Chapter 63: Disaster!

"Can you change me back?"

The voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum, sounding casual on the surface, yet concealing an immense sense of anticipation.

Unfortunately, the person opposite him wore a blank expression, seemingly unaware of what he was talking about.

Cui Yan was not particularly surprised; he only gave a slight sigh, looked ahead, and said nothing more.

When he was a child, he actually hadn't received this much attention. His Cui family was a prominent household in the town, primarily because his grandfather had once passed the imperial examination as a *juren*, leaving behind numerous tax-exempt fields for their descendants to enjoy. This allowed the Cui family to fund the education and early schooling of quite a few family members.

His talent was the greatest, yet he was the least favored, and the reason was simply because he was ugly.

This reason continued to affect him even by the time he passed the *xiucai* examination. If not for the fact that he was the only one in the family who had passed the examination, he would never have had the chance to receive financial support from the family to continue his studies.

Yet even after passing the *xiucai* exam, his status didn't improve much. He remembered how back then, the tutor at the academy, seeing him work so diligently and feeling a sense of pity, had pulled him aside for a sincere private chat after class one day.

The tutor had told him that scholars value personal appearance and deportment; although everyone relies on their writings to make a living, it simply wouldn't do to be too unsightly. If someone with his looks were recommended for the provincial examination, he would likely be weeded out in the very first round......

At that moment, he suddenly felt as though the sky had collapsed. Having suffered discrimination since childhood and being bullied by his peers in the village—with no one except Big Dog thinking him worthy of any respect—it was his grandfather who had told him that studying could change all innate inadequacies. After passing the *xiucai* exam, the villagers no longer dared to bully him openly, and he had truly believed his grandfather's words that studying could alter one's destiny.

In the end, the tutor's words shattered the convictions he had held for years.

"Ergou...... what are you talking about?" Zhang Rui's voice broke out beside him, his expression of blank confusion identical to the one from all those years ago.

"It's nothing......" Cui Yan shook his head, losing any desire to speak further.

How many years ago was that?

On that rainy night, he had originally intended to finish that round of drinks, drop out of school, and return home to become a private tutor.

Yet, after that drunken night, when he woke up the next morning, everything had changed!!

To this day, he still didn't understand how it all happened. Not only his appearance, but the memories of everyone around him seemed to have altered, as if his current looks were something he had been born with, destined to be surrounded by stars from birth. If he didn't still remember what had truly happened, he would have thought those dozen years of experience were merely his own illusion.

If there was one thing connected to this matter that night, it was Big Dog.

Cui Yan cast another covert glance at Zhang Rui. Back then, Big Dog had also been dead drunk, but he remembered Big Dog thumping his chest and making grand boasts, claiming he would alter Cui Yan's destiny, make him the most handsome man in the world, and ensure that no one would ever discriminate against him for his looks again.

Yet after that, Big Dog seemed to have no recollection of what he had said that night.

Perhaps it was merely drunken ramblings, but the timing was altogether too coincidental.

"First, escort the two officials to the inner hall to wait. This official will come over after handling a few matters."

"Understood, Lord Assistant Minister." The guards nearby acknowledged the order and led Zhang Rui and the others all the way into the inner hall of the Dali Temple.

Throughout the process, Zhang Rui looked thoroughly curious, gazing around his surroundings. After all, this place would be his organization from now on.

"Please be seated, my lords. The Assistant Minister will be right here."

The guards very politely served the two of them tea, without the slightest trace of arrogance or hostility.

Though they were guards, as the personal martial guards of the Assistant Minister, they were far from ignorant. The origins of these two men before them were extraordinary, and neither was someone to be trifled with......

One was suspected to be from a top-tier secluded aristocratic family, possessing the ability to slay a first-rank occultist at a young age, while the other...... favored by the princess, had been locked in a standoff of defiance against His Majesty for three full years!

After the guards departed, the two silently sipped their tea. After who knows how long, the other finally couldn't help but speak up, "I never expected that the first time the two of us brothers would be alone together after three years would be in a place like this."

Zhang Rui frowned at these words, but still couldn't help saying, "Don't speak in such an ambiguous tone, especially in front of others. It won't be good if people misunderstand."

"Haha......" Cui Yan immediately burst out laughing. "Have you ever lacked misunderstandings? Do you still remember back when we were studying in Nanming Prefecture, when the prefect's daughter had people corner you in an alley?"

I remember my foot!!

Zhang Rui was overcome with exasperation. Had he really become such a hopeless fool of a character?

"How have you been all these years?" Seemingly due to the preceding atmosphere, Cui Yan's tone grew much more casual.

"Just like that......" Zhang Rui slumped limply in his chair with zero posture. "Bringing honor to my ancestors, becoming a county magistrate, and my family no longer having to farm. The old man spends his days strolling around with a birdcage, my mother spends all day plotting to find me a new wife, and my unmarried younger sister spends every day daydreaming about her future husband. Only Second Brother seems unchanged, still just as honest."

"Sounds nice," Cui Yan chuckled.

"It is quite nice," Zhang Rui nodded. Compared to before that pen was used, life seemed much better, but it was only temporary. He had no idea how many traps that pen had dug for him, just like this time......

This appearance of Cui Ergou was definitely, undeniably connected to that pen!!

"What about you? How are things?" Zhang Rui probed cautiously.

