Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: Old Thief, You Actually Reported to the Empress
Page (1/3)
“Your Majesty, this matter should be… more or less… more or less as he says, though the exact circumstances still require careful investigation!”
Two more beads of cold sweat appeared on Guo Qingshu’s forehead. Su Chen’s mischief could have happened on any other day, but it had chosen the very first day the Female Emperor Wu Zetian ordered him to attend the Inner Academy. This was nothing short of a slap in the face!
Yet Su Chen, who had been standing to one side awaiting judgment, suddenly saw his eyes light up.
[You damn old bastard! How dare you report on me in front of Little Mei-niang! You treacherous old thief, how dare you bully me like this? You’re nothing but a son of a bitch!]
[Still, bully me all you like. I have to admit, you’ve done a fine job of it. If you can really get me expelled from the Inner Academy, I’ll thank your ancestors for eight generations!]
[This wretched Inner Academy is no place for human beings. If this woman hadn’t gotten some wire crossed in her head and insisted that I study here, why would I waste my time coming to this dump?]
[And what kind of rotten academy is this, anyway? They don’t even know what punctuation marks are. No wonder you can’t raise any pillars of the realm!]
While cursing inwardly, Su Chen hurriedly stepped forward.
When the Second Young Master of the Su family raised his head again, his face wore a somewhat foolish expression.
“Your Majesty, this commoner knows his fault. I should not have scribbled carelessly in a sacred classic, nor should I have openly contradicted Master Song. The master was right—I should never have been studying at the Inner Academy! Your Majesty, please expel me from the Inner Academy!”
Su Chen’s face was filled with remorse, yet his words were impassioned and righteous. For a moment, everyone in the Hall of Righteousness was left even more utterly bewildered.
Could this Second Young Master of the Su family be an idiot? Who handled matters like this?
He was actually piling charges upon himself—and this was while Guo Qingshu was doing everything possible to excuse him!
Yet Su Chen had admitted to every accusation without hesitation.
To everyone, it seemed almost as though the Second Young Master of the Su residence was impatient to leave the Inner Academy.
…
In full view of the assembly, the Female Emperor Wu Zetian did her utmost to control her expression and keep her features from changing too much.
In truth, however, beneath her vast imperial robes, her delicate body had already begun to tremble faintly.
How infuriating!
It was simply too infuriating. Had she not been able to hear Su Chen’s truest thoughts, even Wu Zetian herself might have been deceived by him.
“You little bastard. So this is what you were plotting all along. Shameless! You’ve got some nerve!”
“I kindly arranged for you to study at the Inner Academy, and you actually dared to play tricks on me? Wretched, absolutely wretched!”
“But you think you can simply leave the Inner Academy like this and damage my reputation? Hah. I won’t let you have your way so easily. Not a chance!”
“Heh heh, Su Chen. Today I’ll teach you exactly who I am. Just because I haven’t shown my claws, you think I’m a toy in your hands… or do you think I don’t exist?”
Page (1/3)
Page (2/3)
At that moment, a smile curved across the Female Emperor Wu Zetian’s exquisitely beautiful face.
In an instant, she seemed like a celestial maiden descending to earth, breathtaking enough to topple kingdoms.
…
Yet what shocked the assembly was not merely Su Chen’s bizarre behavior. The Female Emperor Wu Zetian’s next move left everyone staring in stunned disbelief.
“Bring me that book.”
Wu Zetian spoke lightly.
But every person present widened their eyes.
Which book?
Could she mean the one Su Chen had soaked with his saliva and scribbled all over?
It was one thing for Su Chen to be insane, but had Her Majesty also taken leave of her senses today?
The crowd had expected the empress to wear an icy expression and fly into a terrible rage, expelling Su Chen from the Inner Academy.
Why, then, did she want them to bring her the saliva-stained book? Was she not disgusted by it?
Under the utterly bewildered gazes of the assembly, Shangguan Wan’er paused for a moment before gracefully twisting her body and casually drawing the book from Su Chen’s hands.
She then held it reverently in both hands and presented it before Wu Zetian.
Even so, everyone clearly saw that Shangguan Wan’er still avoided the corner dampened by Su Chen’s saliva.
The Female Emperor’s gaze fell upon the book—and in an instant, it stopped.
Then, at a speed visible to the naked eye, that breathtakingly beautiful face turned cold as ice.
As Wu Zetian’s expression grew colder, the temperature in the entire Hall of Righteousness seemed to drop several degrees.
The students gathered there could not tell whether it was the chill of the weather or the frost radiating from the Female Emperor, but some of them had already begun to tremble visibly.
A woman might rule as emperor, and people might mock it as a hen crowing at dawn, but an emperor was still an emperor. Imperial majesty brooked no disrespect.
Changsun Yan and Yan Danqing remained far calmer than the others, though even they sighed inwardly.
The Female Emperor’s face was as cold as ice. She was clearly furious beyond measure. This time, no one would be able to easily plead on Su Chen’s behalf.
It was even possible that Su Chen’s actions would implicate Su Zhongwen as well.
Though Changsun Yan and Yan Danqing wanted to help Su Chen, neither dared speak rashly.
Page (2/3)
Page (3/3)
Their standing was not sufficient. Had Changsun Wuji and Yan Liben been present, they might have dared to say a few words.
What a pity. His grandfather had praised Su Zhongwen as the Pearl of the Seas and the Treasured Legacy of China. Surely this matter would affect his official career.
Yan Danqing lamented inwardly. But who could have imagined that Her Majesty would come to the Inner Academy today?
…
What had happened in the Hall of Righteousness spread throughout the Inner Academy in an instant.
The Inner Academy was not large to begin with, and the Female Emperor Wu Zetian’s personal arrival was an event of enormous importance.
Thus, the clash between Su Chen and Master Song spread through the entire Inner Academy like wildfire.
Even the other two Vice Libationers and several scholars of the Inner Academy came after hearing the news.
More and more people gathered around the Hall of Righteousness, each wearing a different expression.
Some were impassive. Some frowned deeply. Some lowered their heads. Others stared straight ahead without blinking.
There were even those whose faces revealed mocking smiles, pity, or outright disdain.
…
Under the eyes of the entire assembly—and indeed, of countless onlookers—the Female Emperor finally spoke.
Yet what no one expected was that Wu Zetian’s fury was not directed at Su Chen.
It was directed at Master Song Fangshan.
“Song Fangshan, take a good look at this book. You call yourself a scholar of the Inner Academy, yet you cannot even recognize something so obvious?”
Bang!
Wu Zetian snatched the book from Shangguan Wan’er’s hands and hurled it directly at Song Fangshan.
The Female Emperor’s furious rage erupted like a blazing fire. But no one had imagined that the flames would fail to reach Su Chen and instead consume Song Fangshan.
Could Her Majesty be trying to save face by deliberately calling black white and confusing right with wrong?
After all, Su Chen had truly slept in class, shown no respect for his elders, and openly contradicted his teacher. Those charges were undeniable.
Even so, the Female Emperor’s outburst was utterly baffling.