Chapter 4: Ministers Cannot Lie

With long eyelashes drooping slightly, Pei Xuan was elegant in every move.

The little palace maids beside him blushed and glanced at him from time to time.

There was a hint of indifference in his eyes, as if he was indifferent to everything around him.

However, when he occasionally raised his head, his deep eyes were gentle.

Pei Xuan raised his hand to pick up the cup and sipped a few sips of hot tea.

A sandalwood bead appeared on his fair wrist, which was very consistent with his temperament.

Pei Xuan didn't wait long before he saw Li Jinchen walk in with a sullen face.

"Your Majesty." Pei Xuan stood up and nodded.

The national teacher had a very high status in Aolong Kingdom, almost on par with the emperor, but Pei Xuan would nod and salute every time out of courtesy.

"No need to be polite." Li Jinchen sat directly on the dragon chair like a gust of wind.

Li Jinchen was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, and there was sweat on his forehead, probably because he had just taken a bath.

"Your Majesty, what can I do for you?" Pei Xuan sat down, lowered his eyes and touched the sandalwood bracelet on his wrist.

His long white hair fell to his waist, like silk.

Li Jinchen put his hand on his forehead.

Headache.

Splitting headache.

Not only was it a ridiculous night, but there was also the aftereffect of the drug Xie Anci gave him.

The blue gem on Li Jinchen's left ear emitted a faint light, as if confirming the owner's mood.

"You all can leave." Li Jinchen waved his hand.

The palace maids and eunuchs serving in Yu's study came out one after another.

Li Jinchen looked at Pei Xuan with embarrassment, and after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't speak.

Pei Xuan was not in a hurry either. He drank his tea slowly, waiting for Li Jinchen to speak.

Finally, Li Jinchen sighed and said,

"Now most of the power in the court is controlled by the Regent King. As an emperor, I still have to look at his face."

"Master, I just want one word from you."

Li Jinchen's eyes dimmed. This time Xie Anci was too much.

Not only did he tie him up, but he also drugged him and did that to him!

It's really disgusting.

Li Jinchen's face was full of disgust. He had long been dissatisfied with Xie Anci, but he was too powerful and Li Jinchen couldn't bring him down now.

"What?" Pei Xuan put down the teacup and looked at Li Jinchen with a pair of phoenix eyes.

Li Jinchen was slightly stunned. These phoenix eyes seemed to see through him, leaving him nowhere to hide.

Li Jinchen looked out the door. "Xie Anci disturbed the court and was not in line with the fortune of Aolong Kingdom. He should be demoted to a commoner."

Pei Xuan frowned slightly when he heard this, and there was a trace of displeasure in his indifferent eyes.

"Your Majesty, I did not calculate these, and I cannot lie."

"National Master, are you just going to watch my country being controlled by that treacherous minister?" Li Jinchen looked a little excited.

Li Jinchen really couldn't understand Pei Xuan. He thought Pei Xuan was on Xie Anci's side before, but the two didn't know each other at all.

Pei Xuan rarely left his Xingyan Palace.

Later, Li Jinchen felt that Pei Xuan was on his side, because no matter what he asked, Pei Xuan would say that he was loyal to the emperor of Aolong Kingdom.

Pei Xuan had given Li Jinchen many valuable suggestions when dealing with natural disasters and man-made calamities before.

But every time Li Jinchen asked Pei Xuan to help him regain power and give Xie Anci a reason to leave the capital, Pei Xuan was always vague.

He talked about God's will, but did not deduce that Xie Anci was causing chaos in the court.

Li Jinchen was very puzzled. Do you still need to deduce this?

Just go to the street and ask someone, and you will know how many "good things" Xie Anci has done.

"But I can't lie." Pei Xuan was unmoved.

Li Jinchen just wanted to use him to get rid of Xie Anci.

But this was not within his scope of responsibility, and lying would come at a price.

Pei Xuan stroked the sandalwood bracelet on his hand, he was afraid of pain.

Li Jinchen was tired of hearing these words, and felt his already aching head aching even more.

"Alright, thank you for your trip, I still have to go to court." Li Jinchen was obviously less patient than usual, and signaled Pei Xuan that he could go.

He just wanted to come back from court and rest for a while.

"I'll take my leave." Pei Xuan stood up and left without hesitation.

Li Jinchen asked someone to tidy up his clothes, and hurried to the main hall.

There was a lot of noise in the main hall, much more noisy than usual.

The main reason was that Xie Anci was not there today.

"Isn't the Regent King here every day regardless of wind or rain? Why is he not here today?" The left prime minister Nangong Boyu snorted.

Nangong Boyu has always looked down on Xie Anci, and felt that it was not right for an outsider to control the government, so he became Li Jinchen's man.

"The Regent is also a human being, and he may have fallen ill today. The Regent works hard every day, so he deserves a day off." Right Prime Minister Lu Yunzheng replied.

This Right Prime Minister was only in his twenties, but he was able to take the position of Right Prime Minister, mainly because of Xie Anci.

Of course, Lu Yunzheng himself is also very talented.

A few years before Xie Anci, he made a major change to the official selection system, from relying almost entirely on connections to the current imperial examinations, and recruited many young and poor officials.

So he also offended the dignitaries in the capital.

In the past, you could become an official just by relying on connections and money, but now they may not be able to pass the exams even if they study.

Moreover, those noble children have always been lawless, hanging out in Qinlou and Chuguan every day.

Xie Anci looked down on these people, and just used the imperial examination system to exclude these small wastes.

However, this also made the dignitaries in the capital dissatisfied, and they once launched a march to force Xie Anci to step down.

Although Li Jinchen also wanted Xie An to step down, he felt that his proposal to select talents through examinations was very fair, and he had long looked down on those dandies in the capital.

So Li Jinchen sent people to appease those people, said a lot of good things, and promised to arrange some unimportant positions for them, and then the matter was settled.

Everyone knew that the emperor and the regent king had never been at odds with each other, but that time they actually united their front, so they could only bear it no matter how dissatisfied they were.

Back in the court, Nangong Boyu glared at Lu Yunzheng with dissatisfaction.

"Let him take care of the government? I believe that the emperor can do a good job, and the regent king should have stepped down long ago."

Nangong Boyu is already in his seventies, and he didn't expect that he is still suppressed by the young people. He has been very dissatisfied.

"Don't bother with this. I think the left prime minister is old, and he should resign early and return to his hometown to enjoy his old age." Lu Yunzheng was also impolite in his words.

He liked to see the old man next to him getting angry and glaring at him, and then he looked helpless.

Lu Yunzheng covered his mouth with his sleeve and chuckled.

"You! Lu Yunzheng, you..." Nangong Boyu wanted to scold him, but he felt that scolding was too cheap, his face flushed, and he pointed at Lu Yunzheng.

Lu Yunzheng didn't feel any pain or itching, and looked calm.

"The emperor has arrived!"

The eunuch's shout interrupted everyone's discussion, and the hall suddenly became quiet.

"Long live the emperor." Everyone saluted.

Li Jinchen glanced around and was relieved when he saw that Xie Anci didn't come.