I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Inside the private room, after all the food was served, their hearts were still pounding, and they didn't even dare to look directly at the person opposite them.

The pressure on them was immense; sitting opposite them were the future emperor, empress, and imperial concubine of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

What merit do they possess to be able to dine at the same table with him?

They still feel like they're dreaming; it all seems so unreal.

"If you continue like this, then jump off this cliff."

Qin Li still prefers the old them; the current ones are too reserved, making Qin Li lose his appetite.

"Your Highness is a man of his word," Xiao Xue'er kindly reminded him again.

This is the fourth floor. If you jump from here, you'll at least break your leg, if not die instantly.

Thinking of this, the two of them pinched their thighs hard with their hands under the table to cheer themselves up.

They both looked up and forced smiles.

"Stop laughing, it looks worse than crying."

Qin Li poured himself a glass of wine.

Upon seeing this, the two quickly poured themselves some wine:

"Your Highness, please forgive us. We were truly unaware of your true identity before, and we have offended you in many ways. Please forgive us."

Qin Li didn't speak, but simply raised his glass, hummed in agreement, and then drank it all in one gulp.

The two quickly picked up their glasses and drank them down in one gulp.

After finishing his drink, Qin Li picked up his chopsticks and started eating: "How did the exam go this time?"

After glancing at Chen Shoutian, Cao Quan mustered his courage and said, "Your Highness, I did quite well on the exam. If nothing unexpected happens, I believe I will pass."

"And you?"

Qin Li asked without looking at Chen Shoutian.

Chen Shoutian's legs trembled, and he stammered, "It's...it's not bad, but there's one question I answered a little wrong. Whether I pass the exam or not is all up to fate."

Qin Li hummed in agreement and nodded in satisfaction.

"How did Your Highness do on the exam?"

Chen Shoutian suddenly asked.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room stared at Chen Shoutian as if he were a fool.

Chen Shoutian slapped his forehead, realizing his mistake: "Your Highness, please forgive me, I misspoke."

He had subconsciously assumed that Qin Li was also a student taking the imperial examinations like them.

In reality, Qin Li was not there to take the exams, but to take charge of the overall situation.

"By the way, why didn't Chen Wangju come with you?"

Qin Li put down his chopsticks, picked up a handkerchief, wiped his mouth, and asked.

"I hope he's not feeling well and will go back to rest first."

Qin Li glanced at it and said calmly, "The crime of deceiving the emperor is punishable by death. Although I am not yet the emperor, it is still a crime punishable by death!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Shoutian was so frightened that his hand trembled, and he dropped his chopsticks. He quickly got up and knelt down, saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me! Your Highness, please forgive me!"

Qin Li didn't speak, but just folded the handkerchief expressionlessly.

As time went on, beads of cold sweat covered Chen Shoutian's forehead; he was so scared he almost peed his pants.

He rarely lies, but I don't know what happened to him just now; his mind went blank for a moment, and he actually lied to Qin Li.

If Qin Li were still the wealthy young master he used to be, it wouldn't matter. But Qin Li is the current crown prince. Lying to the current crown prince is a crime punishable by death.

Chen Shoutian is now filled with regret and wants to slap himself hard a few times.

Snapped.

A hand gently landed on his shoulder, and Chen Shoutian trembled in fright again, but then he heard Cao Quan's voice:

"Get up, His Highness was just joking with you."

Chen Shoutian raised his head blankly and looked at Cao Quan: "Huh?"

Cao Quan smiled and said, "It's true, Your Highness is just joking with you. You won't believe me, just look."

Chen Shoutian then mustered up his courage and looked up at Qin Li, only to find that Qin Li had already broken into a wide smile.

A woman next to Qin Li was pinching his arm in annoyance, scolding him for teasing him on purpose.

Cao Quan reached out and grabbed Chen Shoutian's arm.

After standing up, Chen Shoutian subconsciously raised his sleeve and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He was almost scared to death just now.

After helping Chen Shoutian up from the ground, Cao Quan said to Qin Li:

"Your Highness, the reason Chen Wangju did not come is because I had a few words with him at the entrance of the examination hall, and he refused to come out of spite."

Qin Li stopped laughing and nodded; he thought that was the reason too.

"Your Highness, should I go back and summon Wangju?"

Chen Shoutian suggested.

"Need not."

Qin Li raised his hand and said, "Since he missed it, then he has no share of this meal. We can't force him."

"Yes."

Chen Shoutian responded, clenched his fist and sighed heavily, deeply regretting that he hadn't forcibly dragged his younger brother Chen Wangju over earlier.

