The second day of being forced to attend court Shen Du’s hand was caught by Xie Min. The soft and tender palm almost caught Shen Du off guard. ‘I heard Your Majesty has not yet partaken in a meal?’ Shen Du recalled what Grand Eunuch De had said upon entering and asked softly. The young emperor before him pulled Shen Du by the hand, leading him toward the desk and handing him the memorial placed right at the very top. Shen Du pulled his hand back from Xie Min’s palm, then opened the memorial, raising an eyebrow slightly as he glanced at the words inside. It was nothing more than those ministers clamoring for Shen Du to relinquish the power in his hands. Yet not a single one of them dared to bring it up directly to Shen Du’s face. Shen Du put away the memorial in his hand, mimicking the habitual actions of the original owner, and tossed it casually onto the desk before calling out toward the door: ‘Grand Eunuch De, serve the meal.’ Grand Eunuch De was standing right outside the door. Hearing Shen Du speak from within the Imperial Study, he immediately instructed the young eunuch beside him to go to the Imperial Kitchen to fetch the meal. He then pushed open the door and entered, seeing the young emperor seated in the main seat while Shen Du sat beside him, gently inquiring about the young emperor’s studies for the day. Seeing this, Grand Eunuch De couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief, believing that the late emperor’s decision to entrust the young emperor to Shen Du was the correct choice. After all, Shen Du was the sole bloodline of the Shen family, and even his teacher had once been the teacher of the late emperor! These various identities gave the late emperor peace of mind in handing the young emperor over to Shen Du. However, the late emperor probably never knew that he had entrusted the child to the wrong person. With Shen Du’s company, Xie Min finished his meal. Realizing there seemed to be nothing else, Shen Du intended to leave the palace. But before stepping out of the Imperial Study, a thought occurred to him, and he instructed the young eunuch attending nearby to take away all the memorials on the young emperor’s desk. Nowadays, matters of the court, regardless of size, passed through Shen Du’s hands, and the memorials were also reviewed and filtered by Shen Du before being sent into the palace. Yet he had never seen these particular memorials. This group of ministers always thought things were too simple, believing that by giving the memorials directly to Xie Min, Shen Du wouldn’t do anything even if he discovered it later. [These people really have too much time on their hands. How do they even have the nerve to scold people inside the memorials day in and day out? Who knows, the kid might have been corrupted by people like this!] Shen Du couldn’t help but complain inwardly, but the system remained completely silent, acting exceptionally aloof. Shen Du didn’t mind, though. As for the system, having a little bit of temper was perfectly normal. While silently continuing to complain about these idle ministers, Shen Du maintained a normal expression as he left the Imperial Study. It wasn’t until Shen Du had walked far away, leaving Xie Min all alone in the Imperial Study, that a man dressed in black stepped out from behind the other side of the screen, half of his face covered by a mask, and knelt before Xie Min. ‘Did you hear Shen Du say anything… strange?’ Xie Min sat in the elevated seat with a cold expression. He wanted to know whether he was the only one who could hear Shen Du’s inner thoughts, or if other people could hear them as well. The secret guard raised his head, thought seriously for a moment, and shook his head. Shen Du hadn’t said anything strange just now. Although he didn’t know why the young emperor had a sudden flash of inspiration to ask such a question, the secret guard still answered honestly: ‘None.’ With a cold gaze, Xie Min waved his hand to order the secret guard to keep a close eye on Shen Du’s every word and action. ‘If Shen Du shows any sign of disloyalty, execute him on the spot,’ Xie Min said softly. He was not the obedient and well-behaved young emperor in Shen Du’s eyes, but rather a tyrant who would have his throne seized a dozen years later and die a horrific death without an intact corpse. Originally, Xie Min had planned to use the secret guards left behind by the late emperor to execute Shen Du, firmly secure control of the court, and then systematically eliminate everyone from his past life who had harbored thoughts of overthrowing him. But he never expected that the moment Shen Du walked in, he would deliver such