Waving off the others, the Emperor said, "There will likely be trouble in the Beijing Defense Camp in two days. Have the Imperial Guard maintain law and order and prevent any civilians from getting hurt."
The prince frowned slightly, and immediately understood the implications when he heard this.
"Your son obeys your command. Is King Liang planning to take action?"
[To be more precise, it was Concubine Shu who made the move, dragging the Marquisate into the water and then enticing Yan Fan to get involved in this mess.]
[The tyrant is quite good, he knows how to take care of the people while going with the flow.]
The emperor raised his lips when he was praised so directly by Yu Yiluo.
"Well, Yan Fan regards power as his own life. He has known to keep a low profile during the years of fighting me, but his nature is hard to change. If he has the opportunity to take back the Beijing Defense Camp, he will definitely not miss it."
He once held great power but did not take the newly enthroned emperor seriously. Those who curry favor with the powerful in the capital even praised the Yan family more highly than the real princes.
Compared with the bustling crowds in the past, how could Yan Fan tolerate the huge gap of no one paying attention to his business now?
"Father is wise."
The prince paused and continued:
"The Capital Defense Battalion was once in charge of the capital's security, comparable to the Imperial Guards. Ever since my father handed them over to the Marquis of Qingyuan, these people can no longer parade around the city. I think they've been harboring resentment for a long time."
"Perfect," the emperor took a sip of his tea. "Let's use this opportunity to make them understand that the Beijing Defense Battalion will never be the same as it once was when it ran rampant in the capital."
He is not the late emperor, but he cannot tolerate Yan Fan showing off in public. If the other party can keep a low profile, he might even spare his life.
…
Yan Fan, whom the two were talking about, was currently discussing matters of the next two days with his son in the study.
"Dad, it turns out that the people who graded the papers were indeed Prime Minister Li and Grand Secretary Shi. This will be more conducive to the advancement of our plan."
"My son saw Mu Chen's wife go to the Shi Mansion clearly, and he even left a witness."
Yan Zhenghai's face was filled with excitement, and he couldn't wait for the day when the results would come out.
Yan Fan glanced at Yan Zhenghai and said with an unclear expression:
"Were you the one who said yesterday that the test paper in that person's hand was fake?"
"Yeah," Yan Zhenghai was confused. Weren't they talking about what would happen in two days? Why did they bring up something irrelevant?
Since he couldn't make money, that person couldn't make money either, so he did it on purpose.
"You still have the nerve to say yes?"
Yan Fan was so angry that his eyebrows stood up.
"The person who spread this news might be the emperor using it to test the ministers in the court. Otherwise, who would dare to do such a thing under the emperor's feet?"
The current emperor can do anything now.
"Does the Emperor already suspect us?"
Yan Zhenghai looked at his father cautiously and asked softly.
"No," Yan Fan calmed down and shook his head. "If you do this, the emperor won't doubt the Yan family. But on the day the test results come out, you must not go and tell them in person about Mu Chen's wife going to the Shi Mansion."
The Yan family cannot afford to be targeted by the emperor again. This must be done, but it cannot be left to the people of the Yan family to do it.
"The son understands, and the son lets others do it."
Anyway, as long as there is money, there is no need to worry about no one doing it.
"Father, since you said that the emperor was testing the ministers, does he know about Mu Chen's affairs?"
If everything is under the emperor's control, wouldn't all their efforts be in vain?
Yan Fan didn't take it seriously and snorted coldly, "Do you think the emperor can predict the future?"
If they hadn't been keeping an eye on the Mu Mansion, how could they have known about this in the first place?
"Father is right, but it was the Mu Mansion that went to the Shi Mansion, not the Qingyuan Marquis Mansion. Will the Emperor implicate the Marquis Mansion?"
Yan Zhenghai looked worried, which was a rare moment of cleverness for him.
"You actually know how to use your brain to think about problems," Yan Fan looked at him in surprise and explained to him patiently.
"This was indeed done by someone from the Mu Mansion, but Marquis Qingyuan is a man of deep affection. He wouldn't sit idly by and watch his brother jump into the fire."
Although Marquis Qingyuan never helped the Mu family in their official career, he always cared about his younger brother.
…
The people in Qingyuan Marquis Mansion and Mu Mansion knew nothing about this.
The family gathered together to celebrate with Mu Chen, and the second prince was among them.
"Cousin, seeing that you are thinking this way, there must be no problem with the assessment. Let me toast to you."
The second prince smiled, raised his glass, clinked it with Mu Chen's, and then drank it all in one gulp.
"Thank you, Second Prince."
"Xiaoxiao has worked hard taking care of Chen'er these past few days," Madam Mu winked at Mu Chen, "Chen'er, quickly toast Xiaoxiao."
Mu Chen raised his glass and looked at Xu Xiaoxiao.
"Cousin, this is for you."
Xu Xiaoxiao looked absent-minded. Mu Chen held up his glass for a long time. Everyone's eyes were on her, but she was still daydreaming.
"Sister-in-law?"
Mu Xue, who was sitting next to her, tugged at her sleeve and said, "Your cousin is toasting you."
Xu Xiaoxiao came back to her senses, exclaimed, and quickly picked up the wine glass.
As a result, because she moved too hastily, she didn't pick up the wine glass, but instead knocked it over on the table. The wine slowly spread along the edge of the table, and the glass hit the dish, making a noise.
"Someone, wipe the table."
After giving the order, Mrs. Mu looked at Xu Xiaoxiao with some concern.
"Xiaoxiao, are you too tired recently? Let someone help you go back to the house to rest first?"
Seeing that there were stairs to go down, Xu Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief, apologized to the others, and got up to leave.
"This child must be tired, so he is so rude. Please don't mind it, my lord."
Qingyuan Hou laughed out loud, "We're family, so why should we mind?"
Mu Xue looked at Xu Xiaoxiao's back and always felt that the other party was not tired, but had something on her mind.
Although she and Xu Xiaoxiao were not very close, she would still chat with her sister-in-law when she came.
This time, Xu Xiaoxiao not only didn't talk to her, but also frequently lost her focus.
"I'm going to see my sister-in-law."
Mu Xue stood up and left the main hall to look for Xu Xiaoxiao.
Hearing footsteps, Xu Xiaoxiao stopped and turned around, and was a little surprised to see that it was Mu Xue.
"Princess, why are you here?"
"Sister-in-law is not feeling well, I came to see her."
The two walked into the house and sat down. Xu Xiaoxiao stretched out her hand to take Mu Xue's pulse.
She knew very well why she was like this, but Mu Xue cared about her and she didn't want to refuse Mu Xue's kindness.
Mu Xue finished taking the pulse and withdrew her hand.
"Sister-in-law is fine, she's just worried too much. She should have a good rest. If you have anything to say, just tell me."
"Thank you, Princess."
Xu Xiaoxiao withdrew her hand and poured her a cup of tea, feeling mixed emotions.
Say it out?
Could she really tell others about what she had done? Lord Shi's words from that day were still ringing in her ears. If she did tell them, she was afraid her cousin would be disappointed in her.
"Princess, has the young lady's cold completely healed?"
The maid who served Xu Xiaoxiao asked softly.
Mu Xue nodded.
The maid heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing this, "The medicine given by Concubine Shu is really effective."
"Tsarina Shu?"
Could it be that my sister-in-law’s behavior is related to Concubine Shu?
Xu Xiaoxiao didn't notice the change in Mu Xue's expression, and smiled as she told her what happened in Baiyun Temple.
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