When Li Rong heard Shangguan Ya's voice, she and Pei Wenxuan were both startled. Pei Wenxuan glanced around and reminded Li Rong in a low voice: "This place is not far from the casino."
Li Rong nodded. This place was not far from the casino, and there were restaurants and tea houses nearby. Shangguan Ya was wearing men's clothing, so she probably came here to eat after gambling.
Li Rong calmed down a bit, and whispered to Pei Wenxuan, "Go find someone, and send someone to the mansion to call... Xun Chuan. Shangguan Ya and I will wait for you in the restaurant over there."
Pei Wenxuan responded and then separated from the people around him.
Shangguan Ya walked to Li Rong's side, looked up at the door of the Ministry of Justice, and said with a smile: "Are you here to do business in the Ministry of Justice?"
"Are you here for dinner?"
"Yes." Shangguan Ya said carelessly, "I didn't eat lunch, and I'm very hungry. If Your Highness has nothing to do, why don't we go together?"
"Sure."
Li Rong smiled, got off the carriage, and walked with Shangguan Ya to the wine shop she pointed out to Pei Wenxuan. Shangguan Ya walked side by side with Li Rong and whispered, "The Qin family case has been handled. Your Highness should have received the imperial edict from the Construction Supervision Department today, right?"
"That's enough," Li Rong turned around and glanced at the Ministry of Justice, and said calmly, "It's hard to pester this little devil."
"Then what are you going to do, Your Highness?" Shangguan Ya put her hands behind her back and looked in the direction where Pei Wenxuan left. "You don't seem to be planning to go to the palace to report them?"
"What is there to complain about?" Li Rong laughed softly. "The little brat can't even handle injustice, yet he has to go to the palace to ask others to make the decision. I'm afraid my father will dismiss me tomorrow."
"What is your highness going to do?" Shangguan Ya raised her eyebrows. Li Rong entered the restaurant with her and said nonchalantly, "Just wait and see how lively it gets."
Shangguan Ya nodded: "Okay."
The two of them called a private room on the second floor. After entering the room, Shangguan Ya picked up the menu, read out the names of the dishes, and turned to look at Li Rong. Li Rong sat by the window, looking in the direction of the Ministry of Justice, twirling the fan in her hand.
Shangguan Ya poured herself some tea and asked in surprise, "I seemed to see the Prince Consort just now. What did you ask him to do?"
"Call some help."
Li Rong heard Shangguan Ya's question. She turned around, looked her up and down, and asked in surprise, "You gamble outside every day, don't you know what's going on at home?"
"It hasn't been discovered yet." Shangguan Ya shrugged, "It's possible that it has been discovered, but it's not a big deal, so forget it."
"Your father must be in a lot of trouble having a daughter like you."
Li Rong laughed. Shangguan Ya stretched out a finger and shook it, saying, "You are wrong. My father should be happy to have a daughter as smart and clever as me."
As the two were talking, the dishes were served. Shangguan Ya was eating hard. Seeing that she was eating with relish, Li Rong sat beside her and added a few chopsticks.
The two chatted while eating. After finishing the meal, they somehow ended up talking about Li Rong's marriage. They sat on chairs by the window sill, watching people coming and going downstairs. Shangguan Ya brought a cup of tea and said casually, "From the outside, your marriage seems to be a good match, but we can see clearly that Pei Wenxuan's status is lower. I thought you would look down on him, but I didn't expect that you two have a good relationship."
Li Rong heard this and laughed: "He's a nice guy."
"Indeed," Shangguan Ya nodded, "She is good-looking and has a good temper, but Your Highness," Shangguan Ya put down the teacup, moved in front of her, and spoke in a low voice, "There is something, I am very curious."
"Um?"
"You two," Shangguan Ya's voice became quieter, "have you consummated your marriage?"
Li Rong heard this and looked up at Shangguan Ya, raising her eyebrows: "Why do you say that?"
"Your Highness," Shangguan Ya said a little embarrassedly, "Although I have never eaten pork, I have seen pigs run. You and your husband are newlyweds, inseparable every day, and your relationship is pretty good, but there is no intimacy in your words and deeds. When you walk together, you have to keep a distance and look at each other with open eyes. To be honest," Shangguan Ya sighed, "What is the difference between the relationship between you and your husband and the relationship between you and me?"
