The fake prince was exposed at the beginning, and I took office as emperor on the spot

Chapter 52 Drinking Order

In Qionglin Garden, everyone was stunned by the two consecutive king bombs thrown by Gu Fangchen.

This amount of information is too huge!

Everyone's eyes fell on the two things in his hands, one was the invitation from the Imperial Master, and the other was the Imperial Master's fortune.

The old minister who was speechless by Gu Fangchen hurried forward and looked at the invitation carefully. Then his face looked as if he had swallowed a fly, and he said with difficulty:

"That is indeed an invitation to the Imperial Master..."

Although He Laochen's rank is not high, he is really old and a highly respected literary figure. With his experience and knowledge, there is no possibility that he would admit his mistakes.

Now, he was not the only one who felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly. Everyone else also found it hard to believe and accept.

How could such a noble and dignified Imperial Master allow this dandy to attend the banquet in his place?!
If it was an ordinary banquet, they could still deceive themselves and say that the Grand Master just found someone to represent him.

But the Qionglin Banquet is not an ordinary banquet. If someone else were to appear on behalf of him at such an occasion, wouldn’t that be equivalent to saying that Gu Fangchen’s words and deeds today were all instructed by the Imperial Master?
Li Qingguang was even more surprised. He turned to look at Gu Youren and asked:

"Mr. Gu, what's going on?"

What else could be going on?

Gu Youren had no expression on his face and was completely numb.

Can this level of situation really be explained by the measurement of power?

Even when the scriptures he had copied by hand were destroyed - in such a disrespectful way, the master was not angry at all. Instead, he asked Gu Fangchen to attend the Qionglin Banquet in his place.

She couldn't help but wonder, Master...how much does he like Gu Fangchen that he would make exceptions for him again and again.

But then, Gu Youren's gaze fell on the scroll in Gu Fangchen's other hand, and his eyebrows twitched.

That was indeed the scroll that Master usually used.

Although it is not of the highest standard, and is used only for inquiring about the destiny of a country, it will not be given to anyone casually.

Master is taking action personally, and the result this time will definitely not be wrong.

As long as you open it, the truth will naturally become clear, and there is no need to wait for Master Juehui to come.

but……

Gu Youren met Gu Fangchen's half-smile, pursed his lips, and the answer he had been certain of in his heart began to waver.

Others don’t know, but they know.

Gu Fangchen was summoned into the palace by Emperor Yong'an last night and then entered the Imperial Master's Mansion. He had already obtained this result.

But today, he dared to make the result public in front of everyone.

Therefore, there is only one possible outcome in the scroll...

Gu Fangchen handed over the scroll in his hand with a smile.

No one except him knew that there were actually only five words in it that were meaningless to others: "Is it fun to tear it apart?"

Gu Fangchen muttered to himself.

The Grand Master of the Imperial Household was actually angry after all. Otherwise, according to Emperor Yong'an's opinion, he should have clearly written that "Gu Fangchen is the descendant of the King of Zhenbei".

There would be no need for Gu Fangchen to spend so much effort to make a name for himself with the invitation and serve as an introduction to draw everyone's attention to me.

First let Gu Yuandao understand that he and the Imperial Master are really in cahoots.

If you take out this scroll again, the deterrent effect will be greater.

Gu Yuandao naturally knew that Gu Fangchen could not be Gu Yuye's son, but he did not dare to gamble.

As long as the Imperial Master endorses Gu Fangchen, then he will be one too.

Under the watchful eyes of the public, all of Gu Yuye's previous plans fell through, and Gu Yuandao would not take such a risk.

If you accept it, it will be a dead end in 99% chance.

If you don't answer it, you can delay time. Once you succeed in introspecting, the situation will naturally be reversed.

So, Gu Yuandao could only choose to remain silent.

As soon as Gu Yuandao fell silent, those officials who had thought that the matter was a done deal and were about to laugh at Gu Fangchen's self-destruction suddenly widened their eyes.

Wasn't it already confirmed long ago that Gu Fangchen was a fake prince?
Since Gu Yuandao recognized Gu Yuye, and the princess only gave birth to one child that year, it is natural that Gu Yuandao is the real one and Gu Fangchen is the fake one.

