Chapter 24 Wavering: To claim to benefit the people is too arrogant.

Gu Huizhou turned to look upon hearing this, and as Yao Ruyi had said, Baili Wenhan's lips were no longer as dark as they had been earlier, and even his complexion was regaining its color.

"My lord! My lord, you must believe me. I have served you by your side for over ten years, and I would never betray you." The servant said firmly.

Liang Fu hesitated.

"So what's going on here?"

"I didn't lie!" the young novice insisted. "He was the one who told me to deliver the porridge to the second young master's courtyard. He even claimed that the old steward had just cooked it and that it was very fragrant and sweet!"

The Liang family did bring an old steward with them when they came to Yun Temple with the emperor. The old steward was old, but he had held several positions in the military when he was young, and he was always good at cooking and making soup.

“There is indeed a steward beside Lord Liang!” a guard behind Baili Yi said. “We servants all know that the steward’s porridge is delicious.”

The servants and guards in aristocratic families are not all trained by their own families; more are bought from the market. There is a chance that the servants and guards of one's own family have worked for other families before.

Baili Yi brought the guard back because he saw this in the first place.

"We beg Your Majesty to make the decision!"

Baili Yi pressed on to this point, insisting that Liang Fu give an explanation.

Gu Huizhou waved his hand, "The imperial physician has arrived. He'll examine the second young master."

The old imperial physician, who had rushed all the way from the capital, was panting heavily. He had been woken up by the Shadows before dawn and hadn't rested at all since. The ride had been so bumpy that his old bones were about to fall apart.

But the emperor's words made his heart tremble. "Yes, yes, yes! Your subject will examine the second young master immediately."

Gu Huizhou responded, then stood up and, under the pretext of reading the memorial, turned and left, asking the imperial physician to examine his pulse before coming to see him.

"This... His Majesty has left already?"

The remaining people looked at each other in confusion. Did His Majesty mean to abandon the matter?

One of the ministers almost couldn't help but laugh. Just watch! These people were arguing back and forth, but the emperor wasn't buying it at all! Wasn't the meaning clear? He was practically saying, "I'm not interested."

Yao Ruyi followed Gu Huizhou slowly back to the courtyard, which was quite lively that morning. Han Jiqing also came with them, his face full of worry.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Gu Huizhou removed his hand from his forehead, picked up the iced tea on the table, and drank it all in one gulp. His eyes showed his exhaustion.

Having traveled a long way to Yun Temple yesterday, Gu Huizhou didn't rest. As a group of eminent monks chanted scriptures in the main hall for two hours, Gu Huizhou, who disdained praying to gods and Buddhas, still had to put on an act.

I hadn't even slept for a few hours when this kind of trouble happened again.

He concealed the irritation in his eyes. "What is it?"

This time, Han Jiqing represented the Han family as they accompanied the emperor to the temple, without even a servant by his side. Han Jiqing's expression was complicated. "Your Majesty, I slept late last night and admired the moon in the temple. I unintentionally bumped into Lord Baili."

Gu Huizhou: "Mm."

"Lord Baili met with the servant beside Minister Liang in an abandoned bedroom in the temple, intending to deliver the congee that should have been sent to my room to the Second Young Master."

Han Jiqing hesitated, "I believe it was Minister Liang who did it."

It's the Liang family again?

Yao Ruyi could sense the emperor's displeasure. It had only been a short while since things had calmed down, and now he was scheming over trivial matters all day long, disturbing the peace of the temple.

Gu Huizhou frowned, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. The red cinnabar string in his hand was played with until it became smooth and thick.

Despite all their scheming, the Liang family resorted to such a low-down method as drugging. Baili Yi, wanting to gain favor with the Han family, sent his son to take the fall.

“No wonder he took the antidote three hours ago,” Yao Ruyi said, suddenly realizing. “Lord Baili’s acting skills are truly remarkable; his expression of heartache for his son is completely genuine.”

"Oh."

Why does Your Majesty look so sinister again?

"To lift a stone only to drop it on one's own foot."

"How so?"

Han Jiqing looked back and forth, feeling that the relationship between this nineteenth prince and His Majesty was unusual. Their words did not seem like those of a ruler and his subject, nor like those of a master and his servant, but rather like those of... friends.

