Mu Zhuohua was stunned for a long while before she forced a smile: "Your Highness is really quick-witted..."
"I'm not kidding." Liu Yan suddenly lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, "Since we can't let others know that you are the person I like, then we can only let others know that you are the one who offended me."
Mu Zhuohua understood and said in a muffled voice: "Your Highness is here to make me happy."
Liu Yan smiled: "Indeed, I am happy." Seeing that Mu Zhuohua was really about to get angry, he put away his smile and said seriously, "But we do have some serious business." As
Liu Yan spoke, he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and put it in front of Mu Zhuohua: "This is the result of the Purple Guard's investigation after following Mu Rong for several days. The list above is all the people he has visited since he came to Beijing."
Mu Zhuohua took a glance and memorized all the names on it.
"Princess's Mansion?" Mu Zhuohua was most surprised by this place. "Is it Princess Roujia's Mansion? Why did he go to see Princess Roujia? No, he went to see the princess to get rid of the crime, but why did the princess see him?"
"I have asked someone to investigate. When Princess Roujia was planning to build the Jishan Hall in Huaizhou, the Mu family contributed a lot. She owed the Mu family a favor and promised to help the Mu family do something. Mu Rong wanted to get rid of the crime for the Mu family, but this matter alarmed His Majesty and had a huge impact. The officials in the capital who had been on good terms with him in the past did not dare to stand up for him. He had no choice but to ask Princess Roujia for help."
Mu Zhuohua suddenly realized.
Ever since being taught a lesson by Liu Yan, Mu Rong dared not to come to her house to cause trouble again. But she did not sit idle at home. She secretly instructed Guo Juli to investigate the whereabouts of the Mu family. However, the Purple Guards were powerful after all, and what they found was more detailed.
While Mu Zhuohua was thinking, Liu Yan put away the note and said slowly: "Who he met is not important now. What is important is who met him."
Mu Zhuohua's eyes moved and looked at Liu Yan: "Your Highness, do you mean that someone is willing to help him?"
"Not necessarily helping him, but there must be other intentions." Liu Yan said in a deep voice, "I came to see you to tell you to be careful of this person."
Mu Zhuohua asked: "Who is it?"
Liu Yan said: "Yelü Zhen."
Mu Zhuohua tilted his head and frowned in confusion: "Princess Jing'an?"
"Do you remember that when you left Princess Roujia's mansion, you were chased by three people?" Liu Yan said, "I asked Zhijian to investigate the origins of the three people and got a clue. These three people had unusual movements when the Beiliang delegation came to Beijing and may have had contact with Beiliang people. When you went to the princess's mansion, Yelu Zhen was also living in the mansion. I suspected that she had someone do it, so I asked the Purple Guards to keep an eye on her movements. Half a year has passed, and she has always been well behaved until Mu Rong came to ask for help from Princess Roujia, and then she suddenly went to the Mu family in disguise."
Liu Yan never mentioned this to Mu Zhuohua, so Mu Zhuohua didn't know that the person who attacked her was most likely Yelu Zhen. But what about the motive? She couldn't figure this out.
But no matter what the motive was, it was absolutely true that Yelu Zhen secretly met with Murong.
"I suspect she has ill will towards you. Although there is no direct evidence to prove that she hired a killer to kill someone, she must have some plans when she met with the Mu family in secret." Liu Yan showed a trace of worry in his eyes, "I can't protect you all the time. You must know this. You should be more careful and beware of her harming you."
Mu Zhuohua looked at Liu Yan gratefully: "Thank you for your advice, Your Majesty. I will be careful."
Liu Yan smiled at her: "How should you... thank me?"
The next day, somehow there was a rumor in the palace that Mu Zhuohua had done something wrong and offended the Prince of Political Affairs, and was scolded by the Prince of Political Affairs. Someone witnessed Mu Zhuohua running out of the Ministry of Revenue with red eyes and aggrieved, obviously he was scolded badly. This Lord Mu was famous for being bold and careful. He didn't show any fear even when facing Yelu Jing's bow and arrow, but he was scolded and cried by the Prince of Political Affairs. What did he do wrong?
Everyone talked about it behind his back, but after all, it involved the Prince of Political Affairs, so no one dared to speak loudly. The original Prince Ding was humble to others, but since the death of Emperor Zhaoming, he has become more and more overbearing. His aura is so intimidating that people are afraid and dare not look directly at him. Mu Zhuohua has always had a good reputation among the officials. They used to look down on her because she was a woman, but after a period of getting along and observing her, most of them also recognized her. Mu Zhuohua was scolded by the Prince of State, and most people felt that Mu Zhuohua was wronged, but since she had offended the Prince of State, no one dared to speak up for her.
