After Xiao Shao ascended the throne, he changed the era name to Zhaoyuan and granted a general amnesty to the world. The criminals and guilty women in Jiaofangsi were also pardoned one by one and permitted to leave on their own.

Due to the case of the deposed Crown Prince, countless officials in the court had been dismissed, leaving many vacant positions. Thus, in the spring of the first year of Zhaoyuan, the palace examination was held as scheduled.

The examination venue was set up in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Imperial Palace. Early that morning, the candidates took their seats at their desks one by one, holding their breath and bowing their heads as they waited for the examination to begin.

Xiao Shao also came in person, sitting above the imperial steps, looking down at the candidates.

He saw Qi Yan.

The little Tanhua was visibly nervous, but not because of the exam. Rather, it was due to his identity. Afraid of being recognized, he kept his head lowered the entire time, his chin almost tucked into his chest.

Xiao Shao found it amusing. In truth, a few years had passed, he had grown taller, and his facial features had changed somewhat. Before the exam, Xiao Shao had even summoned a palace maid to trim his eyebrows and draw his eyes. Now, at first glance, he only looked about seventy percent like the Tanhua Qi Yan from back then.

As the exam began, the scholars buried their heads in their papers, leaving only the rustling sound of writing in the examination venue.

Xiao Shao stood up from his seat and patrolled the examination hall like an examiner, occasionally pausing behind the scholars to watch them answer the questions.

Finally, he stopped behind Qi Yan.

Qi Yan's breath hitched, and he almost made a stroke error with his brush. With Xiao Shao's gaze falling upon him, goosebumps erupted all over his back.

This was not his first time writing a policy essay in front of Xiao Shao, but the feeling was completely different. Here, in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and beneath the imperial steps, Xiao Shao was no longer the Second Highness he was familiar with, but the master of this realm, a emperor looking down on the world. His subjects had to exhaust a lifetime of learning just to beg a pitying glance from him.

Qi Yan was no exception. He calmed his mind, lifting his brush to write, wanting only to pour all his talent and thought onto the exam paper to live up to Xiao Shao's grace in promoting him.

Then the emperor kicked lightly at him and asked in a low voice, "Are you nervous?"

"..."

"Speak up, are you nervous?"

Xiao Shao could still be serious when it came to major matters, but now that everything was calm and peaceful, his frivolous nature acted up again.

He didn't know why, but he just wanted to mess with Qi Yan, akin to a mischievous little boy teasing a little girl. Since Qi Yan didn't speak, he used the desk as cover and nudged Qi Yan's calf with the tip of his shoe.

"Your Majesty!"

Qi Yan kept his voice low, the hand holding the writing brush trembling slightly.

Xiao Shao chuckled softly, "Don't be afraid, and don't be nervous."

"..."

Qi Yan was sitting in the deepest corner where no candidates could see him. The proctoring officials were too far away; they could only see Xiao Shao standing behind him but couldn't clearly see what they were doing.

Xiao Shao looked at the little Tanhua's exam paper. "Why did you stop? I'm just looking, you keep writing."

"..."

Two veins popped on the little Tanhua's forehead. The Emperor's gaze felt tangible. It was like he had thorns in his back; he couldn't write another word.

In such a solemn and majestic examination hall, here he was, whispering in a corner with the Emperor. It was utterly improper.

— It was almost like a young boy and girl secretly exchanging tokens of affection in a storybook.

Xiao Shao was still standing behind him. A strange, tingly numbness surged on the back of Qi Yan's neck, raising goosebumps all over his back. Before he could figure out where this feeling was coming from, Xiao Shao paced away to watch another candidate.

Staring only at Qi Yan was too conspicuous; he had to "spread the rain and dew evenly".

Being disturbed like this, Qi Yan could no longer calm down. He wrote as usual, but his gaze kept chasing after Xiao Shao's shadow. Seeing him pause behind a certain scholar for a bit longer, he couldn't help but look up.

Qi Yan recognized this person. They had met briefly before the exam. He was a scion of the Ji Clan of Longxi, Ji Xi. In his early twenties, he was a top-tier young talent and the rumored candidate for Zhuangyuan in the streets.

Qi Yan didn't care about this; back then, he had also been a rumored candidate for Zhuangyuan. What he cared about was... this Ji Xi was very beautiful.

From Qi Yan's angle, he could see his narrow waist under his scholar's robes, as well as his handsome features and full-profiled side face.