To reiterate, Qin Li is no longer a rich young master, but the current crown prince.

Given their connection from their journey all the way from Jiangnan, would Qin Li possibly mistreat them?

Even the tiny bit that peeks out from between Qin Li's fingers is enough for them to get promoted, make a fortune, and bring glory to their family.

If he could, he would rather give the opportunity to his younger brother, Chen Wangju.

At the same time, he also blamed Chen Wangju in his heart.

This great opportunity wasn't entirely due to his brother's inaction; Chen Wangju's personality played a significant role as well.

However, Cao Quan's next words made Chen Shoutian feel that Cao Quan was not as good as his younger brother Chen Wangju, and had wasted his chance to climb the ranks.

Cao Quan wiped his mouth, stood up, and said, "Your Highness, if there's nothing else, Shou Tian and I will be leaving."

"Although we have finished the exam, the results have not yet been released. If others see that we have a close personal relationship with His Highness, even if we pass the exam, people will say that we used abnormal means, and His Highness will be accused of cheating in the imperial examination."

"Therefore, we should leave quickly. Once the results are released, we will definitely pay you a visit. We hope Your Highness will not find it offensive."

After saying that, Cao Quan pulled Chen Shoutian away again.

Although they are upright and have nothing to fear, there are not many good people in the world, but there are too many petty and bad people, and they have no way to shut up these petty and bad people.

It's fine to talk about them, but Cao Quan is afraid that Qin Li will also be implicated.

After all, this year's imperial examination was presided over by Qin Li, ensuring fairness and impartiality. As their own people, they couldn't allow Qin Li's backyard to catch fire, giving his political enemies a handle to use against him.

Qin Li didn't say anything and let the two leave.

After the two left, Qin Li finally asked, "What did you two think?"

Qin Li was asking his women about Cao Quan and Chen Shoutian.

Pei Qingluan, who had just pinched Qin Li's arm, spoke first: "Cao Quan is a talented person. If he can be nurtured, he may very well become a marquis or prime minister in the future. As for Chen Shoutian, he's fine as a county magistrate, but he's more likely to cause trouble if he goes any higher."

The other women all nodded, indicating their agreement with Pei Qingluan's opinion.

Qin Li picked up his wine glass, took a small sip, and said, "They chose their own path, and I can't decide for them. How far they can go depends on themselves."

……

half a month later.

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study!

boom!

The sound of the teacup shattering on the ground silenced the eunuchs serving outside the hall, who trembled uncontrollably.

Inside the imperial study, Emperor Xuan roared in fury:

"This is outrageous! This is truly outrageous!"

"Do I have to beg them before they'll send their daughter to the palace?"

The ministers opposite Emperor Xuan looked at each other, not daring to speak.

In fact, during this period, Emperor Xuan carefully selected several daughters of his ministers, intending to make them empresses.

But as soon as the news was released, the daughters of those ministers either hanged themselves or jumped into the river to commit suicide; in short, they were unwilling to enter the palace to become empresses.

Their reluctance to become empress was a minor matter; what was truly serious was humiliating Emperor Xuan.

Emperor Xuan felt as if his old face had been slapped repeatedly, burning with pain.

In the past, he wouldn't even need to announce it; many ministers would have gone to great lengths to send their daughters to the palace.

But now, there's not a single person here. What does that mean? Do they still consider him the emperor?

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

Zhao Guanwen bowed and said, "Why should His Majesty beg? Just send a detachment of imperial guards, and I don't believe those people won't hand over their daughters."

"Yes, yes, let Han Zhen go. Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!"

Zhao Guanli quickly echoed.

No sooner had the two brothers finished speaking than a mocking laugh echoed from the imperial study:

"Oh dear, if we really do it this way, our Great Zhou will probably lose many more key ministers."

The speaker was Huangfu Song!

Zhao Guanwen glared at him and said, "Minister Huangfu, what do you mean by that? They defied the imperial decree, and they think they're in the right?"

Huangfu Song said calmly, "It wasn't disobeying the imperial decree, but rather there were extenuating circumstances. My granddaughter, Lu Shushu, didn't want to enter the palace, nor did her father and mother. But what was the result? They were killed by the Crown Prince's men, her entire family was murdered, and their bodies are still warm!"

"Isn't that perfect? ​​Only by entering the palace can we escape the Crown Prince's sword!" Zhao Guanwen said.

Huangfu Song continued, "Zhao, are you really stupid or just pretending? Don't you know why the Crown Prince killed my son-in-law's family? The position of Empress is not to be coveted by anyone else. Who would dare to enter the palace as Empress? That would not only mean killing their entire family, but exterminating their nine generations."

