Chapter 5

1.5 – If you think about it, you'll die, can't close your eyes

When Xue Ling arrived, the emperor who was watching the show from the back naturally also came forth. There was a call of "the Emperor has arrived", and everyone knelt down as one to pay their respects.

Xue Ling followed suit and knelt down as well. His facial expression remained the same and he looked particularly gentle and respectful, but inwardly he was cursing the emperor to death.

"Rise, beloved ministers." The emperor's laughter was hearty. He was a middle-aged man with a magnificent face. The years had left traces on his eyes and eyebrows, but they did not detract from the dignity of the man who represented country at all.

Xue Ling seemed to see a huge golden dragon circling behind him. This emperor's luck was not inferior to that of this world's son of fate, the protagonist shou.

But, this had nothing to do with Xue Ling's mission. Xue Ling would not look into other people's luck.

Demons also had their own brand of honour and dignity; this was a point that Xue Ling insisted on.

"In today's Palace examination, I(朕) played a little trick in order to see what means our beloved ministers would employ in order to enter the palace. I cannot help but admire the young men who are able to write such articles." The emperor was full of smiles, and if Xue Ling hadn't known that he would follow up with an attack, he would not have been able to see through the mask to the emperor's real attitude.

Being an emperor indeed required excellent acting ability.

The young people below all laughed. After all, they were all at the age of complacency, and not only had they reached the final examination that the emperor personally presided over, they had already obtained some measure of fame and success. The emperor praised them so much that several people felt like they were floating.

Duan Xuyang did not know why, but he started feeling uneasy in his heart.

"The articles our dear ministers submitted have been carefully read through. Some of the ideas on governing the country have benefitted me(朕) a lot. I have prepared two articles here for you to read through in detail."

Generally, the imperial examination definitely did not progress like this, but everything was done according to the emperor's will. His subjects naturally did not dare to have any doubts, so when the palace workers presented the first article, Xue Ling opened it with his hands and quivered as he realized that it was Duan Xuyang's article.

The corners of his mouth raised slightly, making the little eunuch who sent him the article turn a little red, his entire body wavering as he retreated.

Reading articles took time. It was particularly silent inside the great hall, to the point where even a dropped needle would be clearly heard.

Xue Ling read the article along with everyone else, and the more he read, the paler his face became. The system that was settled on his shoulder, upon seeing him standing unsteadily like a thin sheet of paper and looking like he wanted to stand strong, but couldn't because his heart was too tired, too heart-broken, suddenly felt that its host's acting abilities were really too good – it had to give a perfect score! Xue Ling even occasionally sent Duan Xuyang regretful, hating iron for not being steel glances.

The emperor's eyes were constantly observing the group of ministers, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised. When some of the ministers looked up excitedly, seeming to want to say something, he waved for to them not to open their mouths and asked the palace workers to deliver another article.

Then, everyone was shocked.

Although it was incredibly hard to believe, the people present still read through the entire article. And then, their expressions turned strange.

Xue Ling did not read his own article. He sighed and looked up at the sky. Then, as if he had inadvertently noticed Duan Xuyang's eyesight, he looked back towards the other party.

There were too many things in his eyes – helplessness, angry grievance, disappointment, regret, pity, all kinds of emotions entangled together. Even if Duan Xuyang had endless hatred for him, at this moment, when faced with such a pair of eyes, he was still stunned in place for a while.

The gazes of the two men clashed with each other while the emperor looked on. This scene also fell into the eyes of the general, who had specifically been invited over by the emperor.

The emperor had sent a copy of these two articles to Cong Hui. Even an ordinary person would have found it a simple matter to judge who the original author of these articles were when they saw the two articles together. Therefore, Cong Hui's gaze was a little strange as his gaze switched back and forth between Xue Ling and Duan Xuyang. He didn't know how to describe his current mood.

One scholar angrily threw the paper on the ground and knelt directly in front of the emperor. "Your Majesty, this is such a dishonourable deed! This minister requests a thorough investigation!"

