If I were born again, I would marry a strong but short-lived husband.

Emperor Fu was so angry at Empress Dowager Mu that he couldn't eat for three days.

Suzhou.

What a wonderful place that is.

How can I give it to Prince Chen?

He summoned He Zhiyuan, who was recuperating from his injuries, into the palace to discuss countermeasures with him.

Emperor Fu was shocked when he saw He Zhiyuan, who had not attended court for several days.

"My dear, what happened to you? You have lost so much weight and your complexion doesn't look good." Emperor Fu was worried. "I will ask the imperial physician to check your pulse later. Your injury doesn't look serious. Why haven't you recovered yet?"

Really weird.

He Zhiyuan's wound had actually already scabbed over, but a few days ago, when he learned that He Jingyao had been captured, he was so angry that he accidentally pulled the knife wound, causing blood to seep out.

He had been busy these days mobilizing personnel to go to Yong Dynasty to rescue his nephew, and he looked haggard because he had not had enough rest.

"Thank you very much for your concern, Your Majesty. My injuries have improved a lot and are not serious. It's just that I've been thinking about Your Majesty's current situation day and night, so I've been a little sleep deprived." He Zhiyuan said.

His whole heart was on He Jingyao, and he only found out yesterday that the Second Prince had been ill for several days.

"Your Majesty, how is the second prince doing?" He Zhiyuan asked.

Emperor Fu's eyes flickered, "After the imperial physician prescribed medicine, there has been some improvement in the past two days."

"Your Majesty, the Queen is becoming increasingly intolerant of the Imperial Concubine and the Second Prince." He Zhiyuan said in a low voice.

"The Queen wants to give Suzhou to Prince Chen as a fiefdom." Emperor Fu said.

He Zhiyuan's face changed. Suzhou was an important hub where he was planning to build a port. How could he give it to Prince Chen?

"Your Majesty, you must not do this!"

"I know it very well, but the Queen Mother loves Prince Chen very much. She ordered me to give Suzhou to Prince Chen." Emperor Fu was a filial son. He could refuse the Queen, but he could not refuse the Queen Mother.

He Zhiyuan knew that there was no way to salvage the matter when he heard this.

"Your Majesty, it is urgent to disintegrate the power of the aristocratic families and strictly prohibit them from raising private soldiers. After your planning and scheming over the years, the power of the aristocratic families has greatly declined, but the poor families are still unable to truly form a three-way balance with the aristocratic families."

"I know." He wanted to weaken the real power in the hands of the aristocratic families, but the reality was more difficult than he imagined.

Changing the imperial examination from once every ten years to once every three years broke the aristocratic families' monopoly on official positions. The imperial examination system did indeed produce a group of children from poor families for his use, but they were far less than those from aristocratic families.

Children from aristocratic families can also take part in the imperial examinations. Since they have been taught by famous teachers since childhood and have no shortage of money, their chances of passing the exam are higher.

Class stratification cannot be changed overnight.

In addition, the Enfeoffment Order had no effect. Originally, the Enfeoffment Order was supposed to disperse power within the aristocratic families and weaken their overall strength, but under Ruan Danyang's manipulation, the aristocratic families were surprisingly united.

Emperor Fu really put all his energy into this.

"Your Majesty, don't the Crown Prince and the Ruan family want to set up a Zhenfu Division? Then let them do as they wish. The Zhenfu Division will obey Your Majesty alone. You can use the Zhenfu Division to deal with the aristocratic families and bring the imperial power into your hands. This is actually a good thing for Your Majesty." He Zhiyuan said in a deep voice.

Emperor Fu: "Prime Minister He, are you confused? The Pacification Division is in the hands of Prince Chen. By then, the imperial power and the noble families will be in his hands."

He Zhiyuan smiled, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and the Ruan family didn't say that the Zhenfu Division can only be handed over to Prince Chen. Can't the Emperor's people take charge of the Zhenfu Division?"

