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Consort Ning was also worried about her cousin Jiang Mingzhi who had been given sixty lashes. As soon as she saw her aunt, she immediately asked, "How is Mingzhi doing now?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw her aunt Lady Zhao burst into tears, saying, "Mingzhi still can't get out of bed. Your uncle and I asked the Princess to send an imperial doctor to examine him. The doctor said he might be crippled for life... My poor Mingzhi hasn't even taken a wife yet!"

Lady Zhao became more and more aggrieved as she spoke. However, since the lashes were ordered by the Emperor and they were in the palace, she could only sob quietly, afraid others might hear and cause trouble.

Consort Ning said angrily, "Mingzhi at most tore up that Li boy's book, and he was also beaten by that boy. Yet His Majesty dealt with him so harshly. It's really too much."

Hearing this, her mother Lady Cui also nodded, "Isn't that so? Mingzhi was wrong first, but it wasn't a big mistake. Besides, boys of this age are all a bit mischievous. Wouldn't it have been enough to make them apologize properly? Now he's been beaten like this, what are we to do!"

As she finished speaking, her aunt Lady Zhao cried even louder.

Consort Ning became even more angry and snorted, "If it wasn't for the fact that he's Li Yanshu's family, how could this have happened? She must have been whispering in His Majesty's ear, causing Mingzhi to end up like this! Huh, her brother is worth ten thousand gold and can't be touched, while other people's children deserve to become cripples?"

Hearing this, Lady Cui sighed deeply, while Lady Zhao could only keep wiping her tears.

At this moment, a palace servant announced from outside the door, "Your Highness, there's an edict from the Empress Dowager."

Lady Cui and Lady Zhao immediately closed their mouths, not daring to make a sound.

Consort Ning also composed herself and asked, "What is it?"

The palace servant outside the door said, "The day after tomorrow is the Shangsi Festival. The Empress Dowager requests that the masters prepare well, and on that day accompany the imperial procession to Diehui Mountain Hot Spring Palace for bathing and spring outing."

Diehui Mountain was a royal forest located in the outskirts of the capital. Because there was a hot spring flowing from the mountain, the founding emperor had built a hot spring palace there.

Every Shangsi Festival, common people would go to the waterside to bathe and enjoy the spring, while the royal family would go to this hot spring palace to bathe and pray for blessings.

Consort Ning heard this and said, "I understand."

Just as she was about to continue talking to her mother and aunt, she suddenly paused.

Bathing?

She raised an eyebrow, suddenly getting an idea.

Meanwhile, Li Yanshu also received the news about going to the Hot Spring Palace.

Tsk, hot springs weren't available everywhere, and since she had a low status before, she never had the chance to go out of the palace. So this would be her first time bathing in a hot spring in this life.

Especially after hearing that the hot spring in the palace had beauty-enhancing properties, she became even more excited and immediately ordered people to prepare things.

However, at this moment, she heard the system say, [Don't be so happy, someone is planning to take revenge on you while bathing in the hot spring.]

Li Yanshu: "???"

Take revenge on her?

Thinking of the Jiang family matter that the system had mentioned to her a few days ago, she immediately guessed who it was.

Huh, fine, she had been waiting for this. The sooner the better.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the Shangsi Festival.

On this day, commoners poured out of the city to enjoy the spring outing, while the Empress Dowager and the imperial consorts boarded carriages and left the palace early.

However, Diehui Mountain was really far away. It took a whole morning before everyone arrived at the Hot Spring Palace.

After sitting in carriages for half a day, it was now noon, so naturally they had to fill their stomachs first.

The lunch consisted of specialties from the mountain, including freshly stewed pheasant, tender but not tough; whole roasted lamb, sizzling with oil, fragrant but not gamey.

There were also fat fish grown in the mountain spring water, with tender meat and few bones, whether sweet and sour or braised, all delightful to the eye.

Various wild vegetables and delicacies were also fresh and delicious. Li Yanshu ate with great pleasure.

She felt that the things from the mountain were more natural and tasted even better than those in the palace.

