98. Genius Lie

Given the great contributions of Consort Du Long in the Abundant Harvest Commandery, We have decided to grant him the title of First-rank Xiaqi General in advance! Allow him to establish a cavalry army of ten thousand men within his fief.

“Your Majesty! According to ancestral regulations, only the consorts who marry the princess are qualified to be granted official ranks. After all, Consort Du Long is merely engaged to the princess, and the highest he can be granted is a fifth-rank official, which is already the limit! I worry that other consorts will think Your Majesty is overly biased in granting this to Du Consort!”

The Left Prime Minister spoke up firmly against the Emperor’s conferment of this title upon Du Long. Officials aligned with the Fan faction began voicing their agreement one after another. Within the court, the factions formed by these officials clearly revealed their restraint upon imperial authority—an issue for which so many emperors have long detested the scheming and alliances among their ministers.

Upon the dragon throne, Emperor Qin Ying maintained a stern expression without uttering a word, simply watching the spectacle unfold below. Taking advantage of the moment, Du Long began directing his attention toward those officials who had supported Fan De’s stance.

Unknown to outsiders, images of these officials materialized in his mind as the Spirit Beauty began introducing their ranks and names one by one.

“Spirit Beauty! You’re too impressive! When did you even learn about these officials?!” Du Long murmured in amazement while jotting down the information.

“Haha! Such trivial matters are nothing to this lady! Not only have I memorized every official in the few hundred positions across the Hao Tian Empire, but I have also recorded all the details of officials from the three great empires and sixteen kingdoms on the Star Continent! Since you have to navigate this circle for a while, I’ll reluctantly help you with this garbage information!”

Although Du Long had no idea how she had accomplished this, he was happy to accept the all-knowing Spirit Beauty and began storing the information about officials connected to the Fan family in his mind.

On the dragon throne, the expressionless Emperor casually swept his gaze over Du Long and noticed him smiling with great interest at the officials who had opposed his decision. The nonchalant attitude intrigued the Emperor, who wondered what thoughts were swirling in the boy’s mind.

As the Fan faction’s performance gradually wound down, the Emperor straightened himself. The officials below realized he was about to make a statement and fell silent.

“This conferment upon Consort Du Long is based on his prior merits. My decision is final! You shall cease all further speculation. Du Consort! Offer your thanks and withdraw!”

With a single decisive blow, no one dared utter another word.

The officials of the Fan faction fell silent. Gazing at the Left Prime Minister’s face, which had turned ashen, they realized he dared not speak again. Naturally, no one else would be foolish enough to offend the Emperor.

Those outside the Fan faction watched with amusement. Seeing the usually arrogant members of the Fan group humbled and embarrassed was deeply satisfying to many.

“This humble subject thanks Your Majesty for the conferment!” Du Long bowed with a smile and declared his gratitude. Then, with feigned humility, he retreated behind his father. The hall had not yet assigned him a seat, so he simply returned to where he had come from.

With that, the matter of granting Du Long, the betrothed consort, an extraordinary promotion to First-rank Xiaqi General was settled. The several military officials standing beside Du Zhentian clasped their hands and offered quiet congratulations.

Once the court had grown quiet again, the Emperor finally smiled and continued to address the various matters requiring discussion that morning. These topics had little direct relevance to Du Long, who served merely as an observer.

From before his rebirth, Du Long had never formally stood before the imperial court to listen to the hundred officials deliberate over national affairs. Though many matters did not concern him, he found himself eavesdropping for the entire morning with growing curiosity.

Eventually, his curiosity faded, replaced by boredom. After standing in the hall for half a day, he finally understood. The so-called discussion of state affairs was simply a gathering where the great factions vied for their own interests.

When something promised profit, they argued fiercely. When it offered no benefit, they fell silent and simply declared their loyalty to the Emperor’s judgment.

It seemed that persuading these politicians to truly act for the people was a grand joke. In this grand hall where no commoners participated, the empire’s highest rulers stood, their only concern being their own interests.

By the time Du Long’s drowsiness grew overwhelming, he finally endured until the session ended. After bowing with the hundred officials to the Emperor, he immediately refreshed himself and fled the tedious palace as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, the Emperor clearly had no intention of letting him escape so easily!

“Everyone else may withdraw. Du Consort will remain. The Empress has specially prepared a lavish lunch in the harem and insists that I take you with us.”

The Emperor smiled at the once-energetic but now somewhat reluctant boy.

