Qin Yu is so incompetent, what good would it do if he pointed out Sima Lie's wolfish ambitions on the spot?
Thinking of this, Feng Xinxi slumped down weakly.
He thought that if he passed the imperial examination, he might have a chance to eliminate the treacherous officials in the court and avenge his father.
But to his surprise, the court was even more corrupt and incompetent than he had imagined.
A person like him is incapable of doing anything at all.
At this moment, Feng Xinxi had already made up his mind that once the Qionglin Banquet was over, he would no longer serve as an official in this damned imperial court and would simply return to his hometown to live in seclusion.
When the world is in chaos in the future, he will seek a good master to help him achieve great things.
"What did Scholar Feng want to say just now?"
Sima Lie looked at Feng Xinxi and asked with a forced smile.
He just noticed that Feng Xinxi seemed to be dissatisfied with him.
If this person is truly so audacious, then he'll have to show everyone his real skills.
Faced with Sima Lie's cold question, Feng Xinxi smiled calmly.
"I just couldn't get my hands on this toad, and I was really itching to have it, so I couldn't help but ask for it. Please forgive me, Your Excellency."
Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, you little rascal, how could the Prime Minister possibly let you down!"
"This person comes from a poor family and has never seen much of the world. He couldn't control himself when he saw a toad."
"Interesting, interesting."
A group of people laughed and started pointing at Feng Xinxi.
Such greedy and profit-driven people would normally be objects of contempt by these high-ranking officials.
But at this moment, everyone just found it funny.
Even Sima Lie couldn't help but laugh.
"Very well, since Scholar Feng is in such a hurry, then I will give you your toad first."
As he spoke, Sima Lie picked up a toad and gave it to Feng Xinxi.
"Thank you, Your Excellency."
Feng Xinxi cupped her hands in a respectful gesture.
Looking at the toad in his hand, Feng Xinxi sneered.
He sold this item to use as a place for his seclusion.
Before long, the first and second-ranked scholars each received a toad of varying sizes, while the third-ranked scholars only received a jade pendant.
But even this jade pendant is quite valuable.
Sima Lie spared no expense in trying to win over these newly appointed scholars.
"We are very grateful for the Prime Minister's kindness!"
Upon receiving the gifts, the group naturally expressed their loyalty.
Seeing this, Sima Lie's face was full of smugness.
Having gained control over so many future court officials at once means that it will be much easier for him to rightfully inherit the throne in the future.
However, Sima Lie still felt it wasn't enough.
Since he wants to completely win people's hearts, he naturally needs a comparison.
He immediately looked at Qin Yu.
"Your Majesty, today all of you scholars are about to enter our court as subjects. I presume Your Majesty has already prepared gifts for all of you newly appointed scholars. The Qionglin Banquet is almost over, Your Majesty cannot delay any longer."
Sima Lie spoke with a mocking look in his eyes.
He knew very well that, given the stingy nature of this foolish emperor, he probably hadn't prepared anything at all.
In this way, the comparison becomes clear.
When these newly appointed scholars see how harsh and ungrateful the emperor is, their resolve to side with him will only strengthen.
However, Qin Yu immediately nodded after hearing Sima Lie's words.
"The Prime Minister is right, I really should bring out the gifts I prepared."
Upon hearing this, Sima Lie looked somewhat surprised.
Qin Yu actually prepared a gift?!
When did he develop this kind of mindset?!
"Oh, what kind of reward has His Majesty prepared?"
Sima Lie asked with a gloomy look in his eyes.
He went to great lengths to get this much attention today; if Qin Yu were to snatch it away, it would be a huge loss for him.
Qin Yu glanced at An Fu.
"Anfu, go and fetch the generous gifts I have prepared for you all."
"Yes, sir."
Anfu responded and withdrew.
Upon hearing that Qin Yu had prepared a generous gift, Sima Lie's eyes grew even colder.
Has this foolish emperor finally seen the light?
The officials then began to whisper among themselves.
"I wonder what gift Your Majesty will prepare?"
"Both thunder and rain are expressions of the Emperor's grace. If His Majesty had prepared any gifts that were not too bad, it would have been enough to render the Prime Minister's efforts today futile."
"When did our Emperor become so generous? He's prepared such lavish gifts for the newly appointed scholars!"
Hearing these comments, Sima Lie gritted his teeth inwardly.
"You tyrant, you forced me into this situation, so don't blame me for not giving you any face."
Sima Lie had already decided that he would make Qin Yu lose face later.
At this moment, Anfu and his men walked over carrying a box.
Upon seeing the box, everyone craned their necks, their faces filled with anticipation.
Sima Lie's box was filled with toads, so what's in Qin Yu's box?
Amidst the expectant gazes of everyone, Anfu opened the box.
But when everyone saw what was in the box, they were all stunned and stood there dumbfounded.
"This... is the grand gift His Majesty spoke of?"
The group of people looked at each other, all thinking they had misread it.
Inside the box were neither rare items nor gold or antiques, but ingots of silver.
It's one thing if it's silver, but the box isn't even full of silver.
How many could there be?
"Your Majesty, which student are you giving all this silver to?"
Ma Shangtao asked.
If Qin Yu wanted to outdo the Prime Minister, he would have to send each of them a box of silver; otherwise, he would never be able to match the Prime Minister.
However, Qin Yu just chuckled.
"What are you saying, Minister Ma? How could I possibly favor one over the other? This box of silver is naturally for all the newly appointed scholars."
Pfft!
Upon hearing this, some officials couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Good heavens, so the generous gift Qin Yu mentioned really was just a box of silver!
Sima Lie smiled again at this moment.
"Haha, Your Majesty's gifts are indeed quite generous. I wonder how Your Majesty intends to distribute them?"
Sima Lie asked with a mocking expression.
"A third-class Jinshi will be awarded ten taels of silver, and a second-class Jinshi will be awarded fifty taels of silver."
Qin Yu waved his hand and said domineeringly.
Thump!
The scholars could no longer hold back.
The smallest toad given by Prime Minister Sima was worth at least two thousand taels of silver, and the jade pendant was worth at least five hundred taels of silver.
When it came to Qin Yu, the starting price was actually ten taels of silver.
"Hahaha!"
Sima Lie couldn't hold back his laughter any longer.
This tyrannical ruler really keeps bringing him unexpected joys.
Qin Yu seemed completely oblivious to his embarrassment and immediately ordered Anfu to distribute the silver.
The group of scholars accepted the silver with strange expressions.
After the second and third-ranked scholars had all been distributed, there was not a single one left in the box.
Seeing this, everyone looked at the top scholar sitting in front.
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