Chapter 49
Xiao Huan didn't expect Xie Ling to do this. By the time he reacted, his fingertips had already landed on the other person's face. The cheek flesh he touched was soft and fluffy, like a cloud.
He pinched it subconsciously. When he reacted, he realized what he was doing.
It’s not like Xiao Huan had not pinched Xie Ling’s face before, but that was always after Xie Ling fell asleep. This was... the first time.
When their eyes met, he seemed to have reacted and let go of her hand, coughing lightly, making his mistake even more obvious.
"What a disgrace."
Xie Ling:……?
But didn't he see His Majesty pinching him very hard just now? There were marks on his face.
Xie Ling pointed at the bronze mirror opposite him with a resentful expression.
"Your Majesty, there's no need to make such an effort if you don't like it."
There were obvious handprints on the snow-white cheek. Xiao Huan's eyes fell on it unconsciously, but he restrained himself and looked away.
"I just lost my mind." He paused as if giving a warning.
"Don't be so reckless next time."
"Okay, Your Majesty." Seeing that he couldn't even pretend to be furry, Xie Ling was at his wits' end.
Forget it, Your Majesty should be able to adjust yourself, right?
Anyway, it will probably be fine tomorrow. He rubbed his face and said, "Then I will withdraw?"
Xiao Huan felt a little uncomfortable. Seeing Xie Ling's fingers on his cheek, the soft touch flashed through his mind. He said, "Go to the Imperial Hospital and get a bottle of Yulu ointment."
“Apply it before going to bed at night.”
Eh? And this is what I got? Xie Ling didn't expect that he would get the Jade Dew Cream just by pinching his face. His eyes lit up at this moment. He didn't think that His Majesty was rude at all. He smiled and nodded and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I will go right away."
When Xie Ling reached the door, he suddenly turned around.
"By the way, Your Majesty, don't be unhappy yourself, right?"
Xiao Huan glanced at him and said, "I understand."
It was not until Xie Ling left that he looked down at his fingertips. Thinking of Xie Ling's action of comforting him just now, his brows relaxed a little, and his face visibly softened a lot.
The Eagle Guards hiding on the beams were amazed. They didn't expect that Mr. Xie could find a way to solve the problem even though His Majesty was in a bad mood just now.
Awesome! As expected of Mr. Xie.
After Xie Ling left, the system hesitated to speak. The system found that it had underestimated the host's talent. Would a normal male college student think of putting his face close to someone to be pinched in order to coax them?
What are you talking about enduring the pain? Who are you trying to trick?
No wonder the host is a succubus, if Emperor Wu doesn’t take the bait, who will?
After using the system for many days, I finally saw what natural fishing is today. It is even more powerful than direct fishing.
Xie Ling was a little surprised when he noticed the silent shock of the system.
"What's wrong, Tongzi?"
"What's the matter?"
System: “Nothing.”
"I was just impressed by the host once again."
Ah, what impressed him? Xie Ling was confused for a moment. Did he do anything just now?
Looking at the host's doubt about himself.
System: ... "You just coaxed the Emperor."
Xie Ling: “Really?” Wasn’t he quite angry? He had a blank expression on his face before he left.
System: "Energy detection will not lie."
Xie Ling: Wait, so he really coaxed her? He himself was a little bit unbelievable, but seeing the system's solemn promise, Xie Ling reluctantly believed it.
The system was thinking that Xie Ling would say something, after all, no one could do this kind of thing, but the host succeeded, and then the system heard the host's emotional voice.
"I really am a genius!"
system:? ? ?
After spending so much time together, this is all you can express?
There was a strange silence in the air. Xie Ling did not notice the system's silence. At this time, he happily ran to the Imperial Hospital to get the Yu Lu ointment.
…
The matter fermented for several days, but fortunately, the real Hu Erqing was finally found. After Hu Erqing recovered, the guards protected him and went to the government office.
