Chapter 88 Don’t Be My Lover, Be My Concubine (Fifteen)
Jiang Ye was silent for a moment, then slowly looked away: "I have a counselor in my house."
Yu Huo stayed where he was, neither advancing nor retreating: "So what did the counselors in your palace say?"
Jiang Ye seemed unaccustomed to the distance between them at this moment, and his expression was a little awkward, but he did not evade the question. He only stated dryly: "Most of the ministers in the court have already taken sides, so it is difficult to win them over. However, the only female doctor in the Imperial Hospital is from our Wan family. She knows the secrets of the backyards of various mansions. If I use this as a threat, I can compete with my two royal brothers for equal status..."
Yu Huo interjected at the right moment: "But this kind of support is like a castle in the air. One wrong move could lead to a complete loss. It's really risky."
Jiang Ye nodded: "Yes, I don't want to either. Instead of giving in, it would be better to expose their past and start with the newcomers. Unfortunately..."
This person is used to saying half and hiding the other half. The good thing about him is that he has a sharp mind and can keep up with the flow of thought.
"It's a pity that the newcomers to the throne were basically cultivated by the Crown Prince and Prince Yan, and your Wan family has no say in it at all."
Jiang Ye hesitated for a moment, tapping the armrest lightly with his fingers, seeming a little anxious: "Do you have a solution?"
The beauty lowered her head slightly, and even with her brows furrowed, she was still so beautiful that she didn't seem like a human being.
Yu Huo narrowed his eyes and found that he could never get enough of looking at this face.
"Didn't I tell you I have a way? You keep asking me questions but I won't tell you what benefits you can give me. Are you trying to get something for nothing?"
Hearing this, Jiang Ye pursed his thin lips into a crimson line. After a long while, he raised his eyes to meet the boy's gaze, and his voice was full of compromise: "What do you want?"
Yu Huo pretended to be in deep thought and smiled: "Let's talk about the snowstorm first?"
After saying this, he leaned back under Jiang Ye's surprised gaze and leaned lazily against the wall of the carriage again.
The curtains rose and fell as the carriage moved, and his gaze out the window flickered. "I know you're trying to use the public resentment caused by this snowstorm to suppress Prince Yan, but the victims outside the city gates are displaced, and the road from Luoyang to the capital is already littered with corpses and bones. Simply to temporarily confine a selfish prince to the palace is a sacrifice too great."
"You want me to clean up after that guy?" Jiang Ye's eyes darkened, and his emotions became a little unstable: "So this is your condition?"
Yu Huo's eyes didn't shy away from him: "Yes."
Jiang Ye closed his eyes, as if trying to suppress his restless emotions: "Tell me your method first. If it works, I will do it."
After saying that, he wanted to make another promise, but the boy in front of him did not distrust him like he did last night. Instead, he looked away lightly, his voice clearly audible.
"Right now, the court is mostly controlled by the Wu family and the Minister of the Central Secretariat. The remaining neutral officials have inextricable ties with the Yu family, while your Wan family has very few members. Ultimately, it all comes down to the division of power.
Your Wan family is affiliated with the north, relying on the control of the trade routes to survive, but the northern style of literature is slightly lacking. In previous years, only one or two out of ten candidates were selected through the imperial examinations, and most were exiled from the capital due to poor performance. This has led to the phenomenon that your Wan family's officials are almost exhausted.
Jiang Ye looked up at him steadily and said bluntly, "I have no right to interfere in matters related to the imperial examination."
Yu Huo shrugged: "I know, I didn't ask you to interfere in the imperial examination. I asked you to start with the candidates."
"Do I look that stupid?" Jiang Ye stared at him with an indescribable look in his eyes.
Yu Huo ignored the other party's unkind tone and calmly retorted, "Who told you to harm those famous candidates in the south? You just need to control a few candidates in the north who might pass the exam. Even if they pass, they will be at the bottom of the list. It's better to make a fuss and start a successful career."
Jiang Ye asked tentatively after hearing this: "Are you saying to cut off the firewood directly?"
