Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

Yuezhou is currently in the early stages of its development, and Zhao Kai is not one to care about appearances. Previously, due to a lack of funds and supplies, the palace of the Yue King's Mansion had not yet been built. In addition, there was no governor in Kuaiji Prefecture at the moment, so Zhao Kai and Shen Qing and others temporarily occupied the governor's mansion.

It's not too late to move out once the Yue King's Mansion is completed and suitable officials have been selected in Kuaiji County.

At this moment, there were only three people in the main hall of the prefectural governor's mansion. Zhao Kai sat in the main seat at the head of the table, with a golden-armored general standing behind him to protect his safety (the golden-armored general was not considered a living person). Shen Qing sat in the first seat to his left. As the saying goes, a talent fit for a king's advisor refers to the person on the left-hand side of the king. This position also represented Shen Qing's status within the Yue Prince's faction, possessing power and status second only to the Yue Prince, surpassing all other officials in the Prince's mansion.

The other person sitting opposite Shen Qing was Li Yibai, the senior disciple of the Dongyue Sword Pool, dressed in white, a first-grade Vajra Realm martial artist. The reason Li Yibai was able to sit in the first position to the right opposite Shen Qing was not because his status or position had reached such a height, but because there were only three people at this small gathering. It was more convenient for everyone to sit close together to chat and talk. If they were too far apart, it would be very inconvenient, and they couldn't keep shouting at the top of their lungs.

After the servants in the prefectural governor's mansion served tea and pastries, they respectfully withdrew. The guards in the mansion were also arranged to stay fifty meters away so as not to disturb the conversation in the hall.

"Li Yibai, what do you think of the upcoming martial arts examination?" Shen Qing put down his teacup and asked Li Yibai.

The martial arts examination has not yet been held, but anyone with discerning eyes can sense that there are countless undercurrents surging within it; otherwise, it would never have caused such a great stir.

More than 20,000 martial artists gathered here. Even though more than 90% of them were low-level martial artists, they were still an extremely large and unstable force.

"Reporting to Lord Shen, I believe someone is definitely sabotaging this, and I fear the upcoming martial arts examination will be fraught with difficulties," Li Yibai said cautiously after a moment's thought. Of the three present, although he was the strongest, his status was the lowest.

Shen Qing nodded. "You're right. The martial artists who have gathered here so far, besides those from Liyang, come from the South China Sea, Nanzhao, the Western Regions, and even the Northern Mang. These people really think highly of Yuezhou. A mere martial arts examination has caused such a stir. I'm afraid those who want to watch the show are already prepared, just waiting for Yuezhou to make a fool of itself."

"I wonder if Brother Shen has any solutions?" Zhao Kai asked with some worry. The martial arts examination was the first major event he organized after becoming the Prince of Yue. If it was messed up, his reputation would be completely ruined. Although Zhao Kai was usually carefree, he did not want to leave such a stain on his life.

On the other side, when Li Yibai heard Zhao Kai address Shen Qing, he once again elevated Shen Qing's status in his mind. He originally thought that Brother Shen was just an ordinary confidant of Zhao Kai, but now he realized that Shen Qing's position in Zhao Kai's heart was far more important than he had imagined.

"Your Majesty, there's no need to worry. I've already taken measures to deal with this. They only have two methods to target the martial arts examination. The first is to prevent it from being held. However, the uproar caused by this examination is far greater than we anticipated. Even those behind the scenes probably didn't expect so many martial artists to come. Therefore, given this overwhelming force, no one can stop the examination from proceeding. As for assassinating martial artists to create panic, such underhanded tactics are difficult for them to achieve if we take certain precautions." Shen Qing chuckled as he said this.

The martial arts camps in the east and south of the city have been completed. Each camp is well-organized, with clear divisions between areas and patrols by local militia. In addition, Shen Qing has secretly dispatched experts to keep watch, so anyone who causes trouble can be quickly identified.

Shen Qing paused for a moment, then continued, "Since they can't disrupt the martial arts examination, then the only option left is to undermine its influence."

