"No, no, Your Majesty, thank you for your praise."
Lord Su didn't notice the emperor's anger at all. He quietly wiped the sweat from his palms and breathed a sigh of relief.
Eunuch Quan hesitated for a long time before he dared to ask in a low voice: "Your Majesty, do you want me to..."
This young prince dares to be so contemptuous of the emperor. No matter how talented he is, he must be taught a lesson.
So that he can understand the rules and know what the emperor’s grace is.
"Royal brother, Su Qiao is young and has been raised outside since he was young. No one teaches him. It is understandable that he does not know some rules. Don't you think so?"
Prince Jin looked at the blueprint drawn by Su Qiao and gave his advice with a smile.
"Besides, although he is young, he is not only very accomplished in calligraphy and painting, but also very talented. He can draw such a complex and profound drawing in one night. It must have taken a lot of effort for him to finish it. It is very likely that he fainted from exhaustion."
Long Jingyuan glanced at the precise blueprint in his hand, pondered for a moment, and nodded abnormally: "Well, it did take a lot of effort."
In fact, the King of Jin could not understand the drawings. What he was eyeing was actually Su Qiao's painting.
Pointing to the last painting hanging on the sandalwood screen, he said, "Brother, look at this fifth painting. It only has green mountains and clear waters, and a small wooden house. There is nothing important. Can you..."
Long Jingyuan raised his eyelids and glanced at him: "We are brothers, are you very familiar with him?"
"No... not familiar."
Prince Jin felt that the sidelong glance his brother gave him just now was quite like a knife.
I felt a little scared: "Ahem, my brother, I'm not... I'm not seeing..."
Before he finished his words, Long Jingyuan understood that he wanted to say that he did it for the sake of the second young lady of the Su family.
His expression softened a little: "Spend less time on women and more time on your job."
King Jin nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, my brother is right. Then this painting..."
"This is the answer sheet for the imperial examination. It must be included in the file."
Long Jingyuan glanced at him and signaled Quan De with a cold face to put the painting away.
"Oh." Prince Jin felt a little regretful, and then he had an idea.
If he couldn't get this one, he could just ask Su Qiao to draw one for him. Why is he so stupid
Why do you have to come to my brother and bring bad luck upon yourself
When Lord Su returned home, even his lining was soaked, as if he had been fished out of the water.
I drank several large glasses of water before I recovered.
But he was scared to death.
Fortunately, the emperor did not pursue Qiao'er's disrespectful behavior any further.
*
In the imperial palace, in the imperial study, the secret guards who were sent out to investigate Su Qiao's background brought back the news.
Behind the imperial desk, Long Jingyuan put down the memorial in his hand.
"how?"
"Your Majesty, news has come from the south that the manor where the young master lived was completely destroyed by a fire a month ago, and all the maids and servants inside were also killed."
A hint of sternness flashed across Long Jingyuan's eyes, and he slowly turned the black jade ring on his hand: "What else did you find out?"
“We haven’t found anything else yet, but…” The secret guard hesitated, not knowing whether he should report it.
Long Jingyuan glanced at him indifferently, and said in a very cold voice: "Speak."
"This farm is extremely remote, and according to my subordinates' inquiries, it is extremely simple. The people living there only rely on collecting rent from the fields to make a living, and no high-ranking officials or nobles have ever visited it. It does not look like the place where the prince of a marquis's mansion lives."
A prince of a marquisate, even if he was physically weak and was sent to a southern manor to be raised since childhood, would definitely not live such a miserable life.
Eunuch Quan frowned slightly: "Your Majesty, there must be something fishy going on here."