If it weren't for Sima Lie's serious expression, he would have thought Sima Lie was joking with him.
"This is the question that Ruyan asked the tyrannical emperor."
Sima Lie frowned and said with a grim expression.
Although the emperor's actions were absurd, Sima Lie absolutely did not believe that this was truly the question he intended to set for the palace examination.
Qiu Beiming pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
"This question is so absurd that it has less than 10% credibility."
Upon hearing Qiu Beiming's words, Sima Lie revealed a cold smile.
"It seems that Ruyan is still no match for Sima Jing. She managed to mess up such a simple matter."
Sima Lie was filled with rage at this moment.
Sima Jing was incompetent, and it was one thing for her to lose her virginity.
Even with the Soul-Capturing Powder, Ruyan couldn't subdue this tyrant; it was a complete waste of all the time he had raised her.
Thinking of this, Sima Lie immediately called the steward in.
"Ruyan has failed in her duties and ruined the Prime Minister's important matter. She is hereby granted a one-day supply of Thousand Insect Pills. Also, inform Sima Jing to find a way to get the tyrant to reveal the real test question."
Sima Lie spoke with a sinister and indifferent expression.
To him, people are only distinguished by whether they are useful or not.
Since Ruyan is so useless, he has to let his subordinates know what will happen to those who can't get things done under him.
"yes."
The butler nodded and immediately prepared to leave to carry out the order.
However, at this moment, Qiu Beiming quickly stepped forward to dissuade him.
"Your Excellency, please wait a moment."
Seeing that he was stopping him, Sima Lie's expression immediately turned rather unpleasant.
"Does Mr. Qiu have anything else to say?"
“Prime Minister, this is a crucial moment in our plan. If we punish Ruyan now, the tyrant might discover something, which would be detrimental to our grand scheme. Moreover, since the tyrant is clever enough to deceive Ruyan, it means he truly has a mastermind behind him. Therefore, we should not act now, and we must not let Sima Jing question the tyrant, otherwise we will alert him.”
After listening to Qiu Beiming's analysis, Sima Lie immediately calmed down.
"Who could be the mastermind behind this tyrannical ruler?"
Sima Lie frowned.
Qiu Beiming immediately replied without hesitation, "The only person behind this tyrannical ruler could be Zhang Tang, who is instructing him."
"Zhang Tang".
Sima Lie's expression suddenly turned gloomy.
His biggest miscalculation was failing to kill that old bastard before.
"Since the tyrannical emperor has Zhang Tang guiding him, the imperial examination questions this year must be difficult. Are we really going to let our students rely on their own abilities to pass the exam?"
After mentally cursing Zhang Tang to the bone, Sima Lie asked the crucial question.
Although the top three in the provincial examination are now under his command, they have only written a sycophantic article to please the tyrannical emperor. Such skills will probably be useless in the palace examination.
However, Qiu Beiming smiled calmly upon hearing this.
"Your Excellency, there is no need to worry. This foolish emperor and Zhang Tang are certainly unaware that we have seen through their plan. In that case, we only need to study all the questions that Zhang Tang set when he presided over the imperial examinations. I believe that Zhang Tang will not deviate from the questions he set in previous years."
Upon hearing Qiu Beiming's words, Sima Lie felt a sudden sense of clarity.
Before the incompetent emperor deposed Zhang Tang, Zhang Tang had served as the chief examiner for the imperial examinations several times.
Therefore, even if the tyrannical ruler is unwilling to reveal the questions, they can still come up with the questions themselves by simply following the scope of questions set by Zhang Tang in previous years.
"Haha, Mr. Qiu is truly a brilliant strategist. Let's do as Mr. Qiu says."
Sima Lie laughed loudly, his face full of smugness.
He could almost see how ugly Zhang Tang's face would look after the palace examination ended, as he directed everything from behind the scenes.
Qiu Beiming smiled slightly, appearing calm and collected.
He's destined to be the Imperial Advisor; how could he not even be able to calculate something so simple?
As for the piece of paper with the test questions Qin Yu had mentioned, neither of them glanced at it again.
...
In the Imperial Study.
"Zhu Fei, why are you in such a hurry to see me today? Is it because that old scoundrel Sima and his men have made some move again?"
At this moment, Qin Yu dismissed his attendants and looked at Zhu Fei with a serious expression.
Among those he had now placed under Sima Lie's command, Zhu Fei was arguably the one Sima Lie trusted the most.
Therefore, Qin Yu had to be on high alert every time Zhu Fei came to see him.
Zhu Fei placed the presented tonic medicine on the imperial desk before bowing and saying, "The night before last, An Yuntai, the commander of the Western City Camp, was assassinated. Yesterday, the old scoundrel Sima urgently summoned me to the Prime Minister's residence and asked me to recommend a trustworthy new commander to succeed him. I dare not make a decision on my own, so I came to the palace today to ask Your Majesty for instructions."
Upon hearing Zhu Fei's words, Qin Yu's expression showed a hint of surprise.
"That old scoundrel Sima trusts you so much now that he dares to ask you to recommend him for such an important position?"
Qin Yu looked at Zhu Fei with some disbelief.
Zhu Fei chuckled dryly before saying, "I dare not hide it from Your Majesty, but I have now recognized Sima Lie as my godfather."
"Godfather!?"
Upon hearing Zhu Fei's answer, Qin Yu almost spat out the tea he had just drunk.
Zhu Fei nodded awkwardly.
"Hahaha, what a great godfather! If I were to exterminate Sima Lie's entire clan in the future, wouldn't you be the one to be executed too!"
Qin Yu couldn't help but burst into laughter.
He originally thought Zhu Fei was simply trusted by Sima Lie, but he never expected that the two of them would become father and son.
Zhu Fei immediately looked aggrieved.
"I didn't want to either, but that old scoundrel Sima insisted on taking me as his adopted son."
Seeing Zhu Fei's aggrieved expression, Qin Yu finally stopped laughing.
"Don't worry, you will be a great contributor when Sima Lie is executed in the future. How could I bear to kill you?"
Qin Yu shook his head.
He also understood Sima Lie's thoughts.
Nowadays, many people in the Great Xia Dynasty like to adopt sons, especially in the military. Many generals who guard a region are basically his adopted sons.
Sima Lie adopted Zhu Fei as his godson simply to ensure his loyalty.
After making a joke, Qin Yu began to ponder the question Zhu Fei had raised.
This time, Sima Jing did him a great favor.
The capital was guarded by four major military camps, and at the same time, the city defense army, the city patrol office, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were stationed there.
Therefore, the loyalty of the generals of the four major camps, to a certain extent, determined whether the emperor was safe.
Previously, all four battalions were under Sima Lie's control, so Qin Yu couldn't interfere.
But now that Sima Jing has killed An Yuntai, and Sima Lie has entrusted Zhu Fei with the selection of a new commander, it means that Qin Yu can try to take back one of the battalions.
"I will consider this matter and give you my answer tonight."
After thinking for a moment, Qin Yu said to Zhu Fei.
Although he held the Flying Guillotine in his hands, he did not know who the capable generals in the court were.
Therefore, Qin Yu decided to pay a visit to General Li tonight.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com