Chapter 57
The emperor and his officials had this idea: to eat as much melon as possible before Chu Huan and the system discovered the truth, and to purge the court of some parasites so that she wouldn't stop cooperating in the future.
As a result, before the truth was revealed, Chu Huan unexpectedly went on strike early.
The emperor urgently summoned his trusted ministers to a meeting, and all the officials were panicked when they heard the news.
"How could Chu Qin say such irresponsible words?!"
"Hold someone accountable! They must be held accountable!"
"Young people are too impatient."
"Doesn't he know the serious consequences of the court losing it?"
Hearing someone accusing Chu Qin so righteously, many people found it funny, and some even laughed out loud.
Officials: ???
Who is it?
Don’t you know that this is the imperial study?
Who is so bold?
The sudden laughter attracted everyone's attention, and they were shocked to find that the person laughing in such a serious and tense atmosphere was actually the old tutor, one of the Three Dukes.
"Why? You can't do anything without it?"
The old tutor was clearly smiling, but there was no trace of joy in his eyes, which made everyone feel cold all over. They did not dare to look at him, let alone blame him for laughing regardless of the place or the importance of the matter.
The old Grand Tutor and the old Grand Master rarely agreed: "Before it was created, the court did things the same way. After it is created, we will do the same thing!"
Many civil officials could not hold their heads up in front of these two great men who had served under two emperors, were highly respected, and were old enough to be their fathers or grandfathers.
Indeed, the existence of the system has made their work much easier and smoother, but didn’t they still work before the system?
They achieved their current status by crushing countless peers and predecessors, not by luck or chance. Who doesn't have some adaptability? Why make such a fuss over a minor incident?
To be able to become the emperor's trusted minister, one must have great abilities, character, and means.
After being pointed out in person by the old Grand Tutor and the old Grand Master, many people realized that the worst outcome would be a return to the previous state without a system, so why panic?
The emperor watched as the officials went from noisy accusations to self-reflection and nodded with satisfaction.
It’s okay, he didn’t lose face.
However, the officials' minds soon turned in another direction.
They had been led by Chu Huan and the system for three months, experiencing the thrill of winning without any effort, and did not want it to end so soon.
With the same monthly salary, if you can work more easily, why not?
Someone secretly looked at the emperor and asked: Do you think the work is easy, you have too much free time, or there is too much money in the treasury?
The emperor silently looked away and didn't look at them.
How could that be? He loved the feeling of being carried along by his subjects. It would be best if the subjects who could help him win without doing anything had more money!
The king and his ministers understood that both sides had the same idea, so they unanimously decided to let Chu Qin go - there was no other way, if they dealt with this guy, Chu Huan would definitely find out.
After a brief silence, the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Works came out together.
The two men did not expect that they would have such tacit understanding at this time. The Minister of Works made a gesture of "please go first" and stepped back, and the Minister of Revenue did not refuse.
The Minister of Revenue didn't care what identity Chu Huan held or which department she went to. As long as she served in the court, he could chat about government affairs and gossip as a colleague, and then confiscate property and fill the national treasury.
But Chu Huan cares about using someone else's identity, so he'll help her.
"I propose that Chu Huan be allowed to serve as an official in the imperial court under her own identity."
This proposal was like cold oil poured into hot oil, which immediately shocked everyone present, and both civil officials and military generals were unhappy.
"No, absolutely not!"
"Women must never serve as officials in the court!"
"There's no precedent for this."
"Are you willing to risk the wrath of the world?"
The Minister of Revenue did not confront them directly, but instead directly cut off the source of the problem: "Okay, then she will not enter the court."
The officials who wanted to continue accusing and arguing suddenly fell silent like chickens with their necks strangled.
That’s not a good idea either, they still want to be carried away.
Some people secretly complained: The Minister of Revenue has money in the national treasury, so he is not worried.
Then who can speak for them?
The Minister of Works stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe there is no urgency for Chu Huan to enter the court."
emperor:? ? ?
