Fangzhou Xier, starting with failing the art exam

“You are Countess Lenia?” Lacey spoke first, breaking the silence.

Countess Lenia looked him over with interest. The young man before her was more composed and more...handsome than she had imagined.

Those eyes held none of the obsequiousness or timidity often seen in people from the lower classes; they were remarkably calm.

“So you must be Lacey,” Countess Lenia said with a smile. “A very interesting young man.”

“I am here today on behalf of His Excellency the Elector to extend an invitation to you and your Workers’ Party.”

"invite?"

“That’s right.” Countess Lenia held up a finger and shook it gently. “The Elector Marquis greatly admires your abilities.”

He believed that rather than letting you waste your energy in this quagmire with a bunch of rabble, it would be better to give you a bigger stage.

She paused, then offered her bargaining chip: "If you are willing to declare the dissolution of the Workers' Party and swear allegiance to His Excellency the Elector."

"The lord can appoint you as the deputy tax collector of Salem, and you can also be fully responsible for the redevelopment project of this slum."

"At that time, you will have real power and be able to rightfully realize your ideals, instead of being like this now, like a bandit, relying on threats and violence."

Her words immediately caused a stir among the surrounding crowd.

The deputy tax officer! That's a big shot in the city!

Many people's gazes toward Lacey began to become complicated.

They were afraid that their leader, who had led them to hope, would be corrupted by the sugar-coated bullets of the nobility.

However, Lacey's expression remained unchanged throughout.

He simply listened quietly until Countess Lenia finished speaking.

[Special event triggered!]

Option A: Just comply, that's all, let's all become superior people!

Option B: Are you trying to teach me how to do things? — Reject her firmly and righteously!

Lacey laughed: "That does sound very tempting."

"A deputy tax officer position can be exchanged for the faith of thousands of people and everything we have built with our own hands. Your Excellency, you have made a very shrewd deal."

Countess Lenia's expression darkened slightly: "Young man, don't be ungrateful. This is not a business deal, but a favor bestowed upon you by the Elector."

“A gift?” Lacey’s smile vanished. “My Lord, I think you’ve made a mistake.”

"Everything we, the Workers' Party, are doing is not to beg for any favors from you nobles; we are taking back what rightfully belongs to us!"

"Our dignity, the fruits of our labor, our rights as human beings!"

His voice suddenly rose in pitch, reaching clearly into the ears of every member.

Those members who were still wavering straightened up instantly upon hearing these words, and their eyes regained their resolve.

“As for what you said about disbanding the Workers’ Party…” Lacey stepped forward, staring intently into Countess Lenia’s eyes.

“I think you’ve also misunderstood something else: the Workers’ Party is not my private property; it belongs to everyone here.”

"No one has the right to dissolve it!"

Countess Lenia's face turned completely cold.

She never expected that this guy from humble beginnings would dare to reject her so decisively in front of so many people.

"So, you're saying you're going to refuse a polite offer and then have to suffer the consequences?" Her voice carried an undisguised threat.

"Lassie, do you really think you can stand up to the Elector with this piece of junk and a bunch of worthless bastards?"

"I only need to say one word, and tomorrow, those who will raze this place to the ground will not be my guards, but the regular army of Letania!"

"At that time, you and all your followers will be hanged!"

Upon hearing this, Taylor, the blacksmith, and the others gripped their axes even tighter.

Just when tensions were running high, Lacey suddenly smiled again.

“My Lord, you don’t need to scare me. I know you can call in the army at any time.”

"But have you ever wondered why the Elector Marquis didn't do that directly, but instead sent you here to negotiate with me?"

Countess Lenia was taken aback.

Lacey continued, "Because he knows better than you that violence won't solve anything. Today you can raze this slum to the ground and kill thousands of us."

"But tomorrow, in other cities in Letania, there will be a second and a third Workers' Party."

"As long as the root of the country's problems remains, as long as oppression continues, the flame of resistance will never be extinguished."

“And I, Lacey, can help you cure this country’s disease.”

Countess Lenia seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world: "You? A commoner without even a noble surname, saying you want to cure a country?"

“Yes, it’s me.” Lacey’s eyes were frank. “Your Excellency, you are a smart man. Let’s be frank.”

"Your allegiance is not to the Elector or the Twin Empresses, is it?"

Countess Lenia's pupils contracted sharply.

"You can report what you did today to the Elector verbatim, and I will not stop you." Lacey shrugged, looking completely indifferent.

“You can tell him that I rejected his kindness and even spoke rudely to him.”

"Then he will send troops to suppress us. I will be killed, the Workers' Party will be wiped out, and you will have successfully completed your mission. Perhaps you will even receive some rewards."

"But what happens after that?" Lacey changed the subject.

"Salem is still the same half-dead Salem, and the conflicts in the slums will only get deeper."

"And you, Countess Lenia, will forever be nothing more than a dog under the Elector, a dog that deals with his troubles but will never be able to rise to the top."

"You... how dare you!" Countess Lenia, stung by the attack, shouted angrily.

“I’m just stating a fact,” Lacey said calmly. “But if you choose the other path, choose to support me, support the Workers’ Party.”

