Douluo Continent: Copying Ya Li, the Carefree King of the Sun and Moon

Dozens of rare and precious materials, large and small, were all packed in jade boxes and neatly arranged on the shelves in the secret room, which made people feel at ease.

Xu Yanli dusted off his hands, turned around and walked out of the secret room, locked the door, and casually put the key into his storage soul tool.

"Your Highness."

As soon as he stepped out of the study, Luo Xu stood guard at the door and whispered, "The Crown Prince's residence has sent someone, saying that His Highness the Crown Prince requests your presence."

Xu Yanli casually agreed, went back to his room to change into some casual clothes, and went straight out of the palace gate.

The Crown Prince's residence is not far away; it only takes about fifteen minutes to walk there at a leisurely pace.

The guards at the gate immediately bowed and saluted when they saw him, skipping the need to announce his arrival and simply stepping aside to make way for him.

Xu Yanli walked through the front yard, bypassed the main hall, and headed straight for the Crown Prince's study, familiar with the route.

When he pushed the door open, Xu Tianran was sitting behind his desk, holding a memorial in his hand, his brows furrowed.

Hearing the door open, Xu Tianran looked up and saw Xu Yanli, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"You're here, have a seat."

Xu Yanli didn't stand on ceremony and sat down directly opposite him, picking up the teapot on the table and pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Brother, is there something you need?"

Xu Tianran put down the memorial, leaned back in his chair, and stared at him for a long time.

"Father already knows what you did in Xingluo City."

Xu Yanli picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said in a very calm tone, "So what if you know?"

“He was very unhappy,” Xu Tianran continued. “You took off your mask in front of 100,000 people, which is tantamount to making it public that you are Xu Wangshu’s son. The Emperor thinks that you are deliberately trying to curry favor with the Xingluo Empire.”

Xu Yanli put down his teacup and couldn't help but scoff, "Trying to be friendly? I rubbed Shrek's face into the ground, and you call that being friendly?"

“He knows you’re not trying to make amends.” Xu Tianran paused, his tone becoming more serious, “But he’s still unhappy.”

The two brothers exchanged a glance, and neither of them spoke again. The study fell silent instantly.

After a moment, Xu Tianran suddenly spoke, his voice very low: "Yan Li, how much longer do you think Father can hold on?"

Xu Yanli paused slightly in the teacup, then looked up at him: "What do you mean by that?"

Xu Tianran didn't answer directly. Instead, he reached into the desk drawer, took out a secret report, and pushed it in front of him.

Xu Yanli picked up the secret report and glanced at it quickly, his pupils involuntarily contracting slightly.

The secret reports contained the emperor's medical records, written monthly from the beginning of the year until now, with everything meticulously documented.

The emperor's pulse, which was initially steady, gradually became weak and unstable, and in the last two months it has become completely disordered, with each pulse clearly documented.

“He was poisoned.” Xu Tianran said calmly, as if he were just saying the weather was nice. “It’s a slow-acting poison. Someone started poisoning him at the beginning of the year. The person who poisoned him was extremely discreet, and the dosage was precisely controlled. The people at the Imperial Hospital haven’t noticed anything unusual yet.”

Xu Yanli put down the secret report, looked directly at Xu Tianran, and asked bluntly, "Did you do this?"

Xu Tianran neither admitted nor denied it, but just looked at him quietly, his eyes swirling with indescribable emotions.

"Yan Li, do you know why I've been hesitant to make a move?"

Xu Yanli remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

“I’m waiting.” Xu Tianran leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest. “I’m waiting for the most opportune moment, and also for someone who can help me.”

He stared intently into Xu Yanli's eyes and said, word by word, "Now, the time has come, and you're back."

Xu Yanli remained silent for a long time.

He had no feelings for that so-called father emperor, and even hating him seemed superfluous.

And he wasn't even his own father to begin with.

Even so, patricide is never a respectable act, no matter the circumstances.

"What do you want me to do?" he finally asked.

Xu Tianran stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to him.

"Father's health can only hold out for a few more years at most. In the next few years, I will continue to administer the medicine, at a moderate pace so as not to arouse suspicion. Once he completely collapses, you will become the regent."

He turned around and looked at Xu Yanli: "Today, half of the political affairs of the Sun Moon Empire are controlled by your people. Once you become the regent, the remaining power will gradually fall into your hands."

"And what about you?" Xu Yanli frowned. "What are you planning to do?"

Xu Tianran smiled, a smile that looked gentle, like a spring breeze in March, but the chill in his eyes could not be hidden.

"Me? I'll still be the Crown Prince. Once you've cleared out all those troublesome forces in the court, I'll rightfully ascend the throne and become the Emperor."

Xu Yanli stared at him for a while, then suddenly laughed: "Brother, aren't you afraid that if I become regent and hold power in my hands, I won't give it back to you?"

Xu Tianran laughed even more frankly: "If you have the ability to take it, then that's your ability." He paused, and his tone suddenly softened, "Anyway, I don't necessarily have to be the emperor."

Xu Yanli was stunned. These words, coming from Xu Tianran's mouth, just didn't sound right.

"Brother, are you alright?"

Xu Tianran waved his hand, telling him not to overthink it: "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, let's get down to business."

He took out a map, spread it out on the table, and said, "Regarding the compulsory education you mentioned in your previous letter, I've had someone look into it. Where do you think would be a suitable place to start with a pilot program?"

Xu Yanli looked down at the map, thought for a moment, and then pointed to a small town near Mingdu.

"Let's start from here."

"A new city?" Xu Tianran raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled. "Why did you choose such a place?"

