I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 281 Brother and sister meet
He choked on a mouthful of food, his eyes rolling back in his head.

Chu Shangming didn't even bother to look at the girl who resembled his younger sister, and quickly forced Ren Qingxia to drink the soup.

Ren Qingxia pounded her chest twice, swallowed her food with difficulty, and seeing that Chu Shangming was about to continue watching, she reached out and turned his head: "Don't watch if you don't want to die, eat your food."

Chu Shangming: ?

He leaned closer and whispered, "Do you know those people?"

Ren Qingxia thought to himself that he not only knew him, but that emperor had also acted as a matchmaker for him, which angered his father so much that his buttocks were beaten black and blue, and he could only sleep on his stomach.

"I don't know him," Ren Qingxia mumbled, then buried her head in her rice.

Seeing his evasive manner, Chu Shangming didn't want to cause trouble for himself and his family, so he could only obediently bury his head in his food.

After finishing their meal, Xiao Jingfan and his group returned to the flower hall.

The chief priest ordered someone to serve tea, the finest Meishan Yunwu tea.

King Xiao gave him the questions and list he had written down the day before, and asked him to give the questions to the students on the list to do, with a time limit of one hour.

When Yun Jijiu glanced at the question, which was related to taxes, he recalled that this year's imperial examination questions were also related to taxes. His heart skipped a beat, and countless guesses popped into his mind.

King Xiao looked at him and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"No." Yun Jijiu suppressed all his guesses and ordered someone to copy the questions and send them to the students.

At the same time, Xie Hui led the Imperial Guards into the Gao family's residence, arrested everyone on charges of treason, and imprisoned them in the imperial prison to await trial.

Gao Yan tried to escape, but Xie Hui caught up with him and cut off his legs, leaving him a cripple.

If it weren't for the hope of getting something out of him, I'm afraid I wouldn't even have survived.

The people exclaimed: "There are so many rebels lately!"

More than an hour later, in the flower hall of the Imperial Academy, Chen Siye personally delivered the collected answer sheets.

King Xiao casually handed half of it to Xiao Jingfan.

Xiao Jingfan: ?

King Xiao replied matter-of-factly, "There are too many. I would have to read them all night by myself. Please help me, Your Majesty."

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

After a brief standoff, amidst the King of Xiao's radiant smile, Xiao Jingfan finally reached out and took the answer sheet, then said to the waiting Yun Jijiu, "Call Chu Shangming here."

Yun Jijiu had some impression of Chu Shangming and asked in confusion, "Why did Your Majesty summon this person?" Chu Shangming's knowledge was not particularly outstanding.

"Just call them over." Xiao Jingfan looked up at him.

Yun Jijiu dared not ask any more questions and immediately sent someone to summon Chu Shangming.

Chu Liuzheng kept looking towards the door, eager to see his older brother.

On the other side, Chu Shangming, who had just received the summons, was completely confused. Why did the Grand Master suddenly want to see him?

The servant urged, "Hurry up."

Chu Shangming had no choice but to quicken his pace and hurried to the flower hall.

"You stay here and don't wander around. I'll go in and announce your arrival first," the servant instructed, and only went in after Chu Shangming nodded.

Hearing that his elder brother was outside the flower hall, Chu Liuzheng's heart almost flew away.

Xiao Jingfan glanced at her and calmly ordered, "Bring the person in."

The servant obeyed and left.

Chu Shangming followed the servant into the flower hall. Before he could even see who was there, he heard the Chief Minister Yun scold, "No disrespect before His Majesty." What are you looking at so casually?
Chu Shangming was startled. The Emperor?!
He immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects! Long live the Emperor!"

"No need for formalities, get up." Xiao Jingfan carefully examined him and found that the scholar in front of him had delicate features and a five-point resemblance to Chu Liuzheng. They were indeed siblings.

Chu Shangming didn't care whether the emperor was looking at him or not. All he could think about was: if the person in front of him was the emperor, then the girl next to him wearing a light red dress who looked a lot like his younger sister must be his younger sister, right?

He glanced at Chu Liuzheng again and again, his hands trembling slightly as he looked down, filled with excitement.

