Chapter 43 A person who doesn't keep their word during a foreign visit is a puppy...
That day, Jiang Chen returned to the East Palace after court and saw Shen Yujiao waiting for him as soon as he entered.
"What's wrong with you today?"
Jiang Chen looked serious today, his brows furrowed as if something major had happened. Hearing this, he sat down next to Shen Yujiao and said earnestly, "Today at court, the Censorate impeached Wen Qizhong, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, for accepting bribes from local officials, which has led to the exposure of a whole host of corruption cases involving local officials."
Shen Yujiao couldn't help but frown slightly as she listened to Jiang Chen continue, "The situation is particularly serious in Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangnan, and Sichuan. After the court session, the emperor summoned several princes to the imperial study to discuss matters. Because this case of embezzlement is extremely important, the emperor wanted several princes to travel incognito to investigate the local situation."
“Then you…” Miss Shen came from the Duke of Cheng’s mansion and grew up in Jiangnan. With the incident in Jiangnan, Shen Yujiao was worried that the emperor would hesitate because of it.
Jiang Chen met her gaze, his eyes full of understanding: "That's right. The Emperor first sent the Prince of Tai to Sichuan. As for Guangdong and Guangxi and Jiangnan, the Emperor is still hesitating. I think, on the one hand, he wants me to investigate Jiangnan personally. Regardless of whether the Duke of Cheng's family is involved, he will have the reputation of an incorruptible crown prince. If the Shen family is involved, it would be a case of putting righteousness before family. If the Shen family is not involved, they can still assist in the investigation, which would also be a good story."
“But at that time, Prince Huan said that I was related to the Shen family by marriage. If I went to Jiangnan, I would inevitably be talked about by people with ulterior motives. They would say that even if the Shen family was innocent, they would speculate that I was trying to exonerate them. After all, the Shen family was a prominent family in Jiangnan. In terms of rank, there was no one else in Jiangnan except for the Duke of Cheng. It was only natural that they would be under scrutiny.”
"What a fine Prince Huan!"
Shen Yujiao lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment, then whispered to him, "When we were playing chess today, Consort Chu reminded me that the inner palace and the outer court are closely related. If we want to bring down Consort Yao and the Princess Consort Huan, we will have to confront Prince Huan in the outer court. And now this has happened."
Jiang Chen was somewhat surprised to hear this. Even if Shen Yujiao hadn't thought of this, there had already been a lot of conflict between him and Jiang Yu. He originally didn't want to involve Shen Yujiao, but what she said made sense. The imperial court and the harem were closely intertwined, and the two sides couldn't be separated at all.
What do you think? Jiangnan or Guangdong and Guangxi?
In the past, Jiang Chen would not have cared about these things at all, but now that he has his own opinions, Shen Yujiao mostly discusses things with him.
“I think we should still go to Jiangnan.” Jiang Chen confessed to her, “If we have the opportunity to go this time, not only can you find a chance to investigate Miss Shen’s past, but I can also take this opportunity to investigate the events of that year for He Zhiju.”
"You're going to take me with you?" Shen Yujiao asked, somewhat surprised.
“Yes,” Jiang Chen said matter-of-factly, “If it’s feasible, I’ll take you there directly. If it’s not feasible, I’ll just announce to the outside world that you’re sick, and you can disguise yourself and come out with me, right?”
This was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise for Shen Yujiao. Her eyes lit up as she grabbed Jiang Chen's wrist: "Then I'll feign illness!"
Although it was a private visit, the news that the prince was going to personally investigate local bribery must have already spread among the officials. The fact that the crown prince was personally investigating the prefecture where his wife's family lived was already attracting a lot of attention. If the crown princess were to accompany him, people would inevitably suspect that Jiang Chen was showing favoritism. Moreover, in this day and age, it would be inconvenient for her to travel outside as a woman, but it would not be the case if she were dressed as a man.
