The 'Involution King' Second Female Lead Quits [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: You serve me? I’ll serve you!

Shu Heng slowly turned her head. It took her a while to process what Li Jianwei had said.

His Majesty wants the imperial family to have more children? Why would she do that? Does His Majesty intend to…

Shu Heng couldn’t help but look up at Li Jianwei, who was in front of her. The bright yellow dragon robe made her look even more majestic. “Is Your Majesty planning to… choose a successor from the imperial family?”

“Yes. I don’t plan to have children myself. The risks are too great, and I’m not interested in men who are not as good as me,” Li Jianwei said, resting her chin on one hand and smiling at Shu Heng. “Minister Shu, if I choose a successor from the imperial family, won’t I need to expand the imperial harem?”

“This… this is unprecedented. Your subject doesn’t know either,” Shu Heng’s response sounded dry, but only she knew how fast her heart was beating. “But Your Majesty is only twenty-five years old. Even if you don’t want children for now, it won’t affect you in the future…” Shu Heng’s voice became drier.

These were not things Shu Heng wanted to say from the bottom of her heart, but they were words that she, as the Senior Grand Academician and a subject, had to advise the monarch.

“What about you, Minister Shu? You’re two years older than me. Do you have any plans to get married?” Li Jianwei shifted the topic to Shu Heng.

“Your subject has no intention of starting a family. I only want to serve Your Majesty,” Shu Heng answered cleanly and without any hesitation.

“That’s great. My current worry is that the imperial harem is short of people. Will Minister Shu help me solve this problem?” Li Jianwei said. When her gaze fell upon Shu Heng’s slightly reddened earlobes, the smile on Li Jianwei’s face became even more pronounced. Little Minister Shu can lower her head to hide her red face, but she can’t hide her rosy ears. My Little Minister Shu seems to be shy? She likes me too, right? I knew no one could refuse me!

“Your Majesty, does your subject need to choose suitable concubines for you?” Shu Heng swallowed, afraid that she had misinterpreted the Emperor’s intention.

“Hmm? Minister Shu and I have always been of the same mind. Why don’t you know what I’m talking about this time?” Li Jianwei said, moving her hand away from her chin.

“Your subject… your subject…” Shu Heng stammered.

“Minister Shu, come here,” Li Jianwei beckoned to Shu Heng.

Shu Heng walked forward with a little hesitation, stopping half a meter away from Li Jianwei. “What are Your Majesty’s orders?”

“What do you think of me?” Li Jianwei tilted her head slightly and looked at Shu Heng.

Shu Heng blinked. “Your Majesty is, of course, wise and mighty. Your achievements are comparable to…”

“No, not my achievements, but me as a person,” Li Jianwei interrupted Shu Heng. “As a person to spend the rest of your life with, do you think I’m suitable?”

“This… this…” Shu Heng began to stutter. “Your Majesty, Your Majesty is, of course, excellent. It is a great honor to be with Your Majesty.”

“Then do you want this honor?” Li Jianwei asked directly, without any intention of hiding her purpose. I’m already the Emperor. If I still have to be secretive about liking someone, what kind of Emperor would I be? That’s too unpromising!

“Your subject… your subject is terrified,” Shu Heng knelt down, unable to say yes or no.

Li Jianwei didn’t stop her. She looked down at Shu Heng’s head, bent her finger, and flicked her official’s hat. “Are you terrified because you’re unwilling, or terrified because you don’t dare?”

“Your subject… your subject…” Shu Heng knew very well the meaning behind this choice, and it was precisely for this reason that she couldn’t give an answer for so long. Shu Heng couldn’t reject her from the bottom of her heart, but she also couldn’t agree with confidence. If His Majesty were with her, the ministers who were watching would definitely find a reason to submit a memorial. There might even be words slandering His Majesty.

Shu Heng wasn’t worried about being slandered or talked about. She was only worried that His Majesty would be left with a bad record in the history books because of her.

“Your Majesty, your subject is willing, but your subject asks that Your Majesty not publicize it,” Shu Heng said, mustering her courage. “Your subject is willing to serve Your Majesty as a subject.”

