When Li Rong heard Pei Wenxuan's name, she subconsciously looked behind her. Then, she saw Pei Wenxuan fall backwards. The official behind him supported him and said in a panic: "Lord Pei?"
The court was in chaos. Seeing this, Li Rong steadied her mind and quickly walked to Pei Wenxuan's side. At the same time, she summoned the imperial physician.
She squatted down and carefully examined the situation for a moment. After confirming the situation, she stood up and said to Li Ming: "Reporting to Fuhuang, the prince consort has fainted. Erchen will first take the prince consort to the side chamber to rest. I hope Fuhuang will allow it."
"Hurry and see what's going on," Li Ming frowned, "Don't cause any trouble."
Li Rong respectfully bowed and then had people carry Pei Wenxuan out of the main hall. After settling him in the side chamber, the imperial physician rushed over. They performed acupuncture and asked for diagnosis. Li Rong watched from the side. When the results were out, Li Rong quickly looked up: "How is it?"
"Reporting to Your Highness," the imperial physician replied in a proper manner, "The prince consort has been overworked and worried so much that his mind has been damaged. He will be fine after a few days of recuperation."
Li Rong nodded. She had more or less guessed it. Pei Wenxuan was a person who worked hard during the day and was emotional at night. It wasn't easy for him to stay awake until now.
She responded and said: "Is there anything else that needs to be taken note of?"
The imperial physician hesitated for a moment. Seeing that there was no one around, he said with difficulty: "There's no need to avoid matters of yin and yang. It's like water …"
"That's enough."
Li Rong knew what he was going to say. She raised her hand and interrupted him: "Is there anything else?"
"Sleep more and eat more." The imperial physician knew that Li Rong wanted to throw him out now, so he could only bite the bullet and concisely said, "If you have leisure, walk outside more often and relax your mood, it is also good."
Li Rong nodded and roughly understood. She waved her hand to dismiss the imperial physician and had someone brew the medicine. She also instructed the Jing Lan to find the spies in the palace and ask about Consort Rou's movements last night. When there was no one else in the room, she sat down next to Pei Wenxuan and carefully studied him.
In this life, he seemed to be thinner than in his previous life. But it was no wonder. In his previous life, when he married her at this age, he didn't think much about it. The only reason he was working hard as the Emperor's son-in-law was because he wanted to maintain his pride.
But now, there was a sword hanging over both of their heads. It had not even been a year since his rebirth, and he had already secured a stable position in the Censorate. Although his position was not high, there was no one in the imperial court who did not know of him. He was Imperial Censor Pei, who no one dared to disrespect.
Now that he had jumped eight ranks, it was even more shocking.
The position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was clearly not a position that Pei Wenxuan could hold with his current qualifications.
Su Yongqing was able to become the Minister of Justice because Su Yongqing had participated in politics at the age of twelve. At fourteen, he was already a fifth-rank Imperial Censor. At seventeen, he had been the Assistant Minister of Justice since then. He was backed by the famous Su Family. Now that he was the Minister of Justice, no one dared to say that he was "unworthy".
But what about Pei Wenxuan?
At fourteen, he graduated from Egret Academy and was recommended to take the imperial examination in the spring of the second year. He was first in both the written and palace examinations and was the new top scholar who rode a horse across Huajing. When he first entered the imperial court at fifteen, he was originally going to be a fifth-rank Imperial Censor. But before he took office, Pei Lizhi passed away. He could only return to Luzhou to observe mourning for three years. After three years, he returned and was arranged by his second uncle to become a ninth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice. A year later, her father remembered him and took him out of the Ministry of Justice to be her son-in-law.
Plotting against the Yang Family gave him the opportunity to become an Imperial Censor. From the Qin Clan case to the establishment of the Inspection Department until now, he had stayed in the Censorate to cooperate with her. If he wasn't in the Censorate, she would have one less weapon to use. On the other hand, Li Ming deliberately restrained his promotion speed. Verbally, he said that he wanted to wait for a suitable position to give him a promotion. But in his heart, Li Ming's true intentions were …
Who knew?
Li Rong thought about the fact that Pei Wenxuan had entered the list of assistant ministers of the Ministry of Personnel. She didn't know why, but the more she thought about it, the more upset she felt.
She suddenly remembered what Pei Wenxuan had said to her before.
He had told her, "Your Highness, we are different people."
