scientific expedition

Once the calm breathing sound came from the well, the supervisor finally spoke: "Baohe has been waiting for you all day."

"Uh..." I touched my nose: "I'll try to bring him next time."

"The main thing is that you need to tell him, Xu Yi, that he went from the well outside to the Imperial Observatory because of you. You need to remember that he still cares about you."

I felt a little ashamed: "Yes, you are right, I will definitely remember that in the future."

"Yeah!" The supervisor clicked his tongue. "You're surrounded by so many people, yet you always act like you're the only one... I don't know what you're thinking..."

Uh… “It’s my fault, I’m not used to it yet.”

The supervisor opened his eyes, glanced at me, and then leisurely hummed a little tune as he went back to his room...

Uh... so the supervisor was waiting for me too...

Last night I had a dream. In the dream, I was leaning against someone's chest. He was holding me as we sat under a tree. I looked up and saw the sky full of clouds and flying birds. I felt very comfortable and at ease. Finally, I woke up to a cool kiss on my forehead...

I opened my eyes, blushing slightly. What was going on? I only remembered the scenery I saw in that person's arms, but I didn't see who that person was...

Could it be that he's been dating Muli lately, and that's making him a little smitten?

I shook my head and walked out the door. I saw Ah Shi standing in the courtyard, just like when I first met him. When he saw me, he ran over in a few steps: "Aunt, I heard from my teacher that you were assassinated by the Crown Prince?"

"Yes," I nodded, speaking first, "I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine. The people he hired can't do anything to me. I even discovered that I can summon named ghosts and monsters around me, which is a pleasant surprise..."

"Oh, Baohe told me about that."

I patted him on the shoulder: "So don't worry, focus on your work."

A-Shi frowned: "Aunt, actually I came to see you today for another matter... The Crown Prince has removed me from the list of students..."

"What? He removed you from the list of students? Does that mean you can't participate in the imperial examinations?"

"My teacher said that he couldn't get involved in this matter. His condition for intervening was that I first had to stand in the court before he could act as my tutor and protect me."

“I understand,” I nodded. “I’ll go find the Emperor.”

After I finished speaking, I turned to leave, but Ah Shi stopped me: "Auntie, this time, I want to go by myself."

"Oh?" I turned around and saw his serious face. Hmm, the child has grown up? I nodded: "Okay, then I'll go with you. I'll wait for you outside."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie."

Just as we were about to leave, Baohe woke up, ran over in a few steps, looked up at me, and said, "Take me with you."

“Okay,” I nodded, squatted down and put him on my shoulder, and went to the Imperial Study with Ah Shi.

We arrived too early; the emperor hadn't finished court yet. Eunuch Yu still had that congratulatory smile on his face: "What brings you here, esteemed guests?"

“I came with Ah Shi,” I tugged at Ah Shi beside me, “He has something to say to the Emperor.”

“Alright,” Eunuch Yu glanced at me, then turned to bow to Prince Shi: “Then Prince Shi, please wait a moment, His Majesty has not yet finished court.”

After saying that, they thoughtfully asked someone to bring us two chairs.

Once we were seated under the eaves outside the Imperial Study, Baohe jumped onto the small table next to him to eat the snacks that Eunuch Yu had brought.

Those around us could only see the snacks disappearing little by little, but they couldn't see Baohe. Instantly, everyone's hair stood on end, and they moved away from us.

Immediately, I heard the dragon spirit on the plaque let out a cry, then it darted out from the plaque and flew down, lying down on the ground around the chairs of me and Ah Shi. Upon seeing the dragon spirit, Bao He jumped down curiously to touch it, but I quickly stopped him: "No! You can't touch it."

Baohe quickly withdrew his hand, pouted, and took out the wooden ball that Ah Shi had given him to play with again.

So when the emperor returned to his study after court, he and the ministers behind him fell silent and stood still, waiting for His Majesty's instructions.

The emperor rubbed his temples, walked over, and looked at me with a helpless expression: "Xu Yi, what are you doing now..."

“I came with Ah Shi. He’s looking for you, not me. I’m just here to make sure he gets to see you.”

After I finished speaking, the emperor looked at Ah Shi, who had stood up and was bowing to him, and nodded slightly: "Hmm, what is it?"

"Father, let's go inside and talk," A-Shi said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

The emperor glanced at the ministers who had followed him and stopped a few steps behind, then gestured to them, saying, "Wait a moment."

"Yes." A group of officials nodded and bowed.

After the emperor and Ah Shi went inside, the prime minister came out from the group of people, walked over to me and sat down, leisurely eating some snacks. He glanced at me and said calmly, "Nothing wrong?"

"Thank you for your concern, I'm fine."

"Hmm," he hummed through his nose and then fell silent.

However, since he was the prime minister and was sitting with me, everyone naturally knew his attitude and nodded to me in unison.

I nodded in agreement with them.

Just then, the Crown Prince arrived.

He was still wearing his formal court attire, and was about to walk towards the Imperial Study.

