Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

"Aoki, I know you are resentful and have doubts about everything we are going through, but ultimately it is my own choice and His Majesty's own difficulties. In this palace, never say such things again."

As if all his energy had been drained, He Qingmu's body slumped down, and he loosened his fists, letting out a muffled groan.

"I'm sorry, sir, I won't say those things again."

Looking at the students, Zhuang Sheng sighed deeply. He walked slowly to the bookshelf on the side and pulled out a long letter from it.

"I know what you're saying, but this reform was originally proposed by me."

If I don't do it because I'm afraid, then no one will do it.

Your Majesty has your own ideas, and all the officials in the court have their own thoughts. It is already difficult enough to gain the support we have now.

At least there are still some people in the city who are willing to support us, aren't there?"

He Qingmu raised his head, his voice slightly hoarse, perhaps because he was still somewhat resentful.

"Support? What support? Sir, everyone says we're doomed, we won't live much longer..."

Zhuang Sheng glanced down at him, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes.

How could he not know that what his student said was the truth?

The situation in Qi'an City was far more complex than he had imagined.

The imperial family, the emperor himself, the Wenchang Hall, the entire court of civil and military officials, and all the major departments of power—each had their own ideas.

The sacred place in the hearts of scholars is also a place where filth and depravity are hidden, and their actions are all based on their own interests.

This reform had only just begun when it became the focus of power struggles between the emperor and the officials in the court.

The Wenchang Hall has now also stood on the opposite side of imperial power, but in the eyes of the important figures in the Wenchang Hall, this reform is nothing more than a farce.

It's simply that the emperor is young, can't see reality clearly, and is somewhat rebellious.

By engaging in a few months of fooling around, coupled with a few insignificant tricks of the brain, one can teach the emperor a lesson, which is undoubtedly a huge profit.

Jun Cheng'an's considerations were not for the well-being of the people; he merely wanted to stir up the situation by introducing external forces, hoping to bring about some change in the stagnant court.

Anyone with eyes to see clearly that, as the Great Qi has developed to this point, the local lords have long since become relatively independent forces, and they are merely nominally subjugated.

This is the largest force in the Great Qi territory.

Within Qi'an City, with the death of the old emperor, the power struggle intensified, and the forces led by the Wenchang Hall extended their reach to every corner of the imperial city.

Even some of the guards at the four city gates defected to the Wenchang Hall.

Jun Cheng'an's real purpose in implementing this reform was to use the name of reform to lure the forces of the various feudal lords into the capital.

Even if the various lords come with ill intentions, there is still a lot of room for maneuver. With just a little guidance, the power of the various lords can be used to balance the situation in Qi'an City.

For these reasons, the reforms were so urgent and impractical, all in order to get the various feudal lords to send their respective representatives to the capital.

Throughout the entire process, Jun Cheng'an never held any expectations for this reform.

He deliberately made the new law seem utterly irrational, and then deliberately created the illusion that he was incompetent and wanted to promote the new law throughout the entire Great Qi.

But this is just an illusion.

The law may be strict, and the power may be great, but it will never be enforced.

What Jun Cheng'an really wanted to do was, after the failure of the new laws, use the pretext of revising the new laws to get the feudal lords from all directions to send people to the capital.

With the previous farce as a prelude, even for their own interests, the various lords would send trusted key personnel to the capital.

This will undoubtedly make the waters of Qi'an City completely muddy.

Zhuang Sheng saw it clearly: from the very beginning, no matter the outcome, the person who implemented his plan was doomed to die.

After the initial excitement of being given an important position, and after exchanging ideas with the great Confucian scholars of the Wenchang Hall, he began to make some initial guesses about this.

The court of this Great Qi Dynasty was not what he had imagined.

But he still held onto a sliver of hope, after all, the bright future Jun Cheng'an had described to him before appointing him had really made him look forward to it.

He wrote a sincere letter to Mu An, hoping to seek Mu An's support.

This action undoubtedly aligned with Jun Cheng'an's objectives, which is why his letter was able to reach Mu An within two days.

After he had made initial improvements to the new law, it was almost entirely rejected by Jun Cheng'an and changed beyond recognition. Zhuang Sheng finally realized that Jun Cheng'an was using him as a tool to test the strength of various factions.

In the face of reality, arguing is always so powerless.

Deceiving others is not difficult, and temporarily fooling oneself is not difficult either, but in the end it is just psychological comfort and cannot change reality.

More importantly, the student he unintentionally saved was not prepared to die, and he did not intend to decide the fate of his student.

In the end, Zhuang Sheng said nothing. He sat back down at his desk, picked up paper and pen, and began to write earnestly.

The only sound in the quiet house was the soft scratching of pen and paper.

After a long while, Zhuangzi's voice rang out again.

"Aoki, leave the city tomorrow, take these two letters with you, go to Lingzhou, go to Qishan Road, and give the letters to the commander there. After that, you can stay there and live a good life."

He Qingmu hesitated for a moment, but finally accepted the envelope.

"Sir, aren't you coming with me?"

Zhuang Sheng smiled and glanced at him, then began to speak as if it were a casual conversation.

"Sir, I will also leave, but it's not time yet. The situation is still unclear. I'd like to try a little harder."

Haven't a few young people come to visit us these days?

Sir, I explained my ideas to them, and they all expressed their willingness to give it a try.

Besides, when we were conducting our propaganda campaign in the city a few days ago, didn't many people shout that we were good officials?

Zhuangzi smiled brightly, as if he had truly seen a bright future.

"Everything is getting better. More and more people will accept the new law. Just wait and see, maybe some important person will be willing to support you and me?"

He Qingmu nodded blankly, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke softly.

"Sir, perhaps I should stay? It's inconvenient for you to be alone..."

Zhuang Sheng glared at He Qingmu and slapped him hard on the forehead.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Do you think I, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy and the director of the Reform Department, am short of someone like you?"

Besides, sir, I've already written the letter. If you don't go, wouldn't it be a waste of my time?

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!!! Stop filming! I'll go, okay?!"

"That's more like it. You go and rest now, and close the door behind you."

Just as he was about to leave the study, He Qingmu suddenly turned to look at Zhuang Sheng.

In the gradually dimming study, Zhuang Sheng sat at the table, smiling at him.

"Sir, I'll be waiting for you on Qishan Road. The situation in the capital is changing too fast. Even if you have the Grand Commander as your backer, you're not necessarily safe. Please don't be too late."

Zhuangzi waved his hand, feigning profundity.

"Don't worry, your husband has connections... The Grand Commander of Qishan Road and your husband hit it off immediately, and even his daughter used to call me 'sir'. There won't be any problems."