Yi Lu's hand was exposed

  A low rumble of thunder rolled over the empty temple's rooftop, and a faint drizzle began to fall.

  Deathly silence spread both inside and outside the temple, everyone's silence seemed to be astonished at the same thing: The Grand Secretary of the Imperial Court?

  Never had a title like this before, it's going to be given separately to this woman.

  Is this representing His Majesty's intention to bestow imperial favor on this woman?

  It's strange. If you really want to pamper, it would be fine to directly grant a talented person to enter the palace, and then slowly promote her to a concubine, and then slowly promote her to an empress. However, although Hua Xiyan is the eldest daughter of the prestigious Hua family in White Chang country, with this identity, when she comes to Dongling, compared to other noble women who are full of aura, she would not stand out at all. Being able to enter the palace and being granted a talented person first is already quite good.

  Li Shunde thought: The emperor's mind is getting harder to grasp. Let's take a look at Gong Xiangru, the elder brother of Empress Gong, who should be the most concerned about the emperor's favor towards other women. However, he only saw Gong Xiangru quietly and calmly, as usual, with a deeper thought in his heart than the emperor.

  Because the rain was dripping down quietly, it was quiet to the point where only the sound of small wooden blocks hitting each other could be heard in the temple. This little foodie who usually clings to his mother, for some reason, slept like a pig tonight without any sense of crisis despite such a big event happening.

  In Hua Yu Yan's eyes, her son could sleep so well tonight, beyond her expectation. The hand she stretched out did not wake him up.

  Her calm face and lowered eyebrows were suddenly different from when she was loudly arguing with someone. Similarly, in Li Shunde's eyes, she had a kind of momentum whether she was quiet or loud, a sharp and majestic momentum that was not inferior to that of the imperial family.

  Li Zimo glanced at her face, and her eyes sparkled like a calm lake. She said to Gong Xiangru: "Gong Qing, hold the child."

  "I obey your order." Gong Xiangru hurried forward, stretched out his hand, and reached over Hua Xiyan's hand to pick up the sleeping Xiao Mu.

  The little thing fell into his arms, struggled for a moment, and then stopped moving, as if it had caught a pleasant scent on him. Its little nose even nuzzled closer to him, muttering in its sleep, "Did Mother apply perfume?"

  Gong Xiangru pulled the corner of her lips, and heard Yi Feng's low laugh behind her. She had to take out a piece of clothing to wrap the child in it first, so as not to catch a chill, then headed outside with the child in her arms and got into the carriage.

  Lu Cui was still asleep due to the anesthesia and hadn't woken up. Li Shun De instructed two people to carry her out. Finally, he turned to Hua Xi Yan and said: "Miss Hua, let's go."

  Her slender eyebrows slightly raised, she saw the dragon's face nearby but it didn't rush to leave, as if waiting for her response.

  She had just figured it out in her mind, previously she had no idea about the origin of her son, now she came up with a theory that he was from the God's tribe bloodline, every sentence made sense, which shocked her. Perhaps, this person, might be her son's father? Even if he wasn't her son's father, based on his words, her son and the Dongling royal family were probably connected somehow.

  Without investigating thoroughly, she and her son might fall into crisis at any time. Just think about it, that young prince Li Dongyuan wasn't being chased to death by a group of people before?

  For now, staying by this person's side and using their intelligence to investigate carefully before making a move might be the best strategy.

  Having thought it through, she turned around, knocked her head on the ground: "The commoner's wife thanks the master for his great kindness."

  "Get up."

  A faint voice, but with a complex tone, as if thinking that if she had resisted, it would have proven that she still had some weaknesses, but now she suddenly obeyed, completely after careful consideration, wondering what scheme was hidden in her heart.

  Her eyes narrowed, as if saying: I'm waiting for you to continue playing tricks.

  The sound of clothes rustling came from beside my ear, and a group of people's footsteps hurriedly went out.

  Huā Yùyán knelt down and stood up, not forgetting the silver coins she had accumulated with great difficulty. She hid her purse well and followed Lǐ Shùndé out of the broken temple. The raindrops facing her splashed onto her face, feeling a cool breeze.

  This rain is really timely, giving him an excuse to take her and her son away. Even the heavens are helping him.

  Her eyebrows furrowed, and Li Shunde lifted the 62nd chapter for her.

  Sun Aunt could only think that, in fact, Empress Hu disliked the palace people who competed with her for the favor of the previous emperor and the current emperor, her son. Who let the palace people gain the favor of the previous emperor and the current emperor by serving as officials in the previous dynasty, becoming the confidants of two generations?

