Walking with Chenxi on the bustling street, Ye Jingchen felt an unprecedented sense of ease.
Previously, whenever he left the palace, he was always accompanied by many people, and he had to maintain a proper demeanor.
But there's no need for that in front of Chenxi, because Chenxi is with him all the time. What aspect of him hasn't Chenxi seen before?
With his hands behind his head, Ye Jingchen strode with what he considered a carefree gait, gazing at the bustling and prosperous scene before him.
In the novel, more than a decade later, the bustling prosperity of the capital city will vanish, with the seven princes vying for the throne and seven factions fighting amongst themselves, and the common people becoming the biggest victims.
He must teach his younger brothers well, root out the bad apples who instigated their infighting, and ensure that the genuine smiles on the faces of the people can always remain.
"Shall we go and see that grandfather and grandson storytellers first?" Ye Jingchen said as they walked.
He was still very interested in the case of the Prefect of Jingzhao. Although the emperor's edict was in charge and the Ji family was helping him, the Consort De's nephew should not have much of a chance to turn things around. However, he could not let his guard down until the matter was actually resolved.
"It's best not to go," Chenxi said.
"Why?" Ye Jingchen asked, puzzled.
"The assassinations against them have never stopped."
"Is the Ministry of Personnel's office really that arrogant?" Ye Jingchen frowned. "The Consort De's nephew hasn't been convicted yet? Isn't the Ji family known as the number one family? Is this all they've got?"
If that's really the case, then he'll have to underestimate the Ji family.
“The Ji family didn’t intervene; the Imperial Concubine found the people herself.”
Ye Jingchen: ...
So arrogant?
No wonder Ji Wushuang hasn't caused any trouble in the palace; it's been so long and there hasn't even been a ripple.
"You need to find a way to help the Imperial Concubine. Inform the Ji family members in the capital that Consort De is trying to harm the Imperial Concubine and the Third Prince," Ye Jingchen said.
"Yes," Chenxi replied.
"Then let's go to a teahouse near the Jingzhao Prefecture government office for some tea," Ye Jingchen said to Chenxi.
There really was a teahouse near the Jingzhao Prefecture government office; it was quite large and very popular.
However, the person who thought of building a teahouse in this place must be a business genius.
This time, Ye Jingchen was accompanied only by Chenxi, so they didn't even bother with a private room and just sat in the lobby, right on the front line of gossip.
The teahouse was crowded and noisy, with people talking about all sorts of things.
This also includes the case of the son of the Prefect of Jingzhao, which Ye Jingchen wanted to hear about.
Ye Jingchen noticed the conversation between several people.
"The Prefect of Jingzhao is over forty years old, isn't he? He only has this one son, and apart from his wife, he doesn't have a single concubine. If this son dies, won't their family line end?"
"Who can argue with that? But the Prefect's wife is the eldest daughter of the Minister of Personnel and the elder sister of Consort De. The two sisters have always been close. Consort De is currently favored in the palace and is in charge of the palace's food supplies, holding a position equivalent to the Empress Dowager. How could the Prefect dare to take concubines?"
"But the imperial edict is posted right at the entrance of the government office. The prefect can delay it, but does he really dare to disobey the imperial edict?"
"With Consort De whispering in her ear in the palace, this imperial edict might be revoked at any time. Maybe that's exactly what they're planning?"
"This gentleman is absolutely right!"
...
That's bullshit!
I can't drink this tea anymore!
"Chenxi, check please!" Ye Jingchen walked out of the teahouse with a sullen face.
Arriving at the gate of the Jingzhao Prefecture government office, where the imperial edict was posted, Ye Jingchen stared at the edict and asked Chenxi, "Do you really think the Prefect has no other children? None in the prefecture, nor outside?"
"I don't know," Chenxi replied.
He doesn't have the time to investigate these things.
"Go and investigate. If he is, have someone escort him back to the prefect's house and help him be recognized as a member of the family. Also, send people to protect those who come to sue the prefect's son, and prevent them from being harmed by villains."
Dawn: ...
"The Eastern Palace's secret guards don't have that many people," he had to remind Ye Jingchen.
Ye Jingchen: ...
"Then let's go find my allies. I imagine the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has quite a few people it can secretly mobilize." He touched his nose and said somewhat awkwardly.
Just as they were about to leave, a group of ragged, emaciated people suddenly appeared at the street corner. Their destination was the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Ye Jingchen stopped in his tracks, deciding to watch the excitement before leaving.
Judging from their clothes, the group looked like refugees who had fled from famine, as if they were from a completely different world from the well-dressed citizens of the capital.
People like them shouldn't be allowed into the capital. But now they've not only entered, they've even appeared near the Jingzhao Prefecture government office. Ye Jingchen instinctively felt there was going to be a good show.
The yamen runners of the Jingzhao Prefecture also noticed the group of strange people and went up to question them.
They were quite far apart, and Ye Jingchen couldn't hear what they were saying, but he noticed that since those people appeared, quite a few people had been walking towards the government office.
Following the crowd of onlookers who were clearly being deliberately drawn in, Ye Jingchen approached them.
Then he finally heard what they were saying to the yamen runners.
It turned out they had come to sue the Jiang family.
The Great Abyss is divided into nine provinces, and under these provinces are counties and townships. The main families of the four great clans are not actually in the capital, but are scattered throughout the nine provinces.
For example, the Jiang family's main base is Yizhou.
The hometown of this group of people was a county under the jurisdiction of Jiyang County in Yizhou, thousands of miles away. The Jiang family forcibly seized farmland from the people, forced them into slavery, falsely reported land ownership, and abused their power. They traveled thousands of miles to file a lawsuit against the Jiang family, hoping that the imperial court could give them justice.
Hearing that they were going to sue the Jiang family, the yamen runners instinctively tried to stop them, but there were too many people coming to file complaints, and one or two yamen runners couldn't stop them at all. Those people bypassed the yamen runners and ran to the front of the Jingzhao Prefecture Yamen, where they beat the grievance drum.
The sounding of the grievance drum signifies that a major miscarriage of justice has occurred.
Outside the government office, more and more people came after hearing the sound of the drum.
Meanwhile, a group of officials quickly rushed out from the government office and took control of those who were beating the drums.
Finally, the haggard-looking Prefect of Jingzhao slowly stepped out of the government office.
Yizhou is a thousand miles away from the imperial city. Without help, these ordinary people would never have been able to enter the imperial city alive.
But they didn't appear earlier or later; they appeared only after Xie Chang'an agreed to deal with the Jiang family. It's obvious who was secretly helping them.
However, only a few days had passed since he and Xie Chang'an discussed this matter. Given the transportation of this era, it would be impossible for an ordinary person from Yizhou, thousands of miles away, to appear in the imperial city. There must be another reason for this.
Ye Jingchen looked around in the crowd of onlookers for a long time before finally spotting Xie Chang'an hiding among them.
“Chenxi, let’s go there—” Ye Jingchen pointed to where Xie Chang’an was.
Chenxi also spotted the short man in the crowd, so she protected Ye Jingchen and walked towards Xie Chang'an.
Their purpose was clear, and Xie Chang'an, with his keen intuition, quickly noticed them and looked over at them.
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