Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan walked out of the palace together. Li Rong suddenly remembered, "You're not going to the government office today?"
"I had something to discuss with you," Pei Wenxuan explained, "I just heard that you were in the palace, so I came directly."
"Oh?" Li Rong was a little surprised, "What made you come here in such a hurry?"
"Today's Imperial Court reported a great victory at the front lines." When Pei Wenxuan said this, Li Rong raised his eyebrows. Then he heard Pei Wenxuan continue, "There's a dispute over the list of generals that Xiao Su reported to receive rewards."
Li Rong immediately understood what he meant after hearing his words.
Xiao Su was Consort Rou's older brother. He used to be from a poor family. After studying for a few years, he relied on his relationship with Consort Rou to rise up the ranks.
This time, Li Ming defeated the Yang Family and sent Li Chuan to the battlefield. By manipulating Li Chuan, the aristocratic families were forced to contribute. It took a lot of effort to stabilize the situation in the northwest. In the end, Li Ming slowed down Li Chuan on the eve of the meritorious service and forced Xiao Su to be the main general on the battlefield. This anger was probably still weighing on the Shangguan Family's heart.
The Shangguan Family was a famous family for hundreds of years and had many in-laws in the Imperial Court. This time, the major families in the Imperial Court probably contributed a lot to fight against the Yang Family.
Xiao Su was from a poor family and was a sharp blade that Li Ming used to suppress the aristocratic families. Even if the people on the reward list weren't his people, they definitely wouldn't be from the aristocratic families. The aristocratic families had spent a lot of effort in the early stages. If they didn't get back what they had lost, how could they relent?
So now that the front lines were victorious and the list was sent back, the aristocratic families immediately quarreled with Li Ming.
"Then what did they say?"
Li Rong turned a small fan in his hand and said thoughtfully, "They can't touch Xiao Su. Consort Rou is favored. If they could touch him, they would have done it long ago. They can only pick up soft persimmons. "
As he spoke, Li Rong remembered something, "Which generals did Xiao Su report?"
"There are a total of 17 generals," Pei Wenxuan said, analyzing, "Most of them are from the imperial examinations, poor families, or second-rate families."
"Is Qin Lin inside?"
Li Rong immediately asked. Pei Wenxuan shook his head, "He wasn't here, but Qin Feng was. I heard the battle report. Xiao Su must have been afraid that Qin Feng was too inexperienced, so he gave the credit to his uncle. But we're all family, so it doesn't matter. "
Li Rong agreed. Qin Lin was still too young. It was indeed not good for him to stand out too early. However, as long as the Qin Family could gain a firm foothold in the Northwest, it was only a matter of time before Qin Lin rose to prominence.
"Then," Li Rong tapped the table, "the aristocratic families will probably make trouble for these ordinary generals. His Majesty won't just stand by and watch."
"Yes," Pei Wenxuan agreed, "His Majesty called my second uncle over at the next court session."
Since Pei Lizhi, the Pei Family had been the core of Li Ming's support against the landowning households. After Pei Lizhi's death, Pei Lixian continued his path. Although his talent was not as good as Pei Lizhi's, he still occupied the position of Provincial Secretary.
Although this position was not like Pei Lizhi's position as the Left Servant of the Provincial Secretary, which governed the Six Ministries and had actual executive power, it still had the power to rebut and review. It was very close to the Emperor.
The reason Li Ming called Pei Lixian over was probably to discuss how to take a bite out of the northwestern border with the aristocratic families.
Li Rong didn't say anything. Pei Wenxuan sat on the side. After a while, he said, "What does Your Highness think?"
"Today, I had an argument with Imperial Mother."
Li Rong calmly said, "She wholeheartedly wants Chuan'er to marry someone from the Shangguan Ya Family, especially someone from the Shangguan Family. She was very angry about what happened at the palace banquet yesterday and reprimanded me and Chuan'er. "
"What did Your Highness say?"