  Cursing those useless imperial physicians, the well-cooked Chinese medicine was sent over. Empress Hu was suffering terribly and could only close her eyes and drink this treatment that only treated the symptoms but not the root cause. After drinking the medicine, her mouth felt bitter and unbearable, and a mouthful of brown liquid was spat out into the spittoon again. Sun GuGu looked on anxiously, and had no choice but to keep patting Empress Hu's back.

  Empress Hu closed her eyes for a while, feeling a bit more spirited. She grasped one of her hands: "Tell me, did the Emperor go out of the palace tonight?"

  Aunt Sun nodded her head under her gaze.

  "What was he doing sneaking out of the palace at midnight?" Empress Hu's eyebrows furrowed into a knot.

  "Your Majesty, I originally wanted to send someone to sneak into the Yongning Palace again. However, as you know, the Emperor is too cautious and has taken back control of personnel for the Yongning Palace and Guangyang Palace since the death of the Empress Dowager. Every new person who enters the Emperor's and Crown Prince's living quarters must be personally vetted by the Emperor."

  "This is clear. There's no need to say more about him. He said that as long as he handled the previous dynasty well, there was no need for His Majesty to bother with palace affairs. But he actually didn't listen to me and did whatever he wanted. I don't know how to praise him, but it's precisely this kind of personality that was favored by the previous emperor." Empress Hu spoke contradictorily.

  Aunt Sun could only listen all the way and couldn't interrupt.

  "Alright, alright," said Empress Hu. "I just heard you mention that Zhang Gonggong, who serves the Crown Prince, has been acting suspiciously lately. I also heard from several ministers when they came to pay their respects to me that the Emperor's temper has been fluctuating and he seems to have something on his mind. So I told you to keep an eye on what's going on in the palace. The Emperor went out at midnight, but as long as he came back, it's fine."

  The empress's last words made Sun's eyes flicker, and her concerns deepened.

  "One night of rain and dew, for the emperor, is a common occurrence. The previous emperor occasionally went out to relieve his boredom, even when Ah-Jia was old and faded, he would sometimes leave the palace, and have someone bring her back in too. Ah-Jia never took it to heart. Moreover, His Majesty is still strong and vigorous, and the empress passed away early, Ah-Jia had long been urging him to take a new empress. It's just that not anyone can become an empress."

  "The Empress Dowager is right."

  "Go ahead, I'm going to take a nap."

  The eunuch carefully helped her tuck in the corner of the quilt, and then dared not retreat. After walking less than a few steps, she suddenly heard Empress Hu say behind her back: "Find someone to figure out whether the Emperor brought a woman back to the palace or not."

  "The slave and servant will think of ways to make people listen."

  "Don't disturb His Majesty. Perhaps if we don't ask, tomorrow will bring clarity." The Empress Dowager's low, piercing gaze flashed like lightning.

  Aunt Sun looked on with a mixture of shock and fear.

  Empress Hu's lips curled up, and a gentle smile overflowed from her voice as she sighed: "After all, he is my son. In the past when he wanted to make Palace House girl his empress, I didn't oppose it. If another woman had caught his eye, our family would have gone along with his wishes too. As long as he's happy."

  Aunt Sun's heart was extremely tense. If Emperor Lei Zimo had the intention to establish another heir, and if Empress Dowager followed Emperor Lei Zimo's will, what would happen to this country, this court in the future?

  "What are you thinking?"

  She stood there absent-mindedly, to the point where the empress dowager looked at her without noticing anything. Aunt Sun's palms were sweating, and she hurriedly smiled: "Your Majesty, I was just lost in thought, thinking that if Empress Wang knew what was happening on earth from underground..."

  "It's also true that, logically speaking, the imperial family should be the most anxious, but why don't they seem to have any reaction." Empress Hu furrowed her brow deeply.

  Gong Xiangru personally carried Xiao Mu down from the car and into a well-decorated room. This was one of the rooms in Yongning Hall. Li Shunde had someone change into new bedding, so that Little Treasure could sleep comfortably on it. Taking a glance at this child who could fall asleep anywhere like a pig, Li Shunde clicked his tongue in wonder: "This child is really something else, their adaptability is too good."

  Even so, Gong Xiangru thought of the promise he had made to others and was worried that Xiaohuang would be heartbroken if he didn't see his mother when he woke up. He decided to stay here for a night, so he said to Li Shunde: "Please trouble Li Gonggong to send someone to inform my mother at home, I won't go back tonight."

