Seeing that Jiang Jinyi was hesitant and unwilling to speak, Jiang Xiancao frowned and said impatiently:

"You made me come all this way, and I spent so much time and effort to find a suitable excuse to meet with you. Do you have any useful information to show? If not, don't blame me for being angry!"

As Jiang Xiancao spoke, she pretended to go out to find Marquis Wen Ning. Jiang Jinyi hurriedly grabbed her sleeve, but she shook him off.

"If you have something to say, just say it. Don't bother with me."

Jiang Jinyi lowered his hands and said softly:

"Your Majesty, do you remember what you said to me at the Empress Dowager's blessing banquet?"

Jiang Xiancao raised an eyebrow. "Remember. I said that if you could help Jiang Huaizhu contact the remnants of Tianming Pavilion privately, I would give you some rewards. But the performance of the Third Young Master Jiang afterwards really disappointed me."

Jiang Jinyi clenched his hands into fists in his sleeves.

He regretted his original choice more and more. If he could let go of his so-called "conscience" earlier, he would not have been suspended from office along with Jiang Jinyan, nor would he have become a victim in the eyes of his father and grandmother, and a stepping stone for Jiang Jinyan to return to officialdom.

But the past cannot be changed, all he can do is seize the opportunity now.

"At the time, I didn't think clearly and failed your kindness. But now I have figured it out. And there's something I happened to hear about, and it's related to the Second Young Miss. I think your Highness will be interested."

Jiang Jinyi spoke vaguely, but Jiang Xiancao still grasped the key point.

Is it related to the second young lady?

She calmly lowered her eyes, "Oh, what is it?"

Jiang Jinyi looked at her for a while, then suddenly knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, Jinyi can tell you this, but..."

Jiang Xiancao knew what he wanted to say, but deliberately ignored him and waited to hear this upright gentleman speak out his dark plans himself.

Jiang Jinyi held it in for a long time, and finally said with a red face:

"Jinyi has betrayed his family by speaking this way. You must treat Jinyi as your own. I don't ask for anything else. I just want to return to the Ministry of Justice and continue my official duties. Your Highness, are you willing to agree to this?"

Jiang Xiancao didn't speak for a long time, and Jiang Jinyi waited anxiously. After a while, he finally heard her laugh softly:

"Of course, as long as you submit your pledge of allegiance, you will be my man, and I will not treat you unfairly. If the intelligence you provide is worthy, then not only will you be a mere Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, but you will also be able to take the position of Vice Minister."

Jiang Jinyi raised his head with gratitude and bowed to Jiang Xiancao again and again, "Jinyi has one more thing to ask of you."

Jiang Xiancao laughed mockingly and said, "You haven't told me the information yet, but there are quite a few things. But I believe in your sincerity, so tell me."

"After all, my last name is Jiang, and my aunt is also in the Marquis's Mansion—"

Jiang Jinyi hesitated for a moment, then slowly spoke under Jiang Xiancao's indifferent gaze, "Jinyi asks the prince to find a way to protect me and my aunt."

Jiang Xiancao nodded decisively, "I promise you."

Jiang Jinyi finally showed a relieved expression, but then he thought of something and his expression became uneasy and timid again.

Jiang Xiancao knew what he was thinking, and this time she spoke at the right time, "You are worried that after hearing about that incident from you, the king will not fulfill these promises."

Jiang Jinyi lowered his head in panic and said nothing.

He is now like a person holding on to a life-saving straw. He will definitely not let go of the straw until he is pulled to the top of the cliff.

Jiang Xiancao had a knowing smile on his face. He took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, bent down and handed it to Jiang Jinyi, "Look, what is this."

Jiang Jinyi took the paper in confusion and immediately realized that it was a memorial.

The above content was written by the Ninth Prince to the Emperor, requesting the Emperor to reinstate Jiang Jinyi to his original post. The Ninth Prince's seal was stamped at the end of the memorial.

Jiang Xiancao leaned close to his ear and said softly:

"This prince is really optimistic about you and thinks you are more suitable to be a pillar of Dasheng than Jiang Jinyan and others. How can I bear to see you trapped in this small mansion for the rest of your life, bound by the shackles of the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, unable to soar high?

So I have actually prepared this memorial a long time ago, and I am just waiting for you to surrender to me, and then I will present it to my father.

If you had told me that tonight, I would have submitted this memorial tomorrow morning."

Jiang Jinyi's hands were shaking as he held the memorial. He paused for a moment and then asked boldly, "But what if Jinyi mentioned that and the prince changed his mind?"

Jiang Xiancao seemed to have guessed that he would ask this question, and said calmly:

"I'm also afraid that after I submit the memorial, you'll tell me that you actually know nothing.

So if you don't trust me, then I will take back this memorial.

Anyway, it's you who's begging me now, not me begging you.

Even if I don't know what you want to say, it won't hurt anything. But you, without this memorial from me, can you still return to the officialdom?"

Jiang Jinyi's pupils trembled a few times. When Jiang Xiancao was about to take the memorial back from his hand, he suddenly pulled it back and said through gritted teeth:

"Mrs. Lu is not Jiang Xiancao's biological mother!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiancao's hand remained in mid-air for a long time without moving.

There was no expression on her face, but her voice became gloomy and sharp, "What are you talking about?"

"Your Highness, Jinyi didn't lie. I was in my grandmother's room and heard her conversation with Madam Shu with my own ears."

Jiang Jinyi looked at her earnestly, lowering his voice to a very low level, fearing that anyone outside the room would hear a single word:

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!