Infinite Professions from a Pearl Collector

"That old eunuch was terrifying... He must hold a high rank in the palace. I wonder who he is." A girl from the Colorful Character Sect patted her chest, still shaken.

Another girl chimed in, "I know, right? The way he looked at us was like a viper. I felt a chill right down to my bones."

Wu Xiaorui said nothing, her brow furrowed as her mind replayed the scene that had just unfolded.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something strange about the way the old eunuch had looked at her.

It was as if he were looking at someone he knew.

’Was I just imagining it?’

’I’ve never seen him before. Why would he look at me like that?’

Wu Xiaorui couldn’t make sense of it. A person’s eyes could lie, but the emotion deep within them could not be faked.

After mulling it over for a long time and coming up with nothing, she decided to let it go. Her thoughts began to drift, and another figure surfaced in her mind.

The young man with the perpetually devil-may-care smile.

Chen Ye...

’I wonder where he’s off to now. With the Capital City in such chaos, is he even okay?’

’In this lifetime... perhaps we’ll never meet again.’

She let out a soft sigh, and the hand hidden in her sleeve unconsciously tightened its grip on a cold hairpin.

She had found it in a forgotten corner of the Cold Palace after her arrival and had ground it to a wicked point.

Her resolve was absolute. ’To hell with some damn Emperor. If he really dares to touch me, even if I can’t kill him, I’ll still put a few bloody holes in him!’

’The worst that could happen was death.’

’People of the Martial World die when they must. What is there to fear!’

「The next day, dawn broke bright and clear.」

After several days of silence, the morning court session convened once more.

Wang Yuanzhi, Cui Lang, and a crowd of other powerful court officials were already waiting outside Yangxin Hall, their expressions varied as they exchanged glances.

When Chen Ye, clad in the Dragon Robe, ascended the Danbi step by step and finally took his seat on the Throne, the entire hall fell silent.

Wang Yuanzhi’s and Cui Lang’s hearts both skipped a beat.

It was the same man.

And yet, his entire aura had transformed completely.

The Yang Zhao of the past had a clouded gaze, and his every move betrayed the unsteadiness and frenzy of a body ravaged by debauchery.

But the Yang Zhao on the Throne today sat as straight as a pine tree, his face as still as water. His eyes were as deep as an abyss, and as they calmly swept over the officials below, they carried a formidable authority that none dared to meet.

Wang Yuanzhi and Cui Lang exchanged a glance, each seeing the ill-concealed shock and apprehension on the other’s face.

The morning court proceeded as usual.

The Minister of War stepped forward, waxing eloquent about the war on the front lines. His speech was filled with platitudes like "our Soldiers are fighting with their lives" and "we have repeatedly blunted the enemy’s charge."

But every civil and military official present knew the truth as clear as day.

Under the iron hooves of the Grassland Wolf Riders, Great Zhao’s border defenses were in shambles, suffering one defeat after another. The so-called "repeatedly blunted the enemy’s charge" was just a euphemism for losing ten cities while luckily managing to defend one, a phrase used to paint a false picture of peace.

Chen Ye remained seated on the Throne, his face an emotionless mask, not uttering a single word.

He was observing the myriad expressions of the officials below, with Wang Yuanzhi and Cui Lang at the very front being his primary focus.

Chen Ye knew that these two men led the powerful factions in the Capital and were his greatest threat. Thus, a hint of sardonic amusement played in his eyes.

The long and tedious morning court finally came to a close. The officials bowed and took their leave.

However, Wang Yuanzhi and Cui Lang remained behind. They fell to their knees once more, crying out, "Long live the Emperor!"

"Your Majesty," Wang Yuanzhi said, kowtowing, "the winter solstice is in a few days. As per our ancestral traditions, a grand ceremony to worship Heaven must be held at the Celestial Altar to appease the heavens and pray for the peace and prosperity of our nation."

"In previous years, Your Majesty has been occupied with state affairs, so this duty has often fallen to your subjects. But this year, with the Grassland tribes raiding our borders and Refugees rising up everywhere, it is a clear warning from the heavens—a crisis for the state itself. I implore Your Majesty to personally travel to the Celestial Altar this year to preside over the grand ceremony. This will show your sincerity, reassure the people, and deter those with wicked intentions!"

Wang Yuanzhi’s plea was filled with sincere emotion and righteous conviction. He kowtowed deeply, perfectly concealing the chilling, murderous intent in the depths of his eyes.

He and Cui Lang had already finalized their plan.

The Imperial Palace was heavily guarded, making it difficult to strike. But once the Emperor was outside its walls, their opportunity would arise.

They had secretly gathered several hundred of their household Death Warriors, each an expert capable of fighting ten men. All they had to do was set an ambush along the route. Then, it wouldn’t matter that he was the Emperor; he would be utterly annihilated!

The only unknown was whether this drastically changed Emperor would be willing to leave the safety of his "turtle shell."

Wang Yuanzhi’s and Cui Lang’s hearts were in their throats as they awaited the final verdict.

Then, they heard the cold, majestic voice from upon the Throne.

"My two dear Ministers speak wisely."

"For this year’s winter solstice ceremony, I... will personally attend."

At these words, Wang Yuanzhi and Cui Lang were stunned for a moment, then inwardly erupted with a joy so great they could barely keep from laughing out loud.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The two men kowtowed once more and withdrew respectfully, completely oblivious to the murderous glint in Chen Ye’s eyes as he sat upon the Throne.

Of course, he knew exactly what those two old schemers were planning.

’Luring me into a trap?’

’What a coincidence. He had the same idea.’

The situation in the Capital City was a stalemate, like a lost game of chess. To break it, drastic measures were needed.

He didn’t have the time to waste in a slow war of attrition with these Noble Families. Since they had willingly handed him the knife, he might as well use this opportunity to fight a battle that would be swift and decisive.

Once he crushed the two biggest thorns, Wang and Cui, the remaining small fry would be much easier to handle.

For the next few days, Chen Ye practically lived in the Imperial Guard barracks.

He didn’t preach any grand principles. His method was simple: throw money around.

Silver was handed out like water, and wine and meat were supplied in abundance.

The Emperor himself came to reward the army.

This simple and blunt tactic was surprisingly effective.

The low and mid-ranking officers and Soldiers of the Imperial Guard were mostly commoners by birth and held a natural animosity toward the Noble Families. Seeing the Emperor show such consideration for his men, they were overcome with gratitude, and their loyalty skyrocketed.

While it was still unrealistic to expect this army to face the Grassland cavalry in open battle, they were more than sufficient for dealing with the powerful families within the city.

Late one night, Chen Ye summoned Tong Lei, Commander of the Imperial Guard, to a private tent. The two spoke by candlelight long into the night, plotting in secret.

Meanwhile, the Cui and Wang families were not idle. Retainers and Death Warriors within their estates were secretly mobilized. A great, invisible net was quietly being drawn.

「In the blink of an eye, the winter solstice arrived.」

Before dawn, fine snowflakes began to drift from the sky, blanketing the Imperial City in a layer of white, like a shroud for the cataclysmic change to come.

Chen Ye glanced at the almanac sent over by the Astronomical Bureau.

"Auspicious for: Rites, Travel, and Betrothals."

"Most Auspicious."

He smiled, casually tossing the almanac into a brazier and watching it burn to ash. Then, attended by a group of Palace Maids, he donned a black, fox-fur coat to ward off the cold and strode out of the palace gates.

The wind howled and the snow swirled, but the storm in his heart raged with a murderous intent even fiercer!

’Time to flip the table!’