Chapter 111: You Dare Threaten Me
The next day, when Ying Xi first woke up and was sunning himself in the Weiyang Palace, Lang Xun arrived.
Lang Xun looked disheveled, as if he had just been dug out of the dirt. He reported, “Your Majesty, I have found out important news.”
Ying Xi swayed a few times in his rocking chair, in a good mood.
“Keep it brief, and I’ll reward you.”
So Lang Xun told Ying Xi about his following Chen Wanjing to the Censorate, and what he had found out there.
“After the news spread, Chen Wanjing met with He Lou. He Lou has good relations in the Censorate. Several people discussed it for a while.”
Ying Xi’s attention focused on He Lou.
“Have you investigated He Lou?”
“Yes!”
Lang Xun came prepared and pulled out a small notebook with handwriting like dog scratches. “He Lou came from a ‘recommended’ background and is extremely filial to his mother.”
“Tell me about it.”
“His mother was bedridden for two years. He Lou personally served her soup and medicine. Later, when his mother died, He Lou cried with such grief that every time he cried, it drew birds to him. It was considered a beautiful tale at the time.”
This was indeed interesting.
Ying Xi sneered, “Who recommended He Lou?”
“Wang Wan. An official during the late Emperor’s time.”
“Whose student is Wang Wan?”
Lang Xun froze slightly. He hadn’t investigated that deeply.
Lang the Guard already thought he had investigated so thoroughly he was practically digging up ancestral graves.
He hadn’t expected the Emperor would keep asking. “This servant… doesn’t know.”
Ying Xi said firmly, “That’s enough. Leave the rest to me. Your parents are currently in their prime. If I send you to Yangzhou to lead the army in the future, would you be willing?”
A capital official was prestigious, but a local official was free.
To be the commander of the army in the newly conquered Yangzhou—one could say Lang Xun would be the local king there.
But Lang Xun said, “This servant is willing to serve Your Majesty!”
Ying Xi: “There’s no rush. You can consider it further. Discuss it with your father.”
Lang Xun nodded and left.
The Sweetie System said, [Your Majesty is truly unromantic. The ‘little wolfhound’ clearly wants to be kept; instead, you’re making him wag his tail while trying to send him away.]
Because the Sweetie System explained everything as “love,” Ying Xi was used to it. “Stop your wild thoughts.”
[System: That dirt on him must have been rolled in by himself just to make you pity him. The Censorate isn’t a garbage dump!]
[System: But if the little wolfhound is sent away, will the ‘big wolfhound’ become your spouse?]
The Sweetie System indulged in flights of fancy:
[Otherwise, if Guard Lang is outside the bedchamber while General Xie enters the dragon bed, will they start a fight?]
[Fight~ fight~ let the male competition begin!]
[Hehehe (^▽^)]
Ying Xi: “…”
Ying Xi adjusted his breathing and said gently, “Nonsense.”
“Your… Your Majesty, the list of officials from the late Emperor’s time that you requested has been brought.”
The Supervisor of the Secret Repository, He Xuan, was trembling with fear. He always felt that entering the Weiyang Palace study, with its solemnity everywhere, was as if the Emperor’s eyes could see through him.
He Xuan fell to his knees with a thud. “Please give your instructions, Your Majesty.”
His official cap rolled to Ying Xi’s rocking chair like it was his head, scaring He Xuan into hurriedly pulling it back and pinning it on.
He really didn’t understand. It was just delivering a document—why did His Majesty personally appoint him to deliver it?
The useless Supervisor of the Secret Repository was in a state of waiting for death.
Ying Xi: “Find out which department Wang Wan was in, and who his superior was.”
“…” He Xuan was dumbfounded.
How could he know the Emperor wanted him to work?
He didn’t know how to work!
But fortunately, the late Emperor’s interests weren’t in court affairs, so personnel appointments were relatively stable.
He Xuan had the luck of a fool. He pretended to flip through a few pages and actually found Wang Wan on the list in one glance, along with the department he was in.
He Xuan let out a small “Ah.”
His tiny expression didn’t escape Ying Xi’s eyes.
“Who was it?”
“Su… Su Bei.”
The Prime Minister of the Yuantai Emperor, and Su Xueyi’s father.
“Are you very familiar with Su Bei?” Ying Xi pursued.
He Xuan replied, “I’m not very familiar. He is my uncle-in-law. But my aunt passed away long ago, so there’s little contact between the two families.”
In this way, He Xuan was actually related to Su Xueyi.
Ying Xi raised his voice, “How come I haven’t heard you mention this before?”
He Xuan thought to himself: The man is the top talent in Chang’an, arrogant to begin with and looking down on me. I didn’t have the face to mention it.
He Xuan said timidly, “My aunt was strict in teaching her children and was a harsh person. If one didn’t advance in their studies, the ruler would immediately follow. I was not a scholar, and having feared my aunt since childhood, I never dared to move.”
