Li Rong had an idea. He turned to look at Hua Le, crossed his arms, and leaned against the pillar. He said provocatively, "Who do you think you are in my mansion? How dare you ask me not to leave?"
"Li Rong!" Hua Le shouted. "You're now a criminal. You know very well whether you killed Chen Houzhao or not!"
"What do I know?" Li Rong sneered. "You've been writing Buddhist scriptures since you were a child, and you even asked others to copy them for you. If it weren't for Consort Rou taking care of the Inspectorate, what do you think you could do? Don't think that you're the same as me just because you brought people from the Inspectorate. The difference between you and me isn't just because of our birth. "Li Rong raised his hand and pointed at his head." It's also because of our brains. "
"Hurry home, wash up, and sleep. Don't make a fool of yourself here. However, I understand you. "Li Rong walked to Hua Le with a smile on his face. He lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear him and said gently," A concubine has given birth to a child. That's all there is to it. "
The word "concubine" triggered Hua Le. It was like a nightmare that she couldn't escape from. She almost subconsciously raised her hand and slapped Li Rong.
Li Rong screamed and hurriedly stepped back to avoid her slap. He stumbled and fell backward. The surroundings were in chaos. Jing Lan hurriedly went to support Li Rong and said anxiously, "Your Highness, how are you, Your Highness?"
Hua Le was stunned. She watched the people around her go to support Li Rong. Li Rong fell to the ground and seemed to have fainted on the spot. Jing Lan called people over and hurriedly helped Li Rong up. Hua Le looked at the unconscious Li Rong on the ground. Her hands trembled slightly. She was terrified, but at this moment, she felt an indescribable joy.
She suddenly understood why her mother always said to climb up the social ladder.
Only by climbing up the social ladder and having supreme power could she trample on others the moment they said that she was a concubine's child.
She looked down at Li Rong. Seeing the people frantically supporting Li Rong into the house, she shouted, "Wait! His Highness Ping Lue is a wanted criminal of the Inspectorate. Arrest him immediately! "
"You …"
Jing Lan was about to speak when Li Rong, who was pretending to be unconscious, grabbed her wrist under her sleeve. Jing Lan paused.
Jing Lan's pause caused the surroundings to become chaotic. The people from the Inspectorate didn't dare to go forward, but Hua Le had brought her own people this time. After her people went forward, the Inspectorate didn't dare to openly disobey Hua Le's orders. They could only follow behind.
Li Rong's soldiers refused to retreat. The two sides confronted each other and pushed each other.
Jing Lan heard Li Rong's words and understood Li Rong's intentions. She raised her head and shouted, "Everyone stop! These are soldiers. What are you doing? Are you rebelling? "
Jing Lan was the housekeeper of the Princess Residence. When she spoke, the soldiers of the Princess Residence stopped. Jing Lan raised her head and looked at Hua Le. She said coldly, "Your Highness Hua Le, must you take the Princess away today?"
"Yes."
Hua Le sneered, "Why? You, a housekeeper, dare to stop me?"
"This servant doesn't dare."
Jing Lan saluted and said, "It's just that this servant wants to confirm that my family's princess is only involved in the dark. His Highness Hua Le is only bringing my family's princess over for questioning. She won't be punished, right?"
Hua Le hesitated for a moment. She didn't dare to say that she would punish Li Rong in public, even if she wanted to. She cleared her throat and said, "Of course not."
Jing Lan heard this and said respectfully, "Then this servant will ask someone to confirm our Princess's safety first. After everything is fine, we will escort our Princess to the Inspectorate. I wonder if Your Highness Hua Le agrees?"
Li Rong was still unconscious. Hua Le had received Jing Lan's promise to send Li Rong away, so she didn't make things difficult for her. She only said, "Then call the doctor over first. After confirming that everything is fine, don't delay any longer!"
Jing Lan bowed and asked someone to help Li Rong into the Inspectorate so that the doctor could come in and see him.
When the doctor saw Li Rong's appearance, he knew that there was something fishy going on. He didn't say anything and pretended to examine him. Jing Lan accompanied him.
Hua Le sat at the side and drank tea while watching the doctor examine Li Rong. Jing Lan pretended to be worried and grabbed Li Rong's hand. Under his sleeve, Li Rong wrote word by word to Jing Lan.
"Zhao Chongjiu, Pei Wenxuan, conscription order, enter the palace."
Jing Lan memorized these words. Although she didn't know what they meant, she understood that she had to find Pei Wenxuan.
