Chapter 33: The Ghost Story in the Imperial Study!

"Do you even have any ability as a Vice Minister? So many people have written memorials impeaching you, saying that every time they look for you to handle official business, you either push it off or drag it out. You've dragged out a minor matter for over a year—why don't you just go die!"

"And you, you even embezzle the funds for the bricks and tiles used to pave the palace paths, and you embezzled right under my feet. Impressive. I'll be damned, I'll give you credit for having guts. If the person next to you had even half your initiative, they could already be a Minister."

That's right, the one speaking these words was Li Chen, the older brother Li Si was always thinking about.

And in front of Li Chen, one could see two officials kneeling on the ground, trembling.

Incidentally, one could also see a memorial accurately smashing into the face of one of the officials, scaring him so badly he nearly convulsed and fainted.

This was her first time seeing her brother so angry; that imperial aura was simply on full display.

This caused Li Si's already high favorability toward him to rise by a few more points.

Perhaps no matter what Li Chen did, even if it were just walking or eating, Li Si would like it, and her favorability would always be rising, only she hadn't realized it yet.

Beside her, Chu Ruoyan was also very curious about who this girl in palace attire was.

In her eyes, this girl in palace attire was like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting: her skin was like snow, her brows and eyes were like a painting, her nose bridge was high and straight, and her lips were the color of cherry blossoms.

Even she, who had always been known for her beauty, felt a huge sense of pressure.

Chu Ruoyan recalled something; she had heard this girl in palace attire call Li Chen 'Imperial Brother' just now—could she be a princess?

Wasn't it said that the relationship between imperial blood relatives wasn't very good, and that everyone wore masks of benevolence?

But according to Chu Ruoyan's observation, the adoration and affection in this girl's eyes toward Li Chen really didn't look like acting.

And she didn't seem afraid of Li Chen; perhaps their relationship was quite good.

Chu Ruoyan was wondering whether she should first get on good terms with this girl in palace attire.

If she were to become Li Chen's imperial consort in the future, this would be her sister-in-law.

But what if Li Chen didn't take a fancy to her? That would be so awkward.

The main thing was, their faces were currently so close!

Chu Ruoyan wanted to move away, but she was afraid the girl in palace attire would think she was expressing disgust.

But if she didn't move away, why did it feel so strange?

Just as she was struggling with this, the two ministers inside had already reached a conclusion.

One rolled out on their own to wait for news, while the other had already been carried out by the Imperial Guards.

"You two, come in."

Li Chen's voice quickly reached the ears of the two beauties peeking through the window.

Li Si playfully stuck out her tongue and walked inside.

Chu Ruoyan still looked somewhat restrained, even more nervous than when she had come a few days ago.

Actually, this couldn't be blamed on her; many people were afraid of coming to Li Chen's Imperial Study.

Chu Ruoyan had seen many court officials, including Grand General Guo Poyun, come out after entering with either trembling legs or drenched in sweat.

That's right, Li Chen's Imperial Study was like a rule-based ghost story; it was a place that terrified all the ministers of the Tian Ce Dynasty.

Among the ministers, there even circulated a set of Imperial Study Rules:

【Rule 1: Upon hearing His Majesty's summons, please immediately put down the tasks in your hands and arrive at the Imperial Study at the fastest speed, otherwise you will be in great danger.】

【Rule 2: When picking up a memorial that has fallen at your feet inside the Imperial Study, no matter what you see, you must pretend to be afraid, and you must never admit to the content written on the memorial, this way you can temporarily survive.】

【Rule 3: When His Majesty stands up, absolutely do not make eye contact with him, otherwise he will think you are provoking him.】

【Rule 8: If you violate the above rules, it proves you have been contaminated by the ghost story; please go to the Wu Gate yourself to receive a blade, ending this ghost story journey.】

Perhaps in front of many people, Li Chen was terrifying, a majestic new Emperor.

For Li Si, it was more of a heartache; she had heard from her Master that being an Emperor was very tiring, and now it certainly looked that way. As Li Chen's good sister, she naturally had to strive to share the burden for Li Chen.

Inside the Imperial Study at this moment, Li Chen also didn't understand; when the late Emperor was alive, it seemed there weren't this many memorials.

How come when he became Emperor, these memorials were sent here as if they were free?