This time, it was Li Jianwei who was stunned. After a slow blink, she laughed. She then bent down and lifted Shu Heng up. “If you’re willing, you’re willing. What’s all this about not publicizing it? I’ve already taken over this country. Am I still afraid of being with you?”

Shu Heng wanted to say something else. “Your Majesty, your subject…”

“Alright, enough of this ‘subject’ and that ‘subject.’ We can talk about the rest later,” Li Jianwei made the decision happily. “I’ll give you an hour to move your things into the palace. From now on, you’ll live with me in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.”

“I’m not discussing this with you. This is an order. I’ll write an imperial edict for you myself in a bit,” Li Jianwei said, directly stripping Shu Heng of her right to object.

“Your subject… your subject obeys the order,” Shu Heng responded in a daze, unable to help but swallow twice.

Li Jianwei chuckled and simply pulled Shu Heng to sit next to her, enjoying her look of trepidation.

“Sit next to me and help me with the memorials. This is also an order,” Li Jianwei said with a straight face, but the smile in her eyes still revealed her inner joy.

Really, why did Little Minister Shu become so distant from me after I ascended the throne? Before I ascended the throne, we could bathe together and share a bed. This friendship shouldn’t change just because of a change in status. As for the unwarranted gossip from outsiders, I’m just looking for an excuse to make an example of someone. If someone is truly blind and dares to step out, they can’t blame me for not holding back and starting to chop heads!

…

When Shu Heng left the imperial palace, she felt light as a feather. She couldn’t even calm down after riding back to her residence. This was understandable since Shu Heng’s residence was too close to the imperial palace. It didn’t even take a quarter of an hour to ride a horse there.

“Aunt Liu, His Majesty… His Majesty has invited me to live in the imperial palace,” Shu Heng said, finally adjusting her state. “I’ll leave the residence in your care, Aunt Liu.”

“Hmm? Is His Majesty finally going to give Miss a title?” Aunt Liu was not surprised. She was more happy. “I knew His Majesty wouldn’t let Miss down.”

Shu Heng was a little confused. “Aunt Liu, why do you say that? His Majesty and I had no private affection before this, and I’ve been going home to sleep every night since His Majesty ascended the throne.”

“I know, but anyone with a bit of sense can see that His Majesty is very fond of Miss. It’s been like this since we were in Taiyuan,” Aunt Liu said with a smile. “It’s only natural for His Majesty to make the relationship clear now.”

“But if His Majesty is taking you into the imperial palace, it shouldn’t affect your work in the court, right?” Aunt Liu asked.

Shu Heng shook her head. “His Majesty wants me to live with her so it’s more convenient for us to discuss matters at night.”

“Without even the title of a concubine?” Aunt Liu’s eyes widened.

“It is already my honor to serve His Majesty, and His Majesty trusts me so much to hand over most of the state affairs to me. How can I ask for more?” Shu Heng answered righteously. There could be many concubines in the imperial harem, but there was only one Senior Grand Academician who could handle state affairs. It was already a great honor to be the latter. How could she want both? Moreover, the imperial harem should not interfere in politics. It was better for this custom not to be broken because of her, so as not to leave a bad influence on future generations.

After thinking about it, Aunt Liu also felt that her young lady was making a lot of sense. His Majesty was already very good to her young lady. After ascending the throne, she not only gave her a high-ranking official position and a generous salary but also specifically exonerated her father and posthumously enfeoffed him as a Duke, to console her father’s family in heaven.

Shu Heng thought about it but couldn’t think of anything the imperial palace would lack. So she only brought some clean clothes and a few books she hadn’t finished reading. She rushed back to the imperial palace before the gates were locked.

“Little Minister Shu is going to live in the Palace of Heavenly Purity? Does that mean I can ask Little Minister Shu for help with my studies anytime?” Li Wan was very happy and quickly shoveled rice into her mouth.

“If the Princess needs anything, you can send someone over at any time. Your subject will try to find time,” Shu Heng put down her chopsticks and answered formally. Although it wasn’t the first time, Shu Heng was still unexpectedly well-behaved and would never answer a question with her chopsticks in hand.

