Chapter 99 Extra Chapter: Sky Screen Cinema 5

"Father, how do I fill this in?"

Yinzhen looked bewildered. As a prince, he naturally didn't understand the ways of dealing with people in a lower position.

Kangxi looked at his ministers and asked, "My dear ministers, what are your thoughts?"

The civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment. They had prepared for so long, only to be tested with this kind of question, which required them to think in the role of an eunuch. No matter how they thought about it, it felt awkward.

But we had no choice but to answer the emperor's call.

Mingzhu's mind raced, and he said loudly, "I think we can consider this matter, but we do not know the judgment criteria of the Heavenly Screen. The nuances within are beyond our control. Since our statuses are different, we might as well ask Eunuch Liang for his opinion. As a fellow chief steward of the Imperial Household, I think Eunuch Liang is better able to grasp Su Peisheng's mindset on the Heavenly Screen."

"!" Liang Jiugong was startled. You thought of me at a time like this? You really know how to shift the blame!

"Liang Jiugong!"

Upon hearing the Emperor's call, Liang Jiugong bowed and stepped forward, looking troubled: "Your Majesty, this servant only knows how to serve Your Majesty. This servant is not capable of handling such an important matter."

"It is precisely because Eunuch Liang has always served by the Emperor's side and has the same status as the people on the Heavenly Canopy that I recommend Eunuch Liang."

Hearing Mingzhu's words, Liang Jiugong was speechless. Fine, fine, after today, Mingzhu, you won't see me anymore, right?

Kangxi felt that Mingzhu's words made some sense. It was indeed feasible for eunuchs to understand the psychology of others. "Liang Jiugong, think about it first. If it were you, what would you do?"

Since the Emperor had spoken, Liang Jiugong had no choice but to bite the bullet and proceed. "Yes, this servant understands."

"My esteemed ministers, do you have any further thoughts?"

Kangxi's gaze fell on Suo'etu, who gritted his teeth and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I believe that since the person who appeared in the sky shares the same name as the Fourth Prince's eunuch, regardless of whether they are from the Three Thousand Realms, they might have some similarities and ideas. Your Majesty might as well ask Su Peisheng, who is by the Fourth Prince's side, as well."

If they weren't rivals, they'd all push the eunuch out to take the blame.

The other ministers silently complained, but none of them spoke up. It was better to sacrifice a friend than oneself.

Yinzhen's face was grim, and he could only watch as Su Peisheng was brought up.

Su Peisheng was already panicked when he saw someone with the same name appear on the celestial screen. Now, being brought before the Emperor and asked if he had any ideas about the questions on the screen, he truly had no idea!

He instinctively looked to Yinzhen for help, but Yinzhen was also helpless. After all, he was a eunuch who had served him for many years, and he gritted his teeth as he explained, "Father, Su Peisheng is merely a eunuch of a bald prince like myself. His mindset and status are fundamentally different from those on the Heavenly Curtain..."

"I'm sorry, Eunuch Liang, but the capable should do more work. Therefore, I believe that although Su Peisheng can be an assistant, the main thing is to seek your opinion, Eunuch Liang."

Before Liang Jiugong could even grieve for being betrayed by the Fourth Prince, he heard the Ninth Prince, Yin Tang, shout in a panic, "Father! The countdown to the answer has begun!"

Everyone was startled and looked up sharply. Above the question, a line of Arabic numerals was displayed, counting down from 300 to 299, 298, and so on.

Emperor Kangxi, a master of mathematics and possessing a clock, naturally knew this was a five-minute countdown. Time was of the essence, so Kangxi quickly instructed, "Liang Jiugong and Su Peisheng, you two must devise a plan as soon as possible; time is of the essence!"

Left with no other choice, the two had to proceed. They delivered their carefully chosen words to the Ninth Prince right on time, but before he could speak or make a move, familiar lines of text appeared on the sky.

[Su Peisheng replied: Your Majesty, it was merely that the two princes inquired about Your Majesty's dietary preferences, wishing to show their filial piety during the festival. How could I dare to overstep my bounds? I am well aware of my status, and I am entirely dependent on Your Majesty's grace to be where I am today… My loyalty to Your Majesty is as clear as the sun and moon, and as heaven and earth bear witness!]

