Yue Fuguang clicked her tongue in amazement, her gaze involuntarily drifting toward him. With such a lifestyle, how were his kidneys holding up?

"Didn’t his first wife try to stop him? Faking death to escape the Music Bureau is already against the law, isn’t it?"

[Not only is it against the law, but his colleague’s crimes also involved him as a participant. In fact, that colleague was implicated because of him.]

"What crimes did they commit?"

[Imperial examination fraud.]

These four words echoed not just in everyone’s ears but also in their hearts.

Imperial examination fraud was a major scandal in any dynasty!

The fraud case three years ago implicated countless people—nearly one-fifth of the court officials were involved to some degree.

Though in the end, the Emperor only executed the mastermind, the others were either exiled or demoted. The former Right Minister even resigned and retired to his hometown after being implicated by his students.

Who would have thought Zhao Xu was a fish that slipped through the net? Who could have guessed that Zhao Xu, who usually acted so upright and loyal, had such tricks up his sleeve?

Amid that political storm, this minor figure with no backing somehow evaded the scrutiny of the Three Judicial Offices.

[Master, the imperial examination fraud isn’t the main point here. The key is Zheng Zhicheng, the man he implicated. Zheng Zhicheng and his sons were exiled to the borderlands and conscripted into the frontier defense forces. His third son, Zheng Feng, had been a spoiled, good-for-nothing playboy in the capital, uninterested in scholarly pursuits.

But after arriving at the border, Zheng Feng’s military talent gradually revealed itself through several battles. At first, due to his background, his achievements were stolen by his superiors, who also grew wary of him.

Later, during a small-scale border skirmish, his father, his two older brothers, and he himself were pushed into the front lines as cannon fodder by that same superior.

Out of a hundred soldiers, only three survived—including Zheng Feng. His father and brothers died beyond the frontier.

From then on, Zheng Feng bided his time, waiting for the right moment to avenge his family.

Three years later, during a major battle between Dayan and the Qiang tribes, Zheng Feng seized the chance to kill his former superior. However, he was wounded and captured by the enemy.

By a twist of fate, he won the favor of a Qiang chieftain, who not only married his daughter Meiya to him but also nurtured his military talents.

Within a few years, Zheng Feng rose to become one of the top five military strategists among the six kingdoms.

A decade later, he became the Qiang’s Grand General and the main force behind Dayan’s downfall. He even earned the nickname "Mad Zheng" for his ruthless and frenzied tactics in battle.

After Zheng Feng stormed the capital, he searched everywhere for his sister and eventually found her—now a concubine in the Zhao household.

Because of his sister, Zheng Feng helped Zhao Xu quite a bit after he surrendered to the Qiang.

Later, Zhao Xu divorced his current wife and elevated Zheng Feng’s sister to the position of principal wife, which earned him rapid promotions in the Qiang court.

Master, Zheng Feng was a rare talent. It’s a shame such a brilliant strategist was exiled because of Zhao Xu’s actions, only to be picked up by the enemy. Even I feel sorry for Emperor Mingxi.]

"In the original timeline, what’s Zheng Feng’s situation right now?"

[His achievements have just been stolen by his superior. In less than a month, the Qiang will launch a southern raid. His father and brothers will die in battle that early winter. From then on, he harbors deep hatred for both Dayan and the Qiang—so much so that he later fuels internal strife within the Qiang.]

Hearing this, the Dayan court officials seethed with rage toward Zhao Xu. Emperor Mingxi’s gaze swept over Zhao Xu with murderous intent, while his colleagues looked at him as if he were already a dead man.

Now they knew another force behind Dayan’s downfall—the Qiang.

Three factions had divided Dayan: Beili, the Qiang… but who was the third?

Judging by territorial proximity, the southern kingdom of Nanzhao was the most likely candidate. But how could Nanzhao, the weakest of the six kingdoms, dare to take a slice of Dayan?

Emperor Mingxi pulled his thoughts back. The most urgent matter now was to investigate Zhao Xu’s role in the imperial examination fraud and bring the Zheng family back from exile.

A talent like Zheng Feng belonged to Dayan. The Emperor intended to hone this blade carefully—in ten years, Zheng Feng would become the sharpest weapon against the Qiang.

As Yue Fuguang and the divine artifact fell silent, Wei Ping stepped forward and bowed. "Your Majesty, I beg to report..."

Wei Ping recounted how they had uncovered Xu Changyue, traced the clues back to Marquis Changqing Zhou Fushan, and so on.

Some officials behind him exchanged glances—this scene felt eerily familiar. If not for the absence of the despairing Marquis Changqing, they might have thought time had reversed.

Hadn’t this guy already reported this to the Emperor yesterday?

Why repeat it today? Repeating it wouldn’t earn him double the credit!

Trying to double-dip on merits? Even if the Emperor allowed it, they wouldn’t stand for it!

Finally, Wei Ping concluded, "Your Majesty, all members of the Marquis Changqing’s household have confessed. How should they be punished?"

[Wait, didn’t Marquis Changqing survive peacefully until Dayan’s fall a decade later? How did he get exposed so quickly?]

"Human fate isn’t set in stone. Maybe the early appearance of the Zhou family disrupted the timeline, making Wei Ping notice something amiss—pulling one thread led to uncovering the rest?"

[True. The person he mentioned is none other than the eldest son of Zhou Dazhuang’s elder brother. Who would have thought such an insignificant clue would lead to Xu Changyue, a future warlord? That man is notoriously hard to catch.]

"Little Pearl, where is Xu Changyue now?"

[Master, Xu Changyue is quite the escape artist. After leaving the capital, he headed north toward Beili for about a hundred miles—only to double back and sneak into the capital again. Guess where he’s hiding now?]

"Where? From your tone, it’s somewhere connected to us?"

[Connected, yet not. He’s hiding in a small property that belongs to Madame Sun’s dowry!]

"Madame Sun? The property? You mean the Madame Sun I’m thinking of?"

[Yes, your birth mother—Sun Shuya!]

At this, the Yu family patriarch and his sons nearly collapsed in fear. They had known the woman was foolish, but they’d assumed her antics were confined to the inner household. Never did they imagine she could cause such a disaster!

They didn’t believe she was colluding with Xu Changyue, but at this point, even the slightest association with him was enough to doom them. The Yu family had nearly been wiped out because of her stupidity!

Yu Chongshan glanced at his granddaughter sitting on the high platform, leisurely eating pastries, and felt slightly reassured. Surely, the Emperor would spare the rest of the Yu family for her sake.

His gaze then flickered toward his third son, whose face had gone deathly pale. This son of his...

"How did she get involved in this?" Someone that dim-witted wouldn’t even be trusted as a spy.

[She’s always doted on that impostor Yu Ningrou like she was her own eyes. After you arrived, she grew afraid of losing favor and kept playing the victim in front of Madame Sun.

When Yu Ningrou’s birth parents came looking for her, Madame Sun, eager to keep her from being swayed by them, promised to gift her a small property from her dowry as a future marriage asset.

Before the transfer was finalized, Yu Ningrou sweet-talked the keys out of Madame Sun’s hands.

She then gave the keys to her birth parents, who passed them to Zhou Dazhuang’s parents.]

"Didn't the entire Zhou family get arrested because of Zhou Fugui? How are they still involved in this?"