The Prince of Huai shed tears as he spoke, sounding extremely righteous. Not only did he find a reasonable excuse for his conspiracy, but he also showed his loyalty to the emperor!
Qi Rong clapped his hands, looking utterly impressed.
"Fifth brother, they say a cunning rabbit has three burrows. You truly live up to the saying! I'm almost convinced!"
Qi Rong's thick sarcasm instantly darkened the Prince of Huai's face. With tears still in the corners of his eyes, he glared angrily at Qi Rong.
"Seventh brother, you should count yourself lucky! If it weren't for the emperor's mercy, you'd be long buried under the loess. How could you have the chance to sneer at me here?!"
"I've been utterly loyal to the emperor, and the sun and moon can bear witness. But you may not be! Even if you managed to get through this test, you won't always be so lucky in the future!"
Among these princes, the Prince of Huai was the most powerful, followed by the Prince of Xiang, while Qi Rong had just barely survived and was struggling to make a living in the cracks.
But if one were to say who hated the emperor the most, Qi Rong would surely top the list!
Everyone knew very well how Qi Hong had ascended the throne. First, the crown prince was killed, then the former emperor passed away, and the Empress Xiaoyuan was falsely accused of colluding with the enemy. For ten years, Qi Rong had been lingering on the brink of life and death.
Although Qi Rong had now become a lackey of Emperor Qi Hong, no matter what, the Prince of Huai just couldn't believe that Qi Rong had truly let go of his hatred!
So, he had someone test Qi Rong and even went to great lengths to get the jade token that the former crown prince had once given to the Duke of Luo, all in an attempt to lure Qi Rong into a trap.
Only in this way could he get rid of Qi Rong and take over some of his power!
Seeing that the Prince of Huai still tried to bite him even at this moment, Qi Rong wasn't angry but instead burst into laughter.
"Utterly loyal, and the sun and moon can bear witness? Fifth brother, do you have some misunderstanding about these two phrases? How could someone who's truly loyal to the emperor secretly hoard weapons and smelt iron ores behind his back?"
"Do you think that by hiding things in the imperial mausoleum, no one will ever find out? Or do you think that with Lord Lin covering for you, you can rest easy?"
As soon as Qi Rong said this, not only the Prince of Huai and Lin Hai but even Emperor Qi Hong couldn't hide his shock. He immediately sat up straight and shot a sharp look at Qi Rong.
"Seventh brother, what on earth is going on?"
"Your Majesty, don't believe Qi Rong's nonsense. This is all a slander against me!"
The Prince of Huai angrily pointed at Qi Rong, wishing he could tear him apart on the spot!
"Don't you know whether it's a slander or not, fifth brother?"
Qi Rong sneered and then turned to the emperor:
"Since Your Majesty last ordered me to secretly investigate the corruption case involving the Prince of Xiang and Lin Hai, I've been keeping an eye on the people around the imperial mausoleum. I found that although the construction of the imperial mausoleum had already been completed, every half a month, in the dead of night, several carriages would still enter the mausoleum carrying goods."
"To find out the truth, I worked with Lord Han from the Censorate and followed the clues step by step. Finally, we discovered a secret iron - smelting site outside the capital. After the iron was smelted, it was directly made into weapons and then secretly transported to the imperial mausoleum!"
"And the one who's been secretly orchestrating all this is none other than our fifth brother, who boasts about his 'utter loyalty' to Your Majesty!"
After Qi Rong finished speaking, the emperor's face darkened so much that it seemed as if water could drip from it.
"You said Lord Han Ming from the Censorate also knew about this? Why didn't he report it to me earlier?"
Facing the emperor's interrogation, Qi Rong remained calm:
"Your Majesty, the evidence was insufficient before, so I didn't dare to make a hasty conclusion. However, just before I entered the palace today, I received a message from Lord Han by carrier pigeon, saying that he had obtained conclusive evidence and was on his way to the capital."
