From Ashes to Palace

The examination hall loomed over Lin Wei, more imposing than any mountain he'd ever crossed. Inside, instead of the wind whistling through the trees, he heard the anxious scratching of quills against paper, the rustle of expensive silks. The scholars around him buzzed with a different sort of hunger – ambition, not for food, but for a place within the empire's gilded cage.

Lin Wei felt out of place. No brushstrokes of his could match the elegant calligraphy of those born to privilege. His knowledge wasn't from dusty scrolls, but from the desperate symphony of the streets. Yet, a strange calmness settled over him. This wasn't a test of survival, but of strategy. And in that realm, he had years of brutal experience.

The questions flowed – historical minutiae, intricate policy debates, even a philosophical essay that had most candidates sweating in confusion. Lin Wei tackled them one by one. Not with the flourish of a master scholar, but with the methodical cunning of a hunter tracking prey.

When the results were finally announced, two names echoed through the crowd: Xiao Jin, the expected prodigy, and his own. Lin Wei watched Xiao Jin bask in the congratulations, his face alight with a mix of pride and bewilderment. Here was a man who excelled within the system, whose talent was precisely what the empire craved. A tool to be used.

A flicker of resentment stirred in Lin Wei's gut, quickly quenched by cold calculation. He sought out Xiao Jin, not to undermine the other man, but to measure him. He found a sharp mind, yes, but also a hint of frustration in Xiao Jin's eyes, a subtle disdain for the rigid rules of the game they now were forced to play. There was fertile ground here, a spark that might be coaxed into something unexpected.

The summons arrived with the swiftness of a hawk dispatched by a hunter. Not a feast for all who passed, but an invitation for a select few to the heart of power itself. Lin Wei and Xiao Jin stood side-by-side, an unlikely pair entering the glittering prison of the palace.

Prince Zhao was disappointment barely concealed by a thin veneer of arrogance. He eyed them with a possessive glint. To him, these scholars weren't individuals, but weapons to be added to a struggling arsenal. Yet, when the prince's gaze settled on Lin Wei, something shifted. There was a flicker of cunning recognition in those shallow eyes.

"Welcome!" Prince Zhao boomed, the forced joviality echoing oddly against the cold marble. "As a patron of great minds, I have chosen special roles for the both of you!"

Lin Wei bowed, his expression a mask. He knew the power of underestimation, of moving in the shadows while others stumbled in the spotlight. To Xiao Jin, the prince offered a position in the endless labyrinth of court bureaucracy, a way to use his talents yet be suffocated by tradition.

But to Lin Wei, Prince Zhao held out a far more dangerous prize. "You, Lin Wei, shall be my personal advisor. Your… unconventional perspective… is precisely what I require."

The first piece clicked into place on the vast board sprawled across Lin Wei's mind. His challenge wasn't merely to survive the machinations of the court, but to bend the rules in his favor. He had his pawn – a prince desperate for an advantage. And in Xiao Jin, he saw the potential for a powerful ally, a heart to stir beneath the scholar's pristine robes. Yes, the game was truly beginning. And Lin Wei, the boy forged in the ashes of a forgotten village, was finally ready to play.