After the doctor examined Li Rong, Li Rong continued to sleep. When Hua Le saw that Li Rong didn't wake up, she asked someone to bring a stretcher and directly carried Li Rong into the Inspectorate.
Once Li Rong left, Jing Lan immediately changed her clothes and went out the back door to find Pei Wenxuan.
Pei Wenxuan had just returned from the official residence. As soon as he entered the residence, he heard Dong Ye say that Jing Lan had come. He frowned and personally went to the main entrance to ask directly, "Did something happen to Her Highness?"
"Today, Her Highness Hua Le brought people from the Inspectorate to the Princess Residence and took Her Highness away."
Jing Lan was concise and to the point. When Pei Wenxuan heard this, his heart relaxed a lot.
How could Li Rong let Hua Le take him away so easily? This must be Li Rong's doing.
However, when he thought of Consort Rou and Hua Le's temperaments, he was still worried about Li Rong's situation. However, he still didn't know Li Rong's intentions, so he couldn't make a decision. He could only ask clearly, "Did Her Highness leave any words?"
"Her Highness left four words: Zhao Chongjiu, Pei Wenxuan, conscription order, enter the palace. This servant didn't understand her intentions, but I knew that she should be looking for the Prince Consort, so I hurried over. "
When Pei Wenxuan heard the words "Prince Consort," a trace of a smile unconsciously flashed through his eyes. His expression didn't change as he nodded and ordered Dong Ye to find Zhao Chongjiu.
Zhao Chongjiu quickly came over. Pei Wenxuan looked up at him and only asked, "Her Highness mentioned the conscription order. What's going on?"
Zhao Chongjiu was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He immediately explained the cause and effect of Xun Chuan's letter.
As Pei Wenxuan listened to Zhao Chongjiu speak, he rubbed the surface of the teacup in his hand. When Zhao Chongjiu finished speaking, he still seemed to be thinking about something. Everyone waited for him. After a moment of silence, Pei Wenxuan looked up at Dong Ye and ordered, "Immediately go to the Censorate and find one of our people. In a moment, I will write a memorial and have him copy it. Then go to the Cabinet and make sure that the memorial will reach His Majesty's hands by tonight."
Now that the Cabinet had just been built, there were many people inside.
The Cabinet was built by Li Ming in order to cultivate Prince Su's power and prevent his information from not circulating. When choosing people, he deliberately avoided the children of aristocratic families.
But not choosing the children of aristocratic families made it easier for Pei Wenxuan to fill in people. Now, each family had their own way of getting into the Cabinet. The new Cabinet wasn't much different from the old Cabinet Office. But after all, they were all new people. It was much better than when the Cabinet was completely controlled by the aristocratic families.
After Pei Wenxuan finished giving orders, he put down his teacup and finally said, "After the memorial is sent up, immediately inform the Empress and have her pick up Prince Su. Now go inform Shangguan Ya and have her protect His Highness. Don't let anything happen to him. "
After he finished speaking, he still felt a bit uneasy and stood up, "Jing Lan, go and gather the people of the Princess Residence. Have them wait at the entrance of the Inspectorate and be ready at any time. I will go over now. "
While Pei Wenxuan was arranging everything, Li Rong was lying in the carriage, pretending to be unconscious.
Hua Le sat in another carriage and led her to the Inspectorate.
She couldn't be taken away by Hua Le while she was awake. If she was taken away while she was awake, where would she put her face? It could only be justified if Hua Le took her away while she was unconscious. After all, she was used to being arrogant in Huajing. If Hua Le broke into her residence and beat her up and took her away, it would be a joke.
Hua Le didn't want to ride with her and put her alone in the carriage. She felt comfortable, so she reclined in the carriage, holding the iron chain, and leisurely thinking about what to do next.
For things like the conscription order, the slightest carelessness could be linked to rebellion. Naturally, she couldn't ask for it directly. Only Li Ming could give it to her.
Therefore, what she wanted to do was to give Li Ming a hint about the solution of the conscription order. Then, she would let him solve the problem in the Northwest and block all of his solutions. In the end, he would only be left with the conscription order.
Li Rong closed her eyes in the carriage, thinking slowly. If Li Ming wanted to solve Qin Lin's problem, there were only a few channels.
The first was to force Xiao Su or the other aristocratic families to send more troops to Qin Lin. The second was to increase the country's military pay and relief funds.
Li Ming couldn't order the aristocratic families around, and he didn't have much money to increase the military pay. In the end, only Xiao Su was left to send more troops to Qin Lin.