Officials: ???
Isn't this urgent? Could there be something more urgent that they don't know about?
Minister of Works: "The most urgent matter is Miaoshou Kongkong's arrival in the capital tomorrow to break into the national treasury and steal."
Yes.
This matter is urgent.
The emperor tapped his fingers twice on the dragon throne. "I have given Chu Huan full authority to handle this matter."
This is what worries all officials.
When Miaoshoukongkong arrived, the most anxious people should be the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Works.
The two are so calm now, which means they are confident of winning, but they know nothing about the relevant matters and are naturally worried.
"Chu Huan is young and has no experience. What if she fails?"
"Does she have any special method?"
"Could it be that she has already grasped the weakness of the Empty Hand?"
"I haven't heard of Miaoshoukongkong having melons recently."
As the officials spoke, they secretly observed the emperor's expression.
The report was copied by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If it contained content that was inconvenient to disclose to the officials, it would naturally be stopped by the emperor, just like the gossip about the queen and her substitute concubine earlier.
They had reason to suspect that the melon was intercepted by the emperor in advance for some reason.
Emperor: "..." He didn't! He only stopped it once!
The trust between the monarch and his subjects is thinner than paper.
The emperor secretly sighed that his credibility was so low. "Tomorrow, a large number of Jinyiwei will be deployed around the treasury. If Chu Huan fails, they will use force to suppress her."
The expressions of all officials relaxed slightly.
Obviously, compared to the mechanism created by the Ministry of Industry, they trusted the military force of the Jinyiwei more than the method Chu Huan mentioned.
The Ministry of Works was so distrusted that the Minister of Works lost all face and secretly swore in his heart: After we get through this, I will show you how I will deal with you!
In the end, the topic went around and around and came back to how to get Chu Huan to attend court.
The emperor was in favor of this matter, so he took the lead in expressing his opinion: "The fifth prince has recovered from his illness and will go to the Chu family tomorrow."
Officials: "..."
No one can tell lies with open eyes as well as the emperor.
It was obvious that Concubine Shu was unwilling to send her son to the Chu family to be raised by Chu Huan, and she delayed it on the pretext that the Fifth Prince had caught a cold. He refused to take medicine and went to class as usual. What kind of cold was that?
The emperor had turned a blind eye to this before, but now he is using this excuse to deceive people.
They were not so ignorant as to accuse the emperor of lying to his face, so they could only look at each other and ask each other what they had to say.
In the midst of silence, the old master stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I, an old minister, would like to go to the Chu family and teach the fifth prince."
The old tutor suddenly turned around with such force that he almost twisted his neck.
Good job, old man, you think quickly!
A few years ago, in order to get the old tutor to take in the fifth prince, Concubine Shu almost cried, made a fuss, and even threatened to hang herself. The emperor was finally persuaded to give in, but the old tutor refused on the grounds that he was old and lacked energy.
Who would have thought that this time, in order to get Chu Huan to attend class, he actually took the initiative to accept the fifth prince.
As for who the old tutor is teaching in the Chu family, do they have to lean over the wall to listen?
However, in this case...
A sly look flashed across the old tutor's eyes. "Your Majesty, I, this humble servant, would like to offer my services to the Chu family and teach Chu Huan."
Now it was the old master's turn to almost twist his neck, and his eyes almost popped out when he looked at the old tutor.
He only dared to bring Chu Huan along when teaching the Fifth Prince. You old man really don't hide anything at all!
The Minister of Revenue chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to offer my services to Chu Huan."
The Minister of Justice knew there was no hope, but still intervened: "Your Majesty, I am the same."
The Minister of the Dali Temple: "Your Majesty, I am your humble servant..."
All the first, second and third rank civil officials volunteered to teach Chu Huan, making the military generals, who had been completely silent, seem particularly out of place.
The eyes of the group of grown men were almost cramping, but they couldn't think of anything to teach Chu Huan.