“What’s wrong? Are you not happy with the tutors I chose for you?” Li Jianwei asked. “The three tutors who are teaching you now are all highly knowledgeable and are talents from the Hanlin Academy.”

“That’s one thing, and this is another. I still prefer Little Minister Shu to teach me,” Li Wan said. “Little Minister Shu is different.”

“Little Minister Shu is indeed different, but her time needs to be reserved for me. If you want to ask her questions, you can go to her yourself, but not for more than half an hour every day,” Li Jianwei said. “Shu Heng is already very busy with state affairs, you know?”

“Okay,” Li Wan reluctantly agreed. The three tutors who taught her were indeed very knowledgeable, but they were a little afraid of her and spoke evasively, afraid of touching upon any taboos. Little Minister Shu was different. She could talk to her about anything, and the other person would not kneel down in fear and ask for forgiveness mid-conversation.

Shu Heng kept her gaze down, as she was not good at balancing things. She chose to eat quietly.

…

Was she nervous? Of course she was! But no matter how nervous she was, it couldn’t hide the anticipation and excitement in Shu Heng’s heart.

When her robe was untied, Shu Heng’s subtle Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. She couldn’t help but turn her head away.

“Why aren’t you looking at me?” Li Jianwei took off Shu Heng’s last piece of inner clothing, exposing her fair and smooth skin to the air.

“Your subject… your subject is afraid of offending Your Majesty,” Shu Heng said. The blush that was on her face had already spread to her neck.

Li Jianwei chuckled, lowered her head, and brought her face close to Shu Heng’s chest. She took a deep breath. Wow, Little Minister Shu’s scent is wonderful, even better than before.

Shu Heng subconsciously grabbed the corner of her robe. Her breathing became more and more audible. Shu Heng could not only feel Li Jianwei’s warm breath but also the constantly moving strands of hair touching her skin. It was not the first time that Shu Heng was so candid with her Majesty, but the bathtub was the bathtub and the bed was the bed, especially on this different night. How could she remain calm?

“Little Minister Shu, didn’t you say you were willing to serve me? Why are you lying on the bed without moving?” Li Jianwei twirled a strand of her own hair, mischievously circling the red plum in the snow until the red plum blossomed.

Shu Heng’s breathing became more and more audible. Her body couldn’t help but curl inward, as if she was trying to escape a certain physiological reaction.

“Your… Your Majesty, how does your subject need to serve you?” Shu Heng’s scalp tingled. She endured the pleasure and tried to respond in a normal tone.

Li Jianwei slowly let go and sat cross-legged on the side. “Help me take off my clothes. I don’t want to wear this annoying thing.”

“Okay,” Shu Heng couldn’t help but let out a breath. She moved her gaze to her Majesty’s body below the neck and began to untie the belt. Li Jianwei cooperated by opening her arms, letting Shu Heng untie her outer and inner robes at the same time.

“Your Majesty, what else does your subject need to do?” Shu Heng’s gaze continued to move down. She didn’t dare to look directly at Li Jianwei’s body.

Li Jianwei took Shu Heng’s hand and placed her warm palm on her own lower abdomen. “Touch the scars on it and count how many there are.”

Shu Heng’s eyelashes trembled, and her gaze subconsciously moved to her palm. Under the light of the candle, Li Jianwei’s slightly hideous scars were revealed to her. This was a sight that Shu Heng had never seen in the bathtub. Of course, when they were in the bathtub together, Shu Heng only dared to let her gaze linger on Li Jianwei’s face.

Shu Heng touched the scars inch by inch with her fingertips. As she thought about the meaning behind these scars, the shyness in her heart slowly faded away, replaced by a heart-wrenching dull pain.

“Your Majesty, your subject has finished counting. There are thirteen scars…” Shu Heng’s heart ached.

In terms of age, His Majesty was two years younger than her. When she became the top scholar, His Majesty had already fought more than a hundred battles with the Xiongnu and was already a third-rank general. These scars were of different ages, but if they were to be compared, there were obviously more old scars. This meant that when His Majesty was in her teens, she had already been wounded several times on the battlefield.

Especially the scar on her chest, which was very close to her heart. What kind of dangerous situation was His Majesty in to have left such a visible scar?

