Seeing Yun Xuanzhi appear, Emperor Yugan's expression softened slightly, but his eyes remained as cold as ice. He glanced at Yun Qianmeng lying on the ground with an extremely cold expression, his mind turning over and over for no less than a hundred times. After a long while, he spoke in a deep voice, "Princess Chu, please get up. I've always heard that Princess Chu is as brave as a man, so why are you acting like an ignorant woman now?"
Yun Qianmeng knew from Emperor Yugan's tone that her repeated rejections had already made him very dissatisfied. However, she did not argue with him, nor did she defend herself against his accusations. She simply kowtowed quietly to him and said, "Your Majesty, I thank you very much."
After she finished speaking, Yun Qianmeng slowly stood up. Her reserved face was as calm as the surface of a lake, and her calm eyes only reflected the tiny dots of light in the room, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking at the moment.
"As the Right Prime Minister for so many years, you must be well aware of the affairs of the court. Since you have already mentioned this, you must have guessed it. Why not tell me about it." Seeing that there was no breakthrough on Yun Qianmeng's side, Emperor Yugan could only turn his gaze to Yun Xuanzhi and spoke with a half-kindness and half-authority.
Yun Xuanzhi's gaze swept across Yun Qianmeng's face, and then, half-lowering his head, he respectfully replied to Emperor Yugan's question, "Your Majesty, the timing of this incident in Jiangnan coincided with the Sea King's rebellion. Bai Wuhen has already taken control of most of Jiangnan. There's no guarantee that this isn't a divisive plot devised by the Sea King and his band of rebels."
At this point, Yun Xuanzhi paused, raising his eyelids to glance quickly at Emperor Yugan. Seeing that Emperor Yugan's expression gradually darkened as he spoke, Yun Xuanzhi's mind was filled with speculation, and then he spoke again, "Of course, even if this was a trick by Prince Hai and his men, the Rong family wisely failed to take good care of their rice shop despite the current dire situation, leading to this scandal. The Rong family must bear the blame for their negligence. However, Your Majesty, the Imperial Palace is now occupied by Prince Chen, and the Ministry of Revenue is entirely under his control. If Prince Chu's army wants to win, military rations are of paramount importance. The Rong family is willing to shoulder the military payroll, so we must not condemn them at this time. However, if we leave the Rong family alone, if there is a problem with military rations in the future, it will be too late to regret. In my humble opinion, it would be better to let the grain transport envoy supervise the Rong family's transportation of grain and fodder. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Hearing this, a cold gleam flashed across Yun Qianmeng's eyes. She sneered faintly in her heart, and clenched her hands slightly but did not speak immediately. She just waited patiently for Emperor Yugan's reply.
After hearing Yun Xuanzhi's words, Emperor Yugan pondered for a long moment. He stared at Yun Xuanzhi with his dragon eyes, which were filled with piercing light. Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, he raised his voice slightly and said with sudden enlightenment, "Su Qi? If you hadn't mentioned it today, I would have forgotten about him."
Seeing Emperor Yugan's tone, Yun Qianmeng felt a chill in her heart. It was not that Emperor Yugan had forgotten Su Qi, but his attention was always on the Rong family's huge wealth and he ignored other people or things. Or maybe Emperor Yugan wanted to use the Rong family's affairs to force the Chu family to hand over the Danshu Tiequan, but now seeing that Yun Qianmeng was unwilling to give in no matter how soft or hard he tried, he could only compromise and mention Su Qi according to Yun Xuanzhi's words.
Thinking of this, Yun Qianmeng raised her eyes slightly and glanced at Yun Xuanzhi. This father was really good at guessing the emperor's intentions. However, Yun Xuanzhi's actions might be more than just this.
"I heard that Su Qi's sister was once a concubine in Prime Minister Yun's mansion and was very favored by Prime Minister Yun." Emperor Yu Gan did not express his opinion. There was a ray of exquisite light in his eyes as he looked at Yun Xuanzhi, but there was also a hint of hostility in it, which made Yun Xuanzhi's heart tighten, and he became more cautious when responding.
"In reply to your Majesty, it is true. However, the Su family has passed away, and I am not as active in the Su family as I used to be." After a pause, Yun Xuanzhi continued, "Now that the Sea King and the Chen King have rebelled, many ministers in the court have followed the two rebel kings. Your Majesty, we are in urgent need of people. As long as Su Qi is loyal to you, he will naturally be able to do the job well."
After these words were spoken, even Emperor Yugan, who had just doubted Yun Xuanzhi's intentions, calmed down for a moment.
Yun Qianmeng stood silently by, listening to Yun Xuanzhi's words, but in her heart she couldn't help but admire Yun Xuanzhi's cunning. With just one sentence, "loyal to the emperor," Emperor Yugan gradually changed his mind. Knowing that Su Qi's heart was not with the Sea King, the Chen King, or the King of Chu, he was a useful talent.
"Su Qi is the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, so it's most appropriate for him to supervise this matter! Since Prime Minister Yun has analyzed it so thoroughly, I will send people to Jiangnan to find Su Qi and let him take over the affairs of the Rong family. I will also order people to investigate the affairs of the Rong family, and then I will settle accounts with Rong Yunhe. Now that the King of Chu shoulders a heavy responsibility, I naturally cannot let the King of Chu and the soldiers down in terms of military pay!" Emperor Yu Gan said this with great righteousness, and his eyes even glanced at Yun Qianmeng vaguely.
However, no matter what Emperor Yugan's attitude was, whether he praised or criticized the Chu family, Yun Qianmeng always looked like a bystander, like a soft pillow. There was no sense of accomplishment at all when he hit her, which made Emperor Yugan secretly annoyed, but he could not vent his anger. Only the gloomy face allowed people to glimpse his holy heart and intentions.
