Zhu Tian: A journey of spiritual practice starting from Joy of Life

Chapter 149: Taking advantage of the opportunity to attack the unavoidable Spring Examination (two in one)

"This brat really has some tricks up his sleeve!"

Chen Pingping looked at the note in his hand, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes. "Let this brat vent his anger. Looks like I have to go out and hide today."

After saying this, Chen Pingping handed the note to Yingzi and said, "Tell the First Division to do as Leng Feibai says. But increase the fine to twenty taels of silver. I, the Inspection Bureau, will help them discipline the child, so twenty taels of silver is nothing!"

Shadow didn't say anything. After all, he was quite dissatisfied with these playboys in Kyoto.

After Shadow sent back the solution, Chen Pingping continued, "Push me into the palace, otherwise when those dukes come knocking on my door, I'll be annoyed to death!"

Shadow rolled his eyes and pushed Chen Pingping towards the palace.

Inside the palace, Leng Feibai and Fan Xian walked in the corridor with expressionless faces.

"Brother, shall we go back together later?"

"I probably won't be able to stay for too long. I'll just go back after I'm done!"

After the two brothers finished their discussion, they each went to where they wanted to go.

In just a quarter of an hour or two, Leng Feibai entered Emperor Qing's bedroom and saw many craftsmen busy repairing the damaged areas in the bedroom.

"You came!"

The disgusting voice of Emperor Qing echoed in Leng Feibai's ears. Leng Feibai walked in and said to the dead Emperor Qing lying on the bed, "Your Majesty, I, Leng Feibai, greet you!"

Emperor Qing untied the white cloth covering his eyes and said calmly, "It seems you've been doing well in Danzhou lately. How's Mom's health?"

After hearing this, Leng Feibai silently recited the Heart Sutra, forcing himself to remain rational, and quickly said, "Grandma is fine. She will come to Kyoto with Ruoruo and the others in a while."

"Mom is going back to Kyoto!"

Emperor Qing almost sat up, but because his body movements were too large, he couldn't help but gasp.

Leng Feibai remained expressionless as he watched Emperor Qing's actions. He sneered inwardly, "Why are you pretending? I don't believe that Chen Pingping didn't tell you what happened when he entered the palace at dusk yesterday."

"His Majesty"

After Leng Feibai finished complaining, he pretended to be submissive and said, "Let me take a look at your injuries first!"

After hearing this, Emperor Qing took off his coat, revealing his muscular body with eight-pack abs.

"You have a first-rate figure, and Uncle Daoming is so handsome. No wonder Ye Qingmei is fascinated by you."

Leng Feibai's heart fell as he looked at the dark purple scars on Emperor Qing's body. At the same time, he noticed a strong smell of medicine emanating from Emperor Qing's body.

"Safflower, Panax notoginseng..."

Leng Feibai's thoughts fell, and a vicious thought came to his mind. He then bowed and said, "Your Majesty's external injuries are not difficult to treat, but I need to touch the injured skin with my hands to help the injury heal. However, this method is likely to offend Your Majesty's majesty, so..."

"I don't care about that."

Emperor Qing said unhappily, "Just do it."

"I accept your order!"

After Leng Feibai finished speaking, a stream of emerald green Qi condensed in his palm and pressed it on a purple bruise.

"Um"

Emperor Qing groaned, feeling a cold, boneless hand massaging his wound.

However, after just a few breaths, the scars on Emperor Qing's body disappeared without a trace.

"continue!"

Emperor Qing closed his eyes, feeling the pain in his body subside, and a look of happiness appeared on his face.

Leng Feibai said nothing and continued to help Emperor Qing treat his injuries.

"I heard that when you and Fan Xian entered the palace, some noble sons blocked your way?"

Leng Feibai didn't hide anything and said directly, "Fan Xian has been dealt with. He was taken back to the Inspection Institute and dealt with secretly as a street brawl."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing changed the subject, saying, "Fan Xian was too impulsive. If he had waited until court was dismissed yesterday to discuss it with me, I wouldn't have let Lai Mingcheng go. But he insisted on confronting me head-on. Otherwise, I wouldn't have..."

Leng Feibai listened to Emperor Qing's explanation without any expression on his face and continued to caress Emperor Qing's wounds.

Seeing that Leng Feibai didn't react, Emperor Qing continued, "But if I don't intervene, I'm afraid there will be countless blind men trying to cause trouble for Fan Xian! Eunuch Hou!"

Eunuch Hou, standing by, immediately looked at Emperor Qing and heard him say, "Fan Xian is still with Concubine Yi, right? Go over there. After he finishes talking with Concubine Yi, have Fan Xian come to me!"

After hearing this, Eunuch Hou could not help but retreat respectfully. At the same time, Gong Dian's voice came from outside, saying, "Your Majesty, Dean Chen requests an audience."

"Let him in!"

Chen Pingping pushed the wheelchair into the house and felt a little embarrassed when he saw the scene inside.

"What are you here for?"

Emperor Qing lay on his side on the bed, raised his head and looked at Chen Pingping, "What's with that expression? Feibai is just treating my injuries."

