Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

"Hidden at home?" The official from the Ministry of Rites turned ashen-faced, but finally forced a smile: "Very good, very good. May I have the honor of showing you his home?"

At that moment, he felt like killing someone. If he had known the waste paper was hidden at home, why would he have spent two hours in the cesspool?

To keep his official position, he could endure any injustice.

Fortunately, he eventually found Lin Ping's exam paper at his home, though it was covered in filth.

Overjoyed, he didn't have time to go home and change his clothes, and returned to the Ministry of Rites in his official robes stained with excrement.

"What's wrong with Lord Pei? Why do you smell so bad?"

"He must have been covered in excrement. I heard that Lord Pei went to the latrine in the south of the city today and even went down there to look for something."

"I never knew Lord Pei had such a unique hobby; we are truly ignorant."

Several guards pinched their noses and pointed at each other behind their backs.

Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. The glorious deeds of the Ministry of Rites official have already spread, and it won't be long before everyone knows about them.

Although he kept his official position, he couldn't keep his reputation.

The Minister of Rites carefully unfolded Lin Ping's exam paper, took a close look, and couldn't help... pinch his nose.

This stinks! Even though I didn't fall directly into the cesspool, I was still tainted by the stench for quite some time.

The main odor did not emanate from the examination papers, but rather from the official in charge of the Ministry of Rites.

"What are you still standing there for? Get out of here!" the Minister of Rites said angrily.

He didn't want to be suffocated by the stench.

The official in charge of the Ministry of Rites felt as if he had been granted a pardon and left in a great hurry.

His stench saved him from punishment for the time being, which was an unexpected bonus.

As long as he can keep his official position, he wouldn't even bat an eye if he bathed in a cesspool or drank the entire cesspool dry.

"Revitalize the court, forge alliances, and defend against foreign enemies!"

Nine large, crooked characters appeared on the exam paper, written in Lin Ping's own handwriting.

The Minister of Rites stared dumbfounded at the words on the exam paper, his heart nearly leaping out of his throat. He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm, but finally muttered to himself, "This child is no ordinary person. Just nine simple words... I can't even understand them."

Even so, he still gave Lin Ping a high score, leaving the difficult problem to the king.

Anyway, the answers on these test papers are all over the place, so Lin Ping's answer won't make a difference.

He only needed to hand the exam paper to the king, and leave the rest to the king.

This is just a quota for advancement; it won't affect the selection of the martial arts champion. As the Minister of Rites, he still has this much power.

Before handing in the exam papers, there was something even more important to do: dry and scent Lin Ping's exam paper.

As evening approached, the exam papers finally entered the palace.

The king was diligent in his duties and had several kerosene lamps lit in his study.

The kerosene lamp was several times brighter than an ordinary oil lamp, and with the focusing effect of the outer lampshade, the entire imperial study was as bright as day.

"I heard this kerosene lamp was bought from Jiangcheng Prefecture?" The king was also somewhat interested in these strange and unusual things.

“It was indeed made by Lin Ping,” Xia Yeran replied softly.

Since Lin Ping's identity was exposed, some of his deeds are no longer a secret.

After a thorough investigation, even Xia Yeran, who was familiar with him, was taken aback. This guy was not only skilled in both literature and martial arts, but also had a business mind and had invented a lot of strange and wonderful gadgets.

He couldn't think of any words to describe Lin Ping.

The king ultimately disliked the name, and his previous interest vanished completely.

"How is the military examination going?" The king changed the subject to one that he was more interested in.

"The imperial examination has ended, and the Minister of Rites should already be on his way to the palace," Xia Yeran replied respectfully.

"Am I being too hasty? I shouldn't have put such a question on the exam. How can I entrust something that you and I can't solve to these military candidates?"

Thinking of the questions for the first exam, the king kept shaking his head.

Xia Yeran was the top scholar in the civil service examination back then. If even he was helpless, how could a martial arts graduate solve the problem?

"One-sided listening leads to ignorance, while listening to all sides leads to enlightenment. Having more opinions is never a bad thing. Besides, your purpose is to remind the princes, so the answers on the exam are irrelevant."

Xia Yeran replied with a smile, how could he not guess the king's thoughts?

"You understand me best. If all the civil and military officials were as loyal as you, how could we not reclaim our fiefdoms?" the king sighed again.

There are six city lords in the Wu Kingdom, and together they only have 60,000 private troops. They could easily send out 100,000 troops to solve the problem, but now he cannot mobilize 100,000 troops.

First, military power was in Lu Zhan's hands; second, civil and military officials would strongly oppose the use of force.

He was nominally the ruler, but some things still required the approval of his civil and military officials, which was quite frustrating.

"The Minister of Rites has arrived..." the eunuch outside the door announced loudly.

"Xuan!"

The Minister of Rites knelt respectfully on the ground, holding the examination paper flat in both hands.

"Minister Meng, you may rise," the king said softly, as he accepted the thick stack of examination papers.

The Minister of Rites and Xia Yeran stood bowing to one side, waiting for the emperor to review the examination papers.

