A Scummy Alpha Emperor Transmigrated and Marked the Powerful Prime Minister - Chapter 24

“Greetings, Grand Chancellor.”

The crowd bowed in unison, their expressions exceptionally respectful.

Watching this scene, Lin Jiayue was curious why a Grand Chancellor like Lu Siling would appear here; if she wasn’t mistaken, most of these people were commoners without official rank.

Recruiting students?

Many Elders in the Grand Secretariat had students all over the world. Even if they didn’t come from noble families, they formed a powerful force—one built on the bonds of teacher and student, classmates, fellow villagers, or those who passed the exams in the same year. Gradually, these factions grew larger and stronger.

Lu Siling was a “Pure Stream” official—a true one. She never engaged in factionalism, nor did she need to. From the moment she became the Top Scholar (Zhuangyuan), she rose steadily to Grand Chancellor without ever leaving the central government. With the protection of the late Emperor, as long as she was brilliant and capable enough to be beyond reproach, every promotion was backed by both the sovereign’s support and her own achievements.

Of course, many people achieve merit, but few are seen by the Emperor; she happened to be the late Emperor’s most trusted confidant.

But now the late Emperor had passed, and the current Emperor was sinister, ruthless, and a master of disguise. Lu Siling had to have more support. Yet the crowd here was mostly composed of scholars in plain robes; given her status as Grand Chancellor, there was no need for her to recruit personally.

Lin Jiayue searched the original novel’s plot in her mind. After Lu Siling was tortured by the original owner, she had accumulated power in secret—she hadn’t attended poetry gatherings to recruit students in such a high-profile manner. Besides, how many of these people could actually pass the highest exams? Even if one became the Top Scholar, they’d start as a lowly sixth-rank official. When would they ever be able to help her?

Furthermore, there is only one Top Scholar.

Could it be…

She thought of the assassin just now. It was possible Lu Siling had arranged the assassin herself, and there must be something hidden here. Lake Pingxin, the Plum Blossom Path… someone else was coming.

“Prince Cheng has arrived!”

Prince Cheng—the man hailed as the “Virtuous Prince,” recruiter of retainers, meddler in military power, a man of wild ambition.

Was Lu Siling here to see Prince Cheng? Was she going to cooperate with him?

In the novel, Lu Siling gave up on the Emperor and cooperated with another prince, but that person wasn’t Prince Cheng. If this diverged from the original book, surely she wouldn’t choose him. Prince Cheng had the Cui family behind him; the very core of Lu Siling’s reforms was to redistribute the wealth held by these noble families and local gentry. They were not on the same path.

Lin Jiayue’s confusion lasted only a moment before she regained her composure. Her shifting expressions were fully caught by Lu Siling. Her reactions are fast, and she’s very smart.

If a Grand Chancellor and a Prince appeared at the same poetry gathering and talked cordially, people would undoubtedly suspect they had reached some sort of cooperation. But if one thought carefully, their ideologies were diametrically opposed; unless the Grand Chancellor abandoned her reforms, cooperation was impossible. Some could see this point, while others might not.

The fact that the young Emperor had clearly thought of this made Lu Siling re-evaluate her cleverness. Remembering how the Emperor had “failed” to learn a single essay for so long, Lu Siling felt a surge of anger she couldn’t vent—after all, a small Emperor was still the Emperor. But this person was faking it. To be this bright and yet act so dumb… dog Emperor, you go too far!

Lin Jiayue felt a sudden chill. Wait, why is Lu Siling radiating cold air again?

“Is Your Majesty not going to see Prince Cheng?”

If he knew the Emperor was here without a large retinue, would Prince Cheng be tempted? If the young Emperor died, the one most likely to become Emperor would be Prince Cheng. Lu Siling tilted her head, not hiding the mockery in her eyes.

“Me go see him?” Lin Jiayue raised her head, feigning arrogance. “He should be the one coming to see me.”

Lu Siling raised an eyebrow. “Then shall I go tell Prince Cheng?”

As she made a move to go, Lin Jiayue hurriedly grabbed her sleeve. “Teacher Lu, good sister, don’t! I snuck out of the palace. If I’m caught, the officials will nag me to death after the New Year.”

