Chapter 378 He Wants to Keep Everyone Around Her Tethered

When Jiang Jinyan received the news that the Crown Prince wanted him to come to the palace, he thought that the Crown Prince had something urgent to ask him. Since Minister Zhao was taken away by the Eighth Prince, the Ministry of Revenue had been in complete chaos. As the Vice Minister of Revenue, he was busy all day long and did not have much time to take care of his family.

Unexpectedly, upon entering the palace, he only saw Jiang Fenghua.

She was dressed simply, her hair was styled in a simple bun, and she was accompanied only by Lianye, a maid. Even in the palace, Aoxue always followed her. Where was Aoxue?

He gave a perfunctory bow and said, "Is the Crown Princess about to leave the palace?"

Jiang Fenghua nodded, "Isn't my sister-in-law about to give birth? I'm going back to my parents' home for a few days, and His Highness the Crown Prince has already granted my request."

Jiang Jinyan knew it wasn't that simple; she must be leaving the palace because of Su Xuan. He frowned and said, "She hasn't given birth yet. I'll send someone to inform the Crown Princess when she's about to give birth." This meant he didn't agree to her leaving the palace.

He then said to Lianye, "Lianye, quickly take your Crown Princess back!"

After saying that, he was about to leave: "I still have a lot of things to do at the Ministry of Revenue, and the Emperor is waiting for me to submit my memorials."

Jiang Fenghua stopped him and said directly, "Brother, I worked very hard to get this opportunity." She had coaxed Xie Shang for a while, so how could she just let it go like this?

Jiang Jinyan thought for a moment, "I'll go and inform the Crown Prince first... you cannot leave the palace."

As he walked, he thought to himself: He knew she was going to cause trouble for Su Xuan. Now the Su family was finished, and the entire Su clan was despised by the people and the world. Ruan Ruan's chivalrous act had also been fulfilled. She should stay in the palace and be a good Crown Princess. This was also to protect her.

The Jiang family hadn't done anything to wrong the Crown Prince, and they'd even raised such a beautiful, intelligent, and lovely wife for him. He felt that some things couldn't be kept from the Crown Prince. At worst, he could just confess to the Crown Prince in the future that he wanted to uphold justice and couldn't stand the Su family's actions.

Jiang Jinyan still can't understand why Ruan Ruan would want to deal with the Su family, and even started collecting evidence of the Su family's crimes a long time ago, only to expose it after the Su family rebelled.

This move was indeed swift, ruthless, and accurate, uprooting the Su clan completely.

He had even guessed Ruan Ruan's intention in marrying Xie Shang: to use imperial power to eliminate the Su family. If the Crown Prince found out about this, Ruan Ruan would be finished. Xie Shang was not so easy to scheme against.

Therefore, Jiang Jinyan worked very hard to get closer to the Crown Prince and the Emperor.

Moreover, it was the Crown Prince who sent him to the palace to personally escort her out, making all the signs very suspicious.

He cannot take her out of the palace.

Jiang Fenghua naturally understood his concerns. Either way, he was going to die, so she said directly, "Jiang Jinyan, stop right there."

Jiang Jinyan indeed stopped obediently, his face full of helplessness, his eyes filled with both doting affection and fear for his younger sister. From childhood to adulthood, she had always been like a guide in front of him, and he had no choice but to listen to her.

Jiang Fenghua took his arm and gave him a mischievous smile. "Brother, let's hurry up and leave, or we'll be too late. We can talk in the car."

Jiang Jinyan was pulled directly onto the carriage by her.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Xie Shang stood on high ground, looking down at everything below, a cryptic look flashing in his eyes.

He thought to himself: Ruan Ruan, if you are hiding something from me, as long as you are willing to confess to me, I will forgive you no matter what it is.

Evidence of the crimes committed by the Su family and their subordinates was placed one after another on his desk. In addition to Su Xuan being captured, all of the Su family's henchmen were also captured. No matter how capable General Peng was, he could not possibly control the hundreds of thousands of troops on the border so quickly and accurately.

