Chapter 237 This is no ordinary contradiction.

Thinking of Prince Rui, Jiang Yu suddenly recalled the unreadable emotion in his eyes at the palace banquet. She lowered her gaze, trying to banish the image from her mind.

Just then, Lu Yifang said, "Prince Rui... is quite good too."

She glanced at Jiang Yu at this point. Seeing her calm expression, she swallowed the rest of her words. She understood that a relationship between Jiang Yu and Prince Rui was unlikely; at the very least, the Emperor and Empress Dowager wouldn't approve. Besides, she'd heard that Prince Rui was a filial son.

Lu Yifang sighed inwardly.

Jiang Yu spoke a few more words to her, then got up to leave. At that moment, Butler Zhao arrived and reported that the men following Jiang Lihui had discovered that he had gone to one of Su Yuezhen's residences.

Jiang Yu and Lu Yifang were stunned for a long time upon hearing the news. They never expected that Jiang Lihui and Su Yuezhen were involved together. However, this also explained why Jiang Lihui spread the rumor.

However, it seems rather foolish for the Qingshan Marquis's family to spread rumors about her and use Su Yuezhen to do so. Are the Qingshan Marquis and Consort Su really that incompetent?

Jiang Yu was puzzled, but regardless, the root cause had been found.

"What should we do?" Lu Yifang asked Jiang Yu. She had been holding her breath ever since the rumors started.

Jiang Yu thought for a moment and said, "Let's observe for a few more days. Then, Mother, you can invite a few friends... to catch them in the act together."

"Okay." Lu Yifang clapped her hands happily. She would let everyone in the capital know how dissolute the Su family's daughter was.

Jiang Yu got up and walked out, but stopped at the door and said to Lu Yifang, "Let Father take care of sending thank-you gifts to each family."

Jiang Chengye has changed a lot these days, and Jiang Yu plans to give him a chance. Besides, people can't be too idle; idleness can easily lead to trouble.

Lu Yifang paused for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "Okay."

........

The next day, Jiang Yu went to the Secretariat for her usual shift. Upon arriving at the study, she instructed Xia He to notify the four people assisting her to come to the study for a meeting.

The four arrived shortly afterward, and Jiang Yu immediately reviewed the tasks assigned to them. All four handed in their completed documents, which Jiang Yu glanced at briefly before instructing them on their next steps.

She speaks simply and concisely, and the four of them have basically adapted to her work style, finding it more fulfilling and effective.

Just then, someone from the palace arrived, saying that the Emperor wanted Jiang Yu to go to the Imperial Study. He told Li Zhengze and the other three to go about their own business, and Jiang Yu got up and went to the Imperial Study.

Upon arrival, Jiang Yu saw that the emperor's expression was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger. Jiang Yu respectfully bowed and then stood aside, waiting for the emperor to speak.

The emperor looked down at the memorial in his hand, and only after reading it did he raise his head to let her sit down. "When will the regulations for the reform of Jufeng Money Shop and the trading company be completed?"

Jiang Yu: "It will probably take another three days."

The emperor hummed in agreement, then looked at her with a leisurely gaze and asked, "What is your opinion on this rumor?"

Jiang Yu stood up. "I was indeed angry when I found out, but I am not worried at all."

"Oh?" the Emperor exclaimed in surprise.

Jiang Yu: "Your Majesty is the other party involved in the rumors. You know the truth better than anyone else. What do I have to worry about?"

The emperor remained silent after hearing this, then laughed heartily. Jiang's words undoubtedly indicated her trust in the emperor, a tacit expression of loyalty. Even if the emperor knew she might not have meant it sincerely, he was still pleased.

After laughing, he sighed inwardly. As for what he was sighing about, he wasn't quite sure himself.

"Prince An has discovered that it was Jiang Lihui who spread the rumors," the Emperor added.

Jiang Yu looked surprised. "I have some disagreements with him, but he is also a well-read person. The Jiang family has a clean and upright family style. How could he do such a thing?"