With her weak skills in horse riding and archery, and her thin and fragile body, if they punched her, she would have to go home crying to her mother. What could they teach her?
Military generals: I feel bitter.
*
The next day, Chu Qin went to attend the morning court, and Chu Huan slept until she woke up naturally.
It was a rare day since she didn't have to go to court or attend any social gatherings, so she stayed in bed for a while after waking up.
System private chat report: [Sister Huan, they came up with a conclusion yesterday.]
Chu Huan lazily turned over: [What?]
System: [They decided to have the old Grand Tutor and the old Grand Preceptor take turns teaching you in exchange for you continuing to disguise yourself as a man and attend court under your brother's identity.]
Chu Hua: ???
【Didn’t we decide earlier that we would take turns attending classes?】
Is he taking advantage of her ignorance and simply using a benefit that had been agreed upon long ago to fool her?
System: [That's true, but I doubt the Fifth Prince would have come today without your brother's incident yesterday, and the old Grand Tutor and Grand Preceptor wouldn't have taught you so early.]
[The Fifth Prince is coming today?] Chu Huan sat up in shock from her dying illness.
System: [Yes.]
What Chu Huan wanted was to shake the determination of the emperor and the officials, and to lower their bottom line little by little until she could finally take the stage in her own identity.
But this does not include raising the fifth prince!
Previously, she had learned the news through the system and had no way to refuse in advance. Now that the fifth prince is coming to the Chu family, she can naturally find a way... No.
In feudal society, the monarchy was supreme. How could the daughter of a mere fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice have the right to refuse?
Realizing this, Chu Huan lay back down.
Just come, just allocate a courtyard to him. It's up to her to decide whether to raise him or not and how to raise him. As long as the Fifth Prince can't stand it anymore, he can go back.
The system checked the time, activated the sharing function, and yelled at the top of its lungs: "Sister Huan, wake up! Aren't we still going to do the Empty Hands game today?"
In an instant, everyone within a radius of fifty meters knew that Chu Huan was staying in bed.
Chu Huan even heard someone laughing at the door.
Social death.
It would be strange if I could continue sleeping like this.
Chu Huan got up expressionlessly and waved her fist in the air: Good job, just wait for me!
The system is not afraid at all and switches to the private chat channel: [Lilililil~]
After playing around, it switches to sharing mode.
In sharing mode, Chu Huan couldn't threaten it and could only roll her eyes secretly.
After breakfast, Chu Huan walked around in the courtyard to digest her food. Wen Shi hurried over and said, "Huan'er, someone from the palace came early this morning and asked me to clean up the courtyard. They said the Fifth Prince would be staying with us for a while."
The term "temporary residence" is already a very euphemistic one. The truth is: the emperor sent a child husband to Chu Huan.
Chu Huan probably didn't know about this, so she acted very surprised: "Does our family have a history with Concubine Shu?"
The princes of the Dasheng Dynasty could only leave the palace and set up their own homes after they reached adulthood. Before they reached adulthood, they lived in the palace, or occasionally stayed at their maternal grandparents' home for a few days.
The Chu family had no contact with the family of Concubine Shu, the fifth prince's mother, so this "temporary stay" was very strange.
Wen's face looked strange for a moment, and she waved away the maids and servants around her.
Jia Yi and Cai Gang refused to obey orders and remained in place to protect Chu Huan. Wen Shi ignored them and said bluntly, "The people sent by the Emperor said that they want you to teach the Fifth Prince a lesson."
"The person sent by Concubine Shu said that we are only staying temporarily for a while, and all expenses will be paid by the palace."
"What can I teach you?" Chu Huan feigned ignorance. "Using an abacus?"
"You." Wen poked Chu Huan's forehead unhappily. She didn't want to be too aware of her daughter's arrogant words. Those words frightened her so much that she couldn't sleep well for several nights, until she got used to it.
"I have no idea what the emperor is planning. You are very capable, so go and ask him yourself."
