Good Man Operation Guide

The Emperor was really angry.

If he had been younger, he would have been willing to accept the advice of his courtiers, but now that he was older and had been in control of the court for so many years, he had long since become accustomed to being the only voice.

Maybe if what the courtier had said was in line with his mind and took into consideration the overall situation, then he would have been willing to step back, but did this impeacher think he was blind?

This was clearly a sword pointing at the fuma, while also tugging at the scholars of the world.

The man didn’t see the Emperor’s face as he continued his long speech. If he had a keener sense, he would’ve been able to see that the Emperor’s favorability of him had dropped by one hundred. By the time he finished speaking, the Emperor looked at him as if he was a dead man.

This was most likely because of his last sentence.

“If Your Majesty does not dispose of the fuma, but chooses to act in favor of the Princess, I am afraid it would seem to be a loss of an Emperor’s prestige.”

This was a threat.

This must have been a threat.

Only one thought remained in the Emperor’s mind.

Kill him.

During all these years that he had been in power, this was the first time he had ever met anyone who dared to make such threats.

He was only a small official. So if he dared to do such a thing, there must be someone behind him.

The Emperor’s eyes darted around to the Third and Fourth Princes.

It was obvious that this was a trap for Hu’an, so it would also be a sure bet that at least one of these two were involved.

He didn’t look at the little official again but changed his gaze to the Third Prince and Fourth Prince. “As you see it, what should be done about this matter?”

Before the Fourth Prince had thought about how to answer, the Third Prince had already knelt down. “Even though it is the Eldest Princess’s Fuma, we should act according to the law. If anything, Emperor Father can bring in the students who were involved in the cheating and re-examine them. If Fuma is truly talented, he would then be able to clear up the misunderstanding.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Emperor Father, who was sitting above, smile lovingly at him.

“That is a good idea.”

The Third Prince wasn’t satisfied, but then he saw the little official who was instructed by him, looking at himself with a horrible expression on his face.

What was going on?

The Emperor chuckled and picked back up the list that he had casually discarded, looking at each name on it.

Since the Third Prince dared to bring this matter to light, he must have indeed found some real information.

The people mentioned within may really have cheated in the imperial examinations, but it is only unclear whether the Fuma had done so as well or not.

“I don’t know if you have any other evidence besides these?”

“Otherwise, it would be a bit insulting to ask those who have already been selected as officials to take a new examination because of what you said.”

The Emperor coaxed, “If there is no physical evidence, witnesses can do.”

Hu Chuan’s name appeared in the main hall.

“He and Fuma met on the way to the capital to take the exam, knowing that Fuma’s literary talent wasn’t as good as him, and Hu Chuan’s ranking is indeed higher than Fuma, so…”

The Emperor interrupted him.

“He ranked higher than Fuma as Juren, but failed the test against Fuma, so Fuma is cheating?”

“Your Majesty…”

“All right, I know what you mean. In that case, I will invite the people on the list to take the test again in front of the civil and military officials. Just remember that if your words are found to be false, I will also punish your sins according to the law.”

Needless to say, at this point, even Shen Hu’an could now see that the emperor’s heart seemed to have already deviated to the edge of the world.

Even though he was still surprised at ‘how could Emperor Father be so kind to my sister and me?’, Shen Hu’an was relieved.

He didn’t doubt his Brother-in-law’s true talent. After all, he had been taught by him personally and knew what a powerful man he was, but he was worried that his Brother-in-law’s reputation would be ruined. However, now that Emperor Father was in charge, his Brother-in-law would definitely be fine.

Things were indeed as Shen Hu’an had thought.

The officials urgently proposed the questions, the Emperor then made the final choices, and the people on these lists were summoned to the palace, brought in one after another.

Shen Huyang didn’t feel comfortable about letting her husband go alone, so she entered the palace with him.

Just after entering the palace, she was summoned over by the Emperor for an audience. She worriedly settled Fuma and repeatedly told the palace servants to take good care of her ailing Fuma before going to see the Emperor.

As a result, the Emperor gave her the test questions as soon as they met.

Shen Huyang: “…”

As much as she knew that Emperor Father’s thinking tended to be unusual, she could never have imagined that he would do such a thing.

