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

The next morning, Lin Yanzhou was still exhausted from the night's three-way battle when his phone vibrated beside his pillow. It was a WeChat message from Lin Xiaoya; the screen lit up with a white light in the darkness, illuminating a corner of the bed.

He opened his eyes, reached for his phone, and glanced at the time on the screen—it was already evening in modern times. He slowly sat up. Xiaolan and Xiaoyu sensed the movement and slightly raised their heads from their light sleep, quietly watching him without making a sound. Last night, they had admired the man's abilities from another perspective and dared not ask.

Lin Yanzhou turned on his phone screen and saw several messages stacked up, all from Lin Xiaoya. The most recent one was from two minutes ago: "Your ex-wife came to my house and made a scene at the door, demanding that you come out to confront her about the marital property. I didn't open the door, and she cursed in the hallway for almost an hour; the neighbors could all hear it. She said she was going to sue you, claiming you transferred marital property. She also called me a homewrecker. I can't even bring myself to say anything nasty, but she just went all out. Xiaozhou just woke up and asked if there was a fight going on. I told her it was nothing and told her to go back to sleep."

The previous sentence was: "Why can't I get through to your phone? I can't take it anymore." The sentence before that was: "Your ex-wife is causing trouble, saying that you don't show up and she comes to make trouble every day."

Lin Yanzhou held his phone, the screen's light reflecting off his profile, making him stand out sharply in the dimly lit room. He glanced back at the couch, where two figures were quietly sitting up, shoulder to shoulder, tucking the blankets around them. The warmth of the hot tea and osmanthus cake, along with the scent of soap and the warmth of the lamp, had not yet dissipated.

He let out a soft breath, his finger paused on the screen for a moment, and then replied briefly: "I'm coming back. Don't open the door, don't worry about anything, just wait for me."

Then he stood up, put his phone back in the compartment, and put on his coat. He hugged the two women briefly. "I'm going into seclusion for a while. You two will inform the Emperor later. The duration... will be about three or four months. While I'm gone, remind the Emperor and Princess to keep a close eye on the movements on other borders, and also to expedite agricultural development. When I emerge from seclusion, I will bring some things from the Celestial Realm with you all."

"Also, I will return if anything happens, so Your Majesty need not worry. Please wait for me. You two may go now; I need to prepare for seclusion."

Lin Xiaolan had already gently opened the door a crack. Without asking any questions, she simply stood by the door, her head slightly bowed, like a tree seeing someone off on a journey in the night wind. Lin Xiaoyu stood on the edge of the bed, her clothes gathered around her neck, her voice low and clear: "Grand Preceptor, be careful on your journey."

He nodded, saying nothing more, thinking: "I'd better be careful on the road; I can return to the modern world with a single thought. But those two little girls behaved quite well last night; I'll deal with you two when I get back."

Lin Yanzhou knew that he had already developed the necessary presence in Xuan Shuo. Although he had given most of the money to Xiaoya in the modern world, with Xuan Shuo as an inexhaustible source of wealth, becoming the world's richest man was not impossible. The timid and submissive Lin Yanzhou should start doing what he wanted to do.

He could guess pretty much what was going on at Lin Xiaoya's house these past few days without even seeing it. He knew best what kind of person the woman he'd shared a bed with for eight years was. Xiaoya, Xiaozhou, I'll back you up, I'm coming.

The moment the spacetime rift closed, the familiar smell of the rented room filled his nostrils—the dampness of the old wooden furniture mixed with the street barbecue aroma seeping in through the window cracks. Lin Yanzhou stood in the living room of his old house; his phone's signal bars were full again, and the time on the screen showed just past nine o'clock in the evening. He took out the business card from his pocket and made a call.

Half an hour later, a driver delivered a file folder. Without changing his clothes, he picked up the folder, pushed open the door, and left. Half of the motion-activated lights in the old stairwell were broken, and his footsteps echoed in the empty stairwell as he descended from the fourth floor. Stepping out of the building, the night wind hit him, carrying the chill of late autumn. He grabbed a shared bicycle from the roadside and parked it fifteen minutes later in front of Lin Xiaoya's building.

The motion-activated lights in the hallway were on. He pressed the elevator button for the sixteenth floor, watching the numbers jump up one by one, when his phone vibrated again in his pocket.

The elevator doors opened. The corridor was quiet. He walked to the door of 1601 and pressed the doorbell. The door opened almost immediately.

Lin Xiaoya stood inside the doorway, still wearing her daytime clothes, her hair casually tucked behind her ears, a faint weariness under her eyes. The moment she saw Lin Yanzhou standing in the doorway, it was as if a string that had been stretched for a long time had finally snapped. Her eyes reddened, and before she could speak, she took a step forward, slipped her hands through his arms, rested her forehead against his shoulder, and tightened her grip on his arms.

Her embrace was stronger than usual, as if she were taking in all the shouts and curses that had been kept outside during the day, the peeking eyes of the neighbors, and Xiao Zhou's question, "Are people arguing?" She held onto the fabric of his shirt for a while before slowly loosening her grip, but not completely letting go.

Lin Yanzhou stood at the door, put one arm around her back, and patted her gently twice: "I'm here, it's alright."

She buried her face in his shoulder for about ten seconds, then stepped back half a step, sniffed, and said in a very faint nasal tone, "You're finally back."

"I'm here, everything's fine." Lin Yanzhou stepped inside, changed his shoes, and asked, "Where is she?"

"She left. She made a scene for over an hour. The neighbor came out to check twice, but then she got bored and said, 'I'll come again tomorrow,' and left." Lin Xiaoya walked into the living room, her voice a little calmer than before. "Xiaozhou is asleep, so I told her not to come out."

Lin Yanzhou sat down on the sofa, reached for the manila envelope, which contained a complete set of photocopies of the transaction: the contract, tax filings, bank statements, and an acquisition confirmation letter personally signed by Hu Dahai. Each document was stamped and neatly bound. A note was tucked at the top of the envelope, its handwriting bold and forceful: "Young man, everything's ready."

This was sent by Hu Dahai after he contacted him before leaving home. He explained that his ex-wife was causing trouble and might bring people over the next day. Hu Dahai didn't ask any further questions, only saying, "I had someone send some things over; please accept them."

Lin Yanzhou closed the file folder and placed it in the center of the coffee table. He sat on the sofa and closed his eyes for a moment. In that instant, images flashed through his mind: the secret room of Hu Dahai's Qingzhuan Clubhouse, the nine million yuan transfer, and the expression on the face of the middle-aged man in the gray short jacket as he sized him up at the door. The transaction had all gone through proper registration channels, was tax-clean, and the source was stated as "sale of ancestral antiques." The contract, invoice, and registration number were all complete, making it legally sound.

But Qin Li didn't want the law; she just wanted to cause trouble. The bigger the commotion, the more she felt she had a chance to get something. Lin Yanzhou felt he needed to make some other preparations, so he picked up his phone and sent Hu Dahai two WeChat messages: "After I finish dealing with this, I have a batch of antiques to sell. I might need your help tomorrow. My address is..."