"I assure you that in the near future, the rewards you will receive will far exceed your expectations."

“I can double Salem’s textile output and tax revenue. I can turn these tens of thousands of poor people into the most efficient workforce and the most loyal soldiers.”

“I can make you, Countess Lenia, the Elector's most valuable and indispensable assistant, even…”

Lacey smiled slightly, lowered her voice, and said in a volume only the two of them could hear, "Even, someday in the future, when the political landscape of Letania is reshuffled, who says you can't take his place?"

Countess Lenia's body trembled almost imperceptibly.

She stared intently at Lacey, as if trying to see right through him.

The man in front of me is simply a devil!

His grand promises, though empty words, precisely captured her deepest ambitions.

To replace the Elector?

She only dared to occasionally think about this idea when she was in the middle of the night.

"Anyone can talk the talk," Countess Lenia finally found her voice after a long silence, and she sneered.

"Why should I trust you?"

“You don’t need to believe me,” Lacey shrugged.

"You just need to believe in the benefits. I've shown you a path to greater benefits. Whether you take it or not is up to you."

"You may go back and report anything you wish to the Elector. I will be waiting."

After saying that, Lacey stopped looking at her and turned to walk towards the warehouse.

Countess Lenia stood there, her expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

As she watched Lacey's retreating figure and then glanced at the Workers' Party members around her, their eyes burning with fervor, she began to waver for the first time.

This man is either a complete madman or... a ruthless and cunning tyrant.

"Let's go!" She finally gritted her teeth, turned around angrily, and got into the car.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the luxurious limousine hastily turned around and drove away.

Only after she had completely disappeared around the street corner did Serafina hurry to Lacey's side, her face filled with worry.

"What you're doing is too risky." Her voice was a little tense.

"Even if we know that Lenia is a woman who prioritizes self-interest."

“But you can’t sway her with just a blank check. She’ll definitely embellish her story to the Elector, and we’ll soon be in big trouble.”

“I know.” Lacey looked in the direction the car had gone, her eyes deep.

"But this is also part of the plan. Sometimes, if you want the fire to burn brighter, someone has to fan the flames."

“Our enemies have never been local figures like Count Lenia.” He turned to look at Serafina. “And our stage is far more than just this small slum of Salem.”

For him, this was just a small experiment in the simulation, and whether the plan succeeded or failed, or even if he died after failing, it was not something unacceptable.

……

Holy Lytanian Empire: Chapter Eleven: You've Been Arrested for Treason

Late at night.

The hustle and bustle of the slums subsided, leaving only the mournful sound of the wind whistling through the cracks in the shacks.

In the office of the abandoned warehouse, an oil lamp is the only source of light.

Lacey sat behind a simple wooden table, on which lay a map of Salem and several newspapers he had brought from the city.

He was studying the city's water supply system and the distribution of grain warehouses, his finger slowly moving across the map.

Just then, the door was gently pushed open, and Serafina walked in carrying a steaming cup of barley tea.

She changed out of her more practical outfit and into a simple linen dress, which, under the dim light, gave her a gentler, more approachable look, like a girl next door.

"Still busy?" She placed the barley tea on the table, her gaze falling on the red dots circled on the map.

"I can't sleep, so I'll just browse around." Lacey didn't look up; her gaze remained focused.

Serafina stood silently to the side, without leaving.

The only sounds in the office were the occasional crackling of the lamp wick and the rustling of Lacey turning over papers.

After a long silence, she finally spoke, her voice strained.

"You took too much risk today."

“An adventure?” Lacey finally looked up and smiled. “I thought you would say I did a good job.”

"After all, we really frightened that high and mighty Earl."

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Serafina’s brow furrowed slightly. “Every word you’ve said is infuriating her.”

“Lenia is a pure egoist. Your ‘blueprint for the future,’ that empty promise, will never convince her.”

"She will only embellish your words and report them to higher authorities, portraying us as a group of vicious rebels."

“I know,” Lacey replied with a chilling calm as he picked up his barley tea and blew on it to cool it down. “But this is part of the plan.”

“A plan?” Serafina’s voice rose involuntarily. “A plan to use your own life as bait?”

Lacey stopped drinking her tea.

He looked up at Serafina; under the lamplight, the girl's eyes were full of worry and confusion.

It was a vulnerability he had never seen on her face before.

He put down his teacup and leaned forward slightly: "Serafina, our enemy is the deeply entrenched system of this country, the invisible order that weighs on everyone."

"To break it, it's useless to just mess around in Salem, this little pond."

“We need a bigger stage, a stage where people all over Letania, and even further afield, can hear our voices.”

"So you're planning to let them arrest you and use a trial as your stage?" Serafina's breathing was a little rapid; she could sense Lacey's emotions at that moment.

It was a kind of cold calm, and beneath the calm surface lay a resolute determination that disregarded personal gain or loss.

“You’re not confident, are you?” she pointed out incisively. “You’re not confident at all that you can get out of their clutches unscathed.”

Lacey fell silent.

He forgot that the girl in front of him had the ability to see through lies and pretenses.