“Thank you for your kindness, Emperor Father, but Huyang believes in Fuma, and he must have been framed by a villain. After Fuma finishes the exam with his talents, Emperor Father and the officials will naturally see the truth.”

The Emperor took in the sight of his daughter and for a moment was pleased but also felt that she was silly.

No matter how much you believed in your Fuma, wasn’t it better to have an extra layer of protection?

But when he looked at how resolute his daughter was in front of him, he was reminded of Consort Liu.

If it was Consort Liu, she wouldn’t have been willing to do this either.

This was his and Consort Liu’s daughter, who followed their noble character…

The emperor sighed in his heart a few times, ignoring the fact that he had just wanted to give his son-in-law a small opening to cheat, but Shen Huyang was uncomfortable with his loving fatherly eyes.

She’d love to know what the Emperor was thinking about at this moment.

He was able to be so ruthless in the beginning and could sit on his hands for years without caring about the two of them – brother and sister, so how could he still look so affectionate now?

“Cough cough cough.”

Perhaps because of the thought of Consort Liu, the Emperor’s heart began to ache again. He coughed a few times and allowed Huyang to withdraw. He took out two fragrance bags from his bosom and continued to reminisce about his Consort Liu.

The old eunuch came over with a bowl of medicine and saluted respectfully, “Your Majesty, it’s time for you to drink the medicine.”

With sentimental eyes, the Emperor picked up the medicine bowl and drank it all cleanly.

The old eunuch took back the soup bowl, squinted to see that it was indeed finished, handed it over to someone else, and returned to the Emperor’s side with a slightly lowered head, a respectful look, just as always.

The examination started and ended quickly.

The officials watched as the eunuchs sealed the names on the scrolls, and then personally corrected them in front of the civil and military officials, quickly reviewing and correcting the dozen or so scrolls.

Unlike the other people who have been summoned, Lin Shiheng stood firm and appeared at ease, as if he had a clear conscience.

Although he would always cough softly because of his weak body, his appearance and temperament couldn’t help but make people who look at him feel good in their hearts.

How could such a person cheat?

There must have been something wrong.

When the results were announced, Lin Shiheng did well in the exam, but the other scholars didn’t write in the same style as they did on the exam.

It was good that his son-in-law didn’t cheat. Otherwise, even if he were to be punished, it would still be an obstacle for Shen Hu’an.

The Emperor was happy in his heart, but he was still angry on the surface and directly slapped the table.

“Who gave you the courage to frame Fuma?”

“Your Majesty forgive me, Your Majesty! I did find this list, and Fuma’s name was on it. Yes, I, I…”

He said so but subconsciously looked towards the Third Prince, hoping to seek help. But he saw that the Third Prince looked away, making it clear that the other would not do anything.

The small official didn’t expect for it to become like this. He immediately wanted to say something to save himself, but then he saw the blue-clad scholar standing not far away with the anger of having been falsely accused. The other glanced at him, raised his hand slightly, and made obeisance to the Emperor on the high seat.

“I have a clear conscience, Your Majesty, as you can tell by a thorough investigation.”

With that, he turned slightly to the side to look at the small official and, seemingly unintentionally, revealed the emerald green thumb ring on his left hand.

It was just a seemingly ordinary action, but it froze the other.

That thumb ring belonged to his mother.

The Third Prince had threatened him using his mother’s life. As a son, how could he not try and save his mother from death? Otherwise, he would not dare to risk offending the Fifth Prince and petition to impeach Fuma.

It was just that his Mother had already been taken away by the Third Prince, and she had always kept this thumb ring with her.

Now that Fuma has proved himself innocent, leading to HIs Majesty’s fury… Whereas the Third Prince refused to save him…

The small official’s brain quickly turned. Then when the Emperor asked again, he burst into a kneel on the ground.

“Your Majesty, please spare my life! But this was all at the behest of the Third Highness, and I was only an accessory! I beg Your Majesty to spare my life!”

Lin Shiheng dropped his hand back down and watched as the Third Prince immediately knelt down in front of him, explaining that he had been wronged, before raising his eyes slightly to meet Shen Hu’an’s gaze.

Shen Hu’an, who witnessed the immediate reversal of the situation through the exchange of a single glance between his brother-in-law and the small official, quickly avert his eyes in shock.

This Brother-in-law was a little scary.