Li Rong was choked by Shangguan Ya for a moment.
Shangguan Ya was very observant of people, she knew this in her previous life, but she didn't expect that Shangguan Ya was not only observant of serious matters, but also interested in this kind of thing.
Shangguan Ya saw Li Rong's expression, she smiled, returned to her seat, and said with some joy: "You really guessed it. Your Highness, don't worry, I won't say anything nonsense. I'm just curious about what kind of relationship you two have."
Li Rong was not worried that Shangguan Ya knew this. Shangguan Ya was a person of discretion. Since Shangguan Ya knew this and asked about it, Li Rong did not try to hide it. She held up the tea bowl and smiled, "Just tell me about that relationship."
"Um?"
"Friends." Li Rong said slowly, "A very good friend."
"Well," Shangguan Ya thought, and continued, "You can't be friends forever, right?"
"Why not?" Li Rong raised her eyebrows, and Shangguan Ya quickly said, "We have to have a child."
Li Rong couldn't help laughing when she heard Shangguan Ya say this: "You are so young and your marriage is not settled yet, why are you anxious about others?"
"It's mine. I'll take my own chance." Shangguan Ya said, "Anyway, we have many children. To be honest, I haven't met anyone I like. I'd rather live in my own home, and then adopt a child from one of those concubines and keep it under my name. But you're different," Shangguan Ya said quickly, "You and your husband are married, and you plan to live your life on your own. What about your husband?"
"Have you never thought about this?" Li Rong saw that Shangguan Ya's whole train of thought was distorted, and said with a smile, "My husband and I will have our own choices one day?"
Shangguan Ya was shocked for a moment after hearing this, and then said in astonishment: "Are you planning to divorce in the future?!"
"Why not?" Li Rong spread her hands and said frankly, "He is a person who misses his family. I can be alone and don't care about anything for the rest of his life. In his heart, he needs someone to accompany him. I won't delay him. Besides, there are so many handsome gentlemen in this world. Why should I look for such a good friend? After all, it's easy to find a man..."
"Sisters are rare." Shangguan Ya added the next sentence. After understanding Li Rong's words, the two of them laughed in tacit understanding. Shangguan Ya said happily, "Does Your Highness have a candidate in mind for the next one? Given Your Highness' age, most of the good young men are now of marriageable age. If Your Highness does not make a move, the range of options in the future will probably be much smaller."
"I've been thinking about that, too."
Li Rong said slowly, "But right now, the affairs of the court are more important. Let's think about these things later. If there is no suitable one, what's wrong with keeping a few concubines?"
Shangguan Ya nodded. Just then, there was a knock on the door, followed by a low, hoarse voice: "Your Highness, I am Xun Chuan, and I have been ordered to come here."
Li Rong heard the voice, nodded, and said directly: "Come in."
As soon as Li Rong finished speaking, a young man wearing half an iron mask walked in.
He was not tall, but he was well-proportioned and slender. As a man, he was a little thin. He stood in the room neither humble nor arrogant, and bowed respectfully to Shangguan Ya: "Sir."
Shangguan Ya looked her up and down, then looked at Li Rong, who introduced her, "This is my subordinate, Xun Chuan from the Inspection Department."
Shangguan Ya nodded and bowed to Xun Chuan: "Nice to meet you, my name is Shangguan."
"Please sit down and wait for a while. The prince consort will bring someone over."
When Xun Chuan heard this, he responded without any hesitation and sat down on the chair next to him.
Li Rong touched the teacup and said slowly, "The Prince Consort will bring a few people here in a while. They are new here, so I'm afraid they won't obey your orders. If they don't take action later, you will take them to take action. Do you understand?"
"clear."
The young man responded, seeming to understand it very well.
The 500 people in the Inspection Department were all selected by Li Rong some time ago. They have good abilities, but people with good abilities naturally understand the current situation, and I'm afraid no one wants to come in.
Today Li Rong planned to take action directly in the Ministry of Justice, and brought these people here to give them a warning.
After the three of them waited for a while, they saw Pei Wenxuan coming with his men.
Shangguan Ya said happily, "I'm here! Your Highness, can I go with you to such a lively place?"
"Find a mask to cover your face." Li Rong said in disgust, "Don't let anyone recognize you."
