61: Before the meeting

At the Prince's Mansion, Qin Chuan, who had just exited the Virtual World, began to wail.

"Qing Mo, come quickly and give me a massage!"

Qing Mo: (〃'▽'〃)?

She slowly approached, somewhat shyly, her small face flushed.

Finally, Qing Mo, with a determined attitude, flushed red and puffed out her chest.

"Young Master, here, you... you can rub!"

Qin Chuan: ???

When he felt confused, it wasn't that he was wrong, but that he felt his little maid was wrong!

He said impatiently, "What I mean is—my head hurts! I want you to press it for me."

"Ah?! Oh, I understand, Qing Mo understands."

Qing Mo's face instantly turned red to her earlobes, and she clumsily stepped forward to help Qin Chuan massage his head.

Qin Chuan sighed helplessly, lying on the bed, letting this little vixen, whose mind was full of perverted thoughts, massage him.

A moment later, he didn't feel much better.

Qin Chuan could only sigh, "Alas, an unprovoked disaster. Alright, no need to press anymore. Go tell the kitchen to cook some porridge."

Qing Mo: "Mm-hmm, does Young Master have any other instructions?"

"No."

After Qing Mo left, Qin Chuan endured the throbbing headache and recalled the scene he had seen in the National Academy in the Virtual World.

The observatory, capable of discerning world directions above and surveying the Great Zhou mountains and rivers below, was definitely a divine artifact.

As long as he didn't look around carelessly.

However, after this observation, Qin Chuan had many ideas.

These ideas were not about Great Zhou, but about the Main World.

—He had originally thought the Main World's contact with the abyss was merely infiltration and invasion.

But now, why did it feel like an all-out war!

Even more surprisingly, when he was in the Main World, he had not received any news at all!

So, has someone always been shouldering the burden, or did this change only occur recently?

"There's nothing I can do now. After the imperial examination ends, I'll go back and ask."

In the following days, while waiting for his admission to the National Academy, Qin Chuan remained in a listless state.

The damage from that one glance at the observatory was far greater than he had imagined.

News of his discomfort quickly reached even the butler of the Prince's Mansion.

Finally, as expected, it reached Wang Zhongshu's ears.

Wang Zhongshu merely glanced at him and said impatiently:

"Don't tell me... this is because you studied too hard."

Qin Chuan naturally couldn't reveal the details, so he could only vaguely explain:

"Something like that, my literary energy has encountered a bottleneck. Your disciple is fine... a few days of rest will do."

Wang Zhongshu's face was expressionless, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

"This is a spiritual injury, it won't heal with just a few days of rest. Just wait."

After saying this, when he returned in the evening, he brought back a phoenix-engraved imperial seal.

After Wang Zhongshu found Qin Chuan, he wasted no words and directly activated the imperial seal.

He shouted, "Pardon!"

As soon as the word fell, Qin Chuan's headache indeed greatly diminished.

"Master, this is?"

Wang Zhongshu gave him an impatient glance.

"In the future, don't look at what you shouldn't! I'm starting to regret taking you in; you only cause trouble for your master! Tomorrow, accompany me to the palace to see His Majesty. Be careful with your words."

Qin Chuan looked slightly awkward: "Hmm? Cough cough... I understand, how was I supposed to know before I looked..."

—People tend to associate things.

Through Wang Zhongshu's words, one didn't even need to associate; it clearly indicated that he knew who had been peeking that day.

Wang Zhongshu seemed to have seen Qin Chuan's concerns.

"You don't need to be afraid, it's not a big deal. Just act according to the circumstances, His Majesty won't make things difficult for you."

"Understood..."

The next day, early morning.

Qin Chuan was having his clothes arranged.

However, it wasn't Qing Mo helping.

Qing Mo had never learned the etiquette for an audience with the Emperor, so the person helping was a court etiquette instructor specially invited by Wang Zhongshu.

"Qiao County Son is indeed a handsome and radiant talent."

"Granny, you flatter me."

Everything was ready, and Qin Chuan followed Wang Zhongshu into the carriage.

After entering the Imperial City, the two got out in front of Zwei Wei Palace.

Qin Chuan dutifully walked behind Wang Zhongshu, following closely.

Along the way, they met many ministers attending the morning court.

These people were greatly surprised when they saw Qin Chuan behind Wang Zhongshu, looking as if the sun had risen from the west.

Qin Chuan completely ignored them, letting them say whatever they wanted, it didn't affect him in the slightest.

Along this path, he saw other officials, whether with feigned politeness or genuine cordiality, gathered in groups of three or five, exchanging pleasantries.

This scene made Qin Chuan realize one thing—

Wang Zhongshu was truly alone!

Among all the court officials, not a single person came forward to speak to him!

Qin Chuan didn't know whether to say these people were truly afraid of him, or if Wang Zhongshu's popularity was simply too poor.

In short, he felt that if he were to enter officialdom, his future would definitely be bleak.

However, his ambition wasn't here, so what if he was ostracized?

When this group of ministers stood in a row in front of the Palace of Supreme Harmony, Wang Zhongshu stood at the forefront of the civil officials.

As for Qin Chuan, he went to the very back of the line, with a group of offering officials and auxiliary officials.

He completely ignored the curious gazes of those around him, focusing his main attention on the front row.

At this moment, it seemed someone there had finally spoken to Wang Zhongshu.

Qin Chuan pricked up his ears, listening carefully.

"Haha, Lord Wang is bringing his disciple to court. Is this the legendary 'Chen the Immortal'? Lord Wang has a successor!"

"Thank you for Duke of Lu's concern, my disciple is young and inexperienced, I'm afraid he cannot bear the name of Zhexian."

"He can, he can! I've heard people recite his great works more than once..."

The two were conversing, though not very enthusiastically, there was no hostility between them.

It was then that a voice suddenly emerged from the civil official group behind Wang Zhongshu.

"...Bringing a junior to court, isn't that a bit out of line with the rules?"

As soon as the words fell, silence descended, and the people behind Wang Zhongshu instantly scattered to a safe distance.

As if fearing Wang Zhongshu would suddenly lash out and injure someone!

Thus, the person who spoke was instantly revealed.

Seeing this, the person was somewhat flustered, but still stood his ground, bracing himself.

Wang Zhongshu's gaze was like a sword, meticulously scrutinizing the person from head to toe.

Only then did he say, "This point, Vice Minister Cui, you don't need to trouble yourself! Although this disciple of mine is still taking the imperial examination, he holds the official title of Qiao County Son of the fifth rank. Both in terms of sentiment and reason, he is qualified to attend the court assembly... However, may I ask, Lord Cui, do your family's juniors have any noble titles?"

As soon as these words were uttered, Vice Minister Cui's face immediately turned ashen, and he closed his mouth, saying nothing.

It seemed Wang Zhongshu had hit a raw nerve.

Qin Chuan was enjoying watching Wang Zhongshu retort, eagerly anticipating how things would unfold next.

At this moment, a faint voice suddenly reached Qin Chuan's ears.

"My good disciple, your master did not consider properly, I spoke too harshly just now... You should be careful of the young people from the Cui clan in the future—hmm, just consider it a test!"

Qin Chuan: ???!!!

He looked up again, and saw Wang Zhongshu looking at him with a slight smile on his lips.

Qin Chuan: ヽ(｀Д)︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻!

You call this not considering properly?

I think you clearly did it on purpose!

Is there really a master who helps his disciples attract hatred like this?

At this moment, a chanted announcement came from the front.

"The time has come, all Lords, please enter the hall for court!"