Chapter 80

The eunuch lowered his whisk, then suddenly smiled, "Academy Student Zhu, kneel to receive the imperial decree."

Upon hearing that Imperial Decree had arrived, everyone in the study, including the Doctor, hurriedly knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor! "Zhu Bafu even kowtowed down and dared not raise his head again.

This is terrible! His Your Majesty really wants to do it! Beheading, dismemberment, or even being pulled apart by five horses? Seriously? Can't they spare her for the sake of our past acquaintance?

"By His Majesty's decree, I have always regarded the Dongxu Mansion as a crucial place for selecting officials for the court. Now, the Minister of Works has entered the court as an official and will serve as an attendant to the Emperor. However, the Six Ministries Eastern Order are indispensable. Zhu Bafu, an Academy Student of Sciences, is intelligent and quick-witted, and possesses talent and learning. Although he is a newcomer to the Eastern Order, his conduct and words greatly please me. Therefore, I hereby appoint him Minister of Works, to participate in the Six-Ministry Review Ministries of the Eastern Order. This is my decree."

"..." What... what? Did she hear wrong? Staring blankly upwards, Zhu Bafu looked at the messenger eunuch in front of her, hoping he would switch to plain language and repeat himself: What did His Your Majesty want to do with her?

Seeing that she completely ignored the envious and jealous looks around her, and was still in a daze without thanking him, the eunuch could only offer a half-smiling reminder, "Congratulations, Zhu Yuansheng! His Academy Student Zhu has taken notice of Your Majesty and promoted you to the Minister of Works of the Eastern Order Ministry of Works. Your career will surely soar from here on out. You should know that this is the first time in the entire history of the Eastern Order Commander Mansion that a newly recruited Academy Student has been appointed as a director."

"I... became an official?"

"That's right. Although the Eastern Order Commander Mansion only handles the affairs of the Eastern Order Inner Palace, it reports directly to His Majesty. While its rank isn't high, it's still a rank-based official."

"... Father-in-law, I'm just asking, just asking secretly... can this be reported to His Your Majesty?" T__T She didn't want the crime of deceiving the emperor to snowball; for a woman to be granted a title or official position was a capital offense.

"How can that be? It's Imperial Decree! Disobeying an imperial edict means losing your head! Besides, this is a great reward from His Majesty, why would you refuse?"

"... This humble subject thanks Your Majesty for your eternal gratitude." T__T So the so-called generous reward wasn't a public commendation for her farting, but rather another chance to bully the Great Lord? What a joke!

Zhu Bafu spent the entire morning in a daze.

After that eunuch left, she was treated like a caged animal, the subject of gossip and speculation from her classmates. They asked her what connections or backing she had, whether she was truly on friendly terms with His Your Majesty, as rumored. Ugh! One crazy person went the furthest, actually asking her if Your Majesty was the one who got His Inner Palace's most beautiful concubine pregnant...

Ideally, she would have that ability! To impregnate His Your Majesty's feline companion, and then use that to blackmail him into appointing her to a minor official position!

Her relationship with the Imperial Noble Consort was completely innocent! That female cat never even gave her a second glance! If there was any coveting, it was the cat that was always eyeing the Young Master's good looks, rubbing against his trouser legs in heat.

Human jealousy and gossip combined are truly terrifying; one can only imagine that they would cross species lines and cause trouble. After finally escaping their attacks, she slipped into the small courtyard behind the academy, sat on the artificial rock, and took out her own lunch— Xiaojiu's lovingly prepared lunchbox.

With chopsticks in her mouth, she lifted the lid of her lunchbox, and in an instant, a fragrant aroma wafted out. Wow! It was her favorite fried egg, along with a few pieces of dried...

Salted fish

Although the meat and vegetables weren't fresh after sitting overnight, Xiaojiu had cooked them perfectly; they were still glistening with a vibrant green oil and looked delicious. She couldn't wait; she was going to eat them!

"Slap slap"

Hmm? What's that sound?

"Clap clap clap clap"

It sounded like beads colliding.

Who cares, food is the most important thing. She was starving, so she picked up a piece of fried egg, opened her mouth wide, and exclaimed, "Ah--"

"Snap--Whoosh"

In an instant, something strange flew from behind the artificial rock into her mouth, stinging her tongue. She quickly spat it out, yelling, "Ptooey! Who's so bored? I'm eating, and you're throwing things into my mouth... abacus beads?"

A round abacus bead on the grass caught her eye. She squatted down to pick it up, when a gleaming Iron Abacus rose from behind her neck, accompanied by a clear boy's voice.

"Leave the food box. Get out."

"Wh... what's going on?" She glanced sideways and behind her, only to see a little boy, barely taller than her shoulder and looking no more than ten years old, staring at her with a cold and indifferent expression.

He held a cold Iron Abacus around her neck, the beads clicking loudly as he gripped it with his wrist, seemingly fueled by his own inner fire.

"Didn't you hear me? I told you to get lost."

"Hey! You're pretty arrogant, kid. You told me to get lost? I haven't even told you to get lost yet! I was here first, okay? Besides, even if you were here first, what business is it of yours if I'm having lunch here?"

Narrowing his eyes, the boy's gaze blazed with anger. "I'll say it again: leave the food box, and you—get out."

So they're here to steal her food? A little beggar, huh? Daring to call himself "this humble servant" at Xiaonian? What kind of humble servant? Trying to act mature, more like fermented bean curd!

He was thin and pale, quite handsome, but his dark circles made one wonder if he'd been thieves all night. His dark gray scholar's Confucian Robe, though simple, was more like tattered rags, patched and mended many times over the years, suggesting a dire financial situation. His angry glare shifted from her to the lunchbox in her hand, his eyes looking as if he hadn't eaten in days, as if he wanted to kick her over and snatch the food.

She had also experienced the feeling of being hungry and having nothing to eat. Oh well, we're all from poor families, why be so cruel to each other?

"Hey, if you don't mind, I'll share half with you. Just don't point at me with the abacus anymore."

"... What right do you have to negotiate with this government? Leave the food box; the food originally belonged to this government."