Mmm, it was indeed worth coming.

— There weren't many people in the harem now, and those who came out this time, besides the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, were only her, Consort Zhou, and Consort Ning.

For this noon meal, they all sat at the same table.

At this time, seeing her eating with relish, Consort Ning inwardly sneered —

[Li Yanshu, ah Li Yanshu, today I'll let you eat your fill first. You'll have plenty to cry about later!]

Hearing this voice in his ear, Yuwen Lan paused quietly.

After finishing lunch, while everyone was going to rest, he summoned a secret guard and said, "Keep a close eye on Noble Consort Yi. If anyone tries to harm her, report to me immediately."

The secret guard complied and went to carry out his orders.

About an hour later, he returned to report, "Your Majesty, someone has put drug powder in the water inlet of Qinglin Garden where Noble Consort Yi is staying."

— This Hot Spring Palace was built around the hot spring, with each garden having a water inlet that converged into a bathing pool for the residents to use.

Putting drugs in the water inlet, one could guess the intention.

Yuwen Lan immediately ordered Fu Hai, "Tell Noble Consort Yi not to bathe yet."

However, before Fu Hai could leave, Xiao Shunzi reported, "Your Majesty, Noble Consort Yi requests an audience."

Hmm?

She came herself?

Yuwen Lan's heart tightened, thinking she might have already fallen victim to the plot. He immediately said, "Enter."

Then, he saw Li Yanshu come before him unharmed. After paying her respects, she said to him, "Your Majesty, I have an unreasonable request. The water in my bathing pool is a bit cold. Could I change to another one?"

Change to another one?

Yuwen Lan understood that she had already discovered something was wrong.

That's good.

But without worry, he suddenly felt a bit playful and said, "The temperature in my bathing pool is just right. You can come bathe here."

What?

Li Yanshu was stunned. She just wanted to quietly enjoy a hot spring bath, not to seek favor.

There were many vacant places in the palace, why should she come to his?

So she politely declined, "I wouldn't dare. I just need to change to another place. I think that Yulan Hall looks nice..."

Before she could finish, she saw him smile and say, "I grant you permission to come here. What's there to be afraid of? This is the first pool the hot spring flows into, it's hotter than the others."

"..."

Somehow, looking at his smile, Li Yanshu suddenly had a not-so-good premonition.

So she said again, "Thank you for Your Majesty's kindness, but I'm afraid of scalding water. I'd better go back..."

Damn, at worst she wouldn't bathe. Staying here suddenly gave her a feeling of a sheep entering a tiger's den.

However, before she could take a step, he grabbed her arm and smiled again, "Just now you were afraid of cold, now you're afraid of heat. What's really going on with you?"

After speaking, without allowing any objection, he directly pulled her to the edge of the bathing pool.

At this moment, Fu Hai, who had accidentally observed the entire interaction between the Emperor and his consort, had a smile bloom on his face —

Tsk, even their flirting was so interesting. It truly was a case of envying the mandarin ducks, not the immortals.

But just as he finished this thought, he saw the Emperor return by himself and order the secret guards in the hall, "Whoever tampered with Qinglin Garden, let her taste her own medicine."

The secret guard complied.

Although Li Yanshu was a bit confused, she finally couldn't resist the temptation of the hot spring and got into the Emperor's bathing pool.

Ahem, anyway, that man couldn't do anything.

Besides, after bringing her over, he had left. It would be a waste not to bathe!

The hot spring was clear and warm. As she tried getting in the water, her whole body immediately felt comfortable. She lay in the pool for a while, not forgetting to use the spring water to moisturize her face.

Just as she was enjoying herself, she saw that man return and stand by the pool, looking down at her.

"Your Majesty..."

She was startled and instinctively covered her chest with both hands —

Tsk, although she was wearing special clothes for hot spring bathing, the material was thin and transparent, and now soaked with water, it was even more revealing.

However, that person raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, "What are you covering? It's not like I haven't seen it before."

Li Yanshu: "..."

