Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Cui Xuan had an exceptionally refined appearance, his eyebrows and eyes as faint as the cold moon reflected in water. His slightly pale cheeks did not show weakness but instead gave him an ethereal, otherworldly aura, as if he were an immortal exiled from the heavens. Even though he sat unclothed in the bath, it was impossible to harbor any impure thoughts about him.

Seeing this face, Su Yu couldn't help but sigh. No wonder he was the most popular male lead in the game.

"Is he taking a bath at this time?" She glanced at the sun outside; it should have just passed noon.

"Yes, according to the data, the male lead Cui Xuan has an obsession with cleanliness and bathes three to four times a day," the system replied.

"..." Su Yu knew Cui Xuan had an obsession with cleanliness, but previously, reading about it hadn't left much of an impression. Now, seeing this handsome man bathing in broad daylight, he instantly lost his appeal in her eyes. No matter how good-looking he was, someone who seemed so difficult to handle held no attraction for her.

Su Yu silently ranked Cui Xuan at the bottom of the four male leads in her heart. "I want to see Xie Yiguan next."

The scene shifted, and the projection changed to another male lead, Xie Yiguan.

Unlike Cui Xuan, who came from a prestigious family, Xie Yiguan entered the bureaucracy through the imperial examination. He was the youngest top scholar in the history of the Great Qi dynasty.

The founding emperor of Great Qi came from a prestigious family and relied on the support of such families to seize the throne. As a result, the great families wielded significant influence in Great Qi, and most high-ranking officials in the court came from these powerful families.

Over time, the emperor's words carried less weight than those of a few family patriarchs.

Thus, the earlier emperors of Great Qi began to vigorously promote the imperial examination system, using it to bypass the great families and select officials who, though not from prestigious backgrounds, were loyal to the emperor.

After many generations of emperors, the court of Great Qi had now formed two major factions: the family group led by the five great families and the civil servant group that emerged from the imperial examinations—though in the eyes of military officials like Yu Chiyi, these were all troublesome civil servants.

Xie Yiguan was soon to become the leader of the civil servant group, but for now, he was just a well-regarded Hanlin scholar.

The Hanlin scholars held no official rank, but the Hanlin Academy functioned as the secretariat of the Great Qi emperor. Many imperial edicts were drafted by the Hanlin Academy, and the emperor would also task Hanlin scholars with handling matters that could not be discussed openly in court. As a result, Hanlin scholars held power beyond their official rank.

Many of Great Qi's prime ministers had risen directly from the ranks of Hanlin scholars.

At this time, Xie Yiguan was on duty at the Hanlin Academy.

The previous emperor had just died, and the next emperor had not yet been appointed. There wasn't much work to be done in the Hanlin Academy, and with the warm spring weather and the gentle afternoon sun, Su Yu saw the young and handsome Hanlin scholar openly moving a tea table and tea set into the courtyard during office hours. He brewed tea while inviting his colleagues to join him in taking a break—

This was hard to bear.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Naturally, Yu Chiyou couldn't see the projection, but he could sense that Su Yu's breathing had tightened for a moment.

"Nothing," Su Yu replied, her expression unusually blank as she held back a smile. No matter how strong her inner resolve, she couldn't help but feel a pang of envy seeing the male leads so carefree. "How much longer until we reach the capital?"

"We should arrive before sunset."

Yu Chiyou's estimate was accurate.

They reached the city gates just before sunset, and startled by the sight of three thousand cavalry, the city gate guards nearly lit the beacon to summon reinforcements.

However, Yu Chiyi caught them off guard. Before the beacon could be lit, he stormed through the gates and subdued the guards.

He asked Su Yu, "Your Highness, shall we proceed directly to the palace?"

Su Yu shook her head. She was here to inherit the throne, not to stage a rebellion.

"The city gate guards are familiar with the capital. Have them notify all officials of the fourth rank and higher that Princess Pingshan has arrived in the capital. We'll wait here. Also, send a hundred-man squad to tidy up the late emperor's former residence from when he was a prince."

Yu Chiyi was momentarily puzzled but didn't ask further. He carried out Su Yu's orders as directed.

Su Yu set out with Yu Chiyi's three thousand light cavalrymen, a fact well-known among all factions in the capital. However, none of these factions believed that Su Yu would actually dare to bring these three thousand cavalrymen boldly into the capital. No one expected Su Yu to be not just bold but also unpredictable, not stopping for any adjustments in Wenshui Town, nor leaving the three thousand cavalrymen there, but instead directly rushing to the capital.

