Reborn Concubine, Be Respectful First

The assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice committed the serious crime of deceiving the emperor and was reported to the court by important officials.

This news exploded among the people like thunder, and people started talking about it. Various voices intertwined to form a complex picture of public opinion.

In teahouses and pubs, guests gathered together to chat, and all of them made this matter the topic of conversation for the day.

Someone shook his head and sighed, saying with emotion: "The Minister of Justice is an important official of the court. He should have performed his duties conscientiously, but for his own selfish interests, he deceived the emperor and really betrayed the emperor's trust."

His words revealed his disappointment and regret at the behavior of the Vice Minister of Justice.

In the streets, peddlers and hawkers were also discussing the matter in private.

Some people said indignantly: "This assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice usually bullies the people and now he finally gets his comeuppance. It's really gratifying!"

Their words were full of resentment and dissatisfaction towards the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

And those common people who had been persecuted by the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice were even more excited.

Some accused with tears in their eyes, some cursed with gritted teeth, and all expressed their desire to see the Vice Minister of Justice receive the punishment he deserved.

Although their voices were faint, they were still heard by someone who was interested. He once again looked for evidence and reported it to the emperor.

Prince's Mansion.

Helian Yan looked at the court officials kneeling in front of him, rage burning in his heart.

It feels like there's a lump in my throat and I don't know how to relieve it.

Dressed in a luxurious purple brocade robe and a golden belt around his waist, his tall and straight figure immediately appeared in the main hall, giving people an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"Your Highness, the mastermind behind Minister Liu's incident must be the Zhang family. I have seen that old fox Zhang He has recommended his student to Your Majesty. Although we have also recommended someone from the He family, we are afraid that Your Majesty will become suspicious. The person we recommended is relatively young and has a non-close relationship with us. I am worried..." Marquis Wu'an and Duke Jiang were the only two people sitting there.

At this time, only two people dared to speak.

After several days of bad luck, he was reprimanded in the court and in the palace.

Even someone as powerful as the crown prince found it difficult to accept this for a while, so Marquis Wu'an and Duke Jiang looked at each other and realized that the current dilemma was extremely difficult to resolve.

The position of the Crown Prince is secure, but the private actions of the First Prince and the Fourth Prince in recent days have annoyed them greatly.

"Uncle, please tell me what I should do to break the impasse!" Helian Yan looked at the dark courtyard with deep eyes.

It was as if I could see through the darkness, the dark hand behind the scenes, the coldness in his eyes, the desire to tear the other person apart.

"At the moment, we can't just sit there and wait for death." Wu Anhou said, "We must find a way to take the initiative. We can only say that we should attack instead of defend. If they show us a bit of respect, we should return it double."

The prince frowned and asked, "What good advice do you have, uncle?"

"We can spread some news that is unfavorable to the eldest prince and the fourth prince. We can startle them first and then catch them. At the same time, we can arrange for our people to propose some proposals against them in the court." Duke Jiang suggested.

The prince thought for a moment and nodded, "This plan is feasible. But we must act carefully and not let the emperor notice our intentions."

"In addition, we must also strengthen our own strength." Wu Anhou continued, "We can recruit some talented people and cultivate our own power."

The prince nodded slightly to show his agreement.

"One more thing." Lord Jiang added, "We must pay attention to the Zhang family's movements and not let them take advantage of us again."

The prince said with a firm look in his eyes: "Well, I will send someone to secretly monitor them. Uncle and father-in-law, I leave this matter to you."

Seeing that the prince was sincere and not as arrogant as before, the two men felt less worried.

"Your Highness, Concubine Su and the wife of Chu Wei, the commander of the Northern Pacification Division, are sisters after all, so their relationship should not be too strained. Although Prime Minister Meng does not participate in the disputes among the princes, it will be much easier for us if he can turn a blind eye to our people. What's more, this lady's cousin, Lord Song, is Prime Minister Meng's favorite student. In the case of the Jiangnan Salt Administration, Prime Minister Meng only took Lord Song with him. Now, in the eyes of the emperor, he has a positive impression. Your Highness, if it is our relationship, we will not be able to use it and it will be easy for us to switch sides. Wouldn't that be equivalent to giving the First Prince and the Fourth Prince even more power?" Duke Jiang was also disdainful and talked about the things in the harem in the Prince's Mansion.

However, although he was happy, he saw that the road to the Earl of Yong'an's Mansion was getting narrower and narrower.

No one competed with his daughter for power in the Prince's mansion and the backyard, but nothing big had been accomplished and there was too much internal fighting.

What is constantly being consumed is the fortune of the Prince's Mansion.

In the past, one could ignore it because the prince’s family was the only one in power. But now, one can see that someone is dividing up the prince’s connections in the court.

As someone who had experienced changes in the imperial court, how could Duke Jiang not be vigilant?

Not to mention that he did not ascend to the supreme power, even if he did, the local vassal kings might still rebel.

Therefore, this was something that Duke Jiang had to say in front of everyone after he had thought deeply about it.

Wu Anhou still had a certain impression of the person that Jiang Guogong mentioned: "Is the lady that Jiang Guogong mentioned the one who caused a big disturbance in Changyin Pavilion? She also made the wife of Zhenbeihou faint in anger?"

"Exactly!"

"Hmph, such an arrogant person, who wanted to slander my son in public and tried to sabotage the marriage granted by the Emperor. It is simply unreasonable!" When mentioning this person, Marquis Wu'an was furious.

Duke Jiang: “…”

He looked at the person who was holding him back without knowing what was going on. When his retainer reminded him, Duke Jiang's eyes widened and he said in dissatisfaction, "Marquis Wu'an, you should focus on the prince's important affairs! In other words, Marquis Wu'an has other ways to pull Zhang Tongzhi over, which would be a slap in the face of that old guy Zhang He!"

When Duke Jiang said this, Marquis Wu'an said angrily, "That's not a bad idea!"

"Then I'll wait and see!"

Helian Yan listened to the conversation between the two and had his own considerations in mind.

"Your servant pays respect to the Crown Prince, the Duke, and the Marquis!"

At this moment, the guards around the prince came in to report.

Helian Yan glanced at the other person and saw that he was sure that there was something important, so he waved his hand and signaled him to speak quickly.

"Reporting to the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess just sent someone to say that the people sent out have discovered a mine fifty kilometers west of Fengshui County. The Crown Princess has already asked someone to draw a detailed map." As he spoke, the guard took out a neatly folded piece of paper.

When Lord Jiang heard that his daughter had discovered the mine, he could no longer suppress the smile on his face: "Rou'er is truly our lucky star. With this mine, Prince, our current problems will be solved."

"Yes, yes, Prince, the Prince is very happy!"

"The Crown Prince is very happy, the Crown Princess is truly a lucky star!"

Helian Yan looked at the drawings in his hand and was not as happy as others had expected.

"Prince?" Duke Jiang immediately noticed the prince's abnormality: "Prince, do you think Rou'er did something wrong?"

"No, father-in-law is worrying too much. I'm just thinking about the mine. We can put it aside for now. Let's send someone to block the news and protect it. After all, those places are rarely visited by people," Helian Yan said thoughtfully.