She couldn't help but blush a little, muttering in her heart, [Rascal...]

But then, she saw him take off his clothes and also get into the pool.

Li Yanshu was momentarily stunned —

Those pecs...

Those arms...

Those muscle lines...

Tsk tsk.

Although they had shared a bed many times, he always wore nightclothes. Now he was only wearing a pair of shorts...

As she was secretly admiring, she saw him suddenly come close. Before she could react, he cupped her face and kissed her on the lips.

He could tell that this "rascal" was pretty much the same as calling him a "lecher".

Since they had been told as much, it would be remiss not to do something about it.

Li Yanshu: "..."

Alright, considering he had shown her as well, she wouldn't hold it against him.

So the two of them began to soak together.

Yuwen Lan rarely gave himself time off, so this was a rare chance to relax. He lay on the steps in the pool with his eyes closed, resting.

Li Yanshu also lay there for a while, but feeling the buoyancy of the water, she tried swimming a bit.

This pool was far too large to just be for bathing - it was clearly a swimming pool!

Hearing movement, Yuwen Lan opened his eyes to look at her and asked, "Do you know how to swim?"

Li Yanshu replied with a grin, "Nope."

She then asked him, "Does Your Majesty know how to swim?"

Yuwen Lan raised an eyebrow. "Of course."

With that, he began swimming in the pool.

His movements were graceful and effortless, his strong arms exposed above the water, quite pleasing to the eye.

After swimming for a while, he returned to her side and began to teach her how to swim.

"First, take a deep breath, relax your body, and try to float on the surface of the water..."

Li Yanshu followed his instructions, but was still a bit nervous, one hand tightly gripping his arm and afraid to let go.

Yuwen Lan smiled and said, "I will support you, don't worry."

As he said this, he grasped her waist.

But he accidentally touched her ticklish spot.

Li Yanshu couldn't help but burst into giggles...

The two of them were half playing, half learning, and it was quite fun.

After some time had passed, they suddenly heard Fu Hai reporting from outside, "Your Majesty, something has happened to Consort Ning..."

Li Yanshu paused. "Something happened to Consort Ning?"

Yuwen Lan's smile faded as he said, "We've soaked long enough anyway. Let's go see."

They exited the hot spring pool.

When the two arrived at Consort Ning's Xiangyu Garden, they found her lying in bed wailing.

Yuwen Lan didn't approach, but Li Yanshu gathered her courage to take a peek by the bedside.

She saw that Consort Ning's exposed hands, feet and face were bright red, her eyes tightly shut as if unable to open.

Yuwen Lan asked the imperial physician who had accompanied them, "What has happened to Consort Ning?"

The physician replied, "Your Majesty, it appears Consort Ning's body has been burned by some sort of poison."

"Poison?"

Yuwen Lan raised an eyebrow and looked around the room, noticing that Consort Ning's personal maids looked rather panicked.

He said meaningfully, "How could there be poison in the hot spring water?"

As soon as he finished speaking, someone chimed in from the side, "That's right, everyone else bathed without issue, so how did Consort Ning end up poisoned?"

It was Consort Zhou, who had come to see what the commotion was about.

At this moment, she was thinking to herself, [Could it be that Li Yanshu poisoned that bitch? Perfect! I hope His Majesty finds out it was her, so she and that bitch Consort Ning can both go down together, while I reap the benefits.]

Yuwen Lan ignored her and just looked at Li Yanshu.

He heard her thinking, [This is rather strange. Who poisoned Consort Ning?]

-- Li Yanshu had known Consort Ning was planning to tamper with the hot spring water, which is why she had gone to find Yuwen Lan earlier to change pools.

As for the pool water issue, she had planned to deal with it after finishing their soak.

Who would have thought that before she even finished bathing, Consort Ning would end up poisoned first?

What on earth was going on?

Yuwen Lan kept his composure and simply ordered the guards, "Investigate and find out where this poison came from."

The guards all responded affirmatively and sprang into action.

However, Consort Ning continued to wail on the bed, her cries becoming more and more agonized.

