Chapter 55

The scene froze. The ministers upstairs covered their faces and lowered the curtains in the private rooms, hoping that the emperor would not see them.

The official who was trying to write a memorial to the minister snatched the half-written memorial away and quickly destroyed it.

Submitting the memorial meant that the emperor knew he was also in Mingyue Tower!

Are you looking for death?

Li Yunluan was pouring wine and preparing to watch the show, but her hand shook and the wine from the jug spilled all over her skirt. She was unaware of it and craned her neck to look down in astonishment: Cut, cut, cut sleeves?

Her royal brother?

When?!

Wang Dehai and Ao Jingchuan were chasing Li Chenghuan down the stairs. When they heard this, they fell on the stairs at the same time, their eyes widened.

They moved in sync, looked at each other, and saw deep shock in each other's eyes.

Are you saying that their emperor has cut off his sleeves?

Don’t worry about your life!

Jiang Hanwen and Sun Zhenwen were unaware that the others were already devastated, and they were still talking nonsense: "You two are being too intimate, what else could you be but mistresses?"

The onlookers whispered, "He looks like a handsome man, but he is having an affair with a eunuch."

"The world is going downhill, the world is going downhill!"

Jiang Hanwen looked at Li Chenghuan again, his eyes showing contempt: "I didn't expect that there are men in Mingyue Tower..."

Lin Nanqi, Lu Chengzhou, and Si Nanhao all said in unison, heart-wrenchingly: "Shut up! Stop slandering me!"

Lin Nanjie even winked at the two of them.

[Ah, this is not a crime that deserves this, this is not a crime that deserves this! ]

Sun Zhenwen mistakenly thought that Lin Nanjie was provoking him, and immediately became unhappy. He shouted, "What can't you say? He's just a male prostitute, right? You dare not take the responsibility for what you did!"

Male groom...

Male groom...

Male groom...

Li Chenghuan's face was trembling, and his expression was expressionless due to excessive shaking.

Wang Dehai and Ao Jingchuan supported each other to stand up, walked quickly to Li Chenghuan's side, showed the badge of the Imperial Palace, and said loudly:

"How dare you! Stop talking nonsense! You are here to see the Emperor! Kneel down immediately!"

Everyone was stunned again.

Emperor...Emperor?

The capital is an important place. Who dares to pretend to be the emperor and even take out the token of the palace?

Looking at that man again, he has an outstanding appearance and extraordinary bearing. Just standing there makes people dare not be presumptuous.

It turned out to be the emperor!

Everyone in Mingyue Tower knelt down one after another: "Greetings to our emperor! Long live the emperor!"

Jiang Hanwen, Sun Zhenwen and others were caught off guard by this sudden change.

emperor?

emperor!!!

This person showed up not because he was a mistress, but because he was... Lin Nanqi's master!

The faces of several people suddenly turned pale, like a piece of white paper, without any blood.

They never expected that the emperor was also here.

What they didn't expect was that the emperor would come down in person to support Lin Nanji and others.

The results of the imperial examination have not yet come out. If you offend the emperor, it will affect the examination and the final ranking, and the consequences will be unimaginable!

Jiang Hanwen's face turned pale, his legs trembled, and he fell to his knees with a bang.

"Your Majesty, I am blind and ignorant, and I have spoken without restraint. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"

Sun Zhenwen and others also knelt down hurriedly, with cold sweat on their foreheads.

Li Chengxuan lowered his eyes, looked at the few people, and opened the fan in his hand with a "swish" sound: "Lin Nanjie is inspecting the Gongyuan according to my will. Do you think this is unfair?"

The students looked at each other in bewilderment. A brave one raised his head and said, "We do have doubts."

Li Chengqian nodded: "If I tell you that the inspection of Lin Nanjie is under the unified management of the Supervisory Officer Wang Zhongcheng, who assists the Dali Temple Junior Official Bai Zhang in the inspection, will you still have doubts?"

The man fell into deep thought, and after a while he said, "Although I don't know the officials in the capital, I have heard of Lord Wang's reputation for being impartial and selfless. With what you said, I have no doubts."

Although Wang Zhongcheng had countless enemies in the court, he was quite famous among the people, especially among scholars.

Many students take his non-conformity as their study goal.

Therefore, the leaders present said one after another: "We have no doubts either."

"We were impulsive when we questioned Eunuch Lin just now."

Li Chengqian added: "All of you students have studied hard and will become the backbone of Daqi in the future. I will be in charge of the imperial examinations and will ensure fairness. I will never tolerate cheating, so you can rest assured."

