When Huang Cheng arrived at the Qinzheng Hall, Yuan Bao was serving tea to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, why are we so angry?" he whispered.

"It was not enough for me to pretend to be a grandson before, but now I have to pretend to be a grandson too." The emperor said angrily.

They spoke in the Shandong dialect. Although he was born in the capital, the Empress sent him to his fiefdom very early. The Emperor and the Crown Prince were reluctant to do so. Other princes had not been given fiefdoms so early. The Empress said that it was okay for other princes, but the prince born to her could not be an exception.

The emperor also knew that the queen had always been upright, so he could only sigh and be relieved to send the Prince of Qi away.

Although the wet nurse and others who followed him were all from the palace, the palace was complicated, with servants bought from the locals and gifts from local officials, and there were many local people in the palace, so the Prince of Qi still learned the local dialect. In addition, after receiving a letter from the Queen, the Prince of Qi began to speak the local dialect more deliberately, and it gradually became a habit. Later, when he went to Beijing to celebrate the emperor's birthday, he was ridiculed by other royal relatives because of his Shandong dialect, and the emperor was furious.

Yuan Bao thought about what happened back then and sighed a little.

"Yes, Your Majesty, don't do that." He said, "He offended you. If you don't like him, just kick him out. You are the emperor, and your word is law."

This is the truth and it is comforting to hear. Of course, those ministers are unwilling to tell this truth. It seems that if they praise him, they will become treacherous ministers and lose face in front of the people of the world.

Well, not everyone. Ning Yan’s nephew Ning Yunzhao is different.

After a while of random thoughts, the emperor smiled and felt a little better.

"It's not that easy," he said.

"It's not that easy. How can an official be perfect? ​​I don't believe it." Yuan Bao said.

This is also the truth. No one is perfect, and no gold is flawless. As long as you are determined, you can always find faults. The emperor laughed.

"Yeah, take your time." His eyes were a little angry and a little gloomy, "I am worthy of him, but he is the one who is worthy of me."

News came from outside the door, with the eunuch reporting that Huang Cheng had arrived.

Yuan Bao hurried to take his leave.

"You stay here," the emperor said, stroking the memorial before him. "I'm going to talk about Deshengchang. You should listen to it."

Yuan Bao responded by stepping aside with his hands down.

Huang Cheng was summoned in and was about to kowtow. At other times, the emperor would have stopped him from taking a seat, but this time the emperor just lowered his head to read the memorials and seemed not to see him.

Huang Cheng knelt down and called out "Your Majesty".

"You are borrowing Lu Yunqi's things, but you are going to borrow Cheng Guogong's things too?" The emperor said without raising his head, "Is he in a hurry to reward his people?"

Huang Cheng quickly bent over to the ground.

"I dare not." He said in a trembling voice.

The emperor threw the memorial on the table.

"What are you afraid of? You dared to lie to Prince Huai that he was bewitched by an evil spirit, and you dared to let Lu Yunqi guard Prince Huai's mansion for you. Why don't you dare to attack Duke Cheng first and then restrain him?" He shouted, "In short, you are a good person inside and out, and you want me to be the bad guy, right?"

Hearing this, Huang Cheng felt relieved, thinking that Lu Yunqi had done the job properly.

It was a perfect move to guard Prince Huai's palace and not let the Prince of Chengguo enter.

Lu Yunqi would certainly not hide the fact that Your Majesty had approached him in private, but he could not tell the Emperor that he had been asked to speak when the Emperor questioned De Shengchang.

This is what the emperor fears the most. The Lu Yun Flag can only be used by him. If it is used by ministers, it will be unreliable.

But as long as we guard Prince Huai's Palace and prevent Prince Chengguo from getting close, there will be no problem.

When doing things, you have to mix truth and falsehood in this way so as not to arouse suspicion.

Commander Lu was able to reach such a position despite his humble status, and it was not just luck.

"Your Majesty, I dare not." Huang Cheng burst into tears and kowtowed repeatedly. "I am worried about Prince Huai. If anything happens to Prince Huai, Your Majesty will be harmed. I am worried and would rather make a hundred mistakes than let him go once. As for rewarding De Shengchang, it is not for Duke Chengguo. It is not Duke Chengguo's merit. It is Your Majesty's, Your Majesty's people, and it is Your Majesty's people who are loyal to Your Majesty and serve the country. I can't stand Duke Chengguo acting like all the things his people did were his own merits."

