Chapter 331 Employing Students from Humble Backgrounds

Qin Jinzhi looked at Pei Jinnian, whose face was somewhat pale.

"Yang Rong is dead?"

Pei Jinnian nodded. "This morning, Yang Rong was found poisoned to death in his cell."

Qin Jinzhi sat in the chair. "Who saw Yang Rong last night?"

Pei Jinnian quickly said, "The Yang family has not been convicted yet, and Yang Rong and Yang Xian have been under strict surveillance, so no one has been allowed to visit them in prison for the past few days."

Qin Jinzhi crossed one leg and tapped the table lightly with her finger. "No one is visiting me in prison? Then go and investigate what the Sixth Prince's Consort did yesterday, where she went, and who she met."

Pei Jinnian asked with some doubt, "Does Yang Rong have a personal grudge against the Sixth Prince's Consort?"

Qin Jinzhi looked up at him and asked, "Who benefits most from Yang Rong's death?"

Pei Jinnian's eyes widened. "This subordinate will investigate immediately."

He turned to leave, but Qin Jinzhi called out to him.

“Pei Jinnian, if you don’t handle this matter well, your position as Prefect of the Capital will be over. So open your eyes wide; this is not the time for you to play house.”

Pei Jinnian nodded solemnly, "Thank you for your guidance, Princess."

He quickly left the palace.

My grandfather analyzed it with him.

The fact that the Yang family has not yet been convicted may be because His Majesty has other plans.

Yang Rong and the Sixth Prince were also of paramount importance.

Mr. Yang will most likely be fine.

But it's hard to say about Yang Rong and the Sixth Prince.

If the Yang family is determined to protect Yang Rong, then the Sixth Prince will be the scapegoat.

Therefore, the most likely culprit at this time is the sixth prince's wife, who knew that the Yang family wanted to protect Yang Rong.

After all, husband and wife share a deep bond; their fortunes are intertwined, and they share both glory and misfortune.

With Yang Rong dead, the Yang family's affairs can only be put to rest.

However, Yang Rong was poisoned to death in the capital city, which was a dereliction of duty on his part as the prefect of the capital.

If the murderer cannot be found, he will surely be severely punished.

After Pei Jinnian left the Prince's Mansion.

Qin Jinzhi suddenly revealed a cryptic smile.

This sixth prince's wife does have some tricks up her sleeve.

After learning that the Yang family had given up the sixth prince in their deal with His Majesty.

They decisively poisoned Yang Rong to death.

Moreover, no evidence was left behind.

If Pei Jinnian fails to find the murderer, the Yang family's revenge will fall on Pei Jinnian, or perhaps on her, the person the Pei family is loyal to.

The Sixth Prince is, after all, the Emperor's grandfather's son. Given the choice between the Sixth Prince and Yang Rong, he would definitely choose to protect the Sixth Prince; otherwise, the stalemate wouldn't have lasted so long.

If the Emperor's grandfather found out, he would let the matter drop out of consideration for family ties.

Thus, he completely aligned himself with his grandfather.

Even if the Yang family found out, they wouldn't dare to openly retaliate against the couple.

They are very skilled in both tactics and cunning.

No wonder the Yang family went to great lengths to send her to the Sixth Prince's side.

Consort Yang now serves the Empress Dowager in her palace every day.

They probably want things to get resolved quickly.

Qin Jinzhi did not expect that Consort Yang would give up on the Sixth Prince so easily.

It's unclear whether she intended to support the 12th prince, who was fond of male lovers, or to cultivate the 10-year-old 21st prince into a puppet of the Yang family.

The sixth prince has been used as a shield for many years.

Indeed, if the Sixth Prince's brains weren't still useful to the Yang family, how could he have survived until now?

Regardless of who the Yang family wants to support, their ambition is common knowledge.

Qin Jinzhi got up and went into the palace.

The emperor was reviewing memorials in his study.

When Qin Jinzhi arrived at the imperial study, the emperor did not show any signs of annoyance.

Seeing Qin Jinzhi enter, he immediately greeted her with a smile, "My dear grandson is here."