"I have experience with this." Shangguan Ya quickly took out half of the iron mask, which looked a bit like Xun Chuan next to him. Shangguan Ya said seriously, "I always have it ready, just in case someone recognizes it."
With such thorough preparations, Li Rong felt embarrassed to ask her not to go.
The three of them went down together without waiting for Pei Wenxuan to come up. When Pei Wenxuan reached the door of the restaurant, he saw Li Rong leading two young men wearing half masks down. Pei Wenxuan was stunned for a moment, looked around for a moment, suppressed his doubts, and said to Li Rong: "Your Highness, the people are here."
"Just go when you get there."
Li Rong walked in front, leading the group to the Ministry of Justice. When they reached the door, the gatekeeper was about to block the way, but Li Rong gave him a look. Xun Chuan raised his hand and took out the token. He raised his sword and pushed the gatekeeper aside, saying in a cold voice, "The Supervisory Department is handling the case. Let's go."
"How dare you block His Highness's way?" Shangguan Ya shouted, "How dare you! Can't you see the imperial edict?!"
The two of them sang in unison and immediately cleared a path. Li Rong walked in calmly with a smile. Pei Wenxuan stood beside Li Rong and whispered, "Where did you find these two lively guys?"
Li Rong smiled and glanced at Pei Wenxuan: "Is it more useful than you?"
Pei Wenxuan was choked for a moment. The four of them, along with a dozen confused young men, headed straight for the warehouse where the files were stored. When the gatekeepers saw them go in, one of them immediately said, "You stay here, I'll go find Lord Su."
The highest-ranking official sitting in the Ministry of Justice now is Su Rongqing, and the only person they can think of now is Su Rongqing.
Li Rong led his men to the warehouse quickly. When the clerk saw Li Rong, he laughed and said, "Your Highness, have you found Master Gao?"
"I looked for him, but he wasn't there."
Li Rong smiled and said, "But I read the imperial edict again. I looked left and right. It seemed that the imperial edict only asked me to investigate the case and the rest of us should cooperate fully. I thought about it and the Supervisory Department did not seem to belong to the Ministry of Justice. Why should I follow the regulations of the Ministry of Justice when I want to transfer the files? The scribe can just give it to me directly. If anything goes wrong, I will take responsibility."
"Your Highness," Shuling Shi smiled, "You are embarrassing me."
"The bookkeeper is unwilling to give it to me?" Li Rong smiled and glanced at Pei Wenxuan, "Go."
After hearing this, Pei Wenxuan went straight into the warehouse.
In his previous life, Pei Wenxuan had also worked in the Ministry of Justice for a few years, so he was familiar with the place where the files were stored. As soon as Pei Wenxuan entered, the clerk immediately became anxious and rushed to stop Pei Wenxuan. When Xun Chuan saw the clerk chasing him, he directly pressed the clerk on the table with his sword, put the blade against the clerk's neck, looked up at the other guards who were ready to take action, and said coldly: "Who dares?"
"What are you doing standing there?" Li Rong looked coldly at the dozen or so people who were standing there not daring to take action. She slammed her fan on the table and said angrily, "You are from the Supervisory Department. Do you still need me to tell you what to do?!"
Hearing Li Rong's sharp shout, those who followed him hurriedly drew their swords and blocked the warehouse door.
Pei Wenxuan was slowly searching for the files in the room. The Secretary was pressed on the table by Xun Chuan. Li Rong sat beside him, fanning herself absentmindedly. The Secretary panted softly and advised, "Your Highness, although I am a lowly official, I am also an official appointed by the court. Since Your Highness is now in charge of the Qin case, you should follow the rules. This is so rude that even His Majesty would not agree with it."
"The Secretary is right," Li Rong nodded and said with a smile, "I will be waiting for your memorial at the morning court tomorrow."
After Li Rong finished speaking, footsteps were heard outside. A moment later, Su Rongqing led people to the door. When Su Rongqing saw this scene, he frowned and asked, "Your Highness, what are you doing?"
"I was ordered to investigate the Qin case. This clerk made things difficult for me many times and clashed with me. In desperation, he tried to beat me. My subordinates were anxious to protect their master, so Lord Su laughed at me."
