“Your… Your Majesty?!”
The moment Gao Chongguang saw who had arrived, his soul nearly fled his body.
Yun Yaoyao sneered. “Gao the Censor, you’re only an eighth-rank official, yet you certainly have quite the mouth on you.”
“Humiliating a fellow official! Disrupting order! Speaking behind the backs of court officials! Even cursing the imperial consort!”
As Yun Yaoyao listed each of his offenses, Gao Chongguang’s face turned ashen.
“Spare… me!”
With his mouth swollen and blood leaking from the corners, he could no longer pronounce the words “spare my life” clearly. All he could do was frantically bang his head against the floor, tears mingling with the blood running down his face.
At this moment, Gao Chongguang was nothing like the arrogant tyrant he had been. He looked no better than a beaten dog.
The attendant scholar kneeling on the floor was frightened as well, but inwardly he was thrilled.
Ha! He’d actually guessed right. His Majesty had come personally to deal with this miserable excuse for a man!
“Guards!”
Yun Yaoyao’s sharp shout rang out, her gaze cold as ice.
“Strip him of his official robes and demote him to a commoner!”
“Slap him fifty times so he learns the importance of watching his tongue!”
The imperial guards behind Yun Yaoyao immediately surged forward. They tore the official robes from Gao Chongguang, then two of them pinned him down. One guard rolled his broad shoulders, flexed his arm, and brought his huge palm crashing down.
Smack!
“Aaaagh!”
The imperial guards’ slaps were no ordinary smacks to the face. They were a form of punishment, delivered with astonishing force. After only a few blows, the victim would be left in unbearable agony.
Niu Xiu’er, standing obediently behind Tu Shanjin, shivered at the sight. That was a brutal beating.
But when she remembered how that despicable official had insulted the late Madam and cursed the young lady, she almost wished she could rush forward and give him a few vicious slaps herself—enough to smash his mouth to pieces!
The fifty slaps were soon finished, and the imperial guards immediately dragged away the unrecognizable Gao Chongguang.
A deathly silence descended over the Hall of Records.
Hidden beneath her dragon robes, Yun Yaoyao scratched her backside. Then she cleared her throat and said, “You may all rise.”
Lin Qingti respectfully stood and spoke in a clear voice as pure as bamboo, “This humble subject, Lin Qingti, thanks Your Majesty for upholding justice!”
“Mm.”
Yun Yaoyao turned her head toward Tu Shanjin, who stood roughly three people’s width away from her.
Ever since they had kissed just now, the atmosphere between them had become somewhat strange.
The tyrant seemed to have fallen into a silent sulk and was even keeping his distance from her. Who knew what sort of petty thoughts were running through his mind?
Yun Yaoyao felt a little awkward—but not much. She had already seen Tu Shanjin completely naked and touched him all over. So what was the big deal about kissing him once through her own body?
If Tu Shanjin felt awkward, she would just let him calm down on his own. Once he had cooled off, everything would be fine~
Yun Yaoyao felt no burden whatsoever. She turned and left, waving her hand without taking a single cloud with her.
Seeing this, the chill radiating from Tu Shanjin grew even more freezing.
Lin Qingti took in the interaction between them.
Had they quarreled?
It seemed like a serious one.
So Yaoyao’s life in the palace was not nearly as carefree as people claimed.
Lin Qingti stepped closer and bowed. “Greetings, Consort Miao. May Your Highness enjoy peace and good health.”
He raised his eyes toward that face, which resembled his elder sister’s by five parts. Gradually, threads of pain surfaced in his gaze.
Thinking of his sister, who had wasted away and died, Lin Qingti could not help being overcome with grief. His eyes began to glimmer with tears.
Seeing this, the attendant scholar tactfully slipped out of the room.
Just as the tears were about to fall, Tu Shanjin interrupted him in a strictly businesslike, icy tone.
“Clerk Lin, you had the talent to become the top scholar, yet because Yun Liang suppressed you, you were relegated to this little corner, where you perform odd jobs and suffer bullying from your fellow officials. Truly lamentable.”
“Do you wish to change your current circumstances?”
“Huh?”
Lin Qingti pulled back the two tears brimming with sorrow.
Tu Shanjin calmly found an empty seat and sat down, carrying himself with an extraordinary air.
He met Lin Qingti’s puzzled gaze in silence, waiting for his answer.
Lin Qingti quickly understood and nodded. “I do.”
He had studied hard and taken the imperial examinations for the sake of his sister. Now that she was gone, he would use his abilities to carry on her legacy—for the sake of Yaoyao’s future!
