"Your Highness, it's no use if you say it so clearly."

Cui Yulang did not feel awkward when listening to Li Rong's words. He stepped back slowly and sat on a bench beside him. He leaned against the railing, opened and closed the fan in his hand, and said with a smile: "But your highness is right. I really want to rely on your highness, so I am sending this case to your highness."

"Give it to me?" Li Rong chuckled. "How do you say it?"

"I know that Your Highness is targeting Concubine Rou," Cui Yulang lowered his voice, half of his face covered by his fan, "The Xiao Pingzhang who snatched the scholar's place is a relative of Concubine Rou."

It is normal to have one or two evil relatives. Since Concubine Rou rose to power from a palace maid, it is not surprising that her relatives acted tyrannically in the countryside.

But before you pull out a tree, you must first loosen the soil. If Concubine Rou has no foundation, then this incident will be enough to bring her down. But if Concubine Rou is in great favor, if this incident is exposed, not only will it be left unresolved, but the person who investigated the case will also be secretly punished by Li Ming.

Li Rong believed that Cui Yulang knew this. She sat next to Cui Yulang, separated from him by the pillars of the pavilion, and said leisurely, "Master Cui, you are joking. What does Concubine Rou's affairs have to do with me?"

Cui Yulang turned around with a smile and looked at Li Rong.

Pei Wenxuan watched from a distance and couldn't help but break off another branch.

Being so close, Cui Yulang's eyes were not right. Why were these two flirting with each other while talking about serious matters?

Li Rong saw Cui Yulang's look and knew that Cui Yulang understood. She looked at the sky and knew that they didn't have much time to fight, so she asked bluntly, "Why are you helping me?"

"Your Highness, don't worry about this."

Cui Yulang lowered his head and touched the folding fan in his hand: "Your Highness, you only need to know that Cui is willing to surrender to Your Highness, even if it means making some sacrifices."

"If you don't explain clearly, how can I dare to accept your kindness?"

"Then I say, because Your Highness is prettier," Cui Yulang looked up at Li Rong, waving his fan, "Is that reason enough?"

"What do you mean?"

Li Rong was a little puzzled. Cui Yulang said with emotion: "Your Highness, think about it. My father is just a teacher. He was able to pass the imperial examination and become the top scholar only because I came to Huajing and wrote outstanding poems and lyrics, which won the recognition of the nobles. I have neither money nor amazing talents. Isn't my only asset this face?"

Cui Yulang said, smiling confidently: "I am not satisfied with what Your Highness said. When I first won the first place in the imperial examination, Princess Deyang had already handed me a branch. However, Cui was unlucky and did not dare to accept such a great favor, so I refused it. Then I was sent to the Ministry of Rites, doing trivial things that have nothing to do with pain."

Li Rong nodded. Princess Deyang was her aunt, and she was nearly fifty years old now. Cui Yulang was almost as old as her grandson, so it was normal for her to refuse.

"I've heard that His Highness loves talented men, but I never dared to confirm it. Some time ago, the princess was squeezed out of the crowd during the conversation between the prince consort and the princess. Later, His Highness also frequently toured the flower boat, so I wanted to give it a try."

"That's a pity." Li Rong looked at him stroking the golden fan in his hand, knowing that he was not telling the truth, so she said nonchalantly, "I am not interested in this matter."

"That's a pity indeed." Cui Yulang sighed, "Your Highness invited me here, and I thought Your Highness agreed."

Li Rong waved her hands and stood up: "Since you don't tell the truth, forget it."

As she was about to walk out, Cui Yulang paused for a moment when he heard her words. When he heard Li Rong was about to leave the pavilion, he suddenly said, "Your Highness, I am not as incompetent as you think. Will you consider this again?"

"I don't doubt your ability." Li Rong looked calm. Although Cui Yulang resigned early in his previous life, he also experienced several struggles. He was almost unscathed, which showed his mental strength. He lived a very smooth life after returning. Although he did not make any achievements in officialdom, he had a good ending in his previous life.

"I just can't think of a reason for your loyalty. I don't believe your reason. If your reason is true, I dare not use someone like you, and there is no need to use you."

After saying this, Li Rong was about to leave, but Cui Yulang finally stopped her and said, "I can tell you, but I'm afraid that Your Highness won't believe me."

