"What?" Lin Wen hadn't come to his senses for a while.

Li Longxing smiled and said, "I mean, I'll marry the first princess to you. She is the most beautiful woman in the empire, the most dazzling gem on the imperial crown."

Lin Wen firmly refused, "It's beyond my reach."

Li Longxing smiled, "No, there's nothing beyond your reach. I think you can..."

Lin Wen forcefully rejected, "No, it's not that I can't reach her, it's that she can't reach me. I am the future master of the Great Dao, how can an ordinary woman in the mortal world aspire to touch it?"

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What?

Li Longxing almost suspected that he had misheard.

"What is the Great Dao?" What does "an ordinary woman in the mortal world" mean?

The first princess of the empire, and someone beyond her reach?

The emperor of the empire?

That's not far off... No, this brat is just a sheriff, what kind of grand dreams is he having?

Li Longxing thought of many things in an instant.

His thinking was extremely sharp, and his deductive ability was very strong, which was why he could understand the profound meaning behind Lin Wen's words.

As long as he was given a clue, he could quickly deduce and fill in most of the missing content. Complex and obscure academic papers, classic literary works, there was no reading barrier for him at all.

Li Longxing's dream was to be a scientist who changed the world with truth, and a philosopher who changed the minds of men.

He detested politics to the extreme.

But at that time, the empire was in turmoil, and the internal strife was intense. He had no choice but to take the stage. In the moment he became the crown prince, he transformed from a scientist who thought rationally to a politician who thought in terms of interests.

His thinking was so active, like sparks jumping around. He liked efficient and purposeful communication.

But the communication of politicians was extremely slow and inefficient.

They wouldn't easily speak their minds, they would fill the communication between people with countless nonsense and rubbish.

For Li Longxing, communicating with them was a form of extreme torture. Most of his time in the imperial tower was spent enduring this torture.

So when Lin Wen communicated with him in a simple language, the joy of a long-awaited rain after a drought, the sparks of inspiration from the collision of wisdom, made his soul almost tremble, and also made Lin Wen gain even greater favor in his eyes.

It was because of this that he was convinced that this was a young man he could entrust with his most precious things.

But this brat not only refused, but also gave a reason that made his mind overloaded and unable to understand.

Li Longxing looked at him and said, "Kid, explain it to me."

His tone was not very happy.

Lin Wen scratched the back of his head and could only reluctantly activate a new [Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart].

The primordial spirit was depleted by 7%, when it should have only used 5%, resulting in a loss of 2% blood.

The Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart said, "I don't care about the appearance and status of a spouse. Youth is fleeting, beauty fades, a beauty's reflection in the mirror, flowers wither, there is no eternal youth, just as there is no eternal royal power."

"And status is only attached by the world, it only represents that she is your daughter, and has no other value. The truly precious things to humans are knowledge, inner qualities, and the soul."

After hearing this, Li Longxing couldn't help but feel a sense of respect.

"I underestimated you, it turns out you have such noble character and personal integrity. In that case, your so-called mastery of the Great Dao is that of a philosopher who has grasped the truth, and an ordinary woman refers to a shallow and ignorant woman..."

The Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart said, "In the field of philosophy, the blending of souls far surpasses the collision of **..."

Lin Wen closed his ears to avoid having his worldview shattered by the astonishing operations of the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart.

After immersing himself in the practice of cultivation for a while, he opened his eyes and regained his senses.

Li Longxing had temporarily put the matter aside, but he forcibly stuffed the complete set of photos of the first princess (Emperor's exclusive edition) that he cherished into Lin Wen's arms.

And the content of their conversation had already veered off in a completely different direction.

"...Take a look, especially when it's late at night and you're feeling lonely. The process of pursuing truth can be quite dull, it's nice to have someone to accompany you. Men, sometimes it's okay to be a bit superficial."

The Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart was particularly good at this kind of conversation. Lin Wen wisely turned it off to avoid the two of them engaging in lecherous discussions about a woman's measurements, legs, and feet, and forcefully ended the topic.

"I'm going back."

"Cough! It seems our tastes are quite similar, we should communicate more."

Li Longxing coughed twice, but Lin Wen didn't want to waste any more time. He had to hurry back because he had discovered that Zhao Minggong's lifespan was rapidly decreasing.

Since he set out, Zhao Minggong had single-handedly shouldered half of the responsibilities in Changshan County.

In addition to the extremely complicated refugee affairs, the construction affairs of fifty thousand laborers, administrative affairs, he also had to arrange for the transportation, reception, and provision of necessary support for their war spoils on the front line.

Otherwise, several thousand vehicles wouldn't be able to run continuously for three days without stopping.

The transportation and reception of several hundred thousand tons of supplies and tens of thousands of personnel was also not something that could be done so quickly.

It was also since that time that the lifespan of Zhao Minggong had been passing at a faster rate, and Lin Wen's trip to the imperial capital had only accelerated it.

Now, Zhao Minggong's life was only a little over 70 days, and it was passing at a rate five times faster than that of an ordinary person, which made Lin Wen feel uneasy.

"I have urgent matters to attend to," Lin Wen said, "Changshan County is in great danger. If something happens to Zhao Minggong, it will be a huge loss for Changshan County."

Li Longxing's expression turned serious. "Is that so? It seems that your days are not going well."

"Then, that's it."Li Longxing quickly escorted him out of the Emperor's Tower, compressing their conversation into the journey.

"I have proposed the idea of changing the title of Governor to Governor, but the Grand Elder has neither agreed nor explicitly opposed it…"

Lin Wen said, "Taking too big a step, the Grand Elder worries it might affect the foundation of the empire's governance. You could set up a dual leadership, one Governor and one Sheriff."

Li Longxing suddenly forgot what he was going to say next, as if lightning had streaked across his mind, illuminating the dark night of his soul.

He immediately thought of a hundred better advantages to this method, the most important being: it was highly feasible and unlikely to cause backlash.

With only one Governor for each state, and so many officials in the empire, it was a classic case of too many wolves and not enough meat.

Adding another Sheriff would provide countless bureaucrats, who had been stuck at this threshold for years, with the opportunity to advance, wouldn't it?

Although the Governor might oppose it, everyone under his rule would support it.

This was a very good transitional policy with a lot of room for maneuver in the future.

At the same time, it was an unsolvable open conspiracy; as long as it was approved by the Grand Elder, it could be smoothly implemented.

And the one who proposed such a sophisticated and ruthless strategy was just a young Sheriff.

He hadn't even thought about it; he had just casually responded to his words.

"Truly, the younger generation is to be feared," Li Longxing sighed.

At forty-six years old, he sat in the royal car heading to the imperial capital's airport, his gaze turning to Lin Wen beside him, seeing in him the twenty-six-year-old version of himself.

"There's still a future," he thought.

"If we old-timers from the old era fail, there's still you."