The two were chatting happily when a faint voice sounded in their ears: “Well, well, Lord Bennett, you’ve got the Prime Minister of Eastern Qi wrapped around your finger. Watch me expose you and make you pay.”

The two were stunned, instantly filled with murderous intent, and slowly turned their heads to look at the speaker...

Volume One: Grass on the Plain

Chapter Twelve: The Mountain Rain Approaches, the Wind Fills the Tower; Black Clouds Press Down on the City, the City Is About to Collapse

Ryan Carter saw who it was and let out a long breath. “Mr. Cooper, you’re not done yet?”

The plainly dressed Cooper nodded. “I was just about to pay Your Highness a visit.” With that, he sat on the carriage shaft, closed his eyes, and rested.

It was as if that heart-piercing remark had never been uttered.

Onlookers simply thought the autumn wind guest was going to freeload at the young prince’s residence again, and all cast sympathetic glances at Ryan Carter.

...

Half an hour later, inside the prince’s residence.

On the table were some small dishes: fennel beans, braised beef, boiled peanuts, and marinated duck tongues. Ryan Carter poured wine for Mr. Cooper, then sat upright, quietly watching him. The powder on his face was gone, and he had changed into casual clothes. He looked refreshed and spirited, no longer the bloated and muddled figure from before.

Mr. Cooper also smiled at Ryan Carter, his gaze clear, with no trace of drunkenness.

The two stared at each other for a long time, their expressions growing increasingly strange, until finally they burst out laughing together, shaking the house with their laughter, gasping for breath.

Amid the laughter, Eagle Carter couldn’t help but ask, “Your Highness, what’s so funny?”

Ryan Carter calmed himself a bit and rasped, “I’m laughing at the ridiculous people.”

Eagle Carter then turned to Cooper and asked, “And what makes you laugh, sir?”

Cooper forced himself to stop laughing, panting, “I’m laughing at the ridiculous situation!” He braced himself on the small table, leaned forward, stared into Ryan Carter’s eyes, and said word by word, “Your Highness is about to face great disaster—pretending to be foolish won’t save you!”

Ryan Carter curled his lips, picked up his wine cup and took a small sip, sneering, “Aren’t you the same, sir? That old Shangguan has murderous intent. You’d better pick a good day to leave the capital!”

Eagle Carter asked curiously, “What day would that be?” Cooper was also intrigued.

“Your death day.” Ryan Carter picked up a fennel bean and savored it.

Cooper slumped back, giving a bitter laugh. “Indeed, the day I leave the capital will be the day I lose my life!”

The room fell silent again, with only the sound of Ryan Carter chewing fennel beans.

Waves surged in Cooper’s heart. He had completed his studies and come down from the mountains in his early twenties, arriving in Eastern Qi. Naturally, he was determined to make a name for himself: to support a great cause and be remembered in history, or at the very least, to attain high office, wealth, and honor for his family. With his abilities, the latter shouldn’t have been hard. Who would have thought that after coming to the capital, he’d end up in such a predicament...

Qi revered the ancient ways and admired the style of Wei and Jin, abolishing the imperial examination system that had been in place since Sui and Tang, and returning to the nine-rank system for selecting officials. As a result, the great clans monopolized the government, holding almost all important positions, leaving only trivial, low-promotion posts to the so-called “common clans.” Cooper, a man from the countryside, was as common as common could be, and with no martial skills, he couldn’t, like other commoners, join the military and rise through the ranks. So he ran around seeking opportunities, but was never employed, and finally, forced by circumstances, became a guest scholar at the prime minister’s residence. More than ten years passed in obscurity. Fond of good food and with considerable expenses, he freeloaded many meals, earning himself the reputation of a “guest of the autumn wind.”

If he had just kept freeloading, his life wouldn’t have been in danger—after all, Qi’s nobles prided themselves on supporting retainers. But Cooper had a bit of an honest streak. Feeling guilty toward his host, he spent five years and countless effort visiting villages, consulting records, and wrote the “Qi State Reform Proposals,” which he presented to the prime minister—thus bringing disaster upon himself.

Prime Minister Shangguan read the “Proposals,” which directly addressed Qi’s current problems. If fully implemented, they would surely rejuvenate Qi and make it the most promising contender to unify the land. The old fox also knew that such reforms would threaten many vested interests and provoke fierce backlash. With the Shangguan family’s century-old prestige and his own power, he wasn’t afraid, but if he led the reforms himself, he couldn’t protect his family’s interests too much, which would affect his own reputation.

So he needed a puppet to take the hits, allowing himself to advance or retreat as needed. At the critical moment, the prime minister could still step in as the hero who saves the day. He thought the author of the “Proposals,” Cooper, was the best candidate, so he tempted Cooper with high office. In the prime minister’s mind, someone who hadn’t held office in over a decade must be desperate; even knowing there was poison in the honey, he’d swallow it without hesitation.

But Cooper was not a normal man. Angered by the prime minister’s ruthlessness, and as a meticulous strategist, he had already broken the reforms in the “Proposals” into several stages to keep the backlash within what the prime minister could handle. Who knew the old fox wanted the meat without the blood—unwilling to take even the slightest risk, he wanted to shift it all onto Cooper!

For the prime minister, it was just a minor bump in the road, but for a commoner, it was enough to drown him eight times over. Office is good, but you need to live to enjoy it! He hadn’t even married yet.

Today, he had completely fallen out with the prime minister. If he were in the prime minister’s shoes, he wouldn’t let someone who knew all the secrets of domestic and foreign affairs—let alone the architect of the next policy blueprint—slip out of his control.