Tl note: I absolutely love it when people leave comments on my posts, it shows me they appreciate my translations! As a way to say thank you, I am releasing this extra chapter this week. Thanks so much for reading, VCM!
The imperial examination was an important way for countless students in ancient times to enter officialdom and break through social classes. It provided an opportunity for poor students to compete with aristocratic children.
Ge Yu was a spoiled son of a small aristocratic family in Changnan. He had no interest in learning and spent his days with his friends indulging in frivolous activities. His father was angry at his lack of talent, but since he was an only child, he had no choice but to find a way to help him.
Ge Yu’s family had some connections, so he managed to scrape by in the imperial examination. When his friends asked about his success, he simply pointed to the sky and said, “My father has connections up there.”
Everyone understood what he meant and laughed it off as they continued drinking.
On the day of the imperial examination, Ge Yu’s parents packed his bags for him and repeatedly urged him not to be too nervous. Ge Yu was surprisingly relaxed, as he had already obtained the exam questions and had someone else write the answers for him. All he had to do was copy them during the exam.
So Ge Yu hummed a tune and left lightly, passing through the entrance check without any problem and sitting in the seat in the partition. As soon as the exam paper was handed out, he took a look at it and immediately understood everything, without any mistakes. He discreetly pulled out his cheat sheet and quickly copied it down before submitting his paper early.
The servant waiting outside saw him come out and asked, “Young master, have you finished already?”
Ge Yu stretched lazily and moved his limbs before calling the servant, “Come, let’s go drink flower wine.”
Ever since Shen Fengyue completed the plan of “inducing miscarriage and framing someone,” he had been much more relaxed. He no longer had to pretend to be pregnant, which was fantastic!
He was liberated, but the system suffered. Emperor Chu seemed determined to comfort him, so he stayed overnight in Guangju Palace and frequently used his skills to exhaust the system. Shen Fengyue had been awakened many times by the system’s sleep talk in the middle of the night.
Countless words boiled down to one sentence: chop off Emperor Chu’s little treasure.
Shen Fengyue, “…” After thinking about it, he turned over and continued sleeping, not wanting to disturb the system.
On this day, Shen Fengyue was sunbathing on the swing in the courtyard while eating a bowl of ice, and he ordered the people to leave when Eunuch Shen came.
“Why did Eunuch Shen come today?” He spooned a mouthful of fruit into his mouth, chewing while looking up at him with his face turned towards the sun. The bright sunshine shone on his fair skin, and his lips looked rosy due to eating an ice bowl, sparkling with a watery light in the sunlight.
The sunlight was shining so brightly that it made Eunuch Shen squint his eyes as he calmly replied, “Your Majesty, I come here every day.”
“…” Shen Fengyue paused his scooping action, suddenly losing his appetite. He wanted to put the bowl down, but he had dismissed all the palace servants, and there was nothing around to put it on, also it was not good to put it on the ground.
There was only Eunuch Shen around and he definitely didn’t want to ask for help from Eunuch Shen, as he had some kind of aversion towards him.
Eunuch Shen seemed to understand his intention and smiled, his gaze resting on the bowl of ice.
Shen Fengyue noticed and lifted the bowl, asking, “Do you want it?”
Eunuch Shen replied directly, “Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty.”
“…” Shen Fengyue hadn’t even agreed to give it to him yet!
“If you want to eat it, I’ll have the kitchen make you a fresh one, not just my leftovers,” Shen Fengyue said.
Eunuch Shen responded, “To receive Your Majesty’s grace, even if it’s leftover food or vomit, it’s still the greatest gift.”
“…” Shen Fengyue rolled his eyes inwardly. Ugh, that’s disgusting.
He held the bowl of ice in his hand and glared at Eunuch Shen.
Eunuch Shen stepped forward, slightly crouched, and extended his hands in front of him.
Shen Fengyue placed the ice bowl about five centimeters above his palm and released his hand, allowing the bowl to land securely in Eunuch Shen’s hand.
He held the ice bowl without eating it, just standing there holding it in his palm.
Shen Fengyue knew he was being teased again, but he didn’t want to continue with him on this topic, so he decisively changed the subject, “Is there something you need to tell me today, Eunuch Shen?”