Qin Jinzhi immediately stopped walking forward and even took two steps back.

She looked around the imperial study to see if anyone was hiding there.

The emperor's smile vanished the moment he saw Qin Jinzhi's alarmed expression.

What are you doing?

Qin Jinzhi raised an eyebrow at the emperor, "Unsolicited favors are either malicious or thieving!"

The emperor immediately shouted, "Get over here right now!"

Qin Jinzhi looked around and walked over.

The emperor handed the list on his desk to Qin Jinzhi.

Qin Jinzhi accepted the papers; many of the names on them were quite famous among the people.

It's a pity they came from humble backgrounds, even though the emperor employed many people from poor families.

However, in the end, only a handful of them were actually able to enter the imperial court and become officials.

Now Qin Jinzhi is fighting with the powerful families in the capital.

With the decline of several powerful families, it is the perfect time to reinstate those from humble backgrounds.

Qin Jinzhi took a pen from the emperor's desk and circled a few names.

"These people are too extreme and are prone to overcorrection. The entry of a large number of officials from humble backgrounds into the court will inevitably stir up class antagonism. Overcorrection will not only give people ammunition to criticize, but will also increase the rebellious mentality of officials from clan backgrounds."

The emperor nodded. "At least you still remember this old man."

Qin Jinzhi shoved a pen into his hand, saying, "Write me a transfer order."

The emperor was about to explode in anger again, "Where are you going this time!"

Qin Jinzhi covered her ears. "The Yang family in Guanzhong hasn't been dealt with yet. Otherwise, why don't you go? Should my grandfather go, or who should go?"

The emperor shouted to Hong Dequan behind him, "What are you all standing there for? Go get the imperial edict!"

Hong Dequan really wanted to report this to the authorities; was there anyone who could do something about His Majesty?

He placed the blank imperial edict on the emperor's desk.

The emperor looked at Qin Jinzhi and asked, "What, do you want me to write it myself?"

Qin Jinzhi looked at Hong Dequan and said, "Eunuch Hong, you write it down."

Eunuch Hong quickly said, "Princess, this is inappropriate."

The emperor looked at Qin Jinzhi, "Why aren't you writing?"

Qin Jinzhi raised an eyebrow, "Why aren't you writing?"

Eunuch Hong looked at the words on the list written by His Majesty on the desk.

That sounds nice, all about flamboyant and unrestrained style.

To put it bluntly, he dared not put it bluntly.

This little princess has hated practicing calligraphy since she was a child.

The grandfather and grandson shared a similar unrestrained style.

However, the princess's hair was indeed from a famous family, but His Majesty's is hard to say.

Qin Jinzhi simply put her hands behind her back. What a joke, she hated writing the most.

The emperor curled his lip. It was one thing if this happened in the imperial study, but wouldn't the whole world be able to see his handwriting on the imperial edicts he wrote?

The two looked at Eunuch Hong and said, "Just write it when we tell you to."

Hong Gonggong couldn't laugh; he wanted to report it to the authorities.

After Eunuch Hong finished writing, Qin Jinzhi said, "Lend me a detachment of your personal guards."

The emperor immediately said, "Ten thousand taels a day, and I'll lend you a thousand men."

Qin Jinzhi raised an eyebrow. "You're robbing me, old man."

The emperor coughed. "One thousand taels a day."

Qin Jinzhi threw the imperial edict back into the emperor's hands, "Time to go home and sleep!"

The emperor quickly said, "Halt!"

He pursed his lips. "Whenever you leave, I'll arrange for them to go out of the city with you."

Qin Jinzhi turned around and snatched the imperial edict from the emperor's hand.

"Your grandmother won't let you eat tonight!"

After saying this, Qin Jinzhi quickly ran away before the emperor could speak.

When Qin Jinzhi arrived at the Empress's palace, Consort Yang had just left.

She looked at Consort Xian's retreating figure with a meaningful gaze.

I don't quite understand this person.

The Empress smiled and invited Qin Jinzhi to sit down beside her.

He frowned when he saw the imperial edict in her hand.

"What did that old geezer ask you to do this time?"