Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot-Chapter 363 - 338: Complaining to the Supreme Emperor

Meng Qianqian snapped to her senses upon hearing this.

She propped herself up with her hands and suspiciously eyed the dark circles under his eyes. "Did you stay up all night? Sitting here the whole time? Just to... collect a ’debt’? Aren’t you... late for court?"

Lu Yuan stubbornly declared, "So why won’t you hurry up and pay your debt?"

Blame me, huh?

All the shock of Meng Qianqian’s life had been used up this morning.

Fifteen minutes later, Lu Yuan stepped out of the room, looking refreshed.

"Good morning, young master!" Nanny Wan greeted him warmly. "The autumn and winter weather is dry, don’t forget to apply lip balm."

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "I already did—three times!"

Meng Qianqian covered her eyes, feeling like all the face she had ever saved in her life had been lost that very morning.

Ban Xia entered the room to help Meng Qianqian dress. "The young master is truly hardworking. His injuries have only just begun to heal, and yet he stayed up all night, burning the midnight oil to read."

Meng Qianqian froze. "Burning the midnight oil to read? He was... in the study all night?"

"Yes," Ban Xia confirmed.

Meng Qianqian clenched her fists.

He hadn’t been sitting on the bed all night—he was actually handling serious business!

His dark circles had nothing to do with her, and yet he could still shift the blame onto her so confidently!

Scoundrel!

Traitor!

Yu Zichuan sat atop the carriage, polishing his bow.

He had been at it for half an hour, going through several cloths, before Lu Yuan finally arrived—unhurried and clearly quite satisfied.

Yu Zichuan’s gaze landed on his lips. "What did you eat? I want some too."

In response, Yu Zichuan was decisively thrown off the carriage.

After entering the palace, Lu Yuan bypassed the Jinluan Palace and headed straight for the Supreme Emperor’s Zhaoming Palace.

As expected, the Supreme Emperor was once again seated in the Warm Pavilion, contemplating a game of chess.

"Supreme Emperor, the Grand Commander requests an audience," Eunuch Fu quietly reported.

The Supreme Emperor, holding a black chess piece, gazed at the board, hesitating over where to place it. After making a move, he shook his head and picked the piece back up again.

Eunuch Fu didn’t dare to urge him and simply stood silently, waiting.

"No, that won’t work either."

The Supreme Emperor shook his head, tossing the chess piece back into the Chess Shrine. "Let him in."

"Yes."

With his horsetail whisk in hand, Eunuch Fu withdrew and soon brought Lu Yuan into the Warm Pavilion.

In recent days, Capital City had experienced several heavy rainfalls, causing temperatures to plummet. Today, however, was a rare sunny day. The Warm Pavilion was cozy and filled with warmth, so much so that the two little eunuchs attending to the space had broken into a light sweat.

"Your subject pays respects to the Supreme Emperor," Lu Yuan said, bowing with cupped hands.

The Supreme Emperor dismissed him indifferently. "Enough, no need to act deferential—I’ve seen you strut about in my presence plenty of times before."

"I plead guilty," Lu Yuan replied.

The Supreme Emperor shot him a glare. "Did you learn this from the Prime Minister?"

"I wouldn’t dare," Lu Yuan said softly.

"Is there anything in this world that you, Lu Yuan, wouldn’t dare to do?" The Supreme Emperor gestured for silence with a hand.

Eunuch Fu immediately placed a meditation cushion opposite the Supreme Emperor.

Lu Yuan knelt on the cushion.

Eunuch Fu positioned himself by the tea table, kneeling as well.

"Try this new tea," the Supreme Emperor suggested.

Eunuch Fu quickly poured a cup of hot tea for Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan raised the teacup and took a few sips before remarking, "Excellent tea."

The Supreme Emperor asked, "What makes it excellent?" free𝑤ebnovel.com

Lu Yuan replied, "It’s excellent because it is bestowed by the Supreme Emperor."

The Supreme Emperor lifted his gaze toward Lu Yuan. "Lu Yuan, you’ve grown cunning. Speak—what’s going on between you and the Prime Minister? Early this morning, someone came to me requesting that I uphold justice on behalf of the Prime Minister. Skipping court today was wise; the Jinluan Palace is likely filled with people speaking on his behalf."

Lu Yuan straightened his expression. "I dare not hide it from the Supreme Emperor. The Prime Minister sent people to assassinate me, so I turned the plan on its head, bribing one of the Prime Minister’s trusted aides to stage a fake death and substitute."

The Supreme Emperor picked up another black chess piece from the Chess Shrine and asked casually, "Was this trusted aide Luo San?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan immediately knew that Chief of Staff Xing had already met with the Supreme Emperor and truthfully reported Hai Pig’s confession.

"Yes," Lu Yuan admitted openly.

As for the fact that Luo San was actually Prime Minister Xun’s own son, Lu Yuan conveniently chose to withhold that information.

One must always leave oneself some leverage, especially when dealing with a benefactor like the Supreme Emperor.

The Supreme Emperor expressed mild surprise. "So it’s true—you set the Prime Minister up yesterday."

Lu Yuan said, "Indeed, I disguised myself as Luo San with his cooperation. The Prime Minister mistook me for Luo San and brought me back to his mansion, which set the stage for what followed."

The Supreme Emperor sighed with a hint of regret. "What a marvelous drama. If I’d known, I would’ve joined the crowd just to see the spectacle. These days, few can outmaneuver the Prime Minister. Tell me, where should I place this piece on the board?"

Lu Yuan replied, "Your subject is dull and unable to solve this puzzle."

The Supreme Emperor commented, "Perhaps I’ll have your wife come and try one day—she’s quite skilled at chess."

"Yes," Lu Yuan answered deferentially.

"Did you uncover anything at the Prime Minister’s Mansion?" the Supreme Emperor asked.

"I found some incriminating evidence, which I present for the Supreme Emperor’s review."

Lu Yuan withdrew a stack of documents from his wide sleeve.

He had meticulously reviewed this evidence the previous night, setting aside a few pieces to pave the way for his own future plans while submitting the remaining ones.

The Supreme Emperor flipped through the ledgers and secret letters, muttering, "Pocketing profits, embezzling military funds, forming cliques for personal gain... he even dared to meddle in salt transport!"

The more the Supreme Emperor read, the angrier he became, slamming the documents onto the table. "No wonder the national treasury has been depleted—it all went into Prime Minister Xun’s stomach! What a fine pillar of the state he is!"

Eunuch Fu hurriedly interjected, "Supreme Emperor, please calm your anger and take care of your health!"

The Supreme Emperor furiously exclaimed, "The Great Zhou’s empire will perish at my hands sooner or later. What use is this broken body of mine?"

Eunuch Fu cast a pleading glance at Lu Yuan, silently urging him to placate the Supreme Emperor rather than inflame his rage.

Lu Yuan, lowering his head, borrowed a tactic from Chen Long’s tea ceremony tricks. "Your subject is guilty."

The Supreme Emperor gritted his teeth. "Go on! I want to know just how many schemes he’s hiding behind his façade of loyalty and patriotism!"