Pei Wenxuan finished speaking, and he and Li Rong turned around with a smile. Shangguan Xu came in front of Li Rong, bowed to her, and without even looking at Pei Wenxuan, he just said, "Your Highness, could you please move aside and talk to me?"
"You're welcome, uncle."
Li Rong smiled, turned around and said to Pei Wenxuan, "Wait for me at the palace gate first."
Pei Wenxuan bowed his hands in response, saluted towards Shangguan Xu, and then left first. Li Rong turned around and looked at Shangguan Xu: "Uncle, are you going back home or to the government office?"
"I am planning to return home. Your Highness, are you planning to leave the palace?"
"yes."
"Then let's go together."
Shangguan Xu raised his hand and invited Li Rong to go out with him.
The two walked out together. Li Rong held the folding fan in her hand and walked out of the hall with Shangguan Xu. Then she heard Shangguan Xu slowly ask, "Why did your highness suddenly want to take care of Qin's affairs this time?"
"Didn't I just say that?" Li Rong said slowly, "Miss Qin came to me, and I couldn't bear to see the Qin family being wronged."
"Your Highness is already married," Shangguan Xu sighed, "Why bother so much?"
"Uncle..." Li Rong turned back hesitantly, "Do you want me to stop interfering?"
"The matter in the northwest this time," Shangguan Xu and Li Rong walked down the steps together, "was originally a rotten stall that your majesty handed over to the prince. I was worried about your highness, so I contacted several relatives and tried every possible way to stabilize the northwest. Before the great victory, your majesty temporarily changed the generals and forced Xiao Su to become the main general. The list of awards that Xiao Su reported to your majesty had many problems. I wonder if your highness knows this."
Li Rong bowed her head slightly: "I'd like to hear the details."
"Most of those on the list are from poor families. This time, the children of the noble families basically did not receive any awards. That's why there is a debate in the court. Your Highness wants to seek justice for the Qin family. I understand. But, what kind of justice do I mean by justice?" Shangguan Xu looked at Li Rong with a bit of pressure in his expression. "I wonder how Your Highness plans to give it to us?"
Li Rong listened quietly to Shangguan Xu's words. For a moment, she seemed to understand what Li Chuan felt when he ascended the throne in his previous life.
If you want to take care of them, these people are not only relatives, but also benefactors.
Ignore them and act recklessly.
Li Rong was silent for a long time, then she said slowly: "Then is the Qin family guilty?"
Shangguan Xu said nothing. The two of them walked in the square. Li Rong looked up at the palace gate in the distance, watching the birds flapping their wings and flying over the high vermilion walls. She said softly, "I know that my uncle loves me and Chuan'er. Chuan'er and I also miss my uncle. The court collects taxes, but exempts the noble families from taxes. The Shangguan family is in Youzhou, and owns nearly half of the land. Every year, the taxes paid are even more than those paid by the court, but they are exempted from taxes." Li Rong laughed, "However, when the border was disturbed and natural disasters occurred, and the court could not take care of both, my father wanted to forcibly recruit the noble families. It was Chuan'er who thought of my uncle and discussed with Your Majesty and convinced Your Majesty."
Li Rong's words seemed casual, but Shangguan Xu's face turned cold.
The aristocratic families were exempt from taxes when they owned land and had many special powers. The court did not collect enough taxes, and there were not enough people and money. When the barbaric countries invaded, the aristocratic families hid behind the court and watched the court pay. The court gave the money to the border, and the border was controlled by aristocratic families like the Yang family. The Yang family was afraid of weakening themselves, so they came up with an absurd thing of spending money to buy off the enemy country for a show.
The Shangguan family supports Li Chuan, and Li Chuan must protect the Shangguan family. Even if the family has many problems, Li Chuan still has to protect it.
"I'm not really sure what happened during the war in the northwest border. But based on my partial understanding, the court was responsible for running everything. Although Rong was a small country, it must have been involved in many things. My uncle was the left servant of the Shangshu Province. He worked hard and made great contributions. Father didn't appreciate him. It was his fault."
"Your Highness commends me." Shangguan Xu said in a firm voice. Li Rong openly expressed her sympathy, but he understood her underlying meaning.
According to the operation mechanism of the entire court, if the noble families did not interfere, and the whole court united to attack the Rong State, there would indeed be no problem. However, everyone had their own calculations, so all along, there were various problems in the decision to fight, military pay, distribution, food and grass transportation, etc. If the Shangguan family had not persuaded the noble families and promised various benefits, it would not have been so smooth.
Northwest is a rubbish stall, and Huajing is also a rubbish stall.
But this rotten stall was originally ruined by the aristocratic family. The Shangguan family stepped in to clean it up, which is a credit, but they are also one of the instigators.
Shangguan Xu pinched the tablet so tightly that his joints turned white.
Li Rong couldn't bear it for a moment, and when she reached the palace gate, she suddenly said, "Uncle."
Shangguan Xu raised his head when he heard the word "uncle". Li Rong looked at him and said slowly, "When I was little, my uncle often brought windmills to Rong'er when he came to the palace. Rong'er liked them very much."
Shangguan Xu was a little dazed. Li Rong stared at Shangguan Xu and said seriously, "Uncle is Rong'er's family after all. Rong'er hopes that my family can be well. When the water is full, it will be full. When the moon is full, it will be empty. I hope uncle will remember the way of the saints."
Shangguan Xu didn't say anything. Li Rong took a deep breath, turned around and smiled: "We have arrived at the palace gate. I won't see you off, Lord Shangguan. I will leave first."
Having said that, Li Rong bowed and left first.
After Li Rong walked away, several ministers approached Shangguan Xu and asked anxiously, "Shangguan, what did His Highness say?"