She didn't think so in the past, but when she thought about it carefully today, she suddenly felt that compared to Pei Wenxuan, Su Yongqing's path had been too smooth.
Su Yongqing had the protection of his father and brother. Even if his father and brother were gone, he still had the family tradition that had been passed down for hundreds of years. He would still have his uncle to help him.
But what about Pei Wenxuan?
His father was gone, so he had nothing. He didn't have the so-called family tradition or the so-called family tradition. He only had his second uncle plotting against his orphan and widowed mother. He forced the fifteen-year-old Su Yongqing to go back and observe mourning. He also swindled his mother's assets and dismissed the retainers.
It was too difficult.
Li Rong reached out and held Pei Wenxuan's hand. Pei Wenxuan's eyelashes fluttered. He opened his eyes and saw Li Rong looking down at their intertwined hands.
"Your Highness …"
Pei Wenxuan spoke in a hoarse voice. Li Rong looked up and saw that Pei Wenxuan was awake. She smiled. "You're awake? Do you want some water? "
After Li Rong asked, she reached out to get some water and held it to Pei Wenxuan's lips. Pei Wenxuan took the water from her hand and drank it. After a while, he said anxiously, "Your Highness, did you hear the follow-up order?"
"It's fine. I'll go to the Ministry of Personnel to get it later."
"Your Highness," Pei Wenxuan frowned. "I know you're doing this for my own good, but eight ranks in a row …"
"I arranged for you to be the Merit Manager."
Li Rong interrupted him and explained directly, "I'm not the Assistant Minister of Personnel."
When Pei Wenxuan heard this, he was stunned. After a while, he said coldly, "How did Your Highness handle this matter?"
"You know, I looked for Liu Hangchun. He's in charge of the promotion of officials below the fifth rank. I gave him a big gift and threatened him at the same time. If he didn't arrange for you to be the Merit Manager, I would ask him to go to the Inspection Department. His hands are dirty, so he agreed. "
Pei Wenxuan nodded and said, "And then?"
"This time, the Ministry of Personnel is short of an assistant minister and a minister counsellor in the military salary case, so they will have to be replaced in this transfer. Therefore, I found some other connections and pushed the original merit examiner to the position of minister counsellor, leaving the position of merit examiner empty for you. Your qualifications are outstanding in this transfer list. As long as they don't deliberately make things difficult for you, it's natural for you to enter the Ministry of Personnel. The Merit Manager position is empty. I've also bribed Liu Hangchun and other relevant personnel. Logically speaking, a sixth rank official shouldn't be a big problem. "
As Li Rong analyzed, Pei Wenxuan pondered and didn't say anything.
After thinking for a while, Pei Wenxuan confirmed again, "You haven't come into contact with anyone who can decide the appointments of fifth rank officials and above?"
"No." Li Rong said with certainty, "You've been promoted too quickly. I'm also afraid that His Majesty will be suspicious."
Pei Wenxuan didn't say anything. Li Rong poured Pei Wenxuan a cup of tea. "Now we can be sure that someone wants to harm you. But I don't understand. If they want to harm you, they can just not let you enter the Ministry of Personnel. Why would they go through so much trouble to push you to the position of Assistant Minister? "
Pei Wenxuan lowered his eyes. Li Rong said slowly, "Aren't they afraid that they'll make a fool of themselves and let you become the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel?"
"The bigger the bet, the greater the reward after winning." Pei Wenxuan thought for a while and said softly, "It seems that the person behind this wants more than just me not being promoted."
"Then what do they want?"
Li Rong turned to look at Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan laughed softly and looked up to meet Li Rong's gaze. He smiled faintly like a fox and said, "That depends on who's behind it."
"Who do you think is behind it?"
Li Rong frowned. She already had a rough idea of who it was, but she still needed to verify it. However, from Pei Wenxuan's words, he seemed to have more than one person in mind.
Pei Wenxuan smiled and didn't reply. He leaned gently against the headboard and closed his eyes to rest. He said, "We'll know who it is when we get back the information from various sources tonight."
Li Rong didn't say anything. She looked at Pei Wenxuan. Even in such a difficult situation, Pei Wenxuan didn't get angry at all. Instead, he was calm as if he had met his match. He leaned against the headboard leisurely as if he was listening to the wind and rain.
He couldn't sleep last night. After the incident happened, he calmed down.
He wasn't afraid that something would happen. He was afraid that he didn't know what happened.
