Chapter 7, Second Update: Shen He Gui: Lu Wensheng got a good deal.

The charcoal fire inside the West Warm Pavilion gradually dispelled the chill and eased Lu Wensheng's tense nerves.

Putting aside the fact that being an emperor is exhausting, just in terms of resources, the emperor still has it easy. This warm pavilion is like entering a 30-degree air-conditioned room.

She ate a small piece of hawthorn cake, drank some hot tea, and planned to close her eyes and take a nap before Shen Hegui arrived.

However, overwhelmed by weariness, I unwittingly drifted off to sleep.

When Shen Hegui returned from his bath, this was the scene he saw. The pavilion was quiet, with only the occasional crackling of the charcoal fire. Lu Wensheng was fast asleep, her body slumped over the table. The candlelight cast a soft glow on her slender profile, making her skin appear as smooth and warm as jade. Without even touching it, Shen Hegui knew that the touch was more delicate and gentle than any woman he had ever seen.

His gaze lingered unconsciously, sweeping over her long, fine eyelashes like raven feathers, her slightly parted rosy cheeks, and her straight, beautiful neck.

Shen Hegui unconsciously stepped forward, raised his hand, and touched Lu Wensheng's eyelashes.

This was the first time he had ever seen a court official sleep so brazenly in front of him.

"Alright, let him recuperate for now," Shen Hegui thought with great compassion.

In a daze, Lu Wensheng felt she should lift her head, but her body felt as if it were bound by invisible threads, sinking heavily into the warm darkness, not wanting to move even a finger.

She struggled on the edge of dream and wakefulness, her consciousness desperately trying to rise like a drowning person, only to be pulled back into the abyss of chaos by another gentle yet powerful force just as she was about to touch the light.

Until, the clear sound of pages turning shattered like thunder into this chaotic abyss.

By the way, she's still waiting for Shen Hegui to take a bath in the West Warm Pavilion. How long has she been asleep?

Lu Wensheng hurriedly opened his eyes and sat up, his sleepiness completely dispelled.

Her sudden movement happened to fall into the eyes of Shen Hegui, who had just picked up a memorial and was about to unfold it. He was slightly taken aback by her zombie-like action, and the tip of his brush, which was dipped in vermilion ink, paused in mid-air, with a drop of crimson ink quietly falling.

Upon seeing Shen Hegui with his hair disheveled, Lu Wensheng felt a chill and hurriedly stood up, intending to kneel down and beg for forgiveness.

However, he moved too hastily, his official boots stepped on his official robe, he lost his balance, and fell flat on his face.

Shen Hegui put the memorial aside, placed the vermilion brush on the brush holder, and slowly spoke: "Lord Lu, there is no need for such a grand ceremony. I have not yet reached my sixtieth birthday."

Lu Wensheng: "..."

She felt her face suddenly burn with shame; she felt utterly humiliated today.

The carpet in the warm room was thick and soft, so apart from being a little embarrassing, I didn't fall and hurt myself.

Lu Wensheng propped himself up on his arms and was about to get up when Shen Hegui's emotionless voice came from above: "Just kneel down, no need to get up."

She didn't understand, but she had to do it.

Lu Wensheng bowed his head and knelt obediently on the spot: "Your Highness, I respectfully wish you a peaceful night."

Shen Hegui stood up, walked around the table, and strolled towards her unhurriedly.

Lu Wensheng's gaze was firmly confined to a small area, and she could only watch as the tips of the black satin boots embroidered with gold patterns approached step by step, finally stopping in front of her face.

Shen Hegui gently placed a thick stack of papers under Lu Wensheng's eyes, with a hint of discussion: "I told you at the banquet earlier that I obtained some good articles, and I hope Editor Lu can give me some feedback. They are all here, Editor Lu, please take a look and see what you think."

"Yes." The papers in front of her were of varying ages, but all were made of the same material—specially made official paper, fine and crisp. The faintly visible red vertical lines on the paper and the official seals of varying shades at the corners silently indicated that these essays all came from the imperial examination hall.

A stack of exam papers.

Lu Wensheng's heart sank, and sweat beaded on her back and palms. She looked up at the articles; the handwriting, written with ink of different qualities, was sometimes smooth and sometimes obscure, but regardless of the ink, it all came from her hand, transforming into articles that changed the fates of others.

Shen Hegui waited until Lu Wensheng had scanned all the ghostwritten articles before squatting down and patting her on the shoulder to bring her back to her senses.

"Your Highness..." she tried to struggle a little more. But Shen Hegui made a shushing gesture.

"Editor Lu only needs to give feedback on these articles; I don't want to listen to anything else for now." He had seen all of these initial papers, and they were all excellent articles with some excellent ideas. It was just a pity that the people who had to write the exams for him were all mediocre, and after revising them again and again, the articles became unremarkable.

She was probably the first person in history to criticize her own exam-taking essay. Unable to fathom Shen Hegui's thoughts, she decided to remain silent and play dead.

Lu Wensheng didn't harbor any illusions, believing it was all a coincidence. She knew perfectly well that Shen Hegui knew everything. She was afraid and panicked, but she also had the imperial decree to rely on, clinging to a sliver of hope in the face of life and death.

The sweat on my palms gradually evaporated.

Actually, before she became an editor, she looked down on the idea of ​​finding a powerful backer. But after she became an editor and had a powerful backer, she realized how great it was.

The incredibly well-connected information network allowed her to experience a huge information gap, enabling her to make a fortune.

