I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 285 I'm late
Chu Shangming sighed helplessly; he did want to.

He recounted the whole story, then shrugged and said, "Youmiao didn't want me to beg His Majesty, and I was afraid of hurting her in a rash move, so I had no choice but to agree."

"This girl has been resourceful since she was little," Chu's father remarked, looking at the portrait.

Bai asked, "How does your eldest sister look?"

"Not bad, quite rosy." Chu Shangming wasn't a doctor, so he couldn't say much more.

"Big brother, you didn't even know to hide Sister." Chu Yuxin pouted, looking at her brother unhappily. "We can take Sister home after the emperor leaves."

Chu Shangming: "..."

Do you think this is a mud doll?

"Don't talk nonsense." Madam Bai patted her little girl's head. "The food is getting cold, hurry up and eat."

"Oh." Chu Yuxin puffed out her cheeks, which were red from crying, and buried her head in her food.

Chu Shangming placed a piece of food on her plate and said to his father and Bai Shi, "There's one more thing. I need to report to the Ministry of Revenue tomorrow, and I'll be living at home from now on."

Bai paused in his scroll-rolling motion, then looked at his son with surprise: "You got it?"

"Yes." Chu Shangming nodded. "Thanks to Youmiao."

Father Chu hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

Chu Yuxin also looked up, her cheeks bulging, as she chewed her food.

"His Highness Prince Xiao said in his letter that You Miao had saved the Emperor a few days ago, and she used that merit to give me this opportunity." Chu Shangming recalled the contents of the letter and spoke with difficulty.

He felt deeply ashamed of his incompetence as the older brother.

He was captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and needed his sister to find a way to rescue him; he also needed his sister to earn merit in exchange for a job in the Ministry of Revenue.

Otherwise, based on her merit in saving the emperor, Youmiao would already be out of the palace and reunited with her family.

He thought of the Bai family and Chu's father as well.

"I'll go boil some water." Bai got up and left, her steps hurried, almost tripping over the kitchen threshold.

"Mother!" Chu Shangming got up and wanted to chase after her, but his father grabbed him.

The kitchen door slammed shut.

With a forceful pull, Chu's father led Chu Shangming back to his seat, where he heard the splashing water from the kitchen, mixed with soft sobs.

"Your mother has always been troubled by the matter of Youmiao entering the palace. Let her have some peace and quiet." Father Chu raised his hand to wipe his face and sighed heavily. "It's all my fault. I came back too late."

Chu Shangming stammered, "Please don't say that. You had no choice."

"Let's not talk about it anymore." Father Chu reached out and patted his son's shoulder. "Don't let You Miao's hard work go to waste. Work hard in the Ministry of Revenue, so you can protect You Miao more when she leaves the palace in the future."

Chu Shangming replied, "Mm."

"Don't get hung up on this." Father Chu poured him a bowl of wine and placed the peanuts on the table in front of him. "Although you were able to go to the Ministry of Revenue because of You Miao, the fact that Prince Xiao wrote to you specifically shows that he really values ​​you. Otherwise, why would he bother to say anything?"

Chu Shangming picked up the bowl and took a big gulp.

The rice wine was cloudy, with a weak flavor and a slightly sweet taste.

Chu Yuxin blinked her big eyes and stared at the two of them.

Father Chu patted his little girl's head, urging her to continue eating, and looked at his son, saying, "Tell me, besides you, who else did His Highness Prince Xiao choose?"

"And there's Brother Pei and the young master of the Yan family," Chu Shangming said. "Just the three of us."

"Only three people." Father Chu picked up a peanut and popped it into his mouth, then asked, "Which family is the Yan family?"

Chu Shangming looked at his father and uttered three words: "Grand Tutor's Mansion".

Father Chu nearly spat out the peanuts he had chewed, coughing as he exclaimed, "My goodness, such a high-ranking official!"

Chu Shangming nodded in agreement.

Of the three, he had neither family background nor connections, and his knowledge was not outstanding, which is why he thought that King Xiao chose him because of his younger sister.

At the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Chu Liuzheng kept sneezing because of the constant talking, and even rubbed his nose until it turned red.

Xiao Anzi asked with concern, "Miss, have you caught a cold?"