"!" Emperor Fu was enlightened.

He is really narrow-minded.

It is a good thing to set up the Pacification Office.

Even if the Prince of Chen is put in charge of the Pacification Office, as long as all the people under him are arranged by him, the Prince of Chen is nothing more than a figurehead.

What's this?

Emperor Fu's depressed mood of several days suddenly became clear.

He laughed heartily, "My dear, you really are worthy of being my confidant. Good, good!"

He Zhiyuan smiled faintly.

"I will prepare a list for Your Majesty, and Your Majesty will select capable talents from it."

"Let this be done as soon as possible," Emperor Fu said.

He Zhiyuan looked at the emperor's relaxed brows, but his lowered eyes did not show much loyalty.

After exiting the Yangxin Palace, He Zhiyuan headed towards the prince's residence.

On the way, he met Fu Jinyuan who had just left the Cining Palace.

Although they have fought against Fu Jinyuan several times, they have never had a head-on confrontation.

"Your humble servant greets His Royal Highness Prince Chen." He Zhiyuan sat upright in a wheelchair. Although he bowed with his hands clasped, his attitude was still superior.

Fu Jinyuan looked down at him condescendingly, neither saying "excuse me" nor asking to stand up.

He Zhiyuan straightened his back calmly and looked up at Fu Jinyuan.

"The Prince seems to be living more comfortably in the Southern Dynasty." He Zhiyuan smiled faintly.

Glancing at He Zhiyuan's wheelchair, Fu Jinyuan raised an eyebrow, "Not bad."

"Your Majesty, my nephew was young and ignorant in the past. I will discipline him strictly in the future. Now Suzhou is in your hands, and it is only a matter of time before the Pacification Office is established..."

Fu Jinyuan seemed to be smiling as he listened to He Zhiyuan's insincere words.

If He Zhiyuan wanted to personally form a caravan to go out to sea, Suzhou would be his best choice. In the entire Southern Dynasty, only Suzhou was the most suitable place to build a sea port.

If Suzhou became his fiefdom, would He Zhiyuan be willing?

"Lord He, your nephew is indeed young and ignorant. The adults at home did not teach him well, so we have to let outsiders teach him." Fu Jinyuan said slowly.

He Zhiyuan's face darkened when he heard his meaningful words.

"You captured my nephew just to threaten me. Tomorrow morning, no one will object to giving you Suzhou Prefecture, and the Pacification Division can also be established, but Chen Wangfei must release He Jingyao."

Fu Jinyuan showed a surprised look, "Master He, you must have made a mistake. I haven't seen your nephew for a long time. How can I let him go?"

He Zhiyuan said coldly, "Shen arrested him. Is the prince really an official who knows nothing?"

"Why was your nephew caught by the princess?" Fu Jinyuan asked.

"The princess is far away in Yong Dynasty. How can your nephew travel thousands of miles to be detained by the princess?"

He Zhiyuan couldn't say that He Jingyao was stupid, as he went to capture Shen Sui'an by himself and ended up being ambushed.

"I have already said it before, He Jingyao was ignorant and offended the prince and princess last time in Yong Dynasty. He went to Yong Dynasty this time to apologize, but he didn't expect to be misunderstood by the princess."

"My Lord, he wants to bring the princess back to the Southern Dynasty."

Fu Jinyuan really wanted to applaud He Zhiyuan's shamelessness.

He seems to be a very arrogant person, how could he say such shameless words.

"I didn't know that Lord Xiao He was so kind-hearted that he even wanted to help me bring the princess back."

He Zhiyuan lowered his eyes, thinking about He Jingyao's life, he had to lower his head, "He just wanted to make amends to the prince."

"I will ask the princess when she comes back. If this is true, it is just a misunderstanding." Fu Jinyuan said with a smile.

What this meant was that if Shen couldn't return safely, his nephew He Jingyao would not be able to appear alive.

He Zhiyuan gritted his teeth and swallowed his anger.