The feeling of making a fortune every day can only be truly appreciated by those who have experienced it.

Over the years, she analyzed the trends in imperial examination questions for wealthy young men, along with tips on examiners' preferences, or revealed to merchants adjustments to canal transport routes, sudden increases in demand for certain goods in certain areas, and how she could make a profit along the way. In short, she earned more than an official's salary.

Moreover, every time she made a fortune by getting information from Chief Minister Zhang or Prince Su, she would convert part of the money she earned into tribute and send it to them.

Because of his advanced age, she usually sent him tonics such as century-old ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms, hoping that he could live a few more years and serve as her protector in the court.

As for Prince Su, she usually sent him some strange and unusual items, or rare and lost paintings and calligraphy by famous artists. After all, as the emperor's favorite prince, he certainly had no shortage of food, clothing and other necessities. If you sent him something, he might send you something even better in return, which would be quite embarrassing.

Moreover, Emperor Qinghe is not dead yet, and Prince Su is only missing. If she tries to live a long and hard life, she might still have a chance to return to normalcy.

Lu Wensheng lowered her head so low that Shen Hegui couldn't see her expression and therefore didn't notice that she was lost in thought.

Seeing that she remained silent, he casually picked up one of the articles and pointed to a passage: "This is the examination paper from last year's Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination. The writing is ornate and beautiful, but the daily behavior of this scholar is hardly worthy of his grand theory of 'keeping wealth among the people'." His voice was devoid of emotion, but his words were more offensive than direct mockery.

“And this one,” Shen Hegui’s slender fingers slid to another excellent examination paper, “a work for the imperial examination, with vigorous strokes and a clear, refreshing ink fragrance. It seems the host family has invested a lot of money in it.”

He leaned down, approaching Lu Wensheng who was kneeling on the ground. The dark fabric of his clothes rustled softly, and the oppressive power of the superior over the inferior suddenly came over Lu Wensheng.

Other officials would have panicked by now, but these lowly employees, like dead pigs that aren't afraid of boiling water, are even slacking off.

What kind of soap does Shen Hegui use? It smells refreshing and pleasant; I quite like the scent and want the soap he uses.

A hot breath brushed past Lu Wensheng's ear, and Shen Hegui's voice rang in her ear.

"I had no idea that Editor Lu possessed such skill. Not only could he change his writing style according to the topic, but he could also adjust the density and value of the ink according to the client's social standing. Over the past four years, not a single person has noticed that the handwriting is imitations of the same person. It is a pity that someone with such talent is buried in the Hanlin Academy as a minor editor."

If she doesn't take this editing job, will she get a promotion? After all, many positions in the court are about to become vacant. Most of the vice ministers of the Six Ministries have been reassigned, as have the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Office of Transmission...

After a few seconds of silence from Lu Wensheng, Shen Hegui grabbed her chin and forced her to look up.

Lu Wensheng's thoughts were interrupted.

Shen Hegui: "What, have you become mute?"

Wow, what a visual feast! No wonder he's the male lead in a restricted novel. Thinking of this, Lu Wensheng's thoughts drifted even further away.

She had read many restricted novels before, and had been exposed to all sorts of bizarre settings. Without exception, the male protagonist was absolutely well-endowed, skilled in bed, and had great stamina, like a mad dog full of energy, who would go into heat whenever he saw the female protagonist.

One section of the story is 20,000 words long, 19,000 of which are just explicit content. She got tired of it immediately, so she started acting like a jerk and searching for plot details within the explicit scenes.

She subconsciously tried to picture the mad dog-like Shen Hegui in her mind, but found that she couldn't conjure up the image because she didn't know the female lead's character.

Since she's the supporting female character, who is the female lead? As someone with another halo, she has to try to latch onto her and become the female lead's best friend!

Having won over the future empress, there's no need to worry about not being able to win over the future emperor.

Lu Wensheng unconsciously sniffed, immersing himself in the scent of his new favorite soap.

"It smells good!" As a huge slacker who had been slacking off for four years, she accidentally blurted out what was on her mind.

Shen Hegui's eyes darkened as he realized that his posture with Lu Wensheng was a bit too ambiguous.

This directly benefits Lu Wensheng, who is courting death!

Lu Wensheng's face, which had been pinched until it was somewhat deformed, was released by long, strong fingers.

Shen Hegui's gaze lingered on the remaining red fingerprint for a moment, then he unconsciously curled his fingers.

How spoiled!

Lu Wensheng realized he had inadvertently spoken his thoughts aloud and quickly tried to salvage the situation: "The soap Your Highness uses smells very expensive."

Shen Hegui's words were ambiguous: "No matter how expensive it is, it can't compare to the cost of Lu Wensheng taking an exam for someone else." He took out a stack of offering papers from his pocket and placed them in front of Lu Wensheng.

Without needing to look closely, Lu Wensheng knew that it was all the testimonies of her previous test-takers. She was prepared for the possibility that her actions would be exposed.

"Your Highness's methods are swift and decisive. This humble subject has confessed without reservation, but there are some points I would like to argue against. I hope Your Highness will be wise enough to grant me a chance."

Shen Hegui remained silent, deliberately leaving Lu Wensheng waiting for a while.

Originally, he wanted to kill Lu Wensheng, but the stack of papers submitted by someone else changed his mind. She did have some practical talents, and moreover, there was an upcoming imperial examination. He needed an inside man to completely eliminate the parasites on the path of talent selection, and Lu Wensheng was the most suitable candidate.

A note from the author:

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