"Your Majesty, you said last time that I'll be the winner this time. Didn't Your Majesty take away your winnings?"
Thinking of that kiss and everything that happened afterward, Shen Yu's face blushed.
The skin on the inner side of his wrist was rubbed by the calloused fingertips, and the numbness spread along the skin and snaked up.
Shang Junlin stared at Shen Yu, and his eyes became deeper and deeper: "I did say that, but this time I want to. Will A Yu give it to me?"
Shen Yu felt like his wrist was on fire, burning from the outside to the inside. He tried to withdraw his hand, but was stopped by the man.
Shang Junlin didn't use much strength to hold his arm, but it was just enough for him to break free. Shen Yu tried a few times, but he couldn't withdraw his hand.
The man held his hand, raised it up, and lowered his head slightly. A soft kiss fell on the back of Shen Yu's hand.
Shen Yu's fingers curled up slightly as if they were scalded.
Shang Junlin didn't let go of his hand. He kissed the back of his hand intimately and fell on his fingers. His thin lips were slightly open.
Shen Yu only felt a wet and warm sensation on his fingers. He wanted to withdraw his fingers, but the man forcefully restrained his movements.
His fingertips were densely bitten. The man's gaze fell on his body. It didn't seem like he was biting his fingers, but rather tasting something delicious.
"Your Majesty, let go of me. It's dirty …" Shen Yu turned his head to avoid the man's gaze. His blood-red earlobe was exposed in front of the man.
Shang Junlin's Adam's apple bobbed, and the fire in his eyes gradually burned.
"A Yu, I want to kiss you."
A vague voice sounded. Shen Yu's eyelashes trembled, and he lowered his head and didn't speak.
Shang Junlin chuckled. The tip of his tongue circled around his finger, leaving a wet trace.
Shen Yu looked to the other side. He didn't know when his hand was released. The man walked behind him and leaned over to his ear. "A Yu, let me kiss you, okay?"
Although it was a question, Shang Junlin did not intend to listen to Shen Yu's reply. He moved closer to Shen Yu's ear and opened his mouth slightly.
The ripe red fruit was placed into his mouth, and he gently rubbed it with his teeth. The fruit was too tender, and the owner was afraid that it would be damaged, so he didn't dare to use too much strength.
Shen Yu trembled all over when his earlobe was touched like this. All of his senses were covered with a layer of fog. He suddenly felt that everything was unreal. Only the places that were touched could feel everything clearly.
Unknowingly, Shen Yu was sitting in the man's arms. Her increasingly red earlobes were released and turned to the side of her neck.
Following her delicate jawline, it finally fell to her lips.
Attacking cities and seizing territories.
Large peach blossoms bloomed before his eyes, white with a hint of pink, slowly filling his line of sight.
His slender and fair fingers clutched his black robe tightly, leaving creases behind.
The sun was setting in the west, and the orange light surrounded the two of them, giving them a hazy golden edge.
Occasionally, there were a few soft whimpers, but they were blown away by the wind before they could reach their ears.
Eunuch Meng led the palace servants to stand in the distance. He tactfully lowered his head, not daring to look.
As expected by Shang Junlin, the next morning, there was an uproar because of Fang Jiayi's matter.
Even the fact that Shang Junlin brought Shen Yu to the palace examination was selectively ignored.
In the eyes of the aristocratic officials, breaking the ancestral rule to recruit women as officials was much more serious than other matters.
"Your Majesty, you can't do this. There has been no precedent since ancient times. Miss Fang hid her identity to participate in the imperial examination. This is the crime of deceiving the emperor!"
"Your Majesty, you can't set a precedent like this. If all the women in the world follow suit, wouldn't it be a mess?"
Someone who had seen Fang Jiayi's answer sheet yesterday retorted, "Not all women can be so talented."
"So what? Since ancient times, which dynasty has a woman entered the imperial court as an official? Women should be content with their lot, obediently stay in the backyard to serve their parents-in-law, and have children. "
"Lord Zhao, you are wrong. There are many capable women. How can you say such prejudiced words?"
Lord Zhao's neck stiffened, "Am I wrong? If they were all content with their lot, how could today's incident happen? "
The argument in the front hall was endless, and Shang Junlin didn't say anything. Shen Yu shook the cup in his hand and said to Mu Xi, who was next to him.
"You see, these people have nothing to say. They can only use the crime of deceiving the emperor as an excuse. They can't wait for Your Majesty to immediately execute this' deviant 'woman."
Shen Yu deliberately got up early today and waited for Shang Junlin in the back hall. He was also very curious to see what would happen in the morning court.
Mu Xi heard the voices from the front hall and felt indignant, "Why do they think that women are born to stay in the backyard and have children for men?"
"That's why Your Majesty is right. Some of the ministers in the imperial court should be replaced."
They were short-sighted and only knew how to form cliques and pursue personal interests. Keeping them would only be a waste of their salary.
The argument in the front hall continued. Some of the officials, led by the Prime Minister, agreed with Fang Jiayi's results, although they felt that the matter of letting women enter the imperial court as officials was debatable.
The remaining members of the Qian family also stood on the Prime Minister's side. After the incident with Prince Li, Shang Junlin took the opportunity to promote many of his own people. The imperial court had changed a lot.
