Chapter 56 Chapter 56 Why doesn’t he play by the rules…

On the palace tower, Princess Jingxuan and Lu Jiayi stood side by side, gazing in the distance in the direction of the horse parade.

The Jinshi scholars disappeared from sight not long after exiting the Meridian Gate. Lu Jiayi averted her gaze and said, "Your Highness, it's time to return to the palace."

"Hmm." Princess Jingxuan responded absentmindedly, but didn't move. "What a pity."

Lu Jiayi knew who she felt sorry for. "Yes, since he didn't get the top spot, he can't become an official. His career is over."

Princess Jingxuan laughed, "You can take a joke seriously? Don't mention it again."

Lu Jiayi sneered, "I'm going to bring it up! Every time I see him, I'll bring it up. I'm going to humiliate him to death. He swore and swore to himself, so who can he blame?"

Princess Jingxuan recalled He Ping's playful, angry expressions and couldn't help but laugh. "With his thick skin, I'm afraid he doesn't even know what 'shame' is. He's got a lot of trolls, so you won't get any advantage. Better forget it."

Lu Jiayi was stunned looking at her smiling face.

Ever since the list of candidate prince consorts was sent to the inner court, the princess has never smiled again.

After learning the arts of civil and military arts, and serving the emperor, who wouldn't want to achieve great success and become a noble or prime minister? However, the fact that a consort was not allowed to hold a position of real power was enough to keep many talented young men away.

There wasn't much to look at on the list presented.

The Queen probably knew this, too. On the Lantern Festival, the Princess returned home late and drank, but the Queen didn't say a word of reprimand. Even today, when the Princess violated palace rules and climbed the city tower, the Queen pretended not to notice.

Unfortunately, they have no chance at all.

Lu Jiayi sighed deeply. Who said that the emperor's daughter would never have trouble finding a husband? That's nonsense.

However, the next day, a shocking news broke in the capital - He Ping did not want the emperor to grant him an official position and rejected the appointment as an editor in the Hanlin Academy!

Jiang's house.

"Are you crazy?" Xiaoman glared at He Ping, who was lying on the bed. "You're lucky the emperor didn't chop off your head."

"It was almost as good as beheading me. Thirty strokes of the cane. I almost lost my long legs to the palace." He Ping groaned in pain. "The teacher was watching right next to me, but he didn't even plead for me. He even said the beating was good. It's better for Xiao An An to carry me out."

Chen Lingan smiled and patted his butt, "You're welcome."

The pig-slaughtering howl startled Mrs. Jiang, who had just entered the room, so much that she staggered and almost dropped the ointment in her hand.

Seeing He Ping, who was pale, covered in cold sweat, with messy hair and eyes like an abandoned puppy, Mrs. Jiang's heart ached, softened and warmed, and her voice changed in tone with heartache.

"Why did you have to be beaten like this? What's wrong with not becoming an official? Who says that you have to become an official after passing the imperial examination? The emperor is too unreasonable!"

He really spoils his child to no end, even daring to criticize the emperor. Xiaoman took the ointment and said, "Chen Ling'an applied the ointment to him."

Chen Lingan said, "Those eunuchs were very measured in their attacks. It looked scary, but actually no bones were injured. After seven or eight days of recovery, he will be able to climb up the roof and tear off the tiles again."

Mrs. Jiang asked worriedly, "What does Mr. Lin Ting say? You suddenly did this, and it's difficult for him to behave in front of the emperor."

He Ping snorted, "Teacher said as long as I don't rebel, I can do whatever I want."

Mrs. Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. "I think that fame, wealth, and status are nice, but they're not the most important. You're still young and have plenty of time to think about your future. Well, I have plenty of money anyway, so whether you want to travel and study or stay at home to study, it won't be a problem."

"My godmother is still the best." He Ping was so moved that his eyes were filled with tears.

As they were talking, Fang's mother rushed in, bewildered but also a little surprised, "Madam, Madam, Princess Jingxuan is here!"

He Ping sucked his teeth and said pretentiously, "You must be here to see me. Please come in."