"Three times," Li Rong didn't want to waste time talking to him, "Three, two..."

"Because His Highness handled Qin's case." Cui Yulang finally spoke. Li Rong turned back in confusion and saw Cui Yulang turned his head away, looking at the river beside him, and said slowly, "I think His Highness is a good person."

Li Rong didn't say anything. Cui Yulang laughed sarcastically: "Look, I told you that Your Highness wouldn't believe it."

"I believe it."

Li Rong spoke calmly. Cui Yulang looked up in surprise. Li Rong said calmly, "I understand what you mean. I will say it straight away. I don't want to accept you directly."

Cui Yulang didn't say anything. He waited for Li Rong. Li Rong walked up to him and said softly, "But I can arrange for you to go to Concubine Rou."

Cui Yulang looked at Li Rong in surprise. After a moment, he figured it out: "Your Highness wants me to be your informant?"

“You just have to do it.”

"Since Your Highness has asked, of course it is possible."

"Then in order to reassure me, you need to take this." Li Rong took out the medicine bottle that she had prepared earlier, half squatted down, and handed it to Cui Yulang, "From now on, on this day of every month, you come to me, and I will give you a temporary antidote. When I get rid of Concubine Rou, I will give you the antidote completely. Of course, I will also give you corresponding benefits. If you have the ability, no matter what your background is, you can get the position of Tong Pingzhangshi."

Cui Yulang listened to Li Rong's words. After thinking for a moment, he chuckled, grabbed the bottle, poured the pills directly into his mouth, and then threw the bottle into the lake. He sighed: "Women are really suspicious."

Li Rong smiled and stood up: "If you have any urgent matters in the future, you can contact me directly at my house. Now you can go back first."

"Where are His Highness's guards?" Cui Yulang asked unexpectedly. Li Rong paused for a moment before she remembered that she had come here alone. She thought for a moment and guessed, "It's difficult for the carriage to enter. They should be near the official road not far away."

"It's not appropriate for Your Highness to stay alone," Cui Yulang shook his head, "I will take Your Highness back."

Li Rong didn't refuse, she nodded, turned around and said, "Let's go."

After Cui Yulang heard this, he stepped forward, broke off a branch from the side, and walked in front to clear the way for Li Rong.

He had used branches to press down the thorns that were sticking out from the side in advance to make it easier for Li Rong to walk.

As they walked, he talked to Li Rong. His words were humorous and full of praise. He ignored the main topic, but he made Li Rong laugh with just a few words.

The two chatted and laughed as they walked away. Pei Wenxuan finally stood up from the haystack. He patted his numb legs and threw away the last branch in his hand. After a while, Tong Ye finally came over. Seeing Pei Wenxuan standing at the entrance of the pavilion, Tong Ye hurried over and asked carefully, "Sir, what are you looking at here?"

Pei Wenxuan said nothing. When the last bit of numbness in his legs subsided, he turned around and asked slowly, "Where is His Highness?"

"Your Highness and Cui Yulang just left, and they should have found their carriage by now." Tong Ye answered carefully. He knew his son's temperament too well. Although he looked calm at the moment, only Pei Wenxuan himself knew what was going on in his heart.

"How did Cui Yulang get here?"

Pei Wenxuan listened to Tong Ye's words, turned around and followed Tong Ye to the official road. Tong Ye hurriedly said, "We rented a carriage and just stopped by the road. I heard the driver talking about him. He said he looked decent. We spent almost half an hour bargaining for the carriage. Don't tell me, this Lord Cui is really approachable."

"That's because of poverty."

Pei Wenxuan understood the situation very well. He thought for a moment and then ordered, "Go over there later and have someone leave two taels of silver on the carriage. Then find a way to lure the driver away and steal the wheels."

"Steal...steal the wheels?"

Tong Ye was somewhat shocked. Pei Wenxuan frowned: "What do you think?"

"No, no." Tong Ye stuttered. How could he dare to have any opinions? He was just a little shocked.

In order to prevent Pei Wenxuan from getting angry at him, he quickly said, "I'll do it right away."

After Tong Ye finished speaking, he trotted back and told the guards Pei Wenxuan's order. After a brief discussion, while Cui Yulang was still seeing Li Rong off, Tong Ye ran to the side of the road, threw the copper plate, and started shouting, "Silver? Who dropped the silver?"