The Imperial Scholar Yun was getting anxious. How dare this hothead stare at a palace maid in front of His Majesty? Did he have a death wish? Xiao Jingfan cleared his throat and asked, "Are you Chu Shangming?"

"Yes." Chu Shangming reluctantly withdrew his gaze and respectfully asked, "May I ask what Your Majesty has summoned me for?"

Xiao Jingfan said, "I've heard that you often visit the library?"

The emperor even knows about such trivial matters!
Chu Shangming was surprised, but nodded honestly.

He did indeed frequently go to the library to copy books, remembering how he could save money or sell them.

Xiao Jingfan continued, "Are there any records about the Great Yong Dynasty in the library?"

Chu Shangming recalled for a moment and nodded: "Yes, there are thirty-two volumes in total."

He only copied half of it.

Xiao Jingfan was just making an excuse. He was quite surprised to hear Chu Shangming give such precise numbers. He looked at Chu Liuzheng and said, "Go with him and pick out some usable items to bring back."

"Yes, ma'am." Suppressing her excitement, Chu Liuzheng gestured for Chu Shangming to proceed.

Chu Shangming followed her out happily, completely forgetting that he still had to bow to the emperor.

Yun Jijiu felt a tightness in his chest and really wanted to drag the person back and give them a good scolding.

He was about to make amends for Chu Shangming, but when he glanced at the emperor, he realized that the emperor didn't care, and he couldn't help but sigh at how lucky this Chu family boy was.

The brother and sister left the flower hall one after the other and went to a secluded spot.

"Are you You Miao?" Chu Shangming asked impatiently as he saw Chu Liuzheng still trying to walk forward. He quickly took two steps to block her way.

"It's me." Chu Liuzheng sniffed and called out with a pout, "Brother."

After shouting, his eyes reddened and tears welled up in them.

"Hey!" Chu Shangming excitedly opened his arms and hugged his sister, whom he hadn't seen for many years, tightly. "Big sister!"

"Brother!" Chu Liuzheng burst into tears, burying his face in Chu Shangming's chest and sobbing, his shoulders trembling.

"Big brother's here." Chu Shangming felt a pang of heartache and awkwardly patted his sister's thin back. "Seeing each other is a joyous occasion, why are you crying?"

Even so, his eyes gradually reddened.

A moment later, tears streamed down her face, and she cried even harder than Chu Liuzheng.

His youngest daughter is so thin; she must have suffered in the palace.

The brother and sister hugged each other and cried bitterly. Luckily, no one was around, otherwise who knows what outrageous rumors might have spread.

After crying for a while, Chu Liuzheng suddenly realized something was wrong and pushed her brother, saying, "Don't wipe your tears and snot on my clothes." This was the first time she had worn the new clothes her mother had made.

She hurriedly tossed a handkerchief to her brother.

Chu Shangming wiped his tears with a handkerchief, crying as he did so.

This outburst of tears seemed to wash away the awkwardness of not seeing each other for so many years. Chu Liuzheng looked at him with a wry smile and asked, "Brother, why are you crying even harder than me?"

"I'm happy." Chu Shangming's eyes were red as he stared at his younger sister without blinking, his eyes full of heartache. "Why are you so thin? There's no flesh on your face. Were you not eating enough in the palace?"

"I'm so full." After tidying herself up, Chu Liuzheng reached out to help her brother tidy his appearance. "Don't cry. Let's talk as we walk."

"Okay." Chu Shangming followed her, but because he turned his head to look at her, he forgot to watch where he was going and almost fell down the stone steps.

Chu Liuzheng quickly grabbed the person and said helplessly, "Watch where you're going, I'm not going to run away."

Chu Shangming hurriedly asked, "Aren't you going back to the palace?"

I still need to go back.

Chu Liuzheng changed the subject: "How are Father, Mother, and Xin'er?"

"It's all good, but I keep thinking about you every day. Xin'er has even started saving up for your dowry," Chu Shangming said.

"Small in stature but big in intelligence." Chu Liuzheng chuckled. "Last year, when I accompanied the emperor out of the palace, I saw a little girl climbing up a stone pillar. Her eyes were big and bright, and she had a cleverness about her. I thought Xin'er must be like that too."