Chapter 17

Lin Nanqi cried and said, "Your Majesty, I was wrong."

Li Chengxuan was furious, his naked chest rose and fell, and his jade-white earlobes were red with blood due to his anger.

He had good reason to suspect that Lin Nanjie was here to defeat him.

"Why you again?" Li Chenghuan gritted his teeth.

Lin Nan's hands were still tightly held by Li Chenghuan. He half-squatted and aligned his eyes with Li Chengxian's, with a tearful face: "Slave, I want to atone for my crime with my merits."

Will merits atone for sins?

Li Chengzhen blurted out: "I think you want to make the crime even worse!"

Lin Nanqi almost cried out: "Slave, slave..."

[Wuwuwuwu, I was careless and shouldn't have picked up the soap! ]

[Sure enough, sure enough! ]

[The dog emperor and I must be incompatible! ]

"Your Majesty, I was wrong, extremely wrong!" Lin Nanqi begged for forgiveness.

"What's wrong with you..." Li Chengqian regretted the moment he said it, "Forget it, I don't want to know!"

Lest this mouth say anything that will get you beaten.

The room was silent for a while. Lin Nanqi carefully raised his head and asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to rub more..."

"Get lost!"

Lin Nan rolled out quickly and almost bumped into Wang Dehai when he rolled out.

Li Chenghuan drove Lin Nanjie out, wrapped himself in his robe, and walked back and forth in the hall, feeling extremely uneasy, trying to vent his anger.

Punish! Must punish!

No punishment is enough to vent anger!

When I was thinking about what punishment to impose, Wang Dehai suddenly came in holding a cloak.

Li Chenghuan's eyes were drawn to the cloak: "What is this?"

Wang Dehai held the tent in front of Li Chenghuan and said, "Your Majesty, this tent made of white egret feathers was presented by the chief of the guards guarding the imperial mausoleum. It is said that Jingren Mountain is surrounded by dragon energy, and the people are outstanding and the land is blessed. There are white egrets flying around the imperial mausoleum all year round. The white egret is a noble bird, and flying around the imperial mausoleum is a sign of good fortune. Every year, we collect the fallen feathers of white egrets and make this tent, which we present to Your Majesty."

Li Chengxuan took it in his hand and took a look. It was indeed different from the usual fighting cape. This cape was made of densely packed white egret feathers, which were pure white and flawless, showing great care.

Li Chenghuan stretched out his fingers and flicked the soft feathers, and suddenly an idea came to his mind.

***

The next day, the weather cleared up, Jingren Mountain was picturesque, egrets were dancing among the mountains, and it was a warm and beautiful day.

The civil and military officials followed the emperor down the mountain in a mighty procession. At this time, Xue Yunlai, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, stepped out and was about to say something auspicious when he looked up and saw an eunuch standing next to the emperor.

He recognized that it was the little eunuch who had made such a startling noise yesterday.

Originally, there was nothing special about the eunuch, but what was particularly special was that the eunuch had a head full of white feathers.

Xue Yunlai, who had prepared a lot of eloquence last night, was instantly stuck.

He had followed the emperor in worshipping his ancestors for more than twenty years and had never seen such a situation.

Xue Yunlai looked at Lin Nanjie with doubt.

Lin Nanjie, with a feather duster on his head, looked at Xue Yunlai stiffly, revealing a difficult smile.

Li Chengqian: "I heard from the guards guarding the mausoleum that there are white egrets circling over the imperial mausoleum all year round, which is a good omen."

He lowered his eyes and looked at the moving feather broom, revealing a satisfied smile: "Just keep going down the mountain like this, there will be a total of 128 egret feathers, and I will be rewarded with a board for each feather I drop."

Lin Nanqi's smile almost collapsed. One hundred and twenty-eight! One board for each one!

You listen, what people say!!!

After hearing the explanation, Xue Yunlai was stunned for a long time. Is there such a good omen?

The blessing in his stomach was even more forgotten by the feather duster in front of him. He looked at the feathers all over his head, searching his stomach to no avail, and simply gave up and said, "The egret is a noble and pure bird. If Your Majesty uses egret feathers to worship the ancestors, the ancestors will definitely praise the emperor's sincerity. It is a symbol of good fortune!"

Lin Nanjie, with his head covered with white egret feathers, was stunned.

[Is this okay? ]

[Just exaggerate! Just exaggerate! ]

Xue Yunlai also felt that his speech was a bit perfunctory. After finishing his speech awkwardly, he returned to the team of civil and military officials in a dejected manner. Mr. Fengge beside him whispered to him.

"Master, what is this, His Majesty?"

Why didn't he realize before that the emperor had such a strange side?

Feng Yuanxiu sat on the sedan chair, stroked his beard, and laughed, "The emperor is kind and benevolent, and there are auspicious signs. It's a blessing!"

Wang Zhongcheng was about to speak but stopped, and said with a serious face: "It's not right, it's really not right!"

What happened to an eunuch returning from ancestor worship with a head full of feathers?

As the Minister of History, he could not sit idly by, but how should he write the memorial of advice?

Is this disrespectful to ancestors?

Or is it impoliteness?

Wang Wenhe was lost in thought along the way.

The other civil and military officials marveled at the sight, staring at the feather duster beside the emperor all the way, and occasionally heard low suppressed laughter, which relieved a lot of the fatigue from the journey down the mountain.

Lin Nanjie had a head full of feathers, and people were staring at him from all directions, so he felt uneasy all the way. He walked stiffly and tremblingly, fearing that the feathers on his head would fly down. He walked down the mountain with trepidation, looking ahead and behind carefully.

