Li Rong didn't say anything after hearing this. Pei Wenxuan saw that she seemed to be thinking about something, so he couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness?"

Li Rong thought for a moment and suddenly said, "Actually, you killed Hongde, right?"

Pei Wenxuan paused and was about to explain when Li Rong pressed his shoulder with the fan.

"You don't have to say more. I don't care. Now that you've told me your bottom line," Li Rong raised her head and smiled, "I won't care even more. Just tell me next time."

Pei Wenxuan stood there stiffly, and after a long while he responded, "Your Highness is right."

Li Rong didn't say anything, she just looked at him quietly.

She suddenly realized that in terms of love, she and Pei Wenxuan seemed to have returned to their twenties.

At that time, she was a little girl, coquettish and willful.

At that time, Pei Wenxuan was still burdened with the anxiety and uneasiness brought about by the accusations in his youth.

He was afraid that he would not be the best version of himself in front of her, and he was also afraid that she would see his dirty and filthy side.

Li Rong couldn't help laughing. She turned around and put her hands behind her back: "Pei Wenxuan, I can tolerate both black and white."

"But you want to fulfill my dream-like expectations," Li Rong thought for a moment, "I feel very happy too."

After finishing speaking, Li Rong waved her hand and said, "I'm back."

Pei Wenxuan looked at her back. The girl was walking on the corridor, holding a fan behind her back. The red tassel on the fan swayed slightly with her movements. She jumped onto the stairs briskly in two steps, looking agile and lively.

Li Rong rarely behaves like this in front of others.

She has many different faces. To Li Ming, she is the eldest daughter who is arrogant but a little smart. To others, she is the arrogant and decisive Prince Pingle. Only in front of him, she is like a flower that has melted the ice, quietly blooming.

Seeing her happy, he couldn't help but smile.

After watching Li Rong walk away, he turned around and went back to his bedroom.

After waking up the next day, it was time to officially confirm the transfer of officials in the court.

Generally speaking, officials appointed during the probation period will rarely be changed, so the so-called final confirmation is nothing more than Li Ming confirming the list. If there are officials who need to be replaced, they will be individually proposed.

Li Ming glanced at the confirmed list, then raised his head and looked at everyone: "Does anyone have any objection to this year's personnel transfer list?"

As soon as Li Ming finished asking, Su Rongqing seemed to be prepared and walked out directly.

"My dear Su?" Li Ming frowned. "What do you think?"

"Your Majesty," Su Rongqing knelt down and said respectfully, "I am a humble official with little talent and experience. I have been acting as the Minister of Justice for a few days and have felt very tired. I feel that I am not worthy of the position. Please choose another person for the position of Minister of Justice!"

Hearing this, Li Rong raised her eyes and looked at Su Rongqing.

It was definitely not his own will to send the Minister of Justice out, but after all, such a big thing had happened, and it was normal for Li Ming to find a handle and make Su Rongqing withdraw from the competition for the Minister of Justice.

But if Su Rongqing doesn’t want to be the Minister of Justice, then who will?

Li Rong looked around the court for a moment, and then heard Li Ming calmly say, "Since Lord Su has resigned of his own accord, I will not make it difficult for you. How about this..."

Li Ming thought for a long time, then he spoke slowly: "The position of Minister of the Ministry of Justice will be left vacant for now. The Ministry of Justice's affairs will be discussed by the left and right assistant ministers on a daily basis. If you can't make up your mind, you can report it directly to me. What do you think, Assistant Minister Su?"

If he reported it directly to him, it would be equivalent to Li Ming bypassing the Shangshu Province and directly taking charge of the Ministry of Justice. Su Minzhi frowned and was about to speak when he heard Su Rongqing respectfully say, "Your Majesty is wise."

"Okay." Li Ming nodded and continued, "Do you have any other opinions?"

No one in the court said anything, so Li Ming knew that the matter was settled. He closed the list and said calmly, "That's it. From today on, everyone will report to their respective places of assignment according to the list, and all government offices should prepare for the reception. In addition, there is also the matter of rebuilding the memorial hall, and the Ministry of Rites is also seizing the time to prepare. Before the memorial hall is rebuilt, in order not to delay government affairs, I plan to build a small inner cabinet to take on the responsibilities of the previous memorial hall, review and classify memorials for me, and share my worries."

Li Ming said without waiting for others to speak, "Pei Nayan, Prime Minister Su, Prime Minister Shangguan, and Marquis Ning, I will trouble you four to take some time every day to help me review the memorials. If you are busy, please let me know in advance and I will make other arrangements."

The Memorial Hall was originally set up by the noble families in order to curb Li Ming. Now that the Memorial Hall has been burned down, Li Ming simply built another Memorial Hall named "Neige". No matter how busy he is now, no one will say no.

