Chapter 397 It might not be that easy.
The next day at lunchtime, Jiang Yu left the government office and went to the teahouse to see Prince An. When he arrived, Prince An was already there and had ordered the food. The two were acquaintances, and after Jiang Yu greeted him, he sat down and immediately picked up his chopsticks.
Prince An was delighted by her informality, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. Observing the dishes that Jiang Yu liked to eat, he picked up a piece with his chopsticks and placed it in Jiang Yu's bowl.
Jiang Yu was taken aback, then looked into Prince An's eyes and said in a casual but serious tone, "If Your Highness is like this, I dare not dine with Your Highness in the future."
Prince An's expression stiffened, then he said apologetically, "I was rash."
Jiang Yu lowered her eyes and continued eating. Prince An looked at her intently for a moment before looking away and continuing to eat, but the atmosphere was not as relaxed as before. However, both of them were masters of emotional management, and they quickly recovered from the awkwardness. They exchanged a few words and returned to the main topic, and the previous restraint quietly dissipated.
Jiang Yu put down her chopsticks and picked up her teacup to drink. Seeing that Prince An had also put down his chopsticks, she asked, "Your Highness said that when investigating Pu Tonghe, you discovered some clues. What were they?"
Prince An also put down his chopsticks. “Pu Tonghe’s ancestral home is Yunling, which is close to Lingnan. Moreover, Pu Tonghe’s mother’s name was Zhu Peiyue.”
After listening, Jiang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "The King of Lingnan also has the surname Zhu. Does Your Highness mean that Pu Tonghe might be a man of the King of Lingnan?"
Prince An toyed with the celadon cup with intertwined flowers in his hand and said, "When the emperor first ascended the throne, he was the top scholar in the first imperial examination. He was personally promoted by the emperor all the way up, so he shouldn't have been involved with the prime minister's side. But now he is openly colluding with the prime minister and the crown prince. It doesn't make sense if there isn't a deeper connection behind this. The most likely reason is that he originally belonged to the Prince of Lingnan's side."
After listening, Jiang Yu nodded and asked, "What is Your Highness's opinion on what happened at the Princess's flower-viewing banquet?"
Prince An took a sip of tea and looked at her, saying, "After the banquet yesterday, Pu Tonghe, the Crown Prince, and Consort Su all went to the Imperial Study to see the Emperor, but we still have no news about what they talked about or what the outcome was."
Jiang Yu nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "Judging from the current situation, the Crown Prince intends to marry Yan Fengxi as his concubine, but at the banquet, the Crown Prince rescued Pu Mingyue who had fallen into the water. What is their purpose?"
Prince An held his teacup in silence for a while, then said, "Pu Tonghe is the Crown Prince's and the Prime Minister's man. He has always been hidden in the shadows. He is someone the Emperor trusts and is also the Minister of Personnel. Over the years, how many paths have he paved for the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister and how many things has he done in secret? He wouldn't do all this for nothing. He must be hoping that my daughter can become the Crown Prince's principal wife."
Jiang Yu nodded and continued, "But the Emperor clearly has no intention of letting the Crown Prince succeed to the throne. If they want the Crown Prince to succeed to the throne, they will definitely take an unconventional approach. At that time, Grand Tutor Yan will be needed to legitimize their claim."
Therefore, in order to win over Grand Tutor Yan, they wanted to give the position of Crown Princess to his granddaughter. This would jeopardize Pu Tonghe's interests. Hence, the incident at the flower-viewing banquet where the Crown Prince rescued Pu Mingyue from the drowning occurred.
Prince An praised, "Yes."
"So, they want Pu Mingyue to be their concubine," Jiang Yu added.
“It should be.” Prince An put down his cup. “But even so, given His Majesty’s suspicious nature, he will still doubt Pu Tonghe.”
Jiang Yu nodded, "But given Pu Tonghe and the Prime Minister's cunning and shrewdness, they must have already prepared a way to dispel the Emperor's suspicions about Pu Tonghe. So, now we must let the Emperor know that Pu Tonghe may be a man of the Prince of Lingnan."
“That’s the same idea,” said Prince An.
“Then let Your Highness speak to the Emperor.” Jiang Yu habitually rubbed the jade pendant at his waist, and continued, “The Duke of Wei intends to arrange a marriage between his family and Grand Tutor Yan, so that Ning Yunchuan will marry Yan Fengju. The two families have already discussed it and originally planned to wait for Ling Yunchuan to return from Lingnan before proposing marriage. Now it seems that we have to release the news of the marriage between the two families in advance.”
Prince An's gaze fell on the jade pendant she was playing with in her hand, and his expression paused slightly. He seemed to have seen this jade pendant at Prince Rui's place, and his heart sank. But he quickly suppressed the heaviness in his heart and said, "Ning Yunchuan is calm and steady, and Miss Yan is talented and insightful. The two of them are truly a perfect match."
Jiang Yu nodded with a smile, "The next important thing is to eliminate Pu Tonghe."
Her words, spoken casually, shocked Prince An. Who was Pu Tonghe? One of the emperor's most trusted ministers, the Minister of Personnel, who controlled the appointment, evaluation, promotion, and transfer of officials throughout the land, holding the power to determine the careers of most officials in the court. Bringing him down was no easy task.
Prince An frowned and asked, "Have you come up with a strategy?"
Jiang Yu nodded, "The first step is to make the Emperor suspicious of him. Then we can slowly find evidence of his crimes. He has been in the Ministry of Personnel for many years and has many officials under him. If we really take action against him, these people will inevitably cause trouble."
Therefore, it's necessary to prepare a list of replacements for the officials who follow him in advance, so that when the time is right, he can replace them all at once when they're off guard, thus preventing chaos in the court.
Prince An couldn't help but admire her meticulous planning once more, but a sense of loss welled up inside him. The more outstanding her abilities in court politics, the less likely a relationship between them was. His gaze fell again on the jade pendant at Jiang Yu's waist, his hand involuntarily clenching...
"Do you have a way to find Pu Tong and evidence of his crimes?" Prince An asked, withdrawing his gaze.
Jiang Yu nodded, "I had some clues when I was looking through the files in the archives before."
"Okay." Prince An felt as if a stone was stuck in his throat, making him extremely uncomfortable.
The two meticulously planned what they would do next, and then Jiang Yu took her leave. After she left, Prince An slumped in his chair and remained silent for a long time before finally getting up and heading to the palace.
Upon arriving at the Imperial Study and meeting the Emperor, he recounted the story of Pu Tong and his mother's surname being Zhu. The Emperor listened in silence. Although Zhu was not a common surname, it was not uncommon either; there were many families with the surname Zhu both inside and outside the capital, and one could not usually make a judgment based on a single surname.
However, considering the Crown Prince's rescue of Pu Mingyue from the water, the fact that the Prime Minister is the Prince of Lingnan's maternal uncle, and other such matters, it's highly likely that Pu Tonghe's mother is related to the Prince of Lingnan. The Emperor originally thought that as long as Pu Tonghe was loyal, it wouldn't matter if his daughter became the Crown Prince's concubine. But now it seems absolutely impossible.
After a long while, the emperor said, "Continue investigating Pu Tonghe."
"yes."
The emperor waved for Prince An to leave, then sat in his large chair, frowning in deep thought. He had originally thought that with such powerful firearms at his disposal, dealing with the Prince of Lingnan would be a sure thing, and he had already built up a considerable amount of confidence.
But now it seems that the King of Lingnan has extended his reach so far, even involving the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Personnel. This game is far more complex than he thought, and eliminating the King of Lingnan will probably not be so easy.
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