"Smart." Yu Huo chuckled, and when he was playing tricks, he was more like a little fox: "When the list is full of candidates from the south, the candidates from the north will be ridiculed. If you send people to stir up trouble on both sides, after years of accumulated resentment, how can these candidates from the north not make trouble?
When the scene gets so big that even the emperor is frightened, none of the chief examiners and deputy chief examiners who follow the Crown Prince and Prince Yan will be able to escape! At that time, some will be exiled, some will be beheaded, and the emperor will even order a re-examination.
At this point, the examiner position that was usually fought over would become a hot potato, and neutral officials would be pushed out to take the blame.
If you present a solution now, I believe those neutral officials will be grateful to you, and the emperor will look upon you with favor, and even reward you with some gold and silver? There is no other way, who told you to be a "girl" now? If you were a prince, it would be much better..."
Jiang Ye clenched his fists and sneered, "He won't leave behind a legitimate prince who is as rich as a country."
His displeasure faded quickly, and he calmed down in the blink of an eye. He focused on the key points of his words: "What method do you want me to present?"
The young man tilted his head and chuckled, his eyes carefree and frivolous: "This is the other price."
"What else do you want?"
Yu Huo's eyes rolled around: "Let me tell you the solution first? If you think it's good, I'll make some requests."
Jiang Ye chuckled: "Aren't you afraid that I will turn against you after hearing your advice?"
The young man touched the tip of his nose and said nonchalantly, "It's okay. I just made this request on a whim. It's okay if you don't agree."
Jiang Ye couldn't understand him.
The person in front of him seemed even more moody than he was, like a floating cloud, hanging high in the sky, visible but untouchable.
He thought about it, and didn't say yes or no: "Then you say it."
Yu Huo stretched out his hand and drew a vertical line in the air: "Separate."
"Separate what?"
"North-South rankings!"
Jiang Ye's eyes lit up, and his mind instantly turned in a thousand turns.
If this is the case, not to mention what the neutral officials are thinking, can those northern scholars secretly supported by the Wan family also hold important positions?
As for the Emperor... he must be happy to see this happen! The court is entirely filled with officials from the south, which is not conducive to the stability of imperial power. He must have trusted and supported this candidate who has no connection to any of the major families.
So you can add another hidden chess piece to your chess piece invisibly.
In an instant, Jiang Ye's beautiful eyes were like falling stars, and the crystal fluorescence almost blended with the flying snow outside the car.
Yu Huo's vision became blurry, and he only came back to his senses when the other party loudly asked for his request.
This face is good-looking, already gorgeous and beautiful. When she wears a silk dress and has long hair, she almost suppresses all the prosperity in the world.
He thought, if the other person was a woman, maybe he could also turn straight for love?
At this time, Jiang Ye stretched out his hand and waved it in front of him: "What are you thinking about..."
Halfway through his words, Yu Huo suddenly grabbed his hand and pressed down on his shoulders.
The car curtain fluttered, and the young man had long disappeared. Only the kiss hidden in the corner of his lips remained, and the fragrance seemed to linger, touching the heart.
Is this what he wants?
Jiang Ye reached out and stroked the corner of his lips, then subconsciously lifted the curtain and looked at the street.
I saw a young man in a silver-gray cloak standing in front of the vendor and taking out a copper coin to buy a candied haws.
The next second, a figure came into view, and the man reached out and touched the boy's cheek.
The cold air instantly spread throughout the car, and the curtains were wrinkled by the slender fingers.
The palace maidservant waiting outside the door noticed something was wrong and stepped forward to ask softly, "Eighth Princess?"
"Who is that?"
The palace maid looked in the direction of the other person's finger and saw that the man was covering his right cheek with a streak of red blood hanging from his nose. He looked so pitiful.
She carefully identified him for a moment before gloatingly reporting, "The man Mr. Yu slapped was the Wu family's eldest son, Wu Renyao, who had just been brought back from the ancestral home."
The person inside the car sneered, his voice as sinister as a ghost crawling out of hell: "Find a deserted place later and cripple his hand for me!"
Palace maid: "...Yes."
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