Chapter 52 Chu Yannuo suddenly tore up the exam paper, but...
Chu Yannuo suddenly tore up the exam questions, which infuriated Prince Rui.
He rushed over and picked up the torn test paper to piece it back together, but someone snatched two pieces away, and he couldn't put it back together no matter what he did.
Chu Yannuo was quick to act; after stating the question, he immediately spread out a sheet of paper and wrote a whole page of eloquent prose.
This is a classic tax and silver issue that the Ministry of Revenue often encountered.
He pasted it on the drawing board and read it aloud.
Yao Yuehai barely knew any characters, but he could understand the meaning of each word Chu Yannuo spoke, yet he had no idea what they meant when put together.
At the crucial moment, he even started complaining.
"If I had known it would be this difficult to become a minister, why would I have bothered?"
There are so many girls in Haitang Garden, and he hasn't favored any of them yet.
Prince Rui was furious with his uncle.
My uncle is useless, so I can only pin my hopes on Hanxi.
He kept giving Hanxi meaningful glances, almost snatching the pen from her hand.
Unfortunately, Hanxi couldn't understand what he meant.
Just write the answers down on paper.
She even carefully wrote down the steps.
Chu Yannuo suspects that her cousin's soul has been replaced.
Although this was a common question from the Ministry of Revenue, it took him several days to figure it out.
How come his cousin wrote down the answer as soon as he finished reading the question?
Could it be that she simply didn't understand and wrote it randomly?
Back in the Marquis's mansion, everyone doted on her, and no matter what she did, they only praised her.
Now my cousin has appeared at Caiyue Tower, and Prince Duan is also here. She is wearing the Regent's jade pendant, which Prince Duan must have obtained for her.
From this perspective, Prince Duan treated her quite well.
No wonder she was so happy there that she didn't want to leave, and didn't even go back to the Marquis's mansion.
So she thought that if she wrote something random today, everyone would judge her as correct because of Prince Duan.
The title of "the smartest person in the Great Zhou" must have been obtained by Prince Duan helping her cheat.
My younger sister was clearly fourth, but wasn't she also judged to be third by Prince Duan's one-man rule?
Chu Yannuo was convinced that Tang Xinuan had written nonsense, but he didn't want to expose her in front of everyone, after all, she was his cousin whom he had doted on since childhood.
It's just that she's no longer allowed to act recklessly.
She was caught cheating and even proclaimed herself the smartest person in the Great Zhou Dynasty. How many lives does she have to face the doubts of the crowd?
Even more than Chu Yannuo, Prince Rui also hoped that Han Xi would write whatever she wanted.
As he wrote his answer on the paper and strode over, intending to first announce that his answer was wrong and then tear it to pieces, who would dare to question his judgment?
Unfortunately, Prince Duan got Tang Xinuan's answer before him.
He turned and handed it to Sun Qingzhao.
"Minister Sun, do you think this answer is right or wrong?"
Sun Qingzhao had already calculated it in his mind, and it was exactly the same as Han Xi's.
"Your Highness, Young Master Han's answer is correct."
Chu Yannuo didn't believe it. He snatched the answer and found that it was the same as the answer he had calculated in his mind.
How is that possible!
The question was set by him on the spot, so it was impossible for Prince Duan to have guessed it and helped her cheat.
Does she really understand mathematics?
"This...this..."
Prince Rui was furious when he missed out on becoming the head of the Six Ministries.
He couldn't blame his uncle, so he first ordered his men to take away the 500,000 taels of silver, and then ordered his men to arrest Han Xi.
"Guards, this Han Xi is faking it. Arrest him and take him away. I want to interrogate him carefully."
Sun Qingzhao knew that Prince Rui was up to no good. "Prince Rui, what did Young Master Han do that is fake? Even a prince cannot make baseless accusations without evidence."
Prince Rui didn't take him seriously at all. "It's precisely because his cheating methods were too subtle that you ordinary people couldn't see through them that I'm taking him back for a thorough interrogation so that you'll be convinced."
"Your Highness..."
Sun Qingzhao, a low-ranking official of the fourth rank with no connections, was no match for Prince Rui.
However, he was prepared to risk his life to protect Hanxi.
Prince Duan naturally wouldn't just stand by and watch the spectacle.
"Fourth brother, don't go too far. I've been there since Hanxi first participated in the competition. I know better than you whether he cheated or not. Don't blame others just because your uncle is useless."
He was also angry. "Guards, anyone who dares to touch a single hair on Shang Hanxi's head is an enemy of this king."
Chu Yannuo witnessed Prince Duan protecting his cousin, which further confirmed his belief that his cousin had been with Prince Duan all this time.