Hu Dacheng didn't expect that Hu Erqing was still alive. The gentleman who contacted him at the beginning said that his brother was definitely dead and there would be no evidence left, so he could rest assured.
Unexpectedly, just when he was relieved, it turned out that Hu Erqing was fine.
Hu Dacheng on the ground was doubting his life, and secretly cursed Queen Mother Sun and others in his heart: We had agreed on everything at the beginning, so how come he was allowed to come back alive.
Is it so difficult to kill an ordinary scholar?
Hu Dacheng's face was grim. After Hu Erqing had survived this catastrophe, he had finally seen his brother clearly. He looked at the man on the ground and said loudly, "I am the real Hu Erqing."
"I beg the officer to summon the midwife from Luoping Township. Only a few people know about this matter, not even my brother. Due to an accident during the delivery, I had a scar on the sole of my right foot."
The air suddenly became quiet. The fake Hu Erqing had not expected such a thing to happen. He suddenly raised his head and sneered, "Who knows if he colluded with the midwife?"
"Sir, why don't we compare the handwriting directly? It will be more convenient." Hu Dacheng said confidently.
Hu Erqing looked at him carefully, how could he not know what he was thinking:
"We went to school together since we were little, so it's easy for you to imitate my handwriting."
He paused and said, "However, I learned a new calligraphy and didn't tell anyone about it. I kept it with my teacher."
"The teacher is our teacher, so he won't lie and favor one person, right?"
"If you can ignore the words and write them down now, it will prove that you are not lying."
Hu Dacheng was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect there was such a trick. Nowadays, calligraphy practice copies would be signed with dates, so it was indeed difficult to forge.
He hesitated for a moment and saw that everyone around him was looking at him.
The students were chattering among themselves.
"It seems that this later Hu Erqing is more real."
"Your Excellency, let him try."
The students outside changed direction and the officer nodded.
As early as after the incident, everyone who had contact with the Hu brothers was protected, especially their teacher. At this time, the private school teacher was in the capital, so it was very convenient to bring him here.
After a while, an old man came with something in his arms. He looked at Hu Dacheng kneeling on the ground with a sad look in his eyes, as if he didn't expect how he became like this.
The old man bowed slightly to the officer.
"Sir, this is the last character that Hu Erqing learned."
“You can pass it around.”
After looking at each other's copy of the calligraphy, someone brought out the pen and ink.
Hu Erqing said: "You can write now."
Hu Dacheng's expression changed constantly. He thought about what he could write based on his brother's personality, and then he picked up the pen.
Hu Erqing suddenly said, "I just learned the cursive script."
In a word, ink dripped lightly onto the paper.
Hu Dacheng couldn't believe it. However, he could only imitate Hu Erqing and had no idea how to write what Hu Erqing had learned for the first time. Moreover, it was the cursive script that Hu Erqing didn't normally write.
At this time, what is written will inevitably have some of your own fonts, and when compared with the unfolded copybook.
“It’s totally different.”
A student outside exclaimed.
Everyone looked at what was on the ground, then looked at what was in their hands. What was there to understand at this point? The "Hu Erqing" who was on the ground complaining to the emperor was actually a fake.
It was Hu Dacheng who pretended to be him!
After assassinating his brother, he turned the tables on him. How could such a thing happen in the world? !
The students who had never experienced officialdom were simply stunned and couldn't believe it.
The officer sneered and stepped forward to arrest Hu Dacheng.
"What else is there to say now?"
Hu Dacheng remained silent. What he least expected was that someone would ruin his perfect plan and let his brother come back alive.
Hu Dacheng was still somewhat unwilling after being pulled up.
"Why?"
"Why is it that we are both equally educated, and I am even smarter and more motivated than him, but he is qualified to take the provincial examination, but I am not?"
Just because he participated in the matter of becoming a prince? Hu Dacheng still doesn't think he did anything wrong.
