Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

The air in the quiet side hall was so cold it felt stiff. Only deep between Lin Yanzhou's brows did a faint burning sensation occasionally pass by, as if an invisible thread was tightly pulling at a certain part of this deep palace.

He initially thought it was a side effect of the mineral crystal binding, until the footsteps echoed outside the corridor, and the pulling sensation suddenly became strong and clear, accurately locking onto the screen inside the hall.

"Who's inside? Come out and surrender immediately!"

Wei Cheng, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, strode in with two guards. His dark official robes fluttered in the wind, and his eyes were full of professional ruthlessness. His gaze was fixed on Lin Yanzhou like that of a hawk.

The next second, Wei Cheng's eyes froze completely.

In the Xuan Shuo court, everyone wore wide sleeves and tied their hair up, with a uniform style. But the person in front of him had short, neat hair, a thin ribbon tied around his neck, and wore strange short-sleeved shirts and trousers. His clothes were so light that they were almost vulgar. He had no air of authority whatsoever and looked like a strange person who had fallen from the sky.

Wei Cheng had fought in the palace for many years, and had seen strange people from the martial arts world and even foreign envoys, but he had never seen such attire.

"You, what kind of monster are you?" Wei Cheng blurted out subconsciously, his tone filled with a sense of shock and disbelief.

Lin Yanzhou inwardly grumbled: "I'm thirty-eight years old, a diligent salesman, a business elite, and I was unlucky enough to be transmigrated by a broken stone. How did such a promising young man become a monster here? In this ancient officialdom, the extortionate scams are even more outrageous than those of modern clients."

He didn't bother to explain his identity, remaining standing steadily with a relaxed and calm demeanor. Compared to the three imperial guards who were on high alert and ready to fight, he seemed more like the host in charge of the situation.

"Trespassing on the Emperor's forbidden grounds, dressed strangely, and behaving suspiciously—" Wei Cheng quickly composed himself, sternly convicting him, his words rapid, "You must be a spy from somewhere! Surrender now, or I'll have to take action!"

A cold knife was held to his neck. Lin Yanzhou was so scared that he almost wet his pants. "Damn it, I'm done for."

"Commander, please calm down."

A clear and gentle young voice suddenly came from behind the screen, interrupting Wei Cheng's pronouncement.

Immediately afterwards, with a light sway of his plain robes, Emperor Jinghe Zhao Yan, who was fifteen or sixteen years old, strode out. His back was straight, and his eyebrows and eyes were handsome, but his eyes concealed the weariness and caution that came from years of being manipulated.

Normally, Wei Cheng would have knelt and bowed respectfully upon seeing the young emperor appear. But today, when he looked up and saw the boy's expression, his heart skipped a beat: Why is His Majesty behind us? Does he know about our plans tonight? Since they're here, let's deal with them all at once and go back to report to the Grand Tutor.

Emperor Jinghe showed no fear whatsoever; instead, his eyes were filled with certainty as he stared intently at the strangely dressed Lin Yanzhou, his gaze revealing a long-awaited solemnity.

"Your Majesty! This man's origins are unknown, and his behavior is suspicious. He must not be allowed to live!" Wei Cheng urgently advised, fearing that this unexpected variable would disrupt the powerful minister's entire scheme. Kill this strange man first, then deal with the young emperor.

Emperor Jinghe simply raised his hand to stop his nagging.

The young emperor stepped forward slowly, his gaze sweeping over Lin Yanzhou's strange attire inch by inch, finally landing on his brow, whereupon his eyes suddenly lit up.

"You've finally arrived."

One sentence completely stunned the four people present.

Wei Cheng's pupils dilated in shock, and his mind went blank for a moment. His Majesty knows this strange man? And is he waiting for him?

Lin Yanzhou was stunned by this statement and looked completely bewildered. He had just transmigrated and landed in this dynasty, and he couldn't even distinguish between the civil and military officials. How did he suddenly become an acquaintance who "attended the meeting as scheduled"?

Seeing his astonished expression, Emperor Jinghe smiled faintly, a rare occurrence, and explained softly, "The late emperor left a will: I am alone in the deep palace, and one day, a person in strange clothes will come from the void, with a faint light of destiny between his brows. He is a divine minister sent from heaven, the only savior of my Xuan Shuo."

