Chapter 360 She seduced him and treated him like a mistress.
The capital city was once again shaken, though not without its upheavals. First, the prime minister's eldest grandson was imprisoned for three days and then executed; the prime minister's son was dismissed from his post and barred from future employment. Then, the entire family of Imperial Censor Ding Shaojie was expelled from the capital, and finally, the Marquis of Qiyang's family was stripped of their title.
To the average person, the emperor's three edicts seem unrelated. However, those in the know understand that there is a profound connection between them. The conflict between the Duke of Chu and the Prime Minister has now been brought into the open.
Meanwhile, many of the officials associated with the Prime Minister were considering switching allegiances. Although Pei Qitang's murder had been exposed, it was only natural for the Emperor to punish him. Pei Hanming, as a father, had also been dismissed for failing to properly discipline his son.
This also shows that the Emperor was ruthless in handling this matter. Given the Prime Minister's abilities, if the Emperor still valued their long-standing relationship and the Prime Minister's contributions to the court, he would not have dismissed Pei Hanming from his post and would have permanently banned him from employment.
This indicates that the Emperor no longer trusts the Prime Minister, while Duke Jiang Yu of Chu is currently the Emperor's favorite minister. In a short time, the status of the Duke of Chu's mansion rose significantly in the capital.
It was only recently that the old Duke of Chu passed away; otherwise, there would have been many families coming to the Duke of Chu's mansion to propose marriage. Although the Duke of Chu only had some illegitimate daughters to marry into the family, that didn't matter. For those who wanted to curry favor, as long as they could establish a connection with the Duke of Chu's mansion, that was enough.
At this moment, inside the Duke of Chu's mansion, Jiang Yu was sitting at her desk writing official documents when Xia He walked in and whispered to her, "The master has arrived."
Jiang Yu put down her pen and said, "Please come in."
Xia He went out and invited Jiang Chengye, who was standing at the door, in. Jiang Chengye used to feel resentful and unwilling to have to ask permission before entering his daughter's study, but he no longer felt that way.
Thinking about it carefully, Jiang Yu was not only his daughter, but also the Duke of Chu, the person in charge of the family. Even when his father was the Duke of Chu, didn't he have to consult him before coming here?
It can only be said that the same thing can yield different results depending on one's mindset.
Jiang Chengye stepped into the study, his gaze first sweeping towards the tea table, but seeing no one there, he then noticed Jiang Yu sitting behind the desk. The large desk, with the somewhat slender woman sitting behind it, made her appear quite petite.
Jiang Chengye's eyes flickered, then he walked to the desk and stood there. Jiang Yu looked up from the official documents, stood up, and said, "Father."
Jiang Chengye gave a somewhat awkward "hmm" and then sat down. Seeing that Jiang Yu had also sat down, Jiang Chengye clenched his hands under the table, unsure of what to say.
At this moment, Xia He brought over two cups of tea, put them down, and immediately left, closing the door behind her. Jiang Chengye silently breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Jiang Yu and asked, "Did the Emperor blame you?"
"Yes, but it was dealt with," Jiang Yu said truthfully.
She just wanted Jiang Chengye to know that being the Duke of Chu wasn't easy, and that he should avoid causing trouble. However, he did very well this time, and Jiang Yu didn't hold back her praise, saying:
“My father did a great job bringing Ren Guanfei to the Lu family this time and letting him take the lead. It saved us a lot of trouble.”
Jiang Chengye was a little embarrassed. "You had the steward remind me beforehand. I... I was thinking that if something happened, it would be best if someone could take the blame. Ren Guanfei is from the Qingshan Marquis's Mansion, so it would be perfect for him to take the blame."
Jiang Yu nodded, "Making thorough preparations before doing things makes it easier to deal with unexpected situations. You did a great job."
Jiang Chengye grinned, then asked the question that concerned him most: "Was Lu Peichen drugged beforehand?"
Otherwise, he wouldn't have died so suddenly.
Jiang Yu picked up her cup and took a sip of tea. "It should be."
"Pei... Pei Chengkun is targeting me? He wants me dead?" Jiang Chengye was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on his back.
Jiang Yu put down her cup. "He doesn't want you to die; he wants to use you to negotiate with me."
Jiang Chengye, unaware of the background, asked in confusion, "What are you negotiating?"
Jiang Yu looked at him and remained silent for a moment before finally deciding to tell him everything so that he wouldn't be left with only a vague understanding and might unintentionally ruin her plans later.
She recounted everything in detail, from Ding Shaojie writing memorials to discovering his connection with the Marquis of Qiyang, and later learning that everything was orchestrated by Pei Chengkun. She also explained how Pei Qitang committed murder, and how she had Lu Shaocheng implicate Lou Qingyao in suing Pei Qitang.
Jiang Chengye, whose mind was usually focused on eating, drinking, and having fun, took a while to sort things out. Then, he frowned and asked Jiang Yu, "Pei Chengkun is targeting Prince Rui. Why did you make a move? You...you've taken a fancy to Prince Rui?"
Jiang Yu: "......."
“No, that won’t work,” Jiang Chengye said, frowning. “Although Prince Rui is handsome, he only knows how to tinker with strange and unusual things all day long. He can’t help you!”
Jiang Yu: "......."
"Furthermore, you are the Duke of Chu, how can you get married?" Jiang Chengye felt this was a truly enormous problem.
Thinking that his daughter was no ordinary woman and that she could do things no less than those outstanding men, he said, "If you really like Prince Rui's face, then seduce him and take him as your mistress."
"Father!" Jiang Yu quickly interrupted him. If she didn't, who knew what else he would say.
"It's not what you think." Taking a deep breath silently, Jiang Yu told herself that the way a playboy thinks is different from ordinary people, so don't take it to heart.
However, she still earnestly reminded him: "You must never talk about mistresses again. Moreover, Prince Rui is very important to the court and the emperor. Not only did I take action this time, but Prince An also took action, and the emperor allowed it."
"Then...then why?" Jiang Chengye was still skeptical. As a playboy, he knew exactly what men were thinking when they saw a beautiful woman. Similarly, with Prince Rui's looks, he didn't believe his daughter wouldn't like him.
"I can't tell you the specific reasons right now, but you'll understand in a while," Jiang Yu said.
Jiang Chengye nodded, indicating that he understood. After their conversation, the awkward atmosphere between father and daughter had eased somewhat, and Jiang Chengye was no longer so tense. He then asked, "Will Pei Chengkun retaliate?"
“Yes, but not now.” Jiang Yu looked at him and decided to tell him everything. “Pei Chengkun is the Prince of Lingnan’s maternal uncle. Father, you were tricked into buying a ship that was smuggling salt. The real mastermind behind it all is the Prince of Lingnan.”
Pei Tinglan, the mother of the Prince of Lingnan and Pei Chengkun's younger sister, was once engaged to her grandfather, but the engagement was later broken off for some reason. Pei Tinglan was publicly stated to have hanged herself, but she became the old Prince of Lingnan's concubine and later became his wife.
Jiang Chengye: "........."
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