Chen Pingping felt a little embarrassed, but he quickly stated his purpose. "I, your Majesty, have come to hide here. Outside the Inspection Office, a group of officials are blocking me!"

"It's because of the kid who got into trouble with his family!"

Emperor Qing closed his eyes and asked, "How was it dealt with?"

"Twenty strokes of the cane, and a five-thousand-word self-criticism."

Chen Pingping bowed and said, "If the self-criticism is not up to standard, then continue beating it and start over..."

Listening to Chen Pingping's punishment, Emperor Qing scoffed, "That's too light! Attacking the Chief of the Inspection Office shows you really don't take me seriously. Chen Pingping, pass on my order. Lock those brats up in the dungeon of the Inspection Office..."

"His Majesty!"

Leng Feibai interrupted, "It's time to treat your face. If you keep talking and it disturbs your skin, the treatment might go wrong."

"it is good!"

Emperor Qing lay flat on his back, speechless. Leng Feibai's face remained calm as he simultaneously gathered a ball of emerald green Qi from his hands and covered Emperor Qing's face with it.

But after a moment, Leng Feibai took his hand away and said, "Alright, Your Majesty, your injury is healed!"

Emperor Qing stood up and stretched a bit, a hint of enjoyment flashing across his face. "Your treatment method only makes me feel good. If you know how to massage, perhaps you could give me a massage from time to time."

Leng Feibai didn't answer after hearing this, but just smiled awkwardly.

Not long after, Fan Xian walked into the room and knelt before Emperor Qing, saying, "Your Majesty, I, the guilty minister Fan Xian, greet you!"

"You know you're wrong!"

"I am not wrong, but if Your Majesty wants to punish me, I can bear it again!"

Leng Feibai listened to the conversation and felt it sounded strangely familiar.

"Humph, I'm too lazy to hit you anymore!"

Emperor Qing snorted coldly and said, "Get up!" "What does Concubine Yi want to see you for?"

"Liu... Her Majesty wants me to be the Third Prince's teacher!" After hearing Fan Xian's answer, Emperor Qing nodded and said, "If you wish, it's up to you. Fan Xian, I heard that this morning, you and Leng Feibai were stopped and humiliated on your way to the palace?"

"Yes!"

Fan Xian didn't say much. After all, he didn't want to talk too much with Emperor Qing right now.

"Humph!"

Emperor Qing snorted again, "You are a young man whom I value. How can you let others bully you so easily? It seems that if I don't let you do something that will make you look good, everyone will think you have lost my favor. Chen Pingping, is the Spring Examination coming soon?"

After hearing this, Chen Pingping quickly said, "Only three to five days left!"

Seeing Emperor Qing and Chen Pingping singing the same tune, Leng Feibai and Fan Xian looked at each other, both of them showing a bad look in their eyes.

Emperor Qing continued, "Since that's the case, Fan Xian, you will take over the Spring Examination. Order that Fan Xian concurrently serve as a fourth-rank official, overseeing the anonymous transcription of the Spring Examination papers."

After saying this, Emperor Qing looked Fan Xian straight in the eye and said, "Didn't you say you wanted to pursue fairness? This time, feel free to pursue fairness boldly. Even if the sky falls, I will hold it up for you!"

Fan Xian's face looked a little strange after hearing this. Both Fan Jian and Lin Ruofu had told him that Emperor Qing was an extremely complicated guy and it was impossible for him to show his true feelings to anyone.

But he did this to me today. Was it because he felt guilty for almost beating me to death, or did he have some other purpose?

Fan Xian was about to refuse when he thought of this. But Emperor Qing didn't give him a chance to refuse. He simply said, "Go down. Prepare well these few days. Don't let me down. After the Spring Examination is over, it will be time for you to get married!"

After saying that, Emperor Qing waved his hand to signal Fan Xian and Leng Feibai to go down!
Fan Xian was about to speak when Leng Feibai pulled him out of the bedroom.

At the same time, a cicada that had been lying on the main beam of the bedroom for who knows how long slowly crawled up.

Outside the bedroom, Fan Xian was dragged out by Leng Feibai and said helplessly, "Brother, this..."

"Don't make any noise yet!"

Leng Feibai looked around and said, "Let's talk outside?"

Looking at Leng Feibai's expression, Fan Xian immediately realized that Emperor Qing was laying a trap for him again.

After hearing this, the two of them ran out of the palace quickly, regardless of the impending rain.

Not long after, Leng Feibai and Fan Xian stopped on the corridor leading out of the palace.

Seeing that there was no one around, Leng Feibai said directly, "If it's as expected, His Majesty is going to take action against your father-in-law!"

"Shibo!"

After hearing this, Fan Xian whispered, "But what does this have to do with the Spring Examination?" Leng Feibai whispered, "After Li Chengze and Li Chengqian suggested that you preside over next year's Spring Examination, I secretly inquired about it. I learned that although everyone is eligible to take the exam, every year, Li Chengze, Li Chengqian, Li Yunrui, your father-in-law, and the powerful Qin family in the military will insert some people into the Spring Examination list. If you preside over the Spring Examination this time under the pretext of fairness, then if anyone is found inserting people into the Spring Examination, you must report it to His Majesty. Then His Majesty will probably bring up the cases of people being inserted into the Spring Examination in previous years..."