However, Xiao Su was the trump card that Li Ming left for Li Cheng. It was also the army that Li Ming used to fight against the aristocratic families. Once Li Ming realized that the aristocratic families' military power was a threat to him, it was impossible for him to ask Xiao Su to send more troops.
Li Rong tapped her palm with a small fan, thinking about what to say when she met Li Ming tonight.
With Pei Wenxuan's speed, she wasn't worried at all that he would be able to enter the palace tonight. Her only worry was …
It was only one afternoon, so Hua Le and Consort Rou shouldn't be too crazy.
Just as she was thinking this, she heard the coachman's shout outside. Li Rong was stunned and couldn't help but panic. She usually didn't panic about other things, but she was worried that Pei Wenxuan's brain wasn't normal. He didn't understand her intentions and came to save people?
However, she thought about it and felt that she needed to give Pei Wenxuan more confidence, so she tried to calm herself down. Just as she was preparing herself mentally, a young man's voice sounded outside. It was a gentle but impolite young man's voice. "Your Highness Hua Le, the Ministry of Justice is investigating a case of missing people in the suburbs of the capital. They need Your Highness Ping Le to come to the Ministry of Justice. Your Highness Hua Le, please do us a favor."
When Li Rong heard this voice, she couldn't help but be stunned. She never thought that Su Yongqing would appear at this time.
Hua Le was clearly even more surprised than she was.
"Assistant Minister Su?"
Hua Le seemed to be at a loss. He said hesitantly, "Imperial Older Sister is currently related to the case that the Inspectorate is investigating. How about Assistant Minister Su come and interrogate her after the Inspectorate is done?"
"This case has now reached a critical juncture. I hope that Your Highness Hua Le won't make things difficult for me."
As Su Yongqing spoke, his voice gradually got closer. Li Rong guessed that he must have said something to Hua Le. She couldn't hear clearly what was said outside. After a while, she heard footsteps approaching. She quickly closed her eyes and lay down. She felt someone lift the curtain and come in. The other person sat next to her and said to the people outside, "Let's go back to the Princess's Estate."
After saying that, the other person lowered the curtain. The voices outside immediately quieted down. Li Rong heard the sound of the carriage approaching.
It wasn't good for her to suddenly wake up. Moreover, if she woke up, it would be awkward for her and Su Yongqing to sit face to face. Thus, she lay down in the carriage and desperately tried to figure out why Su Yongqing had come.
Su Yongqing seemed to have looked at her for a while. Then, he got up and knelt in front of her. His scent enveloped her. Li Rong could smell the scent on his body. It was the same as in her previous life.
It was the special incense from the Princess's Estate in her previous life. Now, he didn't hide it and even wore the incense on his body.
Li Rong was in a daze. Su Yongqing had already gently lifted her hand. He unlocked her handcuffs and gently put her hand back. Then, he took off his coat and draped it over her body. Then, he sat next to her.
In fact, according to etiquette, even if they were in the same carriage, he should sit in the seat furthest away from her. However, he didn't do so.
He sat not far from her. It wasn't close, but it wasn't far either. This was the seat he usually sat in in her previous life.
Li Rong didn't know if he knew that she was awake. However, she didn't want to wake up now. If she woke up and confronted him, it would be too awkward.
She wasn't afraid of people confronting her head-on. Like Hua Le and Consort Rou, she would hit whoever came.
However, she was afraid of Su Yongqing.
She had a feeling that if she interacted with Su Yongqing, Su Yongqing wouldn't hide anything from her. However, it was because he wouldn't hide anything that she didn't dare to ask.
This kind of feeling made her feel extremely vexed. Even his visit today made her feel a little irritated. Thus, she simply closed her eyes and pretended to be unconscious. No matter how many questions she had, she would wait until she returned to the Princess's Estate to investigate them.
Not long after Su Yongqing intercepted Li Rong, the news reached Pei Wenxuan's hands. When Pei Wenxuan heard that Su Yongqing had taken her away, he immediately led his people back to the Princess's Estate.
Dong Ye was a little puzzled. He couldn't help but ask, "Assistant Minister Su intercepted the Princess. Shouldn't Young Master go to the Ministry of Justice to look for him?"
"He won't take Your Highness back to the Ministry of Justice." Pei Wenxuan's voice was a little cold. "He will take good care of Your Highness."
Li Rong closed her eyes and endured the journey. She felt that time was abnormally long.
Halfway through the journey, she felt a little sleepy. However, she didn't dare to sleep.
She faintly heard Su Yongqing instruct the carriage outside. His voice was very soft, as if he was very far away. "Go slower. Don't be so bumpy, Your Highness."
