Evening, April 22, 2018

When Wang Jiu, with a straight face, pretended to be the Golden Jade Wanderer Zhao Xinyu and ran to knock on the door of the City Lord’s Mansion, Shen Qingming and others watching from the distant street corner were utterly hopeless.

This is what you call an intelligence advantage? Is this how you plan to infiltrate the rebellion team? Do you really take your opponents for idiots!?

If those two guards had even a bit of responsibility and sense of duty, they’d have knocked you into a diamond shape on the spot!

However, the next moment, an even more despairing scene unfolded. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The two guards at the door exchanged glances, and then the older guard asked suspiciously, "Are you serious?"

Wang Jiu nodded vigorously and said, "Absolutely true! I have an irreconcilable hatred with that demoness Zhao Chenlu! For the past twenty years, I’ve been tossing and turning, unable to sleep, yearning to eat her flesh and drink her blood! It’s hateful that I am weak alone. Even though I have practiced diligently to reach the peak of the Rain Cover Realm, I still cannot shake Zhao the Demoness’s evil rule. Now that Duke Hongwu descends like a great man, calling out rallying cries, how could I sit idly by? So I’ve come with my painstakingly created manifesto, ’Nine Reviews of Zhao Chenlu’, to offer support!"

This impassioned statement, accompanied by some flying saliva, was nearly flawless, leaving the two guards at the door stupefied, while the girls watching from afar covered their faces, unable to bear watching directly.

After a long pause, the older guard muttered, "... It’s not that I have any prejudice against you, nor do I have any support for the Former City Lord, but your performance now is a bit exaggerated."

Wang Jiu immediately showed an embarrassed stance: "It’s not exaggerated. Compared to the deep-seated hatred in my heart, how could this momentary agitation be considered exaggeration? Look, this is an anthology I’ve been writing for the past twenty years, chronicling my endless, piercing hatred. Let me read the first piece, ’Long Hatred Song’, to you..."

"No, no need." The older guard was about to break out in a cold sweat, "You don’t have to read any poems."

"Of course, it’s necessary," Wang Jiu stated seriously, "If you don’t listen carefully to my poetic compositions, how will you confirm that I truly hold a deep hatred for the Former City Lord Zhao Chenlu, and am not some infiltrator trying to sneak into the City Lord’s Mansion to steal information?"

This sharp question left the two guards utterly speechless.

"Well, judging by your behavior, it definitely feels like you were severely oppressed by the Former City Lord, and your sanity is a bit off... Here’s what we’ll do. We truly need people now, and although your situation is quite unique, the True Essence fluctuation is genuinely at the Rain Cover Realm. If you can serve Duke Hongwu, it would be beneficial. I’ll contact the captain and bring you in for further assessment."

"Thank you."

A moment later, the doors of the City Lord’s Mansion slowly opened, and a strong man in silver armor came out, scrutinizing Wang Jiu seriously, and asked, "Are you the Independent Cultivator from the Rain Cover Realm claiming to have a deep hatred with Zhao Chenlu, named Zhao Xinyu?"

Wang Jiu replied, "I am indeed Zhao Xinyu, who comes with wholehearted sincerity to join Duke Hongwu. On behalf of the entire Golden Jade City, I deeply appreciate Duke Hongwu’s great kindness in relieving us from Zhao the Demoness’s suffering. I am here to offer my services and advice!"

Seeing such enthusiastic demeanor, the Guard Captain immediately displayed an expression of a toothache: "Well, having sincerity is good, but we actually don’t need any more people right now..."

"Talent is never sufficient at any time!" Wang Jiu stated righteously, "Duke Hongwu said at the 17th team-building meeting in 2004 that to completely overthrow Zhao the Demoness’s rule, we must unite all forces who can unite. In such a great endeavor, there’s absolutely no saying that there are already enough talents!"

This shaking speech startled the guards at the City Lord’s Mansion, leaving them looking at each other and whispering softly.

"Since when did Duke Hongwu say that?"

"How would I know? I was just seconded to this guard post the day before yesterday as temporary staff because my predecessor, who was personally promoted by Zhao Chenlu, has now been dismissed and is idle at home."

"I’m also recently appointed, and I’ve never read Zhao Hongwu’s speech notes..."

"But it does sound like something Duke Hongwu would say... What should we do?"

"Sir, you’re the captain, don’t ask us small fries such questions."

"Damn, if I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have been greedy for that extra salary and continued being a regular soldier. Being a captain means more pay but also more troubles, it’s driving me nuts."

Muttering a few words, the Silver Armor Captain straightened his expression and said, "You’re right, but we also have strict criteria for talent, especially regarding background and resume... not just anyone can join our ranks."

Wang Jiu replied, "Actually, I’m the child of the son from Duke Hongwu’s distant cousin’s side of the family. Here’s my family tree, and this is the card Duke Hongwu sent me during the holidays in 2015, with his handwritten signature on it."

