The evil woman becomes the concubine and the villain is crushed to ashes

Prime Minister Mu turned his cloudy but shrewd eyes towards the Third Prince.

The Third Prince noticed Prime Minister Mu's gaze, and the anger on his face dissipated slightly, replaced by a smile.

"Grandfather, what do you think?"

Prime Minister Mu did not answer, but asked directly.

"It seems that the Third Prince has an idea. Why bother asking me, an old man? Does the Third Prince have any ideas? Just tell me directly."

The third prince was not embarrassed when he was pointed out. After thinking about it, he spoke frankly.

"Grandfather, this is what I think. Now, looking at the reputation of the Xie family and the Xiao family in the capital, we know that the gap between the two families has widened. I wonder if we can win over Xie Yunchuan and the Xie family?"

Prime Minister Mu remained silent.

The third prince continued, "This is what I think. Now that the end of the year is approaching, the most important thing after the Spring Festival is the imperial examination. Xie Yunchuan is the Minister of Personnel. After the palace examination is over, it will be a matter of arranging positions for the Jinshi."

"If we win over Xie Yunchuan and the Xie family, we can then better arrange suitable tasks for our people. Among them, there must be our people, and the Minister of Personnel is the most powerful official. If Xie Yunchuan is willing to join us, can't we go further? Grandfather, do you think I'm right?"

Prime Minister Mu chuckled with an ambiguous meaning, but he did not directly object, but asked.

"The Third Prince is promoting the Xie family, what should the Xiao family do? The Xiao family and the Xie family are in such a mess. If they knew what the Third Prince was planning, they would probably be the first to oppose it."

"The message from the housekeeper just now also shows that Xiao Yuanshan came here suddenly. From his words, he is worried that the Third Prince will try to win over the Xie family. If he knew about the Third Prince's plan, he would probably have objections. How will the Third Prince deal with it?"

"Do they dare to object?"

The third prince said unhappily, "My mother and I have paved the way for them, but they still fell. Now I need people to do things for me. What's wrong with winning over the Xie family? What objection can the Xiao family have? How dare they have any objection? If they have any objection, then they will continue to sit on the bench!"

The third prince spoke with confidence.

"It just so happens that things went wrong this time, and I haven't figured out how to deal with them. As the saying goes, there is no order without rules. I have so many people watching. The Xiao family has done such a thing, I have to punish them anyway."

"Letting them sit on the bench is a punishment. They can't do anything anyway. It's good enough that they don't hold me back. For such a big event, their not taking action is the biggest help to me."

The third prince's tone was full of disdain and dissatisfaction towards the Xiao family.

Prime Minister Mu saw through it.

The butler standing nearby also noticed it, but he had been with Prime Minister Mu for many years and was very good at observing people's words and expressions. He was very well behaved and did not interrupt. With the two masters being here, it was not his place to interrupt.

Prime Minister Mu chuckled, but his smile revealed a hint of sarcasm.

The third prince also heard it and frowned, but he was still respectful to his grandfather.

"Why is Grandfather laughing? Did I say something wrong?"

Prime Minister Mu shook his head and looked at the Third Prince meaningfully.

"I'm not laughing at anything, and the Third Prince didn't say anything wrong. I just think that the Third Prince is still too young and too naive. The Third Prince only wants to win over the Xie family and ignore the Xiao family. Objectively speaking, there is nothing wrong with that."

"But why don't you think about it, Third Prince? This is all your own idea. What is the attitude of the Xie family? Don't be too enthusiastic when the time comes... In fact, I can see now that the Xie family has no such intention towards the Third Prince."

"After all, the Third Prince has extended the olive branch many times. If the Xie family really had this idea, they would have just accepted one and it wouldn't have dragged on until now. This is what the old man is laughing at."

The third prince looked unhappy, but still somewhat unwilling, because the Xie family was a big fish.

In the past, the emperor did not give up power, so I had no chance and did not dare to do so. But now the party struggle is in full swing.

If I had the Xie family, I would be even more powerful.

After all, the Xie family can really help a lot after the imperial examination is over, and there is more than one imperial examination, so they can be used again next time after this one. The third prince is really reluctant to part with such a useful person.

Upon seeing this, Prime Minister Mu continued speaking, but he mentioned something else.

"Third Prince, I always like to speak the truth to you. It's true that you want to win over the Xie family, but this kind of thing must be consensual."

"What's more, if the old man's previous information is correct, Xie Zhibai, the head of the Xie family, seemed to be very close to Prince Chen in the past. Who knows if the Xie family has other plans?"

"impossible!"

The third prince understood what the old man meant and immediately denied it with a cold snort.

"The Xie family has always been low-key and has never had this tendency. They are unwilling to join the party struggle, so how could they choose Prince Chen? Although Prince Chen is also a prince, all the civil and military officials in the court know the emperor's attitude towards him."

"Father has shown on his face that he doesn't like Prince Chen. The Xie family is not stupid, so why would they choose Prince Chen? Besides, Prince Chen is not Father's biological son. How can a bastard who came from nowhere be qualified to inherit the throne?"

"You were not born into the orthodox family. To me, you are not even an opponent. If the Xie family really has this plan, I will tell them about Prince Chen's life experience. If they really have this idea, they will immediately give it up and turn to me."

"Ah!"

This time Prime Minister Mu laughed even louder, without disguising it. The Third Prince was a little displeased. What he hated most was his grandfather's attitude of not saying things clearly and acting mysterious.

Isn’t it better to just say what you want to say?

You have to be sarcastic!

The Third Prince said impatiently: "What are you laughing at again? Did I say something wrong? Rong Jingchen is a bastard, isn't he? Grandfather, just speak frankly!"

Prime Minister Mu had laughed enough and indeed stopped, looking at the Third Prince helplessly.

"The Third Prince is good in everything except that he is too young. He doesn't think things through, his methods are immature, and he is too impatient. He can't get anything done this way."

"Although Rong Jingchen is not favored, he is very popular among the people. Even if he doesn't have that intention and the Xie family doesn't have any deeper dealings with him, it's not okay for the Third Prince to let his guard down like this."

The Third Prince's eyebrows were furrowed so tightly that they looked like they could kill a fly: "Prime Minister Mu, just speak frankly."

Prime Minister Mu sighed and said, "Even if it's not related to party disputes, it doesn't mean they are not enemies. The Xie family is a handy tool, but it's a pity that you can't use it. Just like the Prince of Chen to the Emperor, he is just a piece of scrap metal, and we may be hurt by him."

The third prince obviously didn't believe it.

Prince Chen has a unique and stubborn temper that is difficult to tame, but there are few people as stubborn as Prince Chen, at least not the Xie family, and the Xie family does not have the confidence to be so stubborn.

So the Third Prince said disdainfully: "How can you boost others' ambitions and destroy your own prestige? You actually compare the Xie family with Prince Chen? I really don't believe it!"