"How can we undermine the influence of the martial arts examination?" Zhao Kai asked, puzzled. Li Yibai listened attentively.

"I suspect they'll secretly send people to participate in the martial arts examination. When they finally win and the Yue Prince's Mansion starts bestowing official titles upon them, these people won't just refuse; they'll also mock them, saying things like, 'Even though I, Zhang San, won first place, I disdain being a lackey of your Yue Prince's Mansion. If you want me, Zhang San, to serve you, forget it...' That's roughly the gist of it. If they say that in public, wouldn't our Yue Prince's Mansion lose all face?" Shen Qing described the scene vividly as he spoke.

"Brother Shen, we absolutely cannot let this happen, otherwise I, the King of Yue, will become a laughing stock for the whole world." Zhao Kai's face turned green upon hearing this. If what Shen Qing said was true, his reputation would probably be nailed to the pillar of shame in the history books of Li Yang.

"In a certain month of a certain year, Prince Zhao Kai of Yue held a martial arts examination, but was ridiculed by people from the martial arts world, causing the royal family to lose face..." After recalling such a scene, Zhao Kai hurriedly shook his head, dispelling these nightmarish thoughts, and looked at Shen Qing with an anxious expression.

Shen Qing nodded. He would naturally not allow such a thing to happen. If that happened, it wouldn't just be Zhao Kai who would lose face; Shen Qing and the entire Yue Prince's Mansion would become a laughingstock for the world.

Shen Qing immediately turned to Li Yibai and said, "Li Yibai, I need you to do something."

"Please speak, Lord Shen," Li Yibai said respectfully.

"I want you to lead the inner disciples of Dongyue Sword Pool to participate in the martial arts examination. After you win a ranking in the examination, you should represent Dongyue Sword Pool in a high-profile manner to accept the investiture from the Yue King's Mansion. In this way, with Dongyue Sword Pool setting an example, even if there are still people causing trouble and unwilling to accept the investiture, the contrast between the two sides will prevent things from becoming too ugly," Shen Qing said after a moment of contemplation.

"Brother Shen, can't we deal with those troublemakers beforehand?" Zhao Kai said, a hint of murderous intent in his eyes. Since these people wanted to embarrass him, he wouldn't hesitate to kill them.

Shen Qing shook his head and said, "Brother Zhao, things are not as simple as you think. Let's not even talk about whether we can find those enemies. The reason we held the martial arts examination is to recruit talents from the martial arts world to the Yue Prince's Mansion. Those martial arts people are already very wary of this. If we take action against those troublemakers, and it is discovered, the entire Yue Prince's Mansion will become a public enemy of the martial arts world."

"Then we'll just avoid being discovered," Zhao Kai said, unwilling to give up.

Shen Qing continued, shaking his head, "Things aren't that easy. If a martial artist dies under mysterious circumstances, it will inevitably cause panic. I'm afraid that if someone frames us, it'll be like mud falling into our pants—even if it's not shit, it'll still look like shit. So, we not only can't act secretly, but we also have to ensure the safety of those martial artists. As for the underhanded tricks of those ambitious people, we can only deal with them as they come. I believe that as long as we make sufficient preparations, and with the example of the Dongyue Sword Pool, we will definitely achieve the goals of the martial arts examination."

At this point, Shen Qing turned his gaze to Li Yibai again and said, "Whether we can thwart those people's conspiracy this time depends on the performance of your Dongyue Sword Pool."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kai also turned his gaze to Li Yibai.

"Your Highness and Lord Shen, please rest assured, Dongyue Sword Pool will live up to your expectations and help you solve your problems," Li Yibai said confidently.

As one of only two sacred sites of swordsmanship in the martial arts world, Dongyue Sword Pool possesses an absolute foundation that sets it apart from all others.

Recently, Li Yibai has been responsible for maintaining order near the arena. He has a certain understanding of the level of these martial artists. Ninety percent of them are just second-rate. There are very few martial artists who are truly worthy of his attention. Therefore, he believes that as long as the inner disciples of Dongyue Sword Pool make their move, they will surely shine in this martial arts competition.