The teacher next to him sighed: "Taking sides in the court is cruel. Since you chose Prince Cheng in the first place, it is normal to cancel the provincial examination because you think Prince Cheng will rise to power and is involved with the rebels."
Those who were more deeply involved with Prince Cheng had lost their lives at this moment. He was lucky enough to be spared because he had not yet entered the court.
I didn't expect that he would dare to be involved with Queen Mother Sun later...
"You are jealous of Erqing, but why haven't you ever thought that if you had not tried to curry favor with the rich and powerful and take shortcuts, but had focused on the scientific research, you could have been like Erqing instead of scheming and calculating in vain in the end."
But when he said this, seeing that Hu Dacheng still refused to admit his mistake, he couldn't help but shook his head slightly.
Forget it. At this point, it is impossible to justify blaming others.
Hu Dacheng was gagged and taken away. He finally recovered from the situation and started to chatter. Hu Erqing was also exhausted after such an incident. After thanking the official, he helped his teacher back first.
Wu Shanlai touched his chin and said, "This is really bizarre."
"But fortunately, there is finally a good result, and no innocent person suffered an unjust accusation." As the two were talking, when the crowd dispersed, Wu Shanlai suddenly looked around, a little mysterious.
"Did you know?"
"I heard from my father that Prince Shun was summoned to the palace in the morning."
Prince Shun was summoned to the palace? Isn't this normal?
Zhang Jing didn't know why Wu Shanlai was so mysterious. As the elder of the current emperor, Prince Shun had a very high seniority in the royal family and was respected. In the past, His Majesty would summon Prince Shun when there was something going on in the royal family.
Wu Shanlai hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "I don't know if I'm overthinking it, but I always feel that this matter is not simple."
Speaking of this, he thought of Brother Xie and the people in the carriage that he met at the gate of Wuliu Alley that day. After returning that day, no matter how hard he tried, he found nothing unexpectedly.
After hitting a wall several times in a row, Wu Shanlai began to become suspicious. Who was that guy?
Because of this concern, he did not dare to be presumptuous. He was originally planning to tell his brother about this matter, but after hesitating for a while, he finally did not say a word.
"Let's go, we've been watching all day, let's go eat."
The crowd on the roadside dispersed. It seemed that the case of replacing the scientific examiner had been closed, and justice had been done to the innocent and wrongly accused person. However, the matter was far from over.
Especially in the imperial court, undercurrents have been surging in recent days. Not only the nobles in the capital, but even other court officials have noticed something is wrong.
Why did the royal family start to oppose Your Majesty?
In the past, the royal family always agreed with His Majesty, but in recent days, they have been blocking His Majesty everywhere, which makes people gasp. After the morning court session, the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Rites looked at each other and realized that something was wrong. However, they still didn't know what had caused the rift between His Majesty and the royal family who unconditionally supported His Majesty.
But even so, it was not something that the court officials could investigate. If they got involved, they would end up like the group of people who followed Prince Cheng back then.
Even though everyone knew that something was wrong, they all pretended to be deaf and dumb, as if nothing had happened.
Xie Ling was simply amazed: "Tongzi, wow, is this the basic quality of being an official in the court?" As long as His Majesty doesn't say anything, we will pretend we don't know. Everyone is really good at cultivating their qi.
The system nodded: "But this matter will ferment sooner or later, right?"
The clan members are hiding under the water now only because they think they can still stop His Majesty. If one day they find out that they can't stop him at all, they will definitely explode in the court, and it will be even more terrifying at that time.
Xie Ling shook his head: "But we have to trust His Majesty. His Majesty can definitely control it."
In history, His Majesty Wudi was able to overcome all objections and suppress all actions. Now Xie Ling felt that His Majesty seemed to be more fully prepared and would definitely do better than in history.
Xiao Huan watched the officials in the court who were in a dilemma these days. It was the first time he saw someone who believed so firmly that he could do it.
