Chapter 1242: 23 Things About the Fake Emperor and the Powerful Officials
For several days afterwards, Shi Li never mentioned the imperial examination again.
With Yuan Chizhi in charge, she felt relieved. She thought that if Zhang Dongcai could be more flexible this time, he would be able to learn a lot from Yuan Chizhi, which would be useful to him in the future.
Sure enough, after a few days, someone finally lost his patience.
It was still the morning court, and it was still the censor.
But this time the target was directly aimed at Zhang Dongcai.
"Your Majesty, I suspect that Zhang Dong deliberately framed Cui Lang. The candidate who had a close relationship with Cui Lang before is from the same hometown as Zhang Dong!"
The censor's voice was powerful and his upright attitude made people subconsciously convinced.
Shi Li was in a high position, looking at the ministers who were bowing their heads below, and he had only one feeling in his heart: They have finally come.
"I, your humble servant, do not know... I have not done anything to frame you. Your Majesty, you will see clearly!"
Zhang Dongcai is talented and capable, but he is even more incompetent than Shi Li in the court. He did not expect that the censor would suddenly attack him. His face turned pale at first, and then he hurriedly defended himself.
Shi Li: This newbie should have some experience, otherwise he would be wasting the good brain given by God.
After complaining, Shi Li ignored Zhang Dongcai, but frowned and looked at everyone with disappointment.
"A good exam has been messed up before it even started!"
Many court officials who were not involved in these matters were so shocked by her sudden anger that they lowered their heads even more and dared not react in any way.
However, most court officials remained calm and not nervous.
Yuan Chizhi stood at the head of the ministers, looked up at Shi Li, and curled his lips slightly. At this moment, he actually felt a little relieved that the person sitting on the dragon throne was taught by him.
"Since one or two of them are like this, then just ignore them!"
Shi Li had no time to worry about Yuan Chizhi. He frowned and said angrily, "Let Yuan Chizhi preside over this imperial examination alone! Dismiss!"
The morning court ended suddenly, disrupting some people's subsequent plans.
Yuan Chizhi stood still, feeling some sharp and subtle gazes falling on him, but he didn't care at all. Instead, he followed the emperor into the study calmly as usual.
As soon as he stepped into the study, Yuan Chizhi saw Shi Li looking at him guiltily. He knew what she was thinking after a moment's thought, but he didn't say anything and continued walking forward.
"Uh... Thank you for your hard work, my dear."
Shi Li thought about it and decided that it would be better to speak frankly. She and the barrage combined could not compare to Yuan Chizhi's brain, so she should not try to be clever in front of him.
Yuan Chizhi raised his eyebrows, "Your Majesty, why do you say that? It is my humble servant's duty to share your worries."
His answers were always flawless. As the examiner, he would have countless eyes staring at him, trying to find his faults and bring him down, and then wait for an opportunity to insert their own people.
Shi Li didn't give others any chance, which was actually a disguised way of roasting Yuan Chizhi over the fire.
Thinking of this, Shi Li felt a little guilty and ashamed.
"Uh... I found a piece of high-quality jade in the storeroom. I'll give it to you. I can ask someone to carve a private seal for it later."
The best way for Shi Li to express her apology is to mess up her private library.
Yuan Chizhi had gradually gotten used to receiving her rewards every now and then, and was too lazy to refuse them anymore, so he just nodded in thanks.
When he returned home, he found that Shi Li's reward was not just a piece of jade, but a whole box of jade that had not yet been carved.
There were no marks on the jades, only the words "granted by the royal family" were engraved on the boxes they were placed in. In other words, if Yuan Chizhi wanted to make money from this, he could sell the jades at will without worrying about being tracked down by the palace.
Yuan Chizhi walked closer to the box, picked out the piece of jade with the best quality and looked at it in his palm.
The jade is crystal clear, as if light is passing through it, and when you hold it in your hand you can feel a refreshing coolness.
A strange smile appeared on Yuan Chizhi's face. The empress understood his mind very well and even knew that he liked expensive things the most.
Due to his childhood experiences, Yuan Chizhi did not trust anyone and hated the shabby life of hunger and cold.
Outsiders all thought that he was aloof and indifferent to fame and fortune, but in fact, when Mr. Xie was alive, he could not do anything. After Mr. Xie passed away, he did have many thoughts that he could not have had before.
But before he could take action, Shi Li's reward flowed into his house like water, and even made him feel that it was not worth it to play tricks to make money.
The rewards from the emperor from time to time were enough to make him extremely wealthy.
As smart as Yuan Chizhi was, he only thought that Shi Li did this because he saw that Mr. Xie's house was penniless and he didn't want him to follow in his footsteps.
I never thought that Shi Li really wanted to use his private treasury to support him, so as to prevent him from gradually becoming a corrupt official.