Li Rong listened to Li Chuan's long-winded comforting words for a long time. She finally felt a little tired and asked the Jing Lan to take away the cold eggs. She looked up at Li Chuan and said, "Alright, don't talk nonsense with me. If you have time, help me find out something."
Li Chuan listened to Li Rong's order and hurriedly said, "Go ahead."
"Has the imperial examination chief examiner been decided?"
Li Chuan didn't expect Li Rong to ask this question. He subconsciously said, "It should have been decided."
"So early?" Li Rong frowned. Li Chuan thought for a while and said, "It shouldn't be so early. After all, the imperial examination has always been a small matter. Those who passed the examination were originally arranged by the children of the aristocratic families. Those who came from poor families either became useless small officials or were sent to other places and didn't come back. Those who were in charge of this matter used to be the chief examiner. It was already considered high enough to let the assistant minister manage it. Therefore, it should have been decided later, but this year was very strange. Minister Wang said that this year, the imperial court was serious and the selection of talents was the most important thing. He took the initiative to tell Father Emperor that he wanted to be the chief examiner. "
Li Chuan said and couldn't help but laugh. He took a teacup from the side and held it in his hand. He looked at Li Rong and said, "He has spoken, who can say anything? Minister Wang is going to be the chief examiner himself. Who can surpass him? Therefore, although it hasn't been decided, it's not far from certain. "
Li Rong didn't speak and thought. Li Chuan took a sip of tea and earnestly talked about her marriage, "Actually, don't be too sad. If the old doesn't go, the new won't come. Why don't I take you to see some good candidates? You have to see someone you like …"
"Alright, alright." Li Rong frowned and interrupted him, "Still worried? You should worry about yourself. How's your marriage? "
"Is that something I can control?" Li Chuan laughed, "I already said that it's up to them. They can choose the Crown Princess whenever they want. I don't care who they choose. But now it's good. "Li Chuan came up and said mysteriously," Sister, guess what happened? "
"What happened?"
"Father Emperor and Mother secretly agreed." Li Chuan couldn't hide his happiness, "They won't choose for the time being."
"Won't choose?"
Li Rong exclaimed in surprise, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized what was going on.
Now that the Shangguan Family had given up on the idea of marrying the Crown Prince and was investigating their accumulated abuses, the fight for the Crown Prince's wife had fallen into the hands of other aristocratic families.
.... Li Chuan even if Li Chuan didn't marry, Li... it was even better, he didn't want Chuan didn to marry women..... that..... Married..... even, Married..... Married didn..............
. After all, it didn't matter if Li Chuan's position as the Crown Prince was stable. He didn't want it to be stable.
Both sides had their own ideas. Without the Shangguan Family's strong pressure, the position of the Crown Princess would be frozen.
"That's a good thing." Li Rong nodded.
Li Chuan peeled melon seeds. Seeing that Li Rong didn't look happy, he asked curiously, "Sister, aren't you worried that my position as the Crown Prince will be unstable if I don't marry?"
"If your position as the Crown Prince will be unstable if you don't marry," Li Rong turned to look at him with a faint smile, "then your position as the Crown Prince will be unstable."
Li Chuan furrowed his brows in confusion. Li Rong explained, "Chuan'er, you must remember that in order to secure a position in the imperial court, there are only three things you need: money, soldiers, and people. If you have money, you have provisions, soldiers, and people to help you. Only if you have someone who can help you do things, then your words will count. Only when you have troops and horses can you protect your money and your people. If you have these three things, whether you marry or not, it won't affect your position. If you don't have these three things, "Li Rong's smile was cold," even if you marry many noble daughters, in other people's eyes, you will be nothing more than a puppet. "
"If one day you need to change a puppet," Li Rong tapped his fan on his palm, "do you think it will be difficult?"
Just like in her previous life, Li Chuan married five women, and Li Ming set up the Inspectorate for Prince Su and seized military power in the Northwest. When the military power in the Northwest fell into the hands of Xiao Su, who was left by his side?
"I actually understand what Sister is saying," Li Chuan listened to Li Rong's words and couldn't help but smile bitterly, "but Imperial Mother doesn't understand."
"It's not that Imperial Mother doesn't understand, but people always want to take the best path. She wants you to marry because she wants to use marriage to obtain these three things. This is much simpler than you directly obtaining them. "
Li Chuan nodded in response and turned his head to look into the distance. He seemed to be a little tired. Li Rong looked at his appearance and patted his hand: "Don't think about it, go back early. Have people keep an eye on Imperial Father's' small cabinet 'and see who he wants to put in. Block those who should be blocked, this position can't be given up. "
"Understood."
Li Chuan responded. He had a sense of propriety.
Li Rong instructed Li Chuan to secretly leave through the back door and told him to come less often in the future.
It was too risky for him to come to the princess's residence now, so it was better for him to come less often.