After seeing the golden words on Xie Ling's head, he was slightly stunned.
This guy... is he so confident in me?
He lowered his eyes slightly and glanced at the side. Xie Ling came back to his senses and immediately came over to fill the cup for His Majesty.
Well, because His Majesty was in a bad mood these days, Xie Ling was inexplicably asked by Eunuch Wang to come to the Imperial Court. The reason was of course to see the official environment in advance.
His Majesty agreed before Xie Ling could even say no.
After a morning passed, he stood there miserably and yawned.
Xiao Huan finally couldn't help but looked up at him.
"Didn't you sleep well last night?"
This guy eats and sleeps, sleeps and eats every day. Now that the exam is over, why does he still look like he hasn’t slept?
Xie Ling came back to his senses and said honestly, "I slept well, but I guess I'm a little sleep deprived because winter is coming soon."
Among the four seasons of a year, in which season does he not lack sleep?
Xiao Huan choked and said, "If you feel sleepy, go inside and rest."
"I'll be done in a moment."
Um, rest?
"May I?"
Isn't he here to be a mascot? So mascots can have a rest too?
Xiao Huan smiled and said, "The tea I poured was cold, and I don't even know how to grind ink."
"Will it be of much use if it stays here like a candlestick?"
Xie Ling: ...Damn it!
Xie Ling got angry for a moment, but considering that His Majesty was in a bad mood, he would just... forget it.
He is not such a fussy person.
"Okay, Your Majesty, I'll go to bed then?"
Xiao Huan: “Yeah.”
Xie Ling quietly put down the teapot in his hand, turned around and walked into the back hall. After stretching, he leaned back happily on the couch.
Xiao Huan waited until he had reviewed all the memorials in his hand before he looked outside.
These days, the autumn examination has just passed and various things have piled up. There are really too many things to do. And the royal family is still a worry... He pressed his forehead slightly, feeling a little tired.
When he stood up and walked into the hall, he saw Xie Ling who was resting.
This guy was sleeping soundly, as if he was not affected at all. Weirdly, Xiao Huan felt relaxed. At this time, he took a look and lay down beside him in his clothes.
While Xie Ling was sleeping, he vaguely felt that there seemed to be another person next to him, but he was too sleepy to open his eyes to look, so he just faced the wall and continued to rest.
He didn't know how long it had been before the bell rang outside. He finally opened his eyes and looked around dazedly. He was startled when he saw it.
Wait, when did His Majesty come back?
His Majesty Emperor Wu, who had been busy for several days, was breathing evenly. Xie Ling wanted to turn over, but he didn't dare. At this time, he lay stiffly on the other side.
"Tongzi, when did His Majesty come? Why didn't you remind me?"
System: "Remind you, can you get up?"
That’s not possible, Xie Ling became quiet.
Well, the result is the same.
He slowed his breathing slightly, sleep was in his mind, and he secretly turned his head to glance at His Majesty, and when he saw the dark circles under Emperor Wu's eyes, he subconsciously became more careful.
"Forget it, Tongzi, I'll just write a novel."
Anyway, I have nothing to do, so I might as well write for a while.
The system didn't expect the host to be so self-aware, and looked at him with suspicion. However, after staring at him for a while, it found that the host actually started to conceive and write a novel.
One incense stick of time passed, then two incense sticks of time passed, and the host had actually written quite a bit.
The system opened its eyes wide in disbelief.
"What medicine did you take wrong today?"
"No." Xie Ling shook his head, a little surprised.
“What could I be taking wrong?”
"System, don't you want me to write? If you don't want me to write, then I will..."
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the system.
"Absolutely not!"
"This system particularly hopes that you will write."
Only then did Xie Ling feel satisfied and continued to write while humming.
But maybe it was because he was too unrestrained in chatting with the system just now, he accidentally hummed.
Damn it! When he reacted and blinked and looked over carefully, he saw that the Emperor Wu, who had just been sleeping, had slowly woken up.
