Reborn to marry a playboy, the scumbag kneels down and calls me aunt

"Shen Xuanheng, are you kidding me?"

A flash of mockery flashed across the Third Prince's narrow, long eyes. "It's not that I underestimate you, but you've been recuperating at home these years, not asking about court affairs, and you don't know how to handle prison affairs. If I let you act as the acting head of the Ministry of Justice, wouldn't that be chaos?"

The emperor did not express his opinion immediately, but instead looked at Shen Xuanheng, wanting to hear how he would respond to the third prince's words.

Shen Xuanheng was calm and composed, and he slowly said, "Your Highness is right. I have indeed been recuperating for many years, but the matters of the Ministry of Justice, big or small, do not need to be handled by the Minister of Justice. Under the Minister, there are left and right assistant ministers, and under the assistant ministers, there are big and small principals. The Minister of Justice only needs to make decisions and coordinate the general direction. Moreover, the emperor now needs someone who can get things done and will not bend the law for personal gain to sit in the Ministry of Justice. Your Highness also knows that I have been sick since childhood and I am afraid that I will not live long, so I have no interest in money and things. So if I take over the position of the Minister of Justice, firstly, I will not be partial to others and commit fraud, secondly, I can share the worries of the emperor, and thirdly, I can also fulfill a small wish of my own."

"Oh? Xuanheng, if you have any wish, just tell me. As long as it complies with the rules, I will approve it. Why go to so much trouble?"

The emperor had a pleasant expression and acted like a kind elder.

The third prince's mouth twitched, and for a moment he was actually a little doubtful about who the emperor's biological son was.

Shen Xuanheng looked longing, and said with his head held high: "Your Majesty, the Zhennan Palace has been loyal for generations. My father and several brothers have all sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. It's a pity that I have been weak since childhood and cannot contribute to the country. Maybe one day I will be bedridden and unable to move. So before that, I also want to share the worries of the country and serve the emperor, so as not to disappoint the reputation of the Zhennan Palace for generations of loyal people."

"Okay, okay." The emperor was delighted and said without hesitation: "Since you have this intention, I will give you a chance. From today on, you will serve as the acting Minister of Justice."

"Father... I'm afraid this is against the rules..."

The third prince suddenly became anxious. Now among the six ministries in the court, he and the eldest prince were equally powerful. However, if the Criminal Ministry fell into the hands of Shen Xuanheng, he would be inferior to the eldest prince on paper, which was definitely not what he wanted to see.

"Okay, it's settled. No need to say more." The emperor made the final decision and interrupted the third prince. However, he then patted Shen Xuanheng on the shoulder and said in a serious tone: "But the Ministry of Justice is in your hands, so you must manage it well. If there are any omissions, and it turns out that my family's wrongful case has caused public outrage, then I will inevitably punish you."

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will never let you down."

Shen Xuanheng bowed and a smile appeared on his lips.

After a few more idle chats, Shen Xuanheng stood up and said goodbye.

After leaving the imperial study, he heard staggered footsteps behind him. If nothing unexpected happened, it should be the Third Prince who followed.

"Please stay, my lord."

Shen Xuanheng paused and turned around.

"Third Prince, is there anything else?"

The Third Prince smiled faintly, his expression gentle, "I was too concerned about what happened today, I hope you don't take it to heart."

"Your Highness's suspicion is reasonable, so why would I take it to heart? Moreover, any suspicious matter should be boldly speculated and carefully verified. For example, my wife was assassinated, and the mastermind behind it was the Blood Robe Building. But how could a gang of assassins have the courage to assassinate the Crown Prince's Consort of the Prince of Zhen'an's Mansion?"

Shen Xuanheng looked at the Third Prince meaningfully, and added: "So I would also boldly speculate whether there is another mastermind behind the Blood Robe Building."

The Third Prince remained calm and smiled, "What did your Highness deduce?"

Shen Xuanheng raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a meaningful smile, "Now that we have a suspect, we should carefully verify it."

The Third Prince's eyes fixed, and then he said with his hands behind his back, "If the Crown Prince finds out the real murderer, you must tell me. Then I will ask the Emperor for an imperial decree to severely punish the murderer."

"Thank you very much, Third Prince."

The third prince nodded slightly, then walked away.

Shen Xuanheng stared at the back of the third prince, thoughtfully.

Half an hour later, at the Prince of Zhennan's Palace.

The four-room courtyard with red bricks and black tiles was filled with a faint sweet smell. The small stone table in the yard was filled with cakes and pastries. Su Xuqing put her legs together and spread the medical book on her legs. She took small bites of the cake in her hand. Colorful crumbs were scattered all over the book and her dress.

The courtyard door was pushed open, Su Xuqing looked up, her eyes were like peach blossoms.

"My husband, you're back so soon."

The sky, which was windy and rainy in the morning, was now clear and sunny. The sunlight shone on Shen Xuanheng's handsome face, as if a layer of gold was coated on a beautiful jade.

He smiled gently and stroked Su Xuqing's face lightly with his fingers.

"I was thinking of you, so I came back quickly."

"It's weird again!"

Su Xuqing smiled sweetly, pulled Shen Xuanheng's sleeve and sat down, then pointed at the cakes on the table and said, "This is something that the owner of 'Xu Fuji' sent over to thank me for treating his wife. Come and try it."

Shen Xuanheng didn't move, just opened his mellow lips.

Su Xuqing's beautiful eyes were filled with shyness as she picked up a piece and fed it to him.

"Well, have you made everything clear?"

Shen Xuanheng bit off half, leaving a crescent shape on the oval hazelnut pastry.

"Not only did this trip help me get through the problem, but I also gained something unexpected."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Su Xuqing listened to him while making tea.

Shen Xuanheng half-closed his eyes and said, "I don't know when Shen Chejin, this idiot, got together with the Third Prince. Today, when I met the Emperor in the Imperial Study, the two of them suddenly attacked. Although the Third Prince's words and actions were reasonable, I always felt that he was smiling but hiding a knife."

Su Xuqing was delighted when she heard this. She didn't expect that Shen Xuanheng would start to suspect the third prince so quickly.

"My dear, I heard that the Third Prince is a cruel and vicious person who does things by any means necessary. Do you think he has been dealing with us behind the scenes?"

Su Xuqing said this in order to increase Shen Xuanheng's suspicion of the Third Prince so that he would be careful of this person in the future.

Shen Xuanheng seemed to be thinking about something after hearing this, and slowly said: "Your guess is not impossible, but it is understandable if he is targeting me. The Zhennan Palace is so powerful that it threatens the master, and I am the kind of person who is not easy to control, so he secretly poisoned me and put me to death. But why would he target you? You didn't offend..."

Halfway through his words, Shen Xuanheng's face suddenly darkened as he remembered what the emperor had said.