Everyone had different expressions, but since they had already been notified, the officials who had already turned in for the night had no choice but to put on their official robes and come to the city gate to welcome her.

Su Yu did not make things difficult for them. Seeing that most had arrived, she leisurely stepped down from her carriage.

At first glance, she didn’t spot the two male leads, Cui Xuan and Xie Yiguan, but noticed an old man and two middle-aged men standing prominently at the front.

She guessed that one of the middle-aged men was the "Prime Minister Li" Shang Guanyi had mentioned.

The current Prime Minister was Li Jianzhang.

Li Jianzhang came from the Zhao County Li family, a family as prestigious as the Qinghe Cui family. However, he wasn’t from the main branch of the Li family that could influence other prestigious families, nor was he as remarkably talented as Cui Xuan had been in his youth, earning admiration.

Li Jianzhang was just average in his youth and middle age, and it wasn’t until his later years that he gained Su Yan's favor and was promoted to Prime Minister.

However, Great Qi didn’t have just one Prime Minister.

Great Qi had a "collective prime ministership," where the number of prime ministers wasn’t fixed, ranging from two to seven or eight, depending on the monarch's needs during strong rule, and currently to balance the various factions.

During Su Yan's reign, only a few confidants, like Li Jianzhang, Cui Xin, and Liu Sanen, got promoted, while the rest were carried over from his father's administration.

Apart from Li Jianzhang, the other two prime ministers, Zhang Xiu and Lu Zhenghan, were veteran prime ministers who had served since Su Yan's father's time.

Su Yu didn’t recognize any of these three, but she knew Li Jianzhang because he was one of the three prime ministers who'd written to the original host. In the novel, after the fall of Great Qi, Li Jianzhang declared himself the King of Shu in the southwest.

Li Jianzhang was obstinate and envious of the talented, a typical cannon fodder character. Not long after declaring himself King of Shu, he was beheaded by his adopted son, Su Chengying.

Su Chengying, on the other hand, was not envious of the talented, but he was a capricious and extremely powerful madman.

As a regional lord, he not only occasionally engaged in actions that harmed himself more than his enemies but also ventured alone through hostile territories just to kill someone he deemed deserving.

The only comment others had for him was: mad dog.

This mad dog initially tormented the four male leads in turn, and during the novel's serialization, many readers debated whether Yu Chiyi or Su Chengying had higher combat prowess.

Part of the reason the novel was later abandoned was the sudden death of Su Chengying, which led to a flood of reader complaints, leaving the author baffled as to why a character written as a villain had such high popularity—

Su Chengying!

Su Yu suddenly slapped her thigh; she knew who the hidden other heir was!

"..." The crowd, who had just been marveling at Princess Pingshan's otherworldly beauty, now saw her unceremoniously slapping her thigh, which was... hard to describe.

"Ahem... We pay our respects to Princess Pingshan," coughed Lu Zhenghan at the forefront. Being older and more experienced, he led the officials in greeting Su Yu.

Su Yu quietly retracted her slightly sore hand and quickly stepped forward to support Lu Zhenghan, "No need for formalities. I... this prince has just arrived in the capital and will rely on everyone's support."

She struggled for a while before managing to utter a couple of sentences that were somewhat appropriate for the era. Her gaze fell on the old man who stood at the front with Li Jianzhang, occupying the central position, indicating his status. He was likely the Lu Zhenghan whose name appeared first on the letter.

Lu... she recalled that the Lu family was among the top five prestigious families of Great Qi.

Lu Zhenghan chuckled, stroking his white beard, looking like a kind and benevolent elder.

Su Yu also chuckled, appearing as a respectful and honest junior.

Those behind them also chuckled.

Standing beside Su Yu, Yu Chiyou maintained a stoic expression, thinking that these capital officials laughed like fools, and even the seemingly intelligent Princess Pingshan seemed to have turned foolish along with them.

He quietly glanced at his second uncle, Yu Chiyi, and saw that his uncle had also been caught up in it.

Li Jianzhang took the chance to ask, "May I ask where Princess Pingshan plans to rest tonight?"

The group kept smiling, their gazes all falling on Su Yu.

Su Yu showed a surprised expression: "I thought the respected ministers had already made proper arrangements, so is it really up to me to arrange such matters...?"