Lin Qingti added with complete sincerity, “Just tell me what Your Highness wants me to do. There’s no need for all this polite talk. I will do everything in my power to help!”
Lin Qingti was so readily cooperative that all the tactics and carefully prepared lines Tu Shanjin had planned became completely useless.
He stated his objective: to deal with Yun Liang and pull him down from his position as Minister of Rites.
Lin Qingti nodded eagerly. “All right!”
After that, no matter what Tu Shanjin said or asked him to do, Lin Qingti responded with the same delighted, obedient expression.
Things went so smoothly that Tu Shanjin began to suspect Lin Qingti of having ulterior motives.
His sharp, probing gaze fixed directly on the other man, and his expression turned dangerous.
“Clerk Lin, is there nothing you wish to ask?”
“There is.”
Lin Qingti sniffed, his voice choked with emotion. “Your Highness, you’re too thin.”
Tu Shanjin: ?
“Is it difficult staying at His Majesty’s side?” Lin Qingti continued, his eyes brimming with tears. “It’s all because I’m useless. I couldn’t provide my family with a safe haven.”
As he spoke, Lin Qingti seemed to recall some painful memory. His voice went from a choked sob to quiet weeping, and finally to a muffled wail.
Tu Shanjin: ??
Tu Shanjin frowned and tried to stop him. “Let’s continue discussing how to deal with Yun Liang.”
Lin Qingti wiped his tears as though he had not heard and began recounting the past.
“Back then, when your mother severed ties with the family for Yun Liang, it’s not as though I never tried to find an opportunity to persuade her. But she was resolute. The last time I saw her, we had a terrible argument and parted on bad terms.”
“Enough…”
Lin Qingti continued, “I was carrying all that anger in my heart, so from then on I buried myself in my studies and stopped concerning myself with anything else. I thought I had to prove myself in the imperial examinations. I also wanted to remain in the capital in the future, so your mother would have the support of her family.”
“But the imperial examinations are a bridge crossed by countless armies, with only one narrow path to the other side. From a young man to a man past thirty, I finally became the top scholar.”
Tu Shanjin: “…”
He wanted to discuss work, but the other man only wanted to discuss feelings.
Tu Shanjin gave up struggling and was forced to listen to the story.
“The day I became the top scholar was the proudest day of my life. But it was also that very day that I asked someone to inquire after your mother and learned the terrible news of her early death.”
At this, Lin Qingti’s face filled with pain and remorse. “Why didn’t I ask about her sooner? If I had gone to find her earlier, perhaps… perhaps!”
Lin Qingti’s tears flowed without end.
“For all these years, I’ve been living in pain and regret. I wanted to find you and make amends, but Yun Liang regarded me as a thorn in his side…”
“Now I finally have the chance to see you again. If there is anything you need me to do, just say the word. I will do everything I can to accomplish it!”
Lin Qingti’s gaze was resolute yet filled with trust as he looked straight into Tu Shanjin’s eyes.
“Even if it costs me my life, I have no objection!”
“…”
Tu Shanjin awkwardly looked away from Lin Qingti’s gaze.
For all these years, he had been accustomed to solving every problem himself. He never entrusted anyone with his confidence, nor did he allow himself to form genuine emotional ties.
Now, suddenly, he found himself enveloped in such fervent familial affection and intense trust. A strange emotion surged through his heart, one he could hardly control.
He couldn’t understand it. Lin Qingti had taken the imperial examination and become the top scholar for the sake of his sister, and now, because of that tiny thread of blood relation, he was willing to give up his life for someone he had only just met.
Why?
Tu Shanjin wanted to get to the bottom of it, but suddenly, a loud wail rang out beside him. It sounded like an old ox bellowing wildly, making his eardrums ache.
“Waaaaah! Madam, it turns out Young Master Lin has always been thinking of you too. May you rest in peace!”
“Now that Young Master Lin is here to help Miss, her life will definitely get better from here on out!”
“Waaaaah!”
Hearing Niu Xiu’er cry, Lin Qingti’s tears—which he had just managed to hold back—immediately started flowing again. The two of them exchanged a glance, then broke into even louder sobs in perfect unison.
Seeing this scene, Tu Shanjin had no time to think about anything else. His head was buzzing, and he felt as though it were about to explode!
Who had submitted that ridiculous false intelligence?
It had said that Lin Qingti was taciturn and extremely steady in his emotions. But now, it was obvious that it had all been complete bullshit!!!
