When Li Rong heard Pei Wenxuan's name, she looked back subconsciously, and then saw Pei Wenxuan falling backwards. The official behind him held him up and asked in panic, "Master Pei?"

The court was in chaos for a moment. Seeing this, Li Rong calmed herself down, walked quickly to Pei Wenxuan's side, and summoned Doctor Yu at the same time.

She squatted down, carefully examined it for a moment, and after confirming the situation, she stood up and said to Li Ming: "Your Majesty, the prince consort has fainted. I will take him to the side hall to rest first. I hope your Majesty will allow me to do so."

"Hurry up and see what's going on," Li Ming frowned, "Don't make anything happen."

Li Rong bowed respectfully, and then had someone carry Pei Wenxuan out of the main hall and placed him in a side hall. Doctor Yu came over and they performed acupuncture and examined him. Li Rong watched from the side. After the results came out, Li Rong raised her eyes quickly and asked, "How is it?"

"Your Highness," Doctor Yu replied politely, "Your Highness has been overworked and worried for days, and his mind has been damaged. He just needs to rest for a few more days."

Li Rong nodded. She had almost guessed it. For someone like Pei Wenxuan who worked like a slave during the day and was sentimental at night, it was not easy for him to last until now.

She responded and only said, "Is there anything else that needs attention?"

Doctor Yu hesitated for a moment, and when he saw that no one was around, he said with embarrassment: "There's no need to be too cautious about matters of yin and yang, like water..."

"Okay."

Li Rong knew what he was going to say, and raised her hand to interrupt him: "Anything else?"

"Sleep more and eat more," Doctor Yu knew that Li Rong wanted to knock him out now, so he could only bite the bullet and said simply, "If you have free time, go outside more often to relax, that's good too."

Li Rong nodded, roughly understanding. She waved her hand, asked Doctor Yu to go down first, and asked someone to boil the medicine. She also instructed Jinglan to find the secret clues in the palace to find out what Concubine Rou did last night. After there was no one in the room, she sat down next to Pei Wenxuan and looked at him carefully.

He seemed to be thinner in this life than in his previous life, but it was no wonder. In his previous life, when he was this age, he didn't think much about it after marrying her. He just worked hard to be his consort for the sake of his self-esteem.

But now, both she and he have a sword hanging over their heads that has fallen at an unknown time. Less than a year after his rebirth, he has already secured his position in the Pei Shitai. Although his official position is not high, he is well-known in the court and no one is inferior to Pei Shi.

Now he has surpassed eight levels, which is even more shocking.

The position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was clearly not something Pei Wenxuan could hold with his current qualifications.

Su Rongqing was able to become the Minister of Justice because he had been participating in government affairs at the age of twelve, was a fifth-rank Counselor at the age of fourteen, and has been the Vice Minister of Justice since the age of seventeen. He has the support of the century-old famous Su family, and no one dares to say that he is "unworthy" now that he has become the Minister of Justice.

But what about Pei Wenxuan?

At the age of 14, she graduated with the top scorer in Bailu Academy. She was recommended to take the imperial examination in the spring of the following year. She ranked first in both the written examination and the palace examination, and rode a horse through Huajing to become the new champion. At the age of 15, she entered the court for the first time. She was originally scheduled to be a fifth-rank Zhongshu Sheren, but before he took office, Pei Lizhi went. She could only return to Luzhou to observe mourning for three years. After three years, she came back and was arranged by her second uncle to work as a ninth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice. A year later, her father remembered her and took her out of the Ministry of Justice to make her his son-in-law.

The Yang family scheme gave him the opportunity to become Supervisor Yu Shi. From the Qin case to the establishment of the Supervisory Department until now, on the one hand, he also stayed in Yu Shitai to cooperate with her. When he was not in Yu Shitai, she would lose a knife. On the other hand, Li Ming also deliberately restrained his promotion speed. She said that she wanted to wait for the right position and give him a skip-level promotion, but what Li Ming really meant was...

Who knows?

Li Rong was thinking about Pei Wenxuan's inclusion in the list of assistant ministers of the Ministry of Personnel. She didn't know why, but as she thought about it, she felt a little uncomfortable.

She suddenly remembered what Pei Wenxuan had said to her before.

He said to her, Your Highness, we are different people.

She had never thought so in the past, but when she thought about it carefully today, she suddenly felt that compared to Pei Wenxuan, Su Rongqing's journey was really smooth.