Seeing that Emperor Yugan had temporarily suppressed the Rong family's affairs, Yun Xuanzhi finally felt relieved. He bowed and said respectfully, "Since that's the case, I will take my leave first."
Emperor Yugan was secretly angry when he saw that Yun Qianmeng had not been allowed to relent today. However, he no longer had an excuse to keep Yun Qianmeng. He simply raised his right hand and waved it, saying with a hint of impatience, "Xiao Yuzi, send Prime Minister Yun and Princess Chu out."
"Your Highness will take his leave." Upon hearing this, Yun Qianmeng and Yun Xuanzhi bowed to Emperor Yugan together, and the father and daughter followed Eunuch Yu out of the house together.
As soon as I stepped out of the wooden house, I saw Mu Chunying, Xia Chaoyun and Qianmeng waiting outside walking towards me quickly.
Yun Qianmeng was about to raise her head when she suddenly saw a pale yellow skirt floating around the corner of the wooden house. The palace-style fabric and the patterns on it made Yun Qianmeng's eyes sink slightly, and her steps slowed down a little.
"Is the princess feeling unwell?" Mu Chun was quick-witted and saw a fleeting cold light in Yun Qianmeng's eyes. She then walked forward, held Yun Qianmeng's arm, and asked worriedly.
"Maybe you're a little tired from standing just now. Let's take a break!" Yun Qianmeng stopped as Mu Chun said. Even when Eunuch Yu, who sent them out, saw this, he didn't dare to urge Cui Yun Qianmeng to leave as soon as possible. He could only wait patiently by the side until Yun Qianmeng had rested enough before starting again.
A breeze blew by, making her hair slightly messy. Yun Qianmeng raised her hand and gently hooked the black hair behind her ear, then smiled and said to Eunuch Yu, "The Emperor cannot do without someone by his side, so you'd better go back as soon as possible. I know the way back." Yun Qianmeng saw that Yun Xuanzhi also stopped and followed her, so she knew that Yun Xuanzhi must have something to say to her, and she used the fact that Emperor Yugan could not do without someone by his side to send Eunuch Yu away.
Eunuch Yu was a shrewd man, so how could he not see what was happening? He nodded, bowed to Yun Qianmeng and Yun Xuanzhi, and then turned back to Emperor Yugan.
"Princess, why did one of your earrings fall off?" At this time, Mu Chun suddenly spoke, pointing her little finger at Yun Qianmeng's bald earlobe and whispered a reminder.
Following Mu Chun's gaze, Yun Qianmeng raised her hand and gently stroked her earlobe. Sure enough, she found that one of the earrings was missing. She immediately turned around and looked at the road she had just walked, but found that the road was clean and flat, and there were no other ornaments.
"Just now, I saw a palace maid in light yellow palace dress nearby. Please stay and look for her for me." Seeing that Yun Xuanzhi was still waiting here to leave the valley, Yun Qianmeng gave Mu Chun a few instructions, and then walked towards the entrance of the valley with Yun Xuanzhi.
"The princess is very capable. Even the emperor can't do anything to her." After walking out of Emperor Yugan's surveillance range, Yun Xuanzhi spoke in a low voice. His voice lacked the previous gentleness and was filled with a hint of sharp reproach.
Yun Qianmeng walked beside Yun Xuanzhi and caught a glimpse of his slightly gloomy face from the corner of her eye. She couldn't help but smile and said, "Father, don't you think that the Emperor has really made things difficult for me with what happened today? But thank you so much for helping me out just now. Otherwise, I really don't know how I would have ended this!"
"Hmph! You are able to sit on the position of Princess of Chu, so how could you not know how it will end? Your father is truly shocked by you. The emperor doesn't like the Rong family, but you insisted on wading into this muddy water and even dragged the Chu and Qu families into it. Are you relying on the fact that the King of Chu holds the military power to act recklessly?" Yun Xuanzhi was angry in his heart, but in front of the guards all over the mountains and valleys, he still maintained a calm expression, still the right prime minister who was calm and composed in the hall.
Hearing the exasperated anger in Yun Xuanzhi's whispered reproach, Yun Qianmeng simply chuckled softly, then raised her head to look at the road before her, and spoke slowly and softly, "The Emperor has summoned me now, indicating that he considers the Chu and Rong families to be in the same camp. No matter how hard I try to disown them, it will be useless. It's my father who's so cunning that he's actually gotten the Emperor to use Su Qi at this very moment. Has he forgotten that Su Yuan deliberately framed the Yun Xiang Mansion?"
Changing the subject, Yun Qianmeng suddenly stopped, raised her eyelids slightly, and the cold light in her eyes suddenly shot towards Yun Xuanzhi.
Yun Xuanzhi had long known that his daughter was capable, but now it seemed that she might know something he didn't. Seeing the murderous look in Yun Qianmeng's eyes, Yun Xuanzhi frowned imperceptibly and continued, "You've tied the Rong Mansion to the Chu family. The Chu and Yun families are a marriage alliance. Do you think that if something happens to the Rong family, the Yun family will be safe? Since the Su family is not on good terms with us, then Su Qi naturally can't help us. Now that the matter of food and fodder has been handed over to Su Qi, he will be closely linked to everything good or bad in the future. Only in this way can the emperor temporarily shift his gaze away from the Rong family. I only hope that you won't be so arrogant and put the interests of your family aside."
At the end, Yun Xuanzhi's tone became increasingly harsh, and it sounded as if he was scolding Yun Qianmeng...
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