Zou Feng originally wanted to marry Mu Zhuohua, but after hearing the discussions around him, that thought was gone. Not only did he not get close to Mu Zhuohua, but he even avoided her.
This voice naturally reached Liu Chen's ears. Liu Chen now had a very good impression of Mu Zhuohua, so he couldn't help but defend her a few words.
"Uncle, haven't you always valued Mu Zhuohua? Why did you scold her so harshly this time? What did she do wrong?" Liu Chen asked curiously.
Liu Yan was brewing tea leisurely, smiling slightly, "Young people become impetuous and careless when they have achieved a little success. They must be suppressed."
Liu Chen felt that Mu Zhuohua had a kind of caution and stability that was rare in young people, but Liu Yan scolded her because she must have done something wrong. "I guess she just made an unintentional mistake. The emperor's uncle doesn't have to be so harsh. I heard that she was scolded and cried."
Liu Yan smiled but said nothing.
She cried, but she didn't cry because of being scolded.
But this misunderstanding is also good.
Liu Chen knew that Liu Yan seemed gentle, but he was terrible when he got angry. Even a seven-foot-tall man couldn't help but kneel down, not to mention that Mu Zhuohua was young. No matter how mature and steady she was, she was just a young girl who had just started out. Liu Chen felt a little distressed when he thought of her kneeling in front of Liu Yan and crying.
"The emperor's uncle is kind to others, why is he so harsh to her?"
Liu Yan glanced at Liu Chen thoughtfully. "Wasn't it Your Majesty who had the strongest prejudice against her?"
Liu Chen blushed and stammered, "I... I really didn't understand her at that time... but uncle, you have admired her talent from the beginning, why are you targeting her now? She respects you so much, she must be very sad, even embarrassed by your doing this."
"I'm doing this for her own good." Liu Yan paused and stared at Liu Chen, "Your Majesty seems to think too highly of her? She's just a minister, can't you scold her if she does something wrong?"
Liu Chen was speechless for a moment.
Liu Yan stroked the slightly hot teacup, pondered for a moment, and said: "Your Majesty is already twenty-one this year. It is a big deal for the country to have no heir. In a few days, there will be a banquet on the night of the Lantern Festival. The Queen Mother will show her favor and let all the ladies from official families in the city come to the palace for the banquet. If Your Majesty does not like noble ladies from aristocratic families, it is okay to have ladies from small families as long as they have a clean family background, but the marriage cannot be delayed any longer."
Liu Chen's heart sank, and he muttered: "Isn't your uncle married?"
Liu Yan took a sip of tea and smiled: "For some people, it is a good thing that I don't marry without an heir."
There is no curfew on the Lantern Festival. This day is considered the beginning of the year and one of the most lively festivals of the year.
Liu Chen led all the officials to light fireworks on the city tower to have fun with the people, and then held a banquet in the Imperial Garden to entertain all the officials. This year is a little different from previous years. The Queen Mother invited all the officials' families in the city to a banquet. Anyone with unmarried girls aged fourteen to twenty in the family can enter the palace to enjoy the lanterns. The Queen Mother's intention was obvious. Therefore, all officials above the seventh rank who had a decent-looking daughter would dress her up beautifully and send her to the palace. All of a sudden, all the fabrics in Jinxiufang were sold out.
There was a Liubo River in the palace. This night banquet was named after the lanterns. Each girl would bring a lantern made by herself, write her wish on the lantern, and put it into the Liubo River to make a wish. Naturally, everyone wrote official language such as peace and prosperity for the country and good weather, but what they prayed for in their hearts was something else.
The banquet for the officials' wives and the banquet for the officials were separated into two places. They could hear the laughter from the other side, but could not see the situation over there. Under the treetop corridor, lanterns of various shapes were hung everywhere, illuminating the imperial garden as bright as day.
Mu Zhuohua naturally sat with the officials from the Ministry of Revenue. Everyone wore blue shirts and casual clothes, pouring wine and chatting with each other, and the atmosphere was relaxed and harmonious.
Mu Zhuohua had a normal alcohol tolerance, so she stopped drinking after drinking two glasses of sweet wine. Thinking about this day last year, she was kneeling under the city with the common people and looking up at the face of the emperor, but now she is sitting in the imperial garden enjoying wealth and luxury, she couldn't help but sigh.