"The late Emperor appeared to me in a dream last night, and tonight is the day the immortals return to their rightful place."

As soon as he finished speaking, the burning sensation of the mineral crystal between Lin Yanzhou's brows suddenly surged for a moment, and an invisible gravitational force spread out, causing all the breeze in the side hall to gather around him, the curtains to flutter, dust particles to dance, and strange phenomena to be clearly seen.

Wei Cheng was so frightened that he took half a step back, his face turned ashen, and he was completely panicked.

He was an informant planted by a powerful minister, possessing the deepest knowledge of the court's situation and the palace's secrets. The late emperor's dream was a top secret, known even to very few high-ranking officials. If this man before him was truly a divinely appointed minister and an immortal, his insistence on killing him today would be defying the will of heaven and could potentially bring disaster upon his entire family!

But he couldn't believe that someone dressed strangely could be the savior of the dynasty. The situation was unclear, so he could simply reply to the Grand Tutor that the young emperor hadn't appeared alone tonight, so there was no opportunity to make a move.

Lin Yanzhou's mind raced, and he instantly pieced together the cause and effect.

So it turns out he didn't just travel through time by sheer luck; it was that dark red mineral crystal, the destiny foreshadowing left by the late emperor, that precisely delivered him to the young master at the right time and place.

Others travel through time by luck, but he travels through time by being pre-arranged and delivered to a specific location by the late emperor, with a focus on precise after-sales service.

Having figured this out, Lin Yanzhou's tense mind completely relaxed, and he even showed a bit of the relaxed humor of a middle-aged man.

He looked at Wei Cheng, who was filled with tension and fear, and said in a slightly teasing tone, "Hey, you there, you just told me to surrender? Are you still going to arrest me? Do you think you can arrest me, an immortal? If you had dared to disobey me in any way, all three of you would be dead on the spot!"

Wei Cheng's lips twitched violently, his face turning pale and then red, caught in a dilemma, his toes digging awkwardly into the ground.

Seeing this, Emperor Jinghe's eyes flashed with a sly smile, and he added insult to injury: "Commander Wei, the late emperor appeared to me in a dream, and the mandate of heaven cannot be defied. Just now, I almost accidentally killed a pillar of the nation. How dare you!"

With a single, casual remark, Wei Cheng was condemned to death.

Wei Cheng's legs went weak, and he immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, I was ignorant of the will of Heaven, and deserve to die!"

We almost caused a major disaster tonight!

Lin Yanzhou watched as the dignified commander of the Imperial Guards was completely controlled by a single sentence, and he secretly sighed: The ancient workplace was indeed more exciting than the modern debt collection game. Although the emperor was young, one sentence from him was worth ten years of verbal sparring.

"Get up." Lin Yanzhou waved his hand, exuding an aura of seniority. "Ignorance is no excuse, but next time don't just attack anyone you see, or you might get accidentally killed by this immortal."

Wei Cheng dared not refute, and could only bow in frustration. He stood up with a heart full of fear, and at this moment, his eyes looked at Lin Yanzhou with no trace of killing intent, only deep respect and guilt.

The wind outside the palace gradually subsided, and the strange phenomena dissipated. Only the entanglement of fate remained. This perfect collaboration, where they sang in unison, saved each other's lives and firmly bound the middle-aged stranger and the young emperor in distress together.

Emperor Jinghe looked up at Lin Yanzhou, his eyes sincere and expectant: "Since you are destined by Heaven, could you stay by my side and help me stabilize this crumbling Great Xuan Shuo?"

Looking at the young man before him, whose eyes shone with light despite his predicament, Lin Yanzhou recalled the cold, primal mission to protect his master within his soul. He thought to himself, "Thank goodness I'm a great lover of history and culture. I know the wise rulers and treacherous officials of the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties by heart. But I don't even know which dynasty this 'Great Xuan Shuo' you're talking about. All enemies are unknown. Never mind, I'll learn slowly. First, I'll make good use of my immortal identity." With that thought, he nodded slightly. "Although I am an immortal, my magical power is inevitably limited here. In this chaotic world, I will accompany Your Majesty step by step."

He said that, but in his heart he was determined to survive. He was an undergraduate, familiar with modern technology, well-versed in historical strategies, and had watched countless palace dramas. Was he afraid that he couldn't beat you bunch of bastards?