Chapter 066

Chapter 66: Randomly Pick a Lucky Audience Member

The banquet continued.

The emperor gave important posts to the three new talents.

The Top Scholar became a compiler at the Hanlin Academy; the Second Place Laureate became the magistrate of a subordinate county in the Capital City; Du Zi Heng was sent to the Ministry of Personnel as the chief clerk of the Examination Office.

A Hanlin Academy compiler is a sixth-rank official.

A magistrate of a subordinate county is seventh-rank.

A section chief at the Ministry of Personnel is only eighth-rank.

On the surface, the Top Scholar held the highest office.

But that job is puffed up; whether he will be truly trusted later depends on whether the emperor and his superiors even remember him.

A magistrate has some real power, but a magistrate of a small county still cannot compare with Du Zi Heng, who is in the Capital City at the Ministry of Personnel under his own father’s protection.

The Bureau of Merit Evaluation controls the appointment, reviews, promotions, and demotions of all officials.

That is a fat, cushy post.

The emperor arranged the futures of humble-born students and noble-born students very clearly. On the surface, no one objected, including the Top Scholar and the Second Place Laureate who were treated differently.

But no one cared what they thought anyway.

The main act was over, and before that everyone had watched a shocking opener. They badly needed to calm down.

So the coming songs, dances, and eating and drinking were exactly what people wanted.

Yu Jiao Jiao perked up.

It was time. For her, what would happen next was the real show.

The assassins would strike while everyone ate and enjoyed the dances.

After all, this was the most relaxed part of the entire banquet.

Casting a hidden glance behind several ministers and their families, Yu Jiao Jiao curled her lips in a pleased smile.

The killers were standing behind those people. Once the attack began, they would be the first to be butchered.

She shot Yu Zhi Yi a contemptuous look.

[They say she can tell fortunes. She would never imagine that today’s banquet will become my stage for fame and fortune. This is the start of my rise!]

She was not worried that Yu Zhi Yi would steal her credit, because in her previous life at this time Yu Zhi Yi was not in the Capital City. Even if she heard about the assassination while away, she could not know the scene better than someone who lived through it.

As the Chief Eunuch clapped and the dancers were about to enter, Yu Jiao Jiao touched the Heart-Guard Mirror hidden at her chest and took a deep breath.

She had decided to block a sword with her own body.

After all, nothing is more shocking than seeing someone risk their life for you.

As for You Bing Yue…

You Bing Yue had been forced away when Prince Xiao Yao was led out.

She lost her chance before she could show her skills and ambition.

Suddenly a voice said: “Wait.”

Everyone looked toward the sound. Chancellor Du and his wife did not understand, but chose to respect it; they watched with worry as their daughter-in-law slowly stood up.

Yu Jiao Jiao fumed.

It had taken her so long to build up the nerve to face the coming pain. With this woman’s interruption, her courage drained at once.

The emperor was displeased.

He had not even settled with her for what happened earlier; what was she doing now?

He asked, “Young Madam Du, what else do you want?”

Yu Zhi Yi walked to the center of the hall as if she did not feel the emperor’s anger, then said: “Before the show starts, I want to give Your Majesty a gift.”

Everyone fell silent.

The emperor also fell silent.

Yu Jiao Jiao felt angry and scornful.

She always acted so lofty, yet today she was making a fool of herself!

[Does she think this will draw the emperor’s eye, or make Du Zi Heng change his mind?]

The empress thought the same, and her dignified face darkened.

But before the empress could scold her, Yu Zhi Yi went on: “I’ve heard that news of my fortune-telling has spread across the Capital City. I own nothing fine, only this small skill I can offer. So today, I will do a divination for you on the spot.”

The emperor was puzzled.

The empress, who thought Yu Zhi Yi was trying to flatter, was even more puzzled.

Everyone was baffled.

No one had ever heard of a gift being fortune-telling. How absurd.

The emperor was speechless, but also curious. Chancellor Du and Duke Ding Guo had praised Yu Zhi Yi to the skies, saying she never missed with her plans and was like a Divine Maiden come to earth.

He wanted to see if this Divine Maiden truly had skill, or had fooled two elderly men with some shady trick.

Hiding the doubt in his eyes, he said calmly: “Granted.”

Yu Zhi Yi kept a smile on her face.

The assassins would move during the song-and-dance segment. They were split into two groups: one hidden among the palace attendants serving nobles, the other hidden among the dancers.

Once the time came, the two groups would work together and cut down the grandees and royal blood in the hall.

Yu Zhi Yi wanted to save not only the emperor, but everyone in the hall.

So she could not just yank the assassins out by force. If she tried and failed to catch them all at once, the rest might go berserk and start killing when cornered.

[There are too many living targets in this hall.]

With that in mind, she prepared to randomly pick a “lucky audience member.”

Her gaze swept the hall and she was about to speak, when Yu Jiao Jiao could not hold back and said: “Your Majesty, this is not proper.”

Her voice was so sharp with anxiety that people could not help turning to look.

Realizing she was out of line, Yu Jiao Jiao quickly fixed her expression. She glanced at Yu Zhi Yi with just the right touch of worry and said: “I have lived with my sister for many years and never heard she could tell fortunes.”

“If her divination is wrong, wouldn’t that be deceiving the ruler?”

The hall grew quiet again.

People had only doubted whether Young Madam Du’s skill was fake, guessing that Chancellor Du had exaggerated to build up his daughter-in-law.

But her dear sister was pushing her toward a death sentence.

And it did not stop there. After Yu Jiao Jiao finished, Yu Zi Xuan chimed in: “Sister Jiao Jiao is right. Yu Zhi Yi doesn’t know any mystic arts at all!”

He glared at Yu Zhi Yi and said: “Yu Zhi Yi, stop showing off, will you? Do you want to get us all killed?”

Yu Zhi Yi raised an eyebrow and asked: “How am I trying to get you all killed?”

Yu Zi Xuan widened his eyes and said: “You are committing the crime of deceiving the ruler!”

With bitter disappointment on his face, he went on: “Before, even if you bluffed and fooled people, nothing serious happened. You did help Duke Ding Guo find his daughter, and by accident you helped some innocent women, so we overlooked it.”

“But now you are lying in front of Your Majesty. That is reckless! Sister Jiao Jiao fears you will act crazy before Your Majesty. When your lie is exposed, as your natal family, won’t we all be dragged down with you?”

The emperor, surprised, asked: “Oh? So Young Madam Du truly doesn’t know any mystic arts?”

His gaze fell on Chancellor Du, then swept to Duke Ding Guo.

The two, alarmed, rose at once and said: “Your Majesty, we did not lie. Young Madam Du truly has the skill!”