When he shouted, the drivers who were resting in the teahouse quickly gathered around to watch the excitement. The guards secretly ran to the side of the carriage, quietly pulled the carriage and drove away.

The carriage was pulled into the woods, and one guard pulled the horse while two others removed the wheels. After a short while, the wheels were removed and they quickly left the scene carrying them.

Cui Yulang had already sent Li Rong to the carriage. The two chatted happily along the way. When they got on the carriage, Cui Yulang joked, "Your Highness, you really don't want to consider me? You have divorced your husband, so I am no worse than him, right?"

Li Rong knew he was joking, so she smiled and said, "Don't say that in front of others in the future, or someone will hate you."

"Yulang feels it's worth it to be jealous of a beauty like the princess."

"Okay," Li Rong asked someone to lower the car curtain, "Let's go back."

Cui Yulang smiled and stepped back, watching Li Rong's carriage go away.

Pei Wenxuan was standing in the reed field not far away, staring at Cui Yulang who was seeing Li Rong off.

The guard who had returned with the wheel stood behind him. Tong Ye whispered, "Sir, what should we do with the wheel?"

"These drivers will stay here overnight," Pei Wenxuan said calmly, "Leave someone here and put the wheels back for the drivers tomorrow."

"ah?"

Tong Ye was a little confused, and then he heard Pei Wenxuan say: "Leave another 1 or 2 taels of silver for the driver as their accommodation fee and compensation."

He just wanted to punish Cui Yulang, the scoundrel, and didn't want to bring disaster to Yuchi.

At this weather, if he wanted to walk back, he would have to walk until night, and the driver would have to stay here overnight. However, Cui Yulang had to go to court tomorrow, so he had no choice but to walk back.

So after bargaining with the driver and trying to get more fare but failing, Cui Yulang had no other choice but to walk back by himself.

It was also possible to call a carriage, but he didn't plan to take a ride back home at this time.

After making sure that Cui Yulang was going to walk back, Pei Wenxuan finally felt relieved. He led the others back to the carriage. After getting on the carriage, he led everyone and ran happily past Cui Yulang.

When the carriage approached Cui Yulang, Pei Wenxuan specifically ordered: "Go faster."

The driver didn't understand what he meant, but he still drove a little faster as ordered. When he passed Cui Yulang, the dust on the road rolled up and splashed all over Cui Yulang's face.

Cui Yulang paused in the dust, holding his breath. When the dust cleared, he looked at the carriage running away and told himself that God would give great responsibilities to those who are capable of such tasks.

But he couldn't help himself when he was only halfway through reciting the words. Seeing that there were no one around, he could not help but curse, "Are you running so fast to be reincarnated? It's nothing great just because you're rich!"

When Pei Wenxuan heard Cui Yulang cursing behind him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He took a sip of tea from the side and was quite happy.

Tong Ye looked at Pei Wenxuan's expression and couldn't help but ask, "What are you so happy about, young master?"

Pei Wenxuan held the tea, tilted his head and praised: "Good tea."

After Li Rong finished talking with Cui Yulang, she returned to the princess's residence. She sat in the room for a while, thinking about the current situation.

Now it is less than two years since Li Ming passed away.

In the previous life, Li Mingfei and Li Chuan took three steps respectively.

The first step was to abolish the Yang family and let Xiao Su go to the northwest, become the King of Zhenbei, and gain military power in the northwest.

The second step was to let Concubine Rou establish the Supervisory Office. With the help of the Supervisory Office, Concubine Rou could obtain political capital, have the support of the poor family, and have her own supporters in the court.

The third step was that the Inspection Department began to strictly investigate the people around Li Chuan, uncovering all the cases of the Shangguan family, both large and small. Li Chuan's harem was in constant struggle. He originally tried to use marriage to connect the aristocratic families, but in the end it became a struggle between the families behind several concubines in the East Palace. This mess finally gave Li Ming a reason to depose the prince.

Today, the situation is very different.