The commotion at the border and throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty has spread so rapidly overnight, it's clear that someone is secretly manipulating everything. Tell me, who in this world has the ability to control such a large chessboard? Even he, as the Crown Prince of the royal family with supreme status and position, cannot do it.

Even Father Emperor couldn't do it, otherwise Father Emperor wouldn't have been controlled by the Su family for so long.

He sent people to investigate and found that the Feng family in Yucheng, which was Jiang Fenghua's maternal grandparents' family, had also helped.

Peng Fei had already sent out secret orders that Jiang Zhiqin had made great contributions in the encirclement and suppression of the Su family. Peng Fei said that he was like a general who got a good deal, as those Su family lackeys who had escaped and were hiding were directly captured and brought before him.

Even the most vocal deputy generals in Su's army eventually confessed their crimes. Countless people came forward to expose their offenses, and some even signed petitions to accuse someone of embezzling military pay, abducting women, forcing them into prostitution, committing bribery, and disregarding human life, among hundreds of other crimes.

At the time, Peng Fei was also surprised at how smoothly things were progressing.

They violated almost every law in the Great Zhou Kingdom that could be used to punish them, and the matter became quite a big deal.

So much so that when Jiang Jinyan arrived at the border as an imperial envoy, he was able to collect evidence and arrest criminals in one fell swoop.

Xie Shang smiled. He hadn't actually made a move, but his father thought it was the result of a year's worth of surveillance. He didn't offer any explanation, because he figured it was all for the benefit of the Great Zhou and himself as the Crown Prince.

Furthermore, after Lin Yu returned to the capital and visited Jiang Fenghua in the palace, his failure to investigate did not mean he was unaware of the situation. In order to protect Jiang Fenghua and the two children, he had deployed numerous secret guards outside Chenxi Palace.

Lin Feng stood to the side, watching the Crown Prince laugh one moment and then look at him with a murderous glint in his eyes the next. He dared not make any rash moves. Watching Lian Ye's figure gradually disappear, he was filled with worry.

Xie Shang suddenly said, "I will bestow the lotus leaf upon you as your wife!"

Lin Feng was stunned, then his face lit up with joy. "Really? But didn't Your Highness say that Lianye is the Crown Princess's maid? Shouldn't we ask the Crown Princess about this?"

A sly glint flashed in Xie Shang's eyes. "Asking the Crown Princess won't help; she'll have to ask her maid's opinion first."

Lin Feng said, "Your Highness seems to understand the Crown Princess quite well. That's exactly what she meant. But Lianye doesn't like me. She's always treated me like a friend, a male friend. She also said she's never thought about getting married and will never marry. And Hongxiu, they've already made a pact to never marry."

"I have decreed that she has no choice but to marry," Xie Shang said. "Doesn't Cheng Feng like Hongxiu? I will then betroth Hongxiu to Cheng Feng as his wife, and Hongxiu will become the mistress of the Cheng family. She shouldn't object, right? At that time, I will also grant Cheng Feng a title so that his maid can marry with dignity."

Lin Feng was so shocked that his mouth dropped open. What was wrong with the Crown Prince? Had everyone related to the Crown Princess been promoted to a higher position?

He grinned obsequiously, "What title does Your Highness bestow upon me?"

"Imperial Guards," Xie Shang said calmly, "If you can have a bunch of children with Lianye as soon as possible, I will bestow upon you a title."

Lin Feng had no idea what his master was planning, but he thought it was great. With a title and power, he would be a person of status in the Great Zhou Dynasty. He could also win the heart of a beauty. Life couldn't be better.

Xie Shang thought: since Jiang Fenghua was unwilling to reveal her true feelings to him, he would keep the people around her tied down; he would eventually be able to keep her.

Jiang Fenghua has a weakness: her family and everyone around her, including her maid. With so many ties, how can she be carefree?

"Send word to prepare to leave the palace with me." Xie Shang turned and descended the city wall.