She really couldn't take it anymore. She felt as if the clothes covering her body would bite her. She simply turned over and pushed the clothes off her body.
Su Yongqing quietly watched as Li Rong deliberately pushed the clothes to the ground. He stared at the clothes on the ground for a long time before finally speaking. "Your Highness, sleeping like this will cause you to catch a cold. If you don't want this official's clothes to cover you, then get up. This official has brought a storybook. If I read it to you, time will pass quickly. "
When Li Rong heard this, she knew that Su Yongqing knew that she wasn't asleep. He even knew that she was hiding from him.
After all, he had handled cases in the Ministry of Justice for many years. He still had this ability.
Li Rong was exposed. She didn't continue to pretend. She simply stood up and smiled openly. "Alright, then this official will get up."
Su Yongqing didn't say anything. He took out a storybook from his sleeve and calmly said, "Today, this official has brought 'Boudoir of the Boudoir' …"
"I don't want to hear this." Li Rong directly interrupted him. Su Yongqing paused, then nodded and hid the storybook in his sleeve.
Li Rong stared at him. She wanted to ask him about the past, but she didn't want to talk about it with him.
The past between them seemed to be a forbidden area that she didn't want to touch. The two were silent for a moment. Li Rong finally spoke. "Assistant Minister Su, why did you seek me out today?"
"I heard that His Highness Hua Le went to the Princess's residence to cause trouble for the Princess," Su Yongqing calmly replied. "This official thought that if His Highness Hua Le really brought Your Highness into the Inspectorate, Your Highness would suffer. Thus, this official brought Your Highness back halfway."
"I'm afraid it wasn't to prevent me from suffering, but because you were afraid that I would plot against Hua Le."
Li Rong laughed mockingly. Su Yongqing was silent for a moment. He didn't hide anything and directly said, "That was indeed the reason."
"You don't hide it from me."
"Rong Qing doesn't dare to hide it from Your Highness."
Su Yongqing raised his eyes to look at Li Rong, his expression calm. Li Rong met his eyes. She stared at them for a long time.
This pair of eyes didn't seem to be any different from the last life. Li Rong couldn't help but laugh. "Haven't you hidden enough things from me?"
Su Yongqing paused for a moment. The moment these words came out, the two of them seemed to be standing in front of a thin veil. They could faintly see each other's figures, but couldn't clearly see each other's faces.
If either of them took another step forward, they would be able to tear the veil apart and see each other's appearance.
It was just that no one knew whether that appearance was hideous and terrifying, or a face that was as beautiful as a fantasy.
Su Yongqing raised his hand to hold the cup. He took a sip of the cold tea.
The cold feeling calmed him down little by little. After he calmed down a little, he slowly said, "Does Your Highness resent me?"
Li Rong thought for a moment. She laughed self-deprecatingly. "What resent? I'm not as good as you. I admit defeat. "
"But I want to know." Li Rong crossed her arms in front of her chest and said in a low voice, "Can't you stop?"
She had already been reborn. The revenge that should have been taken had been taken. The resentment that should have been resolved. What was there to be obsessed with?
Su Yongqing looked at Li Rong. He asked in return, "Will His Majesty stop?"
This His Majesty wasn't just referring to Li Ming. It wasn't just Li Chuan either.
What he was referring to was every ambitious monarch sitting in that position.
The aristocratic families had developed to this point. No ambitious monarch could keep them. As the Emperor's maternal family, the Shangguan Clan could escape this disaster. As the head of the aristocratic families in Jiangnan, the Su Clan had almost no chance of escaping unscathed.
Su Yongqing understood. Li Rong also understood. Li Chuan's ruthlessness towards the Su Clan wasn't just because of Qin Zhenzhen's death. Qin Zhenzhen showed the terrifying power of the aristocratic families. The decline of the Su Clan represented the last glory of the aristocratic families in Da Xia. After this, all the aristocratic families' existence was just a lingering echo.
Li Rong couldn't stop Li Chuan. In fact, she couldn't stop any ambitious monarch.
Su Yongqing laughed. "Your Highness, I don't have a choice."
Li Rong was speechless.
For a moment, she suddenly felt that this person was both hateful and sad.
She poured herself a cup of tea and didn't say anything.
She had already asked the most important question. Even if she already knew the answer before asking, she still wanted to ask again. Now that she got a definite answer, she didn't have any other thoughts.
The two of them were silent for a long time. Just after dusk, the carriage arrived in front of the princess's residence.
Pei Wenxuan was waiting at the entrance of the princess's residence. Before he arrived, he had already ordered people to clear the area. Today, the princess's residence was surrounded. Under special circumstances, it was normal to seal the road.
