confinement
Has something happened outside the city?
Shen Wenqiu was taken aback and immediately went through the original plot in his mind, but he still couldn't figure out what had happened outside the city at this point in time.
This event never happened in the original story.
To be honest, Shen Wenqiu also vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
In the original novel, whenever Jiang Yunyan couldn't get something, this protagonist always gained an advantage and benefited.
How could things be like this? We didn't get the person we wanted, and Jiang Heng even got the job by accident.
The plot has changed far too much.
With the plot changing so much, Shen Wenqiu couldn't help but feel a little flustered.
He didn't know how much influence the protagonist's halo had, and whether the plot's turn out this way would affect him as an outsider.
Will those who were originally safe and sound remain safe and sound? Will a seemingly good story take an even worse turn?
Shen Wenqiu was very worried. He was afraid that people he knew would get involved, and he was also afraid that he would not be able to extricate himself and lead the people around him away from the vortex of the original plot.
But Shen Wenqiu has more important things to do now.
That means going to work... no, it means clocking in.
The jobs I didn't get enough of in my past life, I'm doing them in this one.
"It must be a matter for those important people, and has nothing to do with us." Aunt Qin comforted Shen Wenqiu, then looked him up and down to make sure he was dressed warmly before urging, "Hurry up and go to the Hanlin Academy, it won't be good if you're late."
"Then your son has gone out." Shen Wenqiu said, turning to leave, but still somewhat worried, he looked at Aunt Qin, "Since it's something that happened outside the city, it must be quite unsettled these days. Mother, if you don't have me with you, you shouldn't go out easily, lest you run into any trouble."
"Mother understands, you should go now." Aunt Qin felt a warmth in her heart upon hearing Shen Wenqiu's words, but urged Shen Wenqiu on.
Shen Wenqiu then left home and went to the Hanlin Academy.
To his surprise, upon entering the Hanlin Academy, he found his colleagues gathered together, chatting, all looking astonished, as if something terrible had happened.
In the past, Shen Wenqiu would not have been interested in such gossip.
But having just heard from Aunt Qin that something had happened outside the city, and now seeing my colleagues chatting mysteriously, I suddenly became quite curious.
Shen Wenqiu wondered if it was the matter that Aunt Qin had mentioned today.
If it were any other time, it wouldn't be a problem. But now, Shen Wenqiu felt that the plot had changed. He was really afraid of Jiang Yunyan's powerful protagonist aura in the original work, and he was afraid that something might go wrong in the plot and bring them some unbearable impact.
Shen Wenqiu stepped forward, stood on the periphery of the crowd, grabbed a colleague from the Hanlin Academy, and asked, "What happened here?"
The colleague turned around and saw Shen Wenqiu, explaining to him, "Something happened outside the city last night, and it caused a commotion in the court today. The ministers are arguing fiercely, and it seems unlikely to end well. Everyone is talking about it right now."
Shen Wenqiu tensed up. Since he hadn't heard the details of what had happened, he quickly asked, "Is it that serious? The court is in such a state of chaos, what exactly happened?"
The colleague leaned closer and explained briefly in a low voice, "Something happened to His Highness the Crown Prince's Phoenix Battalion."
Shen Wenqiu was taken aback upon hearing this.
Phoenix Cliff Camp?
Wasn't that an army specially given to Jiang Yunyan by the Emperor? He could use it to gain prestige abroad, or to indulge in debauchery and flaunt his privileges in the capital.
What could possibly happen to them? Surely the entire Phoenix Forest Camp can't be wiped out?
However, Shen Wenqiu was a newcomer to the court and had been living at home for many years, unaware of the details of court affairs. After entering the palace as a companion to the emperor, he never inquired about these matters.
He couldn't show that he knew everything, so he asked casually, "What is the Phoenix Cliff Camp?"
Seeing this, the colleague lowered his voice even further and said, "The Emperor specially set up an army for the Crown Prince. All the latest and best things in the court are sent to the Crown Prince. It is an independent army separate from the rest of the court. You don't know, the Phoenix Battalion has special privileges when it follows the Crown Prince around the capital. If anything happens, they go out with the Crown Prince to see what merits can be attributed to him."
Shen Wenqiu listened in a daze, and subconsciously looked around.
Is this something that can be said aloud?
Seeing Shen Wenqiu's reaction, the colleague chuckled and shook his head, whispering, "It seems you, the newcomer, have also heard about the Crown Prince's character."
Shen Wenqiu really wanted to tell him to stop talking.