  "Zajia went to send someone over to Gong's house." Li Shunde smiled and bowed his hands, "Gong sir has worked hard."

  Seeing him about to leave, Gong Xiangru furrowed his brow and asked in a chasing voice: "Do you know where Miss Yan is sleeping tonight?"

  "It depends on how the Emperor arranges it." Li Shunde said in a low voice.

  Perhaps it was Li Zimo, who had been lonely for many years, suddenly came up with a whim tonight, wanting women to serve him on the dragon bed, which is also reasonable.

  Hua Yu Yan didn't have as many thoughts as others did. She and the dog emperor had almost gotten into a fight in the carriage just now, and it was likely that they would blow up the house if they stayed together for an evening.

  Returning to the palace, serving the emperor got off the carriage. Li Zimo walked into the bedroom of Yongning Hall. A row of eunuchs and palace maids had been waiting for a long time, ready to serve him to bed.

  Li Zimo saw her following him, but standing at the door without entering, and called out: "Yan Shangshu, come in!"

  Huā Yù Yán walked a few steps into the house and saw that there were palace maids holding clothes, which meant he was going to change. His apricot-like eyes rounded: Was he actually going to prepare to undress in front of her?

  He was originally prepared to go around the screen and let the eunuch attend to his change of clothes, but he happened to catch a glimpse of her expression out of the corner of his eye, and a hint of slyness flashed across his ink-like eyes as he said, "Yan Shangshu, wasn't it you who was supposed to be serving me?"

  Hua Yu Nian pulled her leg and wanted to leave immediately.

  His low laughter with a hint of evilness came over: "They're all mothers of children, not some innocent young girls."

  Her fist clenched in her hand, enduring.

  A piece of clothing was thrown onto her head, which was bowed at a ninety-degree angle: "Hold this for me. I'll wash it and then sleep."

  All she heard was a splash of water, and Hua Xiyue took off the cloak covering her head, seeing two rows of palace maids standing in front of her, with a large screen behind them. Behind the screen, she could vaguely see someone's shadow. She immediately turned her face away.

  "Yan Shangshu, didn't you just read a book for me in the carriage? Continue reading."

  She was taking a bath, and yet she had to recite books. It's not easy to disturb people. Her eyes closed for a moment, recalling the words she had just recited in the carriage, reciting them word by word. It's strange to think that such difficult ancient texts might have been written by ancient people to rhyme well, but she recited them with ease. She only recited halfway when she suddenly felt a strange atmosphere in the room. Opening her eyes and taking a look, she saw those palace maids and eunuchs who had originally hung their heads, all raised their eyes to stare at her, with an expression of extreme surprise on their faces.

  Did she recite incorrectly? No, not only did she not recite incorrectly, but her recitation was also very good. A sudden thought occurred to her and she stopped mid-sentence, saying: "I am an uneducated woman, the emperor's book is not something I can read clearly, I can only recite up to this point, please forgive me."

  The person immersed in the bathtub behind the screen seemed to have not heard her speak for a long time, and when she bit her lip, his low voice said: "There is a room next door, go sleep."

  He was willing to let her go, regardless of what he thought, she couldn't ask for more, thanked him and quickly walked away.

  Her footsteps passed through the screen and into his ears, causing him to raise an eyebrow: Why was she in such a hurry? It wasn't that she was really afraid of him. Nor was it that she wasn't afraid of him at all. His dark eyes were like the increasingly intense night color sinking into the ocean.

  Later, Huayu learned from Li Shunde that her son had a palace maid named Xiangru accompanying him to sleep, and she felt at ease. As a result, she might have been exhausted during the day and half of the night, and slept soundly until dawn that night.

  The knocking sound in the palace woke her up early. After getting up and combing her hair, she saw a new set of clothes placed on the chair, which should be for her to wear today. The clothes in this palace, no matter how exquisite the fabric is, will become ordinary after wearing them a few times. Like her son, she is a person with super strong adaptability.

  A palace maid came in, bringing water for her to wash her face on the orders of Li Shunde, and helping her get dressed. Li Shunde brought over some breakfast to see her. She asked about their arrangements for her son. Li Shunde reassured her: "The Emperor has ordered that young master be a study companion for the Crown Prince. He is reading with the Crown Prince in Guangyang Hall."

  Let her son go to school? That's a good idea. It helped her solve a big problem.

  "Yan Shangshu, finish your breakfast quickly. The Emperor will not be attending the morning court today and will only receive a few high-ranking officials. The Emperor wants you to serve by his side."

