"The results are out!"
With the imperial proclamation, the rankings of a hundred participants in the state selection were finalized and announced nationwide!
A large crowd of commoners waited outside the palace gates, filled with excitement.
They had personally witnessed someone overwhelm all competitors in the state selection, securing five major accolades!
"Second brother, you can see this from heaven now, second uncle, second aunt!"
Liang Feng, standing guard with the imperial guards, trembled, tears flowing from the tough man!
Amidst the crowd, Liang Yun also wept uncontrollably, shedding all pretense of being the third son of the Liang manor.
He had long accepted this second brother, but he never imagined he would be so astonishing.
"Liang Xiao!" "Young Master Liang the Second!"
Countless young men and women cheered with fervent admiration.
On the east side of the crowd, Dugu Liang's eyes blazed with fury, his beard trembling. "If this child is not eliminated, he will sooner or later shake the foundations of the imperial court!"
The doors of the imperial study slowly opened, and Liang Xiao, with a strange expression, followed Xiao Qing and the two shadow guard commanders inside.
The doors closed behind them, guarded by elite shadow guards in black armor, preventing anyone from approaching rashly.
Xiao Qing sat on the dragon throne, pointing to a chair opposite her. "Sit," she grunted.
The imperial study was once again filled with Liang Xiao's embarrassed laughter.
Seeing this, Xiao Qing wished she could leap over and pinch Liang Xiao's face fiercely!
But she did not scold him.
She only wanted to see Liang Xiao's most genuine self; to her, nothing was more pleasing than that.
"So, who are you two?" Liang Xiao gestured to Ding Wuyi and Ning Xuejun behind Xiao Qing.
"Eunuch Ding and Granny Ning, along with the General of Cavalry and the Prime Minister, are the four great ministers assisting me. They are my left and right shadow guard commanders, possessing the authority to execute first and report later, from officials to commoners," Xiao Qing explained.
Liang Xiao chuckled, feeling even more embarrassed.
Ding Wuyi said, "If Young Master Liang the Second had paid even a little attention to state affairs, you wouldn't not recognize us."
Liang Xiao pouted. "The officials in the court change so frequently, I can't be bothered to keep track."
"Young Master Liang the Second, you are too presumptuous..." Ning Xuejun couldn't help but mutter, then suddenly realized something and fell silent.
Xiao Qing smiled and looked at Liang Xiao, asking, "Prime Minister Liang, do you have nothing to say to me?"
Liang Xiao fidgeted uneasily and asked, "Can I go home first?"
"No!" Xiao Qing grunted. "If your performance today doesn't satisfy me, prepare to live in the palace forever!"
Liang Xiao smiled and pleaded, "Your Majesty is benevolent and magnanimous, please don't hold it against this humble subject, and don't castrate me."
"What? Didn't you say I hadn't weaned yet? Didn't you say I was drooling and sucking on a pacifier, babbling nonsense? Didn't you say I was 'purified' too early? Didn't you tell me to eat more aphrodisiacs?" Xiao Qing feigned a stern expression, but her tone couldn't possibly sound serious.
Instantly, Liang Xiao's face turned a shade of liver red. "Hahaha! Those things are all in the past, I've already let them go."
Hearing this, Xiao Qing and the other two rolled their eyes at Liang Xiao simultaneously.
"Young Master Liang the Second truly embodies the essence of 'thick-skinned and dark-hearted'," Ding Wuyi "praised."
"Eunuch Ding, there's no need to be polite. If you can't praise him, then just say he's shameless..." Xiao Qing grunted.
Liang Xiao wanted to speak but stopped, looking wronged.
Xiao Qing finally couldn't hold back any longer, resting her forehead on the table, laughing with her face covered for a while before looking up at Liang Xiao.
"I won't truly blame you, nor is there any possibility of punishing you, because you are my..."
"Your sworn sworn elder brother, right?" Liang Xiao grinned.
Xiao Qing was silent for a moment, then nodded, ultimately restraining what she wanted to say.
"Oh my, why were you so serious just now, Your Majesty? You scared this humble subject to death!" Liang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Qing's temper flared again, and she glared at Liang Xiao.
