klisemfg Chapter 77 Anyway, it's my own shit; I can't despise myself.
Chapter 77 Anyway, it's my own shit; I can't despise myself.
Although she said she was very embarrassed, Shen Zhiyi's eyes were shining with anticipation.
After drinking the medicinal soup, Duke Su quickly regained consciousness.
The old emperor looked at the bowl of medicinal soup with some interest.
"Duke Su, your medicinal soup is quite good. Did it wake you up after drinking it?"
[Is the old emperor implying that the Duke of Su was faking fainting?]
The Duke of Su pretended not to hear and began to describe his bowl of medicine to the old emperor.
"Your Majesty, this herbal medicine is based on a prescription obtained from countless famous doctors. It is extremely effective. Your Majesty may also try it. If Your Majesty likes it, I will tell Your Majesty the prescription."
Shen Zhiyi held her breath as she watched the old emperor accept the bowl of medicine that the servant had refilled.
Aunt Cheng, who was in the tree behind, caught her breath and immediately disappeared from the spot.
The old emperor stirred it a few times, tossed the spoon aside, and prepared to gulp it down in one go, a gesture of deep affection.
At this moment, Chen Decai received the message from the Dragon Scale Guard in secret, his expression changed drastically, and he extended Er Kang's hand.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't drink this!"
Duke Su did not like to hear these words.
He knew he couldn't escape this time, but if he could contribute the prescription, it would at least offset some of his sins.
That damned eunuch, what does that mean?
Chen Decai hurriedly whispered a few words in the old emperor's ear, and the old emperor promptly put down the bowl in his hand.
"Ahem, Duke Su, later you give the prescription for the herbal medicine to Chen Decai. As for your son, his examination quota for this year is invalidated, and you will be fined one year's salary."
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Su immediately knelt down.
"Your Majesty, all the mistakes are my fault. Please, if you will not punish me with twenty strokes of the cane, please give my son a chance."
"Hmph, if you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place, Duke Su?"
Duke Su felt like he was about to faint again, but at that moment his stomach rumbled and a surge of energy rushed towards a certain place.
Duke Su straightened up, intending to hold back his anger, and continued to plead with the old emperor.
But in the end, I just couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Your Majesty, I have three urgent needs. Please forgive me."
As he spoke, the sixty-year-old man suddenly moved with incredible speed and disappeared from everyone's sight in a flash.
A short while later...
"what--"
A scream echoed throughout the entire Duke Su's mansion.
[Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.]
The old emperor wiped away non-existent cold sweat from his face.
That was close, I almost drank it.
That was close; he was the one who almost fell into the latrine.
[That scared me to death! I almost thought the old emperor was going to drink it.]
Old Emperor: You brat! Why didn't you make a sound back then!
Oh dear, the Duke of Su accidentally ate a few mouthfuls of excrement.
It's okay, it's my own mess anyway, I shouldn't despise myself.
"puff."
The courtiers, who had been able to hold back, broke down in their voices.
The old emperor suppressed his laughter and returned to the palace in a cheerful mood.
On the way, even the usually serious Minister of Justice couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.
Although Shen Zhiyi's move was underhanded, it made people feel refreshed. The Minister of Justice, who had been holding back his anger all night, felt much lighter as he walked.
Upon returning, the Minister of Justice spread the news throughout the Ministry of Justice.
The news from the Ministry of Justice then spread throughout the entire Ministry of Personnel.
The Ministry of Personnel then spread to the other two provinces.
Subsequently, all the officials and civil servants of the court learned that the Duke of Su had fallen into the latrine.
The happiest of them all was the Crown Prince's son, the grandson of the Emperor of Daye.
The grandson of the emperor was so moved that he wished he could meet the Duke of Su right now and become sworn brothers on the spot.
We are both wanderers in this world, why should we need to have known each other before?
*
After leaving the Duke of Su's mansion, Shen Zhiyi originally intended to find a teahouse to listen to storytelling, but she was intercepted by Chen, the Assistant Minister of Rites, halfway there.
"Shen Lang, today is a wonderful day."
Shen Zhiyi nodded in agreement.
Indeed, indeed, it's a wonderful day to avenge our great wrongs.
Chen, the Assistant Minister of Rites, said: "That's right, but it's also my fault. If I hadn't insisted on you eating that roast duck, you wouldn't have had diarrhea for two days. Here's what I'll do as an apology: I'll invite Shen Lang to Zhuangyuanlou."
"Zhuangyuanlou?"
"Yes, the Eight Treasure Duck of the Top Scholar is a unique delicacy in Beijing."
Shen Zhiyi's eyes lit up, and without saying a word, she said, "Let's go!"
[It's a rare treat not having to follow the old emperor around like a lapdog all day; I need to savor this precious time of freedom.]
However, it seems that the name "Zhuangyuanlou" (状元楼, meaning "Top Scholar's Pavilion") comes from the fact that the newly appointed Minister of Personnel once stayed there during an examination. The innkeeper later renamed it "Zhuangyuanlang" after that, and the newly appointed Minister of Personnel receives 10% of the profits from Zhuangyuanlou each year.
Wow, they really make money just by lying down.
Chen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, explained: "The Minister of Personnel is someone who has achieved the highest honors in three consecutive examinations, a feat that is rare even in a century. The last time this happened was three hundred years ago. The business of the Zhuangyuan Tower increased many times over because of the Minister of Personnel. After that, many people fought tooth and nail to stay there during each imperial examination."
"Shen Lang, why don't you guess how much silver it would cost to stay a night at the Zhuangyuan Tower?"
Shen Zhiyi didn't cheat through the system, but instead made a bold guess.
"One hundred taels of silver for one night?"
Chen, the Assistant Minister of Rites, shook his head: "No, no."
Shen Zhiyi held up three fingers: "Three, three hundred taels?"
"That's not right either." Chen, the Assistant Minister of Rites, held up one finger: "A whole thousand taels of gold!"
"Yellow, gold?"
Shen Zhiyi took a deep breath.
Good heavens! You all seem so rich. I'm the only one who's truly poor despite being an official.
Chen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, quickly made amends.
"I can't afford to stay at Zhuangyuanlou, but I can still afford to eat there. Let's go."
Thinking of the Eight Treasure Duck, Shen Zhiyi once again acted on her whim.
The Zhuangyuan Tower was packed with people, and the lobby on the first floor seemed to be able to predict who would become the top scholar.
Chen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, looked at Shen Zhiyi while holding a stack of silver notes.
"Shen Lang, you say who to bet on, and I'll bet on them?"
Shen Zhiyi looked at the person next to her with a head full of question marks.
Is this Mr. Chen out of his mind? If I could predict the future, I would have bet all my savings long ago.
Chen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, suppressed his exaggerated smile.
How could he forget that Shen Zhiyi's magical system seems unable to predict the future? If only it could, he could take Shen Zhiyi to the casino every day.
“I am the cultured young master of Guizhou in Shannan Circuit.”
An old man squeezed out of the crowd and landed on a candidate who had no one else to sit on.
Shen Zhiyi curiously leaned over and asked the old man.
"Old man, why are you betting so much silver on this young master?"
"Hehe, intuition."
Shen Zhiyi nodded thoughtfully, took out a copper coin and tossed it into the hands of the scholar.
That's how it's written in TV dramas and novels: nobody believes in it, but suddenly someone places such a large bet, so there's a 70-80% chance of winning. I'll just take a small gamble.
Upon seeing this, Chen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, handed over fifty taels of silver.
The old man was unhappy.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you guys doing following me and betting?"