Su Rongqing has the protection of his father and brother. Even if his father and brother are gone, he will have his uncle to help him with the family tradition passed down for hundreds of years.

But what about Pei Wenxuan?

Without his father, he had nothing. There was no so-called family inheritance, no so-called family tradition, only his second uncle was plotting how to plot against him and his widowed mother, forcing him to go back home to observe mourning at the age of 15, and then cheating his mother out of her property and dismissing her retainers.

It's too difficult.

Li Rong reached out and held Pei Wenxuan's hand. Pei Wenxuan's eyelashes trembled slightly. He opened his eyes and saw Li Rong looking down at their clasped hands.

“Your Highness…”

Pei Wenxuan spoke in a hoarse voice. Li Rong raised her head and saw that Pei Wenxuan had woken up. She smiled and said, "Awake? Do you want some water?"

Li Rong asked, then reached out to get some water and passed it to Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan drank the water from her hand, paused for a moment, and asked anxiously, "Your Highness, did you hear the rest of the list?"

"That's fine. I'll go to the Ministry of Personnel to get it later."

"Your Highness," Pei Wenxuan frowned, "I know you are doing this for my own good, but you can't even jump eight levels..."

"I have appointed you as the person in charge of performance appraisal."

Li Rong interrupted him and explained directly: "I didn't do the job of the Minister of Personnel."

Pei Wenxuan was stunned when he heard this. After a moment, he said coldly, "How did Your Highness handle this matter?"

"You know, I found Liu Hangchun, who is in charge of the promotion of officials below the fifth rank. I gave him a valuable gift and threatened him at the same time. If he didn't put you in the position of the head of the examination, I would ask him to go to the Inspection Department. He had a dirty hand, so he agreed."

Pei Wenxuan nodded and asked, "And then?"

"The Ministry of Personnel is short of one assistant minister and one deputy minister in the military pay case this time, so they must make up for it in this transfer. So I used other connections to move the original director of examinations to the deputy minister position, leaving the position vacant for you. Your qualifications are excellent among those on the transfer list, and as long as they don't deliberately make things difficult for you, it's only natural for you to enter the Ministry of Personnel. The position of director of examinations is vacant, and I have also taken care of Liu Hangchun and the relevant decision-makers. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be a problem for a sixth-rank official."

Li Rong analyzed while Pei Wenxuan thought in silence.

After thinking for a moment, Pei Wenxuan confirmed again: "You have never met anyone who can decide the appointment of officials above the fifth rank?"

"No." Li Rong confirmed, "Your qualifications have been raised too high and too fast, and I am afraid that His Majesty will be suspicious."

Pei Wenxuan remained silent. Li Rong poured him tea. "Now it is certain that someone wants to harm you. But I don't understand. If they want to harm you, they can just stop you from joining the Ministry of Personnel. Why do they go to such great lengths to push you to the position of the Minister of Personnel?"

Pei Wenxuan lowered his eyes, and Li Rong said slowly: "Aren't they afraid of making things worse? Do they really let you become the Minister of Personnel?"

"The bigger the bet, the greater the reward after winning." Pei Wenxuan pondered and said softly, "It seems that the person behind this wants more than just me not to be promoted."

"So what do they want?"

Li Rong turned to look at Pei Wenxuan, who chuckled and raised his eyes to meet Li Rong's. He smiled like a fox and said, "That depends on who made the move."

"Who do you think is capable of doing this?"

Li Rong frowned, she already had a rough candidate in mind, but it still needed to be verified. But from what Pei Wenxuan said, it seemed that he had more than one candidate in mind.

Pei Wenxuan smiled and did not reply. He leaned against the bedside, closed his eyes, and rested. "When the news from all parties comes back tonight, we will know who it is."

Li Rong didn't say anything. She stared at Pei Wenxuan. Even under such adversity, Pei Wenxuan was not angry at all. Instead, he had a sense of calmness as if he had met a worthy opponent. He leaned lightly against the head of the bed, as if he was leisurely listening to the wind and rain.

He tossed and turned last night, but when the incident happened, he felt calm.

What I’m afraid of is not something happening, but not knowing what happened.

Now that the other party has made a move, Pei Wenxuan has a clear mind and is no longer panicked.

