Lin An transmigrates to Great Xia, just as the empress posts a call for talented people. He promptly answers it and enters the palace for an examination.
Faced with the empress's questions, Lin An comes up short on good ideas but has plenty of wicked ones.
Empress: You were born into a wealthy and powerful family. Your mother was a lowly maid whom your master violated while drunk, and you were born as a result. You were bullied from childhood, and at eighteen you watched your mother be beaten to death by your master. How would you take revenge?
Lin An: Conspire to rebel, assassinate the emperor, and insult the throne. Once captured, curse the empress and ask whether she has the guts to execute my entire clan.
"..."
Empress: Our armies are at war, and we've surrounded the enemy city. How can we take it with the fewest casualties?
Lin An: The best strategy is to outmaneuver the enemy. Attacking a city is the worst option; winning over its people is best. So I suggest launching plague-infected enemy corpses into the city with trebuchets, or dumping them into the enemy's water supply.
"..."
Watching Lin An remain utterly calm, the empress wonders where this living King of Hell came from. I must make him mine, completely.