The door curtain opened, and Princess Jingxuan came in by herself. She said, "No need for formalities," and looked at He Ping. "Why did you resign? You're being beaten for nothing. Are you stupid?"

"To marry you!" He Ping raised his face and smiled widely.

Princess Jingxuan was stunned.

The remaining few people looked at each other and quietly left the room in tacit understanding.

Lu Jiayi stood under the window like a door god, motionless. Seeing this, Xiaoman simply decided not to leave.

They both knew each other's thoughts, so it would have been fine if they just snorted at each other, but they didn't expect Chen Ling'an to be standing beside them and not leave.

Lu Jiayi sneered, "You are a man appointed by the imperial court, and you have the nerve to eavesdrop."

Chen Ling'an's expression remained calm. "Eavesdropping is one of the duties of the Imperial Guards."

Xiaoman burst out laughing, and Lu Jiayi's face turned red and she was about to explode again, but she heard voices coming from the room. They both held their breath and pricked up their ears.

Princess Jingxuan's voice was very low and could not be heard clearly, while He Ping's voice was very high, as if he was talking right into their ears!

"No, no, I was just kidding! I never wanted to be an official. Being a low-ranking official is boring, and I'm afraid of not having a good ending if I become a high-ranking official. Look at all the dynasties, which prime minister had a good ending? Besides, I don't obey orders and am free and undisciplined, so I can't be an official."

Princess Jingxuan said something in a low voice.

He Ping's voice was serious and anxious. "This is true! I've thought about it a long time ago. If you don't come, I'll keep this to myself. If you come, then I'll give it a try!"

"Treacherous." Lu Jiayi cursed inwardly with gritted teeth.

Xiaoman rarely refuted her.

The noise in the room became lower again. It was no longer appropriate to continue eavesdropping. Xiaoman pulled Chen Ling'an's sleeve, stood up and left quietly.

The sky was low and the clouds were dark. The two of them walked quietly in the small garden, and no one spoke.

The drizzle in March falls gently like fog, mixed with the breeze and floats on Xiaoman's hot face, bringing coolness and refreshingness.

She glanced at Chen Ling'an secretly and started talking, "He's really brave.

Chen Ling'an hummed and looked thoughtfully at the two birds fighting on the branch.

Xiaoman: "Do you think they can succeed?"

Still a "hmm".

Xiaoman was obviously dissatisfied with his perfunctory attitude, so she picked up a small stone and threw it at the branch.

The bird flapped its wings and flew away, the branches trembled, and the leaves fell. Chen Ling'an turned his head to look at her in surprise.

Xiaoman's cheeks puffed up, "I'm talking to you."

"I didn't hear you clearly, what did you say?"

"Forget it. I'm not in the mood to talk about it."

But after a pause, Xiaoman couldn't help but say, "Let's go for a drink someday."

"Yeah." Chen Ling'an responded casually, then was stunned, and the tips of his ears turned red.

Xiaoman raised her eyebrows and hummed softly,

Chen Lingan's eyes dimmed slightly. "Actually, you don't have to drink."

As he spoke, he took a step forward, put his hands on the tree trunk beside Xiaoman, and pressed down.

The tall shadow instantly covered Xiaoman.

What is he going to do?

Xiaoman stared at him with wide eyes, her heart pounding with nervousness, her skin tightened, her hands and feet froze in place, and even her breathing stopped.

Chen Ling'an stretched out his hand.

Xiaoman could hear her heart beating, thump, thump...

The hand slowly moved closer and closer, and was about to touch her face.

But he suddenly took a turn for the worse midway and brushed her shoulder.

Chen Ling'an raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, "There is a caterpillar."

Xiaoman was stunned. A wave of shame and anger rushed up, burning her face. She stamped her feet in anger and hit him with her fists. "You're playing tricks on me! You're so annoying."

Her fist was so light and powerless that Chen Ling'an symbolically dodged twice, with a smile on his face.