After hearing Leng Feibai's words, Fan Xian's expression turned ugly.

"He's calculating again. What on earth does he take me for?"

A series of blows made Fan Xian a little dazed.

Seeing this, Leng Feibai slapped Fan Xian unconscious and took him out of the palace.

Inside the Fan Mansion, Fan Xian slowly opened his eyes, his eyes full of frustration.

"woke up?"

Leng Feibai looked at Fan Xian and said in a playful tone, "What are you going to do? This time, you can't just pretend to be sick and solve the problem."

"Just go for it."

Fan Xian shook his head and said, "I plan to discuss this with my uncle later and see if he has any ideas."

Leng Feibai said to him directly, "Don't worry, your most urgent task now is to prepare for the Spring Examination. As for Lin Ruofu, once he knows that you are going to take over the Spring Examination, he will definitely look for you..."

Just as the two were chatting, a servant suddenly ran in and said, "Young Masters, someone from the Second Prince's Mansion is outside the door requesting to see Young Master Fan Xian."

"Li Chengze"

Fan Xian frowned, "Why would he send someone to look for me out of the blue?"

After saying this, Fan Xian ran outside. After watching Fan Xian leave, Leng Feibai turned and sat aside, muttering to himself, "Old Loach, you really know how to make amends. However, the Gentle Blade is deadly. Do you really think I'm using Shennong's True Qi simply to help you heal your wounds?"

Outside the Fan Mansion, Xie Bian stood at the door with his sword in his hand, and did not go in.

As soon as he saw Fan Xian coming out, he walked straight up to him.

"Xie Bian!"

Fan Xian stepped forward, looked at him, and said in a bad tone, "Tell me, what do you want from me?"

Although Fan Xian knew that the person who sent people to destroy Shijia Town was not Li Chengze, it did not mean that he could forgive Li Chengze for repeatedly attacking people around him.

Xie Bian said helplessly after hearing this, "I heard that Master Xiao Fan is in charge of the Spring Examination, so His Highness asked me to discuss something with Master Xiao Fan."

"There's nothing to discuss between him and me."

After Fan Xian finished speaking, he turned around and prepared to return to the Fan Mansion. "During the Spring Examination, Your Highness and Young Master Fan, please observe a truce."

Xie Bian spoke quickly. Fan Xian stopped and asked, "What did you say?"

"His Highness said that there will be a truce with you, Master Xiao Fan, during the Spring Examination."

Xie Bian said calmly, "The price is that Master Fan must give Fan Wujiu a fair chance to participate in the Spring Examination."

"That's it!"

Fan Xian sneered, "Tell Li Chengze that no matter who it is, as long as he doesn't violate the rules of the Spring Examination, I will definitely not make things difficult for him. As for the Spring Examination, if he wants to do anything to me, let him come at me. I'll take it all."

After saying that, Fan Xian ignored Xie Bian and walked straight into the house.

Xie Bian couldn't help but twitch his lips after hearing this. In fact, he also felt that his prince's words were impossible to believe.

In the yard, Leng Feibai listened to Fan Xian's words, a gleam in his eyes.

Fan Xian continued, "Brother, Li Chengze really cares about Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu. No wonder he was willing to hand over evidence to save Xie Bian's life last time."

Leng Feibai chuckled after hearing this. "There aren't many people in this world who care about Li Chengze, but Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu are definitely two of them. So, Li Chengze will never give up on them unless it's absolutely necessary."

"So, what Li Chengze said might be true."

After Fan Xian finished speaking, he changed the subject, "But we can't rule out the possibility that he's telling the truth and making false claims, secretly plotting against me."

"In any case, you better be careful."

Leng Feibai said calmly, "My spy in Shangjing City sent me a message. Guo Baokun and Sizhe will probably be back in Kyoto in two days. I'll have to rely on Guo Youzhi to help you with some of the specific details."

Fan Xian nodded, and suddenly noticed that Leng Feibai's expression was a little strange. He quickly asked, "Brother, you look strange. Did something happen?"

"Fan Xian!"

Leng Feibai asked a question that had been puzzling him for a long time, "Have you handed over the Inspection Bureau's spies in Shangjing City to Guo Baokun and He Daoren?"

Fan Xian nodded and said, "A portion of the less important tasks was assigned to Guo Baokun, while He Daoren led the core group. Later, after returning to Kyoto, Dean Chen told me that he had a deputy director of the Fourth Division of the Procuratorate, with a group of spies from the Fourth and Sixth Divisions, secretly infiltrate the Shangjing City of Northern Qi to resume responsibility for the spy network. The original spy network intelligence was retained to paralyze the Jinyiwei. What happened?"

Leng Feibai sighed after hearing this and said, "It's okay, I just read the intelligence of the hidden party and was so stupid that I cried."

(End of this chapter)