Li Rong saw that he was calm and at ease, knowing that he had made up his mind. She paused for a moment and said hesitantly, "I didn't handle this well."

Pei Wenxuan was quite surprised when he heard her words. He opened his eyes and saw Li Rong lowering her head and eyes, and promised earnestly: "I will be responsible, you don't have to worry."

Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan laughed out loud. Li Rong frowned and raised her eyes: "What are you laughing at?"

"Your Highness, the other party is using covert tactics to attack openly. Even if I were to handle this matter today, I would not be able to do a better job than Your Highness. Why should Your Highness blame yourself?"

"If I had been more careful..."

"What are we careful about?" Pei Wenxuan looked at her with a smile, "We have done what we can. After all, we are not God and cannot predict everything. If they want to take the initiative, we can't stop them."

Li Rong didn't say anything. She kept thinking back in her mind, if she could do it again, she would know where she could have taken action to deal with it thoroughly.

Pei Wenxuan saw her feeling depressed, he sighed and shook his head, reached out his hands to hold her in his arms, and said comfortingly: "My prince, please don't be unhappy. You have already let me down, and now you are still unhappy and want me to comfort you, aren't you even more let me down?"

Li Rong's body stiffened. Pei Wenxuan let her go, lifted her chin with his hand, and said with a smile: "Smile."

Li Rong forced a smile. Pei Wenxuan saw that she was still unhappy. He thought for a moment and said, "Do you still feel sorry for me?"

Li Rong did not answer her. She gathered her emotions, stood up and said, "If you have nothing to do, go back first and find out the news from everywhere, and then..."

Before she could finish her words, Pei Wenxuan grabbed Li Rong's hand and pulled her back into his arms. He then pinched her chin and bent down to kiss her.

Li Rong hesitated a little, and felt that this person was coming straight in. Her heart beat faster. This was a side hall used by the court to accommodate ministers in special circumstances, not in the princess's mansion. What if someone saw her...

It doesn't seem like anything.

Even though she said that, Li Rong still couldn't help feeling nervous. This nervousness made her almost forget her previous emotions, but soon, she even forgot about the nervousness.

Pei Wenxuan felt that she was completely relaxed, and he finally stopped. He hugged her, and the two of them said nothing. Pei Wenxuan put his chin on her shoulder. After a long time, he came back to his senses, and said in a low and hoarse voice, "I know that you are a person who knows the accounts clearly, but Rongrong."

"Let's settle the accounts one by one. They are allies, and I am your husband."

Li Rong didn't say anything, but Pei Wenxuan seemed to live in her heart. He seemed to know everything: "If you feel sorry for me," he said, and poked her chin with his finger: "Give me a few more kisses?"

Li Rong looked at him. Pei Wenxuan had a smile on his face, as if he really didn't care about this at all. Li Rong remained silent and looked at him for a long time. Pei Wenxuan thought she would not say anything else and was about to get up when he saw Li Rong suddenly reach out her hand, hold his face, and kiss him fiercely from forehead to cheeks to nose to mouth like a child.

Pei Wenxuan laughed at this kiss. After Li Rong kissed him for the last time, she stood up and looked at him with disdain, saying, "I gave these people a reward because I saw how good you are. Since they sent you to the position of the Minister of Personnel today, I can't refuse their kindness."

"Don't lie down anymore," Li Rong raised her hand and hit Pei Wenxuan's leg with the fan, "Get up, go home, find out what's going on, and see how I deal with them."

Pei Wenxuan pretended to be hurt and cried out "ouch!" Then he stood up, holding his buttocks and complained: "Your Highness, you hurt me."

Li Rong gave him a cold look and said, "I hit him in the leg."

As she spoke, Li Rong raised her hand, and Pei Wenxuan looked down: "Your Highness?"

"Isn't it painful?" Li Rong said expressionlessly, "If you can't walk, just hold on to me."

"Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness." Pei Wenxuan did not refuse at all. He reached out and took Li Rong's hand, and walked out with Li Rong's support.

The two of them walked out of the side hall. It was just the end of the court session. Ministers came out of the main hall one after another. When many people saw Pei Wenxuan, they came up to congratulate him. How could Pei Wenxuan accept these congratulations at this time?

The list is only tentatively finalized now. It will not be confirmed until March if no one raises any objections, and then the various transfer procedures will be started.

But now it's obvious that someone set a trap. It would be a miracle if no one raised any objections in these three months.

