Chapter 839: Tit for Tat

Before going to Jiangnan, Your Majesty the Emperor was the only person who had given him hope, and Shen Yuan had never forgotten this.

It was the ray of light he encountered at the lowest point of his life. At that time, he'd been awakened, abandoned the martial path for the scholarly one, and to avoid falling into a situation where he had to look up even to his own younger brother or those other half-siblings, he had taken the examinations and earned accolades. By Imperial appointment, he'd become the Second Place Scholar. Though many in his family still looked down on him, at least he had won some respect outside.

He vividly remembered the day the Emperor had summoned him to the palace, a privilege not even that year's top scholar had received. He was valued by the Emperor, sent to Jiangnan to keep an eye on Chen Qing…