Hearing this, the disciples seemed to have received a reassurance, and they all said in unison: "Long live our emperor!"

Lin Nanjie stood behind Li Chenghuan, his eyes slightly shining.

【Great! Jiang Hanwen's previous slander has made the imperial examination candidates suspicious. The imperial examination is related to the people's livelihood, so stabilizing the people's hearts is the most important thing at this time.】

Li Chenghuan glanced at Lin Nanjie from the corner of his eye, and when he saw that the other person didn't look dangerous at all, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Li Chenghuan looked at Jiang Hanwen and Sun Zhenwen and said, "I just heard from upstairs that you guys have added stakes and said you want to join the parade. Is that true?"

Jiang Hanwen and Sun Zhenwen immediately broke out in sweat.

If you behave ugly in front of the emperor, it will be extremely difficult for you to climb to a high position in the future.

Jiang Hanwen gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, please spare my life. I was very aggressive just now. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Li Chengqian waved his fan and said with a smile: "Ignorance is not a crime. You are all the pillars of this year's imperial examination. How can I punish you for a few ignorant words?"

Jiang Hanwen and the others felt a little relieved, but they were still nervous and looked at the emperor's face carefully.

It is said that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. Although this emperor had a tolerant expression, his words were unquestionable and every word hit the nail on the head.

Li Chengqian put away his fan and said, "A gentleman should keep his word. In this case, let's start according to our previous bet."

The children also looked at Jiang Hanwen and the others, but this time they did not listen to their excuses, but instead gave them urging looks.

Jiang Hanwen and the others suddenly turned pale, as if their souls had been sucked out of them.

-

The capital city is exceptionally lively tonight, with the afterglow of the Spring Festival still lingering. The streets are decorated with lights and colorful lanterns to celebrate the imperial examination held every three years, making it very lively.

Young men who had just finished their joint examinations were wandering the streets in groups at night, and vendors were shouting their wares, hoping to take the opportunity to make more money.

At this moment, four young men suddenly appeared on the avenue leading from Yongding Gate to the Imperial Palace.

What was particularly different was that they took off all their clothes, leaving only a pair of pants, and hid themselves to avoid the gazes from all around.

Jiang Hanwen gritted his teeth and walked forward.

Someone came out of Mingyue Tower and shouted at them:

"Why don't you shout? You said you would admit defeat!"

"Who are you inferior to?"

It was still a bit chilly at night in the capital city in early spring, and when the cold wind blew, several people shivered at the same time.

Jiang Hanwen gritted his teeth and squeezed out: "I might as well... take a boat on land."

"No! Did any of you hear what he said?"

"I didn't hear you!"

A look of humiliation flashed across Jiang Hanwen's face. He never expected that he would be so badly defeated by Lu Chengzhou.

He originally wanted to use this opportunity to ruin his reputation, but was given up by Lu Weitong.

The Lu family and the Jiang family have always been on good terms, so he will turn to cultivating himself.

Unexpectedly, everything was destroyed.

Thinking of Lin Nanjie, hatred flashed across Jiang Hanwen's face. How could a eunuch be like this?

"Hurry up and shout! Mr. Jiang, you are not going to regret it, are you?" The urging voices came one after another. The front of Mingyue Tower was full of people, all watching.

Jiang Hanwen wiped his face. If he didn't shout now, the reputation of not being able to afford a loss would follow him for the rest of his life.

"I might as well take the boat on land—"

Sun Zhenwen and his companions also shouted in a rage: "I might as well take a boat on land—"

People on the street looked at this spectacle and stopped to watch.

Some of the children even recognized a few of them.

"Isn't this Mr. Jiang and Mr. Sun?"

"Why are they dressed like this? It's totally disrespectful."

The insider quickly explained the whole story and commented: "This Jiang Hanwen really shot himself in the foot. He just wanted to compete in poetry normally, but he insisted on raising the stakes. I think he thought Lu Chengzhou would definitely lose, but who would have thought that it would backfire on him in the end."

"I used to think he was a talented writer with good character, but who would have thought he would be this kind of person."

Jiang Hanwen clenched his teeth, his expression grim.

When he passes the imperial examination, he will surely trample them all under his feet one day!

Soon, the news of several men running naked and shouting in the street spread throughout the capital and became a laughing stock on the streets.

The news even spread back to the Jiang family in Jiangnan.

The head of the Jiang family was furious when he heard this. Jiang Hanwen not only lost face for himself, but also for the Jiang family!

