Palace Fighting: Naive Concubines' Ascent to Power-Chapter 566: Big Brother is Cheating!

Just like when she was a child and meant well but made a mess of things, using the name of that He Family boy to sign up for something significant. Unfortunately, the people in the town all knew her, and she couldn’t fool them, only those who came from outside the town.

The Emperor touched her face, looking at her earnestly, "Nannan, this person is a student from Taiyuan Prefecture."

"Oh..." Lian Hua was momentarily lost in thought, then suddenly said, "People have two legs and can walk. When going to a place where one is a stranger, it’s safer to use an assumed name."

Going to a foreign place is very dangerous, and with an assumed name, nobody would recognize you.

That’s what she believed, as if she herself had used an assumed name for a while...

It’s just that although she seemed to have used one, she couldn’t recall it no matter how hard she tried.

"...Nannan? Nannan?" Seeing that she was not herself, the Emperor called her several times before she snapped back to reality.

"Ah? Your Majesty, what’s wrong?" Lian Hua came back to her senses, feeling that there was a fog in her mind, blocking her from remembering anything.

Every time she tried to remember, there was a prickling pain, like being stabbed with needles, interrupting her recollections.

The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief, regretting bringing up the topic, "Nannan, I know you’re missing your family, but this person has just participated in the imperial examination. The government checks everyone who takes part in the examination thoroughly to ensure their identities are correct before they can pass. Ordinary people can’t fake that."

This is also to prevent someone from taking the exam in another’s place.

Realistically speaking, cheating in the imperial examination by having someone else take one’s place typically involves a person with no talent paying a high price to have someone talented cheat on their behalf in order to pass.

This might be possible during the county-level examinations, where local influential figures can cover the sky with one hand and be bribed, but it’s outright impossible during the prefectural exams, which are overseen by randomly assigned examiners and soldiers.

Lian Mu’s re-examination is under suspicion exactly because of alleged cheating in the prefectural exam.

Judging by the talents he has displayed, this Lian Mu truly has the gift.

Therefore, the idea of him cheating by impersonating someone else just doesn’t hold up. Otherwise, where would the real Lian Mu be if a person appears out of nowhere? If he saw the Jieyuan, wouldn’t he expose the deception?

Lian Hua immediately rejected the idea loudly, "My big brother is not an ordinary person. What if he fooled those inspectors with a fake identity because they are stupid?"

She could always be seen through by her mother when she lied, but it was different with her big brother. He rarely deceived anyone, but when he did, no one could tell. He was that impressive.

"Nannan..." the Emperor said helplessly.

His Little Concubine really missed her family, and she had blind confidence in her elder brother, even saying such things.

Knowing that reason would not convince her, he took her by the shoulders with both hands, trying a different approach, "Cheating on the imperial examination is no small offense. At the very least, one could end up in stocks, paraded on the streets, ruining their reputation and future prospects. At worst... imprisoned."

He originally wanted to say that their lives would be in danger and their whole family implicated, but he didn’t want to scare her and changed it to imprisonment instead.

"Oh no, that’s not the case!" she denied outright.

She couldn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing on behalf of her elder brother. Even if it were true, she certainly couldn’t admit it. She wasn’t foolish.

Lian Mu, Lian Mu, this is the assumed name, huh!

No, no, she still needed to find a way to confirm it.

Seeing the person in question would be proof enough, but that was hardly feasible. She had to look for other evidence.

Hmm... she also had to keep it from His Majesty, otherwise, if her big brother really did cheat, wouldn’t she be hurting him?

The Emperor sighed in relief, managing to get past this matter.

But then he saw her with her head down, deep in thought.

Seeing this pose, he knew that she was paying lip service, that her heart did not agree with her words, and she probably still could not accept it.

Sure enough, after a while, she lifted her head and asked casually as if it were an afterthought, "Your Majesty, did you just say he was a student from Taiyuan Prefecture?"

The Emperor was about to answer, but before he could get a word in, she bombarded him with a series of questions:

"You also took part in the imperial examination?"

"How do you know of this person, Your Majesty? Could it be because of his distinguished literary talent that you became aware of him?"

"Do you have any of his essays?"

"I’ve been rather idle recently and want to find something to read. Do you have any of his fine work?"

Inadvertently, she had asked so many questions at once, not giving the Emperor a chance to speak.

After asking, Lian Hua looked at the Emperor without blinking, subconsciously grabbing his sleeve and wrinkling it up.

The Emperor was both amused and dismayed; he understood her urgency.

It was his debt to her, after all.

"I happen to have one of his essays. Come with me. You can see for yourself if it’s your elder brother’s handwriting." She wouldn’t be at peace until she saw it.

The Emperor led Lian Hua to his desk, picked up the box, took out the paper that was to be sent to the Libationer of the Imperial Academy for evaluation, and unfolded it for her to see.

This paper, destined to be made public after evaluation by others, was naturally something she was allowed to see; it did not constitute an overstep.

Lian Hua’s face instantly tensed, and she pursed her lips, reading over each word. After a long while without speaking, her brows furrowed.

The Emperor smoothed her brows with his hand and asked, "Well? Is it your elder brother’s writing?"

Only then did Lian Hua’s gaze leave the paper as she asserted firmly, "It’s so beautiful, it must be my elder brother’s handwriting!"

After looking for a long time, she realized she couldn’t recognize it, but it felt similar.

"Hmm?" The Emperor was startled. Could it really be his?

He sensed something amiss and questioned with hesitation, "How are you so sure, Nannan?"

Lian Hua looked at him, confidently declaring, "It’s beautiful! The handwriting is as lovely as my elder brother’s." She added, "Seeing this handwriting is like seeing my elder brother. If not him, then who else could have written it?"

It was an indescribable feeling; she couldn’t articulate it, but the handwriting reminded her of her elder brother.

After saying this, she suddenly realized what she implied and quickly added, "Oh, I mean, it might not necessarily be my elder brother’s. He wouldn’t falsify things..."

That was close; she had almost implicated her elder brother.

The Emperor: "..."

His Little Concubine, lying without a second thought, clearly convinced it was her elder brother’s handwriting yet cautious of the words he had just said.

He asked doubtfully, "When you were little, did you ever see your elder brother’s handwriting?"

"Er..." This question stumped Lian Hua. Had she seen it or not?

Well, she seemed to recall... not quite clearly, though. She must have seen it, right?

She was young then and too busy playing when she got home to pay attention to handwriting. She saw plenty of the ugly scrawls from the kids she played with, especially before turning in homework, when they would check each other’s work.

She raised her hand to her chin, a habit when deep in thought, and slowly reminisced, "I think... there was a time..."

It was a day off from school, and the assignment the teacher had given was incredibly difficult. She couldn’t even understand the question, and neither could her classmates. They had no choice but to return home and consult their mothers.

Crestfallen, she trudged home with her bookbag. Under normal circumstances, she might have... cough, if she forgot to do the homework, a spanked palm would have been the end of it.

But she had been caught too many times recently for that ruse to work, having just been scolded by the teacher and severely reprimanded by her mother. She didn’t dare neglect her work again.

So she went to her mother first, but her third brother was ill with a cough, and her mother was too preoccupied to attend to her, telling her to go play for a while instead.

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