As she spoke, Li Rong raised her hand and said, "Xun Chuan, please don't be rude."
Xun Chuan listened to Li Rong and released the secretary. As soon as the secretary was free, he rushed to Su Rongqing and said anxiously, "My lord! They want to transfer the files from here without an order. I am also following the internal rules of the Ministry of Justice. But the princess forcibly tried to take the files. I absolutely did not touch a hair of the princess. Please make the decision, my lord!"
"Oh, you mean I lied."
As Li Rong was talking, she secretly used the ring on her finger to cut a wound on her arm, and held it up in front of Su Rongqing, saying rather aggrievedly: "Look, Master Su, this is how he hurt me. I am a princess, how could I hurt myself just to frame him?"
Su Rongqing was stunned for a moment when he saw Li Rong's wound. Li Rong blinked and said, "Master Su, is that right?"
Su Rongqing came back to his senses after being called by Li Rong. The clerk beside him was shocked and said anxiously: "Your Highness, there are so many people watching here, how can you call a horse a zebra? You..."
"Master Chen," Su Rongqing finally spoke, saying calmly, "Stop talking. You are injured. Go down first."
As he spoke, Su Rongqing took out a piece of white silk from his sleeve, held Li Rong's hand with one hand, and placed the silk on Li Rong's hand with the other hand, and tied a knot gently. He lowered his eyes and said calmly: "I believe Your Highness, Your Highness, you don't have to show this wound to me."
Li Rong didn't expect Su Rongqing to be so easy to talk to, and she couldn't help but stand there in a daze. Pei Wenxuan found the file, turned around happily, and saw Su Rongqing bandaging Li Rong's wound. Li Rong stared at him in a daze.
Pei Wenxuan felt as if his heart was suddenly stabbed, and he was a little stiff for a moment.
Su Rongqing bandaged Li Rong's wound and whispered, "The Minister is usually not in the Ministry of Justice. I am in charge of the Ministry of Justice on a daily basis. If Your Highness has any troubles, you can come to me directly and don't have to embarrass the people below."
"Um."
Li Rong listened to Su Rongqing's calm words and her emotions calmed down for a moment. Pei Wenxuan walked behind Li Rong with the file and whispered, "Your Highness, the file has been found."
"Since we have found it," Su Rongqing said calmly, "I will escort Your Highness out."
"There are so many people," Pei Wenxuan laughed, "I won't bother Lord Su to see them off. I hope Lord Su will forgive me for disturbing the peace of the Ministry of Justice."
Su Rongqing listened to Pei Wenxuan's words and looked up at him: "Your Highness is the Director of the Supervisory Department, so it is natural for you to be here. I wonder what the identity of Lord Pei is, and why he is forcing his way into the Ministry of Justice today?"
"Your Highness is new to the court and needs guidance on many matters. I am your husband and I am here to help you, is that not okay?"
Su Rongqing looked at Pei Wenxuan coldly. Pei Wenxuan waited quietly in the same place. After a moment, Su Rongqing said calmly: "Since Lord Pei thinks it's okay, then we will see what His Majesty says in the morning court tomorrow."
"Waiting for you, Lord Su."
Pei Wenxuan bowed and turned to Li Rong and said, "Your Highness, let's go."
"Then..." Li Rong was about to greet Su Rongqing when she was grabbed by Pei Wenxuan. Before Li Rong could react, she was dragged out.
The rest of the people were a little confused, and Shangguan Ya's eyes were darting around looking around.
Xun Chuan put away his sword and walked to Shangguan Ya's side, saying calmly, "Stop looking, let's go."
As she said this, she led the group out. Shangguan Ya smiled and saluted Su Rongqing, then chased after Li Rong.
Pei Wenxuan dragged Li Rong out of the door. Li Rong finally spoke, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "What kind of temper do you have? Why are you so angry because Su Rongqing said he wanted to report you? Come on, stop pulling me forward. He's still behind us."
Pei Wenxuan finally stopped walking after hearing this. He looked unhappy. He turned around and asked, "Is your hand okay?"
"What's going on?"
Li Rong watched Pei Wenxuan lift her hand and examine it carefully. Li Rong smiled and said, "I just scratched it with my ring. It's not a big deal."