Pei Wenxuan knew that Li Rong wouldn't give in to Shangguan Yue so easily, so he directly asked Li Rong for his response. Li Rong slowly said, "I clearly explained the pros and cons to Imperial Mother. There was no need for Chuan'er to marry someone from the Shangguan Ya Family. It would only invite disaster. However, she didn't seem to listen. "
"It's impossible for Her Highness to listen."
Pei Wenxuan lightly sipped his tea and said, "After all, Her Highness is the daughter of the Shangguan Clan and is inseparable from the Shangguan Clan. This time, the war at the northwest border caused the aristocratic families in the imperial court to bleed a lot. If we don't use the Crown Prince's Consort as a reward to appease the aristocratic families, the Shangguan Clan will feel that it's unfair. Her Highness will have to bear too much pressure."
Li Rong remained silent. Pei Wenxuan knew that Li Rong was thinking. After waiting for a while, he couldn't help but chuckle, "Why is Your Highness worried?"
Li Rong was quite puzzled. She raised her head and looked at Pei Wenxuan, who had a somewhat curious expression, "What?"
"Actually, this matter doesn't have much to do with Your Highness," Pei Wenxuan analyzed, "Just let the aristocratic families fight with His Majesty. If the aristocratic families win, they will support the Crown Prince, so it won't be a big problem. If His Majesty wins, a portion of the people recommended by Xiao Su will be our people, and the other portion will be our people. What does Your Highness have to worry about? "
Li Rong muttered to herself. After a long time, she slowly said, "Do you really think that after the aristocratic families arrange for their people to go to the northwest border, their people will be our people?"
Pei Wenxuan smiled but didn't say anything. He lowered his head and poured tea. Li Rong saw that he had no desire to answer, so she couldn't help but ask, "Why aren't you talking?"
"Your Highness, you have to ask yourself this, not me."
"What do you mean?"
"Your Highness, in your previous life," Pei Wenxuan looked up with a calm expression, "wasn't it an aristocratic family?"
Since Li Rong became the Princess Royal and Li Chuan ascended the throne, they were no longer on the same side.
"Your Highness's power in your previous life is completely equivalent to His Highness the Crown Prince's power?"
Li Rong was speechless.
Pei Wenxuan put his hands in his sleeves and smiled gently, "Only when I'm alive, Your Highness has always needed His Highness the Crown Prince's help, so Your Highness will always stand with His Highness the Crown Prince. If one day I'm no longer here, and the Princess Royal is the only one in power in the imperial court, the Princess Royal's sharp blade may be His Highness the Crown Prince. "
Li Rong looked up at Pei Wenxuan. She quietly looked at Pei Wenxuan. After a long time, she finally said, "Then, does your power belong to me?"
"I don't know the future. But at least at this moment, "Pei Wenxuan answered sincerely," even Pei Wenxuan belongs to Your Highness. "
Li Rong was slightly stunned. She looked at Pei Wenxuan's clear eyes. She knew that Pei Wenxuan was talking about government affairs, but she still couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat.
She forced herself to look away and look out the window. She stroked the patterns on the golden fan and continued, "You should contact Qin Lin. If he needs any help, send it to him. As for the imperial court, I'll have Tuoba Yan secretly help the Qin Family, but don't let anyone else know about this. The farther the Qin Family's relationship with me and His Highness, the better. "
"Understood."
After Pei Wenxuan finished speaking, the two didn't speak much. After a while, Li Rong turned her head and looked Pei Wenxuan up and down. After a long time, she sighed, shook her head, and turned her head away.
Pei Wenxuan was confused by Li Rong's gaze. He couldn't help but ask, "What does Your Highness mean?"
"Pei Wenxuan," Li Rong said helplessly, "why are you being promoted so slowly?"
When Pei Wenxuan heard these words, he lightly looked at Li Rong and said as if nothing had happened, "Your Highness, it seems that you're not favored enough. Otherwise, I would be promoted very quickly."
"Look at your little mouth," Li Rong lightly tapped Pei Wenxuan's hand with her fan, "it's really annoying."
Pei Wenxuan laughed and ignored Li Rong. He took out a booklet, lowered his head, and didn't say anything else.
