You rascal, stop right there!

Half an hour later, Ling Shumo finally woke up.

The guard A Yan and the servant An Nian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It's inevitable to collapse from exhaustion after working so hard every day.

As the Minister of Rites, Ling Shumo is responsible for the Lingyu Kingdom delegation, the recruitment of talents for the Painting Academy, the imperial examinations, the establishment of Confucian schools, the Emperor's sacrifice to heaven, the Queen Mother's birthday, etc...

Ever since the Minister of Revenue Tian Yuan was dismissed, the acting Vice Minister of Revenue always made mistakes, and if the money couldn't be delivered, the adults had to come...

Not only are the official duties very busy, but these ministers also come to see you from time to time. You must be either exhausted to death or sick from exhaustion.

"Sir, do we still need to send this letter today?" A Yan looked at the person in front of him and felt a little sad.

Ling Shumo barely stood up: "Send!"

This was the agreement between him and Bai Wan.

It's already a few days late, and we must not make the other person worry and anxious.

A Yan and the servant An Nian looked at each other and felt helpless.

Ah Nian was a straightforward person, and he said directly: "Who is this Bai Wan? You are so tired that you are sick. Do you still want to write him a reply?"

Ling Shumo patted the child's shoulder and smiled gently: "You don't understand."

The court was cold and indifferent, and Bai Wan's letter was the only spring in his eyes.

So he stood up and walked to the desk.

The painting of "Two Ducks" that Bai Wan sent him earlier can still make him smile with joy and bring infinite warmth to his heart every time he sees it.

He always felt that it was clearly a mandarin duck, but he could draw it as a teal, which was really unique!

Although the drawing is childish, the shaking, silly and round head looks very similar to that person.

Or, he can just assume that the other one is himself.

When one falls in love, even people become childish.

After replying to the person who "returned to basics", he also successfully obtained a picture of an empty rice bowl.

This is a tacit understanding that only the two of them understand.

Ling Shumo often wanted to deceive himself, wondering if he was just exaggerating the friendship between friends too much, only to find that people were ultimately greedy.

Once you fall into this attachment, it is difficult to escape.

If Brother Yuebai could stay with me forever...

Even if I am criticized, even if I don't marry or have children, it doesn't matter.

So, after several strokes of the pen, he wrote a poem about riding a horse.

It is to encourage Bai Wan to take the palace examination. Even if he fails this time, he should still have faith and not be discouraged.

Then, he put the cursive poem and the reply letter together, wrapped them up carefully, and handed them to A Yan.

Ling Shumo calmed his brows and said, "Please help me deliver this letter to him. I will be busy recently. I am afraid I will forget to write back to him again. And... that's all..."

He didn't say the next words.

A Yan sighed helplessly, feeling that the adults were forcing themselves too much.

The more he thought about Bai Wan and the adult, the more he felt something was wrong.

Aren’t these two people in contact too frequently?

Just like... just like a pair of mandarin ducks...

He didn't dare to think about it any more.

…………

On the fifth day of July, the envoy sent by Lingyu Kingdom to visit Daying with Princess Dianyang had arrived.

When the news came out, the three countries were shocked.

When the whole country knew about this, there was a lot of discussion and they all felt it was unusual.

This is a sign that Lingyu may be forming an alliance with Daying to fight against Xuanli - the ministers in the court and the common people can't help but wait and see if there are more events that can go in their favor.

The Princess of Dianyang was already over thirty years old and had been married before. According to rumors, most people knew that she was now sick and weak and had no appetite because of the death of her first husband.

Therefore, there was no way that Princess Dianyang would marry Daying.

Normally, the person who would receive him would be the Minister of Rites, several officials and a royal relative.

However, due to the princess' illness, she was not suitable for hard work, so Daying simplified the etiquette of the reception.

As for Ling Shumo, he had received two letters before.

One of the letters was from Bai Wan, and the other was from Master Le Chan, who was traveling around the world from the Jiaye Temple in the capital.

Bai Wan naturally told him that he had passed the provincial examination and would be attending the palace examination of Daying Academy of Painting soon.

However, what Master Liao Chan wrote in the letter was that Han Miaoran had stayed at the Jiaye Temple in the capital, which was a secret and needed to be investigated personally.

"Zi Chen, Ling Yu is here as an envoy this time. Are you prepared on how to persuade the Princess of Dianyang?" Li Simeng, who was not far away, walked forward and asked, twirling his beard.

Ling Shumo looked at him, lowered his brows slightly and nodded: "Prime Minister, I already have a solution in mind."

He seemed respectful and performed the ceremony properly, but it was still obvious that he was a little unnatural.

All those who impeached Li Simeng a few days ago were imprisoned in the Criminal Court by His Majesty without exception.

Not to mention being dismissed from his post as prime minister, not even a hair of his head was hurt, but his entire family was convicted.

Li Simeng looked at him with a secretive look and stopped, "You are my disciple after all. When no one is around, you don't have to call me Prime Minister."

Ling Shumo said solemnly: "Etiquette and laws cannot be abolished."

Li Simeng knew he couldn't win over this guy, so he changed the subject: "The painters who have passed the examinations for the palace examinations in the Danqing Academy of each prefecture this year have already been registered!"

Ling Shumo replied calmly: "Yes."

The assessment of all painters, musicians, and craftsmen in the palace was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites.

There are twenty routes in Daying Prefecture, which are the twenty provincial examinations for painters. Only those who pass the provincial examinations can enter the palace examination, and then the emperor will select the top three.

However, once they entered the Daying Painting Academy, they were directly governed by His Majesty and the Ministry of Rites. Even a supervisory officer like Cheng Su did not have any real power.

"You suddenly stopped writing... Can you tell me why?" Li Simeng asked suddenly.

Ling Shumo's tone was somewhat relieved, as if he had thought of something wonderful:

"If you meet a bosom friend in life, you will never stop writing..."

Li Simeng thought he might have heard it wrong.

Isn't the dead person the only confidant of Ling Shumo?

When did another person show up?

"That's great... You can introduce him to me someday," said Li Simeng.

"Okay, when the time comes, I will naturally introduce you to the Prime Minister." Ling Shumo bowed, polite yet distant.

His secret guards have already found out that the person who covered up the case of Han Miaoran's body being confirmed was actually from Li Simeng's faction...

By then, the truth will probably be revealed...

……

At this time, there was complete silence on the city wall of the capital.

The sedan chair of Princess Dianyang of Lingyu Kingdom was approaching little by little.

Such a noble person, with his gorgeous sedan chair, was welcomed by countless people lining the streets.

Probably no one would have thought that this princess was related to the balance of power between two or even three countries.

Ling Shumo looked at the sedan chair and felt it was unfamiliar.

He had a thought that others could not detect - how long could the prosperity of the capital city last...