Pei Wenxuan didn't say anything. He stared at the white silk in Li Rong's hand. Shangguan Ya and Xun Chuan led people out. Shangguan Ya smiled and said, "Your Highness, we have the files, so we have accomplished our mission."
"Yes, where are you going now?"
"I have to go back."
Shangguan Ya thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, why don't you give me a ride?"
"Okay."
Li Rong knew Shangguan Ya had something to say, so she turned to Xun Chuan and said, "Take them back to the Princess's Mansion first, I'll be back in a while."
Xun Chuan raised his hand to salute, and Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan led Shangguan Ya to the carriage. After the three of them sat down, Shangguan Ya said, "Take me to Juxian Tea House, I will go back from there later."
"You did a great job."
Shangguan Ya smiled and remained silent.
Pei Wenxuan ignored the conversation between the two girls, pulled Li Rong's hand over, carefully untied Su Rongqing's white silk, and threw it aside. He looked at Li Rong's wound carefully, and after confirming that it was nothing serious, he took some clean water and ointment from the side and treated her wound.
Shangguan Ya watched the two people interacting. After a moment, she retracted her gaze and said slowly, "Your Highness, let me make it short. This may be presumptuous, but it is just a suggestion."
"You say."
"If you follow what Your Highness said today, Your Highness is actually looking for the next suitable candidate, why not look for Su Rongqing?"
Pei Wenxuan froze when he heard this. Li Rong raised her eyebrows and listened to Shangguan Ya's analysis: "From what I saw from Lord Su's expression today, it seems that he is not completely indifferent to Your Highness. If Your Highness can win Lord Su over now, it will be much easier for you to do things in the future."
"What do you mean?" Pei Wenxuan looked at Shangguan Ya coldly. Shangguan Ya smiled apologetically and said slowly, "I'm sorry to offend you, Lord Pei. Today, I have heard from the princess about your future plans, so I have a suggestion. If your Highness is interested, Lord Su is a perfect match for you in terms of character, talent, appearance, family background and status. Why don't you take action on this matter and stabilize Lord Su first? This will not only win Lord Su's position and make it easier for your Highness to set up the Supervisory Department, but also solve your Highness' future marriage, so that when you two get divorced, the suitable young talents will have already married, leaving regrets. Killing two birds with one stone, I think it's very suitable."
"I've also been thinking about that," Li Rong said slowly, "but I'm not sure what I think of Master Su..."
"I'm not sure, I just have some feelings for you. Feelings are cultivated," Shangguan Ya said thoughtfully, "As long as Your Highness doesn't mind, I'll make the arrangements.
"What are you going to arrange?" Pei Wenxuan asked directly, "Your Highness's marriage should not be related to these things."
"If you sacrifice your feelings for power, then of course you shouldn't," Shangguan Ya said with a smile, "but if His Highness is interested, wouldn't that be a good thing? Lord Pei, you and I are both His Highness's friends, so we are naturally thinking about His Highness."
"Or," Shangguan Ya said with a half-smile, "Master Pei, do you have any other ideas?"
Pei Wenxuan was speechless. He stared at Shangguan Ya. The carriage arrived at the door of the teahouse. The driver said respectfully outside: "Your Highness, we have arrived at the Juxian Teahouse."
"Ah, so fast." Shangguan Ya stood up and bowed to the two of them, "I will go first. If Your Highness has made up his mind, please tell me and I will arrange it."
After saying that, Shangguan Ya lifted the curtain and walked out of the carriage.
After she left, the carriage started again. Pei Wenxuan applied ointment to Li Rong and bandaged the wound. He whispered, "What do you think of what she said?"
"Hmm," Li Rong thought, "Not bad, what do you think?"
"Your Highness," Pei Wenxuan raised his eyes, "You and I got married for power. I divorced Your Highness because I hoped that Your Highness could find someone he likes and not be contaminated by these miscellaneous things. If Your Highness is dating Su Rongqing for power today, then what is the difference between you and me?"
"That's definitely different," Li Rong laughed. "Of course I'll wait until I'm sure I like him before I get together with him."
"Then why don't you wait to confirm this matter?"
Pei Wenxuan asked seriously, and Li Rong thought: "Then how can I be sure?"
Pei Wenxuan was stunned by the question. Li Rong said slowly, "You told me that Su Rongqing is different now than in the previous life. If I don't get in touch with him, how can I know whether I like him or not?"
