The Second Prince closed his eyes, trying to suppress his excitement, then opened them again and asked, "Does it say here why he was promoted?"
Yue Haoyun patted his shoulder and said gently, "Yes, don't worry, I'll show you."
As he spoke, he flipped through another document and said, "This contains the record of Han Lie receiving the imperial edict."
He flipped through a few pages and pointed at the contents. "Look, this is the imperial edict that promoted Han Lie to the position of Minister of Rites. It's filled with empty words praising his intelligence and abilities, but it doesn't mention his actual achievements at all."
The Second Prince frowned, "Does this mean that the real reason for his promotion is not something that can be revealed to everyone?"
Yue Haoyun said: "I think so too."
The second prince picked up the document again and looked carefully at the date when Han Lie was promoted to Minister of Personnel, which was the ninth day of the fifth month of the twelfth year of Pingchang.
"That year, my great uncle accidentally killed the Sixth Uncle. It was on the tenth day of the fourth month."
"In more than twenty days, this news will reach Dai Viet."
When the second prince said this, he bit his lip, his eyes dark, as if he was lost in memories.
He had some memories of his great uncle. He was still a child at the time, and since his great uncle and Xia Zhengqi were born of the same mother, they were very close.
At that time, they lived in the palace, and their uncle often came to visit them and bought them some novel little gadgets.
Later, suddenly one day, bad news came from the palace. The eldest uncle publicly murdered the sixth uncle at a palace banquet, and the sixth uncle died on the spot.
Their emperor grandfather was furious and first threw their uncle into the sky prison, wanting him to pay with his life.
Later, it was only after the court officials pleaded for mercy that the sentence was changed to life imprisonment.
In the second year of his great uncle's imprisonment, he remembered that his father and mother had secretly gone to meet his great uncle.
After returning, their faces were pale and their spirits were very low. The Queen Mother couldn't help crying. He and his eldest brother pulled the Emperor and the Queen Mother to ask what happened to their eldest uncle, but the Queen Mother just shook her head and said nothing.
Two months later, the bad news came again, saying that my great uncle had passed away.
All of my great uncle's children were also executed.
Yue Haoyun patted the second prince on the back, and the second prince finally came to his senses.
"So you also think that this is enough to prove that the original vicious plan was proposed by Han Lie, right?" Yue Haoyun asked.
The Second Prince's eyes flashed with coldness. "How could such a coincidence happen in the world? He was promoted right after my uncle got into trouble. And the specific reason for the promotion cannot be disclosed to the public."
Yue Haoyun said: "In fact, besides these, there is also evidence."
"Look here." Yue Haoyun said, and opened another large booklet.
"This is the late emperor's diary. It records that in April of the eleventh year of Pyeongchang, the late emperor summoned four important ministers to discuss matters."
"And the topic of discussion is how to weaken the power of Daxia."
"Look here again. It says that the four ministers did not come up with a plan that satisfied the late emperor, so the late emperor issued an edict, ordering all officials in the court to actively offer suggestions."
"At that time, Han Lie, as a clerk in the Ministry of Personnel, also had the opportunity to offer advice."
"But what's strange is that when I look further down, it doesn't mention who specifically adopted the strategy, let alone what kind of strategy it was."
"A few months later, that incident happened, and then Han Lie was promoted."
"All the evidence points to Han Lie."
"Also, the idea of putting a curse on you during my last diplomatic mission to Daxia was, I later learned, also suggested by Han Lie."
Upon hearing this, the Second Prince clenched his teeth, his eyes blazing with fire. "Han Lie, I will never reconcile you with my enemies!"
"I will kill you with my own hands to avenge my uncle!"
Seeing how emotional he was, Yue Haoyun poured him a cup of tea and said, "Calm down. Getting rid of him won't be easy. We need to discuss it carefully."
"I know." The second prince said lightly.
Yue Haoyun walked to the window, hid behind the curtains, looked downstairs, then turned to look at the copper kettle dripping by the window and said, "It's getting late. For the sake of safety, let's stop talking here for today."
"Zhu Ling's spies have been watching there the whole time. If we keep doing this for too long, I'm afraid they'll be discovered."
The second prince also looked out the window and saw a woman in a coarse cloth dress standing under the old locust tree opposite. There was a bamboo basket at her feet, and in the basket were some embroidery items.
At first glance, she looked like a village woman who came to the city to sell some small things and earn some money for herself, but if you look closely, you can see that her face and hands are very delicate, and she doesn't look like a village woman doing farm work at all.
"Well, I figured it out. Then I'll go back to the private room first." The second prince said, and walked towards the secret door.
As Yue Haoyun went to open the secret door, he said, "You go ahead. I'll take advantage of the chaos on the streets today and go check on Zhou Dagan."
"Well, be careful!" The second prince instructed, and together with Yue Haoyun, they opened the secret door.
Just as the secret door was pushed open, a cry of "Ouch" was heard.
The second prince looked out and saw that it was Xia Miaoyuan who was eavesdropping on the secret door. The secret door was suddenly pushed open and she fell down on her butt.
"My little princess, I told you not to..." Sang Qi scolded her and picked her up.
After everyone finished their lunch at Jinyulou, they went to the theater to listen to a play for a while, and then went home.
Originally, they wanted to play for the whole day, but because the second prince had something on his mind, they lost the mood.
Xia Miaoyuan lay on the secret door and listened to some of the conversation intermittently. On the carriage back home, she kept thinking about how to get rid of Han Lie.
How about sending someone to assassinate him?
Or poison?
However, it was already time for a nap, and she fell asleep after thinking for a while.
When she woke up, she found Little Orange lying beside her, snoring evenly.
Ah, we're already at the mansion! I slept so soundly!
[Where's my second brother? I wonder if he's come up with a good idea.]
Thinking of this, Xia Miaoyuan put on his shoes casually and walked outside.
"Young Prince, where are you going? Your hair is not combed and your face is not painted." Nanny Li chased after him.
Xia Miaoyuan went straight to the second prince's courtyard.
When she pushed the door open and entered the Second Prince's room, she found him sitting at the table.
His brows were tightly furrowed, as if he was thinking about something.
"Second brother, are you thinking of something?" Xia Miaoyuan asked as she snuggled into the second prince's arms.
The second prince lowered his head and met her big, sparkling eyes.
He rubbed Xia Miaoyuan's messy hair lovingly and said with a smile: "Brother is thinking about something."
Xia Miaoyuan stood on tiptoe, put her arms around the Second Prince's neck and said, "Don't worry, brother, I'll always come up with a plan."
While the brother and sister were talking, Han Qingbo said from outside the door, "Second Prince?"
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