“That’s not right. It’s not thirteen,” Li Jianwei lowered her head, and their noses touched. “Little Minister Shu, you miscounted.” Li Jianwei’s eyes were filled with a smile. “Should I punish you for this?”

“Your subject is at Your Majesty’s disposal,” Shu Heng’s throat tightened. The end of her voice was trembling a little, she didn’t know if it was because of her heartache or because of her nervousness.

“If you can’t count clearly with your hands, let’s use something else to count,” Li Jianwei said, then leaned in and kissed her pursed red lips.

Little Minister Shu looks so easy to bully. I really want to do something to make her cry. But it’s our first time, so I should hold back a little. If I scare Little Minister Shu, it will be much more troublesome to make her obedient in the future.

Shu Heng had no objection to using her lips instead of her fingertips to count. It was indeed her problem that she couldn’t even do such a simple thing. Shu Heng accepted the punishment.

But could His Majesty not be so mischievous when she was counting, making her have to start over again and again until she fainted from exhaustion without even finishing the count?

Li Jianwei, who had been doing bad things, denied this. She was not mischievous at all. It was purely because Little Minister Shu’s kisses were too enticing, making her unable to help but want to do something.

As for why Little Minister Shu fainted from exhaustion, Li Jianwei had more to say. She was supposed to be served by her subject, but in the end, she, the Emperor, had to do more work. She could only blame Little Minister Shu for having such poor stamina. It only took three times for her to be done. She hadn’t even had her fill yet.

She couldn’t even wake her up when she carried her to wash up. There was no way to frolic in the water and have fun again.

…

The morning court system of the Li Dynasty was not much different from the former dynasty. It was divided into large and small courts. The large court was held on the first and fifteenth of the month, and the small court was held every three days. When there was no morning court, the Inner Cabinet would lead the six ministries to hold their own discussions and then present them in the form of memorials. This meant that Shu Heng, as the Senior Grand Academician, had to appear in the imperial palace almost every day, not to mention during the morning court.

“Why hasn’t Minister Shu arrived yet? Did she forget the time because she was too busy last night?” The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue couldn’t help but talk to his colleague.

“I don’t know either. I only know that Minister Shu went to discuss matters with His Majesty after lunch yesterday, and I don’t know when it ended,” the official from the Ministry of Revenue who was asked replied.

After a brief discussion, the ministers all fell silent. When they saw the bright yellow robe appear in their line of sight, they immediately knelt and bowed.

“Your subjects greet Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live, long live, and long, long live!” The hundred officials prostrated themselves and bowed.

“Rise,” Li Jianwei sat on the dragon throne and looked down at the officials.

Seeing that His Majesty had no reaction to the absence of the Senior Grand Academician, the smart officials also chose to ignore this point and began to report in an orderly manner.

But not all the ministers were smart. There were also those who couldn’t stand the fact that Shu Heng, a woman of only twenty-seven, was the Senior Grand Academician of the Inner Cabinet. They spent every day thinking of ways to find her mistakes. So after the six ministries had finished their reports, one of them stepped forward and spoke.

“According to the law, officials cannot be absent from the morning court without reason. Your subjects have not heard that Minister Shu was on leave. According to the law, she should have three months of her salary deducted as a warning to others.”

After he finished speaking, more than half of the ministers’ eyes were on the official who had stepped forward, surprised by his audacity to impeach Shu Heng.

“Shu Heng asked for leave from me,” Li Jianwei said. “She is not absent without reason.”

The censorial official who had impeached her immediately knelt down. “It was your subject’s oversight. I misunderstood Minister Shu.”

Li Jianwei nodded and did not pursue the censorial official’s fault. His duty was to impeach officials. Since Shu Heng didn’t show up, his impeachment was well-founded.

The two seemingly normal sentences contained a lot of information. Before attending court, all outside officials had to wait at the palace gate. After the gate opened, they would enter the imperial palace according to the order in which they were queued up. No one saw Shu Heng appear at the palace gate, and no one saw her in the hall.

Did this mean that Shu Heng didn’t ask for leave today? If the above speculation is true, then Shu Heng asked for leave from His Majesty yesterday. The time when the palace gates were locked was not too late. If Shu Heng could have asked for leave before that, how could she not have informed her colleagues?