"The medicine the Liang family can produce is no ordinary medicine. Even if one takes the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill early on, there's no guarantee of a healthy body." The emperor smiled, a hint of schadenfreude in his expression. "Baili Yi thought the medicine monk's talk of infertility was a symptom before the detoxification."

"That's not actually the case..."

Han Jiqing realized what was happening and felt a chill run down his spine.

The best outcome after taking the poison pill would be to be childless.

"this--"

Regardless of whether the Baili family had ulterior motives, Han Jiqing now owed them a favor. His eyes were filled with complex emotions. "Your Majesty, I take my leave."

"Um."

Yao Ruyi stood beside Gu Huizhou. He really didn't understand what the Liang family meant. They were important officials in the court, yet they did some stupid things.

"Your Majesty, is Liang Fu really that stupid?"

Gu Huizhou looked at the person beside him, dressed in clean and thin white clothes, with curious eyes.

"Incredibly stupid."

He was so foolish as to think others were utterly stupid, believing that petty tricks would lower their guard, only to ultimately outmaneuver them. Gu Huizhou gripped his teacup, eager to see what other foolish things Liang Fu could pull off.

After the imperial physician told Baili Yi the diagnosis, Baili Yi was stunned.

He then shook his head violently, disbelieving, "Imperial Physician Wang! You are the most skilled physician in the Imperial Medical Academy, you must have made a mistake. How! How could that be!"

How can Han'er be without an heir!

"Lord Baili, please don't lie when you are a low-ranking official."

A disdainful look crossed the face of the medicine monk standing in the corner next to the abbot. He had thought the old man was genuinely indifferent when he saw that the old man didn't care.

It turns out they simply didn't believe him at all.

"Mist Source," the abbot called out to him.

"master?"

"Go pick herbs when you have nothing to do, you don't need to do that."

"Okay." Wu Yuan didn't care. Anyway, there wasn't much excitement to see now, which was a pity. Originally, the first few days of spring were the most lively in the past two years.

It was the same last year; there was no peace and quiet from the morning onwards.

Baili Yi was so heartbroken he wanted to die. He knelt before the bed and wept bitterly. Qingxiao had already broken his leg, and now Han'er was in this state! The elder was lying face down in front of the bed, his body trembling.

Han'er! I'm so sorry for what I did to you!

Liang Fu, the Baili family will make you pay the price sooner or later!

"Lord Baili, then this humble official will go to His Majesty to report back."

"This humble official takes his leave."

After the imperial physician left, the ministers who remained at a distance also felt bored. The Baili family had committed such a disgraceful act; if they were to stand here and watch, they would only be waiting for Baili Yi to confront them in court later.

Their eyes held pity or sympathy; the Baili family had only three sons, now one was crippled and another was disabled. As for the youngest son… well, that was another story.

Liang Fu gave the servant a meaningful look, snorted coldly, and left.

Yao Ruyi sneaked out for some fresh air while the emperor was taking a nap. He hadn't learned anything yet, and couldn't see the situation clearly in the face of the court's disputes. Even if he were by the emperor's side, he wouldn't be of much help.

Even if he passed the imperial examination and entered officialdom, he would not gain any advantage when facing people like Liang He and Baili Yi.

The mushroom was depressed.

"Are you healed?"

Before they knew it, they had reached the outskirts of the temple again. Under the clear winter sky, the sky seemed to hang exceptionally low. Yao Ruyi looked up and saw the same medicine monk who had helped him apply medicine the day before, looking at him from the edge of the cliff.

Yao Ruyi stepped forward and said, "Thank you for the herbs." Although it wasn't because of his herbs that she felt better.

"Are you a bodyguard to the emperor?"

The monk squinted and looked Yao Ruyi up and down, as if he couldn't believe that Gu Huizhou could have such a beautiful guard by his side.

"yes."

"Then why aren't you staying by the emperor's side?"

The herbalist continued squatting by the tree, picking herbs, and Yao Ruyi helped him. He idly looked up at the clouds drifting along the cliff edge; the scenery was truly beautiful, several times brighter than Qinghua Mountain. "I don't know what I should do," he thought.

"You're already one of the Emperor's men, and you still don't know what to do?" the herbalist sneered, picking herbs as he spoke. "You spend your days playing with flowers and birds, scheming against a bunch of ministers. And you can still show off your power in front of the people."

