I am born a beauty, and I am supreme

Chapter 26

Chu Zhen meticulously organized the official documents, his hands constantly writing and drawing, while his eyes kept glancing at the person next to him.

Ha, ha, he's still yawning.

A cold smile played on his lips: This brat…

"Are the people from the palace still here?" he finally asked casually.

"My lord..." Upon hearing this, Le Yan immediately jumped up, then respectfully lowered her head and said in a hoarse voice, "Your subordinate is here."

Chu Zhen sneered inwardly, but feigned a troubled expression on her face.

"What should we do?" she said, frowning.

Tang Leyan's heart skipped a beat: "My lord, what happened?"

"I was just organizing too many documents, and inadvertently mixed up the reply to His Majesty with other documents."

He looked worried and distressed.

Tang Leyan cursed inwardly: You fool! How could you get this wrong?

"What should we do?" The other person clearly hadn't heard her inner grumbling and was still muttering to themselves, "It would be bad if we made a mistake."

Tang Leyan lowered her head angrily: It's obvious that things were delayed a long time ago.

I just can't say it out loud.

He overheard the Grand Secretary giving a command, as if discussing something: "This guard, would you please search inside?"

Tang Leyan felt her hair stand on end in an instant.

Chu Zhen sneered with a sidelong glance, as if she had been instantly possessed by a cunning fox.

With a wave of his hand, he ordered without further ado, "Give this pile and this pile to the guard to choose from."

The military secretary stepped forward, carried down the two piles of official documents, each about half a person's height, and placed them in front of Tang Leyan.

Tang Leyan stared at the two piles of official documents that were about to bury her, gasped, and suddenly heard herself grit her teeth.

She reached out and rolled up her sleeves.

She was like a diligent little mole among that pile of official documents.

He wore his hat askew, his collar was a little loose, and he kept looking around.

Chu Zhen sat behind the long table, gradually feeling relaxed and at ease.

This scene is truly a feast for the eyes.

Chu Zhen thought: It would be even better if we could invite more people to come and watch.

That person worked tirelessly down there, but of course, it was all for nothing.

He muttered to himself, not knowing why he kept wanting to laugh.

His overwhelming joy made him forget this: why, after more than ten years, his meticulous, aloof life seemed to have a ray of sunshine emerging, and every time he saw her, he felt an uncontrollable warmth in his heart and couldn't help but want to smile.

He sat behind the desk, initially pretending to be busy while watching, but eventually, he put down his work and stared straight at Leyan working below.

He was probably tired, so he simply sat down on the ground, surrounded by official documents.

His disheveled yet dedicated demeanor captivated him, his eyes fixed on capturing every movement: wiping sweat, raising his hand to pick up official documents, flipping through them and looking down. From his angle, those earnest and heroic eyebrows, that small, delicate nose, were all viewed from below, yet he found it to be a truly beautiful sight.

Tang Leyan quickly checked every official document around her; despite her intense focus, she didn't feel sleepy at all.

She swore fiercely that she would never fall into the same situation again in her lifetime.

After finally finishing reading the last document, she had a slight understanding of what was going on.

Biting her lip, she got up from the ground and said angrily, "My lord, none of these are your replies to His Majesty."

Chu Zhen was startled, and only when she looked at the small face that she suddenly raised did she come to her senses.

After a brief silence, suppressing the smile that kept creeping onto his lips, he asked in surprise, "Oh, really?"

This guy's acting is really bad, but I'll tolerate it!

Tang Leyan gritted her teeth and looked up: "Yes!"

Chu Zhen looked at his face: "Oh no, could it be that it was put into storage like miscellaneous items?"

Tang Leyan jumped back a step, with a bad feeling: "Sir, you don't mean for me to go to the storeroom to look for it, do you?" She was already on the verge of tears.

Chu Zhen nodded, a hint of pity in his eyes: "Brother Guard, you're really clever."

"No need to call me big brother, I'm not even as old as you." Tang Leyan smiled bitterly: What a magistrate, you're clearly making fun of me.

"Oh, speaking of which, we seem to have met somewhere before." Chu Zhen was already addicted to acting, blinking at him.

"Sir, you can't have such a bad memory, can you? I punched you just the other day!" Now that things had come to this, she decided not to hide it anymore. Tang Leyan said loudly.

"Ah, really..." Chu Zhen blinked, her innocent brows furrowing. "No wonder you look familiar. But, Brother Guard, uh... I'm so busy with official duties that I really don't remember those trivial matters. Also... you'll have to go to the storeroom yourself." As she spoke, she rubbed her head, feigning a pained expression.