Li Yanshu heard her personal maid trying to comfort her, "Please don't move, Your Highness. Your skin is starting to split open. I'm afraid the more you move, the more it will split..."

Li Yanshu thought to herself, damn, this poison is brutal. To think this was almost inflicted on her instead.

Serves her right!

About half an hour later, a guard entered the hall to report, "Your Majesty, we found some unburned paper scraps in the tea room of Xiangyu Garden with traces of white powder on them."

He then presented the evidence they had found.

Yuwen Lan said, "Have the imperial physician take a look."

The physician came forward in response.

After examining it, he reported, "Your Majesty, this appears to be bone-melting powder. When dissolved in water, it can melt bone and flesh, enough to burn a person's skin. This matches Consort Ning's current symptoms."

Yuwen Lan made a sound of acknowledgment and said, "Since this was found in Xiangyu Garden, arrest everyone here and interrogate them harshly to find out who used such a vicious method to harm Consort Ning."

The guards responded affirmatively.

Immediately, the hall was thrown into chaos...

The next day, as the imperial procession returned to the palace, they brought back shocking news --

Yesterday at the hot spring palace, the maids in Consort Ning's palace had poisoned their mistress, not only blinding and disfiguring Consort Ning, but also severely burning her skin all over her body.

While everyone was shocked, they all speculated internally: tsk tsk, to think such a thing would happen in the palace.

Just how cruelly must Consort Ning have treated her servants, to make them poison her like this?

Meanwhile, Li Yanshu, who had returned to Ganlu Palace, was also puzzled.

-- How did that poison end up on Consort Ning's body?

She went to ask the system, which said, [The Emperor did it.]

The Emperor?

Li Yanshu was surprised. [Why did he do that?]

The system replied, [Because the Emperor discovered Consort Ning was trying to harm you, so he had someone switch her water with the water from your garden.]

Li Yanshu: [...]

It was actually the Emperor?

But why didn't he say anything?

Tsk, what impressive acting skills. His performance yesterday fooled even her!

However, before the system could say anything else, she saw Rendong run over with an excited expression and tell her, "My lady, good news! Our young master has been accepted into the Imperial Academy!"

-- After leaving Songhe Academy, Li Yuanrui had gone to another academy to study for a while. When the Imperial Academy announced its second round of admissions, he decided to try taking the exam.

Who would have thought he'd actually pass?

Hearing Rendong say this now, Li Yanshu immediately stood up from her seat and asked, "Really?"

Rendong nodded vigorously. "Of course it's true. They just posted the results. The master specifically sent someone to deliver the news to you."

"This is wonderful news!"

Li Yanshu couldn't stop smiling.

She knew her brother had talent. Sure enough, he had passed the exam.

But before she could celebrate for long, she heard the system chime in, [Hey, just so you know, Princess Changping's husband Zhao Chengwen is currently sending people to cause a commotion in front of the Imperial Academy's announcement board, saying your brother cheated.]

What?

Li Yanshu was stunned. [Causing a commotion saying Tianrui cheated? Why is that bastard doing this?]

The system replied, [Do you even need to ask? His nephew was crippled because of your brother, and his niece was ruined because of you. How could he not hate you? He's been preparing for this ever since your brother applied to the Imperial Academy, planning to use this opportunity to slander you.]

Li Yanshu: [Well well, it seems the previous stories didn't do him justice.]

Damn, one can't go easy on this kind of scum!

Time to add a few more strokes to his portrait!

Not long after, news of the situation at the Imperial Academy's announcement board reached the Emperor's ears.

After listening to the report from Yan Zhengping, the Director of the Imperial Academy, Yuwen Lan frowned and asked, "Who is causing this commotion?"

Yan Zhengping replied, "At first it was four or five people, then it grew to over ten. Now many of the failed candidates have joined in as well, so there are several dozen people. They are all demanding that the court hold a re-examination."

"A re-examination?"

Yuwen Lan sneered, "On what grounds are they demanding the court hold a re-examination?"