His originally relaxed eyes began to furrow after seeing the first exam paper, and finally they were twisted together.

"What are these? They're not answering my question. Look at this. The military strategy is well-written, but I didn't ask about military strategy at all."

"Look at this one, it shows what it means to just do it."

"And this one too: give me 50,000 elite troops, and I can unify the Central Plains."

The king leaned back in his chair, clearly exhausted. Although he hadn't expected to see a remarkable exam paper, he hadn't anticipated it to be this bad.

"Enough, enough. I'm electing a martial arts champion, not a regent. Let them be." The king threw down the examination paper, having lost all interest in continuing to look at it.

"Your Majesty, won't you flip through the pages again?" the Minister of Rites reminded him.

Clearly, he wanted the king to see Lin Ping's answer, but he was also somewhat conflicted.

If Lin Ping's answer pleases the king, all will be well. But if it fails to meet the king's expectations or is even criticized mercilessly, Lin Ping may lose his chance to advance.

"These are all crude answers; what's the point of reading any further?" The king lost all interest.

Xia Yeran found the Minister of Rites' behavior a bit strange, and quickly chimed in, "It wouldn't hurt to look at a few more, what if there's an answer that suits your taste?"

Despite the combined persuasion of the two, the king symbolically glanced at the examination papers, but became increasingly angry with each reading.

Xia Yeran and the Minister of Personnel were sweating profusely. They regretted persuading the emperor to continue reading, as this could very well have enraged him.

Before long, his gaze was drawn to a test paper, which he pulled out of his hand, and his expression relaxed.

Under the lamplight, the Minister of Rites saw that it was indeed Lin Ping's examination paper. Overjoyed, he thought to himself, "As expected, I've succeeded!"

He had to admire Lin Ping's talent; he could convey profound truths in just nine simple words.

It's just that he lacks knowledge and understanding, and therefore cannot comprehend its meaning.

"Hmm, it tastes good. Was it incense?" The king nodded in satisfaction.

The heart that had settled down was now hanging in suspense again. It seemed the king's expression hadn't relaxed because of Lin Ping's answer, but because of the rich aroma of the incense.

"It's sandalwood!" the Minister of Rites replied, trembling with fear.

Seeing the king's entire nose pressed against it, how could he dare to reveal the complicated process behind the examination paper?

"Ye Ran, come and take a look." The king beckoned.

The Minister of Rites was overjoyed. Xia Yeran was a renowned scholar, and the fact that the king had asked him to review the examination papers proved that they contained genuine insights.

"Look at what's written here... I don't recognize these characters!" the king said truthfully.

The Minister of Rites was terrified. He shouldn't have helped Lin Ping. Even with great talent, he would ruin it all because of his terrible handwriting.

Xia Yeran had seen Lin Ping's handwriting before and had reminded him to practice calligraphy many times, so she couldn't help but frown.

“It’s roughly nine characters…” Xia Yeran replied with a frown.

His calligraphy is known for its robust and rounded strokes. Anyone who can recognize these terrible characters would probably write better if a dung beetle dipped in ink and crawled on paper.

"Hmm, it seems to be nine characters." The king wasn't quite sure either.

After all, these characters are tangled together like a pot of porridge, and it's already difficult to distinguish just a few characters.

"It says 'Revitalize the court, forge alliances, and defend against foreign enemies,'" the Minister of Rites hurriedly explained to the two.

"Oh? Minister Meng even recognizes these characters? I am truly impressed," the king exclaimed.

The Minister of Rites was ashamed. He was able to recognize the character because it was exactly the same as his own.

Before the words had even finished, the king's expression suddenly turned serious:

"Which nine words? Say them again?"

Cold sweat poured down his forehead. The Minister of Rites was trembling with fear. It was impossible to tell whether the king was delighted or angry; in any case, he was very agitated.

"To revitalize the court, forge alliances, and defend against foreign enemies..." the Minister of Rites replied tremblingly.

The king tried his best to calm himself down and said calmly, "You may leave now. I am very satisfied with this exam paper."

Hearing the word "satisfied," the Minister of Rites was slightly relieved; otherwise, he would have been anxiously waiting for news.

"Your humble servant takes his leave." The Minister of Rites bowed three times and then left.

At this moment, the king and Xia Yeran looked rather solemn.

"Have you leaked the emperor's movements?" the king asked coldly.

“This concerns the lifeline of the Wu Kingdom, Ye Ran dares not.” Xia Ye Ran knelt on the ground in fear.

He stayed in Daye Kingdom for three years, not only to study abroad, but also to gather information.

By chance, Xia Yeran overheard some secrets and, by connecting them with the emperor's actions, came to the answer.

When the ruler of Wu wanted to reclaim the fiefdom of the city lord, the emperor also wanted to reclaim the fiefdoms of several major states. The so-called rulers were nothing more than dukes, and were still subjects of the emperor.

Only Xia Yeran and the king knew this news, but the test paper had the three eye-catching characters "Defend against foreign enemies" on it.

Therefore, the owner of this exam paper foresaw the crisis facing the Wu Kingdom.