The emperor snorted and then handed over several memorials. Jiang Yu walked over and took them, and then heard the emperor say, "Just now, Jiang Hongsheng cried in front of me, saying that he knew his son was dull-witted and inflexible, but he only had this one legitimate son. In order not to violate the hierarchy between legitimate and illegitimate sons, he devoted almost all his energy to raising this son, but in the end, he still raised a wicked son."

After saying all this, he sighed.

Jiang Yu looked down at the memorials in his hand; each one was a petition to establish the Eighth Prince as Crown Prince. Jiang Hongsheng had acted quickly; they had reached an agreement yesterday, and today they had colluded with others to submit the memorial requesting the Eighth Prince to be made Crown Prince.

Judging from the Emperor's tone, he did not punish Jiang Hongsheng because of Jiang Lihui. From this, Jiang Yu once again felt that the current Emperor was a wise ruler. However, Jiang Hongsheng must have had his own ways of gaining the Emperor's trust.

As a second-rank official, the Imperial Censor, who also enjoyed the emperor's trust, how could he not have some skills?

“Every family has its own troubles,” Jiang Yu said, not commenting on the matter of choosing a crown prince, but instead saying, “My grandfather worries about my father all day long.”

The emperor, of course, knew what kind of person Jiang Chengye was. He said, "Your title was granted to you by my decree. You don't need to care about your father's thoughts."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Jiang Yu bowed and said, "However, my father seems to have come to his senses recently and is not as reckless as before, which has put my grandfather at ease."

The emperor nodded. "If he improves, your grandfather will be at ease."

Jiang Yu found the emperor quite strange. He seemed wary of his sons and wasn't genuinely kind to them. But he was truly good to Prince Rui. Moreover, the emperor enjoyed chatting with people about everyday matters.

This is no ordinary contradiction.

The emperor and his subject chatted about everyday matters for a while before the emperor dismissed Jiang Yu. Jiang Yu rose, bowed to him, and then withdrew. The emperor watched her retreating figure until she disappeared through the doorway of the imperial study before turning his gaze away.

Jiang Yu left the imperial study and slowly walked towards the palace gate. What was the emperor's purpose in summoning her to the imperial study?

She absolutely refused to believe that the emperor simply wanted to know the progress of her work. She also refused to believe that the emperor wanted to chat with her about everyday matters.

The weather in January was still bitterly cold. A gust of wind blew by, and she couldn't help but pull her cloak tighter around herself. Looking up at her surroundings, she saw the gnarled branches of trees stretching out from behind the vermilion palace walls, the snow piled up on the branches into icicles that reflected the pale sunlight, somewhat dazzling.

The west side was the location of the inner palace, and Jiang Yu recalled Consort Su's aggressive behavior at the palace banquet. The Emperor had just told her about Jiang Hongsheng's tearful complaint, probably to prevent her from pursuing the matter against Jiang Lihui, and... Consort Su.

Why?

The rumors were spread by Consort Su and the Marquis of Qingshan. The Emperor wanted to make the Eighth Prince the Crown Prince, so he naturally didn't want her to keep bringing up this matter at this time.

Rubbing her slightly cold hands, Jiang Yu smiled. She wouldn't confront Consort Su at this time, but she wouldn't let this go unpunished either. She couldn't touch Consort Su now, but she could still humiliate the Qingshan Marquis's family.

As for whether it would affect the Eighth Prince's chances of becoming Crown Prince, Jiang Yu wasn't too worried. First, the Emperor wanted the Eighth Prince to be Crown Prince. Second, she and Imperial Censor Jiang's faction also wanted him to be Crown Prince, and perhaps they could even unite with the Empress's maternal family, the Marquis of Chengen.

In this situation, it would be useless for the prime minister to try to stop it.

It's just unknown whether the Prime Minister and Consort Su agree on the matter of making the Eighth Prince the Crown Prince.