Quietly Awaiting the Right Time

Life returned to its usual rhythm.

Home, Heavenly Prison, Spring Breeze Pavilion.

A year passed in a daze, and no one doubted Zhou Yi's origins anymore. The fellow was just as carefree as his master.

He was indifferent to everything and wouldn't budge unless ordered.

Prisoners came and went in the Heavenly Prison, either reincarnating or rising to prominence, but Cell B-6 remained unchanged.

As time went on.

Zhou Yi became quite familiar with Yu Su and learned the reason for his imprisonment: he had submitted a memorial to Emperor Jinglong, advising him to rectify official corruption and promote the rule of law.

His words were a bit too strong, and some said they were a veiled criticism of the Zhang family and the Brocade Guard.

Fengyang Kingdom didn't want to offend either side, so even though Yu Su had the Emperor's favor, he still had to take a trip to the Heavenly Prison. The Brocade Guard investigated for a long time but couldn't find any evidence of Yu Su's crimes; he hadn't even embezzled a single tael of silver.

In desperation, a censor in the court submitted a memorial accusing him of being unfilial to his elders.

Zhou Yi, knowing the whole story, started by giving him thicker porridge, then meat, and now he brings him a pot of wine every day.

"I heard the price of wine and meat in the Heavenly Prison is higher than gold. I don't have any money for you, and I won't have any in the future either," Yu Su said righteously after eating and drinking everything.

"No need to pay."

Zhou Yi smiled and said, "I've seen many honest officials imprisoned here, but I've never seen one like you, Old Yu."

Yu Su raised an eyebrow. "What about me?"

Yu Su passed the imperial examination at the age of thirty-two, spent ten years in the Hanlin Academy and as a censor, and one year in the Heavenly Prison. Now he was forty-three years old, so he could indeed be called "Old Yu" in front of Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi said, "Upright, but not rigid. Otherwise, you wouldn't eat the wine and meat sent by the jailers."

"Those are all pedantic fools."

Yu Su said, "Studying is for understanding principles, not for clinging to old rules and regulations. I still have important things to do, so I must eat meat to maintain a good body in order to wait for the opportunity."

Sure enough, after eating and drinking his fill, he began to strengthen his body.

After two sets of calisthenics, Yu Su stretched his muscles and bones, and then practiced several sets of Tai Chi.

Yu Su praised, "Zhou boy, the method you taught is good. I've been in prison for a year, but my body is even stronger than when I was studying."

"Old Yu, there are many rumors outside, saying that you're outwardly honest but actually a big corrupt official, that you secretly beat people to death, and that you bribed the chief examiner when you passed all three levels of the imperial examination..."

Zhou Yi told him about the rumors he had heard on the street. Obviously, the Zhang family and the Brocade Guard didn't plan to let Yu Su off.

They would smear him with dirt, then accuse him of trumped-up charges, and drag him directly to the Execution Grounds to be beheaded.

Hearing this, Yu Su was not afraid but delighted. "This shows that they can't do anything to me, so they can only spread rumors and slander. Otherwise, how few honest officials have died in the Imperial Prison?"

"That seems to make sense."

Zhou Yi asked doubtfully, "But being locked up in the Heavenly Prison, unable to speak out and refute, how can you fight them?"

Yu Su nodded slightly. "A little reputation is not worth fighting for. A person's life is short, and you only need to grasp a few key points to determine victory or defeat."

"How do you grasp the key points?"

"Wait!"

"Wait?"

"Those who want to achieve great things, wait quietly for the opportune moment!"

Another year passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Yi's status in the Heavenly Prison was now almost the same as before, and some jailers even called him "Master Zhou" again.

This relied not only on his interrogation skills but also on his timely display of Martial Path cultivation. A Bone Forging expert in his twenties would surely advance to Viscera Tempering in the future.

In the end, force was what made people submit!

Prisoners were replaced one after another, but Yu Su, with good food and drink, had actually gained more than ten pounds.

The court and Emperor Jinglong seemed to have forgotten about him, neither sentencing him according to the law nor releasing him from the Heavenly Prison.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but ask, "Old Yu, can you still wait for the opportune moment?"

"Time cannot be forced, and things cannot be demanded."

Yu Su said indifferently, "If the time has not come, do not act rashly, wasting your energy and torturing yourself. Some things cannot be rushed. Human power is no match for the will of Heaven, but you can wait for Heaven and Earth to lend you their strength!"

Zhou Yi frowned slightly upon hearing this.

His return to the Heavenly Prison as a jailer was not only for safety and familiarity but also for some other plans.

He had waited for two years without finding a suitable opportunity, and Zhou Yi was starting to wonder if he should actively create one. Yu Su's words enlightened him.