So Pei Wenxuan just exchanged pleasantries and said modestly: "It's just a list now. I am inexperienced and I am afraid I can't take on such a big responsibility."

After greeting all the familiar officials, Li Rong helped Pei Wenxuan out of the square. As soon as they arrived in front of the palace gate, they saw Su Rongqing who was also preparing to leave.

Su Rongqing noticed that two people were coming over and looked over. When Pei Wenxuan saw Su Rongqing looking over, he quickly leaned towards Li Rong. Li Rong frowned and raised her eyes and asked, "What's wrong with you? Are you disabled?"

"Ah," Pei Wenxuan raised his hand to cover his forehead, "I feel dizzy."

"Did you faint again?" Li Rong was a little nervous. Pei Wenxuan lowered his head and said, "Let's go, let's go home quickly."

Su Rongqing stood in the carriage in the distance, looking at the two people leaning against each other. After a long time, he lifted the curtain and got into the carriage.

Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan returned to the princess's residence. Li Rong had someone look for Liu Chunhang in advance. As soon as they returned to the residence, they saw Liu Chunhang already waiting in the lobby. When he saw Li Rong come in, he knelt down and hurriedly said, "Your Highness."

"Just kneel like this?"

Li Rong laughed: "You also know what you did?"

Liu Chunhang didn't dare to answer. Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan sat down together. Looking at Liu Hangchun kneeling on the ground, Li Rong picked up the cup and said slowly, "Tell me what you did."

The position of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was much higher than that of Liu Chunhang. Logically, this matter should have nothing to do with Liu Chunhang, but he knelt down as soon as he was called over. Li Rong knew that he must have done something.

Liu Chunhang knelt before Li Rong, trembling, with cold sweat on his forehead. He said anxiously, "Your Highness, last night someone brought me a list of officials above the fifth rank who were transferred to the Ministry of Personnel, and asked me to remove Lord Pei's name from the list of officials in charge of the examination. I didn't dare to disobey your Highness's order, but the other party said that this was for the good of the son-in-law. I thought that if the son-in-law could be the Minister of Personnel, it would definitely be better than being the Minister of Examination. In addition, the list of officials above the fifth rank will be presented to His Majesty in advance. His Majesty first saw that the son-in-law was a candidate for the Minister of Personnel, and then looked at the list I prepared. I am afraid that I will think that I am not doing my job well, so..."

"Just delete the name of the Prince Consort from the list of officials in charge of the examination of merit."

Li Rong smiled softly: "This is a good thing. Your husband has become the Minister of Personnel. Why are you so scared?"

Liu Chunhang didn't dare to answer. Li Rong lowered her head and fiddled with the tea bowl. She spoke slowly, "Who was the person who came to see you, and what did they say?"

"The person who is looking for me is His Highness Hua Le."

Hearing the name, Li Rong stopped moving. Liu Chunhang bravely spoke with difficulty: "Her Highness Huale said that Concubine Rou wanted someone to take the position of the head of the examination and asked me to arrange it. I didn't dare to accept it, so I told Her Highness Huale that the head of the examination had been decided. She asked who I was. I told Her Highness Huale, and Her Highness Huale told me that the son-in-law had been appointed as the Minister of Personnel."

"I know something is fishy," Liu Chunhang was trembling, "but since the consort has already been appointed as the Minister of Personnel, it's useless for me to keep him. It's strange for the consort to appear on two lists at the same time. So I will follow His Highness Hua Le's arrangement..."

"The one who arranged her."

Pei Wenxuan's voice rang out, and Liu Chunhang said anxiously, "No, no, the consort has wronged me. Although I deleted the consort's name, I just filled in the original name. I know the relationship between His Highness Huale and the princess. The princess holds the Inspection Office. Even if I have ten guts, I dare not help His Highness Huale and the princess to go against each other."

"So, you deleted the name of the prince consort."

"Yes," Liu Chunhang said anxiously, "I only did this one thing. Today I heard that the prince consort fainted in the court. The ministers all said that the prince consort was too surprised, but I know in my heart that I am afraid I have done something wrong. I beg Your Highness to forgive me, and the prince consort to forgive me!"

Liu Chunhang kowtowed hastily. Li Rong sighed, waved her hand, and said helplessly, "Stand up. You can leave first."

