Chapter 227: Everything Goes Smoothly
Night had fallen deep, and by the time Liu Sheng and the others finished their late-night snack, it was already midnight. The bustling night market had largely dispersed.
Many of the neon mirages in the sky had dimmed, and the night sky became clear again, with the stars, previously hidden by light pollution, reappearing.
Senior Sister Lin Shuying had a household servant come to pick her up; a cloud sedan was waiting outside the market early.
Gao Yisheng, Yu Huan, and Liu Sheng lived relatively close, so they shared a cloud sedan to go to the East Market.
However, when Gao Yisheng learned that Liu Sheng lived in Yunxian Residence, he immediately declared he wanted to jump out of the sedan, saying he was unworthy to ride with a rich woman.
Yu Huan was startled, grabbing his hand and saying, "No, brother, don't think of doing something rash."
Liu Sheng knew Gao Yisheng was just being dramatic, so she sat still, unmoving as a mountain.
Sure enough, Yu Huan quickly realized that Gao Yisheng was just twisting and turning by the sedan door, not actually making any move to jump. Only then did he understand the personality of this newly acquainted Brother Gao.
He awkwardly lowered his hand, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Not embarrassed for himself, but on behalf of Brother Gao.
However, this was just a small interlude in the deep night.
When Yu Huan got out of the sedan, Gao Yisheng, who had finally quieted down after losing his audience, became a bit more serious and couldn't help but exclaim to Liu Sheng, "I never thought you'd be the ultimate winner…"
During their late-night snack, the four had discussed their final obtained faith values. Although Liu Sheng didn't want to be too high-profile, she felt there was no need to hide it, so she still mentioned her absurdly high faith value.
Comparing notes, they knew who ranked from first to fourth, and Liu Sheng, at the top of the list, had an alarmingly high faith value.
As for how she achieved it, Senior Sister Lin Shuying and Gao Yisheng, both full of shrewdness, did not ask Liu Sheng in front of outsiders, and Yu Huan, being an outsider, felt even more awkward to ask directly.
Although Gao Yisheng still didn't know how Liu Sheng did it, he still felt admiration and continued, "Although I could tell you were unusual back then, even though you and Yan Jun were both Menshi, I knew you were different from her. She hoped for a peaceful and tranquil life, while you had other pursuits."
Liu Sheng didn't expect Gao Yisheng, who usually loved to joke around, to say such a thing, and she widened her eyes in surprise.
Gao Yisheng looked at Liu Sheng seriously and said, "Continue to walk the path you want to walk. With your dedication to studying, the Hall Examination afterward will definitely be no problem."
Liu Sheng nodded, feeling a little touched, unsure what to say, and could only squeeze out, "You too."
Gao Yisheng couldn't help but find it amusing, "Me too what? I'm not good at studying. This Examination actually suited my style; it was just a coincidence. If it were a straightforward exam, I wouldn't do well."
The cloud sedan arrived at Guangyuan Inn, where Gao Yisheng resided, and slowly descended.
"I really look forward to seeing how far you can go in Chang'an," Gao Yisheng said seriously. However, his seriousness lasted less than a moment before he broke character again, "Anyway, don't go back to being a Menshi then."
Liu Sheng snorted, "Is being a Menshi bad? I think you're quite adept at being a retainer."
"I can do it, but it's not suitable for you. You smile more stiffly than a bitter gourd. I really don't understand how you became a Grand Divine Official and still got such high marks."
"You should still focus on writing articles!" Gao Yisheng said, turning his back, waving his hand, and jumping out of the cloud sedan.
The cloud sedan took off again. Liu Sheng lifted the curtain, watching Gao Yisheng disappear into the inn's doorway, and suddenly felt unaccustomed to the sudden quiet.
"What's wrong? Suddenly unaccustomed to solitude?"
"It's just been a long time since I heard the world's sounds."
"And in the illusion, there was always someone by my side at all times…"
"Of course, because you are the Grand Divine Official!"
"They need you to resolve weird objects, they need you to decide farming plans, progress on temple repairs needs to be reported to you, and even children fighting in the academy have to be reported to you. How could there not be someone by your side at all times?"
"Now that you mention it, I do miss the people from Xuan Thirty-Nine City."