Xiao Shao had stayed behind him for far too long.

Qi Yan's gaze lingered on that shadow for a moment. He bit his lower lip imperceptibly, an inexplicable sourness rising in his heart. He forcefully suppressed this feeling, lowered his head, and continued answering his paper.

Before long, the exam ended. The papers were submitted to the Eastern Pavilion for the examiners to review. Xiao Shao didn't look, didn't comment, and didn't participate until the Minister of Rites and the others handed him the papers ranked in order, asking him to make the final decision. Only then did he casually flip through them.

Placed at the very top was Qi Yan's paper.

Xiao Shao thought to himself, 'As expected of the little Tanhua... no, he should be called the little Zhuangyuan now.'

He roughly glanced over them, not changing the ministers' rankings. With a stroke of his vermilion brush, he finalized the placements. Qi Yan was first, and Ji Xi was Bangyan. Xiao Shao couldn't remember the rest and couldn't be bothered to memorize them. He picked out a few officials he found handy to use in later generations, waved his hand for the rest, letting Grand Tutor Song draft them one by one, and asked no more questions.

After the results were published, Qi Yan had to go pay respects to his examiners, attend the Qujiang Banquet, and socialize with his fellow Jinshi. Xiao Shao let him out of the palace to have fun while he himself dealt with the day's memorials. Then, he ate dinner alone, but halfway through the meal, he couldn't help but feel that his surroundings were empty. With no one around to tease and play with, something felt missing.

Xiao Shao simply moved his food and went to his mother's palace to eat.

Ever since Emperor Jianning passed away, the former Empress Lady Li had moved to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility. She practiced a vegetarian diet and worshipped Buddha, ignoring the mundane affairs of the palace. Xiao Shao would visit her every couple of days and eat with her.

Today, there was a sedan chair waiting outside the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, as if someone was visiting. Xiao Shao didn't ask much. He ate with his mother as usual, chatting idly about everything under the sun. As the cups and plates gradually emptied, Lady Li suddenly said, "Shao'er, isn't it time for you to hold a draft selection for the harem?"

Xiao Shao's chopsticks paused. He brushed it off, "It's still early."

In his past life, he had not yet ascended the throne at this time. Every time Empress Li brought this up, Xiao Shao would use the excuse that he was still young and wanted to play for another two years to dodge the topic. Empress Li doted on him and didn't rush him. Later, when he ascended the throne, he was so busy his feet didn't touch the ground. He would return to his sleeping quarters and fall straight asleep, eventually dying of overwork. Naturally, he had never even considered taking a wife then.

Lady Li showed a look of disapproval. "Shao'er, you are the Emperor now. Even if you don't establish an Empress right away, you should at least select a few. Pick them out carefully first, and then we can talk about the rest."

A subtle discomfort rose in Xiao Shao's heart. He felt inexplicably resistant and annoyed, not knowing where this irritation came from. He agreed vaguely, only saying, "Next time, next time."

But Empress Dowager Li said, "There are two girls from my family who happen to be visiting. They can be considered your cousins. Why don't you meet them?"

Without waiting for Xiao Shao's consent, she clapped her hands. Two girls came up and curtsied to Xiao Shao. Both were dignified in appearance and proper in demeanor, clearly carefully raised. One of them even had a teardrop mole, timidly dotting the corner of her eye, rising and falling with her movements.

But looking at her, Xiao Shao thought of someone else.

He thought of his slender, bamboo-like body, his feigned calm and collected expression, and he also thought of the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye that looked as if it were about to weep.

That teardrop mole on his face was truly pitiful and adorable.

His heart softened slightly, and he smiled as he politely declined Empress Dowager Li. Empress Dowager Li didn't stop him either, waving her hand to let him be.

By the time Xiao Shao returned to his sleeping quarters, the moon was already high in the sky. The palace was empty and slightly lonely. He ordered a pot of wine and drank by himself. Suddenly, a screen floated in front of him.

The Hedong investigation plot was not in the original text; it was Xiao Shao's free play. System 55 couldn't even find a place to interject. Now that Xiao Shao had ascended the throne, he had finally dragged the main plot back a bit.

...Although it was a few years earlier than the original text, and it had swallowed up the plot belonging to Xiao Yi.

But under those circumstances, Xiao Shao had been laying out his plans for a long time with the intention of ascending the throne. Asking him to stop and let Xiao Yi off the hook was unrealistic. If he had really let him go, System 55 would have had to collect its host's corpse. Thus, it wisely said nothing, playing dumb for almost a year.