Jiang Chen knew from her expression that she was thinking about something else. He reached out and tapped Shen Yujiao on the forehead: "The emperor hasn't even told me to go yet. Aren't you afraid of wasting your time thinking so much?"
"Then why don't you just let the emperor make up his mind?"
If King Huan could strike first, how could they not strike at the root of the problem?
"you mean......"
Shen Yujiao whispered in Jiang Chen's ear, "Go to the palace now and plead with the Emperor. Tell him you're worried that the Shen family will be implicated in the Jiangnan case. If the imperial relatives are abusing their power, you'd rather set an example and put righteousness above family ties than let others handle it..."
The girl's soft voice rang in his ear, her breath lingering on the side of Jiang Chen's neck, like a feather teasing his heartstrings, tickling him, as if something was surging in his heart. He lowered his eyes slightly and turned his head away.
"Okay, I understand. I'll go to the palace in a bit."
Seeing him dodge, Shen Yujiao was a little annoyed. She reached out and held Jiang Chen's head still, whispering in his ear again, "Why are you dodging? I haven't finished speaking. What is this that can be discussed loudly? If the Emperor has any concerns after you go..."
As the scent of fragrance drew near again, Jiang Chen's throat tightened, and he slowly lowered his eyes. He could no longer hear what Shen Yujiao was saying; he could only hear the beating of his own chest, one beat after another, crystal clear.
“Jiaojiao…” Jiang Chen turned to look at her, interrupting Shen Yujiao’s words. Seeing her somewhat stunned expression, Jiang Chen sighed silently, raised his hand to pat the top of her head, and then got up and walked out.
"I can handle it. Wait for me to come back at the East Palace."
Before he could finish speaking, he was gone. Shen Yujiao stared blankly at Jiang Chen's retreating figure, her hand unconsciously rising to tidy her hair, which he had ruffled, and muttered under her breath, "Dog paws..."
Inside the Huan Prince's residence, as soon as the Zhao King learned the news, he informed the Huan Prince: "Brother, the Crown Prince has entered the palace."
The jade ring Jiang Yu was playing with fell from his hand, the ring face hitting the table and shattering in two. He chuckled softly, his meaning ambiguous: "Jiaojiao really is... so biased towards him?"
“Very well,” Jiang Yu stood up and walked out from behind the desk, saying to the Prince of Zhao, “Since the Crown Prince wants to put righteousness before family, then let us grant his wish. Let our men set off today and tell Zhu Tong that if we can drag the Crown Prince into Jiangnan this time, he can extricate himself from the situation.”
“Alright.” King Zhao immediately nodded in agreement. King Huan was not a soft-hearted person, but he had shown leniency to the Crown Prince several times this year because of the Crown Prince. Now that King Huan had spoken, he would not allow the Crown Prince to escape from Jiangnan.
Jiang Yu took a few steps outside, then turned to Zhao Wang and said, "Yesterday I went to pay my respects to my mother and happened to see Yongxian at Huaqing Palace. The Jiande incident was caused by Yongjia's reckless and inconsiderate actions. You don't need to keep sending Yongxian to see her."
Princess Yongxian was the younger sister of King Zhao. Because King Zhao worked for King Huan, he would often remind his sister to befriend Princess Yongjia. However, Princess Yongxian was not the type to be easily manipulated. The fact that King Huan mentioned her today must be because Princess Yongxian said something to King Huan yesterday.
Thinking of this, King Zhao said with a hint of helplessness, "Brother, Yongjia is still young. You don't need to be so angry with her over this. She has been detained in Huaqing Palace and forced to kneel these days, and she already knows she was wrong."
"Did she send you to plead with me?" Jiang Yu glanced at her. "She's thirteen already, what kind of child is she? Yongxian is only half a year older than her, but she's much more mature in every way. If she doesn't repent, I won't be able to protect her in the future."