Xiao Man stopped angrily. After a moment's pause, a hint of worry appeared between her brows. "He Ping has caused such a big disaster. The emperor has lost all his face. Will he marry the princess to him?"

Chen Ling'an said quietly, "From childhood to adulthood, have you ever seen He Ping do anything he wasn't sure of?"

Xiaoman laughed, "That's right. He was talking about a trick to steal the top scholar's limelight before. I thought it was the horse parade, but it turns out that the ultimate trick is here."

Yes, when the news came out, there would be an uproar in the court and the country. He Ping's image as a hermit with great talent and indifferent to fame and fortune would be solidified. Who would still remember who the top scholar was?

But what Chen Ling'an didn't expect was that a rumor began to spread among officials and the public: the second place winner gave up his official position because of the coercion and persecution by Chen's father and son!

After all, when visiting the master that day, only He Ping was indifferent to Lord Chen and did not treat him as a teacher at all. Lord Chen was unhappy, and the young Lord Chen took out his anger for his father by repeatedly tripping He Ping up, both openly and secretly, forcing He Ping to refuse the emperor's offer of an official position.

Lord Chen has so much power that even the emperor has to stay away from him.

"Good boy, God is really helping you!" Wu Yong rubbed his hands excitedly. "If the emperor hears this, that old man will definitely be in big trouble."

It seems he's not the only one who wants Chen Shao to fall. Chen Ling'an's eyes flickered slightly, and he pondered, "Don't rush to submit a memorial. Let the censors take the lead first."

Wu Yong scratched his head. "We don't have the connections of an imperial censor, so who would listen to us..."

Chen Ling'an sighed, "Use your walnut-sized brain. In the Zhao Li case, find the most enthusiastic person in the joint impeachment letter and find someone to fan the flames and stir up trouble for him."

Wu Yong slapped his forehead and said, "That's right. Those imperial censors bypassed Chen Shao because they either had grievances against him or were suspicious of him! Got it. I'll do it right away."

A few days later, a young censor impeached Chen Ge Lao for nepotism and retaliating against dissidents.

Just as Chen Ling'an expected, the impeachment memorial was neither submitted to the emperor nor to the cabinet, but was directly blocked by Chen Lingyi in the Ministry of Public Security.

Of course, the censor was also "warned" by his superiors.

The censor was young and full of vigor, at the age when he was eager to shed all his blood in the Golden Palace. Not only did he not repent, but he became even worse. He submitted seven or eight memorials in a row and mobilized several of his colleagues to impeach Chen and his son.

Without exception, they were all suppressed. It was Chen Lingyi's intention and also Chen Ling'an's work.

Wu Yong didn't understand.

Chen Ling'an was in a rare good mood and explained, "Chen Lingyi is no fool. He genuinely dislikes He Ping, but he wouldn't go out of his way to suppress him. He Ping clearly explained his reasons for resigning before the Emperor long ago. There's nothing about the Chen family involved. It's all just a rumor. The Emperor would at most reprimand Chen Lingyi, but wouldn't attack Chen Shao."

He took out a secret report and said, "This is what we want to present to the emperor."

Wu Yong flipped through the documents and found evidence of Chen Shao and Chen Lingyi's greed for money, bribery, forming a clique for personal gain, excluding dissidents, seizing royal land and people's farmland, and harboring fugitives. The evidence was mixed with truth and falsehood, and some were exaggerated.

"That won't work." Wu Yong expressed his doubt. "Last time, we brought real evidence to accuse him, but the Emperor didn't punish him. This time, with all the truth and lies, will the Emperor believe it?"

Chen Lingan sneered, "Only fake ones can bring down Chen Shao."

The real thing won't work, only the fake one will. What kind of logic is that? Wu Yong blinked, not understanding. But looking at his superior's cold and gloomy face, he thought, okay, just do it!

The next morning, the secret report from the Northern Pacification Office was placed on the dragon table.

After reading it, Emperor Hongde did not comment and sent it directly to the cabinet for discussion.

Just like a drop of water dropped into boiling hot oil, the whole government and the public were immediately in an uproar!