Chapter 140: Good Sign

Fang Jie was startled when he got to Smooth Spring Garden. He never thought that he would be greeted by such a grand ceremony. His head felt dizzy, and he couldn’t even walk properly.

Since Fang Jie wasn’t from this world, it took him a while to get used to Great Sui that was established on imperialism.

His respect toward the Emperor was lower than everyone in Great Sui, but he suddenly felt like it wasn’t a bad thing to be a member of Great Sui.

After hearing that Fang Jie had arrived, the Emperor came out of his room and waited for him. This alone shocked every official.

Not many people in Great Sui could receive this treatment. When Great General Yu Manlou came back to the Capital after being stationed in the east, the Emperor came out of his palace to receive him. When Great General Luo Yao who was stationed in the south came to Capital to report to the Emperor, he received the same treatment.

Other than that, it seemed like no one else was able to receive this treatment in the last 11 years.

Therefore, Fang Jie was stunned and felt like he was living in a TV drama.

Perhaps he was the only person in the world who could feel this way.

“Greetings, Your Majesty!”

Seeing that Fang Jie was blanking out, Eunuch Wu Three reminded him quietly behind his back, and Fang Jie realized that he shouldn’t stand still and greeted the Emperor properly.

Wu Three smiled and seemed to be happy for Fang Jie. Of course, he was mostly happy for himself; he bet on the right person when he first tried to befriend someone from outside the Royal Palace. He befriended the second person who obtained all nine excellent ratings in the entrance exam of the Martial Arts Academy!

Other than being praised by the Emperor, having a powerful friend outside the Royal Palace was also able to make a eunuch overjoyed.

Wu Three was happy that he befriended Fang Jie before this. If he tried to befriend Fang Jie after this incident, it would appear somewhat meaningless.

The Emperor quickly walked forward and helped Fang Jie get up in front of all officials. He took a good look at Fang Jie and said with a smile, “I had said that you are one of the few most unique young men I’ve met in recent years. However, I never expected you to do this well!”

“Great!”

“Great!”

“Great!”

The Emperor repeated himself and added, “In the history of Great Sui, only Great General Li Xiao obtained nine excellent ratings when the Second Emperor was in power. Since he graduated from the Martial Arts Academy and joined the military, he never experienced defeat after hundreds of battles. The Second Emperor almost doubled the territory of Great Sui, and the entire Yangtze-South was conquered by Li Xiao! Now, I have my own Li Xiao! This is a good sign! A good sign!”

The Emperor seemed to be overjoyed, and he said ‘great’ three times and ‘good sign’ two times.

Everyone knew that Fang Jie only obtained excellent ratings in those five written tests since the Emperor rewarded him, so he was inferior compared to Li Xiao. However, Fang Jie contributed Pinyin Annotation and Basic Math Operations. These two things would affect Great Sui in the long run, and many students would benefit. The fundamental education level of Great Sui would rise!

Therefore, it seemed like the reward that Fang Jie received wasn’t too much.

Fang Jie obtained four excellent ratings in the four martial tests all by himself, so those people who wanted to laugh at him all had to shut their mouths. If they still laughed at Fang Jie, it would seem like they were jealous.

After the Emperor said that this was a good sign, many people thought about the comments that the Emperor made about Li Xiao and vaguely guessed something.

Everything that the Emperor said about Great General Li Xiao was true. Because of Li Xiao, Great Sui’s foundation became stable, and the territory of Great Sui expanded outward.

It seemed like Fang Jie was truly a good sign for the Emperor.

“Beloved officials, please take a good look.” The Emperor pulled Fang Jie’s hand and said while smiling, “This young man is the first who obtained nine excellent ratings in the entrance exam of the Martial Arts Academy. Remember his name and his face. Great Sui is prosperous and large, and I’m happy today because of Fang Jie!”

Fang Jie who was in a daze didn’t forget to respond to the Emperor’s speech.

He straightened his body and did a perfect military salute while saying, “I’m honored to be a member of Great Sui!”

“Nice!” The Emperor couldn’t hold back and said with excitement, “If all members of Great Sui are like Fang Jie, who in the world would dare to block Great Sui? Who would dare not to bow down to me?!”

Everyone was stunned by what was being said.

However, praises and cheers resonated in the area.

Standing beside the Emperor, Fang Jie felt what the Emperor was feeling. He suddenly felt like rulers should enjoy this type of praises. Of course, rulers had to have the strength and capabilities to be praised by others first.

Fang Jie knew that the Emperor couldn’t wait any longer.

…

“His Majesty lost his composure a little today.”

Dugu Yin, the Head of the Ministry of Justice, lowered his head and whispered to Pei Yan, the Deputy of the Chancellery.