After Li Chuan left, Li Rong returned to the courtyard. She lay on the rocking chair for a while and suddenly felt that the courtyard was empty.
She turned her head and asked Jing Lan: "Have you finished moving the prince consort's things?"
"The prince consort didn't take anything with him." Jing Lan was picking up the things. Li Rong turned to look at her: "What's wrong? Are you planning to buy everything again? "
"The prince consort said," Jing Lan squatted down and whispered: "He will come back sooner or later, so he won't move for now."
When Li Rong heard Jing Lan's message, she didn't know why, but she felt that the desolate atmosphere in the courtyard suddenly disappeared.
She couldn't help but ask a few more questions: "Is the prince consort moving back to the Pei residence?"
"He hasn't."
Jing Lan shook her head: "Prime Minister Pei originally had a residence in the capital. The prince consort moved there."
Li Rong nodded. She lay on the rocking chair for a while, then stood up and ordered: "Find Tuoba Yan and ask him to go to the residences next to the prince consort's residence. See if anyone is willing to sell their houses. If they are willing, it doesn't matter if the price is a bit higher."
When Jing Lan heard Li Rong's words, she couldn't help but smile. She looked at Li Rong and smiled: "Didn't Your Highness say that you shouldn't spend money recklessly?"
"Buying a house is buying property," Li Rong said righteously: "How can you say that I'm spending money recklessly?"
Jing Mei, who was massaging Li Rong's legs, couldn't help but laugh.
Li Rong raised her eyebrows and looked at her. Jing Mei quickly smiled and apologized: "I'm sorry, Your Highness, this servant didn't mean to laugh at you."
Li Rong didn't need to explain anything. She knew what they were laughing at. She raised her hand and lightly tapped Jing Mei with her fan. She scolded: "Arrogant girl."
The three of them bickered in the courtyard. Not long after, the head of the Inspectorate of Inspection's imperial bodyguards walked in.
Ever since Xun Chuan left Huajing, the head of the Inspectorate of Inspection's imperial bodyguards was changed to a person named Zhao Chongjiu. This person was brought up by Xun Chuan, and only used by Li Rong after several tests. He held a tray of scrolls in his hands. These scrolls contained news from all over the country.
After Li Rong was reborn, she began to have Pei Wenxuan rebuild the dark web from her previous life. But in addition to the dark web established by Pei Wenxuan, she also had a backup set of people.
She wasn't used to betting important things on one possibility. Pei Wenxuan was useful, but it didn't mean that she only used him.
Later, after she built the Inspectorate of Inspection, the dark web was directly incorporated into the Inspectorate of Inspection. When Xun Chuan left Huajing, he began to build the Inspectorate of Inspection for her everywhere. The speed at which this information network was spread was doubled, especially in the northwest and southwest.
Qin Lin was in the northwest, so the dark web established by Xun Chuan was almost unimpeded. Although Lin Feibai in the southwest hadn't improved significantly, there weren't any powerful aristocratic family officials there. It was much more convenient for Li Rong to send people there.
Of course, at the same time, the corresponding consumption was also money.
The Inspectorate of Inspection had the silver given by Li Ming, but it was far from enough, so she had no choice but to fill up her little treasury. But with the current consumption rate, she wouldn't be able to hold on for long. Fortunately, Pei Wenxuan made a series of arrangements in the industry last year. From inviting Gu Chenzi to teach agriculture in her fief, Qingzhou, to acquiring real estate and various industries, and also taking in Tuoba Yan to help manage the finances. This year, her accounts were barely enough to operate.
Zhao Chongjiu came up with a message and said respectfully, "Your Highness, this is the news recently sent back from all over the country."
Li Rong responded, took the message, and quickly flipped through it.
As she flipped through the message, she heard Zhao Chongjiu say, "Your Highness, the matter of the divorce has been roughly investigated."
"Speak."
Li Rong's voice was very faint. She scanned the situation of the Northwest written by Xun Chuan on the paper.
There were no more major battles in the Northwest, but this year's winter was bitterly cold. Many cattle and sheep froze to death outside Da Xia's defense line, so there were still several small-scale plundering battles. They targeted a certain city alone and ran away after robbing.
Qin Lin was sent to the frontline to guard the city alone. Qin Lin temporarily recruited the people who had been robbed of food in the city to become an army. In addition to the army originally controlled by the Qin Clan, they filled up a lot of people. The biggest problem now was the lack of money, so he asked Li Rong to find a way to help him get money.
"Last night in the palace, Su Yongqing and His Majesty had a secret conversation. Then, His Majesty issued a decree to reduce the expenses of the Inspectorate of Inspection and let Qingzhou hand over half of its taxes to the imperial court to support the soldiers in the North."
Hearing this, Li Rong paused. A moment later, she took out the news of Lin Feibai from the Southwest.
There were several major battles in the Southwest this year. Lin Feibai rose very quickly, but now he was facing a problem. He needed to bribe officials on the way to promotion.
