When Fu Ping returned to the imperial study, he saw the emperor's eyebrows slightly raised. Fu Ping quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it is indeed Concubine Duan."

The emperor rubbed his brows and said, "It's a shame she's so bold to bribe the ministers."

Fu Ping carefully observed his expression, trying to gauge his thoughts. Although he sounded impatient, he didn't harbor any intention of punishing him. He then said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Duan is also thinking about the princess. After all, she is your own daughter. What parent wouldn't consider their own children?"

The emperor turned the jade ring in his hand, his face unhappy.

Fu Ping then added fuel to the fire: "Although Concubine Duan's actions were a bit out of line, there are reasons for it. Your Majesty..."

"Enough," the emperor interrupted him coldly. "The princess has failed in her moral conduct, and Concubine Duan, as her biological mother, cannot escape blame. This decree is passed: Concubine Duan's words and deeds have been inappropriate, she has attempted to interfere in government affairs, and she has failed to provide for the princess's upbringing. Therefore, she is demoted to Zhaoyi, stripped of her title, and imprisoned in Yilan Palace to reflect on her mistakes."

Fuping was secretly delighted, and a flash of murderous intent flashed across the emperor's eyes.

"And you, put away those thoughts of yours. Do you really think I don't know what you are thinking?"

Fu Ping was shocked and knelt on the ground to beg for mercy: "Your Majesty, everything I said came from my heart. There is absolutely no falsehood, Your Majesty."

The emperor waved his hand impatiently: "Alright, I'm too lazy to listen to you. Call Chao En."

Fuping nodded repeatedly, stood up, bowed, and left the imperial study.

After leaving the imperial study, the panic in his eyes dissipated for the most part. The emperor clearly noticed his intention, but did not punish him. It seemed that the emperor's mind was not so simple, and he wanted to let Concubine Duan go.

Fuping waved a whisk in his hand.

"Master," the young eunuch ran over quickly when he saw him standing in front of the door.

"You've arrived just in time. The Emperor is calling for Chao En. Where is he?"

"I haven't seen him all day," the young eunuch shook his head.

Never seen...

Fuping lowered his eyes slightly and was about to speak when he heard hurried footsteps.

He looked up and saw Chao En.

"Eunuch Fuping." Chao En walked to the front and bowed to him.

Fu Ping pursed his lips and said, "The emperor has called you in to serve, so be careful."

Chao En nodded repeatedly and walked into the imperial study.

The young eunuch looked at his back and sighed, "How come he caught the emperor's eye?"

Fuping frowned and said nothing. The young eunuch looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to them. He leaned over to Fuping's ear and whispered, "Master, do you remember last time? We heard that this man was doing harm to you, so we secretly captured him, warned him, and threw him into the lotus pond. We saw him die when we threw him in, but we never expected that he would crawl out not long after!"

As if deliberately creating an atmosphere, his voice also had a bit of eerie undertones.

Fu Ping's subordinate turned the whisk around and hit him hard on the head with the wooden pole: "Speak properly."

The young eunuch covered his head in pain and stopped pretending to be mysterious. He spoke quickly, "Master, this Chao En is sinister. Every time I pass by him, I feel a chilling wind. I suspect..."

Fu Ping slammed his head again: "Are you trying to kill yourself? I don't want to hear such nonsense from you again!"

The young eunuch covered his head and looked at him pitifully.

Fuping's eyes were full of gloom.

Even if he really was a ghost, so what? If ghosts really existed, wouldn't there be enough wronged souls in this palace? Even if he turned into a ghost after death, how powerful could he be?

…

The next morning, the director of the Imperial Observatory presented the auspicious time he had chosen. The emperor, without even glancing at it, said, "Let's stick to this. Tell the Minister of Works that if time is tight, there's no need for a grand ceremony. Just keep it simple."

The director of the Imperial Observatory responded loudly.

The emperor was flipping through the book in his hand, and Fuping was standing beside him with a look of confusion in his eyes.

The books in the palace were all beautifully bound, and this kind of crude workmanship doesn't look like it came from the palace at all.

It seems more like...

Before he could think of anything, he heard the eunuch outside the room shout, "Master Jiang wants to see you."

The emperor froze in his movement as he turned the pages of the book, then he closed it and put it aside. After a moment's hesitation, he added a few more memorials on top of it. Seeing that the book was pressed tightly against him, he nodded with satisfaction: "Announce."

Jiang Zhiyu walked into the house and bowed.

"Sit down and talk," the emperor chuckled, and Fuping hurried over to pour her tea. Jiang Zhiyu took it and drank a few sips.

The emperor's eyes were full of smiles: "Why do you have time to come here today?"

Thanks to printing books, the Hanlin Academy made a lot of money. Now, the Hanlin scholars didn't even go to the Imperial College anymore, and stayed in the printing factory.

However, nowadays, almost everyone in Shengjing has a copy of this book. Seeing that the money coming in is getting less and less, the Hanlin scholars can't help but become anxious and pester Jiang Zhiyu to write another story.

Logically speaking, she should be very busy now.

Jiang Zhiyu pursed her lips and said, "It has been a long time since I last saw Your Majesty. I miss you so much."

I once had a cushy job, but I didn't cherish it. I only regretted it when I lost it. This is probably the most painful thing in the world.

Emperor: “…Puff.”

Jiang Zhiyu's tone of despair coupled with her face of despair made the emperor feel so surprised that he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Sensing Jiang Zhiyu's suspicious gaze, the emperor explained, "I simply couldn't contain my inner joy at the thought of the princess's upcoming wedding."

The Director of the Imperial Observatory: “???”

When they were discussing the princess's marriage just now, he didn't see that the emperor looked happy at all!

When talking about the arranged marriage, Jiang Zhiyu couldn't help but complain in her heart.

"Isn't this just a random matchmaking? If you were to grant the marriage, you should have done some research first. The Third Minister and Miss Xu were in love, but with what you've done, a perfect couple has suddenly become a couple of enemies."

【What a sin.】

emperor:"……"

He just randomly pointed at someone, who knew he had someone in his heart.

Although the emperor now only felt annoyance towards Xiao Qingwu, Xiao Qingwu still held the title of princess after all, and her identity could not be made public. After the emperor knew the truth, he weighed the pros and cons and chose the safest way - granting a marriage.

On the one hand, it can stabilize Concubine Duan and make her think that she knows about the two siblings. The emperor will be furious, but this anger will subside sooner or later, and she will not act rashly. He also has enough time to find out the truth of the year and how many people are involved.

Secondly, it can also stimulate Xiao Siyuan. If he wants to come back early to stop it, he will spend more time and energy on the battle with Wala. Jiang Kang'an took three years at the beginning. With Xiao Siyuan's qualifications, it would probably take several times longer.