The Chiang family was once glorious, but later they chose the wrong side and were relegated to a corner of the south of the Yangtze River. They had originally been counting on Chiang Hanwen to win the championship in one fell swoop so that they could build up their influence in the court in the future.

Now all my efforts have been in vain, how can I not be angry?

But that’s all for later.

The farce came to an end. Lin Nanjie was dragged out of Mingyue Tower by Li Chenghuan and sat in the carriage back to the palace. She shrank her head like an ostrich and said nothing.

Li Chengzhen glanced at him and said, "Are you scared now?"

Lin Nan nodded like a quail.

[I was impulsive and should have thought of a better way. ]

【But if you think about it carefully, there is no way. Jiang Hanwen just wants to make Lu Chengzhou lose face and laugh at him.】

[Next time...you can run faster. ]

Li Chengqian: …

Lin Nanqi thought again:

[There was still some gain. It is said that after the event, the princess quietly took Lu Chengzhou away. It seems that things have taken a turn for the better.]

Li Chengqian: …

Lin Nanqi thought again:

【Why did the Dog Emperor suddenly appear? 】

[Let’s go to Chunfeng Mingyue Tower…]

[Are you here to look for a girl? ]

[Tsk tsk, the harem is completely empty, can't you stand the loneliness? 】

With a "click" sound, Lin Nanjie felt a pain on his forehead. He looked up subconsciously and saw Li Chengzhong had just put away the fan. He met his deep and calm eyes.

"You are now in a special position and need to be careful. If I am not here tonight, how do you plan to end this?"

Lin Nanqi was stunned.

The clear eyes stared blankly at Li Chenghuan.

[…You are right. I am now a eunuch and I am walking in front of the emperor. Every move I make represents the emperor.]

[If the dog emperor had not appeared in time, even if we could defeat Jiang Hanwen, we would not be able to appease the majority of people.]

[After all... for many years, the Qingliu have regarded the eunuchs as minions who do evil things. ]

Lin Nanqie said obediently: "Thank you for your advice, Your Majesty. I will take note of it."

Hearing Lin Nanjie's heartfelt words, Li Chengqian's eyes flashed with admiration.

But then I heard Lin Nanjie's inner voice:

【Actually, they got it wrong.】

【From the perspective of power structure, no matter how powerful the eunuchs are, they are only vassals and extensions of the imperial power. The emperor and the ministers are like the yin and yang of Tai Chi. You advance and I retreat, you retreat and I advance. The previous emperor was incompetent and loved money, so he built a lot of buildings, so the eunuchs were in power. But the dog emperor is different. He will not be led by the nose, and the eunuchs under him cannot cause any trouble. 】

Li Chengqian was slightly stunned. He didn't expect Lin Nanjie to have such an opinion.

He glanced at Lin Nanjie who was sitting stiffly, as if thinking about something.

At this moment, the wheel of the carriage suddenly rolled into a pit, one side suddenly sank, and it shook violently.

Lin Nanqi was caught off guard by the force and was thrown out. He flanked his hands in fear, his eyes showing horror.

[Ahhhhh! Your Majesty, please hide! ]

[I can no longer desecrate the dragon's body! ]

It was too late for Li Chenghuan to hear the heartbeat. Lin Nanjie threw herself into his arms like a cannonball, grabbing his neck tightly with both hands.

The tip of my nose was filled with aromas, including the scent of wine, ink, and the scent of powder that I had accidentally rubbed on from Mingyue Tower.

Li Chenghuan was stunned for a moment and did not push the person away.

Lin Nan felt dizzy and felt as if he had hit a wall of flesh. It was quite painful, but at least it was better than hitting a wooden board.

A faint scent of ambergris wafts through, the aroma a bit overbearing.

Lin Nanqi's ears suddenly turned red, he was at a loss, and wanted to cry but couldn't: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have offended you again."

Li Chenghuan had no expression on his face and said in a hoarse voice: "Let go of your hands... "

Lin Nanjie then realized that his hands were still tightly gripping Li Chenghuan's neck. Perhaps he was holding on too tightly, making it difficult for Li Chenghuan to breathe, and his face turned a little red.

Lin Nanqi quickly let go——

But it was too late.

When Wang Dehai and Ao Jingchuan lifted the curtain, they saw Lin Nanjie hanging on Li Chenghuan. Li Chenghuan was still sitting there, with his hands still supporting Lin Nanjie's waist.

Up and down.

One seat, one plate.

The posture of the two people was extremely ambiguous.

!

!!!

Ahhhhhhh!

It’s over! The emperor is going to cut off his sleeves!