Now, it had to speak. System 55 lowered its voice, trying its best to disguise itself as deep and serious, "Xiao Shao, I'm reminding you, the plot is reaching its end."

Xiao Shao: "Hmm? I have meticulously gone through every single plot point you mentioned."

System 55 made a subtle pause, its tone weird. "Is that so?"

Xiao Shao raised an eyebrow, "The last letter, I gave it. The teaching, I requested it. The water torture, I did it. What else is there?"

"..."

System 55 didn't want to talk much with Xiao Shao. It merely said, "Xiao Yi's plot is gone. His part must be filled in by an emperor, which is you."

Xiao Shao: "Speak."

So System 55 manipulated the screen and typed out a line of text.

"The Mentor's Death."

According to the plot, Xiao Shao shouldn't have ascended the throne this quickly. After receiving teachings in the palace, Qi Yan stayed behind to work in the Directorate of Ceremonial, following Xiao Yi. Meanwhile, Xiao Shao disliked him and never paid attention to him again. In the palace, the man suffered quite a bit of scattered torment, such as beatings with wooden planks and punishment by kneeling.

System 55 couldn't even be bothered to look at these minor plots, turning a blind eye to them. They couldn't be completed anyway. Nowadays, System 55's heart was colder than a blade and harder than iron. It only prayed that Xiao Shao wouldn't mess up this final major plot.

System 55 said, "In this plot, Xiao Yi feels that the power of the righteous civil officials is too great and hinders his actions, especially their leader, Grand Tutor Song. Thus, he sets out to eliminate Grand Tutor Song and his faction."

Xiao Shao's expression was inexplicable, "Grand Tutor Song's faction?"

Old man Song had an eccentric temper and hated forming cliques for selfish interests the most in his life. He had a faction?

System 55: "Just an excuse."

It said flatly, "Grand Tutor Song comes from a righteous background and handles matters impartially and strictly according to the law, leaving no flaws. Therefore, Xiao Yi frames him, claiming he slandered the sovereign and ministers, and has long been dissatisfied with the royal family. The Eastern Depot goes to his residence to search and, sure enough, finds many complaining articles, among which there is no lack of text expressing dissatisfaction with the current dynasty."

It was impossible for the old man not to have any complaints when his favorite student suffered innocently. However, he only wrote the articles for his own amusement and never showed them to anyone, merely keeping them pressed under his bed. Who knows who leaked the information.

"With this, the evidence is conclusive and he is caught red-handed, so Grand Tutor Song is thrown into prison."

Xiao Shao: "He died in prison."

He remembered this matter. In his past life, around the same time, this incident had also occurred. However, at that time, he had been transferred far away to the border as a king, thousands of miles away from the capital. By the time the news of Grand Tutor Song's death reached the border, the man was already cold. Xiao Shao had only heard about it at a banquet from a patrol inspector who came from the capital. The inspector spoke vaguely, only knowing the gist of it, saying he passed away from a sudden illness.

The old man was in his seventies, already at an advanced age, so a sudden illness was normal. Xiao Shao hadn't thought much of it at the time. But looking at it now, he had actually died in prison.

The Eastern Depot's prison was cold, damp, and foul-smelling, seeing no sunlight all year round. Even a strong man in the prime of his life would lose half his life going in, let alone a man over seventy.

Xiao Shao sighed softly, "And then?"

System 55: "This matter has a very wide impact. Xiao Yi initiates a massive literary inquisition and searches the homes of many righteous ministers. Qi Yan is Grand Tutor Song's student, so his residence in the palace is also searched. Two ambiguous lines of poetry are found, so he suffers some torture. After getting out, he runs a high fever and is bedridden for half a month before recovering, losing half his life in the process."

The System swiped across the screen, "According to the plot, this is the final turning point. From here on out, the Qi Yan you are familiar with will cease to exist. He completely transforms, becoming the sinister and vicious Lord recorded in later generations."

Xiao Shao gripped the desk.

After a moment, he asked slowly, "For this plot, I only need 50 points too, right?"

Grand Tutor Song could not die, but he could ask the old man if he wanted to retire and return to his hometown. As for the searching, torture, fever, and being bedridden... The searching and torture would be difficult to manage, but as for the fever and being bedridden...

It could still be negotiated, right?

If the little Tanhua was willing.