"Besides," Li Rong laughed, "Aya is right. This is just a matter of going with the flow and adding icing on the cake. Wenxuan, I know you value feelings and can't tolerate impurities in them, but many things don't have to be separated so clearly. I can't always clash with the Ministry of Justice. There has to be someone to mediate."
"Then I will help you negotiate." Pei Wenxuan said immediately, "If Your Highness feels that it is inconvenient to act in the Ministry of Justice, there are other ways. I will help Your Highness..."
"Why can't it be Su Rongqing?" Li Rong frowned and looked at Pei Wenxuan, "Didn't you tell me that I should give it a try with him?"
Pei Wenxuan was stumped by the question. He looked at Li Rong's serious yet puzzled expression. He felt a tightness in his chest and an indescribable bitterness rising in his heart. He looked at Li Rong quietly and said nothing.
Li Rong paused for a moment and said slowly: "Wen Xuan, I know you have always been hostile to Su Rongqing, but you are not a person who acts on emotion. Can you give me a reason?"
Pei Wenxuan slowly calmed down. He looked at Li Rong's questioning eyes. After a long time, he lowered his eyes and said, "Your Highness is right. I was emotional. I had an argument with him today and was angry for a while. I felt uncomfortable when I heard Shangguan Ya say that. Your Highness, don't worry about it."
Li Rong listened and laughed, "Why are you such a child? You are going backwards the more you live."
"People become more and more like children as they get older." Pei Wenxuan smiled bitterly, lowered his eyes, and changed the subject, "Your Highness, it is inappropriate to hurt yourself today because of a book order. Don't do this again in the future."
"I know," Li Rong waved her hands when she saw Pei Wenxuan's mother-in-law, "It's not a big deal. The valuable body is for others to hear, isn't it? It's just a scratch, you're going too far by bandaging it like this."
"Your Highness, please take care of yourself."
Pei Wenxuan sounded a little tired. Li Rong listened and looked back at Pei Wenxuan. She thought for a moment and went over. Pei Wenxuan looked up at her and heard Li Rong say with some concern: "Pei Wenxuan, are you worried about something?"
"Nothing." Pei Wenxuan smiled bitterly, "I just thought that Su Rongqing would definitely report me to the court tomorrow."
"Don't worry about it," Li Rong raised her hand and patted his shoulder. "Tomorrow, the emperor will just pretend to deduct your salary. I will give you back what he deducts openly. If I get married to Su Rongqing in the future, I will ask him to give you ten times the salary."
"Thank you." Pei Wenxuan said calmly, "They are all trivial matters. I will not take them to heart."
Seeing that Pei Wenxuan's expression had not improved at all, Li Rong touched her nose and stopped talking.
She turned around and said, "Give me the Qin family's files."
Pei Wenxuan responded and handed the file to Li Rong. Li Rong opened the file and looked at it quietly in the carriage.
The file consists of three parts. The first part records the overall context of the Qin case. The second part is about how the case was investigated and the reports and approvals of the officials involved. The third part is the transcripts of all witnesses' statements and records of evidence.
The confession and evidence were kept somewhere else, and Li Rong probably wouldn't be able to get them for a while, so she carefully read the entire case.
According to records, this case was discovered by a supervisor named Wen Ping from the Yushitai. Wen Ping received a report letter saying that the Qin family was guarding Huangping County where the Rong Kingdom and Daxia Kingdom were at war. They had 3,000 soldiers and the enemy had 3,000 invading. Then, the Qin family, under the instructions of Yang Lie, pretended to be defeated and abandoned the city to escape.
After Wen Ping received the report, he obtained the official record of the battle from the Ministry of War. It was indeed that the defenders had 3,000 soldiers and the enemy had 3,000 soldiers. In the end, they were defeated and fled the city. According to common sense, the number of attackers should be much larger than the defenders to have a chance of winning. Under the condition of equal military strength, such a mistake should not have occurred. So Wen Ping noticed something unusual and wrote a memorial to the Ministry of Justice, asking it to open a case.