a massive surprise. This Shen Du was different from the one in his past life. The Shen Du of the past life only knew how to reduce him to a puppet, even feeling that his existence was a trouble and trying to poison him in secret. Yet this particular Shen Du’s inner thoughts contradicted his outward appearance. Having experienced rebirth, Xie Min naturally thought of various bizarre supernatural phenomena. Interesting. In his past life, such an interesting thing had never occurred. Since it added a glimmer of color to an otherwise dull world, Xie Min didn’t mind playing the role of an obedient little emperor in front of Shen Du for the sake of this amusement. Xie Min found himself looking forward to hearing Shen Du’s inner voice. Before dawn broke, Shen Du stepped out of his carriage dressed in purple court robes, with a young attendant behind him holding a matching cloak. As Shen Du alighted from the carriage, the cold wind hit his face, and his attendant hurriedly draped the cloak over his shoulders. Shen Du was wrapped up tightly from head to toe. The moment he appeared, the voices of the surrounding officials and ministers quieted down. Everyone cast their gaze upon him. Although these people looked down upon this youthful Imperial Tutor, they didn’t dare to voice any complaints. He was an Imperial Tutor bestowed by an imperial edict from the late emperor; even veteran ministers dared not casually shoot their mouths off. ‘Esteemed lords, please.’ The time had arrived, the palace gates swung open, and the crowd walked inward together. Shen Du showed no intention of taking off his cloak, striding straight into the hall, looking particularly conspicuous. Even if the crowd felt any dissatisfaction, none of them dared to speak up. At Shen Du’s designated seating position in court, there was a purple-wood carved chair covered entirely with animal pelts, looking exceedingly warm. A young eunuch stepped forward to remove the cloak from Shen Du’s shoulders, and Shen Du sat down in the chair of his own accord. Positioned just above him was the young emperor’s seat. However, before the Emperor had even taken his seat, Shen Du sat down directly—an act that, in the eyes of everyone present, amounted to a grave offense of lèse-majesté. Fuming with anger yet afraid to speak, the crowd could only watch helplessly as Shen Du waved his hand toward the young eunuch beside him. [So early, who on earth is holding morning court? Oh, right, it’s me.] Shen Du’s ghost-like voice fell upon the system. Ever since waking up, Shen Du’s mental grumbling hadn’t stopped for a single moment. Furthermore, because the system gave no reply, Shen Du’s expression turned even colder. Watching those court officials pointing fingers at him, Shen Du’s morning grouchiness felt as though it could materialize into a physical force. ‘His Majesty has arrived.’ Shen Du sat there while a young eunuch presented a cup of tea. Shen Du gently took it, took a sip, and the moment he lifted his gaze, he saw Xie Min looking right down at him from above, his obedient gaze filled with complete trust in Shen Du. [The moment Minmin appears, I feel like I actually have the energy for morning court. Tsk, so obedient.] Shen Du straightened his back and placed the teacup onto the tray held by the young eunuch beside him. Glancing downward, Shen Du noticed that nobody was staring at him anymore, causing the previously tense Shen Du to let out a small sigh of relief. He propped his chin in his hand, squinting his eyes as he listened to the unimportant chatter of the people below. Shen Du only felt sleepy—excessively sleepy. ‘Imperial Tutor Shen simply does not place His Majesty in his eyes! During morning court, he actually has the leisure to sleep!’ The officials hadn’t been paying attention to Shen Du earlier, but upon hearing someone speak up, they turned their heads to look at him. They saw the languid Shen Du up above, while Grand Eunuch De beside the young emperor looked anxiously like he wanted to step forward and wake Shen Du up, but refrained out of deference to the imperial presence. [These ministers are truly annoying. When on earth is court going to end? I’m so tired, so exhausted. Can’t they just let me stay quietly for a while?] Shen Du sighed inwardly, shifting his gaze toward those righteous and indignant ministers. His fingertips tapped lightly against the animal pelt, the long fur tickling his senses and distracting a large portion of his attention. By the time Shen Du remembered the officials again, the people below had already realized that Shen Du didn’t care about them at all, leaving their throats parched and unable to utter another word. ‘Didn’t you see that Lord Liu is feeling unwell? Why haven’t you poured a cup of tea for Lord Liu yet?’ Shen Du turned his gaze slightly, his eyes falling on the teacup in the hands of the young eunuch beside him. Inside, however, he was laughing riotously. [Being a villain is truly great. It feels like the people below are about to be driven insane with rage.] ‘You… Shen Du, you only just entered the court as an official…’ Liu Daoren clutched his chest in anger, glaring at the cold-faced Shen Du above, wanting to say something more. Yet Shen Du gently smoothed his court robes, stood up, and asked, ‘Does Lord Liu have an objection to me, or an objection to the late emperor’s decree?’ A single sentence was enough to instantly terrify the elder Liu until his legs went weak. ‘Though I am newly appointed to the court, I entered by the late emperor’s personal decree. Moreover, I am His Majesty’s Imperial Tutor. What on earth do you think you are?’ Shen Du’s gaze was calm. Standing right there, not a single minister below dared to utter a word. ‘Besides, are you people not ashamed to bring up such nonsense in court and pollute His Majesty’s ears?’ Shen Du walked slowly downward with steady steps and a cold expression, stopping right in front of Lord Liu to look him up and down. ‘Lord Liu is truly getting old. In that case, I shall approve the memorial you submitted requesting to retire to your hometown on your behalf.’ With those words, Shen Du turned to walk back. Before he even stepped onto the platform, he heard the sound of Lord Liu collapsing to the ground in a faint. The surrounding officials didn’t dare to move, only watching as Shen Du instructed the guards outside to carry Lord Liu out. The young emperor above merely watched Shen Du’s actions, appearing to tacitly condone them, or perhaps seeming too afraid to resist. This Lord Liu was a notorious corrupt official in the novel. In the original text, the original owner hadn’t dealt with him; instead, the two had colluded, treating Xie Min as a puppet emperor until he was eventually dealt with by the male lead in the later stages. Yet today, Shen Du had solved the problem himself. Seated in the high position, Xie Min couldn’t help looking down, but all he saw was Shen Du’s retreating back. [Surely no one else dares to speak now, right? When is His Majesty going to dismiss court? If we go back now, I can take a nap and still make it in time for the midday meal. Wait, I’m the Imperial Tutor, the Emperor won’t summon me to the Imperial Study after court, will he?!] Shen Du sighed, wondering inwardly whether he should fake an illness and head straight back. Having made up his mind, Shen Du’s previous drowsiness vanished entirely. Even though the chair was covered with animal pelts, cold drafts swept through the hall; there was no way Shen Du could sleep comfortably even if he wanted to nod off. His gaze swept across the court officials one by one, but not a single person was willing to meet his eyes. Before passing away, the late emperor had not appointed any trusted senior ministers to assist the young emperor or check the power of the court; instead, he had solely designated Shen Du as the Imperial Tutor. Consequently, Shen Du stood as one person beneath the ruler and above all others in the court. As the current emperor’s teacher, his words and actions wielded the power to sway imperial decisions. ‘If there are no other urgent matters to report, court is dismissed.’ Shen Du gestured to the young eunuch holding his cloak above. Once the attendant tied the cloak around him, Shen Du looked up at Xie Min, who hadn’t said a word all this time, the corners of his lips curving upward. His burning gaze fixed on Xie Min, as if eagerly anticipating Xie Min shouting the word ‘dismissed’ the very next second. [Minmin, hurry up and say dismiss court, quick, quick, hurry it up!] Shen Du was practically aching to return to his own bed the very next second—a comfortable bed where nobody chattered endlessly in his ear, and no cold wind disturbed his sleep. Xie Min looked at Shen Du, and under that intense gaze, finally opened his mouth: ‘Then, as the teacher says, court is dismissed.’ Shen Du turned around immediately. He had only taken two steps when he heard Grand Eunuch De, standing right behind Xie Min, chime in: ‘Lord Shen, His Majesty invites you to partake in the midday meal together.’ His footsteps paused, and the joy in Shen Du’s heart instantly vanished. [Can’t you just let me go back and catch up on my sleep properly?!]
Chapter 2
After Transmigrating Into A Book, She Was Favored By A Tyrannical Ruler Who Was Being Criticized