Yes, it was his. The emperor looked at Huang Cheng who was kowtowing with a gloomy expression, and felt angry and depressed in his heart, but it became a possession of Duke Cheng.

He raised his hand and patted the table.

"That's enough!" he shouted.

Huang Cheng immediately stopped crying and kowtowing, and fell to the ground in silence.

The emperor exhaled.

"If you have something to say, just say it. It's disgraceful to keep crying!" he shouted.

Huang Cheng wiped his tears and looked up.

"I am deeply terrified, fearing that I might do something wrong and bring injustice upon Your Majesty," he said.

The emperor exhaled without saying anything.

"Your Majesty, I am telling the truth. I have selfish motives in asking Your Majesty to reward De Shengchang." Huang Cheng raised his head and said.

The emperor looked at him.

"The state affairs are so difficult and complicated now." Huang Cheng continued, "First, there are the casualties of the war, and now there are hundreds of thousands of refugees waiting to be resettled. The rewards for Duke Cheng and hundreds of thousands of soldiers have already exhausted the national treasury. Your Majesty, I am so worried that I can hardly sleep."

He said this and looked at the emperor cautiously.

"Since Deshengchang is so rich and dedicated to serving the country, why not let them pay to resettle the refugees?"

The emperor's eyes suddenly lit up.

Yes, that way he gets his money back.

Yes, this was originally his money.

The emperor sat up straight.

"But it will cost a lot, is Deshengchang willing?" he said hesitantly.

A smile appeared on Huang Cheng's lips.

"All the people in the land are subjects of the king," he said. "Besides, they are not used for nothing. They are only temporarily loaned out. Moreover, the Fang family will be given a title and a generous salary, so that they can bring honor to their ancestors. Why would they be unwilling to do so?"

He said with a smile.

"In life, one's name is recorded in history. Money is nothing but dirt. The Fang family is so wealthy that they naturally know how great a blessing this is."

The emperor looked down at the memorial on the table and took out a red pen to make a mark.

"Let's discuss this matter in the inner cabinet," he said.

Huang Cheng leaned forward and kowtowed.

"Your Majesty is wise," he said loudly, raising his hands.

Yuan Bao, who was standing by, then came over, took the memorial and handed it to Huang Cheng.

Huang Cheng raised his head and seemed to see Yuan Bao for the first time, with a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Eunuch Yuan, long time no see," he said.

Yuan Bao smiled at him and walked back without saying a word.

…

"Originally, His Majesty wanted to invite the adults, but after hearing what the eunuch said, His Majesty changed his mind." A Jinyiwei whispered.

Lu Yunqi sat on a chair, turning a small dagger with a wooden expression, seeming to be listening to him talking and seeming to be in a trance.

"Why did Yuan Bao suddenly return to the capital? He seems to have been doing something for His Majesty for so many years." Captain Jiang said, "Should we investigate him..."

Lu Yunqi raised his hand.

"Since it is His Majesty's mission, it cannot be investigated," he said.

Jiang Qianhu quickly responded yes.

Lu Yunqi waved his hands, and the Jinyiwei retreated.

"Your Majesty has always trusted you, but when this Yuan came, His Majesty actually saw him instead of you. I'm worried that Yuan has bad intentions." Jiang Qianhu said in a low voice.

"Whether people believe it or not depends on what they do," said Lu Yunqi. "Everyone does their own thing and everyone gains their own trust. There is nothing to worry about."

Jiang Qianhu replied yes.

"Also, is there still no news about the woman in Guan Temple?" Lu Yunqi suddenly asked.

Jiang Qianhu shook his head.

"We've been investigating for more than a year, and it seems like he just disappeared out of thin air." He whispered.

Lu Yunqi pressed the dagger in his hand on the table.

"Nothing is free in this world," he said.

He stood up and withdrew his hand. The dagger had sunk into the table, leaving only the handle exposed.

"Keep investigating," he said.

Jiang Qianhu replied yes.