"Why make it so complicated? Why don't you just rewrite it?"

"No, important official documents cannot be lost without being checked."

"That's your business, isn't it?"

"This matter arose because of Guard Yue. Go immediately!"

He stopped rambling and turned around with great flair.

Tang Leyan was about to say something more when the military secretary came up and said, "Go away, go away. How dare a lowly guard talk back to his superiors?"

After finally managing to pull him out of the military headquarters, he whispered, "It's quite rare that the lord didn't get angry today. You should thank him for his great kindness. Come, let me take you to the military warehouse."

"I don't..." Tang Leyan reached out and rubbed her eyes, "I'm so sleepy."

Nobody paid him any attention.

Inside, Chu Zhen stood with his back to the door, his back straight as a sword, when suddenly his shoulders trembled slightly.

The ninja hidden in the shadows twitched his ears, as if he had heard a very unfamiliar laugh.

However, the Grand Secretary's pleasant mood did not last long, as it was dampened by the news from his secretary.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Tenderness

As darkness fell, Chu Zhen tidied up the official documents on his desk, stepped outside, and wanted to see the newly crowned martial arts champion's heroic figure as he carried the documents, so he could enjoy the spectacle once more.

Unexpectedly, just as he stepped out, the military secretary came running up, panting.

"what happen?"

Chu Zhen asked. For some reason, she had a bad feeling.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Guard Yue... he..."

"How is he?" Chu Zhen raised an eyebrow.

"He's asleep in the yard!"

Chu Zhen was startled. The military secretary led the way, saying as they walked, "I don't know why, but when Guard Yue was carrying a pile of official documents back to the hall to look at them, he suddenly collapsed in the middle of the courtyard. I thought something had happened to him, but when I went over to check, he was already asleep. I was outnumbered, so I called two junior officials to wake him up, but unexpectedly..."

Before the military secretary could finish speaking about his "unexpected" situation, Chu Zhen had already seen it.

"No need to say anything," he said, frowning.

The military secretary fell silent, bowed, and stood to the side, following the adult's gaze.

In the center of the courtyard, in the pitch-black night, Guard Yue lay motionless on a rock, still fast asleep. On the other side, a corpse-like thing lay on the steps where the corridor met the courtyard. Chu Zhen turned his head and couldn't help but be startled. Another thing was hanging on the railing of the corridor.

If you're not mentally prepared, you might really think you've stumbled upon a murder scene.

"Was it Guard Yue who did it?" Chu Zhen asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir, we thought he was asleep, but as soon as someone approached, he..."

Chu Zhen gritted his teeth, his gaze deep. He knew exactly what had happened. He had initially thought it was an accidental, unexpected situation, but it seemed to be a habit of Guard Yue…

"Ignore him!" After a long pause, Chu Zhen gave a calm instruction.

Since he likes to sleep, let him sleep here.

Since he doesn't allow anyone to get close, then we can ignore him.

"But...but..." the military secretary stammered, but upon seeing the calm face of the military leader in the night, he immediately stopped saying "but" and bowed to answer, "Yes."

Chu Zhen turned around: "Has that reply been sent to the palace already?"

"Yes, sir."

Did the Emperor say anything?

The Emperor smiled but said nothing.

"Oh?" Chu Zhen stopped, somewhat surprised, then suddenly, as if remembering something, asked, "Did anything else happen in the palace today?"

The military secretary was taken aback, then said, "Speaking of which... it's a bit funny. When I entered the palace, I heard the palace eunuchs talking about how Guard Leyan had prevented His Majesty from choosing a concubine."

"Prevent His Majesty from choosing a concubine?" Chu Zhen repeated incredulously, raising an eyebrow and instinctively wanting to laugh again.

The military secretary lowered his head: "Yes, but His Majesty didn't punish him at all."

"Oh..." Chu Zhen immediately understood, "So it was sent here to me."

The smile in his words was so obvious that the military secretary momentarily forgot the proper etiquette and couldn't help but look up.

The Grand Secretary was turning around, so that stunning smile remained hidden in the pale blue night.

※※※※※

About an hour later, Chu Zhen looked up from his documents and gazed at the sky outside the window.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he got up and slowly walked out of the room.

"What time is it now?"

The guard at the door bowed and said, "Sir, it's getting late, almost midnight."

"Is...is Leyan still sleeping there?"

The guards exchanged a glance: "Yes, sir."

Chu Zhen frowned, remained silent, and strode toward the courtyard.

The guards followed behind.