Chapter 44: Inside the Bureau

  Collect, collect, collect, 5,000 is in sight!

  Recommendation list has been on 16th place, on the chart!!!

  Finally, I'll ask a weak question: what does everyone think about setting up a group?

  The little lotus quickly flew out of the shell, and as soon as it came out of her mouth, she immediately grabbed another one with her small hand and put it in, then another one, fast to the point where it was almost faster than blinking. Looking towards the high platform, swinging her two small legs, her demeanor was extremely leisurely.

  Fu Jiong, on the other hand, was learning from Wei Zhao, sitting upright with a serious expression, slowly eating melon seeds and grinding his teeth, savoring the flavor endlessly.

  Wei Zuo drew some conclusions from Qin Yun's series of actions, and these conclusions were still relatively good. So he secretly let out a sigh of relief in his heart, thinking that he could go back and talk to his sister-in-law about it.

  Qin Yun saw Wei Zuo's knotted expression and smiled calmly, looking towards the high platform with a hint of complexity in his eyes.

  Time flies by the minute and second, the figures on the high platform are getting fewer and fewer, the crowd's shouting and screaming voices are echoing throughout the venue, unwilling to give up, regretful, angry, and resonating through the sky.

  Wei Zhao glanced at Qin Yun's empty hands, placed the oil paper package between them, and continued to look towards the high platform. Although he couldn't see clearly, he could still get a general idea. From below, there were occasional shouts of who had been eliminated, who was still on top, who should be on top, and who shouldn't have been eliminated. This allowed Wei Zhao and others who couldn't see clearly to understand quite a bit.

  Qin Yun looked at the melon seeds placed beside him, then glanced at Wei Zhao and the other two who were eating with gusto. A hint of embarrassment flashed across his face, his throat moved as if to spit out saliva, but he kept a straight face as if he hadn't seen anything, and didn't reach out to take any.

  Wei Zhao was also a habitual action, holding a handful in his hand, eating while looking at the high platform, and his ears were busy listening to the discussions of the crowd below, complementing each other, so that he could see the situation on the high platform almost **ninety percent**.

  "Seven more, seven..."

  "How is this possible? Usually there are over a dozen, how can there be so few this time?"

  "I don't know, ah, another one is coming down, another one is coming down, and there are still six more..."

  "Oh no, Hanlin is really going to be the top scholar this time... it's all over..."

  The voices in the field suddenly rose, a strange cry filled the surroundings, Wei Xiao's eyes were fixed on the stage, and he saw that there were originally dozens of figures on the stage, but now there were less than ten left. The residual light glanced at Qin Yun, who had a faint smile on his mouth, and felt that there was a hint of conspiracy in it.

  Qin Yun's expression was calm and composed, but his mind was filled with a sense of unease. He secretly pondered the emperor's thoughts. The struggle for power in the imperial court had become increasingly superficial. If those two powerful men didn't make their move soon, it would surely lead to chaos. Now that the emperor had set his sights on a young and insignificant scholar, Qin Yun couldn't help but think deeply about the emperor's intentions, yet he couldn't grasp the underlying meaning.

  Inside the golden curtain on the north side, the pale-faced emperor was reclining at an angle, with a sharp glint of wisdom in his eyes as he stroked the "Taizu's Life Story" in his hand, his face calm as water. In fact, he had not read this book, but only read the preface and two lyrics by Wei Zhao.

  These two songs seemed to have awakened something in the old emperor, and his eyes occasionally flashed with a fierce and sinister killing intent, causing the surrounding guards to shiver.

  In the other pavilion to the north, Master Yin Kong smiled and said to Yiyun Dao: "Yiyun Shizhu's qin skills have reached another level, congratulations are in order."

  "It's too kind of you, Master." Yiyun smiled lightly, pursed her cherry lips, and her beautiful eyes sparkled as she said in a low voice, "Master, are you trying to push Wei Gongzi onto the imperial court?"

  The Empty Void Master didn't seem surprised that Yi Yun would ask such a question. He rotated his Buddhist beads and smiled faintly, saying: "Don't you think, donor, that your life has been too much of a waste?"

  Yi Yun slightly furrowed her brow, puzzled and asked: "Master, isn't this the kind of mindset people should have? Master, by doing so, aren't you going against the Buddha's teachings?"

  The Empty Void Master chuckled and said with a profound gaze, "Bodhi originally has no tree, the bright mirror is not a stage, all things have causes and effects, do not force it."

  Yin Ruo furrowed her brow, and despite being extremely intelligent, she didn't quite understand Master Yin Kong's words.

  Yin Kongzi didn't say much, turned his head to look at another curtain not far away, concentrated for a long time, and then clasped his hands together and sighed: "Amitabha!"

  She also turned her head to look at the golden curtain, and suddenly remembered the old man in Yunfo Temple. Her face changed slightly, with a hint of enlightenment that seemed to dispel the dark clouds. But soon she lightly furrowed her brow, and her face showed a worried expression, for she also had some understanding of the current turbulent and mysterious imperial court.

  "Ah, there are still five, and then there will be five left..."

  "How could it be? Is Hanlin really going to choose the champion..."

  "It's impossible, the Buddha has never been like this before..."

  The voices of discussion in the venue grew louder and louder, many scholars stood up, arguing fiercely. This is closely related to their future, and they cannot afford to be bystanders.

  Wei Zhao listened to the murmurs below and couldn't help but turn his head again to glance at Qin Yun, feeling that something was off about today's events.

  The little girl stood up straight, looking seriously at the high platform. Her small hands secretly stretched behind Wei Zhao and gently moved the pen and ink over. Fu Yang had a solemn expression as well, but his hand behind him quietly took over the pen and ink.

  "Down came another one, and another..."

  "Ah, there are still four left, just four..."

  "How could this be, how could this be......"

  "What are these Hanlin scholars going to do? Are they really going to give the Zhuangyuan title to Wu Zetian?"

  "We will never yield, we will never yield..."

  All sorts of angry voices rose again, and they were no longer tolerant. Even the Hanlin above began to question this time.

  The officials and nobles inside the tent also began to discuss, everyone found that today's Buddhist debate was completely different, and all eyes were focused on the two Hanlin on the stage.

  Wu Fangyuan slightly furrowed his brow, he also didn't quite understand the meaning behind Zhao Yuankui's actions. However, after all, Zhao Yuankui was the head of the Hanlin Academy, so Wu could only patiently watch from the side.

  "Down comes one, down comes another..."

  "Ah, there are still three, three..."

  "It's all over... The Hanlin Academy is really going to award the Zhuangyuan to Wuzhou..."

  "We absolutely won't agree, the five states can't have a champion..."

  The crowd below was excited and shouted loudly towards the high platform, with overwhelming enthusiasm.

  Wei Xiao's eyebrows furrowed slightly, he wasn't quite clear what the Five States were like. Looking at the three people left on the high platform, a strange expression involuntarily appeared on his face.

  Although they were far apart, Wei Xiao could still roughly make out that the three people were Chu Han, the white-clothed youth, and Lian Yu.

  Qin Yun saw the three people above and was also stunned. Wei Zao knew all the big and small things that had happened along the way, including the details of the person behind the curtain. He stood on the side and naturally understood everything clearly. Seeing the three people on the stage, they were all in conflict with Wei Zao, and his eyes twitched uncontrollably. Looking at the curtain in the north, he was frightened and terrified.

  He quietly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and with a dry mouth, he finally understood that he had managed to revive himself. It seemed that it was indeed thanks to Wei Xiao's help. Suddenly, he saw Wei Xiao turn around and look at him, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty, secretly worrying that Wei Xiao might also guess what had happened.