After the area was cleared, there was no one in front of the princess's residence. He stood guard at the door with his hands in his sleeves. When he saw the carriage approaching, he nervously clenched his fists.
When the coachman saw Pei Wenxuan, he stopped. Before he could call out "Lord Pei", Pei Wenxuan strode forward and lifted the curtain.
Li Rong didn't expect Pei Wenxuan to come so quickly. She was a bit stunned as she held the tea. Then, she saw Pei Wenxuan's cold eyes sweep over Su Yongqing's clothes on the ground. Then, he looked up at her.
Li Rong suddenly felt an inexplicable psychological pressure. She coughed lightly and explained, "Wenxuan, that …"
"Your Highness, come down first."
Pei Wenxuan said calmly and reached out his hand to Li Rong.
The calmer Pei Wenxuan was, the more flustered Li Rong was. She quickly put her hand on Pei Wenxuan's hand and let Pei Wenxuan help her down the carriage.
Su Yongqing turned his head and lowered his head to pour tea for himself.
As soon as they got out of the carriage, Pei Wenxuan took off his coat and put it on Li Rong. He said gently, "Your Highness, are you cold?"
"I'm not …" Li Rong subconsciously wanted to refuse. After all, it was almost April. But before she could finish, Pei Wenxuan held her shoulder and said firmly, "You're cold."
Li Rong was speechless.
She had no choice but to be cold.
She didn't dare to speak and just put on Pei Wenxuan's coat. Pei Wenxuan called for the Jing Lan, who was guarding the door, to come over and help Li Rong into the carriage.
Li Rong saw that Pei Wenxuan didn't intend to go in with her and couldn't help but worry. She was afraid that he would do something rash. After all, Cui Yulang's punch had been hung in the imperial court for a few days.
Few people would care if Cui Yulang was punched, but if Su Yongqing was punched, it wouldn't be a small matter.
But she was afraid that if she said too much, Pei Wenxuan would misunderstand that she was protecting Su Yongqing. She held back her words and could only say, "Let's go in together, hm?"
Pei Wenxuan knew what she was worried about. He smiled gently and said softly, "Your Highness, you can go back first. I'll come back after saying a few words, hm?"
Since Pei Wenxuan said this, Li Rong couldn't say anything else. She could only look back every few steps and reluctantly let the Jing Lan help her into the carriage.
When Pei Wenxuan saw that Li Rong had returned to the residence, he was stunned. He came back and lifted the curtain of the carriage again.
Su Yongqing knew that Pei Wenxuan came back alone. He looked up coldly and said, "Assistant Minister Pei, what advice do you have for me?"
Pei Wenxuan smiled gently and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Assistant Minister Su, this one has to remind you that the incense on your body is for internal servants. I hope that Assistant Minister Su will remember."
Su Yongqing's gaze suddenly turned cold. Pei Wenxuan smiled and nodded as a greeting. He then lifted the curtain in his hand and put it down, isolating the faces of the people inside. He then happily turned around and left.
When he caught up with Li Rong, his face was full of pride. Li Rong saw his smile and couldn't help but feel strange, "What did you say to him?"
"Ah? Nothing. "Pei Wenxuan smiled," I just praised him. The incense on his body smells good. "
Li Rong was speechless. She knew that Pei Wenxuan had a dog's nose. She had smelled the incense on Su Yongqing's body from her previous life. It was impossible that he didn't smell it.
She remained silent for safety. After a while, she deliberately changed the topic, "You're strutting around the princess' residence. Aren't you afraid that people will see you?"
"Today is a special day. I already had people clear the area in advance. Right now, only the inner courtyard and my people are still outside."
Pei Wenxuan quickly answered Li Rong's question. He didn't wait for Li Rong to ask again and continued, "The memorial has already been sent to the cabinet. It should reach His Majesty tonight. You can also rest assured that there will never be enough money for the Ministry of Revenue. It's not easy for His Majesty to collect money. He can't give money to Qin Lin. Your Highness, please rest assured. "
As the two spoke, they walked into the room in the inner courtyard. As soon as they entered the room, Pei Wenxuan turned around and blocked Li Rong's path.
"Right now, there's only one question left."
Li Rong heard his serious tone and felt a bit afraid.
She didn't know what she was afraid of. She felt as if she had done something wrong. She pretended to be calm and stood in place. Then, she saw Pei Wenxuan reach out and put his hand on her face. His voice was full of pity and interrogation, "Did he hurt you?"
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