Chu Liuzheng waved his hand: "No." Xiao Anzi said: "His Majesty went to Yude Hall and won't be back for a while. It's getting late, so Miss should go back and rest first, and come back to serve you tomorrow morning."

Chu Liuzheng looked up at the sky.

A pale crescent moon hangs in the deep blue sky. The moonlight is hazy, and so is the starlight.

At this time, she could indeed leave work.

Looking out onto the road but seeing no one, Chu Liuzheng thought for a moment and said to Xiao Anzi, "Yu Zhui is ill. I'm going to Yi Ran Yuan to check on her. Please take care of things here."

"Alright, please give my regards to Miss Yuzhui." Xiao Anzi nodded and watched her leave.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation and the Garden of Ease are close to each other, and although lanterns are lit along the way, the lighting is still dim.

A night breeze brushed against my face, carrying the chill of late winter and early spring; it was rather cold.

Chu Liuzheng walked slowly, ignoring the wet and cool mess on his face. Only when he was almost at Yiran Garden did he take out a handkerchief to wipe it clean, and then he walked in with a smile on his lips.

The five people inside the house were chatting and laughing. When they saw her arrive, they all greeted her with smiles.

Seeing that her eyes were a little red, Mo Xiang went up to her and took her hand, her eyes full of concern.

Chu Liuzheng smiled at her: "I've come to see the jade pendant."

"I'm all better now." Yu Zhui leaned against the bed and waved to her. "Was the Imperial Academy fun?"

"The sound of students reading aloud is the kind of place that gives you a headache as soon as you step inside." Chu Liuzheng sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch her forehead. "I told you not to go out in the cold last night. Will you dare to do it again?"

"I won't do it again," Yu Zhui pleaded. "Stop nagging me. Qiao Ru just nagged me for a quarter of an hour."

"You dare call me a nag?" Xia Qiaoru reached out and tickled her. "Who couldn't work today and had to let me cover for them?"

"Hahaha!" Yu Zhui dodged left and right, calling out to Chu Liuzheng for help.

Chu Liuzheng did help, but not to her; he helped Qiaoru tickle her.

Chenxing found it interesting and came over to join in the fun.

Yu Zhui laughed until tears streamed down her face, begging for mercy repeatedly while calling out "sister" and "little sister" incoherently.

"Alright, stop teasing her." Mo Xiang came over and pulled Chen Xing, who was the most enthusiastic one, back down. "She's only just recovered from her illness, how can she withstand this kind of teasing?"

"Since Sister Moxiang has pleaded for you, then we'll let you off this time." Xia Qiaoru poked the jade pendant's waist one last time.

Yu Zhui gave her a weak, reproachful look: "Wait until I'm better, then you'll have to wait."

"Afraid of you?" Xia Qiaoru unfolded the quilt and covered her with it, carefully tucking the corners of the quilt in.

Chu Liuzheng felt thirsty and got up to pour tea at the table. Siyue grabbed her wrist and habitually took her pulse.

Chu Liuzheng tilted his head to look at her.

Siyue calmly withdrew her hand: "There's something dirty on my cuff."

"Oh." Chu Liuzheng smiled and pinched her cheek.

Siyue: "..."

"I want to pinch it too." Chenxing ran over and stretched out her little paw towards Siyue.

Siyue skillfully slapped it away, and Chenxing chased after her, determined to grab it.

The two chased each other while Chu Liuzheng stood by watching the spectacle, his eyes curving into crescents.

Jasmine walked over, rubbed her reddened eyes with her thumb, and said softly, "Did you get sand in your eyes?"

Chu Liuzheng nodded.

Seeing her like this, Mo Xiang patted her face and smiled gently: "It's a good thing to be able to see her."

"Mmm." Chu Liuzheng responded softly, taking her arm and leaning her against his shoulder. "Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Go to sleep if you want," Mo Xiang said. "Your pillow and blankets are all here, as long as you can get up tomorrow morning."

After a difficult decision, Chu Liuzheng decided to sleep in a little longer in the morning, since it was still quite cold.

On the way back, Xia Qiaoru took her hand and said in a low voice, but her joy was hard to hide: "Brother Zhijie asked someone to write me a letter."

Chu Liuzheng paused, then asked seemingly casually, "What did you write?"