Punish me.
Let me be driven by you…
A scene suddenly surfaced before his eyes: under that tree in the Shanglin Garden, Su Xueyi looking up at him.
That look was fanatical and worshipful, a burning obsession. Yet, considering his identity as the Prime Minister of Great Qin, what he did was somewhat desolate.
Ying Xi: “I see.”
He had already plucked the target of the Su family out of the complex situation. Among these noble opposition factions, perhaps Su Bei was the leader.
The Yuantai Emperor’s Prime Minister, Su Bei.
Ying Xi sneered. Nothing good came from that dog Emperor’s court.
A hand reached out from the rocking chair. Ying Xi closed his eyes and rocked. His skin was snowy white; He Xuan felt as if he saw the moon.
“Go on.”
He Xuan slowly regained his soul. “This official takes his leave. Takes his leave.”
“He Xuan.”
He Xuan’s hair stood on end. “Does Your Majesty have further instructions???”
Ying Xi’s reminder carried a hint of pressure, saying faintly, “Perform the duties of your position. You must be a good Supervisor of the Secret Repository.”
An autumn breeze swirled, and He Xuan was drenched in cold sweat like needles, soaking into his skin.
After considering for two days, Ying Xi decided he could tentatively take a step back, but not out of fear of anyone.
He wanted to reduce the friction in the court.
The noble families had their own properties spread across the four seas. Thundering methods should only be used when necessary.
He would carefully analyze everyone’s remonstrances.
Chen Wanjing said that canceling public recommendations would lead to people of virtue being buried.
Ying Xi admitted that some people were good at practical affairs but not at exams.
He wanted to find a balance.
The Shangshu Bureau.
Ying Xi sat in the main seat, Su Xueyi was below him, and court officials from various departments were lined up.
Although this court meeting wasn’t a grand one, the scale of discussion was sufficient.
Ying Xi entered the topic:
“As you dear ministers know, I intend to fully implement the imperial examination. You should have also heard that Li Yilong lost the people’s hearts and was sent to me by the people of the new capital; he is still doing hard labor in the Imperial City.”
“But the censors told me that the candidates recommended have either high moral character or specialized skills.”
“The public recommendation system gives more people a path to enter officialdom.”
Hearing this, some people secretly breathed a long sigh of relief.
The Emperor seemed to have the intention to compromise.
That was right; the monarch’s prestige had already reached its peak. Why bother with more trouble?
“We second the motion,” the officials said.
Su Xueyi sneered inwardly. The Emperor must have something more to say; this was just the groundwork.
Sure enough, Ying Xi continued, “The candidates brought forward by public recommendation must still participate in an exam. The questions will be drafted by me and the Ministry of Rites, with the difficulty being lower than the imperial examination.”
“This will ensure that those with both virtue and talent enter the court.”
“What do you all think?”
After Ying Xi finished, the Shangshu Bureau suddenly fell into silence.
Although the opposition hadn’t stood up to state their position, everyone felt as if a knife had been stabbed into their hearts.
The Emperor’s new tricks were always caught them off guard.
And they couldn’t exactly answer: “Your Majesty, we disagree; the people we recommend cannot complete your assessment.”
Ying Xi secretly curled his lips.
After a moment of silence, an official stepped forward and said, “I wonder how Your Majesty will set the examination questions?”
Ying Xi’s gaze narrowed.
He realized that his progress might encounter obstacles. He answered broadly, “Governance, civil administration, criminal law—shouldn’t an official know these things?”
“If the questions are too hard, they will weed out talent; if they are too simple, they are meaningless.”
“Since they are entering officialdom through recommendation, they should be assessed on the content they are good at.”
“If the questions are split, setting them becomes a burden.”
“The more people involved in the questions, the more the examination papers will become a mere formality.”
“Why must Your Majesty trouble yourself so?”
“…”
By muddying the waters, the matter couldn’t be done.
The ones currently remaining in the Shangshu Bureau were all old foxes.
Even if they didn’t explicitly voice opposition, they would make it so the topic couldn’t proceed.
Ying Xi finally saw it.
The compromise he had considered was of no use. They just wanted to obstruct him.
However, court affairs were complex and didn’t just involve this matter. The discussion shifted elsewhere, from afternoon until night.
Only the reform of the talent selection method remained unmentioned again by unspoken agreement.
“Su Xueyi, see me out.”
“Yes.”
Under the bright moon, the narrow palace path.
The guards followed far behind.
During that time in the Shanglin Garden, Ying Xi had discovered Su Xueyi’s “tastes.” In normal times, Su Xueyi was no different from an ordinary person—his stride was elegant, and his features were outlined with peak grace by the moonlight.
