Three days later, in the Golden Luan Hall, the emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, exuding an imposing aura without even getting angry.
Xu Henian stood in the hall with his head down. With something weighing on his mind, there was no joy of an impending ennoblement on his face. Instead, he looked worried and anxious.
"Are you this year's new top scholar? What's your name?" The emperor's voice was deep and powerful.
Xu Henian still kept his head down and replied with his hands clasped, "Your Majesty, my name is Xu Henian."
"Tell me, what reward do you want?" the emperor asked.
Upon hearing this, Xu Henian nervously swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, and a few beads of sweat trickling down his forehead.
After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said, "I beg Your Majesty to allow my elders to enter the hall and pay their respects!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the chief eunuch standing beside the emperor immediately exclaimed in a shrill voice, "How dare you! Can the emperor's noble face be seen just as one wishes?!"
The chief eunuch's voice was high - pitched and thin.
Scared out of his wits, Xu Henian immediately knelt on the ground, huddling his body.
"It's all right," the emperor waved his hand and then said to Xu Henian, "Get up and answer."
Xu Henian stood up, his legs feeling weak. He almost lost his balance and quickly wiped the sweat off his forehead.
He was extremely afraid that any mistake on his part would anger the emperor.
"Where are they?" the emperor asked.
In previous years, top scholars either asked for money or official positions. Some bold ones even requested titles. This top scholar's request was the first the emperor had ever heard, and he couldn't help but find it interesting.
Hearing this, Xu Henian replied in a trembling voice, "They... they are waiting outside the palace..."
Immediately, the chief eunuch was ordered to lead them in.
A moment later, Xie Jingchu and Ruan Jiu stood in the hall.
This was Ruan Jiu's first time experiencing such a grand occasion. It was impossible for her not to be nervous. She clenched her fists tightly, and her palms were sweating.
Unlike Ruan Jiu, who kept her head down meekly, Xie Jingchu looked calm and composed.
"Is it you two who want to see me?" The emperor sized up the two people in the hall carefully. Finally, his gaze settled on Xie Jingchu. This man was really bold.
Xie Jingchu clasped his hands and replied, "We two come from the Xie family in Qinzhou. We have something important to discuss with Your Majesty. We hope Your Majesty will forgive our rudeness."
"The Xie family?" The emperor frowned.
He recalled that in the case of bribery of officials some time ago, those who were imprisoned were from the Xie family in Qinzhou. Could it be...
Thinking of this, the emperor's eyes turned cold. Frowning, he asked in a cold voice, "Are you here to plead for the two from the Xie family?"
Xie Jingchu shook his head and smiled. "We are here to make a deal with Your Majesty."
This really piqued the emperor's interest. His eyebrows relaxed. "Oh? What kind of deal?"
Xie Jingchu continued calmly and unapologetically, "I know that my two elder brothers did something wrong out of greed for a moment. It is only right for Your Majesty to punish them. But after all, blood is thicker than water. I can't bear to see my two elder brothers suffer punishment. So, I dare to use a tea mountain in my hand to exchange for their safety."
As soon as he said this, before the emperor could say anything, the grand councilor on the side took the lead to attack.
He sneered, "What a joke! You actually dare to use a tea mountain to make a deal with the emperor! You think too highly of yourself."
The grand councilor's words immediately caused a burst of laughter. Everyone laughed at Xie Jingchu for his over - ambition.
Hearing this, Xu Henian on the side tightened his fists nervously. More beads of sweat oozed from his forehead and rolled down his cheeks.
He thought to himself, Is this the idea Uncle Four came up with? It would be better if I just asked the emperor for the people directly! If the emperor is really angry, there will be no chance to save them!
Xu Henian frowned tightly. He secretly tugged at Ruan Jiu's sleeve and whispered, "If I had known Uncle Four had this kind of plan, I would never have let you two come here even if I had to sacrifice my own official career."
But Ruan Jiu just raised her eyebrows at Xu Henian.
This made Xu Henian even more uneasy. He forced out a bitter smile and looked helpless.
Are these two people crazy!
Just then, the emperor's cold voice rang out, "Just a single tea mountain. What makes you think I will agree to make a deal with you?"
The emperor's face was ashen, and his tone was displeased. He felt like he had been played with. Even with the privilege of the new top scholar, one couldn't be so presumptuous!
His sharp eyes, like those of an eagle, stared directly at Xie Jingchu. It seemed that if Xie Jingchu's next words couldn't satisfy him, he would be immediately thrown out of the hall and beaten with thirty big boards.
But Xie Jingchu just smiled and said unhurriedly, "What if I say there is an iron mine under the tea mountain? Your Majesty, do you think this deal is worth it?"
That's right. Under the long - abandoned tea mountain in Xie Jingchu's hand, there was an iron mine! The reason the tea mountain had been abandoned for so long was that not only was the annual tea yield extremely low, but the tea produced also didn't taste good. Xie Jingchu was very puzzled about this. After investigation, he found that there were actually a large number of iron mines underground. So, he only asked the old man for that abandoned tea mountain.
Now, the neighboring countries on the border kept invading, relying on their strong military forces. However, their own country had few weapons due to the scarcity of iron mines and couldn't match those countries.
"Is what you said true?" The emperor was stunned, his eyes showing surprise.
If it was really as Xie Jingchu said, it would really solve a big problem for him.
Xie Jingchu nodded and then asked Ruan Jiu to present the topographic map of the tea mountain.
After the emperor looked at it, he asked in surprise, "Are you really willing to use the iron mine to make a deal with me?"
Xie Jingchu replied, "Moreover, I am also willing to hand over half of the profits from the Xie family's salt business to Your Majesty to enrich the national treasury."
Although this was a deal, he still needed to do the emperor a favor. In this way, the Xie family's salt business could continue to be a royal merchant. Although the profit would be a little less, with this relationship, the Xie family could rise to a higher level.
The emperor didn't expect Xie Jingchu to say this. His deep eyes flashed. He thought to himself that the iron mine would bring in a lot of profit and was of great significance. If Xie Jingchu didn't use it to save his brothers, relying on the iron mine, he could not only live a care - free life but also obtain a title for himself. Thinking about it this way, this man was more humane than his elder brother who had acted righteously against his kin.
"Good!" The emperor replied immediately with a smile in his eyes. "Then I will agree to this deal."
Hearing this, Xu Henian immediately let out a sigh of relief. No wonder he was the Fourth Master of the Xie family! He had hidden his cards so well! He almost thought he was going to lose his life.
Immediately, the three of them knelt on the ground in unison and shouted together, "Thank Your Majesty!"
Then, the emperor looked at Xu Henian again, his face full of admiration, and said, "Top Scholar Xu, you didn't ask me for the reward of releasing the people. I am very pleased. Draft an imperial edict. Xu Henian is extremely talented and well - versed in literature. He is specially bestowed the position of a fourth - rank academician of the Imperial Academy, a thousand taels of gold, a hundred mu of fertile land, and a mansion."
Hearing this, Xu Henian was immediately stunned. In previous years, the top scholars at most could only get a sixth - rank position, and that was only for those with prominent family backgrounds. But he had directly become a fourth - rank official! It was beyond his wildest dreams.
It wasn't until Ruan Jiu bumped his arm several times that he came back to his senses and received the edict and thanked the emperor.
Little did he know that at this moment, there was a pair of eyes in the hall that had been staring at Xie Jingchu. The gaze was intense and unfathomable. Those eyebrows were so familiar! No, he must send someone to Qinzhou to investigate carefully!