The case of "smuggling salt and iron" had far-reaching implications, and most of the court officials were more or less involved in it. Very few could remain unscathed, so almost no one wanted the crown prince to stay in the south for an extended period of time.

After all, the longer the crown prince stayed in the south, the more dangerous their situation would become.

Who could possibly ignore the blatant scheming in everyone's hearts?

However, the emperor remained resolute in his stance and would not easily compromise. Even in the face of numerous obstacles, he was determined to investigate thoroughly and eradicate this scourge from the court.

The prime minister seemed to have anticipated this outcome; his advice was merely a test. Seeing the emperor's firm resolve, he immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty's instruction is correct; I will obey your decree."

As soon as he finished speaking, the prime minister returned to his original position and stood there like a piece of wood.

The Minister of Rites repeatedly winked at him, but he seemed not to notice and never looked up to respond.

"Minister Li, you might as well speak your mind." The emperor glanced at him coldly.

The Minister of Rites's skin trembled slightly as he slowly rose, his face beaming with a smile. "Your Majesty, you have been on the throne for some time now, but the position of Empress has remained vacant. Your Majesty previously stated that the situation was not yet stable and that the matter of establishing an Empress would not be considered for the time being. However, now, we really cannot delay any longer."

Rong Ning, who was feeling rather bored, immediately brightened up upon hearing this.

She finally got what she was waiting for; she thought she'd be kneeling all morning for nothing.

The emperor sighed: "Minister Li, the Imperial Concubine and Princess Zhaoqing are in charge of the inner palace, why can't we delay any longer?"

"Your Majesty, Princess Zhaoqing is the eldest legitimate princess, and it is right for her to manage the harem on her behalf. However, Princess Zhaoqing is going to marry a foreign ruler, and Consort Gui is of humble origin. If a noble lady enters the palace in the future, I fear it will be difficult to win over the people."

What utter nonsense!

Although Rong Ning had never liked the Imperial Concubine, she couldn't bear to see her being humiliated like this. She snorted coldly, looked at the Minister of Rites, and directly mocked him, "Speaking of background, I remember that Minister Li's family used to be fishermen. Could it be that after passing the imperial examination and marrying a beautiful woman from a high-ranking family, he has forgotten his origins after more than ten years in the officialdom?"

"You keep saying that the Imperial Concubine's humble origins make it difficult for her to command the harem. Does His Majesty and the ministers really think you're unfit for the position of Minister of Rites just because you were a fisherman before?"

The fact that the Minister of Rites came from a humble background has been forgotten for a long time.

After all, he was a third-place scholar in the imperial examinations, and later married a princess. With the support of his wife's family, he rose to prominence and is now a high-ranking official in the court.

Perhaps at the beginning, some people would have been as aggressive and critical of his background as he is today, but after more than a decade of hard work and reaching his current position, no one dares to say that he came from a humble background anymore.

It's not that they've forgotten, it's that no one dares to say it!

So much so that when the Minister of Rites heard Rong Ning's words, he immediately turned hostile, barking like a stray dog ​​whose tail had been stepped on, "Third Princess, how dare you!"

"Yo yo yo~"

Rong Ning wasn't afraid at all, and burst into laughter...

"Look, look! They're getting desperate!"

"Why are you so agitated... I'm not wrong!" Rong Ning suppressed her smile and looked coldly at the Minister of Rites. "In terms of background, although the Consort is born out of wedlock, she is still a legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Cheng'en, and is related to my mother by blood. Moreover, a woman follows her husband after marriage. The Consort has been married to my father for nearly ten years, and since entering the mansion, she has been in charge of the household affairs. All the welcoming and sending off of guests is done by her."

To put it bluntly, she was the face of the Prince's mansion before, and now she is the face of the royal family even more so. How can we tolerate you showing so much disdain and finding fault with her in front of all the officials and in front of the Emperor?