The four ministers who were named stepped forward and saluted. These four people almost covered all the different factions in the entire court, which could be considered fair, so no one said anything.

Seeing that no one was talking, Li Ming continued, "But the ministers are also very busy on weekdays. In addition to Lord Jiwei, perhaps there are some others who will fill in. But we will talk about this later."

When Li Rong heard this, she knew what Li Ming was planning.

The most important personnel in this so-called "cabinet" are not the four ministers named today, but the people who were added later. After all, these four people are in high positions and are busy with daily affairs. The work of the memorial hall is actually some hard labor, which is to classify the memorials into different types of importance to reduce the pressure on Li Ming to review the memorials.

If there is no memorial hall, Li Ming can't handle it. Now that the miscellaneous work of the memorial hall is handed over to these important officials, can they handle it?

Although the Memorial Hall was a laborious task, it was also very important as it controlled the first step in the process of getting memorials into the palace. Therefore, no one was willing to give up power. Later on, the actual review and approval of the memorials would inevitably fall into the hands of the group of people who were "filled in".

Therefore, it is crucial to know who fills the gap.

Li Rong thought about it and then set her eyes on Su Rongqing. At this point, she had some idea of ​​Su Rongqing's ultimate purpose in setting fire to the memorial hall.

A memorial hall that can be monitored by Pei Wenxuan is not as good as an inner cabinet that can pave the way for Prince Su.

Li Rong thought about it, listening to Li Ming and the ministers talking about the structure of this small inner chamber. After the court session ended, Li Rong walked out of the palace, got on the carriage, and saw Pei Wenxuan waiting for her. She couldn't help but laugh: "We left the court together, how come you walked so fast?"

"I have long legs." Pei Wenxuan poured tea for Li Rong and said with a smile, "Since we can't walk side by side, I want to come in first and wait for Your Highness."

"Dogs can really talk."

Li Rong said something disparaging to him, half-smiling and half-angry, then turned around and sat down, serving Pei Wenxuan tea, and continued, "No one mentioned the imperial examination today."

"Today there are too many things to do," Pei Wenxuan took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Just wait, the imperial edict will be issued soon."

Li Rong listened to Pei Wenxuan's words and thought for a moment: "Who do you think should this imperial edict be given to first?"

"How about this," Pei Wenxuan looked up at her, "I'll play two rounds of bets with Your Highness."

"What are we betting on?" Li Rong raised her eyebrows. Pei Wenxuan thought for a moment and said, "First, let's bet on who will receive the first imperial edict."

"Secondly, let's bet on what the imperial edict gave us."

"Okay," Li Rong responded decisively, "What about the bet?"

"What does your highness want?"

When Li Rong heard this question, she didn't know what to do for a moment. Pei Wenxuan was used to letting her do what she wanted, and it seemed that there was nothing to gamble on.

Seeing that Li Rong couldn't think of anything, Pei Wenxuan said, "Then I owe Your Highness a favor. Whenever Your Highness decides what he wants, just come to me to redeem it."

"Then you don't feel bad?"

"You have to beat me first."

"Okay." Li Rong nodded. "What about you? What do you want?"

Pei Wenxuan coughed lightly, turned his head, put his hands on his knees, and seemed a little embarrassed: "Ahem, that..."

"Um?"

"It's been many years since I've seen Your Highness go out for fun."

"You want to hang out with me?"

Li Rong smiled and said, "That's easy."

"Well, I remember going out with His Highness that year. His Highness was very excited when he saw the Persian dancers dancing. It was a hot day and there were many merchants coming and going in the city..."

"Let's get to the point." Li Rong interrupted him directly. Pei Wenxuan couldn't make up any more stories. He turned around and said directly, "I bought a set of clothes according to your size. I know Your Highness can dance."

Li Rong: “…”

Pei Wenxuan said this, put his hands in his sleeves, his ears were red, but he still said seriously: "Your Highness, do you want to bet?"

Li Rong didn't say anything. She looked at Pei Wenxuan with interest, her gaze from top to bottom, and then from bottom to top. Her eyes seemed to have substance, as if they were detecting something.

Pei Wenxuan stood stiffly, allowing her to look at him, like an old monk in meditation, looking calm.

"Your Highness?"

Pei Wenxuan saw that Li Rong had been silent for a long time, so he could not help but urge her. Li Rong sneered, crossed her legs, and leaned on the small table. She glanced at him seductively, and smiled meaningfully, "Okay."

Pei Wenxuan brought a cup of tea and calmly analyzed: "After what happened last night, your majesty will definitely think carefully. From your majesty's perspective, what can be confirmed is that the Hongde incident was indeed arranged by Concubine Rou and the Su family. Therefore, there must be an imperial decree to be given to Concubine Rou."

