The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

"Given the current situation in the Great Yan Dynasty, if Cai Yan falls, will you take his place, or will I?"

The Grand Tutor remained silent; he himself lacked the mind and energy for it, so Qiao Yelan stepped in...

Well, compared to that, he thinks Xiao Cai is doing a pretty good job, so why remove him?

"What I want is to break up Cai Yan's clique. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel must be split up. Once these two departments are split up, Cai Yan will pose no threat to the emperor. He will have to work overtime in that position until he dies, or the emperor will send him to his death prematurely."

Qiao Yelan sneered.

Murder is the lowest form of revenge—his greatest skill is always to destroy the spirit.

All his lust for power and inflated ambition were ultimately crushed by the young emperor he once looked down upon, forever weighed down by him. Having lost his backing, he could only remain in his position, unable to advance or retreat, a diligent but powerless court slave, just to avoid being beheaded by the emperor.

This is the ending that Qiao Yelan prepared for Prime Minister Cai, the ending that best suits him.

Chapter 89 Transaction Completed

Do you want to see Him?

Having reached an agreement on cooperation in the imperial court, the Grand Tutor suddenly changed the subject.

"Of course I want to see him. Besides you, the only other person I've come to see is him."

Qiao Yelan nodded.

"The meeting in Longmen was very rushed, and there were too many unrelated people around, so we couldn't have a detailed discussion. This time, I hope we can resolve this issue in one go."

The old man nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. It seemed that his risky act of sending the Second Phase's clone to deliver the message had gone smoothly without any unexpected problems.

“Then let’s go—staying here too long will arouse His Majesty’s suspicion.”

"You're going to push me?"

"Respecting the elderly and caring for the young is a traditional virtue of the Great Yan Dynasty."

The Grand Tutor pushed Qiao Yelan towards the depths of the Si Sui Terrace.

After passing through a long, secluded corridor, the space suddenly opens up, and amidst the garden, a young man sitting in front of a chessboard under a peach tree stands out conspicuously.

"Another new national team player?"

The man didn't even look up, asking somewhat impatiently.

"I'm so sorry, I only know a little about chess and I'm afraid I can't beat you—but there's still a deal between us that we haven't settled, so I've come to visit."

Upon hearing Qiao Yelan's voice, the other person suddenly looked up and landed in front of Qiao Yelan in an instant.

"—You requested the art of spirit crafting, and I have accomplished it. Now, fulfill your promise!"

"Okay, okay, what do you want?"

Qiao Yelan held the paper in her hand, reading it as she asked questions with great interest.

"Help me resurrect my sister!"

He stared at Qiao Yelan, his eyes filled with pain and longing.

"Sorry, can't do that."

"I can already cut my soul, and the technology to infuse a soul into a body is in your hands—there's no way you can't do it!"

The Grand Tutor frowned as he shielded Qiao Yelan from the burst of energy, remaining on guard in his heart. Every blade of grass, every tree, every flower, and every stone in the garden displayed mysterious patterns, subtly echoing the Grand Tutor's actions.

"Then first, you need to be able to cut your sister out of your soul."

Qiao Yelan's face remained completely unmoved.

"But can you find your sister in your soul?"

Anger flashed across the young man's face, and the oppressive aura surrounding his body grew increasingly violent. But in the end, he seemed to deflate, reverting to being an ordinary chess player.

"What... is going on...? Why can't I find [Jie]? And why can I use all of her abilities?"

"This story is quite a long one, concerning how the twelve phases of the Year Beast were born—Would the Grand Tutor like to hear it too?"

The old man didn't speak, but became completely absorbed.

Qiao Yelan chuckled and repeated the story he had told at Longmen.

After speaking, the Grand Tutor seemed to be deep in thought, while the Second Prime Minister knelt on the ground, looking utterly dejected.

"Is it really... that we can't come back?"

Qiao Yelan opened his mouth, and the Grand Tutor became tense and wary in response.

Anyone could understand that at this moment, He was a person who was about to drown, and He would be willing to go crazy for anyone who gave him a little hope.

But he just smiled silently at the old man.

"Let's go."

The Grand Tutor pushed Qiao Yelan away from the courtyard.

The man remained kneeling there, tears streaming down his face.

