"Master Shen is so complimentary." Leng Shuang nodded slightly and said politely.
"Master Leng, there is no need to be modest. Master Leng is the number one scholar in the dynasty. He is knowledgeable and talented. He is a well-deserved number one scholar."
Shen Lingyuan's words seemed to be a bit exaggerated, but Leng Shuang did not refute, but said shyly: "Master Shen is exaggerating."
Shen Lingyuan was slightly startled, obviously not expecting Leng Shuang to show such a posture, and for a moment, he was a little lost.
Leng Shuang noticed something strange about Shen Lingyuan and hurriedly said: "Master Shen, I'm sorry to leave."
After saying that, Leng Shuang left in a hurry.
Shen Lingyuan looked at Leng Shuang's leaving figure with a bitter smile on his lips.
As soon as Leng Shuang returned to the mansion, she heard that Gu Tingyu had left, and she felt relieved.
"Husband, when I went to court this morning, I heard that Mr. Liu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, had impeached you for corruption and taking bribes. Now there is a commotion in the court, and the emperor has decreed that you will be demoted to a commoner."
After listening to Leng Shuang's words, Gu Tingyu's face darkened, "Why didn't you tell me about this?"
"I only found out about my identity today." Leng Shuang said cautiously.
Gu Tingyu narrowed his eyes and stared at Leng Shuang with cold eyes, "I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it. In this case, I don't have to keep you. Someone, drag me down and kill you with a cane!"
Leng Shuang was so frightened that she collapsed on the ground, moved her knees, crawled back, and begged: "Master, please forgive me! I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong."
Gu Tingyu waved his hand, and the guards immediately came in, pulling Leng Shuang to go out.
Leng Shuang struggled in fear and cried: "Master Xiang, please spare me, I really know my mistake."
The guard didn't listen to Leng Shuang at all and dragged Leng Shuang out. After a while, there was a scream outside the door.
Gu Tingyu expressionlessly picked up the tea cup on the table and drank water without even raising his eyelids.
After Leng Shuang's shouts gradually disappeared, he put down his teacup and walked out of the hall.
In the evening, after Gu Tingyu finished handling government affairs, he ordered meals to be delivered to his palace.
He went straight to the Queen Mother's palace.
When he opened the door and walked into the room, there were already three beautiful girls sitting in the room. They were all maids hired by the Queen Mother from outside the palace to serve Gu Tingyu. One of them, Zi Yan, was helping the Queen Mother wash and dress up.
The Queen Mother is very old, so her hair is gray and her face is full of wrinkles. However, she is extremely well-maintained and looks energetic and graceful, making people dare not look at her.
Gu Tingyu quickly calmed down his emotions, walked to the bed, bent down to support the Queen Mother, and said softly: "Mother, I will help you dress up."
The Queen Mother smiled kindly and said, "Okay."
Biyun, the Queen Mother's personal maid, came over and took the things from the dressing table.
"Master Prime Minister, I will serve the Queen Mother in dressing up." Biyun was blessed.
Gu Tingyu glanced at Biyun and did not refuse, "Sorry to trouble you."
Gu Tingyu picked up the wooden comb handed over by Biyun and tied the Queen Mother's hair.
The Queen Mother closed her eyes in enjoyment, with a faint smile on her lips. She reached out and patted Gu Tingyu's arm, slowly opened her eyes, and asked: "Yu'er, have you encountered any difficulties? If you have If you have any difficulties, just tell your mother."
Gu Tingyu paused slightly while holding the wooden comb, and then continued to help the Queen Mother comb her hair, "Thank you for your concern, Mother. I will be fine."
The Queen Mother nodded and said: "Although you have not encountered any difficulties, the Queen Mother still hopes to share some of your burdens. After all, the Queen Mother is old and can't do much."
"Mother, please don't think like this. The queen is in her prime. A hundred years from now, she will still need her to handle the funeral ceremony of her son." Gu Tingyu comforted her.
The Queen Mother sighed, "Hey, my mother's health is getting worse and worse. Maybe she won't be able to hold on in a few years. By then, I'm afraid I won't be able to stay with you."
"Mother, you must take care of yourself!" Gu Tingyu said, his eyes turning red.
The Queen Mother patted Gu Tingyu on the shoulder, "Don't worry, the Queen Mother will do it. The Queen Mother can't bear to leave you. You must live well and don't live up to the Queen Mother's expectations."
"Yes, I have remembered it."
The mother and son chatted for a while, and then Gu Tingyu said goodbye and left.
After returning to the palace, Gu Tingyu gave Lin Qing the record of Mr. Liu's participation in his performance, and asked Lin Qing to check it according to the original plan.
Lin Qing responded and stepped back.
The next day, Lin Qing took the zhezi and entered the palace.
"I bow to your Majesty." Lin List knelt on his knees.
The emperor leaned on the soft couch and said lazily: "Sit down."
"I have something to report to the Emperor."
"What's the matter?" The emperor glanced at Lin Qing casually.
Lin Qing lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes, and said respectfully: "Back to the Emperor, Mr. Liu, the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, has recently written a letter to the Prime Minister for corruption and accepting bribes, requesting the Emperor to severely punish him."
When the emperor heard this, his face suddenly changed, and he said angrily: "What nonsense, I think he is full! He dares to frame Prime Minister Gu, he really deserves death!"