"There are three things left that Your Majesty cannot confirm. The first is whether the person Hongde pointed out is Su Rongqing, the second is who started the fire in the memorial hall, and the third is whether Your Highness has colluded with the Crown Prince in private. So Your Majesty is now most likely to punish both of us with fifty lashes. He removed Su Rongqing from his position as Minister, and we have not been dealt with yet, but this punishment will definitely come, so there is an imperial decree for me or Your Highness."

Pei Wenxuan raised his eyes and said, "I bet the imperial edict will reach us first."

"Why?" Li Rong tilted her head and looked at him.

"It's intuitive, right? Where's Your Highness?"

"Then I'll bet on Concubine Rou first." Li Rong's feet swayed slightly, and from time to time they poked out from under her skirt. The red brocade shoes embroidered with white pear flowers appeared and disappeared in front of Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan couldn't help but look over. Li Rong noticed and looked over: "What are you looking at?"

Pei Wenxuan was caught red-handed, so he looked away and chuckled, "Nothing."

After the two of them returned to the princess's mansion together, Pei Wenxuan walked towards his own courtyard with a stern face. Li Rong chased him in, as if they were arguing, and pulled Pei Wenxuan into the inner courtyard.

After entering the inner courtyard and making sure that everyone was their own people, the two finally returned to normal. Li Rong turned around and sat down at the small table, while Pei Wenxuan went to change into his official uniform. After coming out, the two set up a chess table and talked while waiting for the imperial edict.

According to their expectations, the imperial edict would come sooner or later, the only difference was who would come.

Before the two of them finished their game of chess, Jinglan walked in. She bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness, there is news from the palace."

"Um?"

"It is said that Concubine Rou offended His Majesty last night, and now she has been deprived of her position as Imperial Concubine and demoted to Concubine Rou."

After hearing this, Li Rong smiled and looked up at Pei Wenxuan: "I win."

"Isn't there one more round?"

Pei Wenxuan lowered his head: "I may not lose."

"I can't win anyway," Li Rong waved at Jinglan, and Jinglan retreated. Li Rong raised her eyes, "What do we bet on next?"

"His Majesty punished Concubine Rou. What do you think he will punish us with?"

Pei Wenxuan held the chess piece and knocked on the edge of the chess table. The chess piece hit the table, making a crisp sound. Li Rong was attracted by the sound and couldn't help but look towards the source of the sound.

The young man's fingers were long and clean, with distinct joints and his nails were neatly trimmed. The sight of him holding the chess piece between his two fingers was quite beautiful.

"When he does things, he emphasizes 'checks and balances'. He has already removed Su Rongqing's position as a minister, and now he hasn't moved on to your position as a minister. So I may not be able to keep my position as the inspector general."

Li Rong smiled and said, "I guess he wants to move the Supervision Department."

"It's too early to move the Inspection Office now. Once you leave, the people from the noble families will be able to tear down the Inspection Office. He probably won't move."

"so what?"

Li Rong was playing chess and asked, "What do you think he will do?"

"Last night, the news from the palace said that Concubine Rou and His Majesty seemed to be crying and making a fuss in the room last night," Pei Wenxuan said softly, "I guess the trouble came from the harem, so maybe it was you, Your Highness," Pei Wenxuan raised his head, smiling, "You have to cut your salary."

Upon hearing this, Li Rong's face changed and she said hurriedly, "Then it would be better if they demolished the Inspection Office."

Ever since she started doing big things, she has been very tight on money. If Li Ming still cuts her salary, she really doesn't want to do this anymore.

Pei Wenxuan was amused by her sudden change of expression. He pursed his lips to suppress his smile and made a move: "The result is not out yet, don't panic yet. What if your money is not touched?"

"If you don't touch money, you will touch power. It's not good in the end. Now I just hope that Concubine Rou can have a falling out with Su Rongqing as soon as possible," Li Rong sighed and looked at Pei Wenxuan, "Your efforts will not be in vain. I have also worked hard to act."

Pei Wenxuan smiled and said nothing, only reminding: "It's your turn now."

The two played chess for a long time. As it was getting dark, people from the palace finally came over and summoned Pei Wenxuan and Li Rong to receive the order.

The two looked at each other, and Li Rong said softly, "Here I come."

As they spoke, the two men stood up, put on their official uniforms, and led the crowd to the door to receive the order.

When the two men saw the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict, they exchanged greetings for a while and then knelt down. The eunuch opened the imperial edict and began to announce the results of the day.

Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan were waiting to see whether Li Ming was going to take their money or their power.

As they waited anxiously, they heard Li Ming start by praising Pei Wenxuan.

Both of them were a little confused and couldn't help but look at each other.

Then Li Ming praised Li Rong again.

They became even more panicked. They had no idea what Li Ming was up to. Was he planning to kill everyone?

At last, they heard the key sentence: "However, even if the man is talented and the woman is beautiful, heaven is jealous of their marriage. The two have conflicting personalities and it is difficult for the marriage to continue. Therefore, we grant Pei Wenxuan's request and allow the two to divorce amicably..."

divorce.