What “good sister”? The tips of Lu Siling’s translucent ears turned pink. “Shut up.” The person before her today was “Jia Deming”; even if she scolded her twice, what could Lin Jiayue do?

“Good sister, I was wrong.” Lin Jiayue blinked innocently and even held Bai Heng up in front of her face, shaking the dog. For a grand Emperor to act like a spoiled child… what sort of decorum was this?

Lu Siling snorted softly. “Guang Qing, follow her.”

“Yes.”

Lu Siling prepared to leave, but Lin Jiayue grabbed her sleeve again. Lu Siling, who hadn’t had her sleeve pulled once in her life, didn’t know how many times it had been yanked today; the fabric was already wrinkled. Is this person a child? Pulling sleeves at every turn.

“What now?”

“When is Teacher Lu coming back?”

“In a moment.”

Then I’m relieved. Lin Jiayue let out a sigh of relief. Lu Siling thought she would let go, but instead, she gripped tighter. “The assassin…”

“You suspect I sent the assassin to kill myself?” Lu Siling accurately guessed her thoughts. Seeing her tacit admission, Lu Siling shook her sleeve. “That assassin was not mine.”

Meaning she did send one, just not that one.

Wait! Lin Jiayue suddenly realized. Why was the Grand Chancellor being so easy to talk to? She answered whatever she was asked. Watching the Emperor’s smug little expression, Lu Siling could barely look.

So the Grand Chancellor falls for this kind of thing? Lin Jiayue had a “eureka” moment, making Guang Qing feel like something was “off,” though she couldn’t say what. Zhang Huairou, on the other hand, smiled. No matter the method, getting closer to the Grand Chancellor was a good method.

The current young Emperor’s situation was far too difficult; besides, only a kind-hearted person would fall for such a move.

Lin Jiayue, holding Bai Heng, prepared to find a place to sit. A man suddenly rushed in front of her and occupied the spot she was heading for.

“Sorry, this seat is taken.”

Lin Jiayue didn’t say a word, scanning for other places. Seats were being occupied quickly. Many people took up a whole bench by themselves, but this specific spot had two cushions. She walked to the empty cushion and was about to sit down when the man next to it slapped his hand down. He looked arrogant. “Taken.”

Great. I’m being targeted.

Lin Jiayue’s hand paused on the dog. Her calm gaze swept over the crowd; sure enough, many were waiting to see her make a fool of herself. How funny—she hadn’t offended these people, had she? Could it be because she was too close to Lu Siling?

She looked toward Lu Siling’s back. In the pavilion over there sat many people. The head seat was occupied by a young man—Prince Cheng, from the original owner’s memories. Surrounding him were high-ranking court officials. Those people didn’t care about the commotion over here; even if it was the same poetry gathering, those high-and-mighty people didn’t care about “commoners.”

Meanwhile, the commoners over here frequently looked toward the pavilion, longing to make a name for themselves at the gathering and be noticed by those at the top. But why should Lin Jiayue get to stay by the Grand Chancellor’s side based on just a face?

These people picked on Lin Jiayue because they weren’t afraid she’d tell the Grand Chancellor—the law doesn’t punish the masses. Would the Grand Chancellor really punish so many of them just for one “pretty boy”?

Lin Jiayue said nothing. She looked away from the pavilion, her expression still calm as her gaze fell on the man’s hand covering the cushion, as if the surrounding mockery had nothing to do with her.

Zhang Huairou stepped forward. “Sir, it is not right to hog seats.”

“I said it’s taken. Are you deaf?”

Lin Jiayue slowly raised her eyes and fixed them on the man’s smug face, saying nothing. Zhang Huairou understood his sovereign’s intent and asked coldly, “Then where is the person?” His eyes seemed to say: If no one shows up, you’re a dead man.

If the seat truly was for a friend, Lin Jiayue wouldn’t say much. But she remembered this man’s friend was sitting right next to him; the two had just been chatting.

The man felt a chill in his heart under their gaze and stammered, “They… they haven’t arrived yet.”

Lin Jiayue flashed a smile that made his heart skip a beat with fear. He thought: What if this pretty boy says something to the Grand Chancellor? What will I do?

Curse this pretty boy. Out of all the people here, why did he pick me? But with so many people watching, he couldn’t back down, or where would his face go? “There are so many places; do you have to sit here with me?”

