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

Wenchang Hall.

Compared to the thousand or so people outside Yongning Palace who seemed more like filler, the area outside Wenchang Hall was heavily guarded and heavily defended.

No matter how hard Jun Yunxin racked her brains, she never imagined that her proud second brother had never taken her seriously.

She considered herself to be quite intelligent, even though her head was small.

When considering the plan, the Second Prince and the Ninth Prince were both regarded as potential enemies, and other palace forces that might get involved were also taken into account.

Even though the Ninth Prince clearly showed them goodwill, she did not let her guard down, and her agreement with the Painting Sage remained in effect.

But the enemy's reaction far exceeded her expectations. Not only did they not regard her as their main opponent, they even took the initiative to divide their forces and surround the Wenchang Hall.

In the eyes of the proud Second Prince, his enemy was never a frail and sickly little princess, but the Ninth Prince, who had the support of the literary and Taoist lineage.

Those assigned to the area outside Yongning Palace were mostly soldiers who were just coasting along. The unit was supposed to have a strength of three thousand men, but I heard that there were fewer than two thousand of them.

Even the armor he wore and the weapons he held were of unknown origin, dating back to a specific year.

The sole purpose of the entire army is deterrence; if they can fool people, they have already exceeded their mission.

After all, a little princess only has a few dozen people around her. Even if there is a martial arts master who can arrange flowers, he is only responsible for protecting her safety and will not obey her orders. How could such a little princess have the courage to attack the army?

She's probably crying her heart out in her maid's arms right now!

The second prince thought this way and did this way, assigning all his elite troops to the Wenchang Hall.

An entire Shenwei Imperial Guard, with a total strength of five thousand men, of whom four thousand eight hundred actually arrived, was stationed outside the Wenchang Hall, completely surrounding this sacred place for scholars.

Banners obscured the sky, and silver armor fluttered in the wind.

The Imperial Guards, forming large-scale formations, were interconnected and could summon their fighting spirit at any time to engage the enemy.

The leader, Zhao Lian, the Divine Might Grand Commander, wore golden armor, rode a white horse, and had a jade pendant hanging at his waist, symbolizing his status.

He stood at the very front of the army formation, with a continuous stream of power surging from the army formation behind him and merging into the phantom behind him.

The phantom was a white-robed general holding a halberd, currently twelve zhang tall, hazy and indistinct, connected to the army through the network of the military formation, and could gather the strength from the rear at any time, transforming into a complete military spirit.

Zhao Lian did not attack, nor did he shout or make any threats. He simply stood still on his horse, about 500 meters away from the Wenchang Hall.

Wenchang Hall is a sacred site for the literary and Taoist lineage, with a huge influence and countless masters.

Many ministers in the court have an inextricable connection with this place; the 500-meter distance between them is a testament to their tacit understanding.

The experts in the Wenchang Hall will not make a move unless the Divine Might Imperial Guard takes this step.

After all, the entire Wenchang Palace depends on the imperial power for its existence. They may be optimistic about the Ninth Prince Jun Cheng'an, but they are not obligated to support him.

Zhao Lian's orders were to hold this defensive line; as long as the people from the Wenchang Hall did not come out, his mission would be accomplished.

If the Ninth Prince dares to enter the palace, the Second Prince will take him down, and he will then have a share in the credit for supporting the emperor.

In the side hall of Wenchang Hall, the Second Prince and the Ninth Prince, whom Zhao Lianxin had been longing for, sat properly on a stone chair. In front of him was a chessboard, and opposite him was an old man with white hair and beard.

Jun Cheng'an had seen everything happening outside the hall. He was getting anxious and tentatively tried to stand up.

Before he could move, a ruler appeared out of thin air and struck him hard on the back.

An aged voice then rang out: "Calm down, today's events have nothing to do with you."

Enduring the burning pain in his back, Jun Cheng'an reluctantly sat back down. In just one night, he had been punished with the ruler more times than in the past few years combined.

