Chapter 40 Conferred the title of King of Qin, a strategically important location.
"If Mother Empress finds out that I was the one who did this, she will certainly not let me off easily, and I'm afraid I will suffer the consequences..."
Shuqing only now realized that Yuan Xiao was the one who assassinated the King of Yue, and she was immediately furious at her foolish act.
If this matter is discovered, the consequences will be far more serious than just being scolded or punished.
If the emperor were to find out that Yuan Xiao had ordered the assassination of Yuan Yan, resulting in fratricide, Yuan Xiao would certainly be severely punished, and might even lose any chance of vying for the throne.
"You acted rashly, keeping it from even your father and ministers, and now you're scared only after it's all out in the open?"
Shuqing was so angry that she didn't know what to say, wondering where Yuanxiao got his stupidity from.
But this fool is, after all, his own son. No matter how big a mess he gets into, Shuqing has to clean up his mess.
"Xiao'er, you go back first. Your father will handle this matter. Don't go to the palace again for the next few days," Shuqing said with a stern face.
Only after hearing what his father said did Yuan Xiao reluctantly settle down and leave.
Shuqing knew the situation was urgent. After Yuanxiao left, she immediately sent people to deal with the remaining assassins, and even the servants who knew about it were not spared.
He then secretly sent someone to find a certain official in the court, and after a short while, the eunuch left the official's residence.
When the Dali Temple followed the clues to the end, they found that the evidence pointed to a certain official. After leaving a letter of confession, the official committed suicide by poisoning himself, claiming that he had a grudge against the King of Yue, so he paid a lot of money to hire assassins to kill the King of Yue.
This result is highly suspicious, and anyone with discerning eyes can see that there is another mastermind behind it.
But the trail ended there. Chen Fang knew that the other party had made ample preparations, and further investigation would be futile. He had no choice but to close the case and report to His Majesty.
Yuan Hao's expression did not change upon hearing the report, but on the same day he punished several important officials of the Third Princess's faction, and even Shuqing's sister was demoted and sent out of the capital.
Yuan Xiao had only been released from confinement for a short time, and now he's been locked up again.
Shuqing herself was reprimanded and demoted to the rank of Attendant Minister because her words and actions offended the emperor.
As a senior member of the palace, Shuqing was familiar with the palace rules, so how could she have made such a mistake?
When the news reached Xingqing Palace, Feng Qing immediately knew that there must be something fishy going on.
Thinking of the recent demotion of officials close to the Third Princess, he understood the situation better. He summoned Yuan Jing and gave him some instructions, warning her not to cause trouble in the near future.
The Third Princess's faction suffered a severe blow. Shuqing knew that His Majesty had already guessed that Yuan Xiao was behind this, but had not acted due to a lack of evidence. This move was a deliberate warning and punishment to them.
Yuan Xiao and his cronies, having suffered such a blow, immediately became subdued and dared not make any further moves.
After this incident, Yuan Hao ordered four bodyguards to be sent to the Yue Prince's residence, instructing them to protect Yuan Yan closely and serve him at his beck and call.
[Host, is the assassination case closed just like that?]
[The emperor clearly knew it was Yuan Xiao who did it, so why didn't he punish her severely and demote her to a commoner...? This is a life-or-death feud! Host, you were almost dead back then!]
Upon learning of this result, the system couldn't help but feel indignant and indignant on Yuan Yan's behalf.
Yuan Yan, however, seemed unsurprised by the result, and continued playing chess as if nothing had happened, speaking to the system.
"The reason is simple: the Empress is the chess player, and I, Yuan Jing, Yuan Xiao, and the ministers from various factions sitting at this chessboard are all chess pieces. Only by restraining each other can the game be stabilized."
"The Empress Dowager knows perfectly well what Yuan Xiao did. But on the one hand, there is no concrete evidence, and on the other hand, she does not want to disrupt the current court situation, so she only gave her a small punishment as a warning and intentionally let her off the hook."
Yuan Yan saw this clearly, knowing that his mother kept Yuan Xiao around not only out of consideration for their mother-daughter relationship, but also to restrain her and Yuan Jing and stabilize the situation in the court where the succession was still uncertain.
To put it bluntly, Yuan Yan wasn't important enough for the Empress Dowager to completely depose her other daughter for her sake.