A group of veteran officials, led by the aristocratic families, refused to budge. Not only did none of the aristocratic families' descendants enter the top three, but a woman even took a spot. How could they accept this?
Another reason was that their people happened to be in fourth place this time. If Fang Jiayi was removed, their people would be able to take a spot in the top three, and they would not lose too much face.
Shang Junlin clearly knew what the aristocratic families were thinking. Seeing that they were about to quarrel with Yu Lie, he interrupted, "Look at all of you, all red in the face. You don't look like important officials at all."
The main hall quieted down.
"Meng Chang, show them the second place answers. You all said that women should not be officials. Why don't you take a look at the woman's essay before you speak?"
Eunuch Meng led the young eunuchs to distribute the prepared essays one by one.
After reading, some of the officials who had objected to Fang Jiayi's essay because of her identity as a woman lowered their heads in shame. Those who could keep their positions under Shang Junlin's rule were all knowledgeable. They could tell that the essay was well-written.
Some of the officials who did not want to admit that women were better than men changed their expressions, especially Lord Zhao, who wanted to belittle Fang Jiayi. His face turned green and then white.
No matter how much prejudice he had against women, he had to admit that the article in his hand was extremely well written. If he hadn't known beforehand that it was written by a woman, he wouldn't have dared to believe that such an article was written by a woman.
"Does anyone have anything to say now?" Shang Junlin looked at the people below calmly.
The officials lowered their heads and did not say anything.
The Prime Minister was the first to stand out, "I think that this woman is very talented and should be hired."
Immediately after, many people voiced their agreement.
Lord Fang stood in the crowd, feeling both proud and distressed. He was proud that his daughter was so outstanding, but distressed because his daughter had to face everything on this path.
There were already so many objections before she even started. When his daughter really entered the imperial court, how much pressure and strange looks would she receive?
Even though they felt that Fang Jiayi's essay was excellent, some officials were still unwilling to accept a woman as an official. Lord Zhao was one of them.
He secretly exchanged glances with a few people and stood out, "Your Majesty, I agree that this essay is excellent, but there is no precedent of a woman entering the imperial court as an official. I hope that Your Majesty will consider it carefully."
"I hope that Your Majesty will follow the precedent and consider this matter carefully."
Not long after, a row of officials stood out.
"Oh? Then what do you think I should do? "Shang Junlin lowered his eyes, his voice unreadable.
Lord Zhao said firmly, "I think that Your Majesty should reward her, but you should also warn the world that there will not be a next time!"
When Mu Xi heard this, her hands paused, "Young master, this Lord Zhao is too optimistic. What's the difference between doing this and directly destroying Miss Fang?"
"He just wants to destroy Miss Fang. Look at what he said before. He thinks that women should be trapped in the harem and that women don't deserve the same treatment as men. Just wait and see, when Miss Fang enters the imperial court, the first person she will deal with will be him."
It wasn't a bad thing to have ulterior motives. Everyone had ulterior motives. Being selfish was the worst thing that could happen. Da Huan didn't only belong to him.
"Ha," Shang Junlin chuckled, "Warning the world? Lord Zhao, tell me, what did Fang Jiayi do that is against common decency and unforgivable to the point of warning the world?"
"This …" Lord Zhao hesitated, "She participated in the imperial examination as a woman …"
"Lord Zhao, as an important official of Da Huan, have you seriously read the laws of Da Huan?" Shang Junlin lifted his eyelids and looked at him emotionlessly, "Tell me, which law, which article states that women are not allowed to participate in the imperial examination?"
Under the heavy pressure, Lord Zhao's legs went soft and he knelt on the ground, "This official, this official …"
"Since Lord Zhao isn't clear, it's better for you to go back and familiarize yourself with the laws of Da Huan. There's no need to come to the imperial court before you can memorize everything."
"Your Majesty!" At this moment, Lord Zhao clearly realized that he had violated Shang Junlin's taboo. It was Shang Junlin's ambiguous attitude from the start of the imperial court that gave him the wrong impression. One wrong step would lead to many wrong steps.
Yes, how could he forget what kind of personality Shang Junlin had? How could he allow others to jump on his head? Lord Zhao slumped to the ground and realized that he was drenched in cold sweat.
After dealing with Lord Zhao cleanly, the remaining officials who wanted to object didn't dare to act rashly. His cold gaze swept around the room. The few officials who opposed him just now lowered their heads, afraid that they would be punished.
"Since you didn't violate the law, do as you should. Regardless of gender, you are all citizens of Da Huan. I don't want to hear people talk about gender in the future."
All the officials became serious and said in unison, "This official obeys."
After the imperial court, Shang Junlin saw Shen Yu who had been waiting for a long time. He hugged her in his arms and said, "You must have waited for a long time. I let you sleep a bit more before coming."
"It's okay. It's interesting to listen to their quarrel." Shen Yu raised her head from the man's arms after listening to the officials quarrel for the whole morning. "Has this matter been dealt with?"
"No one will make a fuss for the time being. When they are officially appointed, they will probably make a fuss again." Shang Junlin touched Shen Yu's hair on the back. "As for the official position given to Fang Jiayi, they will probably make a fuss."
"Your Majesty won't be afraid of them." Shen Yu blinked her eyes. "Your Majesty was really amazing just now."
Shang Junlin seemed to have thought of something. He paused and said, "A Yu, tell me, how am I amazing?"
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