As the officials dispersed, they looked on enviously at the fortunate Du family son. Du Zhentian had already mingled with a few familiar ministers and discreetly left the hall. Since the Emperor had not invited him, there was no reason to force himself into the situation.

After all, Du Long was sharing lunch with his father-in-law and mother-in-law—how would the prospective in-law feel about joining in?

“What do you mean? Is accompanying Us and the Empress for lunch truly so burdensome?!” The Emperor glared at Du Long with feigned anger.

“Haha! This humble subject would never dare! It is Du Long’s greatest honor to dine with His Majesty and the Empress!” Du Long forced out a ghastly smile that was truly laughable.

“Hmph! You only managed to deceive my precious daughter with your oily tongue, you insolent boy!” The Emperor snorted and strode out of the hall without another word. Du Long followed obediently, smiling all the while, heading toward the harem.

Within the palace where the Empress resided, a sumptuous lunch had long been prepared. The moment Huofeng Princess caught sight of Du Long following behind the Emperor, she rushed toward him like a gust of wind, her face beaming with excitement.

“You little brat! In the past you never got this excited when seeing your father. Ah, it truly is that a woman’s heart lies outside her body! Now that you have a betrothed consort, you no longer want your father?!” The Emperor pointed at his beloved daughter with envy and mock sorrow.

“Haha, Your Majesty! Are you jealous of Consort now?” The Empress, who had followed them, laughed while holding the Emperor’s hand and teasing him.

“Exactly! Father has Mother, so naturally I must accompany him!” Huofeng blushed prettily as she explained.

“You naughty child!” The Empress shot her daughter a look before smiling and turning to size up Du Long. “Haha, Consort Du, come. Today is merely an ordinary family banquet—please do not stand on ceremony!”

“Du Long greets the Empress!” Du Long hurriedly bowed with proper respect. After all, she was not only his mother-in-law but also the current Empress. Some basic etiquette had to be observed.

“Good, good!” The Empress responded with two approving nods. Then she took Du Long’s arm and examined him with burning eyes. The intense gaze made Du Long feel increasingly uneasy. This truly was how a mother-in-law looks at a son-in-law— the more she sees, the more she likes it!

Over lunch, the Emperor asked many questions, including details about the trip to the Abundant Harvest Commandery. They carefully avoided topics like Du Long executing dozens of corrupt officials, knowing everyone had their own calculations.

During the meal, the Emperor deliberately tested Du Long with numerous questions. Honestly, many were ones he had no idea how to answer. Fortunately, the Spirit Beauty served as his cheat code, allowing him to muddle through.

The Emperor’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. Since he could never defeat the boy, he began asking some obscure questions!

For example, he inquired about the many ancient and modern historical facts taught in the Royal Academy, as well as the detailed organization and conditions of each military branch. Many of these topics were ones the young students had not yet learned. Yet this boy answered fluently!

In the end, even Du Long wondered if he had performed too well. He asked the Spirit Beauty whether she wanted him to occasionally give wrong answers. She firmly rejected the idea.

According to the Spirit Beauty, showing genius-level knowledge in this conversation was crucial to gaining the Emperor’s full trust and to securing greater freedom without raising further suspicion.

Relying on the Spirit Beauty’s arrangements, Du Long launched an astonishing performance. Whether discussing astronomy, geography, culture, history, military affairs, or statecraft, he answered every question without error!

“My goodness! Du Long, you must be the greatest genius in history! Is there anything in this world you don’t know? How did you even manage this?! It’s hard to imagine which fool gave you the title of a useless second-generation ancestor!” At the end, Huofeng Princess could no longer hold back her exclamation. Her words reflected the Emperor and Empress’s own astonishment.

“Haha! It’s not that exaggerated. I couldn’t possibly be the greatest genius in history. It’s just that after my body suffered problems a few years ago, I couldn’t cultivate, so I spent more than ten years studying other fields. Because of my physique, my brain works especially well—I can remember everything I read in one glance. Before I knew it, I had become like this!” Du Long scratched his head with a red face and laughed it off.

The Emperor, Empress, and Huofeng Princess all believed he was merely blushing from the praise. Little did they know the boy had flushed because he was ashamed of his own lies. To outsiders, it only seemed like modest humility.

“No wonder! I said why you always skipped classes when it was literature or history, and why you attended military practical sessions at first only to lose interest in them later. Yet you still scored first in every exam!” Huofeng Princess finally realized.

Du Long was stunned. He had never expected that his lie would bring such an unexpected benefit. In the future, if he could continue skipping classes and still top the list, at least his performance would not raise suspicion from the Emperor and his family.