Qin Yu chuckled and said, seemingly unaware that he had been offended.
Seeing how foolish he was, many officials present secretly sneered.
Only loyal ministers like Sun Jiachen and An Fu gritted their teeth in secret at this moment.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The students then stood up.
They then bowed to the Empress Dowager and the Empress.
After they were all seated, Qin Yu raised his wine glass.
"I have seen all the articles you have written, and they are very well written. I am very satisfied. After you enter the court, you should write more articles like these for me, and stop writing those pedantic scholars who write incomprehensible classical Chinese all day long."
Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, the group nearly collapsed to the ground.
Good heavens, the Qionglin Banquet is a place where the emperor encourages newly appointed scholars and wins their hearts.
Qin Yu, on the contrary, immediately demanded that the newly recruited scholars flatter him!
"Alright, cheers!"
After Qin Yu finished speaking, he drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Although the students were exasperated, they still respectfully finished their drinks.
After finishing his wine, Qin Yu couldn't wait to pull over the palace maid who was serving him, and his hands began to wander restlessly.
This scene left all the students completely dumbfounded.
Although they had long known that their emperor was unreliable, they never expected him to be this outrageous.
The Qionglin Banquet has only just begun, and Qin Yu is already eager to play with women?
"Your Majesty, please have some self-respect."
Zhao Yan was also taken aback by Qin Yu's actions and hurriedly reminded him.
This is the Qionglin Banquet! As the emperor, Qin Yu is the role model for the world. How could he do such an absurd thing?
However, before Qin Yu could speak, the Empress Dowager sneered.
"Your Majesty is meddling far too much. What my son wants to do is none of your business."
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Qin Yu, like a child who had received recognition, beamed with joy.
"Mother is still the best to me. Empress, you are being too nosy."
Seeing Qin Yu's rather impatient expression, Zhao Yan's expression froze.
What's wrong with Your Majesty today?
Despite feeling confused and aggrieved, Zhao Yan still didn't want Qin Yu to miss this great opportunity to win people's hearts.
"Your Majesty, today is the Qionglin Banquet, you..."
Before Zhao Yan could finish speaking, Qin Yu waved his hand.
"Alright, alright, let's begin the banquet. Please make yourselves at home."
After saying that, Qin Yu reached into the palace maid's clothes.
Upon seeing this, the Empress Dowager and Sima Lie exchanged a smile.
Tonight went even better than they had expected.
This incompetent ruler is so foolish that it has saved them a lot of trouble.
Seeing that the students were already expressing their dissatisfaction, Sima Lie immediately stood up.
"Today is the Qionglin Banquet. I would like to congratulate you all on passing the imperial examinations and on serving as officials alongside you in the court. I am overjoyed. Come, gentlemen, let us drink together!"
Sima Lie raised his wine cup and addressed the group of students.
Everyone raised their glasses and stood up.
"We toast Prime Minister Sima!"
After finishing this cup of wine, many scholars who had not yet submitted to Sima Lie looked at him with a hint of respect in their eyes.
Then the Qionglin Banquet began, accompanied by the songs and dances of courtesans and dancers. The atmosphere was lively, with toasts and laughter filling the air.
Seeing that Qin Yu had completely given up, Sima Lie also loosened his grip, almost explicitly indicating to the students present that they should submit to him.
Many students immediately expressed their support without hesitation, but some remained seated and ignored his recruitment efforts.
Sima Lie was already dissatisfied to see that someone dared to ignore his recruitment.
Then he clapped his hands.
"Someone, bring it in!"
At his command, several strongmen carried in two large boxes.
Everyone looked at the two large boxes with curiosity.
Only Qin Yu continued to hold the palace maid in his arms and laugh incessantly.
"Today, I have prepared a special gift for you all, and I hope you will like it."
Sima Lie chuckled, then stepped forward and opened the box.
When they saw what was inside the box, everyone's eyes lit up.
Inside the box were, surprisingly, a series of golden toads.
Sima Lie picked up the largest toad and walked straight to Zhang Tingyu, the top scholar in the imperial examination.
"This treasure is presented to the top scholar in the hope that the official position he is granted in the future will be of such great importance."
Sima Lie's old face was full of smiles, like a kind elder.
But everyone understood the hidden meaning in his words.
If you don't pledge allegiance to this toad, then when you're granted an official position later, you can expect to be treated unfairly.
Such arrogant behavior even amazed the officials of the Sima faction.
Zhang Tingyu hesitated slightly at this moment, and secretly glanced at Qin Yu who was enjoying himself above.
Then he saw Qin Yu quietly nod.
Seeing this, Zhang Tingyu finally felt relieved.
"I will always remember the Prime Minister's kindness!"
As Zhang Tingyu spoke, she stretched out her hands and respectfully took the toad.
Upon seeing this, Sima Lie burst into laughter.
He then did the same thing, sending a toad of different sizes to Ma Qi and Zhou Peishen, who were ranked second and third respectively.
The two of them naturally saw Qin Yu's gesture, so they excitedly accepted it and flattered him along the way.
Seeing these three men casually launch into a torrent of flattery, all the officials present shook their heads.
As expected of someone who passed the exam by writing flattering articles, their flattery skills have reached a level of perfection.
Seeing this, many students already showed expressions of anticipation.
But some people had eyes that blazed with fury, filled with hatred for treacherous officials.
Qin Yu appeared to be indulging in women, but in reality, he was constantly observing everyone's reactions, especially the top few people he had specifically chosen.
Seeing the different reactions of the others, Qin Yu had already made up his mind.
"Why!"
Zhao Yan couldn't help but sigh at this moment.
The Prime Minister has openly demanded that the students present submit, but His Majesty has yet to react. She is at her wit's end.
She simply couldn't understand why Qin Yu was acting so absurdly today.
Just as Sima Lie was distributing the **toads** to force everyone to submit, some students finally couldn't help but stand up.
"Your Excellency, how can you ignore me like this..."
Feng Xinxi, her face icy, was about to speak when she wanted to accuse Sima Lie of ignoring His Majesty and forcibly seizing the power to appoint officials.
But he was interrupted by Qin Yu halfway through his sentence.
"Hahaha, the Prime Minister is really thoughtful today, preparing so many ** toads. You all really got a great deal for free."
Seeing that the incompetent emperor had reached this point and still did not realize that the prime minister was trying to seize his power, the officials either shook their heads or sneered.
That tyrant deserved to lose his kingdom!
When Feng Xinxi saw Qin Yu's incompetence and folly, she felt all the blood in her body drain away.
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