Yan Zhengping frowned and said, "Someone claimed that the third-ranked candidate on the list, a certain Li Tianrui, is the younger brother of Noble Consort Li. They're saying the examiners leaked the exam questions to this Li Tianrui in advance to curry favor with Noble Consort Li."

"Preposterous!"

Yuwen Lan shouted angrily.

The officials present were startled and immediately bowed their heads, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

From the side, Hanlin Academy scholar Zou Mozhong said, "Your Majesty, this matter seems to be the deliberate work of someone with ulterior motives. There were over a thousand candidates in this exam, and it's not uncommon for some to share the same name. From what I know, young Master Li has only recently arrived in the capital, so he likely doesn't know many of the other candidates. How could someone immediately recognize him as Noble Consort Li's younger brother and make such a big fuss over it?"

"A re-examination would waste manpower and resources, and make the court's authority a laughingstock! Therefore, I believe we absolutely cannot allow a hasty re-examination. In my opinion, the person behind this has malicious intentions, perhaps even hints of trying to subvert the state. They must not be dealt with lightly."

Yuwen Lan nodded and said, "Scholar Zou makes a good point. The people causing this commotion indeed have sinister motives. Issue an order to arrest everyone who participated in the commotion today and thoroughly investigate their backgrounds."

After the officials acknowledged the order, he added one more command: "Summon Li Tianrui for an audience."

Before long, Li Tianrui appeared before the Emperor.

The young man first bowed to the emperor and said, "This humble subject Li Tianrui greets Your Majesty."

Unlike the last time when he followed his father to have an audience with the emperor, this time he came alone.

However, at just fifteen years old, his composure was remarkable, causing others to take notice.

Yuwen Lan got straight to the point and asked him, "Today the Imperial Academy posted its results. Some say you cheated. What do you think about that?"

The youth's voice was very clear as he immediately replied, "This humble subject has a clear conscience and would not fear even if tested again."

The emperor on the throne nodded, "Good. I will test you again now in front of the court officials. If you can answer, I will personally clear your name of these slanders."

Li Yuanrui kowtowed deeply, "This subject obeys the imperial command."

Thus, in front of the Qianming Palace's Hall of Diligent Government, under the watchful eyes of several important court ministers, Li Yuanrui took the exam once again.

The Imperial Academy entrance exam was not as difficult as the imperial examinations. It mainly focused on the Four Books and Five Classics, along with principles of human nature and law. Several court officials asked questions on the spot, and the young man answered them all fluently, showing a very solid foundation.

Moreover, his demeanor was poised and graceful, not at all like someone who had just arrived in the capital from a small place like Ande.

After about two hours, the exam ended, and all the ministers nodded to him, expressing their approval.

Yan Zhengping, the director of the Imperial Academy, also breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "Today, Your Majesty and several officials have witnessed firsthand that this young Master Li is intelligent and truly learned. It is impossible that he could have gained admission through leaked exam questions. Clearly, those earlier accusations were pure slander."

Yuwen Lan nodded, "Indeed. Announce today's results to the world to quell any doubts. As for those who maliciously caused trouble, deal with them strictly and show no leniency."

Everyone responded in agreement.

As the young man Li Tianrui was returning home from the palace, his sister Li Yanshu had just finished revising her story "The Two-Faced Scholar Dies Under the Flowers."

Tsk, last time she had held back a lot to save face for the imperial family, but this time she decided to let it all out about that dog.

She blew on the ink on the paper and looked out the window, seeing that it was still early.

Figuring the emperor wouldn't come for a while, she couldn't wait and decided to take her manuscript to the Qianming Palace.

At this time, the ministers had just left, and Yuwen Lan had a moment of free time. He was about to take a sip of tea when he saw Li Yanshu arrive.

At first, he thought she had come because of her brother's matter.

But after she paid her respects, she placed the manuscript directly in front of him and said, "This humble consort has just finished writing a story and finds it quite interesting. I wanted to share it with Your Majesty."

A story?

Yuwen Lan was somewhat surprised. He made a sound of acknowledgment, took it in his hand, and asked, "What kind of story is it this time?"