Liu Chunhang heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this. He bowed respectfully and was about to leave when he heard Li Rong whisper, "Since the matter has not been completed, just return the money. There will be a turmoil soon, and Master Liu may not be able to escape. If something unexpected happens, Master Liu should think clearly about what to say and what not to say."

"Don't worry, Your Highness." Liu Chunhang understood what Li Rong meant, and he said respectfully, "I know it in my heart."

"Go ahead."

After Li Rong finished speaking, Liu Chunhang retreated.

After Liu Chunhang left, Li Rong raised her eyes and looked at Pei Wenxuan who was thinking across from her: "Do you have an idea in your mind?"

Pei Wenxuan listened, raised his eyes and smiled softly: "Who do you think it is, Your Highness?"

"Now it seems that Concubine Rou must have participated, but what does she want to do?"

Li Rong pondered: "She is afraid that you and I will become more and more powerful, and she will help Chuan'er in the future. I can understand that. So I can also understand why she stopped you from entering the Ministry of Personnel. But what is she trying to achieve by letting you be the Minister of Personnel now?"

"I became the Minister of Personnel, Your Highness, what do you think will happen?"

Pei Wenxuan picked up the chess piece and gently placed it on the chessboard. Li Rong understood that Pei Wenxuan wanted her to deduce what would happen.

"The ministers will not agree and will sign a petition, and you will not be able to take the position."

Li Rong put down the chess piece: "What's the point?"

"What would your majesty think of this?"

Pei Wenxuan continued to place chess pieces with a calm expression. Li Rong whispered, "I think you are too ambitious and want to reach the top overnight."

"I used to be your Majesty's butcher, completely dependent on you, but now I can be directly appointed as the Minister of Personnel. How did I do that?"

"It's me," Li Rong put the chess piece down, her expression cold, "I'm helping you."

"Your Highness was able to do it so easily and arrange for your husband to be promoted six levels higher to become a minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Where did you get the ability from?"

"Either, we can rely on His Royal Highness the Crown Prince," Li Rong held the chess piece and looked up at Pei Wenxuan, "or, the power of the Inspection Department is enough to intimidate the court officials."

"Your Highness, do you remember why His Majesty allowed Your Highness to establish the Inspectorate?"

"He wants to use my identity and ability to check and balance the aristocratic families. He is the only one who benefits from me and the aristocratic family's power."

"In the previous life, the Inspection Department was managed by Concubine Rou, who used this opportunity to send His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to prison. Does Your Majesty no longer have this intention now?"

Pei Wenxuan smiled softly: "He just handed the Inspection Office to Your Highness, thinking that Your Highness would be like a hen incubating eggs. Once the eggs are hatched, the chicks will be handed over to someone else. Your Majesty, look at this Inspection Office that can threaten the ministers and seek a sixth-rank official position for her husband. Do you think this is a hatched chick?"

Li Rong said nothing. After a moment's silence, she threw the chess piece into the chess box and stood up.

"I have to go to the palace."

Pei Wenxuan didn't look up, staring at the chessboard, and said calmly: "Your Highness, please take care."

Li Rong left immediately, and Pei Wenxuan stroked the chess piece in his hand.

He actually didn't say anything just now.

All their considerations, perspectives, and decisions are based on their knowledge of the future, so they can infer what people are thinking now.

They knew that the emperor was now single-mindedly trying to balance the noble families and the imperial power, and was willing to pay the price of abolishing the crown prince. But in fact, everyone at that time thought that Li Ming was just too fond of Concubine Rou, and no one thought that Li Ming actually had the foundation of a noble family.

Because of the complicated relationship between the aristocratic family and Li Ming, no one in the Shangguan family believed that Li Ming would actually want to kill his uncle, cousin, wife, and even son.

They knew that the imperial examinations would be of vital importance in the future, so they wanted wholeheartedly to become the examiner in charge of the imperial examinations that year.

But people nowadays don’t know this.

Whether it was Concubine Rou, the Empress, the noble families, or the court officials, none of them knew what Li Ming really meant.

But now Concubine Rou arranged her own people to be the chief examiner, and then promoted him to be the vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel to stimulate Li Ming, hoping to force Li Ming to suspect Li Rong and hand over the Inspection Office to Concubine Rou.

Pei Wenxuan looked at the black and white chessboard in front of him and couldn't help but laugh.

"interesting."

How many chess players are behind this?