After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 161 Adding Money

"Why can't it work? That's how the Crown Prince learned it."

Oh, I forgot one.

The old emperor seemed to remember something, and turned to look at Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites with ill intent.

Vice Minister Chen shook his head repeatedly.

"No, no, Your Majesty, I am an old man, I cannot compare with a young man like Shen Lang."

"What do you mean by old age? You're only in your forties, very young, and can withstand any hardship. Besides, you have the Minister of Personnel keeping an eye on you, so what's there to be afraid of?"

As he spoke, the old emperor did the exact same thing to Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites as he had to Shen Zhiyi.

"what--"

Watching the two men walk away triumphantly, the old emperor was very satisfied; it had been a long time since he had relaxed his muscles like this.

"Yanchen, go protect those two who can't even ride a horse."

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel, who had originally wanted to find some peace and quiet, suddenly felt as if a mountain was pressing down on each of his shoulders.

"I accept the decree."

Watching the newly appointed Minister of Personnel mount his horse with such grace, the old emperor praised, "Yan Chen is truly a model gentleman of the Six Arts."

Zhang Sheren and Chen Decai: ? ? ?

The old emperor: "The Six Arts are the work of a hypocrite."

*

[System, help! If you don't save me, your dear host is going to kick the bucket!]

The system is currently working hard to fix bugs: ...

—Aaaaaah, host, what are you doing to die?

"Help me! Help me!"

—Host, I'm here! Stop!

The horse beneath Shen Zhiyi seemed to have its hooves frozen in place, and it came to an abrupt stop.

Due to inertia, Shen Zhiyi was sent flying.

This terrified Chen, the Vice Minister of Rites, who was standing behind them.

"what--"

With a scream, Shen Zhiyi closed her eyes tightly, thinking she was going to die. Who would have thought that someone would take her down with them!

She opened one eye.

[They were actually two scapegoats.]

Open both eyes again.

Oh no, I've got a sty.

"Ahhh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."

Shen Zhiyi jumped up on the spot, turned around and started running back, watching the two people riding over on horseback.

"Stop, stop, stop! Don't look at what's indecent! Don't look at what's indecent!"

Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites: ? ? ? Holy crap, who's so shameless in broad daylight?

"Minister of Personnel, help me!"

After a chaotic and frantic commotion, the three of them leaned against a large tree, all feeling quite exhausted.

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel took out his jade abacus and began calculating his labor and mental and physical losses.

What's the point of calculating? Even if you did, the old emperor wouldn't give you any money.

"Minister Chen, it's ten taels of silver in total."

Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites, who was panting heavily: ...

He turned his stiff head and said, "This humble official, this humble official, this humble official understands."

Woo woo woo woo.

Wow, this is the darkness and bullying of officialdom! I've really learned something new today.

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel looked at Vice Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites with surprise.

This look lasted for several minutes.

The sight of it made Vice Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites feel uneasy.

Is ten taels of silver too little?

Should he be a little more clever and give him more?

"You're the first one who actually intends to give me money."

"what?"

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel returned the beads to their place on the jade abacus and stood up: "No..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Zhiyi forcibly pulled him back down to sit on the ground.

"Shhh."

Shen Zhiyi, like a thief, stuck out her buttocks and looked at the back of the big tree.

[Oh no, oh no, is that person going to kill me to cover it up?]

I didn't really see anything clearly, just two big white blobs.

Chen, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, couldn't resist the urge and nudged Shen Zhiyi's shoulder.

"Shen Lang, what did you just see?"

"Nothing, nothing."

[What else could it be? This is unbelievable! This is simply defying the heavens! I just bet on the Prince of Li's son, the heir apparent.]

Of course, that's nothing compared to the fact that the other one is Prince Li.

"Pfft, cough cough cough."

Unable to suppress his laughter, Vice Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites began to cough violently.

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel began frantically calculating his own future.

This is absolutely outrageous.

Prince Li, the emperor's son, was as rigid and formal as his title suggested.

But now it seems that it was a complete breakdown of social order and morality.

"Walk."

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel put away his jade abacus; this place cannot be allowed to remain.

Shen Zhiyi and Vice Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites exchanged a glance, and both shook their heads frantically.

"No, no, I dare not ride a horse."

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel: ...

Vice Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites: "However, I have a good idea."

*

"Your Highness is truly remarkable; you shot a deer in one go."

"Your Highness is truly amazing; you shot down a wild goose in one go."

"Your Highness is truly amazing, in one swift movement..."

[Your flattery is really getting going.]

The Crown Prince, who was riding high on his success, began to look around after hearing Shen Zhiyi's heartfelt words.

Wow, Shen Zhiyi actually came! He thought she would be too scared to come at all.

[This deer was already half-dead; anyone could easily have shot it.]

The arrow that struck the wild goose didn't belong to the prince at all; it belonged to the man behind me.

Crown Prince: ...

Shen Zhiyi really doesn't give me any face at all.

But what about what's behind her?

Accompanied by the slow sound of hooves, the prince and his entourage finally saw a horse... well, three people walking out of the woods.

No, it was one horse carrying three people, but with two mini-ponies leading the way.

He stared wide-eyed and rode his horse over.

At this moment, the pitiful newly appointed Minister of Personnel had one person sitting in front of him and another behind him, his face even darker than the bottom of a pot.

"Hahahahahaha."

The prince laughed wildly and uncontrollably.

"Brother Yanchen, I never thought you'd end up like this."

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel, with a dark expression, threw the Vice Minister of Rites, Chen, off the stage.

Looking at the other person who had fallen to the ground, he gritted his teeth and said, "Add more money."

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiyi shrank her neck, trying to minimize her presence.

The Minister of Rites, Chen, is wealthy, but she has no money to give this stingy man extra money.

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel looked at the Crown Prince with a forced smile.

"I have heard that His Highness the Crown Prince and Prince Li are as close as brothers."

"Oh, what do you mean by being like brothers? We are brothers, but it's strange, I haven't seen my brother since he came in."

Of course you can't see it, I'm busy fighting with the Crown Prince.

[I was almost killed by Prince Li to silence me, but I ran with my face covered, so he probably didn't see who I was.]

[You should know that Prince Li was utterly ruthless; he killed quite a few palace maids and eunuchs because of this matter.]

Upon hearing this shocking news, the crown prince dropped his riding whip to the ground.

"Brother Yanchen, to be honest, my brotherly relationship with Prince Li is just so-so, nothing like the one between you and me."