"I miss Yan Ran, Dawn, Shi Kang, Auntie… I miss Xiaoya, Gou Wa, Gou Dan, Tie Dan…"
"I hope everything goes smoothly in the world…"
...
For some, not everything went smoothly.
The long Examination finally ended, and the candidates could go home to rest, but the chief examiners could not.
At this moment, they were all sitting together in the Imperial Study, pondering over the "Divine Artifact."
"Your Majesty… there's something I wish to say, but I'm not sure if I should…" Li Shangshu's forehead was sweating as he spoke cautiously.
The Emperor replied impatiently, "If you shouldn't say it, then don't."
Immediately, the entire room fell silent. No one dared to breathe, let alone speak.
Seeing them cowering like quails, the Emperor waved his hand and said to Ling Shangshu, "Ling Fu, you speak. You understand Spiritual Artifacts the best."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Although this item is a level higher than a Spiritual Artifact, many of its principles are similar," Ling Shangshu began cautiously. "Just now, your humble servant studied it for a while and came to a conclusion…"
"Speak."
"This item is broken."
As soon as these words were uttered, the Imperial Study was so quiet that the drop of a pin could be clearly heard.
When Ling Shangshu spoke these words with utmost caution, he had already anticipated a furious outburst. This noble, who was once his sworn brother, had grown increasingly ill-tempered since ascending to that position.
Sure enough, when the Emperor heard that Ling Shangshu dared to say that the Divine Artifact he had so painstakingly acquired from… there, was broken, his face contorted with rage.
After the silence, came the storm.
The Emperor cursed fluently, for a long time without repeating himself, insulting their personalities and intelligence, and then extended his greetings to their parents and ancestors.
Everyone was accustomed to the Emperor's capriciousness. At this moment, they could only humble themselves and silently admit their mistakes.
Only Mei Yuanzheng nodded.
"My dear Mei Aiqing, it seems you also agree with what I said?" The Emperor narrowed his eyes, full of menace.
Mei Yuanzheng, who had been dozing, suddenly heard someone call his name, jolted awake, sat up, and asked with wide eyes, "Agree with what?"
"Agree that I said all of you are useless."
Mei Yuanzheng trembled at the words.
"Your Majesty's words…" he replied, forcing himself, but his mind was racing, trying to find a suitable excuse to alleviate the current situation.
After thinking for a long time, he could only say, "Reasonable, but your humble servant doesn't think it's entirely so."
"Are you saying I am wrong?"
"Your humble servant dares not! It's just that…" Mei Yuanzheng's peripheral vision caught Yan Xueshi subtly pointing to the Divine Artifact on the table, and he realized they were talking about the Divine Artifact.
His heart stirred, and he continued, "It's just that we don't fully understand the principles of the Divine Artifact, and only Li Shangshu knows how to operate it. It's probably common for it to be misused inadvertently."
With these few words, he deftly pushed the responsibility onto Li Shangshu, who was primarily in charge of activating the Divine Artifact.
Li Shangshu's face immediately changed, and he rushed forward to explain, "Your Majesty! Your humble servant swears to the Supreme God that your humble servant followed the usage method exactly as Your Majesty taught!"
"Then why can't it be used now? Are you saying what I taught was problematic?"
"Your humble servant… does not know…" Li Shangshu was speechless in the face of the Emperor's questioning.
"Your Majesty, although the divine gift can no longer create illusions, cannot be controlled, and has lost most of its spiritual patterns, rendering many functions inoperable, it still contains the faith values of all candidates for the entire duration," Ling Shangshu proactively stepped forward and said, "Please allow your humble servant to study and repair it first, and transmit the values. Afterwards, your humble servant is willing to continue research to thoroughly repair the Divine Artifact."
The Emperor snorted coldly, his gaze sweeping over everyone, his eyes full of dissatisfaction, only softening slightly when they landed on Ling Fu.
"Since that is the case, Ling Shangshu, please complete this task as soon as possible. The results will be announced soon, and there are many things to do. This cannot be delayed."
"Yes! Your humble servant obeys the decree!" Ling Shangshu responded solemnly.
But whether he had confidence in his heart, only he knew.