If someone overheard this, it would reach Jiang Yunyan's ears.
What if they both get tormented by that bastard Jiang Yunyan?
Shen Wenqiu shuddered as he recalled Jiang Yunyan's unreasonable behavior in the original novel. He quickly grabbed his colleague and said, "Let's talk about what's going on in the court first."
The colleague then shifted the topic away from the Crown Prince's moral failings, saying, "The Phoenix Camp contained many fine things, the best things the Emperor had given the Crown Prince to make a good impression. The fire destroyed them all, so naturally he was furious."
Upon hearing this, Shen Wenqiu thought to himself that even if he was furious, he wouldn't actually do anything to the Crown Prince.
But he couldn't say that aloud. He just nodded and said, "It's a pity. These good things could be very useful if they were distributed to the army."
The colleague wholeheartedly agreed with Shen Wenqiu's statement, nodding vigorously and saying, "Who can argue with that? This..."
Shen Wenqiu guessed what he was going to say, quickly covered his mouth, smiled awkwardly, and said, "I wonder how His Majesty will handle this matter. What do you think?"
After Shen Wenqiu finished speaking, he released his colleague, who, having been led astray by his words, also seemed to be deep in thought.
Just then, another colleague came in from outside and whispered to everyone, "The Emperor has given the order!"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately surrounded him, their eyes full of curiosity, urging him to speak quickly.
Shen Wenqiu looked at everyone, feeling curious but also unable to help but mutter a complaint in his heart.
It seems that no matter where you are, everyone has a gossipy heart.
"The Emperor has ordered the Crown Prince to be confined to the Eastern Palace, and all the duties he previously assigned to him have been taken back and given to others. I don't know what will happen next, but it's estimated that the Crown Prince won't be receiving any important duties for a while." The colleague who had returned from outside told everyone the news he had heard. He paused for a moment before continuing, "The news came from the Eastern Palace before the court session ended."
After hearing this, the crowd couldn't help but gossip. Since the court session hadn't ended yet and the Hanlin Academy was practically unsupervised, they chatted idly as if they were slacking off at work when the boss wasn't around.
However, Shen Wenqiu showed no sign of a smile after hearing the news.
Unlike others who were merely gossipy, he had traveled from the real world into the book, and he knew that the protagonist of the book was Jiang Yunyan.
He was also well aware that, as a protagonist with a powerful protagonist aura, Jiang Yunyan's actions, at least in the original work, were far from enough to warrant the emperor confining the crown prince to his quarters.
What kind of unexpected event led to Jiang Yunyan, who possesses an invincible cheat ability, being suddenly locked up?
Moreover, the Phoenix Lin Camp doesn't even exist in the original novel. Now, a plot point that wasn't in the original novel suddenly appears in a place related to Jiang Yunyan, and Jiang Yunyan is even punished.
That's so strange.
It was hard for Shen Wenqiu not to care about this matter.
He couldn't help but wonder if his arrival had brought about some change to the world.
Is this difference due to the butterfly effect?
Or is it...?
Is this merely a test that the world is giving to the protagonist, Jiang Yunyan?
Before Shen Wenqiu could dwell on his thoughts for long, he heard that their superior from the Hanlin Academy, the Hanlin Academician, had returned.
Seeing this, everyone busied themselves, pretending to have been working all along.
But the Hanlin Academician, being quite old, naturally knew in his heart that everyone was just pretending.
However, he didn't reveal it, as he had something more important to announce.
"I'm sure everyone has heard about what happened last night," the Hanlin Academician said, glancing around at the crowd before getting straight to the point. "His Majesty's intention is for His Highness the Crown Prince to rest in the Eastern Palace for now. But as the heir apparent, it's not appropriate for him to do nothing. Therefore, His Majesty wants His Highness to select a few people from the Hanlin Academy to assist in the revision of books."
Repairing a letter?
Upon hearing those two words, Shen Wenqiu was immediately relieved.
It seems that nothing has changed in the world; rather, the Emperor wants Jiang Yunyan to do some easier work and avoid trouble-making tasks so that he can ascend the throne directly after the Emperor's death.
This aligns with the logic of the original work, suggesting that there haven't been any major changes to the plot.
As for the matter of repairing the book, Shen Wenqiu would have nothing to do with it.
He's a newcomer, not worthy of doing this job by the Crown Prince's side.
However, Shen Wenqiu had just breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he saw the Hanlin scholar look at him and smile.
“Shen Wenqiu, His Highness the Crown Prince has specially chosen you to go to the Eastern Palace to revise books.”
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