In the next few days, Li Rong had people closely monitor the movements of each side. The imperial court was endlessly arguing about the rewards for the generals at the border. The core wasn't about money, but about the position.
There was a carrot and a hole. If one person was given a position, the other person couldn't. After the collapse of the Yang Family, the northwest was such a big piece of meat. Everyone wanted a piece of it. Thus, every day in the imperial court, the aristocratic families attacked the people selected by Xiao Su. Every time Li Ming wanted to reward someone, they said that there was something wrong with that person. Li Ming wanted to reward someone, but the Hall of Governmental Affairs refused to give the order. When the Hall of Governmental Affairs finally gave the order, the Hall of Governmental Affairs rejected it, saying that there was something wrong with that person.
Li Ming was so angry that he smashed things in the palace all night. When the aristocratic families proposed a list of rewards, Li Ming directly tore it up and refused to reject it.
The two sides were in a deadlock for several days, quarreling every day in the imperial court.
Pei Wenxuan was in the Censorate. Although his position wasn't high, he was Li Ming's core fighting force. After all, when it came to quarreling, Pei Wenxuan could easily beat ten people by himself. Thus, every day when Pei Wenxuan came back, he was so tired that he wanted to die. He lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
Li Rong didn't want to disturb him, but every time she went back to bed, she would hear Pei Wenxuan ask in a daze, "You're back?"
"What did you do today?"
Li Rong didn't know whether he was awake or not, but she answered his questions. She slept enough every day and was very energetic. She had enough energy to answer Pei Wenxuan's questions.
Her days were much more leisurely than Pei Wenxuan's. What she did the most every day was walking around, contacting acquaintances, going to teahouses to listen to scholars' discussions, and seeing if there were any talents she could get close to.
Perhaps her days were too boring. After casually saying a few words, Pei Wenxuan fell asleep.
Li Rong couldn't help but find it funny. She didn't know what kind of habit Pei Wenxuan had. He had to say a few words to her before he was willing to fall asleep.
In the blink of an eye, they quarreled for five or six days. Li Rong called Shangguan Ya out and secretly inquired about the news from her. She guessed that the aristocratic families wouldn't quarrel anymore and would probably take action for real.
They couldn't do anything to Xiao Su or Li Ming, so they had to find one of the officials who had been rewarded and kill the chicken to warn the monkeys so that they would know the difficulty and retreat.
If they had to choose one person to scare, of course, they had to choose the toughest among the group of soft persimmons who occupied the best position.
Li Rong took the list and looked around. She guessed that the person these aristocratic families planned to make a move on should be Xiao Su's most valued Shannan Jiang family. Even if they didn't, it should be some other people who were close to Xiao Su.
If the aristocratic families made a move on Xiao Su's people, it was equivalent to making a move on Li Ming's people. Li Ming would certainly not let it go and would most likely strike back fiercely. In this way, when the aristocratic families were tired, Li Rong could secretly come forward to persuade the aristocratic families and Li Ming to choose a bunch of unrelated second-rate aristocratic families to fill the positions.
Li Rong's abacus was very good. She even prepared the list of candidates. Who would have thought that on the eighth night, when she was sleeping, there was the sound of hurried footsteps outside?
It was raining heavily that night, and the sound of the rain drowned out the sounds outside. Li Rong could only vaguely hear the sound of people intertwining with the sound of rain. She was still in a daze when someone raised a hand to cover her eyes and reminded her, "The lights are on."
Li Rong woke up. Pei Wenxuan slowly let go of his hand to let Li Rong adapt to the light. He got up and said, "I'll go out and take a look."
As he spoke, Pei Wenxuan put on his clothes, got up, and walked out.
When Li Rong saw the Jing Lan come in and light the lights, she knew that something must have happened. She didn't panic and got up to put on her clothes. Just as she finished putting on her outer robe, she saw Pei Wenxuan turn back.
His expression was extremely ugly. He held a piece of paper in his hand and said coldly, "The Ministry of Justice has sealed the Qin Family."
Hearing this, Li Rong suddenly looked up. "What?!"
