Mother has only you left as a son.

"What on earth is the reason? When I was a child, you always told me that my eldest, second, and third brothers died for the country, and that a good man should not enter the battlefield, urging me to give up martial arts for scholarly pursuits. So I studied diligently day and night, hoping to carve out a foothold in this world with a mere three-inch writing brush."

"Yet during my very first provincial examination, you had Nanny Fan slip a sleeping potion into my drink, causing me to fail miserably."

"During my second provincial examination, I kept my guard up with a hundred suspicions, but I never expected that you would bribe the chief examiner to give me a laxative, ensuring I only barely scraped through to pass."

Yan Shiyue and Nanny Fan exchanged looks of utter shock.

How did he know?

Lu Lan sighed deeply:

"What on earth have I done wrong? Why am I forbidden from pursuing martial arts, yet blocked from the literary path as well? Who on earth is Mother afraid of?"

Reflecting on how brilliantly talented he had been since childhood, only to have his grand ambitions constantly thwarted, Lu Lan felt a lingering sense of grievance.

Yan Shiyue drew a sharp, trembling breath, pointed a finger at Lu Lan, and scolded:

"Let me ask you, is this imperial examination the only path that must be walked? The imperial court is filled with treacherous sycophants who care only for their own advancement; what is there to go for? Why won't you just obediently inherit the title of the Duke of Yu and live out your days as a wealthy, carefree nobleman?"

"I understand now. Mother wishes for me to remain a cripple for the rest of my life." Lu Lan's tone was laced with profound disappointment.

"Not a cripple."

Yan Shiyue's emotions surged, and Nanny Fan gently rubbed her back from behind.

"I want you to be an ordinary person, living simply, completely detached from worldly struggles. The political scheming within the imperial court is called a court of virtue, but in reality, it is a living purgatory. It looks glorious on the surface, but behind closed doors, everyone wears a mask, engaging in ruthless backstabbing that devours people alive. Can you even see through that?"

She slowly squatted down, cupping Lu Lan's face in her hands, her eyes shimmering with tears:

"Listen to Mother, in this world, only the mediocre escape blame and praise. Let's forget about the Palace Examination, alright?"

For the first time in his life, Lu Lan defied his mother's wishes, shaking his head with a heavy finality:

"Mother, I must become a *jinshi*, and I must ascend to the highest ranks of the imperial court. I want to be an official. I truly want to be an official."

Reborn into this life, Lu Lan possessed an entirely new understanding of power.

The strong are the knife and the cutting board; the weak are the fish and the meat.

In his past life, had his power been vast enough, who would have dared to frame his family, who would have dared to exterminate his clan?

Marrying Gu Xingwan in this life might defuse one crisis, but what guarantee was there that another immensely powerful figure wouldn't suddenly emerge to destroy him?

Was he supposed to experience the utter annihilation of his entire lineage all over again?

"Sifang, Mother has only you left. Every time your eldest, second, and third brothers left us, it felt as though Mother had died once already. Are you trying to drive your mother to her grave?"

Yan Shiyue pounded her chest in despair, on the verge of a complete breakdown.

The harrowing scene of her older sister being tragically murdered by a treacherous imperial concubine was still fresh in her mind; she could not allow her sister's only remaining bloodline to be consumed by the same fate.

Lu Lan gently embraced Yan Shiyue, speaking in the gentlest tone in the world:

"Mother. I have no personal interest in power. I simply wish to have sufficient ability to protect you and Father whenever danger threatens."

And the entire Lu family as well.

After leaving the Jiuqu Pavilion, Lu Lan held a slightly higher opinion of Lu Zhongwang.

This fifth younger brother of his truly possessed no small amount of ability, coming within a hair's breadth of effortlessly preventing him from attending the Palace Examination.

Failing to persuade Lu Lan, Yan Shiyue felt a piercing ache in her heart.

Nanny Fan consoled her: "My Lady, the Palace Examination gathers scholars from all across the realm. Out of a hundred thousand provincial graduates, only three hundred are selected. The odds are truly infinitesimal; His Lordship the Heir might not even pass. Please set your mind at ease for now."

This consolation had the opposite effect, causing Yan Shiyue's tears to burst forth like a broken dam.

She knew the son she had raised better than anyone. He would undoubtedly pass—he could pass with his eyes closed.

This child possessed the destiny and fortune of the True Dragon, combined with her sister's peerless intellect; no matter how one tried to raise him, he could never be rendered mediocre.

Did people really think Qi Cong had been arranged by Qi Xuefu to corrupt Lu Lan?

That had all been with Yan Shiyue's tacit consent.

After all these years, she finally saw the truth clearly.

Lu Lan's life was destined to be extraordinary, and no one could ever stop him.

This child was as stubborn as a mule; what on earth was she supposed to do?!