"What happened to you? What a mess you look like?" After leaving the crowd of onlookers and going to a secluded spot, Xie Chang'an looked Ye Jingchen up and down for a while, and said with considerable disdain.
If Xie Chang'an hadn't recognized Chen Xi's face, which hadn't changed much in over twenty years, he wouldn't have been able to confirm that the little freckled boy in front of him was Ye Jingchen.
"Of course I had to disguise myself to sneak out of the palace, otherwise what if I was recognized? You found these people, right? Where did you find them? They look quite convincing!" Ye Jingchen asked, pointing to the group of people in front of the government office.
"They were originally people from Jiyang County in Yizhou. Their land was indeed seized by the Jiang family. They didn't want to be enslaved, so they escaped from there. They endured wind and rain all the way to the capital, just to seek justice for themselves," Xie Chang'an said in a deep voice.
"It's only been a few days. Even if they've been traveling through wind and rain, they couldn't possibly have traveled all the way from Jizhou, thousands of miles away, to get here. Besides, would the Jiang family just let them come to the capital to file a complaint like this?" Ye Jingchen didn't believe his nonsense at all.
"They should have been shot dead by the Jiang family outside the capital, but I just happened to save them," Xie Chang'an said, his eyes darkening.
In their previous lives, these people did not have the opportunity to enter the imperial city. Instead, just as they were about to enter, they were surrounded and killed by the Jiang family outside the imperial city, and none of them survived.
However, due to the large number of deaths and the proximity to the imperial city, the emperor eventually learned of the matter.
In order to survive, the Jiang family reached a cooperation agreement with the emperor.
They guessed that the emperor feared the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. So they secretly contacted the Northern Barbarians and set up a trap on the battlefield during the winter of that year when Dayuan was at war with the Northern Barbarians, causing all the men of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to die on the battlefield.
Xie Chang'an later investigated the cause of his family's deaths, meticulously piecing together the clues, and finally discovered the reason why the emperor and the Jiang family initially reached a cooperation agreement.
In this life, ever since the old matriarch granted him the power to command them, he estimated that the time was almost up, so he sent people out of the capital to search for these people. After searching for several days, they finally found their traces in a mountain less than a hundred miles from the capital.
When they were found, they were in a much worse state than they are now!
After the two sides made contact and the people from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion gained their trust, they were brought into the imperial city in batches in disguise.
Today was a day off, and Xie Chang'an had some rare free time, so he began to implement the plan he had long ago.
Although Xie Chang'an spoke lightly, considering his rebirth experience and his current gloomy eyes, it's not hard to guess the fates of these people in their past lives.
Perhaps, in their previous lives, they didn't have the chance to enter the imperial city, let alone beat the drum to appeal for justice.
Ye Jingchen felt he should do something for these people.
“Attracting just this many onlookers isn’t enough. They should have a petition, right? Print tens of thousands of copies of the petition and scatter them throughout the streets and alleys of the capital. That would be enough to create a sensation,” Ye Jingchen said to Xie Chang’an after thinking for a moment.
As modern people, we are most aware of the pressure brought by public opinion.
People, followers, the masses—the power of an ordinary person may be insignificant, but the power of millions of ordinary people is something no one dares to underestimate.
Xie Chang'an looked at Ye Jingchen with a very strange gaze.
Ye Jingchen felt somewhat uncomfortable and took a half step back without making a sound.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.
"I was wondering if His Highness the Crown Prince was the reincarnation of the tapeworm in my stomach?" Xie Chang'an asked with a strange expression.
Just as Ye Jingchen said, he had already printed the petition, and it had already begun to be distributed in other parts of the capital.
Ye Jingchen immediately understood Xie Chang'an's implied meaning and couldn't help but laugh, "It just happens that I thought of the same thing as Young Master Xie!"
It's good to ally with smart people!
"What else did Young Master Xie do?" Ye Jingchen asked curiously.
Xie Chang'an's actions likely involve more than just creating momentum through public opinion.
"There are indeed follow-up plans, but we'll implement them only after we've thoroughly stirred up public anger. We guarantee that the Jiang family will suffer heavy losses." Xie Chang'an left everyone in suspense for a moment.
"Let me guess—" Ye Jingchen rested his chin on his hand, seemingly lost in thought.
Xie Chang'an clearly intended to exploit public anger to inflict heavy losses on the Jiang family.
"Do you know about the Jiang family's businesses in the capital?" Ye Jingchen's eyes lit up as he leaned closer to Xie Chang'an and asked furtively, "How much do you know? Fifty percent? Or seventy percent?"
Xie Chang'an remained silent for a long time.
What's wrong with Ye Jingchen? How come he always seems to guess my plans?
Could it really be the reincarnation of the roundworm in his stomach?
"Ninety percent," Xie Chang'an said expressionlessly.
This is all thanks to the little madman from my past life.
If it weren't for the fact that the little madman killed enough people quickly in his previous life, he wouldn't have had the chance to fish in troubled waters and secretly take over so many properties left by aristocratic families.
Ninety percent of the Jiang family's businesses—
Ye Jingchen gasped.
I bet even Xie Chang'an knows more than the emperor!
If the Jiang family's businesses, especially their shady, gray-area businesses, are revealed when public opinion is at its most heated, the Jiang family's business in the capital will be severely affected, if not completely destroyed.
Most importantly, once these industries are made public, it's like having your cards exposed. Wealth is a powerful motivator, and everyone will want a piece of the pie, especially the emperor, who would be the first to be affected.
This is the capital city, right under the emperor's nose. The Jiang family cannot make any big moves. If they want to protect their main family in Ji Province, they won't have much energy to protect the capital city's assets.
Although the aristocratic families appear to be united on the surface, human nature is selfish, and there will always be some who are reluctant to give up their hard work in the capital.
At that time, there will surely be some sordid strife within the Jiang family!
For a family with a thousand-year history like the Jiang family, the fastest way to defeat them is to dismantle them from within.
Xie Chang'an truly lives up to his reputation as the male protagonist of his favorite novel; he's got real skills!
However, this would inevitably make these people from Yizhou a thorn in the side of the Jiang family, someone they would want to get rid of as soon as possible.
"Since Young Master Xie protected them and allowed them to enter the capital and beat the grievance drum, he should also ensure their personal safety afterwards, right?" Ye Jingchen asked with some unease.
In the novel, Xie Chang'an is not a kind-hearted person.
"What if I don't have that intention?" Xie Chang'an asked instead of answering.
"Then I will go to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to visit the old lady. I'm sure she won't just stand by and watch innocent people die in vain," Ye Jingchen said seriously.
Xie Chang'an was not kind-hearted, but the old lady was very righteous, so Ye Jingchen was not afraid at all.
Xie Chang'an's face darkened instantly.
"There's no need to trouble her with these trivial matters. Since I need them, I will naturally protect them," Xie Chang'an said.
"Then I can rest assured!" Ye Jingchen revealed a smug smile.
"Since Young Master Xie wants to protect these people of Yizhou, why not also help me protect others?"
When asking for help, Ye Jingchen no longer refers to himself as "this Empress".
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