Chapter 151 Fight Back (Second Update)
Zheng Siye has been very diligent lately; he practically lives at the Imperial College.
After all, he's just acting as the acting chief priest, and he'll soon become the real chief priest, so it's always good to put on a show.
Ever since Xiao Liulang mocked him for not being qualified to enter Minghui Hall, he had been pestering Grand Tutor Zhuang, who then spoke well of him to the Emperor. Now he has a place in Minghui Hall.
However, this is only the outer hall; one can only enter the inner hall after becoming the chief priest.
Standing before the inner hall's main entrance, Zheng Siye's eyes were filled with greed: "Soon, I will be able to move in!"
He was a little hungry after a long day of work.
He wanted to have food delivered, but there was no place to eat in the outer hall, only in the inner hall.
He had no choice but to leave Minghui Hall.
The servant outside the door came over and asked him, "Sir, are you hungry? Would you like to go back to the Siye Hall to get something to eat? What would you like to eat? I'll have someone make it for you."
Since moving into Minghui Hall a few days ago, Zheng Siye has refused to return to Siye Hall, feeling that Siye Hall is no longer worthy of his current status.
He waved his hand and said, "Never mind, I'll go find something to eat outside myself."
Take this opportunity to wake up.
With the year-end approaching, he still has a mountain of official documents to process.
He is truly a diligent and good official!
Zheng Siye left the Imperial Academy feeling quite pleased with himself.
Because he went out, Gu Jiao missed him when she climbed over the wall to Minghui Hall to beat him up.
Gu Jiao didn't know if he would come back. She was hesitating whether to wait for him here or go out to look for him when she heard a very faint breathing sound.
Someone is hiding here!
Could it be Zheng Siye?
Is that guy hiding?
Gu Jiao, dressed in black, braced herself on the table with one hand and leaped over with a heroic air, grabbing a figure from behind the pillar.
result--
"It's you?" Gu Jiao's raised fist froze in mid-air.
She immediately lowered her small fist and stared straight at the other person: "It's so late, why aren't you home? What are you doing here?"
Xiao Liulang: What are you doing here again?
"..." Gu Jiao was speechless.
What's even more frustrating is that she was dressed in black, and he was dressed in black as well.
The same thought flashed through their minds simultaneously: When did you buy black clothes behind my back?!
In her previous life, Gu Jiao liked flashy clothes, but her tastes changed after coming here. Her clothes are mostly blue, while Xiao Liulang wears the white robes of the Imperial Academy or his usual blue casual clothes.
In short, their clothes rarely clashed in color.
Gu Jiao: I never expected that the first time we would wear matching outfits would be in such an occasion!
Gu Jiao said seriously, "I asked first, so you go first."
Xiao Liulang remained expressionless: "I'm here to meet someone and pick up some things."
Gu Jiao said seriously, "What a coincidence, me too."
—Would anyone believe that a man who goes straight home after school would secretly come to the teacher's office in the middle of the night without his wife's knowledge?
—Ha, people actually believe a young girl from out of town coming to the Imperial Academy?
The young couple looked at each other with serious expressions, perfectly embodying the art of blatant lying.
Xiao Liulang opened his mouth.
"Someone's coming!" Gu Jiao suddenly raised her hand to cover his mouth, her brows furrowing warily.
Xiao Liulang was almost unable to breathe as her soft little hands covered his mouth.
He patted her on the shoulder.
Gu Jiao put her index finger to her lips: "Shh—"
Xiao Liulang pointed to her hand.
You can cover my mouth, why are you covering my nose too?
I can't breathe!
"Oh, I'm sorry." Gu Jiao removed her hand and hid behind the pillar with him.
Gu Jiao was thinking that if it was Zheng Siye who came, she would first knock her husband unconscious with a single blow, make him cry out in despair, and then carry her husband back home.
Unfortunately, it wasn't Zheng Siye who came.
It is Li Siye.
He was the deputy director of studies, whose position was slightly lower than that of director Zheng.
He was an upright and good official.
Xiao Liulang didn't want to hurt him.
Gu Jiao had no intention of harming anyone not on the list.
The two of them held their breath simultaneously.
"Sir, it's so late. Why don't you come again tomorrow?"
"How can that be? I have something extremely urgent to report to Zheng Siye. If we wait until tomorrow, it might be too late. If something goes wrong, will you take responsibility?"
Hearing this, the two servants dared not stop him and let him enter Minghui Hall.
Minghui Hall is always guarded. Gu Jiao was able to get in because she was a secret agent in her previous life. She could do this kind of thing a lot. But how did Xiao Liulang sneak in?
