Chatting and laughing, it was lunchtime soon.

"The last time we got together was two years ago. It's a pity Xie Chang'an didn't come today!" Yun Shu sighed.

"Can't you shut your mouth even if you eat?" Ye Jinghe glanced coldly at Yun Shu.

Why bring up such an unlucky person?!

The thought that the emperor would appoint Xie Chang'an as the deputy commander of the Eastern Palace Guard made Ye Jinghe even angrier!

If my brother is ever really kidnapped by Xie Chang'an, it must be the emperor's fault!

"The group isn't complete right now. It will be complete when Zeming returns from the northern frontier in a year!" Ye Jingchen said with a smile.

"Ze Ming has also prepared gifts for you, all of which are specialties from Northern Xinjiang. Remember to take them with you when you leave."

"Why don't we all raise a toast to Prefect Wu? When he returns to the capital, he'll surely be the most sought-after new official in the court!" said Ye Jingming, the current Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who is in charge of evaluating officials.

Everyone raised their glasses and toasted the north.

Of course, the pregnant woman wasn't drinking alcohol; it was a soup that had been simmering on a low flame for half a day, specially prepared for her.

After the meal, the three little ones went back to class, the pregnant woman was arranged to rest, and the others went to the garden again, but in a different spot where they could continue to bask in the sun.

Ye Jingchen invited them not only to catch up but also to discuss serious business.

He took out a stack of letters and contracts, which were evidence of collusion between aristocratic families and the Northern Barbarians. He handed over the ones related to the Gu family to Gu Beichen and Ye Jingyu, so that they could handle them themselves.

Of the four great families, the Ji family did not participate, Ye Jingchen of the Gu family was still useful, the Jiang family was not dead but not forgotten, and the Wang family was the first to be affected.

Besides these four major families, many other families also cooperated with the Northern Barbarians.

Once this evidence is released, they will surely be condemned and denounced by the people, their reputations ruined. Then the imperial court can seize the opportunity to strike, and they will be severely punished, if not killed.

Ye Jingchen's attitude towards the aristocratic families has always been clear. The harm they have caused to Dayuan and the persecution they have inflicted on the common people is obvious to anyone with eyes. Therefore, they all know that sooner or later, Ye Jingchen will settle accounts with the aristocratic families.

And now, that day is finally approaching.

They will all be the spears Ye Jingchen uses to attack the aristocratic families, and they are willing to become those spears.

Besides dealing with the powerful families, there are other things to discuss.

With the northern barbarians completely driven out, there will be no major wars in the northern frontier for at least ten years, and there will be no need to station so many troops. Therefore, veterans will definitely be demobilized, and the resettlement of demobilized soldiers is also a problem.

With the national treasury full and so many veterans needing resettlement, Ye Jingchen felt that infrastructure construction could begin. Digging canals, building dikes, repairing roads, and reclaiming wasteland were the foundations for making Dayuan prosperous.

With good infrastructure, Dayuan will be able to withstand natural disasters and man-made calamities, and the lives of ordinary people will get better and better.

They all grew up under Ye Jingchen's influence, sharing similar ideas and policies for governing the country. They could discuss matters much faster than the officials in the imperial court; before the sun had even set, they had already formulated a general plan.

After discussing the matter, they each left with local specialties from northern Xinjiang.

Yun Shu stayed until the very end. Under the immense pressure of Ye Jinghe's gaze, he hesitantly approached Ye Jingchen and said he wanted to talk to him privately about the recent rumors circulating in the capital.

Ye Jingchen had a premonition that the rumors he was talking about might be related to Xie Chang'an, so he took Yun Shu to the study alone.

When Ye Jinghe was abandoned, the way he looked at Yun Shu was quite dangerous.

"On the Lantern Festival, the celestial dog devours the moon! The sun and moon lose their light, and the sky and earth are dark!" Yun Shu solemnly said sixteen words to Ye Jingchen.

The meaning of these sixteen characters is simple and straightforward; even a three-year-old child can understand it.

For people of this era, nothing is more awe-inspiring than heaven and earth, and the sun and moon. Ordinary people rely on the blessings of heaven for their livelihood.

If rumors spread too widely, it can easily destabilize public sentiment. If someone plots against the emperor's rule and incites the people to oppose his rule, it could lead to major chaos.

Therefore, after hearing this rumor, Yun Shu did not dare to be careless and kept investigating the source of the rumor.

Unfortunately, he had limited manpower, and after investigating, he found nothing.

However, the fact that it cannot be found is even more problematic!

"How many people know about this rumor?" Ye Jingchen asked Yun Shu.

He wanted to know how far Xie Chang'an had gone in his propaganda.

“Many people have heard of it, but most people don’t take it seriously,” Yun Shu said.

“But there’s clearly something wrong with this rumor,” Yun Shu emphasized.

"The timing is too precise?" Ye Jingchen asked, knowing what he was worried about.

"The phenomenon of a celestial dog eclipsing the moon is not impossible, but who can predict the timing so accurately before it actually happens?"

“If the lunar eclipse doesn’t happen on the Lantern Festival next year, then this rumor will be meaningless. But if it does happen on the Lantern Festival, and there’s still a month and a half until next year’s Lantern Festival, regardless of how the person spreading the rumor knows about something that hasn’t happened yet, once the rumor is confirmed, it will definitely cause panic!” Yun Shu’s expression was particularly serious.

As someone in the know, Ye Jingchen admired Yun Shu's keen insight in this regard.

"Does the Director of the Imperial Observatory know about this?" he asked.

“I mentioned it to the Supervisor, but he said that we cannot report it to His Majesty until we are certain that there will be no unusual phenomena on the Lantern Festival,” Yun Shu said, frowning.

It's normal for the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to have concerns, since celestial phenomena are such ethereal and unpredictable things. If they report it to the emperor and launch a massive investigation, only to find that the rumor was just something some bored person spread to amuse people, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau couldn't afford to incur the emperor's wrath for being mocked.

Ye Jingchen thought for a moment and said to Yun Shu, "I will find an opportunity to tell Father about this."

"It's always good to be prepared," he added, trying to justify himself.

"Your Highness, you're so kind!" Yun Shu looked at Ye Jingchen with teary eyes. "I knew you understood me. Only you wouldn't think I was making a mountain out of a molehill!"

When he was a chubby little boy, his teary eyes were just cute. But now that he's a handsome man, a handsome man with teary eyes is more than ten times more attractive than a cute chubby little boy.

Ye Jingchen looked away; he was now a married man and had to uphold traditional male virtues.

"Leave this matter to me. You should observe the celestial phenomena more closely recently and try to figure out something!" he said.

Yun Shu left the study in high spirits, and as soon as she stepped outside, she came face to face with Ye Jinghe, whose face was gloomy.

"If you dare hit me, I'll scream for help!" Yun Shu shrank back, threatening him with a fierce but weak voice.

"Is something wrong with you?" Ye Jinghe glanced at him coldly, brushed past him, and walked into the study.

Feeling like she had been given a second chance at life, Yun Shu quickly fled the East Palace.