Cui Shuyun, the head of the Ministry of Justice, accepted the case and found Luo Juan, the adjutant who participated in the battle. Luo Juan confessed that he had indeed abandoned the city when he could have won. So Cui Shuyun requested to seal up the Qin Mansion and detain the relevant personnel based on his confession, the military diary and the letter of accusation from the Ministry of War. On the day when the Qin Mansion was sealed up, a letter from Yang Lie to Qin Lang, the head of the Qin Family, was found in the Qin Family, which stated that if the Qin Family pretended to lose, he would give the Qin Family 1,000 taels of gold. Later, another 1,000 taels of gold were found in the Qin Mansion's cellar.
Qin Lang then confessed to the incident, saying that he was bribed by Yang Lie and instructed his son Qin Feng to abandon Huangping County and pretend to be defeated and run away.
So the case was settled.
Li Rong carefully read Yang Lie's transcribed letter, the confessions of the Qin family, and the military diary. After reading for a while, she laughed and said, "They have put in a lot of effort. One thousand taels of gold to buy the Qin family is a bit too low."
Pei Wenxuan listened to Li Rong talking about business matters and calmed down. He raised his head and took the file from Li Rong. After reading it together with Li Rong, he said slowly, "There are roughly three entry points for this case."
"First we need to find out who wrote the letter, and then find Luo Juan." Li Rong said, "Luo Juan's confession must be false. We need to find a few more people who participated in the war."
"Then there is Yang Lie's letter," Pei Wenxuan continued, "We need to take it and identify its authenticity."
"Finally, there is the one thousand taels of gold," Li Rong thought, "We need to find the people who sealed up the Qin Mansion at that time. Only they know how the one thousand taels were put in there."
"Tomorrow, have Xun Chuan go find Luo Juan and the veterans who participated in the war and get their confessions about the case. Yang Lie's letter and the people who searched the Qin Mansion..."
Li Rong hesitated, and Pei Wenxuan had a feeling that something was wrong. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Li Rong say, "It would be great if Su Rongqing could speak up."
Pei Wenxuan said nothing. He lowered his eyebrows for a long time before saying, "What if Su Rongqing refuses to give in?"
If Su Rongqing didn't give in, it would be very difficult for them to get Yang Lie's letter and other evidence. As for the people who searched the Qin Mansion, it would be even more difficult to find out.
After all, the letter could be obtained through layers of pressure, but the people who searched the Qin Mansion were sent away with just a word of forgetting it.
Li Rong could only say after hearing what Pei Wenxuan said, "If Su Rongqing refuses to give in, I'm afraid I'll have to prepare for both situations. On the one hand, I'll see if the Ministry of Justice has other suitable candidates to recruit. On the other hand, I'll go through the formal procedures. Whoever doesn't give me evidence will be troubled until they give it to me."
But this actually wastes their time and is a bad idea.
Pei Wenxuan responded and said, "Let's do it this way."
Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan arrived at the mansion. After getting off the carriage, Li Rong turned around and told the people beside her, "Give Miss Shangguan a message and tell her to make whatever arrangements she wants. The sooner the better."
The servant was stunned for a moment, then responded and went down.
Pei Wenxuan listened to her and asked, "Your Highness, do you have any other plans?"
"I have to go check on those dozen people, what about you?"
"I have some official business to attend to, so I will return to my office first."
Li Rong listened to Pei Wenxuan's words and thought that he had been with her for a whole day and must have accumulated a lot of work. She smiled and said, "I'm sorry to have kept you company today. I forgot that you have your own things to do. I'll do it myself from now on, so that you don't have to do things in the middle of the night."
"Your Highness's business is my business. I want to accompany Your Highness."
Pei Wenxuan felt even more uncomfortable when he heard that Li Rong wanted to do things on her own. He took a deep breath, bowed and said, "I'll go first."
Pei Wenxuan turned around and left. After walking a few steps, he heard Li Rong say from behind: "Just finish what you have to do. I'll let Chuan'er talk to your superior tomorrow. Don't be stubborn."
Pei Wenxuan felt sad and happy at the same time when he heard what Li Rong said. He responded softly, "Don't stay up too late. Go to bed early."
"I know. Go ahead."
Pei Wenxuan went to the government office by himself. Li Rong entered the princess's residence and saw Xun Chuan leading a group of people standing in the yard. Li Rong looked at them, glanced at them, smiled and sat down, holding a teacup, and said slowly: "Your transfer orders should have arrived."