I stood up and stopped him: "Hey, the people inside haven't come out yet, so you don't need to go in."

"Oh? I need your permission to enter the Imperial Study?"

“Yes!” I said matter-of-factly. “With me here, you can’t get in, do you understand?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Baohe jumped to my side, baring his fangs at the Crown Prince. The dragon soul that had been lying on the ground also swam over, circled around me, and the wind it created forced the Crown Prince back two steps. Then the dragon soul floated behind me, indicating that it shared my attitude.

The Crown Prince sneered, "Auntie, you certainly have some clever methods!"

“No,” I shook my finger, “it’s not that I’m powerful, it’s that at this moment, the fate of the dynasty is on my side.”

After saying that, I took a few steps closer to him and said in a voice that only the two of us could hear, "You should know what you are. Anyone with eyes that aren't blind would not stand on your side."

He took a deep breath in anger, then forced himself to exhale and shouted loudly behind me, "Father, your son requests an audience."

I grabbed him and shoved him to the ground, then drew the bone whip from my waist and pointed it at him: "Don't be ungrateful. Killing you will just take a little more effort!"

At this moment, the prime minister walked over and pressed down my hand that was holding up the bone whip: "Xu Yi, you mustn't do that. Even if he is wrong, you can't educate the crown prince in front of all the ministers!" Then he turned to look at the crown prince on the ground: "The tenth prince was just having some casual conversation with His Majesty. The crown prince doesn't need to be too nervous." After saying that, the prime minister symbolically straightened his cuffs: "After all, it's just a civil service examination. It won't affect the crown prince's position."

"What are you saying?" The Crown Prince stood up in displeasure. "Prime Minister, please don't talk nonsense."

"Oh? Then why did the Crown Prince cross out the Tenth Prince's name from the imperial examination? Even if the Tenth Prince were just a commoner, the Crown Prince shouldn't have deprived him of his right to take the examination, right?"

"you……"

The ministers not far behind exchanged glances. Though they said nothing, the winds of change had already subtly shifted.

I slowly put away the bone whip in my hand and hung it back on my waist, saying sarcastically, "Yes, if you can't even tolerate such a trivial matter as your own brother's imperial examination, what can you tolerate in the future?" After saying that, I looked at the prime minister and said, "I was too angry just now, which is why I lost my composure. I must thank the prime minister for reminding me."

The prime minister waved his hand, fully cooperating: "This is my duty as a subject, Your Highness is too kind."

The crown prince was somewhat angry, but dared not make any further moves; only his clenched fist betrayed his emotions…

I smiled and gave the Prime Minister an approving thumbs-up. Even if he wasn't a civil official, he certainly knew how to handle things. With just a few words, he clearly explained why I had intervened, and even labeled the Crown Prince as petty and intolerant of his own brother—a label the Crown Prince couldn't refute…

No wonder everyone wants to read more books and become an official; there's a way to achieve that.

In high spirits, I sat back down in the chair next to me. The Prime Minister arrived at that moment, sat down leisurely, took a sip of the tea that Eunuch Yu had prepared again, and closed his eyes to wait quietly...

The soundproofing of the Imperial Study door was excellent; I couldn't hear anything inside. It wasn't until almost 45 minutes later that the Imperial Study door reopened.

A-Shi, dressed in a scholar's robe, came out and politely bowed to the Crown Prince, saying, "Greetings, elder brother. I must thank you for coming to speak well of me and give me this opportunity to take the imperial examination."

The Crown Prince originally came to stop him, but Ah Eleven deliberately misinterpreted his intentions, effectively shutting him down...

I saw the ministers behind the Crown Prince exchanging glances and nodding, knowing that Prince Ashi had already caught their attention.

I glanced at the prime minister with a smile, and he merely raised an eyebrow indifferently, as if to say: This is basic training for the people I teach.

Then Ah Shi came over and bowed to me, saying, "Thank you for accompanying me, Aunt. I was too timid, so I had to ask you for courage. I am truly ashamed."

I stood up and patted him on the shoulder with relief: "It's alright, you're my nephew, it's only right that I accompany you. Even if the Crown Prince made a mistake and needed his aunt's courage, I would still come!"

After I finished speaking, I gave the Crown Prince a meaningful look and then made another sarcastic remark to him.

The prince had calmed down by now, so he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to me and said in a steady tone, "Then, thank you very much, Aunt."

"You're welcome," I smiled at him. "It's my duty as an aunt. There's plenty of time in the future."

After I finished speaking, I turned my gaze back to Ah Shi and asked, "How is it?"

Ah Shi nodded to me, his tone somewhat happy: "Father has agreed to let me take the imperial examination, that's wonderful! Thank you so much, Father and my elder brother, for giving me this opportunity!"

Ah Shi was qualified to take the imperial examination, and he didn't care much when his name was deliberately crossed out. He was simply happy that he could exercise a right that he deserved. Compared with the crown prince who couldn't tolerate his younger brother, Ah Shi's magnanimity was even more apparent.