Gu Jiao gave him a strange look.
Xiao Liulang pretended not to see her subtle glance.
Li Siye entered the outer hall of Minghui Hall: "You all go downstairs and keep watch, don't let anyone break in without permission. I'll wait for Zheng Siye here."
Li Siye had an excellent reputation at the Imperial Academy; he was an upright and honest man. The two men suspected nothing and hurriedly went down to guard the gate.
Xiao Liulang and Gu Jiao initially thought he had come to see Zheng Siye, but little did they expect that as soon as the two servants left, Li Siye began searching through Minghui Hall.
This is the outer hall; it's not very big, but it's not small either.
He searched furtively and very quickly.
Gu Jiao was confused.
Xiao Liulang vaguely guessed what was going on.
As Li Siye searched, he came to the third row of bookshelves.
To the right is the pillar where Xiao Liulang and Gu Jiao were hiding.
The two held their breath and tried to compress their bodies backward.
Behind them was a wall, so they couldn't retreat much. The two stood face to face, too close, their breaths mingling.
The pillar was only one foot thick, and it was at this moment that Xiao Liulang realized that Gu Jiao had grown taller again.
Gu Jiao has grown taller, but since he's also growing, he doesn't feel much difference in his height, but his feminine figure...
Xiao Liulang tried his best to avoid touching places he shouldn't.
Gu Jiao also tried her best to press herself against the wall behind her.
"No? No way..." Li Siye searched closer and closer to the pillar.
Xiao Liulang's clothes were visible through the pillar.
Gu Jiao reached out, intending to pull him close, but Xiao Liulang reached out first, embracing her slender waist. With a twist, he ended up pressing himself against the cold wall.
He pulled her soft little body into his arms.
This was the first time he had taken the initiative.
Gu Jiao hadn't expected him to be so fierce.
His chest was burning hot, and his body was full of power.
Gu Jiao: This guy not only bought black clothes behind my back, but he also secretly worked out his pectoral muscles!
His chest was hard, while her body was soft.
His blood rushed to his head.
Then--
Li Siye asked anxiously, "That shouldn't be the case. Where did he put the monthly exam paper?"
Just as Li Siye finished searching this row of bookshelves and was about to pass by the pillar to look for the next row, footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Li Siye's hand trembled, and he hurriedly stuffed the scattered scrolls back onto the bookshelf. He then rushed to the center of the hall, straightened his clothes, and pretended that nothing had happened.
Zheng Siye entered the main hall and looked at Li Siye suspiciously: "I heard that Li Siye has urgent business with me?"
Li Siye pretended to be calm and said, "It's like this, there is a riding and archery class at Shuaixing Hall tomorrow. I heard that a few days ago, many students were injured in riding and archery classes at the girls' school. I was thinking, should we temporarily cancel the riding and archery class?"
"Is this the urgent matter you were talking about?" Zheng Siye frowned impatiently. "Cancel it if you want. From now on, you can make your own decisions on these kinds of trivial matters. There's no need to ask me!"
"Yes!" Li Siye cupped his hands in greeting.
"Is there anything else?" Zheng Siye asked.
Li Si glanced at the unfinished bookshelf, then lowered his eyes and said, "That's all. I'll take my leave now."
Both were serving as directors of studies, and although there was a distinction between the senior and junior directors, they did not need to refer to themselves as "lower officials."
This is because I am now acting as the chief priest.
Zheng Siye was pleased with the term "subordinate official," and his expression softened. He said, "Alright, alright, it's getting late. I should head back too. Let's go together."
"My lord, please." Li Siye bowed.
The two left Minghui Hall one after the other.
Gu Jiao had already guessed why Li Siye had come looking for the monthly exam papers. He also suspected that Xiao Liulang's grades were rigged and wanted to help Xiao Liulang clear his name.
Li Siye is a good person.
We can't drag him down with us.
Gu Jiao decided that she would beat up that Zheng guy again next time.
The two maintained the same distance as before, their hearts pounding together.
Xiao Liulang's heart was beating faster, while Gu Jiao, though envious of his good looks, remained relatively calm.
After all, when it comes to admiring a beautiful woman, she should just look openly and honestly; she's not shy at all!
“Um…” Xiao Liulang cleared his throat.
Gu Jiao understood and took a step back to create distance between them.
The lights in Minghui Hall were extinguished before the two officials left, but a sparse moonlight shone in and fell on Xiao Liulang's handsome face.
Xiao Liulang was somewhat embarrassed.
Gu Jiao glanced at him and calmly said, "I understand, it's a normal reaction for a man, you don't need to be embarrassed."