Now that the other party had made a move, Pei Wenxuan felt more confident and didn't panic.
Li Rong saw that he was calm and knew that he had a plan. She paused for a moment and said hesitantly, "I didn't handle this matter well."
Pei Wenxuan was surprised to hear her words. He opened his eyes and saw Li Rong lowering her head and eyes. She promised seriously, "I'll take responsibility. You don't have to worry."
Pei Wenxuan laughed when he heard this. Li Rong frowned and looked up. "What are you laughing at?"
"Your Highness, the other party attacked in the dark. Even if I was in charge of this matter today, I wouldn't have done better than Your Highness. Your Highness, why do you blame yourself? "
"If I could have been more careful …"
"Careful of what?" Pei Wenxuan looked at her with a smile. "We've already done what we can. After all, we're not God. We can't predict everything. If they wanted to take the initiative to attack, we couldn't stop them."
Li Rong didn't say anything. She kept thinking back in her mind. If this matter could be redone, where could she deal with this matter in advance?
Pei Wenxuan saw that she was angry. He sighed and shook his head. He reached out and hugged her in his arms. He comforted her. "Your Highness, don't be unhappy. You've already wronged me. Now that you're unhappy and want me to coax you, aren't you wronging me even more?"
Li Rong's body stiffened. Pei Wenxuan let go of her and raised her chin with his hand. He smiled and said, "Smile."
Li Rong forced a smile. Pei Wenxuan saw that she was still unhappy. He thought for a moment. "Do you still feel sorry for me?"
Li Rong didn't answer him. She restrained her emotions and stood up. "If you don't have anything else, you can go back first. Ask around for information, and then …"
Before she finished speaking, Pei Wenxuan grabbed Li Rong's hand and pulled her back. She fell into his arms. Then he pinched her chin and lowered his head to kiss her.
Li Rong struggled a little. She felt that this person drove straight in. Her heart was beating a little fast. This was the side hall used by the imperial court to house special officials. It wasn't the princess's residence. If someone saw …
It didn't seem like a big deal.
Although she said that, Li Rong couldn't help but feel nervous. This kind of nervousness made her almost forget her previous emotions. But soon, she even forgot about her nervousness.
Pei Wenxuan felt that her whole body relaxed. He finally stopped. He hugged her. The two of them didn't say anything. Pei Wenxuan put his chin on her shoulder. After a long time, he slowly recovered. He said in a low and hoarse voice, "I know that you are a person who calculates accounts clearly. But Rongrong."
"We will settle accounts one by one. That is an ally. I am your husband."
Li Rong didn't say anything, but Pei Wenxuan seemed to live in her heart. He seemed to know everything. "If you feel sorry for me," he said. He raised her chin with his finger. "Let me kiss you a few more times?"
Li Rong looked at him. Pei Wenxuan had a smile on his face. It seemed that he really didn't care about this at all. Li Rong didn't move. She looked at him for a long time. Pei Wenxuan thought that she wouldn't say anything. Just as he was about to get up, he saw Li Rong suddenly reach out and hold his face. Like a child, she kissed him fiercely from his forehead to his cheeks to his nose and mouth.
This kind of kissing made Pei Wenxuan laugh. Li Rong kissed the last time and stood up. She looked at Pei Wenxuan disdainfully and said, "These kisses are a reward for you. Since they sent you to the position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, I can't refuse their good intentions."
"Don't just lie there." Li Rong raised her hand and used her fan to hit Pei Wenxuan's leg. "Get up. Go home. Find out what happened. See how I deal with them."
Pei Wenxuan pretended to be in pain. "Ouch!" he cried out. Then he covered his butt and got up. He complained, "Your Highness, you hurt me."
Li Rong looked at him coldly. "I hit your leg."
Li Rong raised his hand. Pei Wenxuan looked down. "Your Highness?"
"Doesn't it hurt?" Li Rong was expressionless. "If you can't walk, then support me."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Pei Wenxuan didn't decline at all. He reached out and grabbed Li Rong's hand. Then he was supported by Li Rong as they walked out.
When the two walked out of the side hall, it was the end of the court session. The ministers came out of the main hall one after another. Many people saw Pei Wenxuan and came up to congratulate Pei Wenxuan. How could Pei Wenxuan accept these congratulatory words at this time?
Right now, the name list was just finalized. They had to wait until three months and no one raised any objections. Then it would be confirmed and the transfer procedures would begin.