"You don't like Concubine Liu, Chu Qi, and Chu Shu, so you want to live farther away from them, so you live in such a remote place. Our house is not big, and the courtyard next to yours can be used by the Fifth Prince."
Chu Huan: "Mom will make the arrangements."
Things were urgent and the Wen family still had a lot of things to arrange, so they left in a hurry after chatting with Chu Huan for a few words.
Chu Huan finished her stroll and turned to go into the laboratory.
There has been little progress in the research on artemisinin so far. She doesn't know what went wrong specifically, so she can only list the possible reasons for failure one by one and slowly investigate them.
Not long after, a group of people moved into the empty courtyard next door. Countless palace servants and guards came in and out, and they were busy for more than an hour before they stopped.
As soon as the noise died down, a young boy in a moon-white brocade robe appeared at the door of Qianhuaju, accompanied by the fragrance of late autumn osmanthus.
"Sister Chu."
Chu Huan: “…”
Perhaps she had been traumatized by the modern white lotus and green tea literature, and the call of "Sister Chu" made her heart tremble. Her hands shook and the liquid in the petri dish poured out.
The system was so amused by what it saw: [Haha, Sister Huan, there are still things you’re afraid of.]
The fifth prince paused, it was just as his father had said.
Chu Huan felt she needed to explain: [I'm not afraid, I just don't like people calling me sister in a weird way.]
Don't like being called "sister"? The Fifth Prince made a note of this.
Qingzhu went forward and saw the dragon-patterned jade pendant on the young boy's waist.
"Fifth Prince, the young lady has been in the laboratory for a long time. I don't know when she will come out. What do you think?"
The Fifth Prince: "No problem, I'll wait for her."
Chu Huan’s experiment is not finished yet, but the prince is here, so she can’t just stay out, right?
After tidying up a bit, she pushed open the door of the laboratory and saw the young boy sitting on the stone bench in the yard.
The young boy looked over when he heard the voice. He had a pair of slender almond-shaped eyes. The moment he saw Chu Huan, he smiled softly, like the cutest and most well-behaved boy next door.
"Greetings, His Highness the Fifth Prince." Chu Huan performed the standard etiquette.
"Sister, please stand up." The Fifth Prince personally helped Chu Huan to her feet, his smile a bit shy. "I heard that the penicillin you made saved many lives. I begged Father and Mother several times. As soon as they agreed, I hurried over."
Chu Huan had originally thought the Fifth Prince would be unwilling, and was quite surprised to hear this: [Tong'er, is this true?]
System: [Really.]
The Fifth Prince seemed not to have heard anything. "Sister, please sit down. I have a lot to say to you."
Chu Huan sat in the courtyard with the Fifth Prince and listened to his story.
"I first heard that my sister had cowpox. The teacher once said in class that Dasheng had suffered from smallpox for a long time, but one day he suddenly told me happily that Dasheng no longer had to fear smallpox..."
"There was a young eunuch close to me who accidentally fell into a lake. After he was rescued, he had a fever for three days and became delirious. The imperial physician said he would die if he continued like this, so he was given penicillin and he recovered..."
The fifth prince was beaming with joy as he narrated the story with great emotion. Chu Huan smiled slightly, nodding from time to time, acting like a qualified tool.
The system listened very attentively, occasionally clapping and praising: [Well said! My sister Huan is so awesome!]
The fifth prince: “…” I always feel like a storyteller.
After chatting for a while, the fifth prince revealed his true purpose: "Before leaving, my father told me that from today on, the Grand Tutor will come to teach me. Sister, please come with me then."
Chu Huan pretended to be confused: "I am a study partner?"
The Fifth Prince's delicate little face suddenly fell, his mouth pursed, and he said pitifully, "I am the study companion."
The young boy lowered his head and mumbled the truth clearly, "My mother wanted the Grand Tutor to take me in before, but he said he was too old. Now he wants to take my sister in as a student, so he brought me here as a companion."