"Because I wanted to have a good look at your embarrassed state, it was truly so... amusing..." At the end, Xiao Qing realized she had misspoke and immediately stopped.
"Too amusing?" Liang Xiao pouted.
"Too detestable!" Xiao Qing retorted petulantly.
Seeing this, Liang Xiao burst into laughter, feeling touched.
It seemed, after all, he was still her adorable little Shuangzi!
Xiao Qing continued, "For your sake, I lowered myself, tried hard to disguise myself, and was even mistaken for a eunuch by you, which was quite arduous. Shouldn't you show some appreciation?"
"Appreciation?"
Liang Xiao pondered for a moment, then suddenly understood. He took Xiao Qing's hand across the table.
Xiao Qing's heart fluttered, but she let Liang Xiao hold her hand.
Liang Xiao produced a large stack of banknotes from his robes and placed them into Xiao Qing's hand.
Xiao Qing, Ding Wuyi, Ning Xuejun: ???
This guy...
"You're doing this again!" Xiao Qing said with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Ning Xuejun and Ding Wuyi wished they could drag Liang Xiao out of the imperial study and kick him to the farthest reaches of the sky!
Bribing the current emperor? Indeed, only a weirdo like Liang Xiao would do something like this!
"This is your share of the profits," Liang Xiao quickly explained.
"Profits?"
Xiao Qing and the other two were startled, then suddenly remembered something.
"That's right, I promised you that I would give you ten percent of the profits from selling wine!" Liang Xiao explained.
Xiao Qing suddenly understood.
The fact that his wine sales had generated a hundred thousand taels had already become common knowledge throughout the city!
She absolutely could not miss out on such a genius!
"You can take it. I'm not short of this little money," Xiao Qing thought emotionally but outwardly feigned indifference.
"Your Majesty is reluctant to take my money, isn't she?" Liang Xiao suddenly asked.
Xiao Qing was speechless.
This was exactly what she was thinking, and Liang Xiao had guessed it.
"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. I, Liang Xiao, have my principles."
As Liang Xiao spoke, he bent Xiao Qing's fingers one by one, making her hold the banknotes.
Xiao Qing looked at the banknotes in her hand, her eyes slightly reddened.
Liang Xiao smiled knowingly and didn't interrupt.
After a while, Xiao Qing said, "From now on, when there are no outsiders, you can call me whatever you wish."
"Including Xiao Shuangzi?" Liang Xiao's eyes lit up.
Xiao Qing shot him a resentful glance and nodded.
Liang Xiao burst into laughter. "Little Shuangzi is wise!"
Ning Xuejun and Ding Wuyi's hands trembled slightly; they almost wished they could draw their swords and impale Liang Xiao's backside.
However, Xiao Qing changed the subject and said sternly, "But you must become an official. Otherwise, you'll be letting me down!"
"I'm not yet nineteen after this year's spring, and you want me to become an official?" Liang Xiao quickly shook his head.
"I want you to be an official! You are sworn to me, you've repeatedly disrespected me, and the people of Great Qian need you. You have no choice!" Xiao Qing said seriously.
"This is moral blackmail..." Liang Xiao said with a look of "grievance."
"Then it can only be blamed on your morality. If you had no morality, I couldn't blackmail you," Xiao Qing smiled triumphantly.
Liang Xiao, Ding Wuyi, and Ning Xuejun were stunned simultaneously.
Ding Wuyi and Ning Xuejun, quickly recovering, were even more speechless with amusement.
It was over. Their master, after spending so much time with this shameless "elder brother," had also learned to be unreasonable!
But for some reason, they felt a sense of relief in their hearts, and their eyes involuntarily glistened with tears.
Only when their master was with him could she have such a relaxed mood!
"I originally wanted you to be the consort, but since you're unwilling, I won't force you for now!" Xiao Qing added, her tone carrying a hint of disappointment.
Liang Xiao suddenly smiled, leaned closer to Xiao Qing, and whispered, "How dare you mention your wicked imperial sister? She came up with this terrible idea, forcing me to participate in the state selection and causing me all this trouble. She's truly too capricious and willful! Little Shuangzi, you need to discipline her more in the future."