"The river lanterns of the Lantern Festival are different from those of the Ghost Festival. The river lanterns of the Ghost Festival are for the deceased, while the river lanterns of the Lantern Festival are for praying to God." Someone said, "Therefore, the river lanterns of the Lantern Festival are more prosperous than those
of the Ghost Festival, especially women, most of them take this opportunity to pray for marriage, and if they are married, they will pray for a son soon." Another person continued, "So every year at this time, there will be men waiting by the river, waiting for the unmarried young girls seeking marriage, to see if they can help them find a good match."
After that, everyone laughed.
Unfortunately, this year, the best women in the city have entered the palace, just waiting for His Majesty to choose.
A colleague turned to look at Mu Zhuohua and said with a smile: "Lord Mu is also a woman of marriageable age, why don't you also go to the river to release lanterns to pray for marriage?"
Zou Feng frowned when he heard this, and turned his head away with a guilty conscience, not daring to look at Mu Zhuohua's expression.
Mu Zhuohua smiled and said: "There are young girls on the riverside, I am afraid that I will be misunderstood if I go there, and besides, I don't have any lanterns prepared."
Others are wearing silk skirts and pink shirts, and she is wearing a scholar's robe. If she goes there, she will be chased away as a man. Besides, people go to the riverside to participate in the selection. She is an official appointed by the court, why should she join in the fun.
"Lord Mu, you worry too much. You look like a woman." The man smiled, "It doesn't matter if you don't bring a lantern. There are materials specially prepared over there, and you can make one now."
A pavilion was built outside Liubo Pavilion, with bamboo strips, paper, and paste, and everything else was ready.
The men were toasting at the banquet. Mu Zhuohua felt she was too drunk and thought she might as well make a lantern to kill time. Just then everyone pushed her to go, so she stood up, bowed, and walked towards Liubo Pavilion.
Although Mu Zhuohua had never made a lantern before, she was smart. After watching the palace maids and eunuchs for a while, she followed them. First, she took thin bamboo strips to weave a frame, and then pasted dyed thin paper on the bamboo strips, and a lantern in the shape of a peach blossom was made. Although it was not very beautiful, it looked pretty good.
Mu Zhuohua placed a candle in the center of the flower, carefully lit the wick, and watched the lantern slowly light up, and a sense of accomplishment arose spontaneously.
"Lord Mu is really clever."
A deep voice sounded behind him. Mu Zhuohua looked back and nodded with a smile, saying, "Lord Shen is not entertaining at the banquet, so how come he has time to come here to make lanterns?"
Shen Jinghong's handsome face was a little drunk, but his eyes were clear. He looked at the lantern in Mu Zhuohua's hand and smiled, "This place is dazzling. I was attracted here as soon as I walked here."
Mu Zhuohua smiled faintly, "Lord Shen can say this to the girls in Xiaoqin Palace, but I can't fool you."
Shen Jinghong touched his nose and smiled bitterly, "Lord Mu is not only not easy to fool, but also quite disrespectful to Shen. Seeing that you are holding a lantern in your hand, do you have someone in your heart?"
Mu Zhuohua looked at the lantern in his hand, and a name quickly passed through his mind, and his heartbeat suddenly became heavier.
"I just want peace and prosperity in the country and good weather." Mu Zhuohua cleared his throat and said.
Shen Jinghong smiled meaningfully, but he didn't say much about this topic.
"Actually, I came to you today because I have another thing to tell you. The case of collusion between officials and businessmen in Huaizhou has been ascertained and submitted to the Dali Temple. Are you aware of this?"
Mu Zhuohua's heart moved. She naturally knew about this matter, but she didn't say much.
Shen Jinghong understood everything after seeing her expression, and then said: "The Mu family, the richest family in Jiangnan, bears the brunt of the crime. Although the family will not be exterminated, the confiscation of property is inevitable. Lord Mu, that is your family, so I want to ask you what you think."
Mu Zhuohua did not answer, staring at Shen Jinghong with bright eyes, and asked: "Lord Shen came to ask me, I guess you have some ideas in your mind." Shen Jinghong smiled: "The Mu family is not guilty of this. The struggle and winning or losing in officialdom has nothing to do with justice or sin, but only about interests. According to the laws of Dachen, the crime of the Mu family is a fine of one million taels, which is the extreme, but someone wants to destroy the Mu family, do you know who it is?"
Mu Zhuohua curled the corners of his lips, without a trace of smile in his eyes, and said: "Of course, it's the Jiangzuo family."
Shen Jinghong nodded with a smile: "You are also from Huaizhou, so you naturally know the situation in Huaizhou. Why did the family start with the wealthy businessmen in Huaizhou?"