Her eyes said loud and clear to everyone present: Is the competence of the prime minister, the head of all officials, really this poor? Even something as simple as accommodation can't be handled?

Lu Zhenghan coughed heavily again, looking like an old man past his prime.

"Of course, arrangements have been made for Your Highness, I was just..." Li Jianzhang smiled, trying to patch things up.

At this moment, Zhang Xiu stepped forward: "Your Highness should of course stay in the palace. As for other matters, we can discuss them tomorrow."

Li Jianzhang objected outright: "The palace is full of women. It might be inappropriate for Princess Pingshan to stay there."

"Historically, the palace has always been full of women. What's inappropriate about it?" Zhang Xiu shot back.

Su Yan loved beautiful women but was reluctant to grant them titles. Most of the beauties in the palace were maids, so Su Yu wouldn't have to worry about impropriety by staying there.

Su Yu sat back and watched them argue for a while, then turned to look at Lu Zhenghan.

Lu Zhenghan stood there, as silent as a mouse.

Su Yu had seen enough of the show. She had called them over just to see what kind of performance they would put on when suddenly thrown into the spotlight. Now that she had seen enough, she didn't plan to waste any more time here.

She said, "It seems the two respected ministers might argue until tomorrow without reaching a conclusion. It's getting late, so let's all disperse and rest early."

"Then, Your Highness..." Lu Zhenghan slowly spoke, trailing off, leaving Su Yu to guess the rest.

Su Yu wasn't annoyed by his hesitation and smiled, saying, "I remember my brother's former residence as a prince is empty. I will take General Yu and stay there for now."

Su Yu coolly got back into the carriage.

Lu Zhenghan wanted to stop her, but seeing Yu Chiyi and the cavalry behind him, he bit his tongue.

Only after Su Yu's carriage had gone far did Li Jianzhang say, "Yu Chiyi should be at Tong Pass. How could he enter the capital without permission? Such behavior is downright treasonous..."

Zhang Xiu immediately taunted, "What's the use of saying this in front of us, Minister Li? Why not chase after them now? You might still catch up to Princess Pingshan."

Bragging after someone has left is no act of bravery. If you have the guts, stand in front of three thousand cavalry and brag.

"..." Li Jianzhang acted like he didn't hear, then suddenly thought of something and exclaimed, "Oh no—"

"What's wrong?" Lu Zhenghan was calm as ever. "It's good for Princess Pingshan to know, but..."

Lu Zhenghan glanced sideways at Li Jianzhang, his eyes sharp, completely unlike the hesitation he had shown in front of Su Yu.

Lu Zhenghan didn't finish his sentence, but Li Jianzhang could guess the rest. He felt more and more frustrated. This old man ignored his little schemes but was unyielding on the issue of who should inherit the throne—

This was clearly not just Lu Zhenghan's attitude but also the attitude of the five leading noble houses he represented.

And Zhang Xiu represented the attitude of the scholar-official faction that had risen through the imperial examinations.

On the matter of who should be emperor, the two factions were surprisingly in agreement.

That was because whoever became emperor wouldn't make much difference to them. They preferred to support a legitimate prince.

Even if they were concerned that Su Yu had too many ideas of her own, they only needed to give her a little nudge.

And Li Jianzhang was the tool they used to nudge Su Yu.

Li Jianzhang was holding back his frustration, wanting to stir up something, but after all this effort, his frustration only deepened.

He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said, "I'm afraid this one isn't easy to control. We might end up being bitten back."

It had only been a few days since Su Yu was left alone, and she had already managed to borrow Yu Chiyi's troops. Even his plan to keep her in Wenshui Town with Shang Guanyi had failed. This Princess Pingshan was no pushover—

After meeting Su Yu, Li Jianzhang was even more unwilling to let her become the emperor, but now his opinion didn't matter.

Zhang Xiu sneered.

"Ziyin, you can't say that..." Lu Zhenghan called Li Jianzhang by his courtesy name like a kind elder, once again changing the topic without finishing his sentence, "It's getting late, and this old man is getting on in years. I'll head back first."

He turned and left, walking briskly without a trace of old age.

Zhang Xiu muttered a curse under his breath as he watched him leave, "Old fox," then turned and gave Li Jianzhang a perfunctory bow before leaving as well.

Li Jianzhang looked in the direction Su Yu had gone, hesitating for a long time, but ultimately decided not to chase after her—he just thought the timing was off, it certainly wasn't fear of those three thousand cavalry!