This person was a famous scholar. He attached much importance towards good articles and the sanctity of literature. This made it so that he couldn't stand for such a thing to happen; his facial expression was livid, and he was obviously very angry.

The emperor leaned against the dragon throne with his cheek propped up and spoke with a smile, "Today, all our beloved ministers are here. I naturally plan to thoroughly investigate this matter and return justice to the world."

The other two students also had unhappy expressions on their faces. Upon hearing the emperor's words, they finally let out a relieved breath.

When they read the first article, they felt that they hadn't been wronged in losing to it. But when they saw the second article, they fully understood the gap between themselves and the author of the article. Such an amazing article was shamelessly copied – no scholar with strong moral characters would be able to accept such a thing.

When comparing the two articles, which one is better or worse was not even an issue that needs to be thought about. There was nothing wrong with these people's indignation.

Duan Xuyang looked pale. He knelt down and kowtowed with a loud bang towards the emperor. "Seeking Your Majesty's understanding!"

The emperor sneered, "Whatever injustice dear minister has, just directly say it, I will give you an answer."

Xue Ling felt deeply that the emperor on the throne was really cunning. This tone of voice made it clear that he was playing tricks on people.

Duan Xuyang couldn't worry too much about these things. His current position was very unfavourable. He had to pull back, and even if he had no chance of winning, he would not choose to sit and wait for death. Instead of letting the emperor drag him down and beat him to death, he should stand up and speak first to fight for his own life.

This was already the fastest method that Xue Ling could think of to resolve the protagonist.

As long as Duan Xuyang was found guilty of cheating and lying in front of the emperor today, there would be no chance for him to turn things around again no matter what tricks he played in the future. After all, the punishment for such a crime was to be beheaded, and he hadn't yet managed to climb up the big tree that was the general. At this time, if he was sentenced, that was really the end of the road for him.

"Your Majesty, the first article is the clumsy work of this common one, of which this common one can recite every word backwards, while the second article has only been seen for the first time today. This common one has really been wronged!" Although he completed the exams, Duan Xuyang was indeed a common citizen.

"Oh? Do you mean that the author of the second article copied your article?

"This common one dare not, although I do not know why our views and texts are so similar, but the second article is indeed more profound than this common one's, whether or not it has been copied, this point, this common one dare not jump to conclusions."

"In the imperial audience hall, under the Son of Heaven, Duan Xuyang, you lying like this without a manuscript, don't you feel ashamed?" Xue Ling finally spoke up.

Duan Xuyang's expression remained unchanged. He didn't move, and only said, "I don't know what the champion scholar means by that."

"Looks like you want to pretend that we do not know each other?" Xue Ling sneered. "Funny, I thought my family had supported you for decades, and I treated you like a true brother. Even if I could not have you treat me as family, at least there should be some feelings. I did not expect you to be so extreme."

Duan Xuyang gritted his teeth, thinking to himself, 'Aren't you the one that is being extreme? Even having the face to blame me here!'

"I haven't met the champion scholar before. I don't know what you mean." Even if one bit him to death, he wouldn't admit to this. Otherwise, it would really be over.

At this point, everyone in the palace also understood who the authors of these two articles were. Even if Duan Xuyang called for his grievances to be addressed, the other students would not want to stand with him. First one, then another scholar stepped away, and soon, Duan Xuyang's side became empty.

His face finally turned white. Even if he could get away with it today, his life was already ruined.

"Never seen me before?" Xue Ling laughed coldly and said, "Then how did you take my family's jade token and go to the General's Palace to ask for them to take you in?"

"That's my family's jade token! Champion scholar, don't go overboard! "

"Duan family has me as its only son." Xue Ling was expressionless as he threw a jade pendant at Duan Xuyang's feet. "Apart from me, who dares to call himself Duan family's heir? You are also ridiculous. For the sake of power and dignity, do I also need to thank you for not taking up my name, so that I was not left without an identity?"

Duan Xuyang was pale, but even though things had reached this point, he still insisted on clenching the bit between his teeth. "I don't know what you're talking about. My token was handed down from my family. Is the champion scholar also wanting to grab it?"