Xiao Huan was still a little dazed when he opened his eyes, and only reacted when he saw Xie Ling.
"What time is it?"
"I don't know, Your Majesty."
Xie Ling was a little embarrassed: "Um, Your Majesty, were you woken up by me?"
Thinking of the humming sound he just heard, Xiao Huan was stunned for a moment before he realized his voice. He looked up and down at Xie Ling in surprise.
"you"
"Were you infected by that fat dog?"
Xie Ling: ???
What fat dog?
What is your majesty talking about?!
Seeing Xie Ling's incredulous look, Xiao Huan coughed and said, "I mean, you stay with that fat dog in the cat and dog room every day, and learn some nonsense."
As if to make up for it, Xiao Huan added another sentence.
"You hum better than this."
Xie Ling: …
He really wanted to cry. How could His Majesty do this?
Xie Ling didn't know for a moment whether he should be angry that His Majesty called Xiao Bai "fat dog" or angry that His Majesty said he beat Xiao Bai. Wouldn't it be more embarrassing if he didn't win?
No, why should this humming sound be compared with that of a dog?
Xie Ling couldn't believe it.
Xiao Huan inexplicably felt guilty being stared at. This guy...why is he looking at me like that?
Am I wrong?
Doesn't he like that fat dog the most? Thinking this in his heart, Xiao Huan just frowned, turned his head and stretched out his hand to pinch Xie Ling's cheek, feeling a little uncomfortable.
"cough."
His voice was calm: "Is this okay?"
Xie Ling: …
What's good about it? He offered his face to appease Emperor Wu, but now His Majesty mocked him and pinched his face.
Is this to coax him?
Xie Ling suspected that he had seen it wrong, but the emperor had already withdrawn his hand and looked at him in surprise.
"What's wrong?"
Xie Ling: …
Xie Ling hesitated to speak.
It was somewhat unnatural for Xiao Huan to do this. After all, Xie Ling liked me so much, and this action was undoubtedly a bit over the line... This guy took the initiative because he admired me, and now that I have taken the initiative... it is somewhat misleading.
Just as he was thinking about it, he saw Xie Ling take a deep breath and shake his head.
"It's all right, Your Majesty."
But when I said this, I was somewhat gritting my teeth.
Xiao Huan paused for a moment, and was a little confused. He initially thought it was his own illusion. But when he had dinner in the afternoon, he found that Xie Ling seemed to be a little... unhappy.
I usually like to eat the Eight Treasure Duck, but today I only ate half of it and didn’t even finish it completely.
He paused with his chopsticks and looked at the side. Wang Bao reacted and went to the imperial kitchen to have someone prepare milk tea. When Xie Ling finished eating, he saw the fragrant milk tea in front of him. Today, the chef of the imperial kitchen not only performed stably, but also made a special improvement and made a golden autumn osmanthus version of fresh milk tea, which looked great in appearance and taste.
But Your Majesty, do you want to bribe him in this way?
Xie Ling hesitated for a moment: "Tongzi, do you think I should act like I'm hard to bribe?"
system:……
"You can do whatever you want."
This aspect depends on Master Xie himself, after all, this guy is a natural fisherman.
Who can catch him better?
After hesitating for a moment, Xie Ling reached out and took the milk tea, and this time he only... drank half a cup.
Half a cup, that’s a big problem.
Xie Ling looked at His Majesty while resisting the urge to drink milk tea.
Xiao Huan looked at it for a while and asked, "Not to your liking today?"
Could it be that this guy prefers the original taste over the osmanthus one?
Xie Ling:……!!!
Is that what he meant?
Wang Bao was almost dying of laughter. Although he didn't know how His Majesty had angered Master Xie, Master Xie's hint was too obvious, but His Majesty couldn't see it.
He watched Mr. Xie and His Majesty for a long time and saw that Mr. Xie looked at each other for a while and His Majesty didn't notice anything. At this time, he saw Mr. Xie coughed and stood up after eating.
