It's just a few harmless curses, and no one dares to say them to his face, so he doesn't care.

Such high praise from the Emperor is extremely rare. Some people may not receive even one "good" word in their entire lives, but he received eight, and each word was a gem.

Every word struck a chord with him.

This is both compensation and an honor.

If he had known about these benefits earlier, he probably would have used those concubines to his advantage long ago.

A vase that's just a decorative item displayed at home can't compare to one's career advancement or leaving a mark on history.

If he weren't afraid of incurring too much hatred, he would have held a grand banquet to express his gratitude to the emperor.

However, even knowing that those around him were eyeing him covetously, Grand Secretary An still rewarded the entire household with two months' wages and went outside the city to distribute porridge for ten days.

Indeed, his reputation spread far and wide, but after his poems and writings were published, he was also heavily criticized.

One elderly man in his seventies even suffered a stroke on the spot, turning a joyous occasion into a funeral.

For a time, An Ge Lao's reputation among the people was higher than ever before, but those affected wished they could kill him immediately.

This upheaval swept across the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, and the poem itself became famous throughout the land.

After that, no one dared to look directly at the beautiful and evocative line, "A pear tree in full bloom overshadows a crabapple tree."

At first, Jiang Nuan had no idea that such a big commotion would arise.

Until I heard Liu An muttering, "If I had known, I shouldn't have sent the message. I've just given that old scoundrel Liu An a free ride and made him a big shot!"

As he spoke, he swung the hoe hard, turning the weeds up by the roots and soil.

"Fortunately, that bastard Qi Yong was transferred to Shandong to suffer, which finally gave me some satisfaction."

"What do you mean, that old scoundrel An got off easy?"

It was rare to see Liu An so childish, so Jiang Nuan couldn't help but ask.

"It's nothing," Liu An said, his eyes darting around. "Why did Madam come here?"

"real?"

Jiang Nuan didn't believe it at all.

“It’s that poem from before,” Liu An said, feeling very frustrated and having no one to confide in. Hearing this, he said in a low voice, “I originally just wanted to deliberately keep those two at bay, but who would have thought they would actually run to the palace to complain? After the Emperor read it, he felt that the poem should be spread throughout the world, and that’s how things got so out of hand.”

"To be known throughout the world?" Jiang Nuan's eyes twitched. "You're not kidding?"

Is it not utterly ridiculous to spread this kind of poem throughout the world?

How many people can bear such blatant satire?

"This is despicable behavior. That old scoundrel An is truly despicable. He actually remarried his concubine ahead of time, gaining a reputation for high moral character, but causing great harm to those who did not know the news. Nearly half of the officials were so angry that they took leave, and some even fainted in the court. The entire Great Zhou Dynasty, from top to bottom, has been swept up in a wave of concubinage resignation."

Could things get any more shameless?

He cleaned up his own mess, so why didn't he give others a hint? Only this old scoundrel would step on the face of the whole world to get to the top.

"Liu An," Jiang Nuan hissed in exasperation, "why didn't you discuss this with me first?"

They sold themselves out completely, yet managed to absolve themselves of all responsibility.

After this, there will probably be very few people who don't know the title "Lady Protector of the Nation".

“Madam,” Liu An lowered his head guiltily, “I didn’t expect things to escalate like this. I only wanted to annoy the two of them.”

Liu Anzhen never expected that these two shameless old men would actually go to the Imperial Study to complain.

His Majesty has long disliked extravagance, but he has never had the chance to rectify it. These two even handed him a handle to use against him. They're simply insane!

His emperor is unpredictable; if he doesn't act, it's fine, but if he does, it's bound to be devastating.

Liu An had a premonition that this matter was not over yet; this was just a small test, and the real dismemberment would follow!

Fortunately, no matter how much they cut, they couldn't reach him; there was no safer place in the world than beside the immortal.

Despite receiving a large sum of merit, Jiang Nuan was still heartbroken.

"It's too late to say anything now. We need to think of a way to salvage the situation. We're fine hiding here, but the boss has been really screwed over by you!"

She could already picture her son running into obstacles everywhere he went in the capital.

If she had known Liu An was such a scoundrel, she would never have told him the poem.

What a jerk! Couldn't he have kept it from her?

"Xiao Chuan?" Liu An was stunned when he heard this. He was already feeling guilty and wanted to disappear into the ground. "I, I really didn't mean to."

He thought this matter wouldn't have much impact on the Lady Protector of the Nation, but he forgot that Huang Chuan still had to go to the capital.

People dare not touch the banished immortal, but they will not hesitate to trip up the immortal.

“Madam,” Liu An said, lacking any confidence, “should I send a message to someone to look after him?”

"No, please don't!" Jiang Nuanxin panicked upon hearing this. "Every time a message is sent, it's never anything good."

"Well," Liu An awkwardly touched his nose, "should I go back to the capital first?"

"What are you going back for? To stir up trouble?"

"Inciting hatred?" That's a good way to put it.

Liu An felt that he seemed to have figured out how to deal with it.

"Don't worry, Madam, I know what to do."

After saying that, he disappeared like a gust of wind before Jiang Nuan could react.

It's true that he came up with a solution, but it's also true that he didn't want to face Jiang Nuan.

He felt incredibly guilty for making such a huge blunder, even if it could be salvaged.

"Hmm?" Jiang Nuan's eyes were full of doubt. "Who is he trying to shift the blame onto? Could it be Elder An?"

The idea is good, but I don't know how feasible it is.

As the chief advisor to three emperors, Liu An had disciples all over the country and could detect even the slightest disturbance. Could Liu An really be capable?

Considering his unreliability, Jiang Nuan decided to place her hopes on her son.

As a result, the following days were filled with misery for Huang Laoda.

In the morning, he followed Liu An to learn how to handle government affairs and deal with various factional attacks; in the afternoon, he practiced martial arts with Fang Han and learned about various backgrounds; and in the evening, he listened to Doctor Gu explain various underhanded methods. He was extremely busy.

This sudden attention nearly made Boss Huang faint.

"Brother Fang, do you know what's going on? Why did my mother suddenly make me learn so many self-defense techniques?"

Test food for poison before eating, keep a safe distance from people, and always carry a dagger...

I always feel like someone wants to kill me!

"Well, I'm not quite sure either," Fang Han coughed lightly. "You should ask Madam."

The Grand Secretary still wielded considerable influence; at least, Fang Han, a commander of a thousand households, dared not offend him too much.

"real?"

Boss Huang's eyes were filled with suspicion.

He always felt that Fang Han wasn't telling the truth.

"real."

After speaking in a detached tone, Fang Han turned his face away.

Is the capital city very dangerous?

"More or less."

For Huangchuan, any place is dangerous, especially the capital city where powerful and wealthy people gather.

There was no other way; I had simply offended too many people.

"Brother Fang," Huang Chuan said dejectedly, "how come I didn't know that being an official could be dangerous?"

Something feels off.

It's clearly a great thing to bring honor to our ancestors, but we're acting like thieves, guarding against this and that. It's so frustrating!

"Why don't you go and ask Madam?"