"Yesterday afternoon, the Censorate handed in a report. It said that the Qin Family was involved in the Yang Family's case and colluded with the Yang Family to betray the country. The Ministry of Justice handled it overnight. The Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Supreme Court issued a search warrant together. At this moment, the Southern City Army has already been mobilized to surround the Qin Family. "
"Then why are you still standing there?!"
Li Rong shouted and directly said, "Go to the palace immediately and report to His Majesty. I'll bring people over."
"Why are you bringing people over?" Pei Wenxuan grabbed her and said anxiously, "If you go over, the Qin Family's relationship with you and the Crown Prince will be exposed!"
"If I don't go over, they'll have all the evidence after the search! Who cares if it's exposed or not?! "
Li Rong reached out and pushed him away. She didn't even have time to take an umbrella before she shouted and called for people to rush out.
Pei Wenxuan gritted his teeth. In the end, he still asked for a horse and rushed into the palace with the token.
Li Rong led people all the way to the Qin Prefecture. When she arrived, she discovered that the Qin Prefecture was filled with cries and shouts. The Qin Prefecture was tightly surrounded by soldiers. Li Rong didn't dare to rashly go out. She stood in the dark and observed the situation, thinking of countermeasures.
The heavy rain made the entire world foggy. It was impossible to see her surroundings clearly. Li Rong stood in the rain, shocked and angry.
How did these people see the Qin Family?
She had already secretly asked Tuoba Yan to bribe the deceased Qin Family. Moreover, the Qin Family wasn't as eye-catching as the Shannan Jiang Family. No matter how she looked at it, the aristocratic families shouldn't have started with the Qin Family.
Li Rong took a deep breath. She decided to ignore everything else and go up to stall for time. However, as soon as she moved, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Li Rong's skirt. Li Rong suddenly turned around and saw a hand reaching out from the bamboo basket next to her.
Li Rong flipped the basket over and saw a teenage girl squatting inside. She was trembling and her face was pale. Li Rong immediately recognized her as Qin Zhenzhen's maid. Li Rong squatted down and said calmly, "I know Qin Lin. I'm here to save you. Where's your young lady?"
The girl's lips trembled. She raised her hand and pointed to the north. She stammered, "Run … run …"
Li Rong immediately understood what the girl meant. She stood up and led the others to chase in the direction she pointed.
Based on her understanding of Qin Zhenzhen, although Qin Zhenzhen was naïve to the point of naivety, he was not stupid. She must have known something had happened and left with something.
Li Rong chased for a while and saw sword marks on the walls of the alley. Li Rong followed the sword marks and soon saw blood. The blood was quickly diluted by the rain. Li Rong tried to distinguish the rainwater, blood, sword marks, and all kinds of signs of fighting in the dark.
The marks spread all the way to the end of the narrow alley. It seemed that the end of the alley was used by ordinary people to store things. The things were piled half the height of the wall. Everyone subconsciously chased behind the wall.
Li Rong did not move. She glanced around and fixed her eyes on a wooden box in the middle of the pile of things.
She quickly stepped forward and lifted the lid of the wooden box. At that moment, a cold light cut through the night rain. A blood-stained sword was pressed against Li Rong's neck.
Li Rong looked at Qin Zhenzhen, who was covered in blood and had a pale face. The girl seemed to have been seriously injured. She gasped for breath and was only inches away from Li Rong.
Qin Zhenzhen looked at Li Rong carefully, holding the sword in his hand very firmly.
Li Rong looked down at the girl in front of her, who looked like a fighting beast. Her expression was calm. After a long time, she said calmly, "Put the sword away."
"I'm here to save you."
"How can I believe you?"
Qin Zhenzhen said in a hoarse voice. Li Rong looked at him calmly and said, "If you don't believe me, just kill me."
Qin Zhenzhen did not speak. She clenched the sword in her hand tightly. After a long time, she put the sword away and struggled to get up from the wooden box.
Li Rong supported her. Qin Zhenzhen was injured and his wounds began to bleed when he moved. She pressed the blood on his wounds and said, "Let's go."
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