No one dared to speak. Li Rong said slowly, "You guys come from humble backgrounds and have never been promoted in the military. You have great abilities, but you just can't get promoted. Don't you feel wronged?"
Several people looked at each other. Li Rong called out their names one by one and then said, "I remember all of you. Stay in the Supervisory Department and work hard. I won't treat you unfairly. I know you are afraid of getting into trouble, but I'll be frank with you. From the day you entered the Supervisory Department, you are its people. Even if you don't cause trouble, trouble will come to you."
"If you do well, I will send you to the sky." Li Rong said, her face turned cold, "If you do not do well, there is no need for me to do anything, you will not be able to return alive. You have no way out, do you understand?!"
When those people heard what Li Rong said, their faces changed. Li Rong laughed angrily: "Why, you are used to being dogs, and I'm giving you a chance to be human, but you still don't want to do it?"
"I will obey your Highness' orders in everything." A smart person finally reacted and realized that what Li Rong said was true. He knelt down hurriedly, "From now on, I will be a member of the Supervisory Department as a student, and I will be a ghost of the Supervisory Department after I die. I will be loyal to your Highness and have no second thoughts!"
"Very good." Li Rong stood up and pointed at Xun Chuan beside him and said, "He will be your superior in the future. His name is Xun Chuan. And you," Li Rong turned around and stared at the person who knelt down first, "Your name is Tian Sheng, right? You will be the adjutant in the future. The others will go find the other people on the list of the Inspection Department tomorrow and divide them into twelve teams. Each person will lead a team and be responsible for their own tasks and report to Tian Sheng. Give me a memorial the day after tomorrow, clearly stating your specific arrangements, and Xun Chuan will give it to me."
After Li Rong finished giving the instructions, she felt a little tired and yawned, "Okay, I'll go and rest first. You guys should be careful on your way back."
Li Rong said she was done playing, then waved goodbye and left amid a chorus of farewells.
She returned to the room, took out the confession in Qin's file and read it carefully. She wanted to wait for Pei Wenxuan, but it was late at night and Pei Wenxuan hadn't come back. She couldn't bear it any longer, so she yawned, washed up, and went to bed.
Lying down on the bed, she felt a little more energetic and thought about waiting a little longer. Pei Wenxuan had been with her for a hard day and she slept soundly. If that petty boy came back and saw her, he might feel it was unfair and get angry.
Li Rong thought about it and casually flipped through a book on the bedside table, reading it while feeling sleepy. After reading for a while, she finally couldn't hold it any longer and fell asleep unconsciously.
Pei Wenxuan finished his work and returned home under the stars. As soon as he got home, a servant came to greet him and brought him a bowl of pear soup, saying with a smile: "Prince consort, it's autumn now, and His Highness prepared pear soup for you. Drink the pear soup to moisten your body."
Pei Wenxuan was stunned. This was Li Rong's habit. He responded, took the pear soup, drank half a bowl, and went to the bath to wash up. After washing up, he returned to the room. When he reached the door, he saw that the room was brightly lit. He frowned and asked Jinglan beside him in a low voice: "Is your highness awake?"
"Her Highness said that the Prince Consort had worked hard today, and she wanted to wait for him to come back."
"You guys don't hold back." Pei Wenxuan's heartstrings moved slightly, he lowered his eyes and whispered, "We can't let her be so willful in the future."
"Go to sleep first, Prince Consort," Jinglan advised with a smile, "We will persuade you later."
Pei Wenxuan knew that Jinglan was comforting him. With Li Rong's temper, he couldn't control it, let alone Jinglan and Jingmei.
Feeling somewhat helpless, he pushed the door open and was about to speak when he saw Li Rong lying on the bed, not knowing whether she was awake or asleep.
Pei Wenxuan paused for a moment, then he walked over gently and stood at the head of the bed.
Li Rong was sleeping crookedly on the bed, obviously not sleeping normally. She always slept properly, not like this. There was a book under her face, obviously she fell asleep while reading it.
It was already autumn, but she was still wearing only a single shirt, with a few strands of hair covering her face. Her black hair set off her fair skin, making her hair look even darker than silk and her skin whiter than snow.
Pei Wenxuan quietly looked at this person waiting for him