After rebirth, the Prime Minister's wife always wanted to leave her father behind and keep her

Cheng Songan paused for a moment while picking up the food with his chopsticks, then put them down again and said, "I don't have any plans."

Cui Yuanqing filled a bowl of bird's nest with rock sugar, stirred it gently with a spoon, and placed it in front of her: "Why did you choose to help King Xiang ascend the throne?"

Cheng Songan was speechless. The reason for her joining the King of Xiang was simple, because she knew the outcome. The King of Xiang would definitely ascend to the throne. In her previous life, she had never asked about the affairs of the court. She only knew that after he became the emperor, he had civil officials headed by Cui Yuanqing who governed the country and issued benevolent policies; and he had brave military generals headed by Lu Qingshan who recovered the border cities.

Before her death, King Xiang was considered a wise ruler with some political achievements. She had never had any substantial contact with King Xiang, and she didn't know how he won Cui Yuanqing's attention when he was still a nobody and assisted him all the way.

Seeing that she didn't answer and stopped eating, Cui Yuanqing scooped a spoonful of bird's nest and put it to her mouth. Cheng Songan also subconsciously opened her mouth and ate it. The two didn't notice how tacit and natural this behavior was.

"How can a weak woman like me help such a noble prince?" Cheng Songan refused to admit, "I just met Princess Xiang by chance."

When Cui Yuanqing heard her talking about a weak woman, he sneered as if he had heard something funny, and then said, "Well, you and Princess Xiang met by chance, but what about Ning Zhao? You deliberately instructed him to please the Saint and let him show his face in front of the Saint. Was that also a coincidence?"

Cheng Songan nodded reluctantly: "How would I know that he could show his face in front of the saint? He admires his grandfather and has not been able to see him for many years. I just taught him to behave well."

Cui Yuanqing saw her guilty look and said, "You asked him to be so obedient, which is too risky. If you didn't deliberately try to figure out the emperor's will and understand Ning Zhao, you wouldn't be able to come up with such a unique method."

Before Cheng Songan could explain further, Cui Yuanqing stared into her eyes and asked faintly, "Where did you get the name Zheng Ji?"

Cheng Songan immediately kept silent. This man was too smart and had a good memory. He remembered everything clearly. If he said a few more words, he would be able to bring out more. The more he spoke, the more mistakes he made. Only by not saying anything could he guarantee that he would not make mistakes.

In order to stop talking about this topic, she pushed the bird's nest away and shouted, "What the hell is this bird's nest? It's sticky and greasy, it's all swallow's saliva. What's the point of eating it? I want to drink a cup of osmanthus wine."

Cui Yuanqing was stunned and shook his head, "No, Doctor Sun said that you can't drink alcohol for three months."

Cheng Songan curled her lips and said, "I thought I had my period, but now I find that I haven't. It's strange. Could I have another illness? Doctor Sun will come again tomorrow, and I will ask him."

Cui Yuanqing turned his eyes away from her, ordered the maid to come in and take away the food, and did not want to discuss the illness with her, so he turned his attention back to King Xiang.

"No matter what, we are both people who support King Xiang," he said calmly, "Then I will let you know what I have done. If you want to do anything, you can also tell me, and I will definitely help you."

Cheng Songan felt an indescribable feeling in her heart. She asked in surprise, "Why do you have to let me know all this? Even the Empress of the harem cannot interfere in government affairs. If I participate in everything, wouldn't it be considered restless and unfaithful to my wife?"

Cui Yuanqing laughed loudly, then looked at her intently: "Husband and wife are relative. If there is no husband's virtue, there is no need to talk about the wife's virtue. Cheng Songan, you are such a smart person, your heart is not at ease in the inner house, right? Then I will let you do whatever you want."

Cheng Songan met his eyes, felt his seriousness, felt a warm feeling in his heart, and lowered his head silently.

Cui Yuanqing held her face in his hands and said word by word: "I know you are not a swallow under the eaves. I have never thought of raising you as a house sparrow."

Cheng Songan took his hand away nervously. If he continued like this, she might waver.

She stood up and returned to the bedside, saying calmly, "Master Minghua is compassionate and has helped the world with his weak body. I have received his kindness and I want to repay him. Therefore, what I do is not out of any ambition. Cui Yuanqing, you said that everything in the past is in the past. I will not ask about your difficulties, and you are not allowed to ask about my secrets. Let's walk together for the people of this area, okay?"

Cui Yuanqing stood up, gently put his arms around her head, let her lean on his waist, and begged again: "Can't you live your whole life?"

Cheng Songan did not answer. He could put Xue Tingyun's life aside, but she could not just give up her own life unless he gave her his life back.

After a long time, Cui Yuanqing let her go and told her all about what he had done in Jiangnan. The candidates from Jiangnan went to the Confucian Temple to cry not on their own initiative, but were deliberately organized by Si Tui. The purpose of this move was to uncover the full picture of the collusion between the Jiangnan nobles and the bureaucrats through the imperial examinations, and then break this monopoly bit by bit, so as to replace the officials in Jiangnan and try to implement the new policy.

Speaking of the new policy, Cui Yuanqing sighed, "It's OK for the people in good years, but in bad years, they have no food to eat and have to borrow money. However, the bureaucracy is rampant, and the nobles have joined forces. After layers of exploitation, the interest is compounded into usury. As a result, the people are living in poverty, and even in good years, it is difficult to sustain.

Afterwards, Zheng Ji's point of view was mentioned again. If the bureaucrats in the south of the Yangtze River could not be moved, the imperial court could step in and convert the stored grain in the Changping Warehouse and Guanghui Warehouse into capital, and lend it to ordinary people at an interest rate of 20% to ease the phenomenon of usury exploitation among the people, and then wait for the repayment in summer and autumn.

Cheng Songan listened silently, his heart pounding. Zheng Ji's policy had been implemented in his previous life, but it was proposed by a man named Su Zhi. But in this life, Su Zhi didn't even get a place, and his essay was mediocre. It seemed that Zheng Ji had completely replaced him.

Instantly, she understood that Zheng Ji and Su Zhi were both Cui Yuanqing's men, or they were most likely the same person. No matter who they were or what their identities were, this new policy would be proposed. Cui Yuanqing's success was never accidental, he had made preparations for every step.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Cui Yuanqing saw that she was looking at him straight, and there seemed to be some long-lost admiration in her eyes. He couldn't help but feel surprised and asked with some embarrassment.

Cheng Songan lowered her eyes embarrassedly. She seemed to understand a little bit why she was attracted to Cui Yuanqing in the past.

"Nothing." She tilted her head slightly and looked to the side. "I was thinking, if you in my dream could talk to me more, I probably wouldn't die of depression."

Cui Yuanqing took a deep breath and wanted to say something, but Cheng Songan said, "This method is good, but it may not last long."

In her previous life, she only lived through the first two years of the new policy, and had no idea what happened afterwards. But she could imagine that the aristocracy and the bureaucracy were one, and if they were broken today, they would unite again tomorrow. By then, the counterattack would be even more intense, and the people would suffer even more.

Cui Yuanqing's eyes moved: "You also saw it?"