Quick Transmigration: Don't Let an Honest Man Become a Villainous Supporting Female Character

Inside the Golden Palace, the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

The ministers below knelt on the ground, utterly silent.

Although the late Prime Minister Lin, who was kneeling at the front, was nearly seventy years old, his back was still straight.

A memorial was slammed onto the dragon's desk, and the ministers below lowered their heads even further.

"Prime Minister Lin, you are a veteran of two reigns, and I have always respected you. But you have demoted the scholar I personally promoted to a barren land. I would like to ask, does this empire belong to the Xiao family or the Lin family?"

The old Grand Secretary Lin's face immediately turned pale, and the tassel on his official hat trembled precariously: "Your Majesty, this old minister had absolutely no such intention; it was the incompetence of those below him..."

"What a fine example of incompetence." The Emperor sneered. "I think the old chief minister is getting old. He can come back to see me when he is clear-headed and sharp-witted."

Sweat beaded on the forehead of the late Prime Minister Lin, who stared wearily at the floor tiles in front of him.

The Emperor finds the Lin family increasingly troublesome, but what about A-Wan...?

The Emperor has rarely visited the Consort lately, as she stays in the palace every day.

Upon hearing that the Emperor had finished his court session, she immediately took the soup and went over.

"Xiao He, do you think I look beautiful today?" The Imperial Concubine looked at Xiao He with some nervousness.

Xiao He chuckled softly, "Your Majesty, you are always the most beautiful person in the palace, no matter what."

The imperial concubine blushed slightly: "You're just being cheeky."

But hearing Xiaohe say that, she felt a little relieved.

The imperial study was filled with the scent of ambergris. The emperor did not look up, but only stared at the folding tablet in his hand.

The Imperial Concubine stood to the side, carefully stirring the ginseng soup, glancing at the Emperor every now and then.

The Emperor suddenly put down the folding book and said softly, "My beloved consort."

The imperial concubine's eyes lit up: "What is it, Your Majesty?"

The Emperor asked gently, "I ask the Imperial Concubine, if someone of noble birth deceives the Emperor, what is the punishment according to the law?"

The Imperial Concubine put down the ginseng soup in her hand and immediately replied, "Your Majesty, if there really is such an evil minister, he must be severely punished as a warning to others."

"What a brilliant example of making an example of someone." The Emperor finally looked at her, his face expressionless. "What if that person was Chief Minister Lin?"

The atmosphere in the imperial study immediately froze.

The imperial concubine's eyes widened instantly, and she knelt down with a thud, tears welling up in her eyes.

The Emperor's expression softened at this moment, and he gently wiped away her tears: "Don't be afraid, Consort. Since he is your father, I can naturally give Chief Minister Lin another chance. However, there will be no next time."

After returning to her palace, the Imperial Concubine collapsed onto the soft couch, tears streaming down her face.

Xiao He looked at her anxiously from the side: "Your Majesty, don't be afraid. Xiao He will go back to the manor right away. The Grand Secretary is a cautious person. There must be some misunderstanding."

The Imperial Concubine grasped Xiao He's hand with trembling hands and nodded.

What exactly went wrong?

The Imperial Study.

The tutor was increasingly dissatisfied with the third prince because of the Duan inkstone incident. First, the prince was reprimanded by the emperor, and then he was reprimanded by someone in the Imperial Household Department.

The tutor's expression turned somewhat unpleasant as he watched the Third Prince playfully frolicking with his study companion beside him.

Consort Shu was not as favored as Consort Gui, and it seemed that the Emperor did not show much affection for the Third Prince when he last saw him.

The third prince stood on his seat, reciting haltingly, occasionally stealing a glance at the teacher.

The tutor's face was frighteningly ugly: "Third Prince, you couldn't recite it in front of the Emperor last time. What if the Emperor asks you to recite it again next time?"

His gaze lingered on Xiao Yanchen behind him: "Your performance these past few days has been even worse than the Seventh Prince's."

The third prince looked at the teacher in disbelief, and the other princes also looked somewhat surprised.

It's not that I really think the Third Prince's studies were better in the past, but to say in front of everyone that a discarded prince performed better than the Third Prince would be a blatant slap in the face to the Third Prince.

The Third Prince's face turned bright red. He gripped the brush tightly and glared fiercely at Xiao Yanchen behind him.

Xiao Yanchen lowered his head, touching the edge of the book, as if he hadn't heard anything.

During this period, the teacher would say such things from time to time, and the Third Prince became increasingly resentful of him, often leading a group of people to block him after school.

But today, besides Xiao Yanchen, the Third Prince was also among those who stayed in the hall.

The Imperial Study was quiet after school; the only sounds were the turning of pages and the Third Prince's crying.

"Go quickly and find my mother, and have her speak to the tutor."

"Go quickly!"

Xiao Yanchen quietly observed the Third Prince from the corner. His third brother had gotten even fatter since winter. A few days ago, he saw him jumping around on the ice with several attendants and almost getting stuck.

The Third Prince was furious and started cursing the tutor in the Imperial Study. He was not afraid of Xiao Yanchen reporting him.

Even if Xiao Yanchen went to tell the Master, the Master would protect him, not Xiao Yanchen.

Just then, the Third Prince saw Xiao Yanchen sneakily stand up, holding a bright yellow box in his hand.

The Third Prince recognized it at a glance as a royal item. It would be normal for such an item to appear on other people, but it was definitely not normal for it to appear on Xiao Yanchen.

How could he possibly deserve it!

The third prince suddenly became wiser. Instead of making a scene as usual, he quietly followed them.

Xiao Yanchen must have stolen this from somewhere; I'm going to catch him red-handed later!

Xiao Yanchen ran very fast, and his belongings accidentally fell to the ground. He looked around nervously and hurriedly hid the things on his body.

The third prince's eyes grew even more certain.

This Xiao Yanchen, he even stole things from the Imperial Study!

He followed, panting, until they reached the snow-covered, withered forest.

Snow covered the ice surface, and Xiao Yanchen ran at varying speeds.

Finally, he ran to the vicinity of the frozen, cracked water inlet, hid the bright yellow box behind a dead tree, and then ran to the other side with a nervous expression.

The Third Prince's mind was now completely focused on catching Xiao Yanchen red-handed, so he quickly ran over.

Just as he stepped onto that thin piece of ice.

"Creak—"

The world suddenly fell silent.

The icy lake water seeped into his pores like steel needles, instantly taking away his body heat.

His eyes were wide open, almost popping out of their sockets, his face filled with terror, and his skin was a strange dark red from suffocation.

He tried to shout for help, but his mouth was full of ice water, and his throat kept making gurgling sounds.

Xiao Yanchen hid behind a tree, his fingernails digging into his palms, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, until he could no longer hear any sound, then he turned and left.

He walked absentmindedly on the way back to Ruhui Palace, feeling both frightened and excited.

His third brother bullied him so much, he should have done this a long time ago...

His footsteps crunched in the snow, making soft, rustling sounds. Xiao Yanchen's heart pounded, the thrill of revenge almost suffocating him.

He clenched his fists tightly, his breathing becoming heavier and heavier, but he didn't regret it. Even if he had another chance, he would still do the same.