The female anchor turned into the dean of an ancient academy

"She discovered that although the time periods of these account records were chaotic, every few seemingly ordinary transactions would be followed by a large, obscure payment, seemingly recorded in code." Chen Zigui said solemnly, "So, I daresay this is likely a special code used in transactions with the Liaodan Kingdom."

"Sure enough, it's the Liao and Dan Kingdom again!" Chai Zhen's heart trembled, and a chill ran up from his feet. The Liao and Dan Kingdoms were the sworn enemies of the Great Zhou. The two sides had been fighting for many years, and the hatred was as deep as the sea.

If Li Yusheng really colluded with the Liaodan Kingdom, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Chai Zhen tried hard to suppress the shock and anger in his heart and continued to ask, "Has Dean Cen found out any clues?" He believed that with Dean Cen's knowledge and wisdom, he would be able to find some clues from these messy accounts.

"Dean Cen and the students of the academy are currently deciphering the information. These account records span a wide range of time periods, with the earliest dating back ten years ago and the most recent just a few days ago," said Chen Zigui.

"Ten years ago?" Chai Zhen pondered for a moment, trying to recall, "Ten years ago, Li Yusheng didn't seem to have..." He remembered that ten years ago Li Yusheng was just an unknown border general without any real power. How could he be related to these accounts?

"Your Majesty," Chen Zigui interrupted Chai Zhen, his tone becoming more serious. "I suspect these accounts may not have been created by Li Yusheng alone. These records of transactions with the Liaodan Kingdom can be traced back to ten years ago. At that time, Li Yusheng was still relatively young and could not have possessed such great power."

"You mean..." Chai Zhen was shocked, as if he had a premonition that what Chen Zigui was going to say next was of great significance.

"I suspect," Chen Zigui lowered his voice and leaned close to Chai Zhen's ear, saying word by word, "there may be a bigger hand behind Li Yusheng! Moreover, this hand is very likely to have a close relationship with the Liaodan Kingdom, or even..." He paused, his tone becoming heavier, "It may even be a Liaodan spy who has been lurking within our ranks for many years!"

Chen Zigui's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Chai Zhen's ears and setting his mind buzzing. The Liaodan Kingdom, the Liaodan Kingdom again! This thought was like a maggot attached to his bones, lingering and gnawing at Chai Zhen's mind.

He recalled that when his father was alive, he had repeatedly mentioned the Liaodan Kingdom's wolfish ambitions, attempting to annex the Great Zhou and encroach on the Central Plains. Now it seemed that his father's concerns were not unfounded.

In recent years, while Great Zhou and Liaodan had seemingly enjoyed peace and trade, undercurrents swirled, fraught with crisis. And he, the monarch of Great Zhou, had been kept in the dark, unaware of all this! Chai Zhen felt a chill run from his feet to his head, as if he were in an ice cellar, his entire body shivering.

He clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his flesh, yet he was completely unaware. Rage burned in his chest, and he wanted to immediately pull out the mastermind behind this and tear him into pieces!

"Lord Chen, this matter is of grave importance. You and I must proceed in secrecy and not alert the enemy." Chai Zhen took a deep breath, suppressing his rage, and spoke in a low voice. Although young, he already possessed the majesty of an emperor.

"I understand," Chen Zigui replied, bowing. "I will secretly send people to closely monitor Li Yusheng's every move and will not allow him any opportunity to take advantage of you."

"Alright!" Chai Zhen's eyes flashed with ruthlessness. "I want to see who is behind this. How dare they reach out to me?"

Meanwhile, inside Zhaoyin Academy, Cen Jiexiao was leading a group of students, painstakingly poring over the coded ledgers. This classroom, normally filled with the sound of study, was now filled with a tense atmosphere. The students sat around several tables piled high with books and papers, each with a frown, deep in thought. Cen Jiexiao paced the room, stopping occasionally to inquire about the students' progress.

"Dean, take a look at this garbled symbol! Does it resemble one of those old-fashioned pictograms?" a student asked, his brow furrowed in confusion, pointing to an unusually complex symbol on the ledger. "I've searched through all the ancient books in our academy, and I can't find a single one that looks like it!" he asked, gesturing with his hands exaggeratedly, as if the symbol were some monstrous beast.

Another student came over, pushed his glasses up, and examined the symbol carefully. "That's right! It's all squiggly, like a worm crawling. How could anyone understand it?" He shook his head and sighed in amazement. "Look, whoever wrote this code is really stupid. Why would they make it so complicated? Are they afraid others will understand it?"

"Hey, what do you think? Could it be that we are thinking in the wrong direction?" A timid girl said timidly, "Maybe this is not a pictograph at all, but some kind of writing we have never seen before?" Her voice became smaller and smaller, and she was obviously frightened by her own thoughts.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" A tall boy slammed his hand on the table and said firmly, "How could such a coincidence happen in this world? Our Great Zhou's writing system is already complex enough. How could someone have so much free time as to invent an even more complex one?"

"That's right, that's right!" The other students echoed, "In my opinion, this must be a pictograph! It's just that we haven't found the corresponding character yet!"

Cen Jiexiao ignored the students' discussions. She snatched the account book, squinted her eyes and studied the symbol carefully, with countless ancient books rolling through her mind.

"Could it be...?" A thought suddenly flashed through Cen Jiexiao's mind. She suddenly raised her head, her eyes shining.

"Quick! Bring us the copy of 'Five Directions Zhou Jing' that is treasured in our academy!" There was a hint of irrepressible excitement in Cen Jiexiao's voice. She had a premonition that the secret of this symbol would soon be revealed.

The students did not dare to delay and hurriedly took the heavy "Five Directions Zhou Jing" from the bookshelf and placed it carefully in front of Cen Jiexiao.

Cen Jiexiao couldn't wait to open the "Wufang Zhoujing" and read it carefully page by page, looking for traces of the symbol.

Time passed minute by minute, the students held their breath and watched Cen Jiexiao's every move nervously. The whole classroom was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Finally, Cen Jiexiao's fingers stopped on a yellowed page of the book. Her eyes were fixed on a pattern on the page, and her breathing gradually became rapid.

"Found it! I found it!" Cen Jiexiao shouted excitedly, her voice full of disbelief and ecstasy.