Especially the nobles from the other five kingdoms—they were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered by him.

When he reached the last few pages where Yue Fuguang mentioned the target clientele for selling glass and the concept of scarcity marketing, he couldn’t help but slam the table in admiration.

She particularly pointed out that among the tribes on the grasslands, several worshipped their own totems. Take the Flying Eagle Tribe, for example—their totem was the flying eagle, and three other tribes also revered the eagle as their sacred symbol.

Moreover, these tribes had been locked in endless disputes over which of them was the true chosen people blessed by the Great Eagle Deity.

Yue Fuguang suggested crafting two glass eagles to sell to these tribes, and if necessary, "accidentally" shattering one, leaving only a single remaining piece.

He could already imagine these four tribes fighting tooth and nail over the last sacred totem, turning their conflicts into absolute chaos.

Especially if they layered the glass eagle with a mystical backstory—claiming that only the tribe acknowledged by the heavens as the true descendants of the Eagle God had the right to rule over all others…

In the end, only one tribe would survive on those grasslands—and that last one… would be the ripe fruit for the Great Yan to pluck.

Yue Fuguang’s desire to eliminate these tribes stemmed from the fact that they would become the strongest participants in the three-century-long war, even lending half of their most elite cavalry to Beili when they invaded Great Yan.

Once they breached Great Yan’s borders, they committed atrocities—burning, looting, and slaughtering without restraint.

Thus, these grassland tribes were a fatal threat to Great Yan—they could not be allowed to remain.

Emperor Mingxi did not yet know of these future events, but with his keen strategic insight, it wasn’t hard for him to grasp the implications.

Moreover, it all clicked into place—as if he had unlocked a hidden skill. The spies embedded in the other five kingdoms needed to start moving.

Following Yue Fuguang’s advice, Emperor Mingxi selected over a hundred trusted individuals to establish a discreet workshop in a secluded location.

Though small in scale, this workshop of a hundred people ensured secrecy while still meeting market demand.

By keeping supply scarce—ensuring that demand always outstripped availability—the wealthy would spare no expense to acquire these luxuries, whether for prestige or other reasons. After all, the rich were the easiest to exploit.

Glass was a high-end luxury, one of Great Yan’s tools for amassing wealth. Yue Fuguang hadn’t even considered lowering its price.

The Crown Prince, having been bombarded with Yue Fuguang’s business strategies, found himself tasked with market manipulation—playing both seller and buyer, then reselling at inflated prices like some… scalper!

The term "scalper" was odd, but the method… the Crown Prince thought it worth a try.

"Master Tutor, we’ve followed the planting instructions on the list and sown all the seeds," Lord Wang greeted Yue Fuguang warmly as soon as she stepped into the backyard.

Yue Fuguang replied politely, "Thank you for your efforts, Lord Wang. Once the vegetables are ready, we’ll send you the first batch to taste."

With a wave of her hand, a maid stepped forward with a tray. Like the craftsmen and the Ministry of Works officials the day before, they were given silver.

For Lord Wang, however, she gifted two bars of differently scented soap—one suited for men, the other for women.

Lord Wang feigned reluctance for a moment before happily accepting. He had already heard that Lu Qi had received two bars of soap the day before, smooth as the finest mutton-fat jade.

At court that morning, Lu Qi had strutted past his colleagues repeatedly, eager to show off the faint scent of pine and cypress lingering on his gauze robes after washing them with the soap.

At the time, Lu Qi had resembled nothing so much as a preening peacock—impossible to ignore.

Lord Wang still remembered Minister Cao’s curious question: "Lord Lu, has Master Tutor’s sunlit greenhouse been completed?"

And how had Lu Qi responded? Oh, right—"Minister Cao, how did you know Master Tutor gifted me two bars of soap?"

Not content with just saying it, he shamelessly shoved his sleeve under the man’s nose. "Smell it—I washed these robes yesterday, and they’re still fragrant today!"

Tch! Well, Wang Shouchen had his own now. Tonight, he’d have his wife wash his court robes with the soap—they dried quickly, so he could wear them to court tomorrow.

Yue Fuguang, seemingly recalling the morning’s spectacle, added, "Lord Wang, these two bars of soap are rose-scented and pine-cypress-scented. They can be used not just for laundry, but also for bathing and cleansing the face."

So Lu Qi had been wasting it on clothes?

Wang Shouchen suddenly realized—if he never told Lu Qi the proper use, waiting until the man nearly ran out before revealing the truth…

Today was the grand occasion of Yue Fuguang’s official adoption and addition to the family registry. Emperor Mingxi had excused her from court for the day.

But that didn’t mean she got to sleep in.

Early in the morning, her aunt—soon to be addressed as "Mother"—Madam Zhang dragged her from her warm, cozy bed.

A swarm of maids descended upon her, dressing her in layer upon layer of exquisite robes—five in total—so that with every step, she resembled a slowly blooming lavender flower edged in gold.

Adorned with jewelry from head to toe, she might as well have been a walking ornament stand.

Thankfully, she was only eight and not eighteen, so her hair was styled in simple twin buns with only small gold and jade hairpins.

Had she been older, she’d have been weighed down with dangling hair ornaments and earrings.

Beautiful, yes—but terribly restrictive.

Due to her status, no one—from the emperor to the Yu family—had dared suggest hiring a governess to teach her etiquette, despite her manners being… less than refined.

This had kept Yue Fuguang in high spirits all week.

Accompanied by Madam Zhang to the matriarch’s courtyard, she found the three sons of the main branch already waiting.

Strictly speaking, this was their first meeting. When Yue Fuguang had been brought to the Yu residence over a month ago, the three had been away studying—gifts had arrived in their stead, but not the boys themselves.

"Eldest Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother." All three were strikingly handsome.

The eldest, Yu Qingyu, was the picture of a refined gentleman—gentle and composed like polished jade.

Yu Qingcheng and Yu Qingyou, the twin brothers, stood side by side like towering pines and slender bamboos—a feast for the eyes.

Though they shared the same face, it wasn’t hard to tell who was the elder and who was the younger.

"Fuguang." The three smiled warmly, already fond of the girl who would soon become their sister.

She had been pleasing to the eye from the first glance.

Especially when the delicate lotus mark on her forehead—almost divine—caught the light, shimmering faintly as if glowing.

To prevent them from startling at any sudden reactions to overhearing her thoughts, their father and grandfather had summoned the three brothers to the study the moment they returned home late that night.

Without even a chance to freshen up, they were subjected to what sounded like a ghost story—the fantastical "origins" of their soon-to-be sister, their cousin from the third branch.

Some people could hear her thoughts—and those of her supposed bonded artifact, the Worldbreaker Pearl.

Seventy ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‍or eighty individuals across the court and their own family were privy to these internal musings.

If their father and grandfather were so certain, then it had to be true.

Ever since the three brothers learned of the matter, they barely slept a wink all night.

Worried they might miss the moment, they rose before dawn and hurried to their grandmother's courtyard, waiting anxiously.

It felt as though they were standing trial, bracing for judgment.