Going to Beijing to save his father, all the powerful officials in the city are vying to be his fath

Like hounds with a keen sense of smell, the two of them closely tracked Zhao Liangchen's whereabouts. Anyone who came into contact with Zhao Liangchen could not escape their strict scrutiny, and this naturally included Su Qin.

When Prince Liang heard that Su Qin had dared to exchange items from the palace for other things, he couldn't help but sneer contemptuously: "This woman is truly short-sighted and greedy! Such profit-seeking behavior is truly despicable! I really don't know why Zeng Xian was so obsessed as to adopt such a poor and vulgar woman as his granddaughter. Forget it, forget it. From now on, there is no need to pay any more attention to her. Wasting energy on her is simply a blasphemy against my dignity!"

Meanwhile, the Emperor also learned of this. His face was filled with astonishment, and he asked the person who brought him the news in disbelief, "Are you serious? How dare that woman sell off these rewards?"

However, the messenger, perhaps too straightforward or unafraid of offending the emperor, immediately corrected him, saying, "Your Majesty, she didn't sell the items; she traded them with foreigners for other items."

Upon hearing this, the emperor was immediately furious and shouted, "What is the difference between the two? Whether it is barter or direct sales, they are essentially disrespectful to the things I have bestowed upon you!" Seeing this, the man was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head and remained silent, not daring to say another word.

The emperor was furious. He pointed at Liu Jin and said, "Go, call Zhao Liangchen here immediately. I want to ask him how he has the guts to treat me so badly."

Liu Jin retreated tremblingly and hurried to find Zhao Liangchen, who happened to be on duty in the palace and was not difficult to find. Liu Jin told Zhao Liangchen that the emperor had summoned him. Zhao Liangchen saw Liu Jin's serious expression and knew something was amiss. In the past, Liu Jin had always been friendly to him, but today he was so solemn.

He thought for a moment, took out a banknote from his pocket, and put it into Liu Jin's hand: "Liu Nei Shi, what happened?"

Liu Jin quickly pushed the banknote back and said, "Master Zhao, please don't be so polite. If you have anything to say, please speak frankly. It's nothing serious. It's just about the reward the emperor gave you last time."

This matter wasn't a matter of state; it was a private one, needless to conceal. In Liu Jin's eyes, the emperor was pitiful, a figure whose sincere devotion to him was rare. Zhao Liangchen was one of the few people the emperor trusted. Although recent events had aroused his suspicions, Liu Jin was convinced Zhao Liangchen would not betray him and sought to smooth things over. He didn't say it explicitly, but Zhao Liangchen understood. After all, the emperor had previously bestowed a reward on Su Qin, and this mention of something, whatever it was, was undoubtedly related to Su Qin.

He pressed the silver into Liu Jin's hand again, "Eunuch Liu, please accept this. I know those of you who serve the Emperor have your share of difficulties." Liu Jin was one of the few eunuchs who remained steadfastly loyal to the Emperor. The rest were opportunists, many of whom had been bribed by Prince Liang. Liu Jin no longer refused, smiling, "This is all for the Emperor. It's not easy at all."

The two men entered the hall. As Zhao Liangchen entered, he was greeted by a hurled teacup. He didn't dodge; the cup struck him squarely on the head, shattering from the impact. The shards of porcelain sliced ​​his forehead, and blood flowed down his forehead, seeping into his eyes. Though he felt discomfort, he didn't dare wipe it away. He closed his eyes tightly and knelt. There were also broken pieces of porcelain on the ground, and his knees were punctured by the impact.

The emperor threw the teacup in a rage, never expecting it to hit Zhao Liangchen's head so accurately and break it. He was shocked. Seeing Zhao Lianchen injured, he subconsciously wanted to show concern, but he couldn't let go of his face. He could only snort coldly and turned away without looking at Zhao Lianchen.

Liu Jin was also startled. He was walking behind Zhao Liangchen. If he had walked in front, he would have been the one hit. He stole a glance at the emperor and saw that he had turned away. He quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped Zhao Liangchen's eyes, then covered his wound and scolded the eunuchs in the hall, "We cannot allow blood to stain the hall. Clean it up quickly."

The young eunuch glanced at the emperor and saw that he did not stop him, so he hurried forward to clean up. He cleaned up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground, took the broken porcelain pieces under Zhao Lianchen's knees, wiped the bloodstains on the ground, and finally, fearing that the blood on Zhao Liangchen's knees would dirty the ground again, he put a towel under him.

Zhao Liangchen reached out and took the handkerchief from Liu Jin's hand, indicating that he should do it himself. Liu Jin silently called the young eunuch in the hall to follow him out.

However, when everyone else had left, one person remained: Li Quan. As the eunuch in charge of the imperial seal, Li Quan usually remained at the emperor's side, always present when the emperor drafted imperial edicts and affixed them with the imperial seal. At this moment, Li Quan stood quietly to the side, like a silent statue, seemingly unaware of Zhao Liangchen's injury or the emperor's rage.

After a long while, the emperor's emotions finally calmed down a little, but he still turned around with a lingering anger, staring at Zhao Liangchen, who was kneeling on the ground, with a sharp and angry look. He gritted his teeth and demanded, "Tell me the truth! Do you even take me seriously?"

Zhao Liangchen was so frightened when he heard this that he trembled all over. He immediately fell to the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, and hurriedly replied, "Of course, I hold Your Majesty in the highest esteem in my heart."

"Ah."

The emperor sneered, "That means your teacher's new granddaughter doesn't take me seriously."

Zhao Liangchen looked up in surprise: "Your Majesty, what does this have to do with her? She is just a girl who knows nothing."

The emperor sneered sullenly, "She doesn't understand anything? I think she knows a lot. She even knows how to use rewards to exchange things with foreigners. What doesn't she understand?"

Zhao Liangchen understood that Su Qin used the things he gave her to exchange for things with foreigners.

He hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, you misunderstood. I asked her to do this."

The emperor got even angrier when he heard this: "You bastard, you are so bold! You dare to sell the things given by the emperor? How many heads do you have to chop off?"

Zhao Liangchen kowtowed hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I know I was wrong. Your Majesty, please forgive me."

He knocked his head hard, and soon the bleeding that had just stopped began to flow again. The emperor couldn't bear to see it and scolded him, "Enough, don't dirty my palace."

Zhao Liangchen quickly stood up again, used the handkerchief to clean the blood on the ground, and covered the wound again. The emperor's anger subsided a little when he saw his pitiful appearance with blood all over his face, but he still said coldly: "Tell me, what happened?"

Zhao Liangchen said with a face full of shame: "Your Majesty, I, your servant, really have no money."

The emperor was stunned: "You have no money, so you are selling the things I gave you?"

Zhao Liangchen began to play the victim: "Your Majesty, you also know what kind of situation I am in at home. I have not had any income and my salary is not much. I sent part of the reward silver you gave me to the Ministry of Justice to give to Lord Su and others, and gave part to the victims. I have no money left.

Recently, I want to seek the position of deputy commander, which requires me to visit people and entertain guests, which inevitably costs some money. However, I don’t know where to get the money, so I have to think of rewarding them.

But no one dared to accept those things, so I could only go to foreigners to exchange them for some things, and then use those things to exchange for silver. I originally thought that no one would find out, but I didn't expect that the news would reach the ears of the emperor.

Your Majesty, I am guilty. You may punish me in any way you please, but please do not let your anger get to your head. I am not being mean to you, I am just being rude.”