Concubine Xie's breathing stagnated. "Princess, what do you mean by that? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince works day and night, and Prime Minister Xie is even more devoted to his work..."
"Yeah?"
"Then why did I hear that the Northwest Army was short of pay again when I first entered the palace?"
Chu Qingluan's eyes turned cold. "In order to investigate the military pay case three years ago, I had to stay dormant in Jiangnan for three years. Now that I have finally made some progress in the case, something unexpected has happened in the army."
She turned to the Emperor of Chu and said firmly, "Father, rest assured. When I come back this time, I will definitely clean up all the parasites in the court, especially those who are just sitting there doing nothing!"
These words were equivalent to declaring war on the Xie family and Crown Prince Chu Lang!
Concubine Xie jumped up in shock, and the golden hairpin on her head trembled.
The expression on her well-maintained face could hardly be maintained!
"What do you mean by that, Princess? Are you implying that the Crown Prince is not doing his job well?"
She pointed her sharp nails directly at Chu Qingluan, "You are a woman who has been away from the capital for three years. Now that you are back, you are giving orders. Do you still take the crown prince seriously?"
Chu Qingluan's eyes became fierce, and she was about to stand up, but was interrupted by Emperor Chu on the dragon couch.
"Stop arguing! Ahem, Qingluan, please stay. I have something to tell you. Imperial Concubine, please leave first... Ahem..."
Concubine Xie bit her lip unwillingly, but finally bowed and left.
Before leaving, she glared at Chu Qingluan viciously, her eyes full of resentment.
After the palace door was closed, Chu Qingluan was about to speak, but she saw the "weak" Emperor Chu suddenly sit up from the dragon couch and lift the brocade quilt with neat movements.
Chu Qingluan’s eyes suddenly widened!
"Father!? You——"
The King of Chu waved his hand, signaling her to be silent, "If I hadn't pretended to be sick, how could I have gotten you back from that kid Xie Yunqi?"
He snorted coldly, "I know everything about that kid stopping you at the city gate."
Chu Qingluan suddenly realized, and a warm feeling suddenly surged in her heart.
It turned out that her father was worried that she would suffer at the hands of Xie Yunqi.
"I am an unfilial son and have made Father worried."
Emperor Chu sighed, then smiled bitterly and said, "Silly girl, you have suffered a lot in the past three years..."
In fact, as early as three years ago, after Chu Qingluan recovered her memory, she ordered Zhixia to secretly send a message to Emperor Chu, expressing her intention to continue to lie dormant in Jiangnan for a while and investigate the military pay case.
But I didn’t expect that this delay would last for three years.
"I heard that Qi Che dared to betray you in public? And he even married Prime Minister Gu's daughter?"
Chu Qingluan paused for a moment, then nodded, "I had to hide my real name to investigate the case, but now that I have returned to the palace, this wrong relationship should naturally be severed."
The King of Chu nodded with satisfaction. Good, he is courageous, responsible, and decisive.
This is exactly the courage and means that a king should have.
"So what are your plans next?"
He added meaningfully: "I'm sure you understand the situation in the court."
Looking at the entire court, the six ministries are all controlled by aristocratic families, and among the aristocratic families, the Xie family is the leader, competing with the imperial power.
A year ago, under pressure, the King of Chu had to temporarily appoint a crown prince.
"Your mother passed away early. The Qin family has declined over the years and no longer has much say in the court. Among the six ministries, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue are all controlled by the Xie family. The Ministry of War is barely supported by Pei Yuan, and the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice have secretly been leaning towards your third brother..."
The King of Chu stood in front of the window with a solemn expression.
"I had no choice but to appoint a crown prince a year ago. The Xie family is powerful and has married into aristocratic families. Nearly half of the officials in the court are from their family. If I hadn't appointed Chu Lang, I'm afraid..."
Before he could finish his words, he started coughing violently.
Chu Qingluan hurried forward to support him, only to find that her father had become much thinner than he was three years ago.
"Father..." Her heart ached.
Emperor Chu waved his hand and continued, "Your mother saw through the Xie family's ambitions. Before she died, she told me to protect you... I was useless."
The Emperor of Chu and the former Queen were famous for their loving and harmonious relationship. They had been childhood sweethearts. After helping the Emperor of Chu ascend the throne, the former Queen also injured her body in the struggles in the harem and passed away a few years after giving birth to Chu Qingluan.
As for Concubine Xie, she was forced to enter the harem in order to consolidate the imperial power. Over the years, he was not unaware of Concubine Xie's private activities, but she had the Xie family behind her, so he couldn't easily touch her.
"Father, don't blame yourself. Now that I am back, I will no longer allow the aristocratic families to control government affairs and endanger the country of Great Chu."
After thinking for a while, Chu Qingluan suddenly took a deep breath and knelt down to salute: "I beg you, father, to re-investigate the military pay case from three years ago. If these parasites are not removed, there will never be peace in the country of Great Chu!"
She wanted to use this case to create a gap in the relationship with the aristocratic family.
When the King of Chu heard this, his expression was solemn: "Do you know what this means?"
"I know." Chu Qingluan raised his head, his eyes gleaming with determination: "This means that I will officially become an enemy of the Xie family and the crown prince. But for the sake of the Great Chu and the soldiers on the border, I will do whatever it takes!"
Emperor Chu was silent for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter: "Great! This is the daughter of my Chu family!"
Then, she took out a secret decree from under her pillow, "I have already prepared it. From today on, you will be fully responsible for the military pay case, and all six ministries must cooperate."
Chu Qingluan solemnly took the imperial edict and kowtowed.
"Thank you, Father!"
"I heard that Qin Jiuge is going to hold a music party for you to choose a lover?" The Emperor of Chu suddenly changed the subject, with some curiosity.
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