"What the emperor said is absolutely true. Mr. Liu dared to frame Zhongliang, which is an unpardonable crime!" Lin Qingyi said angrily.
"Show me the evidence."
"Here."
Lin Qing presented the book to the emperor, and the emperor read it several times. The more he read, the more angry he became.
In the end, the emperor became furious and threw the paper to the ground, "Liu Haisheng, you are really bullying me!"
"Your Majesty, calm down." Lin Qing quickly persuaded him.
The emperor took a deep breath, tried hard to suppress the raging fire in his chest, and coldly snorted: "Lin Qing's family, I will leave this matter to you. You must investigate this matter clearly."
"I obey the order!" Lin Qing accepted the order with his hands raised.
"Also, in this imperial examination, you must strictly control every candidate and never allow any malpractice for personal gain." The emperor warned in a deep voice.
"I understand." Lin Qing nodded.
The emperor then gave up and changed the subject: "How is Yu'er doing lately?"
Lin Qing hurriedly replied: "Back to the Emperor, the Prime Minister has been very busy recently. He stayed in the study room last night."
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, "Oh?"
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has indeed been acting strangely recently. I have sent people to investigate the Prime Minister's recent whereabouts and found that the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's wife are very close." Lin Qingru reported.
Hearing this, the emperor's face suddenly darkened and he stared at Lin Qing coldly, "Is this serious?"
Lin Qing nodded, "It's absolutely true!"
"This is unreasonable!" The emperor stood up angrily and kicked over the chair. "The Prime Minister's Mansion is the home of loyal people for generations. He dares to collude with the demon concubine. It is simply ridiculous!"
Seeing the emperor's anger, Lin Qing hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the prime minister is not a demon concubine. The prime minister has just been kept in the dark."
"Bastard!" the emperor yelled angrily, "He is my only son, how can I harm him!"
"Your Majesty, calm down. The Prime Minister is just confused for a moment. I believe he will wake up sooner or later."
The emperor sneered lightly, "Lin Qing's family, do you think I will give him this chance?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
Prime Minister's Mansion, Prime Minister's Mansion Study Room.
Gu Tingyu was immersed in correcting documents.
"Bang!" Suddenly, a loud noise came from the window, and then Gu Tingyu raised his head.
I saw a man in black jumping in.
"I have seen the Prime Minister." The man in black said, cupping his fists towards Gu Tingyu.
"Shadow, what are you doing?" Gu Tingyu raised his eyebrows.
Shadow immediately knelt down on one knee and replied respectfully: "Master asked his subordinates to report something to the prime minister."
Hearing this, Gu Tingyu's eyes flickered, and then he waved his hand to signal Shadow to get up.
Shadow then stood up and his eyes fell on the table in front of Gu Tingyu. He saw that the table
There were dense official documents placed on it, which Gu Tingyu had obviously just finished correcting.
"Tell me." Gu Tingyu said calmly.
"My subordinate met Miss Qin outside the Censor's Mansion today. She seemed to be aware of my presence, so I came here to report to the Prime Minister."
Gu Tingyu frowned, "Is there anything unusual about her?"
"No." Shadow shook his head, "Miss Qin just basked in the sun in the courtyard and then left."
Hearing this, Gu Tingyu breathed a sigh of relief. Since Qin Muyao didn't expose her secrets, he didn't need to be wary of Qin Muyao.
Shadow looked at Gu Tingyu, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Mr. Xiang, why don't you like Miss Qin?"
"Qin Muyao is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Qin and the most beautiful woman in the capital. Her temperament is arrogant, willful and unruly. How can she be a suitable wife?" Gu Tingyu belittled Qin Muyao unceremoniously.
Shadow shook his head, "I think Miss Qin is quite lovable."
"What do you know?" Gu Tingyu scolded with a frown.
Shadow lowered his head and said no more words.
Gu Tingyu rubbed his swollen and painful forehead and said, "Shadow, I'm tired, please step back first."
"Yes, Mr. Xiang."
After the shadow retreated, Gu Tingyu rubbed his sore eyebrows and murmured to himself: "What's so good about Qin Muyao? Why does my father always miss her?"
Gu Tingyu's head suddenly flashed across Shen Yurou's alluring face, and he felt a sense of guilt inexplicably. He then shook his head to dispel the messy thoughts in his mind.
He is the only child in the prime minister's house, he must not marry Qin Muyao!
"Oh, forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore, let's think about how to defeat Liu Haisheng." Gu Tingyu sighed, then cheered up, sat at the desk and wrote hard.
After a while, a secret letter was delivered to the Minister of the Ministry of Justice. The Minister of the Ministry of Justice was shocked after receiving the secret letter. He quickly wrote a letter and ordered it to be secretly sent to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Gu Tingyu put the letter in his sleeve pocket and then continued to review the official documents.
"Master Xiang." The butler's voice sounded outside the door.
"What's the matter?" Gu Tingyu asked without raising his head.
"Master Prime Minister, I have something important to discuss with you."
Gu Tingyu raised his eyebrows and slowly walked out of the study.
Gu Tingyu followed the housekeeper to the garden.
The housekeeper pointed to the stone bench not far away and said, "Master, please sit down first."