"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Your Majesty. I'm indeed not as strong as before and can no longer serve Your Majesty." After hearing what Emperor Gan said, Nan Xunjie knew that the step that Emperor Gan wanted was not enough.
But once you fail, you will naturally know what the final consequences will be. Instead of waiting to be killed, it is better to be sensible and curry favor in disguise.
"Then, according to Marquis Yinan, who can serve as the invigilator of the imperial examination?" Emperor Gan looked at Nan Xunjie with an inexplicable smile on his face.
I didn't expect Nan Xunjie to be so sensible. He got off the stage right after the start.
But Emperor Gan didn't want just to step down, so he naturally needed Nan Xunjie to continue to exert some of his remaining energy in the end.
"Thank you for your highness's favor. In my humble opinion, Lord Xu comes from a family that is already highly respected by the students. I think it would be a great thing for you to be the chief examiner."
Nan Xunjie blurted out Xu Tianze. He had been under the nose of Emperor Gan for such a long time, so he naturally knew what Emperor Gan wanted.
But having said that, as an old minister who was about to leave the court, it would not be a big deal for him to secretly ridicule the emperor.
After all, it was Emperor Gan who ordered the massacre of the Xu family. He was also secretly reminding Xu Tianze not to forget who made him what he is now.
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Marquis." Xu Tianze naturally understood what Nan Xunjie meant, but he was not angry.
"Oh right, since Miss Nan has to kneel in the ancestral hall to atone for her sins, why not just have her hair cut out and start a vegetarian diet and chanting Buddhist scriptures? After all, that's better than kneeling in a square ancestral hall all the time."
After saying this, Xu Tianze smiled apologetically towards Nan Xunjie, and as if he suddenly remembered something, he silently added, "By the way, no matter what, the Marquis should first give the two princes a reasonable explanation. It's me who has overstepped my bounds."
"You! How dare you do that!" Nan Xunjie became furious when he heard Xu Tianze's words, and pointed at Xu Tianze and cursed.
I didn't expect that even though he had already retreated, Xu Tianze still dared to target him. It was obvious that he had already given up on the imperial examination. He was really ungrateful.
"I think the old marquis is indeed old. It's time for him to abdicate like my father did and let others take over." Song Yu sneered in dissatisfaction when he heard Nan Xunjie scolding Xu Tianze.
"What the Duke of Zhenguo said makes sense. The Marquis can't even raise his own children. It's really hard for an upright and honest official like him." The second prince echoed from the side, emphasizing the words upright and honest.
When Nan Xunjie heard what Song Yu and the Second Prince said, his heart froze. He looked at the young men who stood up to refute him.
One of them squinted his eyes, pretending to be indifferent; one stared at him with a constant sneer, with a hint of dissatisfaction; one had deep eyes, constantly releasing murderous intent; one looked at him with a hint of anger on his face as if he was looking at a dead person; the last one still had a blank expression, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Your Majesty~" Nan Xunjie knelt on the ground with a thud and kowtowed to Emperor Gan. "I have served as an official for over a decade. Even if I can't say I have made great contributions, I have certainly worked hard. How can I be humiliated like this?"
When the old ministers in the court saw this, they couldn't help but feel grief again, even more strongly than before.
Today, Marquis Nan no longer represents the Nan family, but represents countless old ministers in the court. If they do not stand up at this time, it would be equivalent to not safeguarding their own interests.
Wouldn't that mean they would be mocked and ridiculed by other young officials? If they didn't stand up today, who would stand up for them later?
Thinking of this, these elderly ministers all stood up and spoke.
"Your Majesty, Nan Hou has been diligent and hardworking, and has made great contributions. Now he has been humiliated by you. It is truly outrageous to both humans and gods. Your Majesty, please help Nan Hou~"
"Your Majesty, if the Empress knew that the Marquis of Nan had been humiliated like this, it would be detrimental to the unity between the Emperor and Empress, Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, although the Marquis of Nan may be a little confused regarding his children, his contributions to the court are indelible."
"His Majesty······"
"His Majesty······"
The kneeling speeches of the old ministers one after another made Emperor Gan's head buzz and his face began to show impatience.
He glared at Xu Tianze and insisted on being humiliating at the end. Now he has directly angered everyone and it will really cause trouble for him.
Receiving Emperor Gan's gaze, Xu Tianze touched his nose awkwardly, then stepped out and looked at the old ministers kneeling on the ground.
"What you gentlemen said is not without reason." Xu Tianze shook his sleeves and looked at everyone with a smile. "You gentlemen have served with the Marquis for more than ten years, so it is natural that you will have some insights."
When the Second Prince and his companions saw Xu Tianze's smiling face, they couldn't help but shudder. They exchanged glances with each other and silently took a small step back.
After all, based on their understanding of Xu Tianze, these guys are going to be in big trouble next, so it’s better for them to stay away from them, otherwise they will be affected.
"But as the saying goes, cultivate yourself, manage your family, and bring peace to the world. I am shocked that you gentlemen do not pay much attention to the training of the younger generation." Xu Tianze seemed to be sighing.
There was clearly no foul language in what he said, but it still made the old ministers who were kneeling and begging for mercy feel uncomfortable.
"Lord Xu, please be careful with your words! My descendants have been carefully educated, and they have a good reputation and are highly praised by others in the Imperial College." An old man looked up at Xu Tianze, and his pride was revealed when he talked about his descendants.
Seeing this, Xu Tianze frowned and looked at the second prince, indicating with his eyes: Is this your man?
The second prince was also somewhat helpless when he saw this. Although the six ministries had all sided with him, there were still a few old stubborn people, and Minister Liu was one of them.
I was originally planning to find a way to replace it, but before I could do anything, this old guy actually bumped into me.
There was no other choice but for Aze to take action directly and take the opportunity to cause more trouble, so he stretched out his hands and pretended to be speechless.
Seeing this, Xu Tianze nodded thoughtfully, but in the eyes of others, it meant that they were supporting Xu Tianze behind the scenes.
"Minister Liu seems quite proud of his descendants, but I wonder if he is proud of their knowledge or their character?" Xu Tianze felt a little sarcastic when he saw Minister Liu's smug look.
"Lord Xu is young after all, so he naturally doesn't know how knowledgeable my son and grandson are. They are also extremely filial to me." Minister Liu snorted coldly and glanced at Xu Tianze with disdain.
He didn't know that when he said this, the other officials in the court all looked at Minister Liu with strange expressions.
Even the other old ministers who knelt down together had their faces twitching and looked at Minister Liu in silence.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