The Silver Armor Captain’s face turned pale upon hearing this. He took the family tree, glanced at it, and his expression shifted from white to green. Seeing the high-quality fake signature supposedly crafted by the Celestial Divine Sword, his face turned from green back to white, enacting a vivid spectacle of a conflicted expression.

"You’re a relative of Lord Hongwu? Wh-why didn’t you say so earlier?"

Wang Jiu responded righteously, "I joined this team based on the deep-seated hatred I bear and my own talents. I’m definitely not a freeloader looking to gain benefits just because a relative is advancing, so unless necessary, I prefer not to expose my private relationship with Duke Hongwu."

"I see, I never imagined you would be so noble and virtuous, a true model for us. I’ll take you to meet the person in charge right away..."

With that, the Silver Armor Captain led Wang Jiu into the City Lord’s Mansion. Two guards exchanged glances, watching Wang Jiu’s departing figure, both sighed with relief.

From afar, a girl watching the scene seemed about to crush the bricks at the corner of the wall in anger.

"He can just sneak in like that!? What are these guards even doing!?"

"I now truly believe they are just a rabble..."

—

Describing the current interim government team as a rabble is indeed spot-on.

Once Wang Jiu entered the City Lord’s Mansion, he could clearly feel a chaotic and disorderly atmosphere.

Compared to QingCyan Cloud yun City and Shen City which Wang Jiu had seen, Golden Jade City was evidently more affluent and prosperous. Therefore, as the city’s hub, the City Lord’s Mansion should naturally be more orderly. Yet, along the way, the Mansion felt like a noisy marketplace. Different types of people were bustling through it, with some in neat uniforms and others dressed in odd outfits like performers from a circus, and most wore expressions of urgency and bewilderment, as if pondering life’s ultimate questions: Who am I, where am I, what should I do?

"These are guests who’ve joined the City Lord’s Mansion recently, most are like you, hoping to contribute to the interim government. Duke Hongwu has always advocated welcoming a wide range of talents, so except for a very few whose conditions were too excessive, the others have stayed on to handle some miscellaneous duties. But someone with excellent qualifications and noble origins like you will certainly be put to better use."

As he spoke, the Silver Armor Captain led Wang Jiu through several corridors and arrived at a lavish meeting room. He peeked inside and smiled, "Just in time, there’s a forum meeting discussing the upcoming public trial assembly in seven days, listing her crimes and discussing her judgment. Since you hold a deep hatred for Zhao Chenlu and have written a crusade article against her, participating in this discussion is perfect. Let’s see, inside are Lord Hongwu, Lord Hong Wen, Lord Lingbo, and several other elders from the Zhao Family. If you can seize the opportunity for a breakthrough, your future is boundless! Just remember that the one who brought you in was the temporary guard captain of the City Lord’s Mansion, Zhao Taotao... come, follow me through the back entrance."

Wang Jiu pondered for a moment. The meeting room was gathering almost all high-ranking members of the interim government. If he could detonate a Qingyu True Essence Divine Thunder here, Zhao Chenlu’s crisis would instantly vanish into thin air.

However, due to the inherent nature of the Celestial Divine Sword, Wang Jiu would not resort to murdering humans unless in extreme necessity.

Therefore, he had to seriously consider creating an extremely necessary situation for decisive action...

With this thought, Wang Jiu entered the meeting room from the back. Several participants by the door gave him curious looks upon his sudden entrance. Yet, given the current chaos in the City Lord’s Mansion, they said nothing, merely nodding at Wang Jiu before refocusing on the center of the hall.

Zhao Hongwu was passionately speaking.

"I’ve stressed our current situation many times, it’s like walking on thin ice! Although, thanks to Lingbo Fairy’s skill, we managed to temporarily suppress Zhao Chenlu, it’s only temporary! If we can’t unite quickly and come up with a long-term plan, the promising situation today could fall apart anytime! And even though we’ve convened the forum several times, many are still sitting on the fence! Some are politically opportunistic, but most still have unrealistic illusions about Zhao Chenlu! They think she’s meritorious, they think she’s not inherently bad, they think she’s wise and capable! But I must solemnly warn you, you are wrong! In her twenty years of rule, she indeed made indelible contributions to Golden Jade City, but her crimes are equally unspeakable and have been concealed due to her media control in Golden Jade City! Now, I will preemptively reveal her crimes to everyone before the public trial assembly!"

With that, Zhao Hongwu’s expression turned grim as he spoke with grave solemnity, "Next, let’s invite victim number one to share their experience."

With those words, an old man, his face a picture of sorrow, beard whitening, frail as a corpse, wobbled onto the stage and spoke in a dying voice, "Hello everyone, I’m the victim Zhao Xiao, here to tell you about the heinous crime of sexual harassment by the demoness Zhao Chenlu against me twenty years ago..."