He certainly wouldn't get involved in the argument between the two princes; he planned to take his cousin away first.
But when he turned to look for his cousin, she was nowhere to be found.
"How cold!"
Sun Qingzhao came over to question Prince Rui, which conveniently blocked Prince Rui's view. Tang Xinuan had already taken the opportunity to pull Xiaoqian away and escape.
Moreover, there are also perilla and forsythia openly protecting it.
Li Pixiu secretly protected them, opened the back door, and the four of them made their way through the crowded streets, quickly arriving at the back door of Caiyue Tower.
"Young Master Han, this way."
Even as he was feeling smug, Li Pixiu didn't forget to take credit, saying, "They'd never guess you'd use connections. Just turn the corner and you're back at the Prince's mansion..."
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly saw the Regent, was startled, and then hurriedly knelt down, saying, "This humble subject greets Your Highness."
Zhou Chuanxing glanced at him expressionlessly, "Get up and talk."
Li Pixiu stood up shakily; it was hard to ignore the fact that he had once bumped his backside against the current regent.
Tang Xinu followed Li Pixiu to the back door. The room was dimly lit. When the door opened, sunlight streamed in. She instinctively shielded her eyes from the sunlight, and then Zhou Chuanxing's handsome figure came into view.
Tang Xinuan was overjoyed. She ran to Zhou Chuanxing with incredibly cheerful steps and threw herself into his arms without hesitation.
"Erlang, what brings you here?"
Zhou Chuanxing caught her and patted her head, saying, "If I hadn't come, you would have made a huge mess of things."
How dare this little girl extort money from Prince Rui!
The carriage stopped not far away. Zhou Chuanxing helped the little girl into the carriage and instructed Tao Guan, "Keep an eye on her, don't let her cause any trouble."
Tao Guan arrived with two thousand imperial guards, and they had completely surrounded Caiyue Tower.
Prince Rui will definitely need to rest here for a while.
As the carriage departed, Tang Xinu lifted the curtain and discovered a large number of men in black fighting on the roof.
"Erlang, Erlang, that's Baihe."
Zhou Chuanxing noticed it too. He pulled down the curtain and said in a stern tone, "You are not allowed to make any decisions on your own in the future."
Tang Xinuan grinned at him, showing her white teeth, and said ingratiatingly, "He's so bad, he doesn't even know where the money comes from. If I don't want it, he'll definitely keep it to do more bad things."
What could Zhou Chuanxing say? He sighed with a hint of helplessness.
"You're really too bold."
Li Pixiu watched as Han Xi threw herself into the Regent's arms. The two were behaving so intimately that they didn't even need to hide it from outsiders.
It turns out that the prince actually likes men.
Prince Rui was determined to capture Han Xi, but he failed to do so. His subordinates, who were out transporting silver, also told him that all the silver was gone.
He was so angry that he almost couldn't catch his breath.
Unfortunately, Prince Duan stopped him, and he was unable to attend to both.
"Guards! Guards!"
Prince Rui's guards were all tied up by Prince Duan's men, so he could only look up and call for his secret guards from upstairs.
Normally, his bodyguards would appear within three counts.
I called out today, but I didn't see a single person for a long time.
The men suddenly noticed a fight between many men in black on the opposite rooftop.
Like a wilted eggplant, she reminded Prince Rui to look across the way: "They can't come."
Prince Rui was so angry that he cursed, "A bunch of useless trash!"
Prince Duan loved seeing his fourth brother suffer setbacks.
"Fourth brother, you've got a good plan."
He couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Do you really think that beating Han Xi will make you a minister? Well, we'll have to see if your uncle is even cut out for it."
He patted Prince Rui on the shoulder, "We are brothers after all. I'll show you the way. Lord Yao is a womanizer by nature. He was living comfortably in Haitang Garden, but he had to drag someone out and make such a big joke. You should send him there instead. Don't let so many beautiful girls down."
As soon as Hanxi ran away, some of the sharp-eyed and nimble courtiers had already slipped away.
Those who hadn't left were at a loss for what to do. Hearing what Prince Duan said, they wanted to laugh but dared not, finding it really difficult to hold it in.
Five hundred thousand taels of silver disappeared without a trace, causing his uncle to lose face.
"Where is the Crown Prince of Chu?" Unable to find Han Xi, Prince Rui wanted to vent his anger on the Crown Prince of Chu, since he had changed the subject at the last minute.
Chu Yannuo had long since disappeared.
However, he still couldn't find his cousin.
Prince Duan was still at Caiyue Tower, but his cousin had disappeared without a trace.
Could he be hallucinating?
