After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 64 The Double Kill by the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy

The big, fat pig outside howled for a long time before finally falling silent.

Oh, so they were preparing to slaughter the pig. It escaped before they knew it.

[Tsk, of all places a pig could run, why did it have to run up a tree?]

Shen Zhiyi was still bothered by this, but with the gossip she hadn't finished reading, she quickly put it aside.

[After hearing the words of the Minister of Works, the mother of the official in charge of the Imperial Academy felt a shameful stirring in her heart.]

[You're dreaming! You'd be dead by now and still not have enjoyed all the riches and glory.]

Shen Zhiyi pouted.

Because the child wasn't hers, but rather born to someone she disliked, Peng had always treated the village chief badly since childhood.

The official from the Ministry of Works looked at the village chief with extreme guilt in his eyes.

But in the eyes of the village chief...

He silently took a few steps back and hugged himself.

He remembered that some high-ranking officials seemed to prefer men.

Could this be the one in front of me?

The Ministry of Works official never expected that he had been misunderstood. Looking at the other person's frightened eyes, he felt a pang of sorrow.

He should have received the best education, not the other way around.

"you……"

"boom!"

The village chief suddenly knelt down and began frantically kowtowing to the official in charge of the Ministry of Works.

"Sir, I have an eighty-year-old mother to support."

[Uh, I've been burrowing in the soil for years.]

"There is a three-year-old child below who is crying for milk."

Uh, your youngest son has already become a student of the Imperial Academy.

"And there is also a wife lying in a hospital bed."

[Ugh, don't you even realize your wife is still sleeping?!]

The expressions on the faces of the old emperor and his courtiers present became quite subtle.

The Ministry of Works official stood there, stunned: "Why are you telling me this?"

"what?"

Hahaha, he thinks you're interested in him.

A row of dark lines appeared on the face of the Ministry of Works official.

"You're overthinking it. We came here to teach you how to make down jackets. Do you raise ducks?"

"Ah? Yes!"

Seeing that the official wasn't interested in him, the village chief got excited and enthusiastically invited everyone to his yard to see the ducks he raised.

The Ministry of Works instructed the village chief to gather everyone in the village.

They began to teach me face-to-face until I had thoroughly mastered the method of making down jackets.

[I never expected there to be so much gossip surrounding this sacrificial ceremony.]

The official in charge of the Ministry of Works, who was giving the instruction, froze.

Good grief, they pulled off a piece swap and then a double kill!

[The biological mother of the Ministry of Works official...]

The Ministry of Works official put down his work and almost put his ear to Shen Zhiyi's mouth.

Why did you stop talking?

What happened to his biological mother?

If he could, he wished his biological mother would treat his half-brother better.

Because the wife of the chief priest treated him very well.

Deeply troubled by his conscience, the Ministry of Works official nervously gripped his sleeve.

The wait felt exceptionally long, as Shen Zhiyi seemed completely absorbed in watching.

The Ministry of Works official swallowed hard, unable to resist asking the young village chief a question.

"You, uh, you mean, that one."

The village chief was speechless for a moment, but then he thought about how he had patiently explained things to these two unruly villagers.

He is a good official.

"Sir, please speak freely."

The Ministry of Works official gave an awkward smile.

"I just wanted to ask about your mother..."

"Oh." The village chief waved his hand dismissively. "He's been dead for a long time."

"Fifteen years ago, my mother went out to see some old friends. On her way back, she was robbed and murdered. Fortunately, her body was saved and she was able to be buried intact."

[What robbers? Those were clearly people the chief priest hired himself.]

The courtiers present: !!

Zhang Sheren, whose Dao heart was shattered into pieces: No, I don't believe it!

[At that time, the biological mother of the Assistant Minister of Works, Madam Peng, waited until she was old and her eyesight was failing. As a result, the position of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy rose higher and higher, and his prestige among scholars also grew. Although his wife was bedridden for many years, she was still clinging to life.]

After waiting for decades, the Peng family could no longer contain themselves and went to find the chief priest.

Shen Zhiyi gave a cold laugh.

To appease the agitated Peng, the chief priest told her that his wife didn't have much time left and that she could be married into the family by next week at the latest.

【Peng, oh Peng, firstly, you can't trust men's words; secondly, your intentions were never proper from the start; and thirdly, you're somewhat foolish.】

[He was easily tricked back by the chief priest with just a few words.]

[But this time, the chief priest didn't intend to let the Peng family, this ticking time bomb, go, so he arranged for someone to kill them on their way back.]

The courtiers present were severely impacted.

The old emperor never expected that the highly respected scholar-official was such a scoundrel.

Just as everyone was sighing with regret, a few words suddenly popped into Shen Zhiyi's mind.

This is the first kill!

Good heavens, there's more!

Oh right, Shen Zhiyi just said that the Chief Priest attempted a double kill.

[Just now, the priest had only gotten one kill, but now he has achieved two.]

The official in charge of the Ministry of Works felt a jolt in his heart.

The reason the chief priest's wife had been bedridden for years was because he had given her a slow-acting poison. He didn't want his wife to be constantly conscious, as she might discover his actions.

Now that his wife has died, the chief priest can publicly claim that she died of illness, then feign tears to put on a show of deep affection for his wife, thus cultivating an image of a good man, and finally disseminate the poems he has written in advance.

【yue!】

Shen Zhiyi rolled her eyes.

[What a disgusting person! The thought of all the scholars in the world writing poems and essays to praise him makes me want to vomit even more.]

The old emperor cleared his throat.

Chen Decai then knew what the old emperor was about to say.

He pretended to speak in a low voice in front of the old emperor.

The old emperor's acting skills were phenomenal.

"The chief priest's wife has left?"

"I should go and take a look. In fact, this chief priest is considered one of my teachers."

The old emperor stood up from his chair, leaving a group of people from the Ministry of Works to continue teaching, while the rest marched in a great commotion toward the residence of the Grand Master of Ceremonies.

Before leaving, the official in charge of the Ministry of Works forcibly dragged the village chief away.

Village Chief: ? ? ? Kidnapped? Or has she taken a fancy to him?

[The old emperor was truly a kind emperor who cherished old friendships. All the Grand Master of Ceremonies gave you were a few calligraphy practice books; how could that be considered half a teacher?]

Shen Zhiyi expressed that she did not understand but respected it.

Being the old emperor's teacher is so easy! If I had known, I would have given him a calligraphy copybook; then I would have been half his teacher, hahaha.

The old emperor tugged at his beard in annoyance.

He's just looking for an excuse to go and have a proper meeting with the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy!

[Wait, hohohohoho!]

Shen Zhiyi rubbed her cheeks.

[Interesting, very interesting.]

The assembled officials: Shen Zhiyi, what good thing have you seen this time?!