Chapter 276 Quota
So Chu Ci said bluntly, "One more condition: Li Min will be under my control. Princess, please don't think I'm being too harsh. After all, the risks of this matter are not small."
The princess might be confused, but she wasn't completely disgraced. Her eyes widened, and she raised her voice, "No, you can change the conditions. This one is absolutely unacceptable."
"Princess, are you worried about your reputation? This is actually very easy to solve. All the princess needs to do is announce to the public that Li Min volunteered to go to the Royal Women's Academy to work for the welfare of women all over the world."
"In this way, I can cleverly preserve the princess's face and prevent her from losing her dignity in front of everyone, and I can also smoothly achieve my wish. Isn't it the best of both worlds?" Chu Ci said with a cunning light flashing in his eyes, the corners of his mouth raised, and a bewitching look on his face.
Chu Ci had only tried it casually, without much expectation, but to her surprise? The princess was actually attracted to him!
"I heard that the emperor gave you fifteen quotas for female officials? It's not too much for me to ask for one for Li Min, right?" The eldest princess narrowed her eyes slightly, revealing a hint of eagerness and expectation.
Chu Ci was secretly delighted when he saw this, thinking that this matter would most likely succeed, but he still insisted: "This? I promised the emperor that the selection and arrangement must be fair and impartial, without any favoritism or selfishness."
The princess thought Chu Ci was not giving her face, and her anger suddenly flared up. "You..."
She pointed at Chu Ci angrily, her face flushed red, her chest heaving violently, obviously she was extremely angry.
At this moment, Fan Jingrui, who had always treated himself as invisible, finally stepped forward to smooth things over. "My Lady, the eldest princess's daughter must be extremely talented. Wouldn't it be easy to capture a mere seventh-rank female official? By saying this, aren't you being disrespectful of the eldest princess and the Prime Minister's Mansion?"
Is this an attempt to smooth things over or to exaggerate?
If the eldest princess had not promised her husband solemnly before coming that she would be able to capture Chu Ci, she would have just turned away and left, never wanting to have anything to do with these two people again.
But the princess already hated Chu Ci and his wife. She suppressed her anger and said through gritted teeth, "Okay, I agree. Li Min can take the exam to become a court lady herself."
"Can you tell me what you know now?"
Chu Ci keenly sensed that the princess's patience was reaching its limit, and hurriedly said, "Princess, please come closer..."
Chu Ci then lowered her voice and slowly recounted the story of the King of Shu's discovery of a secret chamber beneath his study. "Then, the Second Prince was imprisoned. Princess, can you guess what the Emperor found in there?"
There was a hint of mystery in her eyes, and her tone became low and gentle.
Whatever we found was nothing more than evidence of a plot to take that position. Perhaps there was something else...
But even so, the eldest princess became even more frightened and uneasy. Although she had always been love-brained, she was not completely fearless of death.
"Are you serious?" The eldest princess' voice trembled, her eyes full of surprise and suspicion.
Chu Ci knew that the princess was already afraid. He looked at her solemnly and said in a deep voice, "Princess, do I have any reason to lie to you? I have no grudge against you. What good would it do me to deceive you on this matter?"
The princess naturally knew that Chu Ci's words were true. Considering Chu Ci's relationship with the King of Shu and the King of Qin, she weighed the pros and cons and said, "Thank you very much. Your master is useless to me. I will leave him to you."
After saying this, she left in a hurry. Her steps were a little hurried, and her skirt fluttered in a manner that seemed to be filled with anxiety and panic.
The guard who had been holding Master Chu Ci down wanted to retort, but just as he opened his mouth, before the words came out, he was pulled away by the people beside the princess.
The guard looked unwilling and angry, but he could do nothing.
Chu Ci and Fan Jingrui watched this scene, their minds brooding. Almost simultaneously, they both spoke, "My dear wife, do you think the princess is hiding something?"
The two of them really didn't expect that they would think of the same thing, and they were both slightly stunned.
Then the two of them couldn't help but smile at each other, and that smile contained both surprise and appreciation for each other.
Then Chu Ci spoke first: "Husband, do you think the eldest princess has been pretending to be stupid all these years?"
"She seems to be in love and acting confusedly, but that guard just now was quickly dragged away even though he wanted to refute her. Could it be that the eldest princess didn't instruct on this?"
"Could this series of actions be a manifestation of her careful planning?"
Fan Jingrui frowned thoughtfully upon hearing this, and slowly said, "But what kind of secret could make the dignified princess so cautious? No, it can't be called cautious anymore, it's cowardly."
Is this even necessary?
It must have far-reaching implications, and the number of people involved is probably beyond imagination. Even the emperor cannot deal with it easily.
Or even if she told him, the emperor wouldn't believe it. After all, the matter was complicated, with a web of connections behind it, and it wasn't something that could be easily sorted out and resolved.
Thinking of this, Chu Ci pretended to be relaxed, forced a smile on his face, and said, "Husband, why do you have to think so much? Even if the sky falls, there are still tall people to hold it up. All we have to do is report the matter truthfully."
"We are just small people. We should do our part. Others will worry about and decide the rest."
Fan Jingrui naturally understood what Chu Ci meant. He smiled slightly, revealing some understanding: "Yes, perhaps the emperor already knows."
"After all, the Princess's trip has caused quite a stir. Her hasty actions have sparked much speculation. There are many eyes and ears in the palace, so the Emperor wouldn't be unaware. He might be secretly observing right now, waiting for the right moment to strike."
So Chu Ci casually reported the eldest princess's unusual behavior to the Embroidered Uniform Law Enforcement Officer, and then ignored it and went about his own business.
But Chu Ci underestimated the emperor's importance to her.
Therefore, in just one hour, the eldest princess's words and deeds at the farm and the various speculations of Chu Ci and his wife were passed to the emperor at an extremely fast speed.
The emperor looked at the note written by Chu Ci in his hand and couldn't help but fall into deep thought. "What could the princess possibly be hiding?"
The red-robed envoy kneeling below, though also aware of Chu Ci's many deeds, was more rational. "Your Majesty, the Chu family incident was indeed the work of Prince Consort Li Chunfeng alone, and had nothing to do with the Prime Minister's Office."
There was a hint of caution and tentativeness in his tone.
How could the emperor not hear the red-robed envoy's temptation?
Immediately, the emperor's eyes were as sharp as two arrows, shooting straight at the red-robed envoy below him, staring at him for a long while.
Just when the Red Envoy was filled with anxiety, thinking that the Emperor would be furious with him...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com