Jiang Yu felt a little annoyed by Princess Yongjia's arrogance. Fortunately, Shen Yujiao was alright this time. If anything had happened to her, he would never have allowed Yongjia to continue to be so willful.
Since King Huan had said so, King Zhao could not persuade him any further and had no choice but to agree. However, when he entered the palace that night and saw Princess Yongxian, he was still somewhat annoyed.
What did you say to your elder brother?
"What can I say?" Princess Yongxian said indifferently, "If my brother came here to lecture me, then he can leave."
"You!" King Zhao was somewhat exasperated. He reached out and snatched the poetry book from Princess Yongxian's hand, throwing it aside. "What harm would it do me to ask you to befriend Yongjia? Putting aside my relationship with my elder brother, just the fact that Yongjia is the Emperor's favorite means that befriending her would surely harm you."
Princess Yongxian looked at King Zhao with cold eyes. After a while, she stared at him, making him feel a little uncomfortable. Then Princess Yongxian got up and took back the book of poems. She glanced at King Zhao and sat down on the chaise lounge further away: "I can't help you with what you're planning, brother, and I don't want to take advantage of that nonsense."
"Do you even realize that you'll be forced to surrender in two or three years? Don't you think about yourself at all?!"
“Enough,” Princess Yongxian sat up and looked at King Zhao, saying each word clearly, “Brother, you just want to marry me off to some powerful minister, or use my marriage to form an alliance with a noble family. But I am no longer a child. Whatever you want to do, don’t involve me.”
As she spoke, Princess Yongxian's eyes reddened slightly. Afraid that the King of Zhao would see, she got up and walked towards the inner room, not giving the King of Zhao a single glance.
“If it’s about these things next time, then you don’t need to come to see me. My older brother is a sensible man; he won’t force me to do things I don’t want to do. Is my older brother any less capable than my older brother?”
Watching Princess Yongxian walk away without looking back, King Zhao helplessly sat back down in his chair. He wanted to have a drink of water, but Princess Yongxian didn't even serve him tea. He could only sit there angrily for a while before leaving.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Palace, Shen Yujiao was overjoyed. She opened Jiang Chen's wardrobe and held up each piece of men's clothing in front of her, as if she liked every single one.
"Although the emperor has granted our request, we still need to hurry back. We can't hide your illness for long."
Shen Yujiao threw the sapphire blue robe at him, saying nonchalantly, "Consort Chu is still in the Eastern Palace. If anything happens, she will cover for us."
Jiang Chen couldn't help but say, "You and she seem to get quite close."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yujiao looked at him with amusement: "You used to be quite close to her? Everyone in the science building knows you and Chu Rou are inseparable?"
"I'm inseparable from Chu Rou?" Jiang Chen sat up abruptly. "Shen Yujiao, you need to be honest with yourself. Chu Rou and I are classmates. We usually just spend time together in class and competitions. Isn't that normal? If you're talking about being inseparable, who's the one who runs to the upperclassmen's area every day? Who's the one who comes back to school to see you every day after graduation?"
"Are you kidding me?" Shen Yujiao was also unhappy. "I go to the senior dorm because there are always emcees to rehearse and I need to ask the teachers questions. Why does it sound so strange coming from you? Besides, every time Brother Zhiju comes back to school, he just happens to come and see me. I'm the one who asks him for my study notes. What's wrong with that?"
This is a big problem! Jiang Chen was about to speak, but seeing that Shen Yujiao seemed really angry, he swallowed his words. Their relationship had just started to improve, and he didn't want to keep arguing with her because of others.
"Take your time choosing, I'm going to the training ground."
After saying that, Jiang Chen turned and left the bedroom. Shen Yujiao looked at the clothes on the bed and felt that he was acting strangely. After sitting for a while, she felt a little annoyed. They had finally gotten along well for a couple of days, so why did they quarrel again today?
"Jiang Xiaochen, you little bastard who doesn't keep his word..."
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