Shen Wan didn't even know how she got there. She only felt that her skin had grown thicker and thicker in both her past and present lives. Afraid of being seen blushing, she didn't dare to walk too fast. From the study came Xie Jingxuan's pleading voice, "Sixth Brother, I didn't mean to, you have to save me."

Then came Xie Jingyan's voice, "What exactly happened?"

Xie Jingxuan said dejectedly, "It's all because of my mother. When Father Emperor was discussing the matter of cleaning up the mess after the cheating in the imperial examinations with my eldest and second brothers, she went to deliver some bird's nest soup. Then Father Emperor dragged me into it and asked me to write a solution for the mess. How could I possibly know how to do that? I racked my brains but couldn't come up with a solution. But if I don't write anything, Father Emperor will definitely be angry and punish me."

He just couldn't understand why his mother was so keen on sending food to his father. The imperial kitchen wouldn't dare to skimp on food for anyone else, and even if his mother sent it ten times, his father might not eat it even once. Yet she kept sending it tirelessly. Sending food was one thing, but she also caused him trouble. He never got any food, and he was always the one who suffered.

His mother tricked him!

Since there was no one else he could find, he could only come here to cause trouble for Sixth Brother.

Shen Wan did not expect that Xie Jingxuan came to Xie Jingyan to deal with the aftermath of the imperial examination. The evidence of cheating in the imperial examination was conclusive. If it had not been discovered, it would have been fine. But now that it had been discovered, the scholars of the world must be given an explanation. After all, the imperial examination only comes once every three years, and one does not have many three-year periods in a lifetime. If this matter is not handled properly, it will chill the hearts of scholars all over the world.

The cheating in the imperial examinations was exposed too late. The students who had gone to the capital to take the exams had all returned home and could not retake them in time. Moreover, the high school students had also made arrangements, so it was impossible to know which students had cheated and which had passed the exams on their own merit.

If students who cheat are not caught and severely punished, examiners and students will continue to take the risk.

However, the imperial examinations also involved a certain element of luck. For example, as Mr. Tian mentioned last time, if you haven't encountered the questions before, the level of your answers will inevitably differ significantly between the two tests.

The Emperor would definitely discuss this matter with all the officials. It's normal for the Emperor to involve the eldest prince Xie Jingqi and the second prince Xie Jingyin, since they attend court every day. But the eighth prince is still young. How could the Emperor ask him to write a memorial on the aftermath as well? This couldn't possibly be an arrangement made because of the hard work his mother, Consort Wang, put in to deliver the bird's nest soup. It couldn't be that the Emperor found Consort Wang's bird's nest soup annoying and wanted to cause trouble for the eighth prince to teach Consort Wang a lesson.

The Emperor is not that kind of person. Shen Wan’s intuition tells her that the Emperor wants to hear Xie Jingyan’s opinion, so he is indirectly approaching the Eighth Prince. After all, the Eighth Prince cannot write it, and the only person he can think of who can and will help him is Xie Jingyan.

Shen Wan could guess the Emperor's intentions, and Xie Jingyan naturally could too. Normally, he would not have paid any attention to it. The Emperor knew that the Eighth Prince could not answer, but he deliberately gave him a difficult question. Even if he really could not answer, the Emperor would not do anything to Xie Jingxuan.

But in Shen Wan's dream, the fact that the emperor would die half a year later was like a thorn stuck in Xie Jingyan's throat, something he couldn't swallow or spit out.

Because Consort Chen died in the Cold Palace, Xie Jingyan was punished to guard the imperial mausoleum for four years. He no longer regarded the emperor as his father. Unless he had to call him "father" in public, he never called him "father" in private. However, thinking that the emperor did not have many days left, the hatred in his heart had faded a lot without him realizing it.

Xie Jingyan remained silent, while Xie Jingxuan pleaded, "Sixth Brother, please help me."

"good."

Xie Jingxuan immediately perked up, "Father needs it tomorrow. It's still early. I'll go for a stroll in the streets and come back to collect it before I return to the palace."

He walked towards the door as he spoke, but by the time he finished the last few words, he was no longer in the study. Afraid that Xie Jingyan would keep him there, he disappeared in a flash.

He is not yet eighteen years old and cannot leave the palace to establish his own residence. Leaving the palace is not easy, so he should cherish it.

After Shen Wan's face had calmed down, she returned to her room, sat down, and poured herself a cup of tea. Haitang brought in some pastries and noticed that Shen Wan's right ear was missing. She asked, "Why is the princess missing an earring?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Wan subconsciously raised her hand to touch her ear, and sure enough, her earring was gone.

Yinshuang noticed it too and said, "Those were the Princess's favorite earrings. I wonder where they've gone. I'll have someone look for them..."

Where else could I put it?

It ended up in the mouth of some bastard.

Not only did he kiss her earlobe, but he also took the opportunity to remove her earring. The thought of being kissed uncontrollably in the study and being caught by the Eighth Prince made her want to bite that bastard to death.

Yinshuang not only said it, but actually went out to look for it. Chen Wan said, "No need to look, I know where I lost it."

Yinshuang turned to look at her, and Chen Wan asked, "Is the Eighth Prince still in the study?"

Haitang said, "The Eighth Prince has already left."

Shen Wan put down her teacup, endured her burning face, and went to the study, not allowing Yinshuang and Haitang to follow.

The study door was closed, and Shen Wan went straight in. Xie Jingyan was smoothing out the papers with a paperweight, preparing to write a memorial. When he saw Shen Wan come in, he was a little surprised that she had returned.

Shen Wan stepped forward and held out her hand, saying, "Give me back my earring."

Xie Jingyan didn't expect Shen Wan to come back to ask him for the earrings. He casually took the earrings off the pen holder and said, "Come here, I'll put them on you."

Shen Wan said, "Just give it to me."

Xie Jingyan said, "I took it off, so I should put it back on you."

Shen Wan said angrily, "Fine, I don't want it anymore!!"

"...Alright."

Those who are easy to talk to won't do.

The usually easy-going Shen Wan was driven to madness; she had never seen anyone so infuriating.

While Eastern pearls are precious, South Sea pearls are more than ten times more valuable. She only had one set of South Sea pearl jewelry, a gift that her maternal grandmother had saved up for a long time to give her. How could she possibly refuse her grandmother's kindness out of spite?

Shen Wan glared at Xie Jingyan, but Xie Jingyan gave her a way out, saying, "Come here."

What could Shen Wan do but go over? She moved much slower than Xie Jingyan could glare at her with her tiny, quick steps. She put her ear close, but Xie Jingyan grabbed her and pulled her onto the desk. He put the earring in his mouth and then kissed her.

He should put it back on the same way he took it off.

More importantly, he discovered that as soon as he touched her ear, she would look incredibly alluring, her eyes filled with seductive charm.

Shen Wan, “…!!!”

Shen Wan almost exploded.

I wasn't angry, I was just shocked by this action.

She protested, "You can't put it on."

Xie Jingyan said, "How will we know if we don't try?"

Shen Wan said, "The door wasn't closed..."

They were just caught by the Eighth Prince, and they still dare not learn their lesson.

Xie Jingyan said, "No one will come in."

His tone was very confident, but the reality check came way too quickly.

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the Eighth Prince's voice came again, "Sixth Brother, I'm in a hurry to leave the palace and I didn't bring any silver notes, can you lend me some..."

The door wasn't closed, and the Eighth Prince walked right in.

The Eighth Prince, "...!!!"

Still in the same position, the Eighth Prince stood there dumbfounded, his face flushed with embarrassment, unsure whether to chop off the hand that couldn't knock or the leg that ran too fast.