To the First Emperor of Qin: The state has decreed this!

Chapter 334 Don't alert the enemy!

Just then.

Footsteps came from the courtyard outside.

Clearly, the Black Ice Guards who had been lured away finally realized something was wrong and hurriedly returned to the inner hall.

"Your Excellency! I have failed in my duty. I just noticed something unusual in the courtyard. Are you alright inside?" came the anxious and fearful voice of the head guard outside the door.

Yu Miaoyan's face turned pale.

As the leader of the secret service, I led the assassination attempt on the imperial envoy, which is tantamount to treason and a capital offense!

If the guards outside rushed in and saw this scene, he wouldn't be able to explain himself even if he had a hundred mouths.

however.

Zhang Fan didn't even blink. He cleared his throat and said loudly towards the door, "I'm fine. It was just a few stray cats causing a commotion."

"Pass down the order: everything will proceed as usual tonight. No one is to divulge a single word of tonight's events. Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with according to military law!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! I take my leave!"

The head guard outside the door breathed a sigh of relief and quickly led his men back to their posts.

Hearing the footsteps fading away outside the door, Yu Miaoyan suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with astonishment and shock.

She never expected that Zhang Fan would not only fail to arrest and punish her, but would also cover up this serious matter that could cost her her head with a few casual words!

Zhang Fan looked at Mi Yueyao and Yu Miaoyan, who were staring at each other, and shook his head helplessly. He pointed to the mahogany armchair next to him and said, "Alright, stop staring at each other like that and sit down to talk."

"Yes……"

Yu Miaoyan responded softly and obediently walked to the chair.

But as soon as she bent over, her buttocks barely touched the wooden chair surface...

"hiss!"

A searing pain shot through me instantly!

Yu Miaoyan sprang up as if she had been electrocuted, gasping for breath.

Seeing this, Mi Yueyao covered her mouth and chuckled gleefully.

Yu Miaoyan's cheeks flushed red again, this time not just from pain, but more from shame and indignation. She could only stand there awkwardly, her face red and her lips bitten, unsure whether to sit or stand.

"cough……"

Zhang Fan, seeing this, was both amused and exasperated. He waved his hand helplessly and said, "Alright, alright, now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, you should go back and rest. It's the middle of the night, a man and a woman alone in a room—what will people think if they find out!"

"Oh……"

Yu Miaoyan felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She lowered her head, awkwardly protecting herself with one hand behind her back, like a little girl who had done something wrong and was being punished. She turned around dejectedly and prepared to jump out of the window to leave.

"etc."

Suddenly, Zhang Fan called out to her.

Yu Miaoyan paused, then quickly turned around: "Is there anything else you need, sir?"

At this moment, Zhang Fan had put away his earlier joking helplessness, and his expression became solemn.

"The results of the county examination will be announced in ten days. Tell the brothers below to proceed as usual and not to alert the enemy. Your focus now should remain on investigating the movements of the Xiang clan."

Zhang Fan stood up, walked to the window, looked at the dark night rain outside, and said coldly, "The Xiang family has been operating in the deep mountains and forests outside Kuaiji County for many years, and our people cannot enter for the time being."

But this Wu County is, after all, still our Qin territory! If they dare to show their faces under our noses, keep a close eye on them!

Upon hearing this plan, Yu Miaoyan's expression hardened, completely abandoning her earlier shyness. She straightened up, clasped her hands in a fist salute, and...

"Your subordinate obeys! I will certainly not fail in your mission, sir!"

After Yu Miaoyan climbed out the window and disappeared into the night rain, the atmosphere inside the room finally relaxed.

Mi Yueyao sat back on the couch with a smile, still playing with the black stun gun in her hand.

With a gentle push of her thumb, a crackling blue arc of electricity leaped through the air, both frightening and novel, clearly making her fascinated.

Zhang Fan rubbed his temples helplessly, walked over and held out his hand: "Alright, stop playing around, it'll be useless if it runs out of power. Give me back my stick."

Unexpectedly, Mi Yueyao hid her hands behind her back, tilted her head slightly, and brought her charming and beautiful face closer.

Blinking her big, watery eyes, she actually said in a coquettish tone:

"Young master, I just want your stick!"

"..."

Zhang Fan gasped, completely stunned and feeling a headache coming on.

"I... I'll take you home! Be careful not to get electrocuted!"

Zhang Fan fled in panic, waving his hands repeatedly before turning around and hurriedly running out of the inner hall.

Standing on the veranda outside, a gust of cold wind suddenly brought me back to my senses.

He abruptly stopped in his tracks, turned around to look at the tightly closed door, and his lips twitched wildly.

"Wait... isn't that my room?"

Why did I run out?

……

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

The area in front of the Wu County government office was already bustling with noise.

Today is the big day for the county examination results to be released. A huge red list is posted on the wall, attracting countless people to watch.

"I won! I won! Hahaha!"

Congratulations, brother! Congratulations to you too!

Faced with the list, some students were happy while others were worried.

Especially those well-dressed scions of prominent families in Jiangdong, most of whom were on the list, were now gathered in groups of three or five, bowing and flattering each other, their brows full of undisguised pride and arrogance.

Meanwhile, at the Taibai Restaurant opposite the county government office.

Zhang Fan leaned against the window of the private room, holding a cup of tea in his hand, quietly looking down at the Jiangdong youths who were crying tears of joy below, a cold smile on his lips.

"Since you know that most of these people cheated by buying the exam questions from the Xiang family, why did you still let them be on the list?"

Mi Yueyao gracefully approached, poured some tea for Zhang Fan, and looked at the dejected students from impoverished families below who had failed the exam. She asked softly, "If a thorough investigation is conducted later, what will happen to these students whose places were taken and who missed out as a result?"

These words were spoken.

Zhang Fan paused slightly in his tea-serving hand, turned to look at her, and was clearly surprised that she would consider this aspect.

He smiled and explained gently, "Don't worry, since I am in charge of this imperial examination, I will certainly not let the poor families of the world feel disheartened."

Excluding these cheaters, the remaining genuine scores have already been recorded.

Once the Xiang family falls from power, all the cheaters' spots will be removed, and the students who failed the exam will naturally be admitted in order of merit, without missing a single one.

Speaking of which...

Zhang Fan's gaze returned to the arrogant Jiangdong youths, his eyes gradually turning cold: "Besides, the prefectural examination is about to begin. Only by letting them taste success in the county examination will they become even more unscrupulous in the prefectural examination."

I want to see just how bold the Xiang family scions really are!

Upon hearing this, Mi Yueyao gave a barely perceptible bitter smile.

He couldn't believe that he, a descendant of the royal family of Chu, was now helping the Qin envoy plot against the people of Chu.

But then I thought about it again, and realized that the Xiang clan had long since betrayed me in their struggle for power and profit.

Now, disregarding the lives of the people in Jiangnan, he has done this to clean house and relieve himself of a lot of psychological burden.