Chu Huan: "If you don't want to..."
"I don't!" The Fifth Prince raised his head suddenly, as if afraid of being misunderstood by Chu Huan, and said in one breath, "I'm very willing to let the learned Grand Tutor and Grand Preceptor teach me!"
Chu Huan smiled and said nothing.
"I just don't like this feeling of being in cahoots, as if I'm not important at all." The fifth prince's almond-shaped eyes drooped slightly, looking like a pair of wet puppy eyes, which was particularly endearing.
Chu Huan resisted the urge to pat his head: [Tong'er, didn't you say this person is a scheming person?]
Why did she start by analyzing herself? She was completely lost.
System: [Yes.]
Chu Hua: [What is he doing?]
System: [Today's limited edition of a well-behaved and innocent boy.]
[Yes, this guy is a drama queen. His biggest hobby is watching others being stunned by his acting.]
Chu Huan: “…”
The second prince is a chaste and brave man, the third prince is plotting to usurp the throne, and the fifth prince is a well-behaved and playful person. What kind of royal family is this?
The Fifth Prince's eyes suddenly widened. Oh no! Something has happened!
System: [But this guy's acting wasn't always this good from the start. He's made mistakes plenty of times.]
For example, if Concubine Shu is so anxious she calls for an imperial physician because she doesn't want to go to school, the one who comes is the Imperial Hospital Director. Perhaps another imperial physician would understand and try to be more tactful, saying, "What a straightforward old man the Imperial Hospital Director is!" Instead, he simply says, "Your Highness, you are not ill."
Concubine Shu awkwardly sent the Imperial Hospital Envoy away, then whipped out a feather duster and smacked him across the backside. Finally, Concubine Shu clapped her hands and said calmly, "You are indeed ill. You don't need to go to school."
Fifth Prince: !!!
My inner voice was like a screaming chicken: Ahhhhh, it's over! The news of him getting spanked by his mother is going to spread throughout the court! He's going to lose all his dignity!!
As someone who has been through it, Chu Huan understands students' aversion to studying: they don't want to go to class every day, but they have to go. If one day they open their eyes and find that they have a fever, they will arrogantly put their hands on their hips and laugh.
When she was being beaten to death by the super-scorer King, she also pretended to be sick and skipped classes, but later the guilt of skipping classes was too strong, so she went back to class happily.
It’s all tears if I talk too much.
She hates the King of Volume!
Chu Huan recalled the passing of a second and asked excitedly: [And then?]
The prince skipped school and was spanked. His butt was bruised and he couldn’t go to school anymore. What an interesting story!
System: [From then on, the Fifth Prince secretly studied medicine, vowing to pull off an absolutely perfect feigned illness to skip school.]
Chu Hua was particularly curious: [Did he succeed?]
System: [No.]
Chu Hua: [Poof——]
Everyone: Hahahaha!
The fifth prince was so embarrassed that his whole face turned red and he could no longer sit still.
So, how desperate could he be to have to show off his acting skills in front of Chu Huan? He completely failed!
"Sister, I suddenly remembered that I have something else to do." The fifth prince stood up with a red face, "I'll take my leave first."
Chu Huan's face was full of concern: "Your Highness, why is your face so red? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"No, maybe it's too hot." The Fifth Prince smiled awkwardly, backing away at a brisk pace. "It's right next door, sister, you don't have to see me off."
Chu Huan looked at the boy's fleeing back and sighed heartfeltly: [What a handsome boy! How could he be so desperate and insist on skipping school?]
After sighing for a second, she quickly said, "Hurry, hurry, I want to know if the emperor had a broken butt back then!"
The system was also aroused by curiosity: [Wait for me! ]
The fifth prince suddenly stopped and turned around, quietly sticking to the wall, his face full of gossip.
What's wrong with him being spanked by his mother for skipping school? As long as his father was also spanked, then it's only natural that the son follows in his father's footsteps!
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