan by another thirty years? I am willing to guard this treasure for you for sixty years."

Ke said, "I am powerless to go north, and my lifespan is too short to remain here. I am willing to do so."

The high monk took away thirty years of Shangguan Ke's lifespan.

Having done a favor, they selected a place in the Dragon Palace on the Qinhuai River to store these treasures.

"I am from India. I have been given more than ten numbers. In the future, people may use these numbers to find the Dragon Palace, explore its treasures, and restore our land."

Shangguan Ke expressed his gratitude.

Leaving the Dragon Palace.

Shangguan Ke shortened his lifespan by forty years. Knowing that his lifespan was short, he also feared that his descendants would take out the treasures in advance and squander them recklessly.

He then bestowed these ten or so numbers upon a lineage in a small village south of Nanjing, named Lijia Village, hoping that they would protect them for generations and, if anything changed, would come out of the mountains to inform the Emperor of Southern Liang.

After the Jiazi year.

At that time, a powerful eunuch named Wang Bing heard of this matter.

Thirty-two assassins were dispatched to Li Family Village, seeking to obtain the Eighteen Divine Numbers.

The Li family village refused to surrender and all the villagers perished, leaving only one boy alive.

The boy crossed mountains and rivers to escape to Shandong, but died on the way and became a wandering ghost.

I passed through Shandong.

The place was filled with lingering resentment, yet it also concealed a golden light.

The summoning ceremony asked, "Why is your resentment so great?"

The boy told him the truth.

I said, "Can the Eighteen Divine Numbers be used to find the Dragon Palace?"

The young man said, “Excellent. Of the eighteen divine numbers, I know twelve. The wicked eunuch Wang Bing obtained the Li family genealogy and knows six of them. You are righteous and upright, so I will tell you the number twelve. The Li family has already repaid their kindness and righteousness. I hope you will personally kill the traitor, obtain the Dragon Palace treasure, and give it to all those in the world with destiny. Not just the Zhu family.”

The boy told me he had counted twelve, and then his soul returned to the underworld.

The fate of the world has been decided.

Those who possess both virtue and talent will be awarded the position.

I am a carefree Taoist priest, and I wish to emulate the Dragon King of Qinhuai, detached from worldly causes and effects.

Having long admired the generous and benevolent nature of the owner of Leshantang, I entrust these twelve divine numbers to proclaim this to the world.

He said, "Fifteen, sixty-seven, one hundred and seventy-eight, two hundred and thirteen, nine..."

The remaining six divine numbers are in the hands of the treacherous Wang Bing.

I calculated the destiny of Heaven last night, and in the third month of the year Wuchen, it will be the time when the Dragon Palace opens.

Those who gather all eighteen divine numbers will be granted entry into the Dragon Treasure Palace to retrieve the treasure.

…………

Destiny, fate, benevolence...

Shangguan Ke was not destined for greatness.

Then... the one with the best chance of survival is naturally Shangguan Ke's enemy... the Northern Dynasty.

The Dragon King is uninvolved in karma and shows no respect to that prince consort.

The Taoist priest was not involved in karma and did not give Daliang any face.

There are villains and traitors.

The villain is a powerful eunuch in the Liang Dynasty.

They even massacred the village; they deserve to die.

The young man wanted to escape, but he didn't flee to Nanjing. Instead, he fled to Shandong, hoping to escape by taking advantage of the sage's influence.

The text implies that the Northern Dynasties were the dynasty with a strong destiny and divine mandate, while the Southern Dynasties were dominated by powerful eunuchs and were on the verge of collapse.

It does not violate any taboos.

When Chen San told me about this, I didn't pay attention. I glanced at it, but I didn't care.

"I know you are good at writing supernatural tales, and I wonder if you are trying to please Emperor Hongli?"

"Around midnight, I realized your true intentions and requested permission to leave the city to arrest you."

"I sent someone to inform your sister. Your sister has a leg ailment; you saw that she was limping on her right leg, but actually, her left leg was also injured, and walking is like being pricked with needles. But as soon as she heard about you, she still tied herself to her horse and rode over."

Sitting on the edge of the bed in a light green mandarin jacket, he spoke calmly to Ning Nan:

"Besides that, I realized the unusual nature of your supernatural tale, though I don't know what you wrote in it? Numbers? Treasure? The Qinhuai River?... Ha..."

The man who had just been granted the title of Prince Duan chuckled.

"But no matter what, whether you understand it or not, I will immediately tell Chen San to go to the Beijing Daily and stop your supernatural tale."

Ning Nan narrowed his eyes.

The man glanced at him, his eyes showing a hint of helplessness, and then paused for a few moments.

"but……"

He seemed to sigh with a sense of loss.

"Chen San didn't listen to me this time."

He pointed to the newspaper in Ning Nan's hand: "You still managed to get your supernatural tale published. I only found out at dawn."

"Where is Chen San?" Ning Nan asked.

Hongchang glanced at him: "He's locked up."

Ning Nan put the newspaper down: "Did you send people to confiscate the newspapers?"

Hongchang laughed and said, "He's not that stupid."

"That's a real shame." Ning Nan lay on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief.

Three become tigers.

Confiscating the newspapers would actually confirm the rumor.

Hongchang calmly said, "His Majesty has shown you mercy and given you a choice."

Ning Nan put her hands behind her head, her face looking much more relaxed. She didn't look at the other person, her eyes only fixed on the veil of the mosquito net.

"The newspapers will publish tomorrow: The Southern Kingdom's Deputy Envoy was assassinated by a Rakshasa and died from his wounds... Hmm, you're dead... Our dynasty will also inform the Southern Dynasty through the Embroidered Uniform Guard..."

"The Emperor is giving you a choice: stay in the Northern Dynasty or not... Rest assured..."

"Dangning Festival..."

…………

Deep night.

Yesterday...the 26th day of the second month of the year Wuchen.

early morning.

The hour of Chou (1-3 AM).

Shi Sidong, a commander of the Imperial Guard stationed in Beijing, rode his horse along the official road.

He clutched the third letter from Prince Consort Ning tightly in his hand.