Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

The following morning, in the imperial court, the emperor was overjoyed.

"I have heard that Minister Xia has just solved a strange case?" The king asked with a smile, his words full of affection.

In the entire Wu Kingdom, there is only one Xia family, and who else but Xia Yeran could be called Xia Aiqing?

The prefectural governor was not a high-ranking official and was only qualified to come to court to report once every ten days. Today, he happened to be on duty.

The king intends to cultivate Xia Yeran, and has long had people watching his every move. How could he not know about yesterday's major case?

"It's a trivial case, not worth mentioning," Xia Yeran replied respectfully, bowing deeply.

His tone was humble, without a hint of pretension.

For Xia Yeran, this was indeed a case that could be big or small, and besides, it wasn't his achievement, so Xia Yeran had no intention of taking credit for it.

His goal was to accumulate experience and then unleash it later. He believed Lin Ping thought the same way; otherwise, why would he help the prefect without knowing the truth? Wasn't it all to build connections?

In Xia Yeran's view, Lin Ping's ulterior motives were not necessarily a bad thing. He was not a bad person by nature and was also quick-witted, so he might actually be able to play a significant role.

"That's not true. I've heard that the people from the Dali Temple have all been mobilized. It must be a very strange case, but in the end, Minister Xia beat me to it!" The king laughed heartily, glancing at the Minister of the Dali Temple a few times.

It has to be said that the king is a true old fox. Didn't your Dali Temple send people out? It just so happens that it can fulfill Xia Yeran's wishes.

Any case handled by the Dali Temple is bound to be unusual.

Even if they tried their best, it would take them some time to solve the case, but Xia Yeran solved it in just a few words in the main hall.

Isn't that amazing? Isn't that incredible?

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was speechless; he couldn't very well shoot himself in the foot.

Fu Lingke appeared in full view of everyone, indicating that the Dali Temple attached great importance to this case.

What? You mean you just happened to be passing by and bumped into them? Go to hell! Nobody believes that.

"I also have to thank one person for this," Xia Yeran said, bowing her head.

"Oh? Who is it?" the king asked curiously.

This nephew is good in every way, except that he is a bit arrogant. Anyone who can be praised by him in public must be no ordinary person.

"This man is named Lin Ping. He not only helped a lot in this case, but he is also a miraculous doctor with the ability to bring the dead back to life." Xia Yeran succinctly listed Lin Ping's merits, not daring to exaggerate too much.

He knew that the king was very suspicious, and that things would turn out the opposite of what they were meant to be. It would be better to just casually mention a couple of his good points.

Xia Yeran roughly guessed that Lin Ping had ambitions to become famous among the feudal lords, so she decided to give him a hand, hoping he could become her right-hand man.

To be honest, he was indeed a bit arrogant. If Lin Ping only had some cleverness, he would never have caught Xia Yeran's eye.

He was mainly influenced by Lin Ping's previous eloquent speech.

Speaking to people in a human language and to ghosts in a ghost language is Lin Ping's forte. When dealing with a somewhat arrogant and refined young man like Xia Yeran, it's best to discuss matters of state.

"Such a talent exists! I must meet him." The king smiled, not because he truly wanted to meet Lin Ping, but simply because he remembered his name.

To serve the country and become a pillar of society, it is not enough to have some skills alone; one must pass through layers of selection in the imperial examinations. Xia Yeran was valued precisely because he had been the top scholar in the imperial examinations.

Xia Yeran saw through the king's thoughts and shook his head regretfully. He even wanted to persuade Lin Ping to take the imperial examination, but he was afraid that Lin Ping was illiterate.

"Where is the Minister of Personnel?" The king regained his dignified expression.

"Your humble servant pays his respects to Your Majesty." He Wei, the Minister of Personnel, stepped forward somewhat reluctantly.

He understood the king's meaning. The Ministry of Personnel was responsible for evaluating officials and promoting personnel, and he was definitely going to ask him to give Xia Yeran a credit so that he could be promoted at the end of the year!

"Minister Xia has rendered excellent service in solving this case; this should be greatly commended," the king said, his eyes narrowed, seemingly casual but in fact exuding authority.

"Of course, merits should be recorded, but the recent case of flower picking has not yet been solved. Shouldn't that also be recorded?" the Minister of Personnel asked rhetorically, appearing to be offering frank advice.

However, was he truly so impartial? I'm afraid not entirely.

"How dare you!" The king was furious, slamming his fist on the dragon throne.

He is the ruler of a country, possessing supreme power, yet now even his words are contradicted. Where is his authority?

The Minister of Personnel is right; merits and demerits cannot be offset against each other, let alone simply recording a merit.

"Your Majesty, I have no intention of offending you, but I have to speak out." The Minister of Personnel clasped his hands together, his attitude was extremely resolute, even showing a look of being ready to die.

Want to kill me? Give me a reasonable explanation. Otherwise, these whispers might cause trouble.

"What Lord He says is quite right. The case of the flower-picking is indeed unresolved." Xia Yeran admitted that he was in the wrong, so as not to anger the king and leave him with no way to back down.

"Hmph, since Lord Xia can't solve this case, then hand it over to my Dali Temple!" Dali Temple Minister Xiang Lian said sarcastically.

If this case is transferred to the Dali Temple, Xia Yeran will have no chance to turn things around. At the very least, he will have no hope of promotion. If any further trouble occurs, he will probably have to pack his bags and leave.

"Lord Xiang, aren't you being a bit too hasty? According to custom, cases that the prefectural government can't solve within a month are only assigned to you. Now there's still half a month left. Are you going to do what you did yesterday?" Xia Yeran gave a cold laugh, delivering a powerful rebuttal.

Cases in Yingtian Prefecture should be handled by the prefectural government, and only those that are not solved within a month will be transferred to the Dali Temple.

Therefore, Xiang Lian's words revealed his identity. Regardless of whether he was guilty of a heinous crime, he was at least rejecting Xia Yeran.

"Have you argued enough?" The king was furious. In this situation, someone had to take charge. Even if they couldn't control the course of events, they still had to make their presence felt.

The two obediently shut their mouths and waited for the king's instructions.

"The case of 'picking flowers' will be handled by the prefectural government for the time being. If there is no progress after half a month, it will be transferred to the Court of Judicial Review." The king was still angry.

He had intended to use his status to suppress the matter, but he clearly saw the light in Xia Yeran's eyes, which meant there was still a chance for things to turn around.

Xia Yeran wasn't sure either, but she couldn't put the king in a difficult position, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

Furthermore, he wouldn't feel at ease unless he personally solved the case.

After all, someone died right under their noses, and the murderer is still at large.

This is not simply a matter of promotion, but also a mental hurdle.

Besides, Xia Yeran thought of someone else, perhaps Lin Pingzhen could give him a satisfactory answer.

This kid doesn't seem very reliable, but he never lies. Since he claimed he would help him seven times, he would help him seven times, which should include the flower-picking case.

"Dismiss the court." The king turned and stormed off, leaving behind his officials, both civil and military, staring at each other in bewilderment.

This is clearly anger!