She replied, "This story is called 'The Two-Faced Scholar Dies Under the Flowers.' It's about a man who appears honest on the surface but is actually extremely licentious. He does many outrageous things and eventually dies from his romantic entanglements."

Yuwen Lan: "..."

Appears honest but is extremely licentious?

Is she talking about... Zhao Chengwen?

Well, let's see how she wrote it.

So he said, "Tell me about it."

Li Yanshu cleared her throat and began to tell the story, "There was a young man who was intelligent and studious from childhood, and quite talented. At nineteen, he showed promise in his first imperial examination and thus caught the eye of a wealthy family, who took him as a son-in-law. From then on, his future seemed bright."

"However, his wife came from a wealthy background and was not like ordinary virtuous wives. His father-in-law had a vast family business, so he didn't need to work hard to build a career. With his talents unused, he could only live in luxury at home. As time passed, he began to feel bored. To seek excitement, this man began to keep mistresses behind his wife's back."

"One wasn't enough, so he kept two. Two weren't enough, so he kept three. Later, this man ended up keeping five or six, but still wasn't satisfied. He even bought a mansion in Jiangnan, specifically for raising young and beautiful women. Once these women were trained to his liking, he would keep them for himself. Those who didn't meet his standards were sold to brothels for profit..."

Hearing this, Yuwen Lan was taken aback.

He had no idea Zhao Chengwen had done such things!

This was outrageous!

He frowned and asked, "If this man did such things, didn't his wife notice? Buying a mansion must cost quite a bit of money, right?"

Li Yanshu sighed and said, "His family was as wealthy as a small country, and his wife had her own social engagements. She didn't pay much attention to his finances. Besides, this man had long been saving his own private funds. How else could he keep so many mistresses?"

That made sense.

Yuwen Lan then asked, "So what happened next?"

Li Yanshu continued, "This man had a favorite mistress who was actually a maid he had before marriage. Over the years, she bore him several children. As the children grew older, the mistress wanted them to be officially recognized as part of the family. She begged him. The man couldn't resist her pleas, but his wife would never agree to him having another woman. Caught in this dilemma, the man began to plot to get rid of his wife."

This was going too far.

Yuwen Lan frowned again, "There were even such matters?"

She nodded firmly, "Of course. Your Majesty, think about it. This man had seen so many young and beautiful women over the years, his heart was no longer at home. Moreover, his wife had only given him one daughter, while his mistress had two sons. Weighing the pros and cons, he decided he wanted the mistress and the sons."

"But before he could finish his plan, his other mistresses found out about this and all started demanding to be officially recognized. He could only try his best to appease them, but his energy was limited after all."

Yuwen Lan: "..."

Limited energy???

For the first time, he realized how fitting this phrase was...

After all, with so many women, it truly would be limited. Ahem.

He tried to maintain a serious expression and asked, "Then what?"

Li Yanshu said, "Then, those young women were certainly not satisfied. Some began to give him drugs. This man found that after taking the drugs, his abilities were greatly enhanced, so he became addicted. But over time, his body couldn't handle it. One day, he didn't control the dosage well and collapsed directly on the bed."

Yuwen Lan: "???"

Drugs???

Enhanced abilities???

Yuwen Lan thought to himself, this girl knows far too much!

But before he could speak, she continued, "The mistress was terrified and quickly went to find a doctor. However, the doctor she found happened to know this man's wife and secretly informed her. When his wife found out, she rushed over immediately. Seeing that it was indeed him, she flew into a rage and directly cut off his precious thing with a sword."

"This man was already weak, and after suffering such a severe injury, he died directly from excessive blood loss."

With that, the story was finished.

Yuwen Lan let out a breath and said, "He deserved to die. Otherwise, it would have been too unfair to his father-in-law."

Li Yanshu quickly leaned in and asked, "Does Your Majesty think this story can be published?"

Unexpectedly, he replied directly, "It can, and it should be done quickly."

Otherwise, if it was any slower, the Princess might be harmed by him.