If the old man's tone hadn't been no different from his usual one, he would have wondered if he had been abandoned.

I just wanted to go out and see the world, why did it have to come to this?

He looked at his swollen left hand and sighed softly.

The sage of literature, Meng Yan, glanced at him and then pointed to the chessboard.

"Continue, let's play chess."

After dropping three pieces in a row, Jun Cheng'an, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly raised his head and looked at Meng Yan sitting opposite him, his voice low.

"Teacher, you know how I feel right now, so why force me to stay here?"

The ruler in the void reached out again, hovered behind him for a while, but did not fall.

Meng Yan put down the chess piece in his hand, tapped it a few times in the air, and a yellowed ancient book appeared out of thin air.

"Go back and copy 'On Pacifying the People' ten times."

Jun Cheng'an did not argue. He took the ancient book with both hands, bowed to Meng Yan, but still stared intently at him.

With a soft sigh, the aged voice rang out once more.

"Your heart is not at peace, and you cannot hide your ambition. The soldiers of the Vermilion Bird Gate and the White Tiger Gate will not accomplish anything, nor will those ministers who secretly contact you."

I know that you have the support of many court officials, and even in the capital, you have tens of thousands of troops and countless capable people under your command.

But you are not the ones who decide the outcome. If we let you leave today, you will surely die.

This Wenchang Hall is a shackle on your body, but it is also your greatest protection.

Once this matter is settled, you should temporarily reside in the Wenchang Hall and learn some principles of governance; this will ensure your safety.

Seeing that his teacher was finally willing to speak up and explain, Jun Cheng'an's expression softened slightly.

The teacher was right; he did want to make one last gamble and take another chance.

In the past month, more than 70% of the court officials have secretly sided with him, less than 10% support the Second Prince Junji, and almost none support Princess Yongning.

No matter how you look at it, he is the best candidate to inherit the throne.

The most prestigious position in the world was right in front of him; how could he be willing to give it up so easily?

He clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on the back of his fair hands bulged, and even his fingernails turned deathly white from the excessive force.

His extreme resentment made him ignore the pain in his body and all the rules he had learned in the past. He suddenly stood up and questioned Meng Yan word by word.

"Jun Yunxin is a sickly person, and Jun Yunhua is a good-for-nothing. Entrusting the world to them is no different from personally pushing the entire Great Qi into the fire."

You taught me the way of an emperor, how to serve the country and its people, how to prioritize the nation and its people, and instilled in me the integrity to fight against the filth of the world to the very end.

For more than 20 years, I have never doubted this belief. I have endured countless hardships and finally arrived at this point today.

For this knowledge, I gave up my childhood, the most innocent time of my life, all the beautiful things I once looked forward to, and cut off unnecessary emotions.

While other princes and princesses were playing, I was studying; while other princes and princesses were enjoying their power, I was kneeling in the academy, being reprimanded and punished by you…

The woman I once loved most only killed an ordinary person, but for the sake of so-called justice and to build a good image, I had to personally order her imprisonment and eventual execution.

I have taken on countless responsibilities that I should not have taken on, and in the end I have become like this. Tell me, how am I any different from a monkey on a stage for people to amuse themselves?

"Teacher, you've dedicated your life to learning, is it all just to grovel before that little girl?"

Looking at Jun Cheng'an, who was almost hysterical, Meng Yan felt extremely complicated.

Jun Cheng'an's favorite student, and also his most proud student.

He was so smug that even he couldn't figure out what Jun Cheng'an was thinking or how much he had guessed.

He couldn't tell how much of Jun Cheng'an's hysteria was genuine and how much was feigned.

But he knew that Jun Cheng'an had achieved his goal.

The high and mighty sage of literature sighed deeply and reprimanded him in a tone that was neither too harsh nor too gentle.

"Once the injury heals, copy each of the 'Three Sages' treatise ten times."

After saying that, he raised his hand, picked up a chess piece, and slowly placed it down.

"Your father can live for another seven years, but Jun Yunxin can only live for another two years at most."

……