Shangguan Xu was silent for a long time, then he said slowly: "The princess just told me a lot, with her knowledge, she should not be able to say these."
Several people looked at each other. After a moment, Shangguan Minzhi said slowly, "I'm afraid I have to go and tell Pei Lixian that his child is a little too presumptuous."
"Young man." Shangguan Xu laughed, "You are still full of energy."
Li Rong said goodbye to Shangguan Xu, and when she walked out of the palace, she saw Pei Wenxuan standing at the door.
He was waiting for her beside the carriage in black court robes with red patterns. When he saw Li Rong coming out, Pei Wenxuan smiled.
Although Pei Wenxuan was a man with a lot of bad intentions, he was handsome and upright. When he smiled, it was like the spring breeze blowing across the green fields in April, gentle yet full of vitality.
Li Rong felt relieved when she saw his smile.
Pei Wenxuan came forward and looked at her with a smile: "Do you need my help, Your Highness?"
"Why do you ask?"
Li Rong was a little surprised. Pei Wenxuan stretched out his hand and said, "If Your Highness is tired, please help me."
Li Rong looked at him, raised her hand and placed it on his, and let him help her get into the carriage.
After getting into the carriage, Pei Wenxuan said, "Let's go back first. When we get home, His Majesty's edict and token should have arrived. Then we'll go to the Ministry of Justice to check Qin's case and take a look at the Qin family's situation."
Li Rong responded and went back home with Pei Wenxuan. Not long after waiting in the princess's mansion, Li Ming's imperial edict came, asking her to investigate the Qin case and not to interfere. Along with the imperial edict came the special token of the Supervisory Department that Li Ming had awarded.
After receiving the imperial edict and the token, Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan rushed to the Ministry of Justice. As soon as they arrived at the door of the Ministry of Justice, they were stopped by the people of the Ministry of Justice. Li Rong showed the token in his hand and said directly: "I am here by the order of the emperor to find the scribe to retrieve the files."
The people from the Ministry of Justice were stunned for a moment, obviously they had not received the notice yet. Li Rong looked up at them and said, "Why, do you not trust me, or do you not trust the imperial edict?"
"I dare not," the guard at the gate quickly stepped aside and said to Li Rong, "Your Highness, please come in."
Logically, these people should lead Li Rong in to find the Secretary, but no one was willing to step forward to lead the way. Fortunately, Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan had already understood all the departments in their previous life, and were too lazy to argue with them, so they walked in on their own and went straight to the place where the files were stored.
After arriving at the warehouse where the files were stored, Li Rong asked the officials below to call out the superior. After Li Rong gave the imperial edict, she said directly: "Bring out the files of the Qin case, and I will take them away."
Hearing this, the clerk hesitated for a moment, then laughed and said, "Your Highness, I am not trying to embarrass you, but the Ministry of Justice has its own rules. If you want to transfer the files, please get the approval order."
"Approval? The imperial edict ordered me to preside over this case and no one from top to bottom should interfere. Given my rank, do I still need an approval?"
"Your Highness," the Secretary smiled bitterly, "This is also the rule. Unless the emperor comes in person, he must approve the order. Even if the minister comes, he must follow the rules."
Li Rong said nothing. She and Pei Wenxuan both knew clearly that this was embarrassing for the people below.
It was easy to find Prince Yan, but hard to pester the little ghost. Li Rong hadn't been so pestered by the little ghost for many years. She couldn't help but laugh: "Who should I look for for this batch of orders?"
"You go find Chief Gao and tell him. Once he gives the order, I will immediately hand over the Qin family's files to Your Highness."
"Where is Mr. Gao?" Li Rong continued to ask. The clerk raised his hand and said, "He should be working in the room on the left in front. Your Highness, please move."
"Okay." Li Rong nodded, "I'll go take a look."
After Li Rong finished speaking, she went with Pei Wenxuan to look for Master Gao. When they arrived at Master Gao's room, they found it empty. Li Rong raised her eyebrows and glanced at the guard at the door: "Where is Master Gao?"
"Master Gao is out on official business." The guard said cautiously, "Your Highness... Your Highness, why don't you come back tomorrow?"
Li Rong didn't say anything. She looked up at Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan looked at the guards and said calmly, "What did Master Gao do when he was out?"
"This... this humble official doesn't know."
The guards looked embarrassed, and Pei Wenxuan remained silent. After a long while, Li Rong laughed out loud: "Okay, then I'll come back another day."
After Li Rong finished speaking, she turned around and led Pei Wenxuan directly out of the Ministry of Justice.
After leaving the room, Pei Wenxuan hurriedly said, "Your Highness, don't be angry. The Supervisory Department just made the decision this morning. I'm afraid the Ministry of Justice hasn't received any news yet..."
"What news did you get!" Li Rong said in a low voice, "Do these people treat me like a fool? Why are they looking for a high official? If Su Rongqing was here today, I don't think he would need a high official?! They are clearly taking advantage of you and me because I am ignorant!"
Pei Wenxuan said nothing. Seeing Li Rong walking out angrily, he followed closely and whispered, "What is your plan, Your Highness?"
"What? They bully me because I'm young, so I'll let them know what youth means!"
As she spoke, Li Rong came to the carriage and stepped onto it. Pei Wenxuan saw that she was angry and was afraid that she would get angry and get into trouble, so he quickly grabbed her and asked, "Where are you going, Your Highness?"
"Go find someone! Don't follow me. Go to the barracks and call ten good fighters from the group I liked. They'll be there in a while." Li Rong raised her hand and pointed to the teahouse next to them. "I'll wait for you there."
"I'm going to look for someone, where's Your Highness?"
"I……"
Before Li Rong finished speaking, she heard Shangguan Ya's rather happy voice: "Ah, Your Highness," Shangguan Ya waved not far away, "What a coincidence!"