Accompanied by the chirping of cicadas, Wang Jin, lying on a bamboo chair in the pavilion, slowly awoke.
He yawned and looked at the two teenagers standing beside him, their faces bruised and swollen.
The two teenagers, startled by his gaze, quickly reached out to help Wang Jin as he got up, fawning, "Big Brother, you're awake. We were wrong, and we've made you worry again!"
"Oh, tell me what you did wrong."
Second Brother Wang Qi hastily said,
"We shouldn't have spent our days idly, frequenting brothels, and even more, we shouldn't have lusted after respectable women. Big Brother, we truly were wrong."
Third Brother Wang Wei also chimed in,
"Big Brother, we'll definitely change from now on and never do this again."
From a young age, both brothers feared their Big Brother Wang Jin; their parents might not truly hit them, but Big Brother truly did.
After listening to them, Wang Jin stared intently at them.
"Anything else? No?"
His calm tone revealed neither joy nor anger, making the two even more scared, their legs trembling slightly.
"You two Trash, neither skilled in literature nor martial arts. I don't expect you to amount to anything, but can't you even be good-for-nothing parasites living off others?"
"It's fine to be lustful, and I don't care if you lust after respectable women, but you must keep your eyes peeled. Who can be provoked, and who cannot? The young married woman you two planned to drug and force yourselves upon was someone Li County Magistrate had touched, and she was quite favored by that Li County Magistrate before."
"The washcloth used by a noble, you two commoners aren't even worthy to wipe your mouths with, understand?"
"Who knows if he might remember this woman again someday?"
"He is an official from a powerful clan, while our Wang family is common folk. Isn't it easy for him to deal with you?"
"I am currently at a critical juncture. If I offend that Li clan member and obstruct my path, I will bring your two heads to apologize. Get lost, Trash!"
"Yes, yes, yes, Big Brother, we'll get lost right away."
For Wang Jin, a County Magistrate from the Li family was not someone he couldn't afford to offend, but Wang Jin was unwilling to take even the slightest risk, especially for the mistakes of others.
Another reason was that Wang Jin would be transferred elsewhere to serve as an official in the future, but the Wang family was still in Ji County. If he truly offended that Li County Magistrate, the official could wear down the Wang family, and Wang Jin would be beyond his reach.
The two brothers hurried out of the pavilion and saw their mother waiting outside the wall, her face filled with worry.
A plump, gentle-eyed woman in green angrily said,
"Worthless things, making your Big Brother angry again."
However, another slender woman in red stroked the wounds on Wang Wei's body, her heart aching.
"It's true that Wang Jin is the legitimate eldest son, but he shouldn't beat and scold his younger brothers so casually. The Old Master and the others don't even care, letting him be the master of such a large family..."
The woman in green glanced at her upon hearing this.
"It's better for children to have someone to discipline them than no one. If they are not disciplined, what will happen if they cause a great disaster in the future?"
"He passed the spring examination and is going to be an official. Even if he weren't the legitimate eldest son, he would still be the Wang family's precious treasure. In this Wang family, besides the Old Master, he is the one in charge."
"Moreover, a Disciple of the current Grand Censor... that's one of the Three Ducal Ministers!"
"Alas..."
"Worthless things, if you had half your Big Brother's intelligence, your mother wouldn't have to be like this..."
Wang Jin passed the imperial examination this spring, qualifying him to become an official and officially embark on his career path.
Before he obtained the System, Wang Jin had intended to rely on the cultural heritage accumulated in his previous life (plagiarism) to become the top scholar, making a name for himself in Great Jin, and then using his teacher's connections to follow the path of Legalism, gradually developing.
However, now that he had a cheat, his ideas changed. Now he only wanted to find a territory, develop cautiously, and wait for the opportune moment.
"It seems I need to visit my teacher."
Inside a simple, even somewhat crude, small courtyard, a handsome, lean old man held a book, reading it carefully, occasionally glancing at Wang Jin, who was watering and loosening the soil in the courtyard's vegetable garden.
Finally, when Wang Jin was sweating profusely from his work,
The old man put down his book and called out,
"Enough, stop ruining my vegetable garden. Come here."
Upon hearing this, Wang Jin put down his hoe and ran to the old man, kneeling before him.
"I beg my teacher for guidance."
The old man looked at the obedient and handsome young man before him for a long time before sighing.
"Zi'an, do you know why your teacher gave you this courtesy name?"
"Your Disciple is dull-witted!"
"You were precocious from a young age, born with a keen mind, able to fathom others' thoughts. You are astute and cunning, excellent Materials for a scholar."
"But you, you will never become a good official. You have no compassion, act ruthlessly and unscrupulously, and your methods are cruel."
"Your teacher hopes you will live a stable and carefree life."
"With your talent, it wouldn't have been impossible to achieve top scholar in this spring examination, yet you indulged in the Dao of merchants, accumulating wealth, deviating from the Great Dao. What were you thinking? I had already planned your career path, just waiting for you to make a splash and enter the capital as an official."
"Although your teacher has retired, my connections in court remain, and my Legalist Disciples are still there. They could pave the way for you, and it's not impossible for you to become a Court Minister in the future."
"Now, tell me, what are you thinking? What is your ambition?"
Listening to his teacher's sincere words, Wang Jin's eyes reddened, and he said with a trembling voice,
"Teacher... how can there still be stability in Great Jin now? Aristocratic families oppress the common people, the imperial court is extensively building palaces for His Majesty, and in recent years, various regions have suffered from droughts and floods. Harvests have been poor, countless common people are displaced, and I hear that in Bing Province, people are starving everywhere. If this continues, there will be great chaos."
"The army is in arrears with military pay, officers of all ranks are exploiting soldiers and embezzling funds, military discipline is lax, and combat effectiveness is weak. Even suppressing rebellions is difficult, let alone facing the barbarians eyeing us from the north, the Yue people from the south, and the numerous island nations in the southeast. If war breaks out, can Great Jin win? One or two might be fine; Great Jin has deep foundations and can withstand it. But if that group of barbarians sees Great Jin as weak, they will surely attack en masse!"
"Your Disciple wishes to distance himself from the capital, govern a region, and await changes in the situation."
"I hope my teacher will grant my wish!"