“Yuan Xiao is not even qualified to be at the table in this game. My opponent from beginning to end has been the Empress. Without the Empress, Yuan Xiao is nothing on her own.”
“Just wait and see. Yuan Xiao escaped this time by sheer luck because I was out of the capital and a step too late. He won’t be so lucky next time… I will avenge this sooner or later.” Yuan Yan said calmly.
[Host, what are you going to do with the few secret guards the emperor sent? They're the emperor's men, right? Will they be spying on us...?]
"I will gladly accept the Empress's kind offer. These guards are trained from a young age and are skilled in concealment and protection. Having them by my side can also deter those scoundrels outside."
As for the system's concern about the secret guards acting as spies, Yuan Yan didn't care. Since the Empress Mother had given these secret guards to her, they were now her people, and she had her own ways of subduing them and using them for her purposes.
So Yuan Yan had the four guards brought up.
"Greetings, Master. Please bestow names upon us." The head guard stepped forward and kowtowed deeply.
Yuan Yan raised an eyebrow slightly: "You don't have names?"
"No, Master. We guards do not have names until we truly acknowledge a master. Only you can bestow names upon us."
"After being given names, we are considered to have acknowledged our master and will only obey his orders from now on. The antidote from the palace will also be delivered to the Prince's residence every month, and His Highness will distribute it to us," she said.
Zhuiying explained that as secret guards, they were selected and trained intensively from a young age. During their training, they were given poisons that required regular antidotes, which were then distributed monthly to ensure their loyalty.
With the antidote in hand, we can basically control these people. It seems the Empress didn't have any other intention in giving her this batch of secret guards.
Yuan Yan pondered in his heart.
"Alright, from now on you will be called Chasing Shadow, Chasing Moon, Chasing Wind, and Chasing Lan."
After looking at them one by one, Yuan Yan casually gave each of them a name, with Zhuiying being the leader of the guards.
Yuan Yan asked, "What are your skills?"
Zhuiying: "My subordinates are best at concealment and tracking secret messages. Zhuiyue and Zhuifeng practice dual swords and are good at attacking. When they work together, their martial arts are even stronger. Zhuilan is good at defense."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Yan nodded slightly.
If what Zhuiying said is true, then these four people are all capable and can fill part of the manpower shortage that Yuan Yan currently faces.
"I have always been fair in rewarding and punishing. If you work under me and make contributions, I will certainly not treat you unfairly."
"There is only one thing I despise most: disloyal people. Since you have already acknowledged me as your master, you can only be loyal to the royal palace. If you do anything to betray your master and I find out, you will be severely punished and will not be let off lightly."
Yuan Yan's gaze swept over the four kneeling men, his eyes sharp and his imposing presence heavy.
"Your subordinates understand and will certainly not fail Your Highness's trust," the guards replied respectfully, their eyes even lowered.
As soon as he finished speaking, the system also recorded the information of the several people.
[Host, these bodyguards all have a loyalty level of over 60, with Zhui Lan having the highest loyalty at 86 points. They are usable.] The system said.
"Very well, from now on, when you leave the manor, if you have no other missions, you will all stay by my side and serve as my protectors." Yuan Yan finally decided.
...
After the imperial physician confirmed that Yuan Yan was in good health, he finally resumed attending court after several days.
In the imperial court, Yuan Hao first praised Yuan Yan for his meritorious service in inspecting the grain, arresting corrupt officials such as Cao Shiguan, recovering tens of thousands of taels of embezzled grain transport silver, uncovering treacherous officials, and restoring order to the court. He said that Yuan Yan should be generously rewarded to recognize his achievements.
When Yuan Yan was assassinated, the officials below heard about how he had risked his life to inspect grain supplies.
She was quite impressed that she was able to uncover such deep secrets from cunning old foxes like Attendant Cao and Governor Wang, even obtaining the account books and bringing down this group of transport officials in one fell swoop.
A scholar should be viewed with new eyes after three days of separation.
His Highness the King of Yue returned from his trip to Chuzhou, looking quite different from before, having grown considerably.
This trip not only eradicated corrupt officials in the court, but also eliminated a great scourge for the people, and its merits were truly remarkable.
Many ministers noticed her change and their opinions of Yuan Yan shifted.