Huangfu Song's words completely broke the ice.

Those present looked at each other, not daring to speak.

Emperor Xuan's face grew increasingly pale, turning as black as the bottom of a pot.

He was the emperor, yet he couldn't choose anyone to be his empress; it must have been incredibly frustrating.

In the silence, footsteps came from outside the hall.

The sixth prince shouted as he walked, "Father! Father! Great news! Incredible good news! Your son has passed the imperial examination with flying colors!"

The sixth prince happily entered the imperial study and shouted loudly.

However, when he entered and sensed the strange atmosphere in the study, he quickly shut his mouth, as if he had come at the wrong time.

"Father, I was rash. I will take my leave now."

The Sixth Prince cupped his hands in greeting and prepared to leave, promising to return later that evening.

But to everyone's surprise, Emperor Xuan waved his hand and said, "No need. Stay here and tell me in detail what great joyous occasion is this?"

The sixth prince, beaming with joy, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I, using the alias Lu Jia, participated in the imperial examination. Today, the results were announced at the examination hall, and I have achieved the highest rank, fifth place!"

Upon hearing this, the ministers, led by Zhao Guanwen and Zhao Guanli, clasped their hands in congratulations: "Congratulations, Your Highness the Sixth Prince! Your Highness's talent is truly admirable."

Besides congratulating the Sixth Prince, they also congratulated Emperor Xuan: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Like father, like son!"

Emperor Xuan and the Sixth Prince were overjoyed, almost to the point of wearing pride on their foreheads.

Huangfu Song was the only one present who did not offer congratulations; instead, he frowned deeply.

Are you kidding me? The Sixth Prince passed the imperial examination with flying colors?

During the imperial examinations, the Sixth Prince was not in the examination hall.

He clearly saw the Sixth Prince at the Imperial Academy.

The sixth prince said he was sent by Emperor Xuan to invite his granddaughter, Lu Shushu, to the palace.

Could it be that the Sixth Prince possesses the ability to create clones of himself?

One was working for Emperor Xuan, while the other was taking the imperial examination.

Huangfu Song did not choose to expose such a flaw directly, after all, this was the norm for the imperial examinations in the Great Zhou Dynasty in recent years, and he had become accustomed to it.

It's either a prince who passed the imperial examinations or the heir of some noble family who passed the imperial examinations.

He didn't want to care, and he was too lazy to care, because he was very disappointed.

True talent is buried, while those who pass the exam are useless spoiled brats like the Sixth Prince. How tragic, how tragic!

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the hall, followed by a young eunuch's loud announcement: "His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

Everyone looked at each other, wondering what the Crown Prince was doing here at this time, since Emperor Xuan hadn't summoned him.

Before long, Qin Li strode into the imperial study, holding a long, narrow brocade box in his hands, the contents of which were unknown.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Holding the brocade box in both hands, Qin Li gave a perfunctory bow.

Before Emperor Xuan could tell him to stand up, Qin Li straightened up on his own.

Qin Li first glanced at the Sixth Prince, who immediately stopped smiling and sensed something was wrong—it seemed that Qin Li was coming for him.

Emperor Xuan looked at Qin Li and said unhappily, "What is the Crown Prince doing here? I did not summon the Crown Prince to the palace."

Qin Li said, "Father, please calm your anger. I have come to the palace to congratulate my sixth brother on passing the imperial examination with flying colors!"

Emperor Xuan said, "It's kind of you to have this thought."

Qin Li said, "Sixth brother, your elder brother has prepared a gift for you."

"What gift?"

The sixth prince asked curiously.

He didn't believe Qin Li was so kind as to come to the palace specifically to congratulate him and give him a gift.

"Why don't you come and see for yourself?"

Qin Li said.

The sixth prince shook his head, not wanting to get close to Qin Li.

Qin Li is capable of anything, so it's best for him to be cautious.

In the end, it was Emperor Xuan who spoke up, ordering the eunuchs to hand over the brocade box in Qin Li's hands to the Sixth Prince, preventing the two from having direct contact.

The sixth prince obtained the brocade box through a eunuch and bravely opened it.

Everyone craned their necks curiously, wanting to see what was inside the brocade box.

But as soon as the brocade box was opened, the sixth prince was shocked.

The brocade box in his hand was not held firmly and fell to the ground.

clang!

A crisp sound echoed throughout the entire Imperial Study.

The gift in the brocade box was none other than a newly forged steel knife, incredibly sharp!