"Your Majesty, I have finished my meal."
"If your majesty has something to do tonight, I will take my leave."
Xiao Huan responded indifferently, and didn't frown until Xie Ling left.
As soon as he walked out of the palace, his solemn demeanor relaxed.
Xie Ling: …
He was so anxious. If he had known that His Majesty couldn't understand his hint, he would have finished the cup of milk tea. Now he only drank half a cup. What a loss!
Thinking about the half cup of milk tea in his heart, Xie Ling returned to the side hall with a heavy heart.
The system choked. It didn't expect that the host's mind was full of milk tea. He said that he would not be easily bribed. Isn't this easy to bribe?
"Host You"
Xie Ling raised his eyebrows and took the initiative: "Can't I take Qiao for a bit?"
system:……
"Okay, okay, okay."
Xie Ling wiped his face and turned to wash up.
After a while, Xiao Huan couldn't help asking, "Was he unhappy just now?"
Of course, the people in the imperial court knew who he was referring to. Wang Bao coughed lightly and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I think Master Xie wanted Your Majesty to pay more attention to him just now."
Wang Bao really couldn't say words like "coax a little" to His Majesty, who hated the homosexual tendency, so he changed his words euphemistically, even though he was afraid that His Majesty would feel uncomfortable.
But Wang Bao obviously underestimated Xiao Huan.
After hearing this, Xiao Huan just raised his eyes, thinking about Xie Ling's departure just now, and it seemed to be true.
Is this what this guy just thought?
He looked at Wang Bao: "So I just pissed off Xie Ling and she left?"
Who dares to be angry with Your Majesty?
Wang Baopei smiled and said, "How could Master Xie be angry? He is just a little sad."
"But considering Mr. Xie's admiration for His Majesty, it should be fine tomorrow."
tomorrow?
It will be better tomorrow, but won't I feel uncomfortable all night? Inexplicably, Xiao Huan didn't want to do this when he thought of this.
That guy is used to being heartless. If he really keeps it in his heart, it will be bad. He was silent for a while and said, "What do you think I should do?"
Wang Bao tried to probe: "I heard that Master Xie likes the little white dog in the cat and dog room very much, how about it?"
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by His Majesty: "There is no need to mention this matter again."
Do you want Xie Ling to hold the fat dog and sleep with him for another night?
impossible.
Wang Bao closed his mouth and thought for a while before Xiao Huan said calmly, "Is there a Huo Jin Gu in the palace?"
Firefly?
Wang Bao was stunned for a moment before coming to his senses: "There are some at Qinghua Terrace."
It was still early at this time, and Xiao Huan glanced at it indifferently.
"Tell the palace maids to spread the word outside the palace that a firefly will appear tonight."
Tsk.
Your Majesty means... that you want to take Master Xie to catch Huo Jin Gu?
Wang Bao reacted with a strange look in his eyes. It seemed that His Majesty's method was more... indescribable than he thought.
Is this the way to treat your subjects? Wang Bao was somewhat confused, and he did not dare to say anything.
Xie Ling had just dried his hair and put on his robe when he heard two eunuchs talking about something outside. His voices were faint and vague. He tilted his ear to listen and heard someone say, "I heard that there are many beautiful girls at Qinghua Terrace these past few nights."
"Let's go and have a look together when we're done."
Firefly?
"What is this?" Xie Ling was stunned.
The system identified it and said, "Firefly."
"Also known as Huo Jin Gu."
Xie Ling: So they are fireflies. But are there fireflies in the imperial palace?
He glanced outside. He had originally wanted to stay in the temple at night, but now he felt a little itchy. He didn't know what the difference was between ancient fireflies and modern ones.
Judging from the tone of the palace servants, it seems that this only happened in these few nights, and I don’t know if it happened after that.
Otherwise, why not go and have a look?
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