To sum it up, he was short of money.
Li Rong felt a headache when she saw the money. When she thought of how Li Ming's first imperial edict was to ask her for money, she felt lucky. She didn't look up at the news and said, "Who told Imperial Father to change the news?"
"His Majesty went to Consort Rou's place," Zhao Chongjiu replied flatly. "He changed his mind when he came back."
Hearing this, Li Rong laughed. "It seems that Pei Wenxuan's calculations are not bad."
There were indeed cracks in the cooperation between Consort Rou and Su Yongqing.
Otherwise, since Su Yongqing had already given the plan, Consort Rou should have helped push it forward with all her might instead of changing Su Yongqing's intentions halfway.
This made Li Rong heave a sigh of relief.
Su Yongqing still knew the Princess Estate's background too well. He asked Li Ming to cut her income, which really hit her soft spot. Fortunately, Consort Rou didn't listen to him and misjudged her relationship with Pei Wenxuan.
But such coincidences probably wouldn't happen too often.
Su Yongqing must have realized that Consort Rou had a grudge against him this time. Since he planned to use Consort Rou, he wouldn't let this grudge go. He would definitely do something to restore the cooperation between him and Consort Rou.
And Li Rong couldn't give him this opportunity.
Li Rong pondered and then thought of the imperial examination's chief examiner. She suddenly thought of someone.
She hurriedly looked up at Zhao Chongjiu and ordered, "Help me contact Cui Yulang. Ask him if he still plans to continue what he told me last time."
Zhao Chongjiu respectfully raised his hand and replied, "Yes."
Zhao Chongjiu was very efficient. That night, he found Cui Yulang in an alleyway.
Cui Yulang had just finished drinking wine and was walking unsteadily on the way back. He recited a poem as he walked forward. Halfway through, he saw someone standing in the middle of the alleyway.
Zhao Chongjiu was wearing the Inspectorate's official uniform and had a sword at his waist. Cui Yulang frowned and leaned against the wall. He took a sip of wine and said, "Sir, why are you standing here? Did I commit a crime and want to be sent to the Inspectorate?"
Zhao Chongjiu's expression didn't change. He only said, "It was Her Highness who told me to ask Sir Cui."
Hearing this, Cui Yulang raised his head. His gaze was slightly cold. Then he heard Zhao Chongjiu say, "Do you still plan to continue what you told her last time?"
Cui Yulang was immediately stunned.
His expression changed several times. He seemed to be struggling. Zhao Chongjiu frowned. Seeing that Cui Yulang didn't answer for a long time, he couldn't help but urge, "Sir Cui?"
"Sir." Cui Yulang hesitated for a long time. He took a sip of wine and finally said, "Then I'll have to trouble Sir to ask for me. If I comply with Her Highness' wishes, can Her Highness guarantee my safety?"
Zhao Chongjiu nodded. "Do you have any other questions?"
"Also," Cui Yulang answered solemnly, "After this matter, will Her Highness agree to help this Cui investigate the case and give justice to this Cui Yulang's good friend?"
Zhao Chongjiu agreed. He confirmed again, "Do you have any other questions?"
"If Her Highness agrees, Sir can just let this one know." Cui Yulang looked as if he was unafraid of death. "Three days later, during the break, this one will respectfully wait for Your Highness in a private room on the top floor of Deshun Inn. However, before you come, I'll have to ask Your Highness to confirm it and not let Prince Consort know. "
"This humble subject is no more than an ant to Prince Consort." Cui Yulang bowed respectfully. "I hope Your Highness will take pity on me."
Zhao Chongjiu: "…"
He didn't know why, but he felt that there was something mysterious about this matter. However, he still nodded. When he saw that Cui Yulang didn't have anything else to say, he turned back and conveyed Cui Yulang's message.
Zhao Chongjiu repeated Cui Yulang's words almost word by word. Li Rong soaked his feet and listened. When Jing Mei heard Zhao Chongjiu's report, she couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, why did he suddenly mention Prince Consort? Why does he want Your Highness to take pity on him? "
Li Rong glanced at Jing Mei indifferently and said in a tolerant and compassionate tone, "He's sick. We have to tolerate him."
As he spoke, Li Rong turned his head and ordered Zhao Chongjiu, "Go back and tell him to wait for me at Qingyue Teahouse in three days."
Zhao Chongjiu nodded and retreated to pass on the message. Just as he turned around, Li Rong couldn't help but add, "Also, tell him not to let his imagination run wild every day. Tell him to be more normal!"
Zhao Chongjiu expressed his agreement. He also felt that there was something wrong with Official Cui's brain.
Li Rong's words reached Cui Yulang. When he heard that the location was Qingyue Teahouse, he was momentarily stunned. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "Your Highness really knows how to play."
Zhao Chongjiu looked up at him and said indifferently, "Your Highness also said," This made Cui Yulang nervous again, "that you should be more normal."
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