“His Majesty sent me to inform Your Majesty that he’s afraid he won’t be able to come and accompany you today,” Eunuch Shen said calmly, his fingers stroking the edge of the bowl.
“What’s the matter that’s holding him up?” Old man Chu’s presence was not important, but the information contained in Eunuch Shen’s words was important.
“There was a big incident in the court,” Eunuch Shen said calmly.
He paused at the right moment, waiting for Shen Fengyue’s response, but to his surprise, Shen Fengyue had already started swinging on the swing and did not seem to take him seriously. He could only continue saying, “It was an exam cheating scandal.”
“Eunuch Shen speaks like squeezing toothpaste. Can’t you say it all at once?” Shen Fengyue swung higher and higher on the swing, and the wind he created lifted his tied-up hair.
Eunuch Shen obeyed and spoke honestly without playing tricks, “This year’s imperial examination papers had multiple copies of identical answers. The Emperor suspected that some questions had leaked, so he became angry and immediately sent people to investigate. It turned out that one of the examiners had leaked the questions. And there was a man in the common people who specialized in answering questions for others. Coincidentally, the cheating examinees found the same person to answer their questions.”
Shen Fengyue laughed, “This is interesting.”
“What’s even more coincidental is that the examiner who leaked the questions was a student of the current Prime Minister, Wei Yunping.”
The sound of shoes rubbing against the ground rang out, and Shen Fengyue forcefully hit the brake with one foot and listened attentively.
“The Emperor called the Prime Minister to the study for a scolding. Coincidentally, the Empress came to deliver something and pleaded for the Prime Minister. So the Emperor scolded both the Empress and the Prime Minister.”
This ‘delivery of goods’ scenario sounded familiar. It was probably the Empress, who went to plead for mercy.
Shen Fengyue could even imagine Emperor Chu’s angry expression. He imitated his tone, lowered his voice, blew his beard, and stared, “I am really disappointed in all of you!”
Eunuch Shen cooperated with him and presented the ice bowl, “Your Majesty, please calm down.”
As Shen Fengyue grabbed the ice bowl and was about to throw it like Emperor Chu, he suddenly remembered something and put it back in Eunuch Shen’s hand. He raised his eyebrows, turned his eyes cleverly, and bent his thumb, “The Prime Minister has fallen.”
Eunuch Shen nodded.
Then he bent his index finger, “The Empress has also fallen.”
“Then who is next?” He looked at Eunuch Shen.
Eunuch Shen said, “Imperial Concubine, let’s meet at the east wall at midnight tonight. This slave has something to give to Imperial Concubine.”
“Why don’t you give it to this palace now?”
Eunuch Shen shrugged innocently, “I didn’t bring it with me.”
Shen Fengyue sneered and impatiently waved his hand to signal him to leave. Eunuch Shen achieved his goal and had other tasks to do. Although he wanted to stay longer with the Imperial Concubine, she seemed completely uninterested, so he decisively left.
After Eunuch Shen left, Shen Fengyue continued to swing on the swing, which swayed in the air. He said to the system, “Brother System, we’re going to deal with Emperor Chu next.”
There was no sound from the system in his mind, only the sound of continuous drinking.
“System?”
After drinking a few more mouthfuls of alcohol, the system finally calmed down, and data began to fluctuate. There were countless things it wanted to say, but all that came out was a flat “Mm.”
Shen Fengyue asked, “Are you not happy?”
The system replied, “I’m happy.”
Shen Fengyue didn’t notice the abnormality of the system and continued to explain to it, “Based on my experience from the previous few times, I found that there is an 80% chance that killing of the original body was because of the bug. But in this world, we have too many enemies, and there are too many people who want to kill us. I can’t be precise to an individual, so we’ll just kill everyone and we’ll eventually find the right person.”
The system’s nerves were numbed by alcohol and it agreed with Shen Fengyue’s convoluted conclusion. They agreed to meet at midnight to carry out their plan.
The system, excited and unable to sleep, drank and squatted until midnight. As soon as the clock struck twelve, it loudly woke up Shen Fengyue.
“Let’s go, Shen Fengyue!”
Shen Fengyue put on a thin black robe, let his hair down, and, relying on his familiarity with the layout of Guangju Palace, he sneaked out past the palace servants.