"Jiangnan is the richest place in the world, and Huaizhou is the warehouse of Jiangnan. Huaizhou is the most important hub in Jiangnan. Two canals meet here, and it has a vast plain, hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land, and the largest seaport. The wealth of the world is gathered here, and it is rich and extravagant, especially in Dingjing." Mu Zhuohua said slowly, "Now there are three major forces in Huaizhou. The first is Taoyuan Villa where the eldest princess of the state is located. It can be called a martial arts holy land. The second is the Jiangzuo family, which are all top wealthy families that have not fallen for thousands of years. The third is the Huai merchants headed by the Mu family. The three forces control the economic lifeline of Huaizhou and also control nearly half of the taxes in the national treasury."
"Yes, Huaizhou is a delicacy that everyone in the world covets. Everyone wants to take a bite, even the aristocratic families. If the Huai merchants are hurt, the aristocratic families can take the opportunity to devour the power of the Huai merchants." Shen Jinghong looked at the river lanterns dragging on the water and said slowly, "Now in the court, the aristocratic families occupy more than half of the country. They use their official positions to do business and compete with the people for profits, but they are still not satisfied. Taking this opportunity, they can get rid of the Huai merchants with justification, and then they can swallow Huaizhou into their pocket. Why do you think the Sun family is trying to promote the marriage between Sun Yunyun and the Prince of the Council of State? Huaizhou is the fief of Prince Ding, and now that Prince Ding is the Prince of the Council of State, he will not return to his fiefdom easily. If the Sun family marries the Prince of the Council of State, Huaizhou will become theirs, and no one can stop the expansion of the Sun family in Huaizhou. They want to take this opportunity to swallow up the share of Huai merchants."
Mu Zhuohua was also clear about what Shen Jinghong said. This matter is a win-win for the Sun family and a win-win for Liu Yan, but it is a disaster for the Huai merchants headed by the Mu family. As early as two or three months ago, Mu Zhuohua noticed the actions of the noble family. The Mu family's misfortune this time was not purely collusion and bribery. The biggest reason was the conflict of interests, and the noble family was fueling the flames. Therefore, when Mu Rong asked for help that day, Mu Zhuohua was not heartless, but she was incapable of it. How could she, a mere fifth-rank official, fight against such a behemoth as the noble family?
Shen Jinghong smiled coldly, and said, "Noble ladies from aristocratic families value their reputation the most. But now the whole of Dingjing is talking about the marriage between Sun Yunyun and the Prince Regent. I'm afraid that the Sun family is fanning the flames behind the scenes, trying to force the Prince Regent to agree. But I think the Prince Regent doesn't seem to have such an intention."
Mu Zhuohua pinched his fingertips and hummed, and whispered, "The prince has always had his own opinions and will not be forced..."
"Now, the only one who can control the aristocratic families is the Prince Regent." Shen Jinghong looked at Mu Zhuohua thoughtfully, "If the Huai merchants are swallowed up by the aristocratic families, they will be even more difficult to deal with. Lord Mu, if you want to save the Mu family, why not attack Wei to save Zhao?"
Mu Zhuohua stared at Shen Jinghong with a pair of clear eyes, and an idea flashed through his mind.
"Lord Shen must have a good plan when he says this."
Shen Jinghong leaned close to Mu Zhuohua and lowered his voice, "The Dali Temple received a secret letter. Someone anonymously reported that the Minister of Works, Sun Ru, abused his power for personal gain."
Mu Zhuohua's breath was choked, and he turned his head to stare into Shen Jinghong's eyes. The latter's eyes were shining like glass, which was frightening.
"You want to overthrow the Sun family?" Mu Zhuohua frowned slightly, "This matter is of great importance. With our strength, it is impossible to shake the Sun family. What's more, the Sun family and the Zhou family are of the same blood..."
"What if the Prince of Councillors is added?" Shen Jinghong smiled and said, "Your Majesty does not want the aristocratic families to become too powerful. You and I are your Majesty's confidants. Shouldn't we share your worries? And the Prince of Councillors is the person your Majesty relies on the most. As long as you give me the details of the palace repair and help me investigate Sun Ru's corruption, I can not only share your worries, but also help the Mu family."
Mu Zhuohua shook his head decisively, "This matter still needs to be considered in the long run. Lord Shen, you have made enemies all over the court because of the abolition of the system of favors and favors, and the prince has also been separated from the ministers of Fenghua Palace. The Zhou and Sun families are the leaders of the aristocratic families, and they are deep-rooted. You can't put them to death by finding a piece of evidence. Not only can you and I not withstand the counterattack of the aristocratic families, but your Majesty and the prince will also suffer greatly."
Shen Jinghong stared at Mu Zhuohua with a smile, and after a long time he said, "You are right, and I was reckless."
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