Now that the Imperial Master has given the result, isn't that a good thing...

Why did Gu Yuandao not dare to look?

Zhao Wenyuan appeared from behind and asked doubtfully:

"Gu Zhuangyuan, why don't you look at it?"

"The palace has been in turmoil over this matter for the past two days. Isn't it all for this outcome? With the Imperial Master here, there's no way he's wrong."

He was really puzzled. It was obvious that just one look could end the deadlock, so why didn't Gu Yuandao dare to look?

Moreover, why is Gu Fangchen so confident that the other party wouldn’t dare... Could it be that Gu Fangchen is really Gu Yuye’s son?

That would be fun.

It wasn't just Zhao Wenyuan. Everyone present was either an official or a writer, and each one had a stronger imagination than the other.

They all gasped and soon thought that Gu Fangchen... might be Gu Yuye's illegitimate son!

That military saint must have had a setback and been tricked by someone.

I dug the hole myself and ended up burying myself... How will this end?

Gu Yuandao looked at Zhao Wenyuan coldly, bowed towards the Ziji Palace, and said in a deep voice:
"The matter is private, but the banquet is not private. Your Majesty held this banquet to reward all the Hanlin Jinshi, not just for me."

"How could students turn the Qionglin Banquet, which honors Hanlin scholars from all over the world, into a place to settle personal matters?"

"Isn't that extremely selfish?"

Although this reason is far-fetched, it makes sense.

Some students who were on good terms with Gu Yuandao immediately expressed their support loudly:
"Indeed, since it is a private matter, it should naturally be resolved privately."

"Failure to distinguish between public and private is the beginning of rebellion!"

Gu Fangchen raised his eyebrows and glanced sideways when he heard that, and suddenly had an urge to give the other person a thumbs up.

These students from Yaoshan Academy... are quite cute.

There is a kind of pure beauty in her eyes that has not been polluted by society.

Gu Yuandao's face twitched, and he felt a little embarrassed.

As everyone knows, Gu Yuye and Gu Yuandao recognized each other in the court, a typical case of turning a private matter into a public one.

This sentence seemed to be pointing at Gu Yuye.

Finally, it was Gu Youren who stood up and said in a deep voice:

"Yuan Dao is right. Now that everyone is here, let's start the banquet and not waste time."

Then... the problem arises again.

The seating arrangement at the Qionglin Banquet was based on status.

At this moment, the person with the highest status in the entire Qionglin Garden is Gu Fangchen, who holds the invitation from the National Master.

Gu Fangchen put away the invitation and scroll, fanned himself, and walked forward carelessly, passed Gu Youren, and sat down in the second seat at the top.

——The first one was reserved for Emperor Yongan.

Gu Youren: “…”

She turned her head away, took a few deep breaths, and calmed herself down.

Below, people were whispering to each other, and the atmosphere was somewhat more awkward than before.

She took a deep breath and, as a teacher of the academy, gave the first gift from the academy to the top scorer.

A cold woman in a white robe stretched out her hand and a scroll unfolded in the air.

The four words "Literature carries the message" are written on it.

Gu Youren stood up, looked at Gu Yuandao, and said in a softer voice:
"This is what the Master wrote. I want to encourage readers to always have something to say, not just empty talk."

"He already knew the essay you wrote for the imperial examination, so he gave you these four words as a gift."

Gu Yuandao was moved and said seriously:
"I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

Compliments were heard everywhere, and the atmosphere seemed to have returned to its initial enthusiasm.

Gu Youren wanted to get back at Gu Yuandao, his mind racing, he said:

"Today is a rare opportunity, with young talents and literary veterans gathered here. How about a drinking game to liven things up? Each of you should write a poem on the lotus flower."

There was a sudden burst of applause from the audience.

Li Qingguang's eyes lit up. Isn't this their chance to show their "poetic spirit"?

I believe that the eldest brother is more capable than the others!

When she turned her head, she saw Liu Xuan's dull eyes. He looked at Gu Youren with an indescribable expression, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. He looked at the box in his hand, and finally looked at Gu Fangchen, his face twitching.

This Prince...

Do you know what poetry is?

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P.S. Thanks to FoolArcana! I feel much better today and should be able to start updating (fist fist)

(End of this chapter)