After being reborn, I went on a killing spree in the imperial court.

White Dew?

Everyone in the court was completely unfamiliar with this name.

"Who is this?!"

"How come I've never heard of this before!"

"Oh! I remember now, last year's top scholar in the imperial examination was working as a minor clerk in the county government."

"How could a top scholar be merely a registrar!"

Everyone shook their heads.

Bai Lu stepped into the hall, dressed in plain white clothes, not in official robes, her posture upright and graceful.

"Why aren't you even wearing your official robes?"

"Your humble servant Bailu pays homage to Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

"Keep your head up!"

Bai Lu raised her head, startling everyone. "This..."

The conspicuous scar on his face, like a vine, lay on his right cheek, startling even the emperor.

However, putting aside his scars, his physique and appearance were indeed top-notch. His brows carried a touch of feminine charm, and his peach blossom eyes were slightly upturned with dark and bright pupils, as if one would fall in love with him the moment they met his gaze.

It's such a waste of that face.

Even God is jealous.

"Princess Huayang, is this the vice minister you chose for my Ministry of Rites? This is utter nonsense!" Minister Fan roared.

“Your Majesty, I am by no means a superficial person who values ​​appearances, but the Ministry of Rites often receives envoys from various countries, and his appearance might frighten them.”

Minister Fan's face turned red with anger. He had been looking for trouble with Cao Yuan, but now trouble had come knocking on his door.

"Minister Fan, please don't get agitated. The Ministry of Rites does need to receive guests, but it's not just about receiving envoys from various countries."

"Besides, this exam paper was personally graded by Grand Tutor Li! It was fair, open, and just. Since it was fair, it shouldn't be biased, otherwise it would lose the meaning of the imperial examination."

"Your subject believes that one should not dismiss a person's talent based on their appearance. This would damage the dignity of the royal family and discourage scholars and those who serve our Great Wei."

"Let me ask you your understanding of the sage's governance of the world: for the benefit of the people, even the smallest thing must be done; for the harm to the people, even the slightest thing must be eliminated."

"Officials should speak up for the people, regardless of the size of the matter! But they should distinguish between what is important and what is urgent. Matters that benefit the people should be resolved to the best of their ability, while those that harm the people, no matter how small, should be eliminated as soon as possible."

The emperor's pupils dilated at the sight of Bai Lu speaking, his mind churning like a tidal wave. He stood up and stared at the person in front of him in disbelief, as if looking at another person through the person in front of him.

Seeing the emperor's unusual behavior, Cao Yuan also turned to look at this person.

For some reason, she felt a sense of familiarity with the person in front of her.

She couldn't remember where she had seen it before.

"What should be done to avoid conflict between the two countries if foreign envoys are murdered during their visit?" Minister Fan posed a difficult question.

Bai Lu answered fluently, "Then it depends on which country you want to identify the real culprit as! In my opinion, the murderer must not be from Wei."

If an envoy is to escape unscathed, the perpetrator must not be from the state of Wei.

The emperor nodded in satisfaction. "Since it is first, announce it as previously decreed."

As the eunuch was about to announce the imperial decree, a young eunuch approached the Fourth Prince and said something to him.

"Wait! Your Majesty has something to say." The Fourth Prince stood in the hall and casually picked up a guard's sword to part his hair.

"Uncle, what are you doing!"

Bai Lu's black hair fell down, fluttering in the breeze, obscuring her right cheek!

"Hmph, how dare you! A woman like you dares to deceive the emperor and officials!"

"A woman! It's a woman!"

"It's actually a woman!"

Cao Yuan was also surprised; how could it be a woman! This was a crime of deceiving the emperor!

Even she couldn't protect Bailu.

Bai Lu knelt down calmly, showing no fear, and argued her case, “Your Majesty, I am indeed a woman, but the Great Wei has never explicitly prohibited women from participating in the imperial examinations, so there is no question of deceiving officials as Your Highness claims! Moreover, the Ministry of Rites’ examination system was established by Princess Huayang, and I believe that the princess would not be prejudiced against me, which is why I participated in this examination.”

"Eloquent tongue! If you truly believe yourself to be upright and honorable, why pretend to be a man?" the Fourth Prince rebuked loudly.

"If I dressed as a man, people would look at me with more respect. Otherwise, why would I bother dressing as a man! If anyone is wrong, it's you old fogies who only value male identity!"

"How dare you, a woman, insult me! Did someone send you here to disrupt the court?!" The Fourth Prince was furious.

"I am only speaking the truth, please forgive me if I have offended you in any way!"

"Your Majesty, this woman is glib and her words cannot be trusted. Bai Lu has deceived Your Majesty and even insulted us! She should be executed!"

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

All of the Fourth Prince's men knelt down.

Cao Yuan looked at the emperor without any anger, but instead stared calmly at Bai Lu.

It seems there's still a chance!

The Prime Minister seemed to have noticed this as well, and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, may I ask what you mean? It has never been explicitly stated that women cannot participate in the imperial examinations! It is indeed unfair that Bai Lu, a top scholar, can only be a minor official!"

The Fourth Prince exclaimed, "Where is the unfairness! She deceived the Emperor. If all women were like this, how could the men of our Great Wei possibly find wives?"

Bai Lu raised her head, filled with resentment, as if there were many grudges that had not been settled with him. "Fourth Prince, there are rumors in the streets that your wife dislikes that you have too many concubines outside and wants to divorce you! You can't blame me just because your wife dislikes you."

"You're talking nonsense! Stop spouting nonsense!" The Fourth Prince was so enraged that he almost drew his sword to kill her.

"Uncle, please don't be angry! Our Great Wei values ​​talent. I am a woman, and my father gave me a chance. You can't blame women for men not being able to find wives!"

"Shut up, all of you! Today, the Vice Minister of Rites is to be appointed! The matter of women entering the court will be discussed on another day! The Vice Minister of Rites will be appointed second in line."

"Father!"

Cao Yuan emerged defeated.

The second-place candidate for Vice Minister of Rites was Xue Xinian!

After all this hard work, who knew we'd end up securing another official position for Xue Xinian!

-

Inside Dali Temple.

For three consecutive days, Chu Yan was looking through Li Taifu's files.

"Young Master, you've been looking at this file for several days now. Have you figured anything out?" Xuanfeng brought over a cup of tea.

"A flawless case file!" Chu Yan finally uttered these words after a long pause. Often, the more perfect something is, the more likely it is to have flaws!

"Is Grand Tutor Li's injury any better?"

"Princess Fang Caiyang invited the imperial physician to treat Grand Tutor Li, but it's hard to say whether his right hand can be cured!"

"pity!"

"Yes, I heard that Grand Tutor Li has beautiful handwriting. It seems he won't be able to write it anymore."

Chu Yan opened his fan and let out a soft sigh, "What a pity!"

It's a pity that someone with such integrity isn't here...

"Is he still not going to say anything?"

Xuanfeng nodded. "That's right. He clearly says he's innocent, but he just won't say anything."

"Young master, where should we begin our investigation next?"

"Let's go back to the Grand Tutor's hometown."

Suddenly a cold wind swept in, and a carrier pigeon from afar flew to the mahogany railing of the windowsill.

Xuanfeng jogged over, scooped it into his arms, and took out the note tied to the pigeon's leg. "Young master, he replied and invited us to meet at Yueyun Pavilion tomorrow."