The high-ranking officials of the six ministries exchanged glances. After confirming that their colleagues’ guesses were the same as theirs, they tried to suppress the surprise in their hearts.

There was only one truth! The Senior Grand Academician Shu Heng, who was highly favored by His Majesty, spent the night in the imperial palace last night! It was even very likely that she spent the night with His Majesty!

His Majesty is up, but Shu Heng is not yet. The implication of this is already too obvious to say!

“By the way, have you all read the imperial edict that I had Shu Heng draft? Do you have any opinions?” Li Jianwei asked.

“Your subject has no objections,” the Minister of War was the first to express his stance. As one of the first people to follow Li Jianwei, he had a very clear understanding of his Majesty. In the Northern Frontier, His Majesty had single-handedly established a logistics battalion of fifty thousand women. When she was fighting against the former foolish ruler and treacherous officials, she even promoted its commander to a general, who followed His Majesty’s side many times. Now that His Majesty wanted women to also participate in the imperial examination, it was completely reasonable. The Minister of War had no objections, and the proposal was drafted by Shu Heng, the Minister of Personnel. This was most likely His Majesty’s intention.

“Your Majesty is wise! In this way, all talented people can be used by Your Majesty!” The former Grand Academician, now the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, began to flatter her. As the first of the former officials to loudly proclaim that the country could not be without a ruler for a single day and urged Li Jianwei to ascend the throne, he was extremely good at reading the room. Although he was not particularly incorruptible, he had no bl00d on his hands. Seeing that he was so sensible, Li Jianwei did not kick him out of the ranks of the senior officials and kept him.

From the speed of his stance now, Li Jianwei felt that her decision at the time was very correct. No wonder some emperors always favored ministers who were not particularly capable but were very good at flattery. At certain specific times, these people were needed.

Li Jianwei sighed in her heart, but her face showed no expression. She just looked calmly at the officials in the hall.

“Your Majesty, selecting officials for the imperial examination is not a small matter. It should be fair and just. Should this minimum number of selected candidates be canceled?” The official who dared not object directly could only try to find fault. Guaranteeing that there would be a minimum of fifty women in the list of selected candidates for each imperial examination was not a small matter. Assuming they all became county magistrates, in a country with over a thousand counties, it would only take sixty years for all of them to become female magistrates. Not to mention that county magistrates could sometimes be filled by juren, so the time would be even shorter.

“Is that so? But I think it is very necessary,” Li Jianwei said calmly. “If you have any objections, you can write them in a memorial and submit it. I will consider it as appropriate.”

This answer was not a complete rejection, but the official who had proposed it knew very well that the memorial he submitted would probably not get a reply for a long time. Even if it did, it would only be a “I know” kind of response. The minister wanted to say something else, but his colleague’s unintentional elbow nudge arrived first, hinting at him to stop talking.

Was there anything that His Majesty wanted to do that she couldn’t? If it weren’t for the fact that His Majesty was in a good mood today, his colleague would have been reprimanded for sure, instead of just being told to submit a memorial.

The matter of the imperial examination was settled on the surface, but Li Jianwei knew that passing it in the court was only the first step. The subsequent implementation was the difficult part to overcome. Especially in the Jiangnan area, those gentry would definitely unite to exclude the so-called female candidates.

While listening to the ministers’ reports, Li Jianwei was also thinking about what kind of reason to use to discipline the Jiangnan gentry. Should I investigate their land? Or their hidden households? Or should I use a more ruthless move and have the ‘King of Cheng’ and ‘King of Wei,’ who are still at large, visit their homes to test if they have any rebellious intentions?

Hmm, they all sound good. Maybe I can use multiple methods at once. But who should I send to handle this? Talents, I still lack useful talents! If only Little Minister Shu could split into five, then I could send one to be the Governor of Jiangnan, one to be an Imperial Commissioner to Xuzhou and Runing to search for the un-obedient remnants of the former dynasty, and one to Guangdong and Guangxi to handle maritime trade. The remaining two would be my Senior Grand Academician and my Empress.

If what I had in mind could come true, it would be wonderful!