Lin Jiayue’s eyes grew cold. Zhang Huairou immediately barked, “Then you can get lost!”

“How rude!”

“Hey! The one who insulted first is the rude one.”

A frivolous voice rang out. Someone strode over and flipped the table. “Aren’t you that lackey of Li Ping? Without your master here, where do you get the nerve? Do you think I won’t slap you?”

Gao Linghan stepped on the man’s hand, acting very overbearing. “I just heard you insulting our Master Jia.”

Seeing her, Lin Jiayue raised an eyebrow. “Why are you back?”

“I ran! Aside from that Li Ping, the Grand Chancellor wouldn’t bother with the likes of me.” Gao Linghan had run before even leaving the poetry gathering’s gate, and no one had chased her. She knew the Grand Chancellor wasn’t settling scores with her.

Thinking she had deceived Master Jia, she had turned back to apologize, only to see her being bullied. Someone daring to bully her person? Her hot temper simply couldn’t stand for it.

“You! Gao Linghan, don’t talk nonsense! Who… who is a lackey?”

“You, obviously! Did your father Cao Sen not tell you? Your uncle Cao Cheng is about to be beheaded. As a nephew, you didn’t go home to observe mourning but came to a poetry gathering instead. You unfilial thing.”

Lin Jiayue’s brow twitched. “His surname is Cao?”

“Yeah. The nephew of that not-yet-dead Traitor Cao—Cao-something-or-other.”

“Cao Shui,” someone supplied the answer. Another asked in confusion, “Wasn’t the Cao estate confiscated? Does he still have the heart to attend a poetry gathering?”

Gao Linghan reached out to right the table and sat on it like a bandit, facing Cao Shui. “I have to say, that Traitor Cao’s relatives are very shifty. Before the incident, Cao Sen produced a document of ‘family separation,’ proving the two households had already split, even if they still lived together.”

“Ah, split households but not split residences.”

Gao Linghan nodded repeatedly. “Her Majesty is still too kind. People like the Cais… their entire family should be executed.”

“You… you lot! Stop talking nonsense! My father has always had a bad relationship with the second branch!”

“You’re trash, Cao. Get lost. Who wants to hear about your family drama?” Gao Linghan rose and exerted a towering pressure, as if she’d start swinging if he didn’t leave.

The man looked around; everyone’s eyes were drifting away, not daring to look. Gao Linghan was the daughter of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, someone likely to enter the Secretariat in the future. Few dared offend her. Helplessly, Cao Shui had to move. His uncle had just offended the Emperor, and the Cais needed to keep a low profile. He regretted listening to his friend’s advice to hog a seat, only to be picked on.

What was supposed to be a targeted attack on Lin Jiayue had inexplicably shifted to someone else, and now everyone’s gossip centered around the Cais.

“Thanks for the assist, Linghan.”

Lin Jiayue and Gao Linghan sat side-by-side on the cushions. Gao Linghan had new tea and snacks brought out, then asked in a low voice, “To thank me, shouldn’t you tell me your real name?”

“Linghan knows?”

“Guessed it.” Gao Linghan gave a smug smile. “The Grand Chancellor has never left the capital; where would she know a scholar from Jiangnan? My guess is you are the Grand Chancellor’s… ‘person.’ Do you live in her manor? What is your relationship?”

“I heard the Cui family sent ten or so Ladies to the Grand Chancellor. You wouldn’t happen to be a Cui, would you?”

Lin Jiayue was drinking water and suddenly choked, coughing. “What did you say? Ten or so Ladies?”

“What’s the big deal? Who doesn’t send women to the Grand Chancellor? Bit by bit, from what I know, there must be over a hundred.” Gao Linghan tutted. “If I wasn’t so scared of the Grand Chancellor, I’d send myself in too. If I could latch onto her, I’d like to see if my mother still dared to beat me.”

Lin Jiayue: “…”

“And did the Grand Chancellor accept them?”

Just as Gao Linghan was about to speak, a cold voice appeared behind them.

“And what did this Grand Chancellor accept?”

The bodies of the two people and one dog stiffened instantly. They looked at each other, then slowly, stiffly, mechanically turned their heads, giving a simultaneous, silly grin.