He pondered, "Things haven't been good these past two years. The emperor doesn't appear in front of the people often, so you've missed out on a lot of opportunities."

Yao Ruyi slowed her movements. "But as for today's events, I know nothing. If it weren't for His Majesty and the others, how would I know who was right and who was wrong today, and how could I possibly tell?"

He looked at Wu Yuan, who also looked up. "You're not a constable, why are you thinking about these things?"

"ah?"

"Aren't you a bodyguard to the emperor? Isn't your job to protect the emperor's safety?"

Yao Ruyi murmured, "That's true, but I still want to take the imperial examination and enter officialdom."

"Not bad, I didn't realize you had such lofty ambitions." Wu Yuan joked, his hands never stopping as he chatted with others. "Could it be that you want to go to the Dali Temple after the imperial examination? Or is it just to fight to the death with these old guys?"

"The purpose of taking the imperial examinations and obtaining official rank is, of course, to benefit the people..."

Yao Ruyi suddenly felt a glimmer of hope, "It's for the benefit of the people."

"Hey, you're so young, but you have big ambitions." Wu Yuan stopped what he was doing. "To benefit the people."

He repeated Yao Ruyi's words, and when he looked at Yao Ruyi again, there was something in his eyes. He was born with bright eyes, and even with his hair shaved off, it was not difficult to see his original handsome appearance. He casually asked Yao Ruyi, "Do you have any special skills that would allow you to serve as a secret guard by the emperor's side?"

"I can...I can detoxify."

Wu Yuan suddenly laughed, "I really didn't expect that someone who knows medicine could injure their wrist like that."

"I don't know medicine, I only know how to detoxify."

Wu Yuan stopped laughing. "That's quite rare, but everyone has their own expertise." He lowered his head. "You picked the herbs quite well."

"Thanks."

"What are you thanking me for?"

Yao Ruyi was speechless for a moment, "Thank you for helping me apply the medicine."

"Alright, then consider it your thanks for applying the medicine." Wu Yuan put the picked herbs aside and leaned against the rock, his lazy demeanor unlike that of the other monks in the courtyard.

What's your name?

“Me?” Wu Yuan pointed to himself. “My name is Wu Yuan.”

"No chance?"

Wu Yuan mocked him, "With such limited comprehension, how can you possibly conduct scientific research?"

"The fog is the fog of a thin mist, and the source is the source of a spring. In the thin mist, one can understand the human heart, the Buddha-nature, and the Tao. Source—"

Wu Yuan thought for a moment and then laughed, "I can't come up with anything for now."

Yao Ruyi smiled too. His earlier anxieties had vanished after chatting with Wu Yuan for a while; he was probably intimidated by the scene that morning. The intrigue and backstabbing in the court were really none of his concern.

"What's your name? Nineteen?"

Yao Ruyi shook her head. "My name isn't Nineteen, it's Yao Ruyi."

Wu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "That's a good name. Yao Ruyi, meaning 'as you wish,' not bad."

Yao Ruyi nodded vigorously. That was exactly what he had in mind when he named himself Yao Ruyi. However, he originally wanted to name himself Yao Dengke, but Uncle Liu Shu sternly refuted him.

Then they settled on the name Yao Ruyi.

“It seems you are quite talented,” Wu Yuan said. “But judging from your appearance, if you were to pass the imperial examination and enter officialdom, you would surely be a third-ranked scholar. Putting aside everything else, His Majesty has excellent judgment.”

Wu Yuan lay on the rock and spoke softly, "Do you know Xu Yi? He was the third-ranked scholar appointed by the emperor a few years ago, and his appearance was truly divine."

"You are better than him."

Yao Ruyi shook her head, "I want to be the top scholar."

"That's quite ambitious." Wu Yuan stood up and patted his clothes. "Being away from His Majesty's side for so long, doesn't that count as dereliction of duty?"

Yao Ruyi then realized that he and Wu Yuan had been chatting for quite a while without realizing it, and he quickly stood up. As he hurriedly ran back, he didn't forget to turn back and wave to Wu Yuan, "Thank you!"

This time, I thank him for helping me find the right direction.

Wu Yuan hummed in agreement, "Okay, go ahead."

He stared blankly at the young man who had run away, saying that bringing benefits to the people was incredibly arrogant.