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He narrowed his eyes, gasped, and gave a cool smile to his gloomy profile. He put on the damp outer garment she had complained about, raised the sleeve to his nose, and sniffed lightly. "Dislike this cheap Rouge scent?"
"..."
"You're so vulgar and filthy, aren't you? You've tainted him, that's why you're jealous and disgusted, right?" Otherwise, she wouldn't care at all. "But... I have no choice, consider this body temporarily lent to me. Until I'm done playing with you, you'll have no choice but to let me abuse you as I please. Hmph..."
"..."
Waste...
What are you so smug about? You even dared to give me that wicked smile!? Haven't you ruined him enough? You've already used the Young Master's body to embrace women and indulge in debauchery! How much more do you want to ruin Young Master body?
Thinking of this, in the classroom, the Doctor was posing a couplet for Academy Student to complete. The first line was written in a square shape, "Heroes don't ask about their origins."
Feeling utterly miserable, Zhu Bafu almost ground his teeth to powder at the thought of Li Chenjing casually tossing his Wide Sleeves and stepping into the Rouge House again. He then hastily wrote down his thoughts.
"A rogue is not defined by age."
With a stroke of her pen, she looked at the glaring characters on the rice paper with satisfaction and chuckled.
"These are the test questions His Your Lordship has set for everyone. Study Attendant, go and collect all the Academy Student's answers, and have someone from the palace take them to His Your Lordship."
"Pfft!! Wait, wait, wait! Don't take it away! Let me revise it, please, please!"
"Academy Student Zhu, stop fooling around. This is homework submitted to His Your Lordship for review. Each Academy Student has a time limit to complete it, and no revisions are allowed."
"But, but, my couplet, my couplet..." Since it was homework to be submitted to the Emperor, why didn't you say so earlier! This is outrageous! How could you submit such a vulgar couplet! You'd be killed!
"If you are not as good as others, just study diligently in the future. Don't try to show off excessively in front of the Your Lordship. Take it away!"
The exam paper was taken away, Zhu Bafu was utterly despondent. "... Doctor."
"What is it?"
How does the current criminal law punish acts of hooliganism?
"Playing the hooligan? You mean harassing respectable women? The lightest punishment is thirty strokes of the cane, the heaviest is imprisonment and exile."
"... What about those who are suspected of indecent assault against the Emperor?"
"Naturally, one must die."
"..." Truly a ruthless tyrant who wiped out the Zhu Household with a single sentence. Is he really that naive? Just a little lewdness and he's ready to kill someone. "Couldn't he have a slightly lighter punishment? For example..."
"Hanging oneself from a tree in the southeast?"
Tears streamed down her face... What kind of leniency is this?! Did he mean when he said she had to die, he wouldn't even leave her a whole corpse? He wanted her to be beheaded?
Within two days, an imperial edict arrived at the Dongxu Mansion, ordering the detention of Zhu Bafu Confucian scholar from the Dongxu Mansion.
The Eunuch holding a whisk shouted loudly.
Where is Zhu Bafu, the Academy Student Zhu from the Dongxu Mansion?
"I, I am here." Oh dear, aren't emperors supposed to be incredibly busy with countless affairs of state and numerous memorials? Why did they arrive so quickly?
"Guards! Take Academy Student Zhu away! He has abducted the Emperor Holy Emperor the palace without authorization! We have troubled the three Noble Consort Empress to personally come out of the palace to punish him! Boy, I think your days are numbered. Prepare to burn paper money! Take him away!"
Huh? Kidnapping... kidnapping the emperor out of the palace? How come the listed charges are so different from what she thought? How could she possibly have that kind of ability? Let alone leaving the palace, she wouldn't even dare to take the emperor out to the toilet!
Outside the Dongxu Mansion, the Eunuch carriages of three Noble Consort of varying ranks were parked. A long, winding procession of eunuchs and Palace Maid knelt from the gate to the end of the alley, completely blocking the passage in front of the Dongxu Mansion. The veil of the carriages was lifted, revealing three women whose faces were partially obscured, yet their radiant elegance and nobility were Buyao Hairpin evident. They wore phoenix hairpins and hair ornaments, and dressed in brocade skirts. Each of them held a purebred, elegant, and beautiful Cat in her arms. Their small feet were bound in gold-embroidered shoes and were spotless. They dismounted from the imperial carriages and then boarded phoenix-topped sedan chairs.
The golden phoenix carved in openwork on the top of the sedan chair shone brightly under the blazing sun, and it was respectfully and steadily escorted into the Dongxu Mansion.
Suddenly, the air in the main hall was filled with the fragrance of fine Rouge, a tribute from the imperial court. Three Grand Master Chair were placed on high seats, and all the men in the hall withdrew to avoid suspicion, forming two rows with their heads bowed and eyes downcast.
Zhu Bafu was slapped and thrown to the Threshold. Just as he was about to look up, he felt a Eunuch press the back of his head down, and his nose brushed against the dust on the ground.
"You audacious scholar! The emperor 'Noble Consort are not to be trifled with. How dare you raise your head and peek Holy Emperor their Inner Palace! Lower your head!"
"Your Excellency, please do not be disrespectful to the Academy Student. All the Academy Student in the Dongxu Mansion are His Majesty's disciples and must not be neglected."
"Yes! Empress Consort Hui is kind and benevolent."
"Consort Hui Empress, I think that fellow should be taught a lesson. His Majesty stayed out of the palace all night, and he knew but did not report it, causing us great worry. Shouldn't he be blamed?"
"Your Highness Empress Consort Pan, please make him rise quickly. My Suanni dislikes seeing people kneeling and being punished."
"Hmph. No wonder His Your Majesty said that Consort Yan's cat is just like her, gentle and good-tempered, not spoiled at all, unlike my Pulao, which meows and scratches at any Servant doesn't know the rules and lacks proper manners. Indeed, His Your Majesty bestowed the name 'Dragon Son' upon our Cat, doesn't that mean 'the dragon has nine sons, each different'?"
"Your Consort Pan Empress, please stop teasing me. It's more important to quickly ask this scholar if he knows His Your Majesty's whereabouts. Academy Student Zhu, I ask you, where is His Majesty now?"
Looking down at the ground, Zhu Bafu dared not raise his head even slightly. "In response to Your Empress' questions, this humble scholar... this humble scholar has never had the honor of gazing upon the Emperor's countenance, so how could I possibly know where His Majesty is?"
"Hmph, of course it's impossible for someone as insignificant as you to see the Emperor." The woman in the gold and red embroidered phoenix robe lightly lifted the tea lid, her gold and jade finger rings twitching slightly. "You haven't seen him, but... where is Li Chenjing?"