“The new city is small, with a small population, and it’s close to Mingdu, so if any problems arise, it’ll be easier to handle them in time,” Xu Yanli explained. “Besides, the local officials in the new city are Xiao Dingtian’s men, so they’re easy to work with and reliable.”

Xu Tianran nodded and picked up a pen to make a mark on the map.

“Compulsory education, from age six to twelve, a total of six years, no tuition fees, and a lunch is provided.” He looked at the plan proposed by Xu Yanli and couldn’t help but frown. “This is quite an expense.”

“So we can’t roll it out all at once,” Xu Yanli replied. “We’ll start with a pilot program in the new city to see the results, and then gradually expand it to other areas. Once the first batch of students graduate and we see real results, those local officials who were originally just observing will naturally come to us.”

Chapter 142 Policy Setting

"What about the textbooks? Who will be responsible for compiling them?" Xu Tianran asked again.

Xu Yanli had already arranged this matter. He immediately took out a stack of manuscript paper from his storage soul tool and handed it over: "I have already had it compiled. There are four subjects in total: literacy, arithmetic, history and geography, and the basics of martial soul. It is enough for the children to study for six years."

Xu Tianran took the manuscript and flipped through the pages one by one. The more he read, the more his brows furrowed. Pointing to a page containing history and geography, he asked, "Why is our Sun Moon Empire described as the legitimate dynasty here?"

“It’s the orthodox one from the start,” Xu Yanli said confidently. “History is written by the victors.”

Xu Tianran glanced at him, said nothing more, and continued flipping through the pages.

Turning to the last page, he closed the manuscript and placed it on the table, instructing, "Keep a close eye on the textbooks yourself, and don't let your subordinates smuggle in their own ideas."

Xu Yanli nodded.

"And then there's the imperial examination system," Xu Tianran brought up the matter again. "I had the court officials discuss your proposed plan, and the resistance is enormous."

“I thought of that long ago.” Xu Yanli picked up his teacup and took a slow sip. “Those powerful families have controlled the selection of officials in the court for thousands of years. Now, if we suddenly tell them that the selection of officials will no longer be based on family background, but only on exam scores, it would be strange if they didn’t jump up and oppose it.”

"So how do you plan to deal with this?"

"Take your time, no rush." ​​Xu Yanli put down his teacup and said calmly, "Let's start with lower-ranking officials. All the minor officials below the county magistrate will be selected from scholars through the imperial examinations. Once these people have achieved political success and established themselves in the court, even if those powerful families want to oppose us, it will be too late. At worst, we'll just kill them!"

Xu Tianran thought about it for a while and felt that the method was feasible, so he nodded.

"So, where should we locate the university we're going to build?"

Xu Yanli stood up, walked to the map of Mingdu hanging on the wall, and pointed to a vacant lot in the east of the city: "Build it here."

“East of the city?” Xu Tianran frowned. “That area is a working-class district. The land prices are cheap, but the environment is really not good.”

“It must be built in a civilian area.” Xu Yanli turned around and looked at him seriously. “Why has Shrek Academy always been so high and mighty? It’s because it’s built on Seagod Island, on the Golden Tree. Ordinary people don’t even have the right to get close to it. The academy I want to build must be located in a place that ordinary people can walk to.”

He walked back to his seat and sat down, his tone calm but firm: "I want to ensure that children from ordinary backgrounds can enter the best universities and receive the best education without having to go bankrupt or sell their land and cattle."

Xu Tianran stared at him for a while, then suddenly laughed: "If those powerful families knew about your idea, they would be furious."

"Let them jump then." Xu Yanli said nonchalantly, "The higher they jump now, the harder they'll fall later."

Xu Tianran shook his head and didn't try to persuade him any further.

The two brothers got together again and discussed the details of various matters in detail, finalizing the time, location, funding sources, examination subjects, procedures, and admission ratios for the pilot program of compulsory education, as well as the location, scale, and teacher arrangements of the schools.

By the time everything was settled, it was completely dark outside the window.

Xu Yanli stood up and stretched his stiff neck: "Brother, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

Xu Tianran nodded, then suddenly remembered something and quickly called out to him, "Wait, there's something else I forgot to tell you."

Xu Yanli stopped and turned to look at him.

"The second and fourth brothers are gone."

Xu Yanli was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered and nodded slightly without asking any further questions.

"And another thing," Xu Tianran looked at him, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, "now, the only princes left alive are the two of us."

He paused, then slowly said, "Yan Li, tell me, isn't this fate?"

Xu Yanli stood at the door of the study, the cool moonlight shining in from outside, coating half of his body with a layer of silvery white.

He looked at Xu Tianran behind the desk, remained silent for a moment, and then smiled softly: "Perhaps."

After saying that, he pushed open the door and walked straight out.

Behind him, the study door slowly closed.

Xu Tianran remained seated behind his desk, watching the figure disappear into the moonlight, the smile on his lips slowly fading.

He looked down at the map on the table, at the empty space circled in the east of the city, at the markings on the new city map, and remained silent for a long time.

"Compulsory education, imperial examinations, academies..."

He murmured those words softly, then suddenly chuckled, his tone full of emotion: "Little Jiu, Little Jiu, where did all these strange and shocking things in your head come from?"

The study was silent; no one answered him.

Only the crackling of the burning candle, mixed with his soft sighs, slowly dissipated into the night, leaving no trace.

As Xu Yanli left the Crown Prince's residence and reached the entrance of the Prince of Xiaoyao's residence, the communication soul tool at his waist suddenly vibrated.

He glanced down at it, his brows furrowing involuntarily.