He had never seen the Emperor show so much emotion. Since the Emperor came into power, he was always calm like water. The Emperor never smiled from ear to ear or cursed in anger. Even when the big Yangtze-Metro Qiu Family Rebellion Case occurred, the Emperor didn’t show anything on his face.

When the memorial to the throne reporting the Qiu Family’s crime got presented to the Emperor, the Emperor only said that people shouldn’t doubt merited officials without evidence.

When the elite soldiers wiped out the Qiu Family, the Emperor only said that those who should be investigated should be investigated, and those who should be killed should be killed.

Today, the Emperor indeed seemed to have lost his composure.

Fang Jie’s results were worth celebrating. After all, such people only come by once every 100 years. What made the Emperor truly joyous was the good sign that Fang Jie represented.

The First Emperor established Great Sui, and the Second Emperor greatly expanded the territory. There was no doubt that the Second Emperor turned Great Sui into the most powerful nation in the region, and no one after him was ever able to surpass his achievements.

Pei Yan smiled and replied in a low voice, “His Majesty is only overjoyed, which is rare; this doesn’t count as him losing composure. Too bad that Fang Jie isn’t from my family.”

“You sound so jealous.” Dugu Yin smiled and said, “You are still not satisfied with your son getting seven excellent ratings in the entrance exam? If I were you, I would be laughing in my sleep. Although it isn’t as good as Fang Jie’s results, your son is a rare talent.”

“Only seven and not nine; is it worthy of celebrating at this moment?” Pei Yan shook his head and said helplessly while looking at the confused young man who was being pulled forward by the Emperor, “Thousands of members of big families can’t do better than someone from a poor background.”

“Li Xiao was once from a poor background as well,” Dugu Yin said with a smile.

This sentence contained two meanings, and Pei Yan understood them. He nodded and replied, “The good thing about being from a poor background is that when the Emperor needs to make an example, he wouldn’t pick from the members of big families. The bad thing is that soon, he will no longer be from a poor background.”

Dugu Yin nodded and said, “Now that His Majesty propped up Fang Jie, I wonder if those who want to kill him in the dark still dare to do it.”

“Only idiots would dare to do it,” Pei Yan said, “How many people were upset by Li Xiao’s nine excellent ratings? How many people did the Second Emperor kill to make Li Xiao into a good example? How many people were angered by Senior Huai when he was coming up? And how many people died because of it? Now, His Majesty is trying to make an example, and let’s see who are dumb enough to jump out. Some people are arrogant and think that they could change everything. Lessons could only be learned after suffering.”

“It seems like the rumor about an upcoming war is real,” Dugu Yin sighed, “His Majesty no longer wants to hide it by doing this.”

He changed the topic and stopped talking about Fang Jie.

“It is a good sign…” Pei Yan smiled and looked at Fang Jie; there was no hostility but also no appreciation.

When Dugu Yin turned around, he didn’t let Pei Yan see the disappointment and anger in his eyes.

When Dugu Yin turned around, Pei Yan glanced at him coldly.

This conversation seemed simple, but how could anything be simple on their level?

One person wanted to instigate the displeasure and anger in another’s mind, but the latter called the former names implicitly. However, both were a little frustrated.

…

After the Emperor walked into his room in Smooth Spring Garden with Fang Jie, the big figures outside started to leave. The short and passionate ceremony ended, and everyone felt uneasy. They left in groups of twos and threes, and they were all chatting about one thing – war.

It was clear that the Emperor wanted to wage a war. The big figures here today weren’t idiots; they were all great at observing and calculating.

Now, they finally understood why Hou Junci, the former Deputy of the Ministry of War, and Yu Donglai, the former Head of the Ministry of War, got kicked, and why the Two Liangs were promoted after being locked up for close to 12 years.

Aside from being against the war, Yu Donglai and Hou Junci couldn’t be compared to Mou Liangbi and Zong Lianghu in terms of talent.

However, many people didn’t know that the Emperor had been moving soldiers long ago, and they couldn’t imagine that the Emperor had asked Wu Yidao to transport food and weapons to the northwest through the Worldwide Trading Company.

Also, no one noticed that Yang Kai, King of Xu State, was missing in this ceremony.

In the crowd, Huai Qiugong and Yang Yin, Royal King Yi, looked at each other.

Royal King Yi smiled and said, “His Majesty is right; this is a good sign.”

“It is a good sign to His Majesty…” Huai Qiugong said with a smile, “But I’m not sure if it is for that young man.”

“As long as it is a good sign for His Majesty. Would it matter if it isn’t a good sign for him?” Royal King Yi asked.

Huai Qiugong shook his head and slowly walked toward the gate in silence.

Principal Zhou of the Martial Arts Academy followed the Emperor into the room, and he looked toward that young man with slight anticipation for some reason.

The Two Seniors reacted differently to this situation.