I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 464 I Want to Do Something

Chu Shangming wiped away his tears: "Youmiao, it's your older brother who's sorry."

Chu Liuzheng: "Did you steal my money?"

The crying stopped, and Chu Shangming looked up at her. "Where did you hide the money?"

Chu Liuzheng: "...Why don't you tell me what you've wronged me about?"

"It's because my older brother is useless." Chu Shangming continued to wipe away his tears.

Chu Liuzheng was completely bewildered. He pulled Chu Liuzheng's arm and sat him down at the table, asking, "What happened to you?"

Workplace bullying? Sexual harassment by abusing one's position? Or both?

"It wasn't me, it was you." Chu Shangming looked at his own cabbage that had been eaten by the golden pig, heartbroken. "It's all my brother's fault."

Chu Liuzheng: ? ? ?

No, what's going on?
Chu Shangming wiped away his tears, "You don't need to hide it from me, my older brother has already heard about it."

"Huh?" Chu Liuzheng looked bewildered. "Brother, what did you hear?"

Chu Shangming looked at his silly little sister and said with heartache, "It's because your brother is useless that you have to endure such grievances."

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

She picked up the teapot on the table, poured two cups of warm water, and placed one in front of Chu Shangming. "Brother, can we stop talking in circles? I don't understand what you're saying. Explain yourself clearly. What exactly did I do wrong?"

Chu Shangming: "I heard from my mother and younger sister that His Majesty treats you very well."

Chu Liuzheng nodded; the emperor had indeed treated her well.

Chu Shangming: "Since you treat me so well, why haven't you been promoted yet? You're left here in the palace without any title or status, suffering criticism from others. Isn't that unfair?"

Uh... my brother's news is a bit late. The days of rampant rumors are long gone, and nobody dares to say it to my face. As for being criticized, well, I'll still gossip about people behind their backs, it's perfectly normal.

Chu Liuzheng said, "His Majesty is not refusing to promote me, it's just that the time is not right yet."

Chu Shangming immediately looked at her with a heartbroken expression, as if his own cabbage had been fooled by the emperor.

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

She's not stupid, really.

The bet was something she couldn't talk about, so she cleared her throat. "Big brother, why don't you tell us about your useless things instead?"

Chu Shangming immediately got into character, his eyes welling up with tears again, "It's all my fault, I'm useless. I still don't have any official position to stand up for you. His Majesty must be refusing to promote you because of our family's poor conditions. I'm the one who's holding you back. Youmiao, I'm so sorry!"

So that's what it was about.

Chu Liuzheng was speechless, then snapped his fingers: "Stop."

Chu Shangming, his eyes brimming with tears: ?
Chu Liuzheng raised an eyebrow: "Big brother, what official position do you want to be?"

Chu Shangming: "Huh?"

"Choose any of the six ministries," Chu Liuzheng said. "Anything below the fourth rank is fine."

Chu Shangming: ?
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Chu Shangming reached out to touch his sister's forehead, wanting to see if she had a fever.

“This is not nonsense.” Chu Liuzheng slapped his hand away. “If you want to be an official, you can do it tomorrow. As long as I speak to His Majesty, I can even grant you a title.”

[Hmph, the tyrant still owes me a title.]

She stared into Chu Shangming's eyes. "Big brother, do you want to?"

Chu Shangming subconsciously shook his head.

If he wants to become an official, he should do so honestly and fairly, not by having his sister plead with the emperor on his behalf.

He wanted to support his sister through his own abilities, not be a burden to her.

“Brother, I don’t know who you’ve been listening to, but don’t believe any of them.” Chu Liuzheng guessed that someone must have been gossiping to his brother. “You should work hard in the Ministry of Revenue. His Highness Prince Xiao intends to cultivate you, so just follow His Highness Prince Xiao and do your best. Don’t listen to or care about anything else. I can protect myself in this palace.”

“But…” “No buts.” Chu Liuzheng looked at his silly older brother who hadn’t realized he’d been tricked yet, and sighed softly in his heart, “Brother, you don’t have to force yourself.”

Chu Shangming was stunned.

Chu Liuzheng smiled and said, "Brother, you don't owe me anything. We are family. You can sell yourself into the palace to become a eunuch for your family, and I can also become a palace maid."

Chu Shangming's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

“I happened to overhear you talking to Brother Erniu.” Chu Liuzheng shrugged. “Being a eunuch is a lifelong commitment, while being a palace maid means you can leave the palace when you reach a certain age. Naturally, it’s more cost-effective for me to enter the palace.”

"How can you calculate it like that?"

"Why can't it be calculated this way?"

Chu Shangming opened his mouth, but he was never good with words and didn't know how to refute his sister's words.

Chu Liuzheng, however, still had a question to ask.

“Brother, His Highness Prince Xiao mentioned to me the other day that he wants to take you on a long trip, and we might not be back for several years. Have you told the family about this?”

"Not yet." Chu Shangming slowly clenched his fist on his knee and said softly, "I've decided not to go."

"Why not go?" Chu Liuzheng frowned. "Don't you like doing these kinds of things?"

Chu Shangming said, "We'll be gone for a long time; I can't leave you all behind in the capital."

"Then what can you do if you stay?" Chu Liuzheng countered. "Run errands for your father and mother? Or go back to the Imperial Academy to continue your studies?"

Chu Shangming looked somewhat bewildered. "It's probably studying."

Chu Liuzheng: "And then?"

"Then..." Chu Shangming hadn't thought it through and mumbled, "I'll take the imperial examinations and become an official."

Chu Liuzheng: "And then what do you want to do after you become an official?"

"I want to...do something."

"what's up?"

As he asked this question, many images suddenly flashed before Chu Shangming's eyes.

There were tenant farmers forced to sell their land and left destitute, landlords surrounded by entourages and looking glamorous, ordinary people forced to sell their children by exorbitant taxes, and tax collectors with hideous faces who devised various pretexts to collect taxes...

The pleas, cries, and screams still seemed to echo in his ears, and he... wanted to try his best to reduce such incidents.

"Brother, the opportunity is right in front of us." Chu Liuzheng lowered his voice. "Won't you regret giving it up like this?"

Chu Shangming lowered his eyes and remained silent, the veins bulging on the back of his clenched fist.

Chu Liuzheng waited quietly, watching the flickering candlelight on the table, and then opened the system.

Let my brother think about this for a while. I want to see which bastard dares to set him up!

She searched through the system, while Chu Shangming on the other side was struggling with an internal conflict. It seemed like only a moment had passed, yet it also seemed like a long time had gone by. He slowly spoke, "I've made up my mind."

Upon hearing this, Chu Liuzheng immediately shut down the system and looked up, "Shall we go with His Highness Prince Xiao?"

"Hmm." Chu Shangming agreed, but there was still a hint of hesitation on his face.

For the first time, Chu Liuzheng found his older brother to be so fussy and couldn't help but slap him.

"Go with peace of mind. Although I'm in the palace, I can still send people to look after the house. Besides, Father and the others have already moved into the house in the north of the city, with a whole bunch of servants and guards. What are you worried about?"

"You want to back me up? Then show me your skills and do a great job so that when you get promoted or ennobled, no one will have a chance to say anything."

Chu Shangming still had something on his mind: "Tell me honestly, why hasn't His Majesty promoted you?"

He wasn't stupid. His sister had just said that she could even get him a title, which showed how much the Emperor favored his sister, and that it wasn't just a fling as some people claimed.

If they've spoiled you so much, why won't they even give you a proper title?
This is unreasonable!

(End of this chapter)