If one hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, one probably wouldn’t believe that underneath his official robes, the Prime Minister of Great Qin might be covered in chains, wearing a collar, and pierced with a bunch of clinking gold rings…
A beast in human clothing.
A refined scoundrel.
Ying Xi got a layer of goosebumps and coughed in the autumn wind.
Su Xueyi smiled and said, “May Your Majesty take care of your dragon body.”
“I hit a snag. Are you particularly proud?” Ying Xi raised his voice.
“This servant is always on your side. Your Majesty’s words are heavy.” Su Xueyi’s lips curled slightly. “If Your Majesty has a need, command me; let me be driven by you. I will solve all problems for you.”
Su Xueyi’s exchange conditions were not that simple.
“Commanding” was not in the conventional sense.
This made a scene appear in Ying Xi’s mind of them meeting each other naked.
Su Xueyi was kneeling before him, his long fingers cupping his ankle, his toes pressing against his Adam’s apple, which rolled roundly. It was an unbearable itch.
“Your Majesty.”
“Command me. Punish me.”
“Then I will satisfy you, whether in affairs of state or in bed.”
Like a ghost haunting him, Su Xueyi was an upgraded version of the Yuantai Emperor.
Ying Xi shuddered violently.
He suddenly realized that he wanted to be treated gently and couldn’t accept any complex or twisted lust.
Ying Xi took a long breath.
—”Do you want to die!?”
“I love you,” Su Xueyi smiled.
“Su Bei directed the censors to trip me up. Your father, a former Prime Minister, can still stir up such trouble. One can see how many people behind him are working together.”
“Believe it or not, if you don’t extract yourself soon, I’ll bury you and Su Bei in the ancestral grave at the same time.”
Ying Xi usually had a majestic air without being angry, so it was rare for him to truly be angry.
When he was truly angry, his eyes were colored with vivid life, making him incredibly likable.
Su Xueyi lost control and said, “Guard Lang, the Prime Minister is having a profound discussion on state affairs with His Majesty. You all move further away.”
Lang Xun and the others didn’t suspect anything. The court hadn’t been peaceful lately, and they wished they could avoid getting involved.
The guards hurriedly dispersed.
They didn’t even wait for Ying Xi to call them back. Ying Xi’s lips were covered by Su Xueyi’s palm. The scent of ink mixed with white sandalwood.
His lips rubbed against the palm.
Su Xueyi groaned softly.
Ying Xi resisted the urge to give him a slap to make him even “happier,” but his wrist was caught by Su Xueyi. In return, Su Xueyi licked the inside of his wrist, his tongue sliding toward the inner part of his forearm.
A fatal itch crawled up Ying Xi’s spine.
The stimulation was accompanied by a physiological revulsion. Ying Xi’s eyes welled with unshed tears; he was once again in a dilemma.
Su Xueyi’s gaze was glazed. “Your Majesty, the Su family is illustrious in the eyes of others, but to me, it is vulnerable. I hold the Su family’s weakness; using me is your most effective chance to seize power.”
“But I am a man,” Su Xueyi said agonizingly.
Ying Xi’s reflection was mirrored in his eyes.
He lifted Ying Xi’s finger and kissed it gently by his lips, his lips rubbing against the knuckle as if he were skin-starved.
“Your Majesty, you surpass the ants of the world and most suit my heart. You are forever high above and unreachable. Now is my only chance to be close to you—I can sacrifice the entire Su family to love you.”
“You dare threaten me?”
“No, I am pursuing you.”
Su Xueyi was devout and deeply affectionate.
But his eyes were full of the ruthlessness of a calculating man. Being entangled by him was like attracting a ghost that wouldn’t go away!
It was a headache; it was suffocating.
Ying Xi suddenly pushed him hard. He found the other was immovable; Su Xueyi had a physical foundation no less than that of a martial general.
Su Xueyi laughed softly, revealing his muscle-covered arms under his official robes. “Your Majesty, look, actually I can also lead troops in war. You and I are a perfect match—am I not the one you should choose?”
…
……
“System!”
Ying Xi’s voice changed from anger.
The Sweetie System came out, saying excitedly, [Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I’m here, I’m here~]
—”How much money do I have to pay to get rid of this ghost!”
The Sweetie System rubbed its hands with a hiss, almost drooling. [Not to mention the fact that true favorability cannot be dropped; the more you resist, the more he’ll entangle you.]
[You want a pure workhorse, but he wants a stable relationship. I suggest you just give in; I think he’s quite direct and exciting.]
Discussing cutting off romantic ties with a system that was always trying to trick him into falling in love was impossible.
Ying Xi stopped talking.
Fortunately, Ying Xi was somewhat prepared. He pulled a silk handkerchief from his sleeve and draped it over Su Xueyi’s head. While the other was once again lost in his own world, he left the man behind in the palace.
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