The mistress just wanted to be bad, but she took off after being replaced

However, at this time, the emperor had already raised his head first and poured the wine in the cup into the back of his throat in one go. His bold posture attracted the ministers around him to follow suit. For a moment, the hall was filled with the aroma of wine, and everyone drank it all in one gulp, showing their masculine character.

At this moment, the wine glass in Sheng Junwei's hand, which had not yet left her lips, seemed out of place.

However, she did not show any panic. Instead, she quickly adjusted her breathing and drank the wine in the glass without changing her expression.

Her calm and composed demeanor caused ripples, but calm was restored in an instant.

In a dark corner of the table and in an inconspicuous place behind the crowd, two mouths almost simultaneously drew up a satisfied smile.

Sheng Ruijiao has always been extremely jealous. At this moment, she was staring at Sheng Junwei with anger burning in her eyes.

She cursed in her heart: "This cunning woman is really good at stealing the limelight! Drink, drink, it would be best if she died of drinking!"

However, the reality was not as she wished.

Just as she was feeling angry, she caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye.

The man had a tall and straight figure and sharp eyes. He was staring at Sheng Junwei closely, with an extremely cold smile on the corner of his mouth.

Sheng Ruijiao was slightly stunned, and then showed an expression of watching the fun, thinking to herself: "I love watching dog-eat-dog dramas the most!"

She seemed to have foreseen that a bloody storm was about to take place, and she only needed to wait and see and reap the benefits.

Facing all this, Sheng Junwei seemed completely unaware. After she finished drinking, she calmly put down the glass, her expression normal without a trace of emotion.

After everyone had finished drinking, the eunuch chief beside the emperor suddenly spoke in a loud voice: "Please invite the new champion, the new third place winner, and Madam Pei, Sheng Junwei, to come forward to receive the title!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell into shock.

Everyone looked at each other in astonishment and disbelief.

They could still accept the reward for the new top scholar, after all, it was a recognition and reward for their talents.

However, when they heard Sheng Junwei's name appear on the list of recipients, they couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Why was the young lady of the Pei family able to be awarded a title alongside the top imperial examination candidates?

In fact, as a prominent family in the capital, the news that Sheng Junwei was appointed as a doctor in the Ministry of Justice had long been circulated among the people.

However, rumors were ultimately just smoke and mirrors. Now, seeing with their own eyes that the emperor solemnly conferred honors on her in front of all the civil and military officials and royal relatives, everyone was still shocked.

Although the Langzhong of the Ministry of Justice was only a fifth-rank official, he seemed insignificant compared to those high-ranking officials present, who were often fourth-rank, third-rank, or even second-rank or first-rank.

However, the Ministry of Justice is an important place in the imperial court, in charge of laws and punishments. It has great power and is not something that ordinary people can get involved in.

Working in the Ministry of Justice, even if you are a lowly clerk, you will attract countless people to curry your favor and enjoy a highly respected position.

As everyone knows, if the emperor only wanted to quell the people's fanatical worship of Sheng Junwei, and bestowed her with a title in private or a nominal position in public, people might be able to understand it.

But he actually gave her a powerful position in such a high-profile manner in public, and in a key department like the Ministry of Justice. This was undoubtedly a blatant way to upset everyone, and made those who originally looked down on her lose face and feel mixed emotions.

Regardless of what the literati and prominent families in the court are talking about, just look at the top three in this year's imperial examination. Although they have shown their talents in the examination and have their names on the list of successful candidates, it remains to be seen whether they can obtain ideal official positions that match their talents in the next appointment.

Just imagine, if in the next appointments, the official positions of these three talents are lower than that of Sheng Junwei, who is ranked last, how will they face this sudden gap?

Why is he ranked at the top but still ranked lower than others?

Such a situation is undoubtedly a mockery of their scientific research results and a heavy blow to their future careers.

Furthermore, Prime Minister Pei, as the chief examiner of this imperial examination, will face serious challenges to his reputation.

As an important official in the court, the fairness of selecting talents is a dignity he must defend. Once such a reversal occurs, his prestige may be damaged, and public opinion may be directed at this powerful official who has great power in the court.

However, when people realized that Prime Minister Pei was Sheng Junwei's father-in-law, all the speculations and doubts seemed to have a new explanation.

This delicate relationship instantly eliminated the possible embarrassment. Perhaps this was just a special arrangement within the royal family. Prime Minister Pei did not fail in his duty because of this. Instead, he might have felt more glorious because of the honor of his family members.

No matter what people inside and outside the court speculated, the award ceremony was still held solemnly according to the established procedures.

Inside the hall, pearl curtains swayed, incense smoke curled, and the lights were bright.

Officials dressed in brocade uniforms stood on both sides, looking at Sheng Junwei who was about to be conferred the title with admiration, jealousy, or confusion.

Faced with this overwhelming hostility and scrutiny, Sheng Junwei remained calm.

When she learned about the ban yesterday, she had already chewed over the loss and unwillingness alone in the quiet boudoir.

Now that things have come to this and there is nothing we can do to change them, we might as well accept it calmly.

As a Taoist practitioner, she knew that although divination could reveal the secrets of heaven, it also had its limitations.

The rule that only three divinations can be made in a day is not an unbearable constraint for her. Instead, it makes her cherish every divination opportunity even more and use this unique talent with caution.

Sheng Junwei is not unwilling to lend a helping hand to those powerful people who try to use her divination skills to solve difficult cases, but she sticks to her own principles: the power of Xuanmen should serve the welfare of the people, rather than becoming a tool for power and personal gain.

Amidst a myriad of thoughts, the awarding ceremony reached its climax.

Sheng Junwei, Pei Yu and two other candidates walked into the center of the hall in full view of everyone.

Today's awarding banquet is not a solemn and formal court meeting. The recipients only need to pay their respects and are not required to kneel for a long time.

The four of them bowed respectfully to the emperor sitting on the dragon throne, and then stood still in an orderly manner.

Sheng Junwei and Pei Yu stood side by side. Although they did not communicate verbally, they seemed to be performing a "masked couple" drama in silence, which formed an inexplicably harmonious picture in the eyes of others. People talked about it with relish, and some people even secretly started to support this "match made in heaven".

Seeing this scene, Han Yue'er was so angry that her brows were furrowed and her face turned pale.

Just as Sheng Junwei stepped onto the platform and prepared to accept the reward, King Jingxuan, who had been watching coldly, curled up a cold smile at the corner of his lips and silently calculated the time in his heart.

He knew that the carefully prepared medicine was about to take effect, and Sheng Junwei would make a fool of herself in front of everyone.

He was looking forward to seeing whether this woman, who usually regarded herself as pure and innocent and a savior of the poor, could still pretend to be calm after she behaved in such a disgraceful manner and continue to deceive the world and call herself a goddess?