When Li Rong heard this word, she was stunned for a moment, and she couldn't help but look at Pei Wenxuan.

Divorce? ?

Pei Wenxuan was also a little confused, but he used his eyes to signal Li Rong to calm down.

The two of them looked at each other, hesitated for a long time, and finally accepted the order.

When she returned to the room with the imperial edict, Li Rong couldn't help but ask, "Is this the end?"

Pei Wenxuan chuckled, knowing what she meant, and stood behind her, saying with a smile: "Yes, Your Highness, you didn't lose your money, nor did you lose your power, but you lost your people."

"You are talking nonsense, Prince Consort." Li Rong was afraid that Pei Wenxuan would think too much, so she quickly turned her head and put her arms around his waist. "You are here. As long as you don't want to run away, you won't lose the order."

Pei Wenxuan smiled but said nothing. Li Rong thought for a moment, then stood on tiptoe and whispered, "Besides, Master Pei, don't you think it's exciting to meet your ex-wife at night?"

Pei Wenxuan listened to this, smiled and turned his gaze to her: "Whether it is exciting or not, I don't know. But Your Highness looks very excited, I do know this."

Li Rong felt a little embarrassed by what he said and coughed lightly: "I'm not that excited..."

Pei Wenxuan smiled meaningfully. After a moment, he gently reminded: "It's okay to be happy in the mansion, but you still have to pretend outside."

"I understand." Li Rong gave him a sly look, "I know."

On the night the imperial edict came down, Pei Wenxuan packed his luggage and left the princess's mansion, looking as if he didn't want to stay there for a moment.

Li Rong chased Pei Wenxuan out of the princess's mansion and stood at the door for a quarter of an hour.

The next day, Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan divorced, and Pei Wenxuan moved back to the Pei family. The news that Li Rong chased Pei Wenxuan's carriage across the street and cried and begged him to come back spread throughout the court.

People didn't quite believe it at first, but when they saw Li Rong's eyes swollen from crying the next day, most of them began to believe it a little.

God knows how much effort Li Rong put into swollen eyes.

She secretly ate a big bowl of noodles made by a Sichuan chef in the house late at night.

I cried while eating, the spiciness made my whole body feel comfortable and full of pleasure.

The whole court suddenly felt a little sympathy for Li Rong. When the court was over, Li Chuan finally couldn't help it. He secretly sneaked to the princess's mansion to comfort Li Rong.

At this time, Li Rong was lying on the rocking chair, rolling her eyes with her balls. Li Chuan moved a small stool, squatted beside her and whispered to comfort her: "Sister, don't be too sad. Brother Pei must have his own plans. You can get married later."

Li Rong ignored him and continued to roll the eggs. Li Chuan saw that Li Rong didn't want to talk, guessing that Li Rong was very aggrieved, and continued: "I know you like him, otherwise you wouldn't be able to chase a carriage down the street with your personality, but speaking of it, sister, you have good physical strength..."

"Wait." Li Rong raised her hand to stop Li Chuan from talking. She took the egg off and looked at Li Chuan with swollen eyes. "Who chased the carriage across the street?"

"You." Li Chuan said seriously, "Everyone knows it."

Li Rong was a little confused, and Li Chuan continued to comfort her: "Divorce is better than both of you getting into trouble, don't be sad..."

"I'm not sad." Li Rong frowned and slapped Li Chuan's hand when he was about to pat her shoulder. She turned over and closed her eyes to rest. "I'm very happy."

Shouldn't she be happy since her salary and position were not cut?

Meanwhile, Hua Le was describing to Concubine Rou the scene of Li Rong crying while chasing after the carriage. She happily said, "You don't know. I didn't believe it when I heard it, but later everyone in the court saw Ping Le's eyes were swollen from crying, and then I believed it. Mother, you are still the best."

Hua Le raised his thumb: "Attack the person and the heart. Pei Wenxuan has proposed a divorce for power. According to Li Rong's temper, I'm afraid she won't tolerate him. How can Li Rong be a match for my mother?"

Concubine Rou listened to Hua Le's words with a smile on her face. Although she did not agree, she did not deny it either.

After being suppressed and beaten by Li Rong for so long, from having her power of assisting in managing the six palaces taken away to now being demoted to Concubine Rou, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She knew that Li Rong couldn't bear to part with Pei Wenxuan, so when Li Ming wanted to fine Li Rong, she tried to persuade Li Ming. She still had to be on guard against Pei Wenxuan and Li Rong having ulterior motives and joining forces again.

Now seeing Li Rong crying like this, she finally felt much better.

Sure enough, in Li Rong's heart, men are more important than power and money.

This is the biggest difference between them, and the basis for her victory.

She, Xiao Rou, doesn't care about men.

She is so cruel.