What he didn't know was that during the late Emperor's reign, he had to balance the situation in the court, and even had to take care of those old ministers who had followed him during his Hidden Dragon phase.

Many matters were handled coldly, or not handled at all; the court officials roughly understood the Emperor's meaning, so there weren't many memorials submitted.

But Li Chen caught whoever he could and went after them, and he had no faction, and even less need to care about the feelings of these old ministers; he even cleaned up the Princes and the great nobles, so the ministers were very enthusiastic about submitting memorials.

As his 'political achievements' continued to rise, Li Chen naturally became more and more excellent in the eyes of the ministers, especially those loyal ministers, who even privately compared Li Chen to a wise monarch of the generation.

One must know, saying Li Chen was a wise monarch to his face was actually just flattery; no one would care about that.

Saying it privately, however, had a lot of weight; it was equivalent to their sincere recognition of Li Chen.

Inside the Imperial Study, Li Chen finished reviewing the last memorial and gently rubbed his temples, finally freeing himself from the mountain of official business.

At this time, Li Si and Chu Ruoyan also slowly stepped into the Imperial Study.

!

Seeing the two beauties appear, Li Chen's mood improved quite a bit.

"Imperial Brother, you're finally done with your work." Li Si carried a hint of playful amusement, her eyes sparkling with concern for Li Chen.

Li Chen looked up, his gaze landing gently on Princess Li Si, and he smiled: "I have indeed been quite busy lately. Why do you have time to return to the palace? Aren't you busy studying?"

Li Si walked to Li Chen's side, gently pounding his shoulders, and acted spoiled: "I heard Imperial Brother is working hard day and night, so I'm feeling heartache for Imperial Brother and wanted to come back to help you share some of the burden."

The two hadn't seen each other for a long time, and plus, after Li Chen became Emperor, there weren't many rigid rules here, so Li Si began to pour out her grievances, talking about the hardships she had encountered over these years.

Usually, her mother would make her learn this and that, and there were many things she wasn't interested in, yet she was forced to learn them.

During festivals, the Imperial Capital would have celebrations; she wanted to go, but she couldn't, and could only listen to the lively atmosphere outside—so boring.

Li Chen then indicated, don't worry, since I've become Emperor, who else besides me can control you?

The two of them chatted enthusiastically, even forgetting that there were others here.

Chu Ruoyan even felt that she was somewhat redundant here.

After chatting for a while, Li Si seemed to remember something, and her expression became somewhat solemn: "Imperial Brother, actually, I came back this time, and there is one more thing I almost forgot to say."

Li Chen was slightly startled, and while enjoying the massage, he signaled for her to continue.

Li Si took a deep breath and said: "Tomorrow is the twentieth anniversary ceremony of the Yun Lu Academy. At that time, great scholars from all sides will come to attend, and there will even be students from all over the world coming for the reputation, just to catch a glimpse of the academy's style. The Master specifically invited Imperial Brother to attend at that time; firstly, to celebrate the academy's twentieth anniversary, and secondly, he also wants the readers of the world to admire the imperial majesty and feel Imperial Brother's brilliance and martial prowess."

The Master of Yun Lu Academy? Li Chen had indeed heard of him; he was one of the few Sage Realm experts in the Imperial Capital.

Li Chen remembered that when the late Emperor was on the throne, he had invited him to join the court as an official many times, but he had declined them all.

Even the late Emperor had personally visited the academy to see him, but he had never had such a desire.

How come now, he suddenly wanted to take the initiative to find me?

It was rare to encounter a powerhouse of the same realm; to put it bluntly, they were all mixing in the same place, so Li Chen also wanted to meet this person, and thus he agreed: "Good, I will definitely arrive in person at the ceremony tomorrow and join the world's students in this grand event!"

His answer was relatively official, representing the Emperor's attitude.

Seeing Li Chen agree, Li Si was also very happy, and then she glanced at Chu Ruoyan beside her.

With a mischievous smile, she said: "Imperial Brother, are you two going on a date?"

Li Chen rolled his eyes at her and replied: "Since you know, why haven't you disappeared yet?"

"As you command!" When Li Si left, she even gave Chu Ruoyan a 'go for it' expression, making her feel somewhat embarrassed.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 34 =====