"Not so great......" Cui Yan shook his head with a bitter smile. "Because of what happened three years ago, I fell out of favor with the Emperor and was exiled to that ghost place in the southern frontier. My family loathed that place, so they all stayed in the old hometown. Still, it's just as well; being over there by myself is rather freeing, sparing me a bit of suspicion."

"Suspicion?" Zhang Rui was startled.

"Growing up too good-looking, every time my sister-in-law and sister-in-laws looked at me, they couldn't tear their eyes away, and my brothers always had to be on guard against me."

Zhang Rui: "........."

"By the way, that business back then had nothing to do with you anyway. Why on earth did His Majesty take it out on you?" Zhang Rui asked, wearing an expression of grievance on the other's behalf, though his words carried a probing undertone.

After all, since he was responsible for investigating this case, any clues Cui Yan could provide would be helpful.

"Eh..... have you forgotten?" Cui Yan looked at Zhang Rui in confusion.

A tight knot formed in Zhang Rui's heart, though his face remained blank. "What?"

"What else could the reason be? Princess Yueyao chose me, someone with neither roots nor background, yet I somehow managed to survive until the very end. Could His Majesty possibly look at that without finding it an eyesore?"

"The Princess...... took a fancy to you?" Zhang Rui drew in a breath.

"You don't even know how many times you helped me deliver love letters, and you're still questioning this?" Cui Yan shot Zhang Rui a sideways glance. "Didn't you read a good portion of the contents in those letters?"

What the hell.......

"Still, you must not have exposed your identity when delivering those letters, otherwise I wouldn't have been the only one exiled to the southern frontier back then."

"Then I truly am fortunate......" Zhang Rui said, gritting his teeth.

"Ahem......" Cui Yan suddenly glanced around his surroundings, then leaned in and lowered his voice. "Tell me..... did that person look for you?"

Zhang Rui's heart skipped a beat, a lingering premonition of a massive pitfall approaching. He lowered his voice in response, "Who?"

"Who else could it be?" Cui Yan glared at Zhang Rui. "That person!"

"Oh...... that person......" Zhang Rui dawned in sudden comprehension while frantically guessing in his mind: Who on earth is *that* person?

"Those letters back then damn near scared the life out of both of us!" Cui Yan looked around vigilantly and lowered his voice further. "When I was exiled to the southern frontier, I thought the whole thing had been exposed and that His Majesty wanted to quietly dispose of me over in the south. I even wrote my last will and testament, terrified of implicating my family. Yet I never expected that three years later, I'd still be alive. Thinking back on it now, that matter must not have been exposed after all."

Zhang Rui: "........."

Holy crap, don't scare the living daylights out of me. What on earth happened? Why are you making it sound like the Emperor was about to secretly assassinate you!

"This capital is no benevolent place for me. I originally intended to finish reporting on my duties, have a reunion with you, and head straight back to the southern frontier. I never imagined this damned top scholar murder case would drag me back into it. You need to be careful these days; being implicated in this case means you might be secretly monitored. If that person contacts you again, absolutely do not make easy contact with them!"

"Naturally...... I know the stakes......" Zhang Rui quickly replied.

Yet in his heart, he still couldn't for the life of him guess who the person his companion was talking about could be.

"You don't know shit. If you had any sense of propriety back then, you shouldn't have gotten involved with that palace maid, and you shouldn't have accepted that letter. Where would all these subsequent troubles have come from if you hadn't?"

Palace maid?

Zhang Rui's heart gave a violent jolt. How did a palace maid get dragged into this?

A letter sent by a palace maid?

Zhang Rui instantly sucked in a cold breath. A letter from a palace maid, yet not from Princess Yueyao, and yet it scared Cui Yan so badly that he suspected the Emperor would secretly murder him—and not even do it openly. What kind of person could send a letter that would make even the Emperor unwilling to make a public scandal of it, choosing instead to execute him in secret?

Why would Cui Yan harbor such a thought?

There was only one option......

Damn your ancestors!!

Once Zhang Rui figured it out, he stared fixedly at the other man. This scumbag—he really was a thoroughgoing disaster!

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Kunining Palace:

The most noble woman in the entire nation was holding a portrait of Cui Yan in her hands at this moment. Although she was past forty, due to careful preservation, she looked like a woman under thirty—vibrant, magnificent, and carrying the mature allure of an adult woman, her eyes now brimming with seductive charm.

It was hard to imagine that the usually dignified and proper Empress would be radiating spring-like longing over a portrait. The elderly palace maid beside her kept her head lowered, not daring to make the slightest sound. If even a whisper of this matter leaked out, not a single one of these palace maids would survive.

"Does Yueyao know that the fellow who delivered the letter back then is now the Lord Zhang recommended by the Crown Prince?"

"She probably doesn't......" the old palace maid shook her head.

"Heh......" The Empress gazed at the scroll, her eyes full of obsession. "When the Crown Prince uttered that name, I thought it quite a novelty. I never realized back then that the little fellow delivering letters possessed such capability."

"This old servant feels it might be a trap," the old palace maid said, looking at the Empress with deep worry. "Your Majesty, please be certain to exercise caution."

"I certainly must be somewhat cautious......" the Empress smiled. "Closely monitor this case."

"Understood......"

"Right, the Crown Prince's birthday is the day after tomorrow. Send out an invitation for the women of the Zhang household to come, and also invite Lord Zhang to attend. I shall take the opportunity to thank this Lord Zhang personally for saving the Crown Prince's life!"

"As you command......" The old palace maid wore a bitter smile.

The Empress had become bewitched; she was playing with fire!