Lai Xi had served Xie Lang for many years and was adept at navigating social situations. Over time, he had come to understand the young emperor's thoughts to some extent. He glanced at Wen Hemian, whose expression remained unchanged, and couldn't help but speak up.
"Lord Wen, please allow me to say something. You know His Majesty's thoughts. He has always relied on you, so he would never hide anything from you on important matters. Please don't take what just happened to heart..."
"Wait a minute." Wen Hemian interrupted him, both amused and exasperated. "I really didn't care, and I didn't take it to heart at all."
How come even Lai Xi thinks she's that kind of stingy person?
You don't usually have this tendency, do you?
"Oh." Lai Xi chuckled sheepishly and touched his nose. "It was our family that talked too much."
Wen Hemian emphasized earnestly: "Don't say such things in front of me anymore, and don't say them in front of His Majesty either."
Lai Xi did not respond.
Wen Hemian didn't say anything.
Lai Xi is Xie Lang's man. No matter how biased he may be, he will definitely side with his master. He is slippery, but loyal, and that is enough.
-
In the Imperial Study.
Huo Ping finished telling Xie Lang the important matter first, and then continued talking about Wen Hemian.
Although some things don't necessarily need to be investigated to the end, Xie Lang wanted to keep the initiative in his own hands, so the things that needed to be investigated still needed to be investigated.
"Ning Hechu still suspects Lord Wen's identity, but there is another group of people guarding the temple, so they can't get close. As long as the person in the know doesn't come out, the Ning faction can't do anything about it."
The other group of people, as one can imagine, were either Wen Heming's people or the people left behind by the couple.
Surprised as he was, Huo Ping didn't want Wen Hemian's true identity to be exposed now, considering the bigger picture.
It's a real headache that something went wrong at the most crucial moment after all these years of trying to hide it.
Huo Ping sincerely suggested, "In my opinion, Your Majesty should explain things clearly to Lord Wen, and then we can discuss countermeasures together."
Look at the way that eunuch looked at him just now, as if he were an unforgivable villain standing between the teacher and student. He had no way to express his suffering!
Xie Lang refused: "It's not the right time yet."
It is said that the emperor's mind is unfathomable. Even a few years ago, Huo Ping might not have been able to guess Xie Lang's thoughts, let alone now. He doesn't understand what this young emperor is worried about.
No matter what, Wen Hemian is His Majesty's teacher. Would he really be angry about this?
Xie Lang wasn't afraid of making Wen Hemian angry; he just didn't want her to think that this was the result of his special investigation because he didn't trust her.
What he truly feared was Wen Heming's disappointed gaze.
After thinking for a while, Xie Lang instructed, "Send someone to confuse the public and lead them as if the Grand Tutor is not the biological son of the Prince of Huailing and his wife."
Once a rumor surfaces, it's quickly suppressed, making it more susceptible to suspicion. It's better to break the deadlock and let them continue to stray from the right path.
Huo Ping accepted the order: "Yes."
After he left, another figure silently landed in front of Xie Lang: "Your Majesty, Murong Yue's life story is here."
Having not heard this name for a long time, Xie Lang vaguely remembered it. It was the peacock who chatted and laughed with the Grand Tutor on the painted boat on Qixi Festival. The other party was a traveling merchant who was visiting the capital for the first time, so it would be much more difficult to investigate.
He took it and glanced at it. The resume was unremarkable, except for one thing—Murong Yue came from the northern desert.
The Grand Tutor's family was stationed here.
The bodyguard said, "This young master Murong's behavior is rather monotonous. He spends his days running between shops and brothels, which is quite... dissolute."
Xie Lang immediately dispelled his vigilance.
The Grand Tutor was of noble character and taught him to treat his beloved with sincerity. He would never fall for such a philanderer, so he was ruled out.
Most of them were helpers sent by people far away on the border for their daughters.
Having figured this out, Xie Lang waved his hand generously: "You don't need to keep an eye on him anymore."
Bodyguard: "Yes."
-
Ning Hechu could no longer interfere in the affairs of Mingzhou. Not only that, he also had to watch those people die one by one in front of him.
This matter sparked a minor discussion within the Ning Party, with some even beginning to question whether Ning Hechu could continue to be their leader.
The Ning faction was never truly united; they were only brought together by shared interests. The resulting suspicion was the biggest threat to their cooperation. Ning Hechu was left with a headache dealing with both sides and didn't have the time to sabotage Xie Lang.
As the year draws to a close, all departments are busy. When Wen Hemian goes out, someone takes over his duties, so there is no backlog of documents to deal with. Only poor Xie Lang is overwhelmed by the memorials on his desk.
With the emperor's personal instructions, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies was as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood. He even made several versions of the plan to welcome the envoy, determined to show the hospitality of the host.
God knows how long they've been holding these cushy jobs, living in constant fear of being dismissed one day. Now that they finally have a chance to prove themselves, why don't they do their best to show their worth?
However, Xie Lang ignored their excessive enthusiasm, casually drafted a plan, and gave the order.
The Ministry of Personnel is doing well because Wen Hemian has redivided the responsibilities, and everyone is busy in an orderly manner. Another batch of officials are about to complete their terms. When the officials who conducted the inspections return with the investigation documents, those who should be promoted will be promoted, and those who should be demoted will be demoted according to their merits.
A year's hard work has come to fruition, but time flies by.
Occasionally, when Wen Hemian paused to look out the window, he couldn't help but sigh, "Time really flies."
Wait a little longer, and it will be Xie Lang's coming-of-age ceremony.
Wen Hemian finally came up with Xie Lang's calligraphy before the end of the year. She carefully picked up her pen and wrote down the two characters. After they dried, she carefully put them into an envelope, sealed it, and placed it under a paperweight.
The system clicked its tongue twice: "I've never seen you care about yourself this much. No wonder the little emperor treats you so well."
Wen Hemian smiled and said, "Feelings are mutual, and he deserves my kindness."
The system muttered to itself, "To be honest, I always feel like Xie Lang's gaze towards you is a bit off..."
"What did you say?" Wen Hemian didn't hear clearly.
"I said... Meow!"
A familiar figure appeared in the system's field of vision. On a conditioned reflex, it took a step back and immediately missed its footing.
Wen Hemian couldn't catch the cat in time and could only watch helplessly as it fell flat on its back, got up, and ran away without pausing for a moment.
Xie Lang noticed the cat's movements, and he was somewhat satisfied with it, calling out, "Grand Tutor."
"Your Majesty, you have frightened my cat."
Wen Hemian looked helpless, but didn't blame her much. The system always acted like it had seen a ghost whenever it saw Xie Lang, and it just couldn't change that habit.
Xie Lang said aggrievedly, "It's because this cat is timid, how can you blame it on me?"
Wen Heming paused: "Okay, no."
Recently, due to the arrival of the envoy in the capital, the entire city has been unusually lively. Looking at the tall and handsome young man in front of her, Wen Hemian finally realized that there was another important detail here—the foreign woman attempted to drug Xie Lang and offer herself to him, but failed.
The little emperor is getting coveted.
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