He moved his legs step by step with difficulty, and had to stretch out his hands to protect the feathers on his head. He looked up at the stairs leading down the mountain, his eyes filled with despair.

【Why can’t I see the end? 】

[My legs are going limp.]

Suddenly, Li Chenghuan's voice came to his mind, sounding very pleasant: "The road down the mountain is long, would you like me to prepare a carriage for you?"

Lin Nanqi almost couldn't hold back his expression, and forced a humble smile: "I am of low status, I dare not ride in a sedan chair, I will just walk down the mountain."

[What does the dog emperor mean? ]

[Do I dare to ride down the mountain in a sedan chair like a first-rank official? ]

【I don’t want to live anymore! 】

Li Chenghuan listened to Lin Nanjie's heartbeat and couldn't help but raise the corners of his lips, and the haze of yesterday was swept away.

Lin Nan returned all the way back to the palace with a white egret feather on his head. He thought that he could just go back to the Zichen Palace and be done with it.

Who knew that an official passing by heard that it was a good omen and came to pay a visit specially.

Lin Nanjie could only walk and stop stiffly, allowing the officials coming and going to stop him every now and then.

The officials stopped and looked at the white egret feather above Lin Nanjie's head, exclaiming in admiration:

"This feather is completely white, it is really rare."

"White egrets stand in the autumn sun, and green egrets fly in the evening sky. This is truly a national event!"

That was all. I don’t know which official suddenly mentioned the implication that Bai Lu would pass the imperial examinations continuously and become a prime minister, and even bowed to Lin Nanlie.

"My cousin will be taking the imperial examination next year. I pray for good fortune and blessing for him to pass the exam!"

"Please pray that my kid gets a good grade in the exam!"

"No one in my family wants to take the imperial examination... so please bless me to get promoted soon!"

Lin Nanqi: [???]

【What is this! 】

[Are you guys being reasonable? ]

In the solemn square in front of the towering palace, officials dressed in court robes of various colors bowed again and again to him, a small eunuch. Lin Nanjie simply didn't know what expression to make.

All the officials were higher than him, so he should have bowed down to them. However, he couldn't lower his head, or his feathers would fall off!

Lin Nanjie could only force himself to put on a respectful smile and respond stubbornly.

What was even more disgusting was that Li Chengqian stopped with a smile, waiting for the officials to finish their greetings before waiting for Lin Nanjie to leave together.

When the officials saw that the emperor did not try to stop them and watched with a smile, they instantly became bolder.

Those who were standing by, who were shy and afraid of the emperor's majesty, gathered around him bravely upon seeing what was happening.

After all, it is an auspicious sign appointed by the Emperor. Now that I’m here, I might as well make a wish!

Lin Nanjie felt like he was seeing a vegetable market in front of him, with people coming and going, and there were even more and more of them!

【Why have I never seen so many ministers in the palace before? 】

[Open your eyes and take a look! Who is the good person bowing to the eunuch? ]

【Wake up!!!】

Lin Nanqi finally couldn't help but look towards Li Chengqian for help.

Li Chengqian had seen enough, so he dismissed all the ministers and rescued the devastated Lin Nanjie: "How do you feel?"

Lin Nanjie's mouth almost stiffened: "The ministers are very enterprising... it's a blessing for Daqi."

【Save me, save me. 】

The smile and pride in Li Chenghuan's eyes became deeper and deeper.

After a long journey, they finally arrived at the Zichen Palace, and Lin Nanjie breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Chengqian in this room ordered people to count the white egret feathers on Lin Nanjie's head. There were 128 when they set out, and now there are only 120 left.

Li Chengqian said slowly, "Eight are missing, eight boards."

Lin Nanjie squeezed out two tears and said, "Your Majesty, can you be lenient in the punishment? I have worked hard on this journey even though I have made no contributions."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Alright, five boards then."

Wang Dehai dragged Lin Nanqi outside the hall and prepared to execute him.

At this moment, a little kid suddenly appeared.

Lin Nanqi's eyes lit up as he was about to lie down, and he quickly shouted, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

The young prince Li Jingyu was immediately attracted by the white egret feathers all over his head. He held onto Lin Nanjie and refused to let go, but his eyes turned to Li Chenghuan: "I want some too."

Li Chenghuan didn't expect the little prince to come. Just as he was about to hug him, the little prince held Lin Nanjie's arm tightly and refused to let go. He looked at Bai Luyu and spoke in a very firm tone.

"Father, I want it."

Li Chengqian first sighed that his son finally spoke, then he imagined his son with feathers all over his head, and his face darkened: "No."

King Chu of Daqi, it is better not to leave a dark history.

The little prince pursed his lips and looked at Li Chenghuan stubbornly. Seeing that it didn't work, he looked at Tang Ruoxu behind him: "Grandpa Tutor..."

The little prince finally called him "Grandpa Tutor", and Tang Ruoxu's heart softened.

He could not help but look at Li Chengqian, hardened his heart and closed his eyes, lying against his conscience: "Your Majesty... this is a good omen!"

Li Chengqian was choked.

He felt like he had lifted a rock and dropped it on his foot.

As expected, everything would go wrong when it came to Lin Nanjie.

Li Chengqian glanced at the culprit, sighed inwardly, and waved his hand: "Take the little prince out to play."

Don't let him see his son looking silly with feathers all over his head.

Lin Nanjie: [Wuhu~]