“Minister Sun,” Prince Duan suddenly ordered with a stern face, “make a record of every single high-ranking official who appeared at Caiyue Tower today. They receive salaries from the court but do no real work. They really don’t respect us at all.”
These court officials were all acting on Prince Rui's orders, and now they had come to him seeking help.
Prince Rui was filled with resentment and still hadn't vented his anger.
He said impatiently, "You're all useless trash. I can't beat Sun Qingzhao, and I can't beat Han Xi either. What use are you to me!"
He suddenly realized that quality, not quantity, was the key to having a strong team. With so many useless people who did nothing but eat, they couldn't even beat Han Xi, let alone Sun Qingzhao.
If he could kill people at will, he would throw all these useless people into a mass grave.
Some of the court officials who were considered useless were there just to join in the fun, while others genuinely pledged their allegiance to Prince Rui.
Now they are being fined and have to endure the regent's wrath.
Prince Rui not only did not thank them, but also looked down on them as useless.
I never realized Prince Rui was so heartless before; all his sincerity has been wasted!
The Caiyue Tower was so filthy that Prince Rui didn't want to stay there for even a moment longer.
He took a step to leave, but was blocked by the pottery jar and its men.
"Your Highness, the Regent has ordered that all ministers who are absent from their duties today be investigated. The Regent suspects that someone is organizing this and has ordered me to investigate thoroughly. I ask for Your Highness's cooperation."
Behind him were countless imperial guards, and Prince Rui gritted his teeth in hatred but could only swallow his anger.
"Fine, I won't leave. Since Prince Duan is also here, isn't he a suspect?"
Tao Guan replied without hesitation, "Even Prince Duan cannot leave."
Prince Duan hadn't planned to leave anyway. "Fourth brother, your third brother is here to keep you company. How about we play some chess?"
...
Tao Guan led his men to surround Caiyue Tower, and they remained there for two hours.
When Prince Rui was reinstated, his first act was to inquire about the whereabouts of the silver.
"Your Highness, part of the silver went to two major money shops in the capital. When I took men to ask for it back, they wouldn't give me any face at all. Another part went to the Regent's Palace, so I had no way to get it back."
The two major money shops in the capital were owned by a prominent family.
It was owned by a prince.
Having been deeply entrenched in the Great Zhou Dynasty for over a century, both of these major money houses remained unscathed when rebel forces stormed the capital.
Prince Rui is someone you simply cannot afford to offend.
As for the regent...
It seems like he's someone you can't afford to offend.
So, 500,000 taels of silver just disappeared like that.
That's it!!!
On her way back, Tang Xinuan boasted to Zhou Chuanxing, "Second Brother, wasn't I very, very smart?"
Prince Rui's lawlessness should have been dealt with long ago. Five hundred thousand taels of silver is nothing to him, but it's enough to make him suffer for a while.
But the little girl is too bold.
“You know, my fourth brother is very vengeful. You lied to him and then stole his money. Be careful of his revenge.”
Tang Xinuan was not afraid of his revenge.
She took out the large iron lump, aimed it at the big willow tree outside, and said, "If he dares to seek revenge, I'll shoot him in the chest with this."
Zhou Chuanxing put away her large metal lump, saying, "Be careful not to get hurt."
The carriage returned to the mansion through the main gate.
Eunuch Wei came out to greet them early on.
After Zhou Chuanxing jumped off the carriage, he said cautiously, "Your Highness, the concubine of the Duke of Wei has been kneeling for almost two hours. Please release Young Master Wei."
Wei Minzhao has been in jail for several days now.
Zhou Chuanxing had almost forgotten about this person: "Tell her that for every incense stick she kneels for, her son will be whipped twenty times. If she dares to kneel, let her try."
Eunuch Wei relayed the Regent's order to Wei Minzhao's birth mother.
Wei's mother felt sorry for her son, but dared not disobey the prince, fearing that her son would suffer more. She got up while crying.
Parents' hearts are always full of love for their children. Eunuch Wei, mindful of the woman's affection for her son, reminded her, "Young Master Wei has angered the Prince. Locking him up is already a lenient punishment. Unless the Duke of Wei comes to plead for help himself, no one can save Young Master Wei."
Mother Wei said sadly, "I have already begged the master, but he refuses to come. Poor Minzhao, what should we do?"
Eunuch Wei was powerless to help.
Wei's mother was at her wit's end, and the only person she could think of now was her daughter.
After a brief hesitation, she rushed to the Marquis of Wu'an's residence to ask her daughter for help.
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Author's Note: This chapter features a yuri (lesbian) secret guard and scores a lot.
Chu Yannuo tore up the exam questions and scored high marks.
Zhou Chuanxing arrived so timely and scored a big point.
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