"In fact, it's very simple to look into such things." Xue Ling crouched beside him and whispered in his ear, reciting his masterpieces which were widely circulated in the capital before reaching out to touch his increasingly pale face. "Really disobedient. I clearly told you to burn all those poems as they were all inferior works, but you even took them out to make people laugh."

All the hair on Duan Xuyang's body stood on end when Xue Ling touched him. He fell to the ground and looked at Xue Ling as though he was looking at a devil. "You are not Duan Qian! You are not Duan Qian! Duan Qian cannot possibly like this!"

Xue Ling squinted, and the little fox beside him paced back and forth in agitation. "Host, you cannot OOC too much! If the protagonist sees through your identity, you will be automatically kicked out of the world. Although it's a low levelled world, the world itself still has its own self-consciousness. If you are kicked out directly, it's all over!"

"Of course I am Duan Qian." Xue Ling forced down the mouthful of blood that came pouring up because of the world's rejection, and his lips were tinged with a little blood. "Without you, how would today's Duan Qian come to be?" His laugh was a little ugly as he placed his hand over his chest as though he was about to die. "While I was stupidly trying to heal my sickness and waiting for you to bring people back, I refused to believe that I had trusted the wrong person. When I came to the capital and heard those poems, I comforted myself that it was just for self-protection, there must be some misunderstanding. Today I wanted to give you a chance." He staggered on his feet and was about to fall, but his body was held up by a pair of big hands.

"Take care of your body." Cong Hui supported him, adding, "Duan family's grievance has not yet been addressed, you cannot fall here."

Xue Ling reluctantly stood firm, raised his head to give Cong Hui a smile, and then looked down at Duan Xuyang. "Now that things have reached this point, our acquaintance of many years, our sentiment, is over now."

Seeing the general that suddenly appeared, Duan Xuyang felt really bad all over. The general had been his last trump card. But now, obviously, all his back roads had been cut off.

The emperor, who had been watching the play since the beginning, finally spoke. "Nothing more to say? If there is nothing else, I will help you with your grievances."

"…" Duan Xuyang looked at the face of the Son of Heaven without any spirit in his eyes. He only felt a sense of oppression that made him unable to raise his head. He bowed his head and finally accepted his fate.

The moment he lowered his head, the strong luck that was always surrounding him began to stir crazily, causing a great commotion. And then, unhesitatingly, it rose directly into the sky and disappeared completely.

Xue Ling covered his chest, knowing that the protagonist had exhausted his all and had no more chances.

He sneered, motioned to Cong Hui to release himself, and knelt in front of the emperor, giving the emperor a great obeisance. "Thanking His Majesty for aiding this common one."

The emperor stood up and descended the dais step by step to raise Xue Ling up. "Beloved official has such a talent for governing the country, he should not be buried by some small people."

Xue Ling repressed the smile that wanted to come out, and then stepped back two steps, accurately fainting straight into Cong Hui's bosom. Fresh blood flowed from his mouth, making his whole person look as frail as a thin piece of paper that could be blown away with a breeze.

Giving the man in his arms an undecipherable look, Cong Hui directly picked him up in a princess carry, and spoke to the emperor, "Your Majesty, the family of the first prize champion was very kind to this subject in his youth. Before that, this subject had no eyes and had taken care of the wrong person. Now that the champion scholar is in bad health, it is better for this subject to take him back to his home and rest, which is also a reward for his parents' kindness."

The emperor touched his moustache, looked deeply at Cong Hui, and laughed, "Granted. Send a few imperial doctors to your house to help you look after him. The champion scholar is my future Prime Minister, he should be well protected by the general. If there is any mistake, I will hold you responsible."

"This subject obeys the order."

The episode of trial in the audience hall was like a stage. After a lot of noise, it was over and dispersed.

Xue Ling was taken back by Cong Hui, and the rest of them looked at each other. Then, with a laugh from the emperor, they were appointed and received their documents.

Only Xue Ling, as the champion, was given a reward but not assigned a rank. The emperor could probably see that he did not have much of his life left, and so he had no intention of enslaving him.

It is better not to force such a genius.