But right now, it was obvious that someone had set up a trap. It would be strange if no one raised any objections in the next three months.
Therefore, Pei Wenxuan only exchanged greetings and modestly said, "Right now, it's just a name list. This official's qualifications are shallow. I'm afraid I can't take on such a big responsibility."
After greeting the familiar officials, Li Rong helped Pei Wenxuan out of the square. When they arrived at the palace gates, they saw Su Yongqing who was also preparing to leave.
Su Yongqing noticed that the two were supporting each other and looked over. When Pei Wenxuan saw Su Yongqing looking over, he hurriedly leaned over Li Rong. Li Rong frowned and looked up. "What's wrong? Are you disabled? "
"Ah." Pei Wenxuan raised his hand to cover his forehead. "I'm dizzy."
"Dizzy again?" Li Rong was a bit nervous. Pei Wenxuan lowered his head. "Let's go, let's go home quickly."
Su Yongqing stood on the carriage in the distance and looked at the two people leaning against each other. After a long time, he lifted the curtain and sat in the carriage.
Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan returned to the Princess Residence. Li Rong sent someone to find Liu Chunhang in advance. When the two arrived, they saw Liu Chunhang already waiting in the main hall. When he saw Li Rong enter, he immediately knelt down and hurriedly said, "Your Highness."
"Kneeling just like that?"
Li Rong laughed. "You also know what you've done?"
Liu Chunhang didn't dare to answer. Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan sat down together. Looking at the kneeling Liu Chunhang, Li Rong raised his cup and slowly said, "What did you do? Speak."
The position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was much higher than Liu Chunhang's position. This matter shouldn't have anything to do with Liu Chunhang. However, when he knelt down as soon as he was called over, Li Rong knew that he must have done something.
Liu Chunhang trembled as he knelt in front of Li Rong. Cold sweat appeared on his forehead. He anxiously said, "Your Highness, last night, someone brought me a list of people who are fifth rank and above and asked me to remove Lord Pei's name from the list. I didn't dare to disobey Your Highness's order, but the other party said that it was for the good of the Prince Consort. I thought that if the Prince Consort could be the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, it would definitely be better than being the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. In addition, the list of people who are fifth rank and above will be presented to the Emperor in advance. The Emperor will first see that the Prince Consort is a candidate for the position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and then look at the list I prepared. I'm afraid that he will think that I didn't do a good job, so … "
"So you removed the Prince Consort's name from the list of Assistant Ministers."
Li Rong smiled gently. "This is a good thing. The Prince Consort is going to be the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Why are you so afraid?"
Liu Chunhang didn't dare to answer. Li Rong lowered his head and fiddled with his teacup. He slowly said, "Who was the person who came to see you? What did they say?"
"The person who came to see me was Her Highness Hua Le."
Li Rong stopped when he heard this name. Liu Chunhang gathered his courage and spoke with difficulty. "Her Highness Hua Le said that Her Highness Consort Rou wanted someone to be the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and asked me to make the arrangements. This lowly official didn't dare to agree and told Her Highness Hua Le that the Assistant Minister of Personnel had been decided. She asked who I was and this lowly official told Her Highness Hua Le. Her Highness then informed this subject that the Prince Consort had been appointed as the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. "
"This lowly official actually knew that there was something strange about this matter." Liu Chunhang's entire body was trembling. "But since the Prince Consort had already been appointed as the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, this lowly official couldn't force him to stay. It was strange for the Prince Consort to appear on two lists at the same time. So this lowly official followed Her Highness Hua Le's arrangements … "
"Arranged for her people."
Pei Wenxuan's voice sounded. Liu Chunhang hurriedly said, "No, no, the Prince Consort has wronged this lowly official. Even though this lowly official deleted the Prince Consort's name, I only filled in the original name. This lowly official knows the relationship between Her Highness Hua Le and the Princess. The Princess has the Inspectorate. Even if this lowly official had ten times the courage, this lowly official wouldn't dare to help Her Highness Hua Le go against the Princess. "
"So, you deleted the Prince Consort's name."
"Yes," Liu Chunhang hurriedly said, "This lowly official only did this one thing. Today, I heard that the Prince Consort fainted in court. The officials all said that the Prince Consort was too surprised, but this lowly official knows that this lowly official probably did something wrong. Please, Your Highness, forgive this lowly official, forgive this lowly official! "
Liu Chunhang hurriedly kowtowed. Li Rong sighed, waved his hand, and said helplessly, "Rise, you can leave first."