"By imperial decree, the second daughter of the Emperor, Yuan Yan, is hereby granted the title of Princess of Qin, and is bestowed with a thousand taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver, three estates, and an additional two thousand households of fiefdom as a sign of imperial favor."
Upon receiving the imperial decree, Yuan Jing and his appointed officials were all deeply troubled.
Yuan Jing already knew that Yuan Yan had made a great contribution this time, and that the Empress would surely reward her.
But no one expected the Empress Dowager's reward to be so generous. Not only did she bestow upon him a large amount of gold and silver, but she also issued an edict to change his title to King of Qin.
Why not some other title, but Qin?
Qin has always been a strategically important territory for kings; I wonder what the Empress Dowager's intention was in bestowing it upon Yuan Yan. Could it be that she had other expectations for him...?
The more Yuan Jing listened, the more grating it became, and he grew increasingly wary.
Her maternal grandmother, Sun Shijun, also began to ponder.
This time, His Majesty ordered the King of Yue to supervise the grain transport, and the officials sent by the King of Qi suffered considerable losses.
Previously, her subordinates embezzled grain tribute, and silver poured in like water, constantly showering her with gifts. Sun Shijun secretly accepted a great deal of it.
In order to prevent His Majesty from investigating her and Prince Qi, Lord Sun made a tough decision, painfully sacrificing her capable subordinates and returning some of the embezzled money, thus saving herself.
Even so, many officials involved were still demoted or exiled, leaving many official positions vacant and causing a stir throughout the court.
Could it be that His Majesty's move is also intended to send a warning to Prince Qi's faction...?
Lord Sun frowned deeply, thinking to himself.
On the other side, upon hearing the Empress's bestowal of honors, Yuan Yan was filled with gratitude and kowtowed to express his thanks.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"
[Congratulations, host! You have successfully uncovered the case of embezzlement of grain transport, distinguished yourself in the imperial court, and received a reward. Your power level has increased to 13.24%!] The system happily announced in Yuan Yan's mind.
However, Yuan Yan was not as happy as he pretended to be.
She made a significant contribution this time, but the Empress only gave her money and a title, without giving her any real power. This shows that the Empress still has reservations about her and is unwilling to relinquish power.
The task of strengthening oneself is arduous and the road ahead is long.
...
After Yuan Hao finished bestowing the rewards, he then brought up the matter of today's court discussion.
"The system of grain transport has become increasingly corrupt, and I am determined to reform it. I wonder if any of you ministers have any suggestions?"
One minister was the first to step forward, saying, "In my opinion, the problem with the grain transport system lies in the excessive number of officials. We should abolish the local grain transport commissioners and select capable individuals to take charge of it..."
Yuan Yan listened silently.
Zero points. This answer only scratches the surface and doesn't address the core issue at all.
Some ministers also proposed strict performance evaluations, with the Ministry of Revenue assessing the extent of grain loss in various regions each year, promoting the best performers and demoting the worst...
The ministers offered their suggestions one after another, but Yuan Hao listened to them and was generally not satisfied.
Until her gaze fell upon Yuan Yan, she pondered and asked.
"Second brother, you've come back from Chuzhou and have been involved in a lot of matters related to the Grand Canal. Do you have any thoughts on this?"
"Your Majesty, I believe Kao Cheng's proposal is feasible, but this method only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause, and cannot eradicate the long-standing problems with the grain transport system," Yuan Yan said respectfully.
Hearing Yuan Yan's boastful tone, the officials present did not believe him.
Although His Highness the King of Yue's successful investigation into the corruption case had changed their opinion of him considerably, the officials still did not believe that the inexperienced King could offer any fundamental solutions to the political situation.
"Oh? Then tell me, Yan'er, what do you think we should do?" Yuan Hao became interested and gestured for Yuan Yan to explain in detail.
"Your subject believes that if river transport is changed to sea transport, the problem of grain transport can be solved, and the benefits will be numerous."
"First, it saves the cost of dredging blocked waterways. Second, sea transport eliminates concerns about river drying up or freezing, allowing for year-round navigation. Third, sea transport is faster than river transport; a journey from Wujiang to Zhigu can be completed in ten days with favorable winds..."
As Yuan Yan spoke, he observed his mother's expression.
Change from river transport to sea transport...
Yuan Hao pondered Yuan Yan's suggestion, and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
"What do you, my esteemed ministers, think of the King of Qin's proposal?" she began slowly.
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