A Fool Fit for a Museum

That night, Dai Xuanyu returned to the Embassy through a secret passage and told his uncle Dai Yuan what had happened during the day.

Dai Xuanyu had not chosen to stay at the academy.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy had student dormitories, but few students lived in them.

After all, everyone who studied at Heaven Dou Royal Academy was a child of wealth or nobility.

Land in Heaven Dou Imperial City might have been worth its weight in gold, but buying a decent home was no great difficulty for those families.

So few students actually lived at the academy. Most had homes of their own in the city.

"The Heaven Dou military really won't give up. That old bastard Ge Long issued the order after all."

After hearing Dai Xuanyu's account, Dai Yuan looked disdainful, as though he had expected exactly this.

Heaven Dou's grand marshal, Ge Long, possessed the Yazi Martial Soul. Martial Soul factions with draconic leanings naturally gravitated toward him.

The Heaven Dou Empire might have looked soft, but it had every department a state needed—and every expense that came with them.

Military and defense spending were no exception.

Otherwise, the Heaven Dou Empire could never have held out so long when the two nations had fought.

To prepare for a war that could break out at any moment, Heaven Dou poured an astronomical sum into its military every year.

That was undoubtedly a tremendous burden on the empire's finances.

Now that the two nations had formed an alliance, Heaven Dou was bound to cut some military spending to ease its financial pressure.

For that very reason, it was only natural that the military and the Hawk Faction could no longer sit still.

Once spending was cut, real money would vanish from their hands.

"I didn't expect the Heaven Dou military to be this stupid either."

The thought of Zhou Cang's performance that day made Dai Xuanyu sigh.

He had not imagined fools like that really existed.

"Could he have made it any more obvious? Did he think everyone under heaven was blind?"

"But that's fine. The stupider Heaven Dou's people are, the better it is for our Star Luo Empire."

"If we ever do come to blows, opponents this foolish will save us a lot of trouble."

Dai Yuan nodded, fully agreeing with Dai Xuanyu.

Then something seemed to occur to him, and he asked:

"But if you draw this much attention to yourself, won't it affect that plan of yours?"

Dai Yuan knew that Dai Xuanyu had enrolled at Heaven Dou Royal Academy under a false identity for a special mission.

As for what that mission was, he still did not know.

But as an elder, he could not help worrying.

"You're worrying too much, Uncle. Being famous will actually help my plan."

Dai Xuanyu waved a hand, indicating that Dai Yuan need not worry about him.

Only then did Dai Yuan relax.

His nephew had a mind of his own and never spoke carelessly. He would not lie to him about this.

"There is one thing I'll have to trouble you with, though," Dai Xuanyu added.

"What is it?" Dai Yuan asked, curious.

"Keep the fallout from this confined to a dispute between students."

"I don't want all sorts of 'unrelated people' coming to my door while I'm carrying out my mission."

"After all, at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, I'm Dai Zhuang, not Prince Dai Xuanyu."

"That's simple," Dai Yuan said with a chuckle. For him, it truly was.

A little pressure on those spineless courtiers at Heaven Dou's court would be enough to bury the matter.

"It's getting late. Go get some rest. You have school tomorrow," Dai Yuan said, his voice full of concern.

"All right, Uncle." Dai Xuanyu nodded and left the room.

At the same time, a very different scene was unfolding at Grand Marshal Ge Long's residence.

"An idiot! An idiot fit to be put in a museum! How did the Zhou Family produce a descendant like that?"

Ge Long paced back and forth in his study, his face livid.

He had indeed signaled to his subordinates to have their younger relatives target the exchange students from the Star Luo Empire.

He had hoped they would find fault, stir up some friction, and give him something to use later at court.

But Ge Long had never imagined anyone could be this stupid.

Targeting them so blatantly, without the slightest attempt at concealment—did the boy take everyone under heaven for fools?

Was he afraid people might fail to see who had put him up to it?

Seeing him so furious, his wife asked in puzzlement:

"Wasn't it just a quarrel between children? How did it end up involving you, my lord?"

"Have someone change the story, and it won't lead back to you."

Ge Long snorted. "Zhou Cang is a descendant of the Aoki Zhou Family."

"And the Aoki Zhou Family are my staunch supporters."

"The moment that boy made his move, who wouldn't think I'd ordered it? Even if I hadn't, the blame would still be pinned on me."

Meanwhile, Zhou Cang, who was recuperating at home, was being beaten in turns by his parents.

"Ow, Father!"

"I'm already hurt this badly. Why are you still hitting me?" Zhou Cang looked thoroughly aggrieved.

He had been handling an important matter for the family that day. Even if he had botched it in the end, surely his effort counted for something.

Why did he have to be beaten by both his parents while he was home recovering?

Furious, Zhou Pang slapped his youngest son again. "You idiot!"

"Do you have any idea how much trouble your actions today have caused Marshal Ge Long?!"

"Someone will certainly impeach him over this at tomorrow's morning court!"

"The continent has been peaceful for years, and times have been hard for the military. Who knows how many people have been eyeing the military budget, wanting to slash it.

"Especially now that the two nations have formed an alliance. Those civil officials have grown even louder, insisting that military spending must be reduced."

"What you did today handed that lot a knife!"

The more Zhou Pang spoke, the angrier he became. How had he fathered such a brainless son?

The boy had no political sense at all. He was as clueless as a fool.

At Prince Xue Xing's residence, by contrast, the mood was jubilant.

"Haha! I bet that old bastard Ge Long never dreamed his own men could be this stupid!"

"At such a crucial moment, he stabbed himself in the back."

Xue Xing could not hide his grin. He was delighted.

It was the most satisfying news he had heard in years.

Ge Long had always leaned toward Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's faction.

So Xue Xing was happy to see anything that weakened the Crown Prince's influence.

Better yet, the incident had happened at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

The academy was a stronghold of the Crown Prince's loyalists. All Three Education Committee Members were Xue Qinghe's men.

Ge Long's subordinate had fallen flat on his face there, and the embarrassment would not be Ge Long's alone.

Perhaps I can make good use of this opportunity. The more Xue Xing thought about it, the happier he became.

Beside him, Xue Beng, who had arrived in disguise, spoke up too:

"Uncle, could we make use of these exchange students from the Star Luo Empire?

"Have them stir up more trouble at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, so we can chip away at Xue Qinghe's influence?"