Qin Ge was genuinely startled by these words. For a moment, he thought the tyrant had discovered his identity, and he even accidentally overturned the wine glass beside him.
The wine spilled onto his robes.
Qin Ge disregarded everything else and hurriedly lifted his robe to apologize: "Your Majesty, I have been disrespectful before Your Majesty. Please forgive me!"
Qin Ge could feel the tyrant's gaze fixed on him, burning like fire and sharp as a blade.
Qin Ge finally understood why people feared Jun Chenbi. Even he felt immense pressure at this moment.
"Get up."
for a long time.
Qin Ge heard the emperor's indifferent voice fall.
…
Before the palace gates were locked, Qin Ge got up and left the Dragon Palace. Eunuch Xia personally came out to see him off.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty still values you highly. It's just that the Imperial Concubine..." The chief eunuch by the emperor's side sighed and said, "The Imperial Concubine was beautiful but died young. His Majesty has always been thinking of her and can't help but feel sad."
Qin Ge pursed her lips.
Everyone says that the emperor and his concubine have a deep affection for each other. Qin Ge didn't feel anything at first. Most of the rumors circulating are exaggerated, embellished, and sensationalized, and cannot be believed entirely.
However, now that even Eunuch Xia, who had always served the tyrant, was saying this, Qin Ge couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity and unreality.
He said softly, "Thank you for the reminder, Steward Xia."
*
After the incident of being kept for a meal at the Dragon Palace by the Emperor, every official with eyes could see that—
This top scholar is probably about to achieve great success!
The ministers were not wrong.
From that day on, he, who was originally an editor in the Hanlin Academy, was constantly summoned by Jun Chenbi and became a close minister of the emperor.
In a short period of time, Qin Ge's official rank rose from the seventh rank to the fifth rank, and he embarked on the path of a powerful minister, frequently entering and leaving the imperial study and the Dragon Palace.
However, the more successful and triumphant Qin Ge became, the more uneasy Princess Fengxi felt.
Jun Yuanyao was truly in love with Mu Xiange. Marrying a princess in this dynasty wouldn't affect a man's future. She had also investigated Mu Xiange and found that he had no engagements or women he liked in Qingzhou. The only woman he was close to was a maid named Lan Ye. She wouldn't care if she was just a maid or a bed warmer. Jun Yuanyao couldn't understand why Mu Xiange wouldn't marry her...
The first time I met someone I wanted to marry, it all ended without a trace.
She was unwilling to accept it.
Once this person has captured her heart, no one else can catch her eye anymore.
Jun Yuanyao decided to give up her pride as a princess.
—Anyway, the top scholar is not yet married. The Yong Dynasty is open-minded. It would be a loss of face for a princess to pursue a subject. But if she can win his heart and achieve a happy marriage, it will be a beautiful story a hundred years from now, won't it?
Princess Fengxi acted recklessly according to her own will, putting Qin Ge in a dilemma.
She had already refused him.
But Jun Yuanyao wouldn't listen.
Princess Fengxi had already established her own residence outside the palace. Not only did she "accidentally" meet Qin Ge several times outside the palace, but she also frequently visited the residence of the top scholar. Even when he was on duty at the Hanlin Academy, Jun Yuanyao could order her personal maid to bring him snacks.
The fact that the princess admired the top scholar quickly became common knowledge throughout the Hanlin Academy.
A fellow official in the Hanlin Academy jokingly teased him, "With Princess Fengxi's heartfelt affection, Scholar Mu's future is limitless. Perhaps before long, we'll have to call him the princess's consort."
Qin Ge: "..."
In public, he couldn't possibly say that he had explicitly rejected the princess, but she kept pestering him.
Princess Fengxi is both a woman and a ruler. Qin Ge wouldn't be foolish enough to offend her and needlessly incur the wrath of Jun Yuanyao and her maternal clan.
They had no choice but to play dumb.
He shared the snacks sent from Princess Fengxi's residence to the Hanlin Academy with his colleagues.
He himself didn't touch it at all.
Qin Ge thought to himself that he still needed to find a time to explain things to Princess Fengxi as soon as possible.
Thinking this way, Qin Ge felt a little relieved, and then he went to the Dragon Extreme Palace as usual.
Because recently the tyrant has been liking to have him help organize memorials.
The memorials from various places were numerous and chaotic, piling up on the desk every day like a small mountain. If they were not sorted out first, with the important ones on one side and the unimportant ones on the other, before being presented to the emperor for review, the emperor would probably be exhausted from reviewing the memorials every day.
Qin Ge strolled leisurely around the Imperial Garden toward the Dragon Palace. When he encountered palace servants along the way, they all bowed to him. He nodded politely in response before continuing toward the Dragon Palace, showing no trace of arrogance.
After the top scholar left with elegant and composed steps, several young and beautiful palace maids stood up and looked at his back, dressed in brocade robes, blushing shyly.
"The top scholar is really a very gentle person. Unlike other members of the royal family or other officials, he would never care about us lowly palace servants. But when we bowed to him, he actually nodded in response."
"Yanran, are you perhaps in love? Do you have a crush on the top scholar?"
"Hmph, don't you like it?"
"Who wouldn't like a man like the top scholar? But we are just lowly palace servants, while the top scholar is so outstanding that even Princess Fengxi is captivated by him..."
Qin Ge, who hadn't gone far, frowned when he heard that the palace maids all knew about the rumors about him and Princess Fengxi. He hadn't expected that the rumors had even reached the palace.
…
Dragon Palace.
When Qin Ge arrived, Jun Chenbi was not obediently reviewing memorials in the palace today. Instead, he was wearing a black robe, holding a bow and arrow, with a target set up ten feet away.
Nock the arrow, draw the bow, and shoot.
Three arrows were fired simultaneously, all in one smooth motion.
Qin Ge couldn't help but clap his hands and said, "Your Majesty has excellent skills."
Upon seeing him arrive, Jun Chenbi glanced at him sideways, her beautiful lips parting slightly: "My dear minister, would you like to give it a try?"
Qin Ge, adhering to his character, Mu Xiange, a scholar from Qingzhou, was a frail and weak man, so he said, "...This, Your Majesty, I do not know, and I am afraid it will spoil Your Majesty's enjoyment."
Jun Chenbi: "It's alright, I'll teach you."
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