Chapter 10

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Chapter 10

On a red wood square writing desk, a dragon-carved high chair faced south, and several grand master chairs intertwined with cranes and pythons were lined up in order beneath the dragon chair, their backs respectively carved with silkworm-head and swallow-tail scripts reading "Personnel, Revenue, Rites, Military, Punishments, Works".

The man upon the dragon chair wore imperial yellow robes, his crown draped with beaded curtains, his identity as the supreme ruler self-evident; he lightly raised a gold-threaded sleeve to rest against his slightly parted lips, a brooding voice floating out from his moisturizing lips.

"She is pregnant. Who did it?"

"Are these this year's fresh goods?"

Ignoring the Dragon Monarch and Son of Heaven's opening remark, the thick new academy student roster was tossed out by the slender fingertips of the Military Minister, landing on the long desk with a sharp smack. The man leaned against the edge of the desk, toying with a jade ring between his fingers, hoisted his long legs, and leaned back against the chair carved with the character for "Military", a silver phoenix smoking pipe clenched between his lips and tilted proudly toward the sky.

Beside him, the Minister of Rites in emerald-purple official robes soothed softly, "Lord Long, this is a joint six-ministries trial of the Dongxu Mansion academy students. Do not use your brothel slang to flirt with the various lord ministers."

"Tch, these goods really aren't as punchy as the Pink Pavilion lasses." Brushing off the ash from his pipe, he unceremoniously gave his long braid a flick.

"Are you dissatisfied with these new academy students, or are you dissatisfied with the person Grand Secretary Li chose?"

"Cease your attempts to sow discord. Can Grand Secretary Li's understanding of Pink Pavilion lasses possibly compare to that of us gentlemen? Right? Lord Grand Secretary Li?" With a cynical twitch of his thick brows, his smoking pipe casually tossed the conversational ball over to Li Chenjing, who had all along kept his gaze lowered and his words sparse.

Li Chenjing silently glanced toward that face full of provocation, blinked his eyelashes with a vacant expression, and after a moment slowly let out a cold, brief snort from the tip of his nose, as if the fellow jumping up and down to provoke him before his eyes was utterly not worth mentioning, let alone valuable enough to occupy his mind, requiring him to spend a long time just to recognize who he was.

Unable to stomach that sound of contempt that reduced a person down to their bones, Military Minister Lord Long slammed the desk and leaped to his feet. "Hey! You surnamed Li, what are you snorting at? Who do you look down on? I hear that just a few days ago, someone witnessed you and a newly entered academy student getting all tangled up by the lake, unable to make things clear—a male-on-male relationship coupled with bribery and bending the law. Tsk tsk, such filthy conduct, why don't you hurry and give His Majesty an explanation?"

Li Chenjing raised his delicate brows slightly, his frosty eyes shifting lazily as he drank tea and stared out the window in a daze; the presence of the fellow before him instantly plummeted into the dust.

"Bribery and bending the law or whatever is fine by me, I have no interest. Right now I only want to know, my 'beloved concubine' is pregnant—who did it?" The man on the dragon chair furrowed his brows, striking a pose of true imperial majesty.

None failed to be awed by the imperial might of the monarch; the crowd cast unified and solemn gazes upward at the emperor, and the next instant...

The meeting continued, and not a single soul gave him the time of day.

"Everyone need no longer be affected by some boring noise. Embracing concern and benevolence for the common people of the world, let us enter the discussion of the next segment... If there are any further proposals regarding the new academy students entering the mansion, please continue to put them forward." The Minister of Rites managed statutes and rituals; of course, at critical moments he would also moonlight as meeting host, clearing away any redundant sounds.

"Hey, hey hey! My, my beloved concubine..."

"Grand Secretary Li..."

"54, 62, 157, 167, 354, 387, keep these ones, this ministry wants them." Automatically filtering out certain noises, Minister of Revenue Nian Youyu deftly clicked the beads of his abacus.

"Little Yu, why don't you want the one Little Jing values the most, that Zhu Bafu?" Minister of Rites Long Ang asked softly.

"Not interested. The Ministry of Revenue has no need for things that only know how to play petty tricks and look like corrupt officials at a glance."

"Minister of Revenue, the ones you've chosen are all skin-and-bone wooden geese. As for Grand Secretary Li's questions, not a single one of them answered a single question."

"My Ministry of Revenue does not need smooth-tongued individuals, and besides—I hate fat people."

"Not even baby fat?"

"Appetite is one of the roots of greed; when oil fills to the brim, it overflows!"

"Little Yu's preferences remain as strict as ever. Minister of Works, which person has caught your eye?"

"Easily said, easily said. I don't have many demands here, nothing more than learning house structures, repairing bridges, and carrying buckets of sandy dirt. Just let the Grand Secretary and Lord Long choose first. As for those who can't afford tuition fees, those who can endure hardship, those poor boys—just send them all over to me!"

"Speaking of which, on the day of the examination I happened to pass by the Peony Garden, and a wave of unseemly and offensive odor drifted over. May I ask which lord held private dissatisfaction toward this junior, sneaking over to my Peony Garden to urinate at random and supplement the fertilizer? Has the Minister of Punishments helped me investigate?" The Minister of Rites smiled.

"Hey hey hey! Are you lot even listening to me at all! That fellow surnamed Li serves the Son of Heaven at court alongside the rest of us, yet he is filthy enough to have ambiguous affairs with a man..."

"Lord Long, step aside for a moment. I haven't finished asking yet. Exactly who is carrying out private ambiguities with my beloved concubine right under my nose?"

Amidst the clamorous six-ministries trial, the outer corners of Li Chenjing's eyes twitched with a hint of impatience.

"Your Majesty, I congratulate your 'beloved concubine' on carrying a dragon seed in her imperial body. As for whose fierce spawn it is, this humble subject earnestly implores you to go and ask the male cats kept by the various imperial concubines in the Imperial Garden; this subject truly lacks the capability and the guts to get your beloved cat pregnant. As for Lord Long's conjecture concerning where my affections lie—"

He paused slightly, then continued anew.

"I must trouble Lord Long to alter your character and change your name before coming to consult with me. Otherwise... what does my male-on-male relationship have to do with you, Lord 'Longyang'?"

"The new academy students shall enter the mansion on an appointed day. No objections—meeting adjourned."

With that, head of the six ministries and Minister of Personnel Li Chenjing flicked his sleeves and departed, leaving a roomful of high-ranking academy students to continue their tea party.

"Your Majesty, Little Yang, you've made Little Jing angry again. This won't do, this really won't do." The Minister of Rites Long Ang shook his head helplessly.

The man on the dragon chair laughed and laughed, shaking his head with a sigh. "Indeed. Lord Long, what sort of ruckus are you trying to kick up? How is it that you've gone and pissed Little Jingzi off again."

Military Minister Longyang wore an expression of utter conflict yet found himself without a way to retort. Damn it! Was he the only one who did it? Did he alone possess such immense shock-wave power to be able to handle that dead prideful tsundere? You are the dignity of a nation's ruler, how can you be so shameless and utterly devoid of skin?!

Ranking List | Historical Romance Woman Dressed as a Man