Experts who set up schemes are good at waiting for the opportune moment. With the help of luck, everything is possible!

Moreover, idle moves are the hardest to break, and unintentional actions are the most imperceptible.

Seeing him deep in thought, Yu Su assumed Zhou Yi didn't understand and said smugly, "This principle is too profound. When you're sixty years old, you'll probably understand it!"

"What if I still don't understand by then?"

Zhou Yi was fifty-eight this year, just two years away from his sixtieth birthday.

Yu Su curled his lip, "That just means you're too slow on the uptake."

That fellow actually didn't plant a flag!

Zhou Yi failed to subtly regain a point, and asked curiously, "Old Yu, I've always wondered, why did they falsely accuse you of being unfilial?"

"This matter isn't really a false accusation..."

Yu Su recalled, "When I came of age, I met an old Daoist who divined my fortune, saying that my clansmen would be a great harm to me. At that time, I was obsessed with Daoist studies and had a fiery temperament, so I directly separated from my clan and even moved my ancestors' graves."

Cutting oneself off from the clan, to put it seriously, was being unfilial and disobedient, which was an extremely serious crime in this era.

Zhou Yi mocked, "Old Yu, you were actually deceived by a Daoist priest, and you still have the nerve to boast about how clever you were when you were young."

"What the old Daoist said wasn't entirely wrong. My courtesy name, Shou Zhuo, came from him."

Yu Su said, "Guard simplicity and embrace the uncarved block, be quick to listen and slow to act. The old Daoist said that I would commit sins of the tongue in the future, so I must always remember to speak less."

"This old Daoist seems to be literate, so why would he advise you to separate from your family and move graves?"

"Perhaps he miscalculated!"

Jinglong, Year 14.

The Brocade Guard became increasingly rampant, and the Commander Feng Zhong was secretly called the "Inner Chancellor."

The Brocade Guard scouts monitored the world, and many people were convicted for their words. The light offenses resulted in imprisonment in the Heavenly Prison for reflection, while the serious offenses led to a trip to the Imperial Prison.

The people exchanged glances on the road, and no one dared to discuss state affairs.

Emperor Jinglong was still benevolent and compassionate, and the officials praised him for having the demeanor of a sage ruler, governing the world well through inaction.

The current Grand Secretary of the Cabinet was surnamed Du, not Zhang, but he was a personal disciple of Chancellor Zhang. More than half of the Six Ministries' officials were connected to the Zhang family, and after court, they went to the Zhang residence together to discuss state affairs.

The Zhang family's power faintly surpassed that of Chancellor Long in the past. What was strange was that Shenjing was calm, as if no one had noticed.

Zhou Yi was puzzled and asked Yu Su about this matter.

"There's an expert behind the Zhang family!"

Yu Su explained, "The Zhang family won't rebel now, nor will they in the future. Instead, they will hollow out His Majesty's power inside and outside the court and push the Crown Prince to succeed to the throne. Precisely because they won't rebel, they can gain the support of the officials, nobles, and even the imperial clan won't mind."

"After the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the Zhang family will gradually return power, and they will smoothly survive the disaster of extermination!"

Yu Su praised, "Such a light and easy method can only be done by Duke Wenzhong. I can't do it in this lifetime."

Zhou Yi mocked, "No matter how clever Zhang Wenzhong's methods are, he's still a big corrupt official, a traitor!"

"That's why I don't learn from him!"

Yu Su usually despised Chancellor Zhang as well, saying, "Duke Wenzhong's arrangement is very good, but once you have power in your hands, who would be willing to give it up? After all, Duke Who Pacifies the Nation set an example."

Li Wu voluntarily handed over military power and even committed suicide by poison in prison, but what he got in return was the disaster of extermination.

The credibility of the Zhao Dynasty has been completely destroyed!

Even if the Crown Prince has blood ties with the Zhang family, once he sits on that throne, there will be no more affection in his heart.

Zhou Yi asked doubtfully, "Old Yu, you see so clearly, why do you still want to oppose the Zhang family?"

Yu Su shook his head and sighed.

"Emperor Zhongzong intentionally indulged in his later years, and the administration and military preparations have reached a point where they must change. If it continues to rot like this, I'm afraid there will be a great disaster!"

This chapter was added temporarily, and my head exploded while writing it. It's a bit of an explanation for some of the readers' doubts.

——I'll leave with a flick of my sleeves and wait for the opportune moment.

This is by no means a rebuttal, but some insights from the life of a keyboard warrior. It may be right, it may be wrong, so just listen, watch, and laugh.

Reading novels is just for fun!

The elders of the country can tolerate me, and I won't make money by doing evil in the world.

The little author, a keyboard warrior, pays tribute to my benefactors. Thank you all for your generosity.