The matter of "gifting silver" was definitely something that couldn't be mentioned. This was the consensus that Liang Jiugong and Su Peisheng reached after seeing the sky screen, and that was to find another reason to show their loyalty.

However, it couldn't be certain that the reason they came up with was the same reason Su Peisheng on the sky was thinking of, so the two could only express their loyalty at length.

Then, seeing the court officials answering on the sky, they couldn't help but scrutinize the two, especially Liang Jiugong. So this was how Liang Gong usually "fooled" the emperor.

Liang Jiugong's face darkened. He knew it! He had realized this even before answering the question. Whether the answer was right or wrong, his position as the chief steward was in jeopardy.

The sky fell silent for a moment, and just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a red light suddenly flashed again, and a large "X" appeared above.

[Error! Error! No keyword detected!]

[Aisin-Gioro Yinzhen, you still have two more chances to try and fail! Keep up the good work!]

[Hint: Please stay focused on the main point!]

Everyone looked rather grim. They got the first question wrong; would they have enough chances for the next two?

At this moment, Tong Guowei's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he stepped forward to report, "Your Majesty, judging from the clues on the screen, the two eunuchs' answers are missing keywords related to the game's theme. 'Lili' should be referring to the Fourth Prince Hongli on the screen, and the phrase 'resembles whom' means he resembles someone..."

Tong Guowei glanced at the Emperor and boldly stated, "I dare to guess that Su Peisheng's reply in the sky was perhaps saying that Hongli resembled the Yongzheng Emperor, and that he was only saying this because he loved the emperor..."

"Really?" Everyone was a little skeptical. Su Peisheng wasn't blind, was he? Would he tell such an easily exposed lie?

Regardless of whether it was him or not, Yinzhen, who was determined to shed the title of "Qin Er Shi" (the Second Emperor of Qin), suddenly had a flash of inspiration and chimed in, "Father, the foundation of the Qing Dynasty is forever secure. Your subject suspects that the 'Qin Er Shi' pointed to on the sky might be referring to the Qin Er Shi from the story of 'pointing at a deer and calling it a horse'?"

Huh? After Yinzhen said that, everyone began to waver.

"Father, the countdown has started again!"

Time was running out, so Kangxi decided to take a desperate gamble and said, "Let's do as Tong Guowei says, Yinzhen, you can try again!"

"yes!"

After discussing the wording with Liang Jiugong and Su Peisheng, Yin Tang gave a new answer.

[Su Peisheng replied: Your Majesty, this servant only hopes to serve Your Majesty comfortably every day, and has absolutely no time to participate in those scheming and intrigue matters. It's just that I see the Fourth Prince resembles Your Majesty, and for a moment I've come to favor him because of that resemblance...]

He pulled out a long string of information, and everyone watched with bated breath. Would they get it right this time?

Suddenly, a huge green checkmark appeared on the screen.

Congratulations! You have successfully answered the keyword correctly and passed this round of testing. Victory is just around the corner!

"call--"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the screen resume playing.

"The Fourth Prince looks exactly like... just like Your Majesty when you were young, especially those phoenix eyes, which are exactly the same as Your Majesty's. This servant couldn't help but lose his composure, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

"Like me?"

...

"This servant is guilty! The Fourth Prince looks just like you, so when this servant saw that his clothes didn't fit him well, I got a little emotional, as if I were seeing the Emperor suffering, and so..."

"He then slipped the silver from his sleeve to the Fourth Prince!"

...

After watching Su Peisheng's segment, everyone was speechless. No wonder he could become the chief steward; he was quite eloquent. Liang Jiugong and Su Peisheng, in particular, watched with a learning attitude, realizing that the silver could be used in such a way.

Looking at the sky, one dares to boast and the other dares to believe, it's no wonder that Su Peisheng's identity includes "master of deception" and Yongzheng's representative work includes "confidence".

Furthermore, everyone now has a completely new and unique understanding of this sky screen and the overall tone of the game.