Chapter 63 Drink this glass of wine, and you'll embarrass yourself later.
"Look at that woman!"
Yu Wulang saw the tension between Yu Zhiyi and Yu Jiaojiao and his face darkened: "Sister Jiaojiao's eyes are red with anger because of her. That woman is really too hateful!"
Apart from Yu Mingquan, the other three boys had different expressions, but their eyes showed the same disapproval—disapproval of Yu Zhiyi making things difficult for their beloved younger sister.
Madam Yu was also a little anxious, but unfortunately this was at a banquet, and she couldn't go over to comfort her beloved daughter. She could only look at Yu Zhiyi with resentment, hoping that her adopted daughter would stop "bullying" Yu Jiaojiao after receiving her gaze.
Minister Yu did not express his opinion, but his old face remained gloomy.
Yu Zhiyi didn't even glance at the Yu family's side. After turning her gaze away, she and Prime Minister Du and the others sat down behind Prime Minister Du's seat.
At such banquets, family members sit behind their husbands or fathers.
She and Du Ziheng have not yet officially taken up their posts, and today they are attending the banquet as family members, so they do not have separate seats.
Not long after the group sat down, members of the royal family, concubines, and the emperor also arrived.
The emperor was in his thirties, with a refined appearance and an air of nobility, yet he lacked any murderous aura. Judging from his demeanor alone, it was hard to imagine that he was a ruthless and decisive emperor.
The Empress was a dignified and elegant woman. Although she was not particularly beautiful, she possessed an aura of peace and prosperity for the country.
After the emperor sat down on the dragon's edge, he began to speak.
Although today is his birthday banquet, birthdays come every year, but talented people are rare. So before the banquet begins, he will praise the newly selected top three and announce their appointments.
Before that, there was naturally a roundabout speech about the prosperity and peace of the Great Sheng Empire.
When he got emotional, he raised his glass to drink with everyone.
Everyone present raised their glasses, regardless of whether they could drink or not, they were all determined to keep each other company.
As soon as Yu Zhiyi raised her glass, she felt two subtle yet intense gazes.
She paused, but the emperor had already tilted his head back and drunk the wine in his cup. The person next to him also drank his wine in one gulp when the emperor put down his cup, which made her, who was holding the wine cup, look extremely out of place.
Before this abrupt change could fully develop, she quickly drank the wine in her glass.
It was as if no abnormality was found in the cup.
After settling into their seats and joining the crowd, both pairs of lips curved into the same joyful smile.
Yu Jiaojiao stared intently at Yu Zhiyi.
That bitch really knows how to get attention!
Drink, drink, drink! How can you not drink her to death?!
If only something had been laced with that drink.
Unfortunately, she could only dream about it.
Her status was not high enough to allow her to tamper with things at such an important palace banquet.
Just then, she caught a glimpse of a figure.
Seeing that the man was also staring at Yu Zhiyi with a cruel smile on his lips, Yu Jiaojiao was stunned for a moment, but quickly revealed a smile of anticipation for a good show.
She loves watching dog-eat-dog dramas!
Yu Zhiyi seemed oblivious, and put down the glass after drinking the wine in it.
Seeing that everyone had finished drinking, the chief eunuch beside the emperor announced loudly, "Please invite the newly appointed top scholar, second-place scholar, third-place scholar, and Lady Yu Zhiyi, the young mistress of the Du family, to come forward to receive their titles!"
This series of announcements left everyone completely dumbfounded.
They could understand the first three, but what the heck was the last one?
In fact, as members of a prominent family in the capital, almost everyone present had heard about Yu Zhiyi being appointed as a senior official in the Ministry of Justice.
But hearing about it was just hearsay; seeing her actually singled out by the emperor for a special reward still left everyone feeling disillusioned.
That's a senior official in the Ministry of Justice!
Although he was only a fifth-rank official, he was insignificant compared to the fourth-rank, third-rank, or even second-rank and first-rank officials present.
Can!
The Ministry of Justice is not a department that just anyone can enter; it is a department with real power!
Even a minor official in the Ministry of Justice is someone many people would fight tooth and nail to curry favor with.
Honestly, if the emperor wanted to give an explanation to the people who were fanatically worshipping Yu Zhiyi, he could have secretly bestowed the title and that would have been fine, or he could have given her a nominal position in public, and no one would have said anything.
But he actually went so far as to bestow an official position upon her in front of all the civil and military officials and imperial relatives, and it was an official position with real power. This was a blatant slap in the face to everyone!
Leaving aside the distant past, let's just talk about the top three in this year's exam.
Although they achieved good results in this scientific expedition, whether they will get a good place to work is still unknown.
What if the emperor's appointment is not as good as Yu Zhiyi's official position? Wouldn't the three of them have to find a crack in the ground to crawl into?
As for Prime Minister Du, who is the chief examiner for this year's three candidates, he will probably lose face.
Oh, no, that's not right.
Prime Minister Du is Yu Zhiyi's father-in-law.
Oh, that's alright then.
Regardless of what people think, the bestowal of rewards will continue.
Despite feeling the malicious gazes directed at her from those around her, Yu Zhiyi remained fearless.
She had already had an internal struggle yesterday when she learned that her account had been blocked.
Since the deed has already happened, and the outcome cannot be changed, it's better to slack off and exhaust others than to waste our own time internally.
After all, the impact of this incident on her was simply that she could no longer comfortably slack off in the future.
This wasn't a big problem for her, since as a member of the Xuanmen sect, she could only read three divinations a day at most.
If the emperor and the officials of the Ministry of Justice wanted to use her divination skills to help them solve the Ministry's difficult and complicated cases, they would be disappointed.
It's not that she didn't want to help, but she also has her bottom line.
Lost in thought, Yu Zhiyi, Du Ziheng, and two other examinees walked to the center of the main hall.
Since today's banquet is not a formal or solemn one, those receiving the title need not kneel.
Yu Zhiyi and the three other examinees bowed to the emperor and then stood obediently to the side.
Yu Zhiyi and Du Ziheng stood side by side, perfectly demonstrating what it means to be an unfamiliar couple.
Neither of them gave each other a glance.
However, the people in the audience did not know the true nature of their relationship; they only felt that this couple, who met at the peak of their lives, were surprisingly adorable.
You Bingyue thought so too.
So she was so angry her face turned green.
The moment Yu Zhiyi stepped onto the stage, the carefree prince, sitting in the seat of royal relatives, raised his lips and curled into a cold smile.
Judging by the time, the medicine should be taking effect soon.
He wanted to see how this woman would pretend to be innocent and pure after making a fool of herself in public, and then try to deceive the whole world.
A goddess who saves people from suffering?
Pah!
She doesn't even deserve it?
The carefree king waited and waited, and finally the medicine took effect.
But it wasn't with Yu Zhiyi.
Suddenly, an indescribable heat surged through the body of the Carefree King.
The intense heat not only assaulted his body but also his mind, making it impossible for him to think clearly.
In the center of the main hall, Yu Zhiyi glanced at the Prince of Xiaoyao, seemingly unintentionally.
Although she quickly looked away, a pleasant smile appeared on her face.
The Carefree King: "!!!"
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