Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

When the carriage arrived in the capital, it was just past noon.

The city gates were wide open, lined with imperial guards on both sides, their armor gleaming, their swords hanging neatly at their waists. There were no civilians gathered at the city gates; this was Zhao Yan's special instruction, saying that the gentleman's return was not a triumphant one, but a homecoming, and there was no need for a grand procession to disturb the people.

But everyone in the Imperial Guard stood even straighter than usual. Lin Yanzhou looked out of the carriage window and saw the young man standing inside the doorway. He was dressed in a black casual robe with a simple leather belt around his waist. He was not wearing a crown and stood where the sunlight and shadow met, like a newly grown sapling.

The carriage came to a stop at the city gate, and Zhao Yan stepped aboard. He stood in front of the carriage door and, without waiting for the guards to lift the curtain, reached out and pulled it open himself.

"gentlemen."

Just two words, but Lin Yanzhou noticed that his voice had gained a layer of depth compared to three months ago, as if his voice change period was finally coming to an end. The childishness in his voice had completely faded away, replaced by a calm and bright quality that only a young man would have when he was growing into a man.

Lin Yanzhou got out of the car. Zhao Yan stood still, but his eyes were slightly red, shining for a moment in the sunlight before being suppressed. Without waiting for anyone, he took two steps forward, straightened his sleeves, and then bowed deeply.

"Sir, please accept my bow."

When he bent down, his waist was very low, his hands were folded in front of him, and his forehead was almost level with the back of his hands. This bow was solemn and thorough, without the slightest perfunctoriness, as if he had gathered all the fear and anxiety of the past three months, and the loneliness of guarding the empty Zichen Palace alone when 300,000 troops were pressing in, into this bow.

Lin Yanzhou neither stepped aside nor offered a hand to help him up. He stood there accepting the bow, then patted Zhao Yan on the shoulder: "Get up, the border crisis is resolved."

Zhao Yan straightened up, sniffed, and his voice regained its clarity: "Sir, you single-handedly repelled 300,000 enemy troops without shedding a drop of blood or losing a single soldier. When I received the battle report in the capital, I stood silently in the Zichen Hall for a full hour. Zhou Chongyuan's letter said that you used only a beam of light and a few words to make the 300,000 Northern Di troops retreat completely within three days. I read it three times, and it still seems unreal. You truly possess the magic of an immortal; what a blessing for me, and for the people of Xuan Shuo!"

"Hehe, that light was some kind of magical magic," Lin Yanzhou chuckled. "That's what it said on the letter."

"The letter also said that the Master taught the people outside Jizhou City to build reservoirs and dig canals, saying that they would no longer have to worry about droughts. The people of Jizhou spontaneously erected a monument and sent it to the capital by fast horse. The monument on the reservoir reads, 'The Imperial Preceptor stayed in Jizhou for five days, teaching the people to build reservoirs and dig canals, so that they would have no worries about droughts or floods, and that this would be remembered for generations.'" Zhao Yan's voice trembled slightly, a tremor he himself was unaware of. "When the Master left the capital, I thought he was only going to resolve the crisis on the border, but he also took the opportunity to solve the people's safety and basic needs."

Zhao Lingxi stood behind Lin Yanzhou without saying a word until now, when she softly added, "I've said it before, he alone is worth a million soldiers." Unconsciously, Zhao Lingxi stopped addressing him as "sir" and started using the ambiguous term "him."

Zhao Yan glanced at his sister, then turned back to Lin Yanzhou, finally letting go of the things he had been suppressing for so long and speaking in his usual tone: "The matter in the capital is settled. Zhou Yan and Shen Qing, with the teacher's list, one checking the account books and the other checking the prison cells, apprehended them all within three days. Everything in Zhang Lin's residence has been confiscated, the storerooms have been sealed, and the account books have been inventoried and cataloged."

He paused, then solemnly said, "I have decided to bestow all the confiscated items from Zhang Lin's residence upon you, sir. I have already placed all the gold, silver, valuables, antiques, paintings, and land deeds of the Grand Tutor's residence under the Grand Preceptor's name, awaiting your return and signature."

Lin Yanzhou's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. This young emperor was indeed skilled in managing people; he was truly remarkable and should not be underestimated in the future. On the surface, he merely shook his head slightly: "Your Majesty, these things cannot be mine."

Zhao Yan was taken aback: "Sir—"

"The arrival of 300,000 troops was a result of His Majesty and the combined fortunes of Xuan Shuo. I merely used some minor tactics, nothing to boast about. The confiscation of property and the purge of the party were carried out by Zhou Yan and Shen Qing. The cleanup was also handled by loyal ministers." Lin Yanzhou looked at him. "I couldn't have handled all of this by myself."

Zhao Yan was about to say something when Lin Yanzhou raised his hand to stop him: "I'll only take three things. First, the ancient porcelain in the secret room of the study—I'll need it. Second, the several paintings and calligraphies from the previous dynasty—also useful. Third, those two boxes of gold and silver ingots—I'll keep them for future use in purchasing goods and advanced technology for me and the Immortal Realm. The rest—our dynasty currently prioritizes agriculture, so it will all go into the national treasury, be registered, and used for building reservoirs and canals in other regions, and to subsidize agriculture and sericulture in various places."

"But sir—"

"Your Majesty," Lin Yanzhou looked into his eyes, "we still have important things to do. Although Zhang Lin has fallen, the court's deep-seated problems remain, the national treasury is empty, and the borders are unstable. These resources, if left in the national treasury, can be used for infrastructure development, road construction, military support, and disaster relief. Besides, I'm not interested in money." As he said this, Lin Yanzhou thought of Jack Ma, the revolutionary figure who changed modern life, and the meme-worthy expression on the host Xiao Sa's face when Ma said this in an interview. His lips unconsciously curled into a slight smile.

Zhao Yan looked at him, his lips moved, but he ultimately did not refute. He remained silent for a moment, then turned to the eunuch behind him and said, "Issue the decree: all items confiscated from the Grand Tutor's residence, except for the three items designated by the Grand Preceptor, shall be deposited into the national treasury and prioritized for allocation to water conservancy projects and agricultural relief in various regions. Zhou Yan drafts the decree, Shen Qing verifies it, and it must be completed today."

The eunuch accepted the order and left.

Zhao Yan turned back to look at Lin Yanzhou, the undisguised admiration of a young man resurfacing in his eyes. He thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Sir, you just said 'there are still important things to do'—what are they?"

Lin Yanzhou glanced at the soaring eaves of the Zichen Palace behind him, sunlight falling on the bronze bells at the corners of the eaves, refracting into shimmering golden light: "Your Majesty, the filth in the court has been cleansed; now it's time for something new to grow. Don't you want to become powerful and unify the world?"

In a higher-dimensional space, two strangely shaped objects communicate with each other through consciousness:

"This low-level human, Lin Yanzhou, is more to my liking than the last one, so I can reward him with more skills."

"Don't rush, let's observe his inflated ego before making a decision. We can't waste my time like that low-level human named Wang Mang did last time. I want to get back to our headquarters as soon as possible; I don't want to stay in this boring surveillance system anymore."

"It doesn't really matter. We can just delete their memories again. We've already deleted them a few times, haven't we? But we can't have any remnants like they did in 2022. Is your system stable now?"

"Screw you, my system is fine, it was an accident... If it doesn't work, we can restart the dungeon. Anyway, I'm going to rest."