Although Xiao Su was in charge of the military power in the Northwest, she secretly arranged Qin Lin into the team in advance and asked Li Chuan to go to the battlefield in person to lead the team in the most difficult first half. Although people noticed her relationship with the Qin family too early because of the Qin case, because Xiao Su relied on Qin Lin on the battlefield in the early days, and later as compensation after the Qin case was overturned, the Qin family was able to gain a firm position in the Northwest.

Although Xiao Su controlled the vast majority of the troops in the northwest, these people were from the Yang family's era and belonged to their own families. They had no loyalty to Xiao Su, a poor general who parachuted in to grab credit in the middle of a battle. As long as she cut off the support of Concubine Rou and Li Ming in the court, and Xiao Su was cut off from money and food, those soldiers would immediately lose their value.

Therefore, her move towards military power had been half-offset by Qin Lin.

Then, the move of the Inspection Department was also seized by her in advance.

Li Ming wanted her to build the Supervision Department first, and then hand it over to Concubine Rou when the time was right. But only what you have worked hard for is yours. The Supervision Department became Concubine Rou's political capital because all the people in it were from humble families that she led up, so the humble families trusted her. But now the Supervision Department was built by Li Rong, who selected people and built its reputation. Even if she directly promoted Concubine Rou to the head of the Supervision Department, she could quickly sideline Concubine Rou.

Therefore, this move by the Inspection Department was also a failure.

Finally, they undermined the popular support for Li Chuan and used the noble families in the harem who supported Li Chuan. Now that Li Chuan did not marry so many women, and the Shangguan family was clean after Shangguan Ya's self-examination, no fault could be found. Li Chuan personally went to the north to supervise the army and fought the most difficult battle. After that, it would be almost impossible to affect Li Chuan's reputation.

Now, as long as they proceed steadily, Li Chuan's position as the crown prince will be difficult to shake.

But the problem is that Su Rongqing also came back.

Li Rong was not sure when Su Rongqing would come back, but at least he should have been back by the time she got married.

Now that he was back, it was impossible for him to just watch her make the plans and do nothing.

Apart from other things, at least Pei Wenxuan was going to be the chief examiner of the imperial examination, and he got the chance.

If he hadn't been behind the scenes, why would Wang Houwen, a minister, take the initiative to take charge of the imperial examinations?

Li Rong thought about these trivial matters and began to feel a headache. She suddenly wanted Pei Wenxuan to be here. The two of them could chat together, and perhaps she would have more ideas.

She looked at the flickering candle flames without saying anything. Jingmei fetched some water to wash her feet, glanced at Li Rong, pursed her lips and smiled: "Your Highness, are you thinking about your husband?"

Li Rong came to her senses after hearing this. She chuckled, and for some reason, she subconsciously felt a little embarrassed. She just said, "What is there to think about? Aren't we going to see each other tomorrow?"

Jingmei smiled but didn't say anything, but Li Rong felt that she was laughing at her. She couldn't help but ask, "What are you laughing at?"

Jingmei lowered her head to wash her feet, and whispered to her, "The Prince Consort asked you to meet him today, but you didn't go. I thought you were worried about him."

If Jingmei hadn't said it, Li Rong wouldn't have missed it. But once Jingmei said it, Li Rong missed Pei Wenxuan even more.

She didn't show it on her face, but just said, "You worry more than I do."

Jingmei smiled and said nothing. Li Rong tried to think more about business so as not to worry about Pei Wenxuan and could not control herself from wanting to see him.

But now that we have just divorced, it would be inappropriate to take the risk to meet him.

They have known each other for many years, why are there so many exaggerated stories?

After washing her feet, Li Rong lay down on the bed. She tossed and turned, thinking over and over, and finally made a decision.

She got to see Pei Wenxuan.

Of course it wasn't to see him, Li Rong comforted herself, she was not such an irrational person, she just wanted to talk to Pei Wenxuan about Cui Yulang.

Cui Yulang was needed, and it would take some effort to arrange him to be by Concubine Rou's side. Although the news Cui Yulang brought was useless in overthrowing Concubine Rou, it was useful in finding trouble with Wang Houwen.

Whether it was arranging Cui Yulang or scheming Wang Houwen, letters were not reliable. She had to meet Pei Wenxuan in person, even if it meant taking some risks.

Thinking that she had to meet Pei Wenxuan, Li Rong's mood suddenly became much better. She turned sideways, hugged the quilt, closed her eyes, and fell asleep happily.