Xiao Liulang: "..."
Thank you, but I wasn't comforted.
Gu Jiao turned to leave, then, as if remembering something, she said, "You're not young anymore, go home and relax."
Xiao Liulang stumbled and almost fell over!
Can't we just pretend nothing happened?!
Gu Jiao walked up to a painting, lifted it, and knocked on the wall behind it. The wall suddenly opened, revealing a hidden compartment containing a set of exam papers, which were exactly the monthly exam papers that Li Siye was looking for.
Gu Jiao: "It really is here!"
Xiao Liulang: How did you know?
Just now, Xiao Liulang was leaning against the wall, and his line of sight was only Gu Jiao, but Gu Jiao could see the scene in the hall with just a tilt of her head.
When Zheng Siye came in, the first thing he looked at was this painting.
Therefore, Gu Jiao guessed that there must be something behind the painting.
"You're here for this too, right?" Gu Jiao asked.
“There are others.” Xiao Liulang said, walking to the last row of bookshelves. He gently pushed the bookshelf open, revealing a secret room inside.
Xiao Liulang went into the secret room and retrieved a booklet.
"What is it?" Gu Jiao asked.
Xiao Liulang showed her the booklet.
After reading it, Gu Jiao's lips twitched. You're ruthless after all.
"I'm leaving," Xiao Liulang said.
The door was locked. Gu Jiao was about to pry it open when she saw Xiao Liulang push open another secret room and lead her out of the Imperial Academy.
Gu Jiao was dumbfounded. So there was a secret passage. How did this guy know so much about the Imperial College?
Although they didn't manage to beat Zheng Siye up, they obtained evidence that would severely damage him, which was still a considerable gain.
When the two returned home, their family members were all asleep. Before leaving, Xiao Liulang took Xiao Jingkong to Gu Yan's room, and only now did he bring the sleeping Xiao Jingkong back.
He quickly took a shower and ran into Gu Jiao when he came out to pour water.
Gu Jiao hummed in agreement: "So fast."
Why is it not quick when I'm just taking a shower?
But soon, after realizing what "soon" meant, Xiao Liulang was completely flustered!
...
In the following days, two major events occurred at the Imperial College.
The first thing was that the monthly exam papers for Shuaixingtang were leaked.
Everyone saw Xiao Liulang's exam paper. If this kind of exam paper ranked last, then no one in Shuaixing Hall would not be ranked last.
The exam paper was graded by Zheng Siye, and it was obvious that he was maliciously targeting Xiao Liulang.
The second thing is that the account books of Zheng Siye's collusion with others a few years ago have been circulating in the Imperial College.
The Imperial Academy was filled with noble sons, whose powerful factions were deeply entrenched. Some supported Zheng Siye, while others were upright and incorruptible.
The ledger was quickly passed to His Majesty.
His Majesty was furious and summoned Zheng Siye to the Imperial Study, where he gave him a severe scolding.
Grand Tutor Zhuang was also present.
Zheng Siye was a member of Grand Tutor Zhuang's camp, so Grand Tutor Zhuang naturally wanted to protect him. However, the evidence was conclusive, and protecting him was not so easy.
After leaving the palace, Grand Tutor Zhuang asked with exasperation, "What happened? Didn't I tell you to destroy this kind of thing long ago? Why did you still keep it?"
Zheng Siye said aggrievedly, "I...I probably missed it when they were destroying them, and this one just happened to be missing...someone picked it up..."
Grand Tutor Zhuang said, "Why did you only reveal this now? Think about it, have you offended anyone recently?"
"No, I just..."
"So what?"
Zheng Siye stammered as he explained the matter concerning Xiao Liulang: "...He's just a poor scholar from a small county town; there's no way I could have offended him!"
It's only considered offending someone if they are of higher status than you.
Xiao Liulang is such a minor character that he can only be called a bully at best!
Zheng Siye's expression changed: "Could it be this kid?"
Grand Tutor Zhuang said calmly, "A poor country boy doesn't have that ability. It's probably because someone doesn't want to see one of my people take the position of Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, so they sabotaged me at this crucial moment."
Zheng Siye asked in a daze, "Who... could it be?"
Grand Tutor Zhuang stood on the high steps, looking in the direction of the Marquis of Xuanping's residence, and sneered: "Under the whole world, who else dares to oppose me like this, besides that one?"
I was at home when a pot fell from the sky!
Lord Gu: My daughter is about to kill me! o(╥﹏╥)o
Marquis Xuanping: What a coincidence, my son is the same.
(End of this chapter)
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