Hearing this, Liu Chunhang sighed in relief. He bowed respectfully and was about to leave when he heard Li Rong say in a low voice, "Since the matter was not completed, return the money. There will be a commotion soon. Official Liu probably won't be able to escape. If there is an accident, Official Liu should think clearly about what to say and what not to say. "
"Your Highness, don't worry." Liu Chunhang understood Li Rong's meaning. He said respectfully, "This lowly official understands."
"Go."
After Li Rong finished speaking, Liu Chunhang left.
After Liu Chunhang left, Li Rong looked up and looked at Pei Wenxuan, who was deep in thought, "Do you have an idea?"
When Pei Wenxuan heard this, he looked up and chuckled, "Your Highness, who do you think it is?"
"Now it seems that Consort Rou is definitely involved. But what does she want to do?"
Li Rong thought, "She is afraid that you and I will become more powerful and help the Chuan'er in the future. I can understand that. So she stopped you from entering the Ministry of Personnel. I can also understand that. But why did she make you the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel? "
"Your Highness, what do you think will happen if I become the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel?"
Pei Wenxuan picked up a chess piece and gently placed it on the chessboard. Li Rong understood that Pei Wenxuan wanted her to deduce what would happen if she continued.
"The officials won't agree. They will jointly write a letter. You won't be able to become the minister."
Li Rong placed a chess piece, "What's the point?"
"What will His Majesty think about this?"
Pei Wenxuan continued to place a chess piece with a calm expression. Li Rong said in a low voice, "He will think that you are too ambitious. You want to reach the sky in one step."
"I am His Majesty's knife. I completely rely on His Majesty. But now, I am directly arranged to be the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel. How did he do it?"
"It's me." Li Rong put down a chess piece with a cold expression, "It's me who helped you."
"Your Highness, you can arrange for your husband to be the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel so easily. Where did you get this ability from?"
"Either I rely on His Highness the Crown Prince." Li Rong held a chess piece and looked up at Pei Wenxuan, "or the power of the Inspectorate is enough to deter the officials."
"Your Highness, do you still remember why His Majesty allowed you to establish the Inspectorate?"
"He wants to use my identity and ability to balance the aristocratic families. Between me and the aristocratic families, he will benefit from it. "
"In my previous life, the Inspectorate was managed by Consort Rou. Consort Rou used it to send His Highness the Crown Prince to prison. Does His Majesty not have this intention now? "
Pei Wenxuan smiled lightly, "He just wants to give the Inspectorate to Your Highness. He wants to treat Your Highness like a hen that hatches eggs. Once the eggs are hatched, he will have to give the chick to someone else. A person who can threaten the officials and seek a sixth-rank official position for her husband. His Majesty, do you think this is a hatched chick? "
Li Rong didn't speak. After a moment of silence, she threw the chess piece into the box and stood up.
"I have to go to the palace."
Pei Wenxuan didn't raise his head. He stared at the chess game and said indifferently, "Your Highness, take care."
Li Rong directly left. Pei Wenxuan rubbed the chess piece in his hand.
Just now, he actually didn't say one thing.
All of their considerations, all of their angles, and all of their decisions were based on what they already knew about the future. Therefore, they could deduce what the people in the present were thinking.
They knew that the Emperor now wholeheartedly wanted to balance the aristocratic families and imperial power. He was willing to pay any price to depose the heir. But in reality, back then, everyone thought that Li Ming only doted on Consort Rou too much. No one thought that Li Ming actually already had the foundation to move the aristocratic families.
Because the aristocratic families and Li Ming were inextricably linked, no one in the Shangguan Family believed that Li Ming would actually want to kill his uncle, cousin, wife, and even son.
They knew that the imperial examinations were very important in the future, so they wholeheartedly wanted to be the examiner for this year's imperial examinations.
But now, the people didn't know.
Whether it was Consort Rou, the Empress, the aristocratic families, or the officials, they didn't know Li Ming's true intentions.
But now, Consort Rou had arranged for his own people to be the examiner and then promoted him to assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel to provoke Li Ming. He wanted to force Li Ming to suspect Li Rong and hand the Inspectorate to Consort Rou.
Pei Wenxuan looked at the black and white chess game in front of him and couldn't help but laugh.
"Interesting."
Just how many chess players were behind this?
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