The two walked through the corridor in silence again when Qiao Yelan suddenly spoke.

You seemed very nervous just now.

"...Do you really have a way to re-split the phases of the year?"

"Isn't this a good thing for you? If the Sui Xiang continues to split and Sui remains unable to wake up, the Great Yan will be able to face other problems more calmly."

The old man remained silent.

That's the truth—but if he could have said it out loud, he couldn't quite imagine that Qiao Yelan would use that as leverage to ask Him to do something.

The request made by Qiao Yelan was more worrying to the Grand Tutor than the inevitable awakening of Sui Na.

The unknown is the most frightening thing.

“I’m no longer interested in him. You can see for yourselves. I’ve already gotten what I wanted.”

"What is the [Spirit Art]?"

"The Year Phase can use its abilities to endow inorganic matter with the capacity to move. Both [Evening] and [Command] have demonstrated this ability. These creations can even move freely, have basic thought patterns, and combat capabilities."

Qiao Yelan picked up the paper in her hand.

"Have you ever thought that if this technology could be expanded, we could use recyclable consumables to fight against those evil spirits?"

The Grand Tutor suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Indeed, having [Shuo] participate in [Yumen] is a brilliant move, but ultimately, it is based on His own aversion to Sui and His recognition of Da Yan—otherwise, why would the Si Sui Terrace place such a huge force in Yumen?"

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. The reverse is also true. If you want the Year Ministers to be of use to the Great Yan, then what you need is not just one person or one thing. The mobile city-state of Shang Shu relies on the divine iron provided by [Year], but what if [Year] were willing to use her abilities with metals to participate in the construction?"

Qiao Yelan patiently guided the old man's thoughts.

"Instead of letting them retreat to a desolate place, delaying the wear and tear on the souls of the Year Phases and prolonging their slumber, it would be better to let them come out and participate among humans. A thousand years ago, they were all giant beasts killed by humans and filled with resentment. Now that they are willing to make good connections, we should naturally help them."

"Leaving aside how much help they can provide in our fight against the demons and the Sui beasts, even if we take a step back and only have to deal with one Sui beast soul in the future, it would be better than having to deal with thirteen Sui beast souls at the same time—that was also the goal we hoped to achieve back then."

The Grand Tutor nodded slightly.

It seems that since [Jie] disappeared, the actions of the Si Sui Tai have gone a bit too far.

“I will rethink our relationship with the phases of the year—and may need your help if necessary.”

"Go ahead and ask, but my asking price won't be low."

"I will be mentally prepared."

The Grand Tutor continued to push Qiao Yelan forward, unaware that a wisp of power unique to the Year Beast had left them, carrying with it what it had seen and heard, and returned to the depths of the corridor.

Where the old man couldn't see, Qiao Yelan smiled.

The transaction is now complete.

-------------------------------------------------- ------

"They even dared to intercept and kill my special envoy—these scoundrels are utterly lawless! Absolutely lawless!"

For the first time, the emperor slammed his fist on the table in front of his ministers.

"Dali Temple, have you found anything that can be reported to me?"

Yu Shaoqing immediately stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I have discovered that on the night before Zhu Rong Shaoqing left the capital, he went to a money exchange to withdraw two sums of money. One sum was the Zhu Rong family's deposit in an official money exchange, and the other sum came from a private money exchange. Upon investigation, the silver notes that Zhu Rong Shaoqing carried that night came from the Wang Ji Trading Company, which was wiped out half a month ago."

Cai Yan and Chen Fan raised their heads almost simultaneously.

Cai Yan was surprised that Chen Fan had managed to bribe Zhu Ronghui, who was a retainer of the emperor. Apart from the eunuchs, they were among the most loyal people.

Knowing that he had never given this order, Chen Fan felt dizzy – this wasn't bribing the Prefect of the Capital, it was the Emperor's personal guards!

He really wanted to grab Vice Minister Wang's head and ask him where he got the audacity to bribe Zhu Ronghui.

Neither of them doubted the Dali Temple's conclusion.

This is what Qiao Yelan meant when he said that a double-edged sword has its advantages.

"It's Wang's Trading Company again. I remember that Vice Minister Wang is also associated with Wang's Trading Company, isn't he?"

"Your Majesty is wise."