The next morning, Li Rong arrived at the palace at the usual time. As soon as she got off the carriage, she saw Pei Wenxuan who had just arrived.

She took advantage of the fact that there were few people around and winked at Pei Wenxuan in the dark. Pei Wenxuan saw that she was "exchanging glances" and pretended not to see anything, so he turned around and walked inside.

Li Rong was stunned. She looked around and after confirming that no one was around, she couldn't help but be a little surprised. Wasn't Pei Wenxuan putting on too much of a show?

Pei Wenxuan walked forward holding the tablet, feeling a little depressed.

She postponed meeting Cui Yulang for such a small matter, and now she went to see him as usual even though there was nothing wrong. I'm afraid she didn't have any burden in her heart at all.

Li Rong is such a heartless person.

The two of them passed the morning court without even glancing at each other. When they returned to the princess's mansion, Li Rong quickly asked Zhao Chongjiu to send a message to Pei Wenxuan, asking him to meet.

When Pei Wenxuan received Li Rong's letter, he knew what Li Rong was going to say. He listened to what she and Cui Yulang said, and although it was discontinuous, it was almost the same. She was just trying to tell him about recruiting Cui Yulang and Wang Houwen.

He had arranged all these, and they were not important matters, so he decisively sent someone to reply: "Let Her Highness think about what she has done recently and reflect on it. When she has figured it out, we will meet again."

Zhao Zhongjiu nodded, turned around and left, without giving Pei Wenxuan any time to regret.

Pei Wenxuan stood in the courtyard for a while after he finished speaking. After a while, he couldn't help but turned to Tong Ye and said, "Go back to Zhao Chongjiu and tell him not to spread those words just now. Tell him to let His Highness leave a message in the mansion tonight. I will go find her."

Tong Ye nodded and hurried to chase Zhao Chongjiu.

Pei Wenxuan stood in the yard and thought to himself that Li Rong couldn't figure this matter out clearly, so he still had to talk to her face to face.

But before he could pass on this idea, Tong Ye went out for a while and then came back, saying anxiously, "Sir, Lord Zhao walked too fast and I couldn't catch up with him."

Pei Wenxuan: “…”

For some reason, he felt a little scared.

I always feel that the words I just said seemed a little too tough.

Tong Ye glanced at Pei Wenxuan and couldn't help but ask, "Well, Master, if you are afraid, why don't you find someone to pass the message back?"

Pei Wenxuan heard this and glared at Tong Ye coldly: "What do I have to be afraid of? Forget about it if it's not spread. Let's see what she thinks."

Pei Wenxuan turned around and asked, "Who is hosting the banquet tonight?"

"yes."

"Get ready for the banquet tonight."

"Sir," Tong Ye said cautiously, "Are you really going?"

"Why can't we go?" Pei Wenxuan glanced at him calmly. Tong Ye hesitated and said, "Master He, the location is set at Chunfeng Tower."

Pei Wenxuan: “…”

While Pei Wenxuan was still struggling over whether to attend the banquet that evening, Zhao Chongjiu returned to the princess's mansion.

He reported Pei Wenxuan's words to Li Rong without missing a single word.

Li Rong took a sip of tea and asked, "Is this what he said?"

"Yes." Zhao Zhongjiu said calmly, "Exactly what I said."

Li Rong didn't say anything. She put the tea on the table and said to Jingmei, "Change it to chrysanthemum tea."

Jingmei hurried to change the tea. Li Rong looked up at Zhao Chongjiu and asked, "Do you know where he's going tonight?"

"I asked before," Zhao Chongjiu had already received Li Rong's instructions and kept an eye on Pei Wenxuan. He knew Pei Wenxuan's dinner parties every night, so he replied directly, "He Yan is hosting the banquet."

"Okay," Li Rong nodded, "I'll go wait for him."

Li Rong stood up and asked, "Where is the banquet?"

"Spring Breeze Tower."

Zhao Chongjiu spoke calmly. Li Rong's eyes widened suddenly: "Say it again?"

Zhao Chongjiu spoke very slowly this time, as if he was afraid that Li Rong couldn't hear clearly, and he said word by word: "The largest Fengyue Institute in Beijing——"

"Spring, wind, building."