  Li Zimo was a wise and capable ruler, but also a ruler with a peculiar temperament. His style of governance was unconventional and different from that of his predecessors. For example, he disliked attending daily morning court sessions to receive the homage of a large group of ministers, considering these rituals too cumbersome and inefficient for the emperor's work.

  Such an emperor, if placed in modern times as a CEO, would probably be quite good. He seems to be a practical person. Huajiu Yan couldn't help but compare him in her heart.

  She walked to the neighboring office, and after entering, she saw that several ministers were already kneeling on the ground motionless. She carefully wiped past these people and stood beside the desk. Li Shunde across from her made eye contact, wanting her to grind ink. She picked up the ink block and started grinding it vertically in circles on the inkstone.

  Inside the house, all was quiet and still, with only her grinding ink sound, gentle and unhurried, blending into the quiet air, harmonious to the point of being striking.

  He lowered his eyes to glance at the crowd of officials paying their respects, and couldn't help but steal a look at her profile, only to find that the ugly scar on her face was surprisingly becoming.

  "Long live our Emperor, may he live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, and ten thousand more."

  "Get up, everyone."

  "Thanks for your kindness."

  The six attendants stood up, completed their rituals and divided into two rows of three on each side.

  Hua Yuezhu didn't recognize a single one of these ministers.

  The ministers have old, middle-aged and young people. There are two elderly officials, three middle-aged officials, and one young official who is about the same age as Gong. This age combination is also reasonable for a minister who can meet with the emperor to discuss matters.

  He casually picked up a folded paper, opened it and glanced over it. It was probably something he had read before. He read out loud: "Zhu Er Kang."

  "I am here." Chapter 62: Frugality to the Extreme

  Inside the house, all that was left was Zhu Er's pale face like a pig's liver and his stuttering: "Th-th-this..."

  "Bang!" The imperial edict was slapped onto Zhu Yu's head. "What is the meaning of this! Zhu Qing, are you intentionally deceiving me?"

  "Your Majesty, forgive me! I, I was just—"

  "An imperial compiler, I think your brain is filled with straw instead of books!"

  Long Wei was shaken inside the house for a long time, and Zhu Er Kang was on the verge of death. The remaining few ministers had eyes that were flickering with uncertainty.

  Zhu Er Kang was indeed deserving of his fate. However, the woman who had exposed the secret... When it comes to this cotton craft, if one is not very familiar with the situation, they would definitely be unable to explain it clearly, and even more so, be able to provide specific numbers, discuss storage management, and other such matters. This is certainly not something that ordinary commoners can accomplish. At the very least, one needs to have some level of education, and it could even be said that one has the basic skills required to hold office, as well as having had experience in holding office. Otherwise, how would one be able to summarize and articulate their thoughts so clearly and logically, without any flaws or inconsistencies? As a result, after Zhu Er Kang was dealt with, the several officials inside the house, including Zhang Ming and others, couldn't help but feel shocked and amazed by what Hua Xi Yan had just said.

  Who is this woman?

  As soon as there was a slight movement inside the palace, it wouldn't take long for the news to spread outside and reach the ears of the officials in the imperial court. Because any official who wasn't afraid of being stripped of their official hat would have done so. As for Zhu Er Kang's experience, the officials thought that this lawsuit was truly a joke. Not to mention that his shallow learning was exposed in public, as long as Li Zi Mo had someone investigate, the truth would eventually come to light. So, it could only be said that Zhu Er Kang, unwilling to stay in the Hanlin Academy doing clerical work, dared to make a false report to get transferred and gain more power, but ultimately ended up shooting himself in the foot.

  Of course, soon everyone's attention was no longer on Zhūlè Kōng, this completely harmless clown, but rather the woman who had just exposed Zhūlè Kōng's fake learning in front of Shèng, and whom Shèng called Yuàn Shàngshū.

  Yongshou Palace, Empress Hu got up late at night because she didn't sleep well. When she got out of bed, it was almost noon. Her maid, Sun, helped her get dressed. Last night, Empress Hu seemed to have thought things through and told her: "Write a letter for me and send it to the residence of Princess Chang. If I personally take care of this matter, His Majesty will surely be displeased again. It's better to let Princess Chang handle this."

  Sun Aunt then took up her pen and wrote a letter according to her wishes.

  A palace maid rushed in from outside and whispered something to Aunt Sun, who paused with her brush in hand and looked back at Empress Hu with a shocked expression: "Your Majesty—"

  Empress Hu's eyebrows furrowed, but then she smiled: "Just right. I can take a look at what kind of woman you are."