The Great Zhou sovereign before her eyes was… Murong Liu?!

No wonder last night at the trade exhibition, when Master Ji was disrespectful to Great Zhou and she unconsciously grabbed his hand for a moment, he would grasp her hand in return—that was the anger of the Great Zhou monarch.

No wonder Murong Qi and Murong Jiu, besides their respect as brothers, also held a deep-rooted awe toward him.

No wonder Huo Chang’an said he had extremely many affairs.

She stared blankly at the tall man before her, her mind completely blank.

Suzhen finally understood why she had felt afraid of this person from their first meeting—apparently there really was such a thing as fate in this world.

At this moment, at such close distance, she could also clearly see the nearly seductive coldness slowly spreading from the corners of his eyes.

In this moment, not knowing with whom he was confronting in secret, he didn’t restrain it, letting it bloom like a flower.

“How could you deceive me? That night, I saved you—I actually saved you!”

His father, or perhaps he himself, killed her entire family, yet she saved him!

She personally saved her own enemy!

Suzhen almost screamed hoarsely, but in the end could only ask in a voice only the two of them could hear.

For an instant, Lian Yu’s brows furrowed tightly, then his gaze slowly bloomed with several degrees of sharpness, as if examining something.

Suzhen felt dazed, realizing tears were streaming down her face, her tongue tasting only salt and blood. She was greatly alarmed, fearing he would detect something, forcing herself to swallow the bloody foam. Just as she was about to respond, he applied force with his hands, already helping her up, “Yes, you saved me, so I’m giving you a reward—pleading for the people. Li Huaisu, isn’t this your wish?”

His voice was low, also at a volume only the two could hear, with a tone that actually carried a hint of indulgent amusement.

As if she were his little pet who had playfully hurt her paws and was now spilling golden beans, and he as the master found it amusing to coax her.

“Yes, this is precisely Huaisu’s wish—to serve the ruler and the people.”

Suzhen gently broke free from him, forcefully closing her eyes. As if all the past became smoke in this single blink, when she raised her head, her tear-filled eyes already held a smile, slowly looking up as she answered.

Lian Yu glanced at her empty palm, then stood with hands behind his back before the steps, declaring loudly, “Transmit my decree: New top scholar Li Huaisu is promoted to Capital Supreme Court of Justice, second place Li Zhaoting is promoted to Assistant Minister of Personnel, third place Si Lanfeng is promoted to Assistant Minister of War.”

As soon as these words fell, Suzhen clearly felt a strange atmosphere pervading the entire hall.

She was also greatly shocked.

The authority of this Capital Supreme Court of Justice was considerable—it held judicial authority, could review cases nationwide, visit various prefectures’ prisons throughout the country, supervise prison officials, overturn wrongful cases, and was the nation’s highest criminal court!

According to Father, in the past, new top scholars mostly first entered the Hanlin Academy to serve, editing documents and teaching, then could be transferred and promoted to assistant ministers of various departments. Back then, Quan Feitong also rose step by step from Hanlin Academy editor to today’s position as prime minister. Today, let alone her, even Li Zhaoting’s and Si Lanfeng’s positions were greatly elevated.

Did Lian Yu truly want her as his right-hand assistant? Why this position? What secrets lay behind this Supreme Court? And what was the meaning behind his arrangements for Li Zhaoting and Si Lanfeng?

She clearly sensed the turbulent feelings from the civil and military officials toward her, toward Li Zhaoting and Si Lanfeng…

Full of surprise and joy, yet also full of doubts!

At this moment, no one could answer these questions for her, nor could she examine others during this tense time.

“We bow in thanks to Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty.”

All she could do was step forward with Li Zhaoting and Si Lanfeng simultaneously and perform the kowtow ceremony.

Afterward, Lian Yu announced the end of court, to discuss court matters again tomorrow, and kept her behind, bringing her to the imperial study.

Also remaining were Murong Qi, Murong Jiu, Yan Da, and the old man who had accompanied Lian Yu at the inn that day. Suzhen understood these were Lian Yu’s trusted confidants—Murong Qi and Murong Jiu were Prince Qi (Lian Jie) and Prince Jiu (Lian Qin).

Only, she hadn’t expected that silent old man to be Lian Yu’s uncle, the damned Marquis Murong Jing.

That day she had been driven away by his household steward, who said there was no such nephew to be found.

After entering, everyone quickly found seats, only she remained standing uneasily in the center of the room.

Lian Yu sat behind the desk in the room, not calling for her to sit or anything else, only narrowing his eyes to observe her.

Suzhen thought this gaze was like a fox, but not quite—like a wolf? But wolves were fierce, cruel, and clever, while compared to foxes they lacked a trace of cunning. Hmm, he was like a jackal—appearing less fierce than a wolf but actually disguising, this kind of animal being vicious while having more foxlike cunning and tenacity.

She stared back at him, maliciously thinking of various torture methods after capturing this jackal—from whipping and castration to skinning and dismemberment.

“Li Huaisu, are you cursing me in your heart again?”

Lian Yu crossed his arms and suddenly asked calmly.

She was immediately startled, thinking he really was a dead jackal, quickly shaking her head and smiling, “Your subject dare not.”

One phrase “your subject” came quite smoothly. Lian Yu raised an eyebrow and sneered, “With your little fox tricks, don’t I see right through them? I gave you a high official position, yet you won’t even smile. What, still unwilling?”

Suzhen thought, damn Lian Yu, just because you have sharp eyes, tonight I’ll go home and practice a so-called ambiguous smile in the mirror, let you see, let you see—I don’t believe you can still see through anything. Thinking this, she quickly redirected trouble eastward, looking toward Marquis Murong Jing, “Your Majesty is wise. It’s just that your subject absolutely has no objections to Your Majesty—I just feel somewhat emotional. If I could have found you earlier at General Murong’s mansion, perhaps today’s complications could have been avoided.”

Marquis Murong Jing laughed heartily, “The top scholar is blaming this old man, truly sorry indeed. His Majesty had instructed early on, but the household steward was visiting relatives at the time and couldn’t be notified. This old man instructed the deputy steward, but when you went there, you happened to encounter the steward returning home. He didn’t know of this matter and thought you were a fraud, so he casually deceived you. It’s just because though His Majesty and Marquis Huo are both this old man’s nephews, their status is noble with many protectors, and their martial arts are excellent—how could it seem like they’d be saved by someone like you…”

What do you mean “someone like you” >_< Suzhen complained inwardly but naturally said it didn’t matter. Though she had offended Uncle Murong a bit, Lian Yu seemed to believe her or was too lazy to pursue it further. He told her to sit down, then saw Lian Qin pat his chest, “Sixth brother, you really scared me to death. Today’s good show—you conspired with this kid beforehand, didn’t you?”