bayedsolid Chapter 142 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (46)
Chapter 142 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (46)
The emperor's final choice was He Pingyan. Upon hearing this name, both the second and seventh princes felt a tremor in their hearts.
Everyone knows that the He family father and son are completely unyielding in officialdom.
Entrusting this matter to He Diaoyu, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was enough to make them feel troubled.
As a result, the emperor issued another order, adding He Pingyan to the list as well. The emperor nodded: "He Pingyan has returned from the border. Let's see if he has learned anything new!"
When Lu Liruan heard the news, her hand paused while she was writing.
It sounds like the emperor's own idea, but Lu Liruan felt that Ji Shumin had planned it all out.
The second prince barely managed to maintain his composure as he left the imperial study and returned to his courtyard. There, he ordered the eunuchs to close the doors and windows tightly.
He sat in the chair, his chest heaving, his eyes practically blazing with fire...
After a moment of silence, he couldn't help himself and suddenly swept everything on the table onto the floor!
The teacups and teapot made a crisp, cracking sound.
How could this happen! Who did this?!
When the Second Prince received this assignment, he was secretly overjoyed.
This matter should have been handled personally by the Crown Prince.
In late spring, the Crown Prince should personally visit the south, accompanied by imperial censors, to reform the officialdom.
When the news hit him, the second prince even felt that the emperor preferred him to be the crown prince! Because of this, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep for nights on end.
Who wouldn't want to be the ruler of the world? Having witnessed the allure of the throne, how could he possibly be willing to give it up? Heaven is helping him! The crown prince has become crippled. Isn't this Heaven telling him that he is the one destined for greatness?
This job was not only a symbol of the emperor's favor, but also a job with many hidden tricks and a lot of lucrative opportunities.
The officialdom in the south was in chaos, and the emperor was determined to rectify it in order to establish his imperial authority.
As a result, officials at all levels in the south were also living in fear and unease. When the emperor was angry, blood flowed for miles, and many people had already lost their lives.
They want money and power, but they don't want to lose their heads.
With the crown prince in trouble, they sought alternative paths. Those who felt guilty, those who wanted to get things done, and those who wanted to use connections and influence all made contact with him...
Taking advantage of this, the Second Prince vigorously developed his influence in the south, making money and establishing prestige. He originally planned to bring the southern faction under his command this year, which would surely come in handy one day.
Who knew this would happen?
The South is wealthy, and as the head of a faction, money is naturally of utmost importance. The Second Prince's maternal family is not prominent, and if he wants to do something, he needs both people and money.
After the Crown Prince got into trouble, this was something he was eager to do.
Fortunately, someone handed me a pillow when I was dozing off...
The bribes and gifts he received from secretly colluding with officials and gentry in the south satisfied the second prince.
The men he sent, under the guise of transporting official silver and taxes collected from confiscated property, secretly mixed in the money intended as a special gift for the Second Prince, intending to haul it all into the capital.
Anyway, the Second Prince's gains weren't recorded in the ledgers, so he figured out a way to secretly take them away without anyone noticing. The Second Prince had already made connections.
Unexpectedly, just as they were about to enter the capital, and before the Second Prince's plan could be implemented, this accident occurred.
Now, nothing can be transported out, the account books are gone, and everything else is under tight guard by the soldiers.
What evidence is there to prove that the Second Prince's share was not obtained through tax levies and confiscation of property?
This approach was completely misguided, and all the efforts the Second Prince had put in were destined to be deposited into the national treasury! The Second Prince was so anxious that his heart was bleeding, but he couldn't show it to the Emperor!
He did this so discreetly that if the emperor found out, he would definitely be in big trouble.
Such a large sum of money
The duck that was almost in his grasp flew away, and the Second Prince's resentment was so intense that it felt like his internal organs were being displaced...
From the moment he heard the news, he hasn't closed his eyes to sleep!
Now he not only can't get back the money he gave as a gift, but he also has to do favors for others.
If he were to renege on his promise or make exorbitant demands for tribute from those people because of this incident, he would lose the support of the people.
After all, he intended to make friends with them, not to make enemies...
But now it seems, without this money, how can I smooth things over, how can I get things done for others, and how can I solidify my relationship with the Southern faction?
Those people were all seasoned veterans in officialdom. Even if they were willing to secretly support the Second Prince, in reality, if he showed any signs of weakness, the Second Prince knew that these people would never remain loyal to him.
Before receiving any real benefits, these people are all opportunists, easily swayed by the wind...
Do you expect me to put my own money into it?
Even if he put all his savings into it, he still wouldn't have that much money!
The whole thing was planned perfectly, flawless, but who knew this would happen at the crucial moment...
The second prince was so anxious that his mouth was sore, but he had to keep a straight face, as if this matter had nothing to do with him.
His firm boasting in the imperial study and taking on the task of investigating this matter in front of the emperor was not only to salvage his position in the emperor's heart, but also to find an opportunity to secretly switch the pieces and carry out a covert operation.
We'll find a way to get our share...
The First Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was already troublesome enough, and now He Yanping has been added to the mix.
The second prince sighed deeply, unable to think of a way to deal with the father and son.
You can't bribe him, and you can't get rid of him either.
What should we do...?
Are we just supposed to watch helplessly as that money goes into the national treasury?
After smashing things, the second prince paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back.
He didn't even know who to discuss it with. He initially thought of telling his mother, but then he realized she was just a woman in the palace.
Born of a less noble lineage than Consort Rong, she could not provide any assistance to herself, nor did she have the same broad vision. All she knew was to nag and urge herself on.
Thinking of this, the second prince became even more annoyed.
The Seventh Prince showed neither joy nor anger; as long as the Second Prince didn't take all the credit, he could tolerate it.
Ji Shumin sat in his study, looking at the note with a special embossed pattern on his hand.
The book has been finished.
It's clearly a coded message.
After burning the note, Ji Shumin maneuvered his wheelchair to Lu Liruan's side, where his Crown Princess was seemingly oblivious to the world around her, eating a sweet treat.
Seeing Ji Shumin approach, Lu Liruan picked up a piece of almond cake and held it to his lips.
Ji Shumin raised an eyebrow and took a bite from Lu Liruan's hand.
The pastries were crumbly, and Lu Liruan carefully used her other hand to support his chin and catch the falling crumbs.
"Tch—" Lu Liruan laughed.
"What is the Crown Princess laughing at?"
"It's nothing, it just reminds me of when I was a child, when my younger brother was also in this situation," Lu Liruan said honestly.
She has now developed a habit of watching Ji Shumin eat.
Without proper nutrition, nothing else matters, but Ji Shumin was eating too little.
Lu Liruan tried to persuade him several times, but he just ignored her listlessly. So Lu Liruan came up with a solution: eat small meals frequently and keep some snacks in the house.
Thus, feeding His Highness the Crown Prince in various places became Lu Liruan's daily routine.