Red Mansion Rebirth: Ghost Phoenix

Prince Li Zheng received the news after attending court.

The prince was a little confused: "You said the Crown Princess went to Yiqiu Palace?! She left Cheng'en Palace? And brought Brother Tao with her?!"

"The palace is fumigating itself with medicine." Qinghai looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped.

The prince reacted: "What's the situation with her maid?"

"I'm not sure. I checked and found that the maid has been saying two different things to the Crown Princess and the concubines in recent years, trying to sow discord.

"But she is indeed the Crown Princess's maid, and her whole family is in the Mo family. This shouldn't be the case.

"Early this morning, Kai Lan, who is beside the Crown Princess, sent a message back to the Mo family, asking them to investigate this girl's background. I think it will take about ten days or half a month to find out the whole story."

Qinghai was also confused.

The prince sneered: "There are really hidden dragons and crouching tigers around me!"

Qinghai said nothing.

The prince glared at him: "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"That's right." Qing Hai bowed helplessly, "But Your Highness, you are the crown prince of the Eastern Palace, the future ruler of the world. If you are surrounded by mediocre people, it doesn't seem so worth talking about!"

The prince choked.

Chang Ying on the side couldn't help but lowered his head, pursed his lips and sneered.

"A flattering villain!" The prince glared at Qinghai again and said to Changying, "Don't learn your master's bad habits! He only relies on my good temper, otherwise he wouldn't have enough heads to chop off even if he had eight!"

Chang Ying bowed with a smile on his face and said, "It is precisely because of the Crown Prince's tolerance that Master Qing dares to joke and relieve your fatigue."

In one sentence, he praised the prince, made a perfect excuse for his master, and characterized the teasing as "relieving fatigue."

"Listen, listen! You should learn it too!" The prince regained his attention and couldn't help asking Chang Ying, "Did Wang really come up with those two outstanding dishes at yesterday's meal?"

"It should be considered as such." Chang Ying bowed respectfully, "Wang Chenghui took a look around the kitchen and gave some suggestions on what to make and how to do it. Li Dianshan is also a kitchen veteran, so he will naturally learn it as soon as he hears it."

The prince was silent for a moment, then suddenly murmured, "I wonder what Yi Qiu Palace will have for lunch today."

Chang Ying said: "I heard it was a hot pot."

"Wang seems to love hot pot." The prince chuckled.

This time Qinghai and Changying both laughed.

Chang Ying said, “Two years ago, when Wang Chenghui took the princess to eat hot pot, he himself did not eat meat, but insisted that the princess should eat some meat and eggs when she was young and growing.

"So I thought about asking the Yiqiu Palace kitchen to make the hot pot smaller so that everyone can eat their own food. This way, there will be no waste and the taste will not be forced.

"I heard that we are going to eat a small pot like this today."

The prince suddenly realized: "The Crown Princess likes to be clean, so I'm afraid she won't be happy to eat from a big pot with others. She doesn't eat much, and it won't look good for her to occupy a big pot alone..."

But thinking about it, I felt unhappy again, "Why haven't I eaten this kind of small pot before?"

Qing Hai laughed, "The small kitchen in Yi Qiu Palace is really cunning! The snacks that Geng Chenghui is thinking about, the new dishes that Wang Chenghui is thinking about, and the bowls, plates and utensils for the side dishes that Mei Liangyuan is pointing out, they are never told to the kitchen.

"How many times has Li Dashao complained to me about this?"

The prince smiled and knocked on the table: "Then we will also have hot pot for lunch! Ask the chef to ask the Yiqiu Palace kitchen for two sets of small pots!"

Qinghai poked Changying with the whisk in his hand and said, "Why don't you go and tell the kitchen?"

Changying agreed with a smile and ran out quickly.

"Yesterday, six more officials found my private residence and left a lot of things." Qinghai held a stack of gift lists in both hands and presented them to the prince, "Here is the name list and gift list."

"Only six families?" The prince glanced at the pile of things with disdain, and did not even touch them. He waved his hand and asked Qinghai to put them away himself. "It seems that in the eyes of those people, I, the prince, am still a cold stove even if I am the regent!"

"That may not be the case." Qing Hai stuffed the gift list back into his arms, but put the list on the table, and said with a smile, "Maybe everyone has seen you start to supervise the country, and they know that they don't need to be scheming anymore, and just need to do their job well and be loyal to the emperor and the country!"

The prince sneered, "Father, if you are lenient with your old ministers, I will let them do whatever they want even if they want to! I have to teach them a lesson and let them know what the rules and regulations are!"

He lowered his head and searched the desk, then ordered, "Call Luo Ting."

Luo Ting is the Left Secretary of the Eastern Palace, 58 years old, formerly the Minister of Personnel. Because of his maturity and prudence, he is particularly trusted by Emperor Shengping, so he was specially transferred to the prince to be the Left Secretary eight years ago, responsible for half of the Eastern Palace.

The prince also knew that he had a fiery temper and was afraid that he would act too hastily, so whenever he wanted to use drastic measures, he would consult Luo Ting.

If even this man feels that he should take a risk, then it means that things can no longer be tolerated.

Luo Ting arrived at that moment. The Crown Prince did not exchange pleasantries. He gave him a seat and handed him a list directly: "Reports from all parties. I have already circled those that I think are acceptable. Mr. Luo, please take a look to see if there are any omissions."

Luo Ting took the list and the relevant memorials and checked them one by one. After a full hour, he returned the list to the prince and said, "I have heard of half of these people.

"The other half, if the report is true, he should at least be dismissed from his post."

He paused, took it back, squinted his eyes, thought for a moment, pointed at two of them and said, "This one may be wrongly accused. He was born in a poor family, enforced the law with integrity, and served in Chang'an County, so he must have offended many people.

"As for this one, even if Shangguan's words are exaggerated, he is not wronged at all.

"I still remember that after he passed the imperial examination, he knelt in the Xuanzheng Hall and cried bitterly, saying that his family had fallen on hard times and he was the only one left. He was so happy to be favored by the emperor that he would sacrifice his life for him...

"I was in the palace at the time, and I thought this man was strong because he had no desires, and he might be a good official.

"Who would have thought that in just a few years, he could actually afford a hundred acres of fertile land, three large houses, wives, concubines, children, and servants! If he wasn't greedy, I wouldn't believe anything he said!"

The prince took the list, glanced at it, and nodded: "Jia Hua...Okay! This person can be re-appointed!"

If you pick up the cinnabar pen, you will be dismissed from your post.

After discussing the list again, the prince picked out only the magistrate of Chang'an County and demoted all the others with red ink and sent them off one by one.

At noon, the prince invited Luo Ting to dinner as if nothing had happened: "We have a hot pot. It's a trick that the women in the back house came up with. It's a small pot. You can eat whatever you want or how much you want. It's fun to cook it yourself."

Luo Ting raised his eyebrows and smiled flatteringly: "Oh? I'd like to see this for myself!"

The small hot pot, four meats, four dishes, two sides and one dessert were served. Luo Ting saw how to eat them and immediately praised them: "This is a really good way to save money and not waste anything!"

He also praised the Crown Princess, "The Crown Princess has always been calm and low-key. Now that she has been taught well, the East Palace will have such a smart and thoughtful person to come to the fore.

"Congratulations, Prince. A harmonious family brings peace and happiness!"