"That's why I entered the palace without an imperial summons. Firstly, it was to expose fifth brother's slander. Secondly, I was waiting for Lord Han so that we could report everything to Your Majesty together!"
Just as Qi Rong finished speaking, a palace servant rushed into the Zhenghe Hall.
"Your Majesty, Lord Han from the Censorate is outside the palace asking for an audience!"
The emperor frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Admit him!"
The Prince of Huai looked extremely pale. Sensing that something was wrong, Lin Hai was afraid of being implicated, so he quickly tried his best to distance himself. He even apologized to Qi Rong and showed his stance, scolding the Prince of Huai for his ill intentions!
When the tree falls, everyone scurries. As Lord Han Ming from the Censorate presented all the evidence, the Prince of Huai truly had no way to defend himself.
After this incident, the Prince of Huai completely infuriated the emperor. The emperor not only issued an order to confiscate all the Prince of Huai's assets but also stripped him of all his official positions and forbade him from leaving the capital without permission for three years.
The Prince of Huai had tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing his rice. He was severely punished this time and was left in a very weak state, only having a few mansions and the title of a prince.
As for Qi Rong, whom the Prince of Huai hated to the core, he deservedly made a great contribution. With Lord Han Ming's promotion, Qi Rong also got an official position.
Although the position wasn't very high, he now had real power, which made people look at him with more respect!
Now, let's talk about Yun Xi. Since she took over the shops, the more she delved into it, the more she found the Jiang family detestable.
Just her mother's shops in the capital alone numbered at least five hundred, and they had all been quite profitable before.
However, during the time when the Jiang family was in charge, more than fifty shops had inexplicably disappeared. Among the remaining shops, except for the embroidery workshop, the other types of shops had mediocre profits, and some were even running at a loss!
She roughly did some calculations and even began to suspect that based on the operating conditions of these shops, how had the Jiang family managed to keep the profit ledger presented to the old lady stable every year?
The actual annual profit was simply not that much! Did that mean the Jiang family had been deceiving the old lady all along?
Yun Xi was utterly confused. Due to her lack of experience, it was very difficult for her to sort out the whole situation at once.
Moreover, almost every shop had different problems, and the problems in some shops were extremely tricky, which she had to solve one by one.
If she wanted to investigate everything clearly, she had to get deeply involved, which would take a long time and a great deal of effort.
During this period, the Jiang family seemed quite well - behaved on the surface. Because she had hidden the fact that she had once been a courtesan and was now hated by the old lady, she had been staying at home, afraid of getting on the old lady's nerves.
But then an incident made the Jiang family rise up again in the Prime Minister's Mansion, and even the old lady gradually changed her attitude towards the Jiang family.
Early one morning, Yun Xi was woken up by Yu Zhu. Just as she finished washing and was about to take a short nap in bed while Yu Zhu went to the kitchen to get breakfast, Hong Luo rushed in.
"Miss, hurry up and go out to receive the imperial edict. The old lady, the prime minister, and the others are already outside!"
"Imperial edict?"
Yun Xi frowned, looking utterly confused. But Hong Luo had already helped her up and was walking towards the door.
"I heard that the young master risked his life to save the Second Prince yesterday. Concubine Yu went to the empress and got an imperial edict to reward the young master!"
Hong Luo explained as she walked, which surprised Yun Xi.
She thought of her younger brother, who always had a serious face and was overly mature for his age. It was really strange that he had managed to save the Second Prince. How could it be such a coincidence?
Moreover, such a big commotion had been made, and even the emperor had issued an imperial edict. It seemed that this matter was not ordinary!
By the time Yun Xi arrived, almost everyone in the Prime Minister's Mansion had gathered. They were all kneeling in the courtyard, and the palace servant began to read the edict.
Because Yun Qi had saved the Second Prince, he was specially rewarded with four precious antiques and two sets of writing brushes, ink, inkstones; and because of his outstanding talent, he was selected as a companion to the prince.
His mother, who was a concubine of the prime minister, was ennobled as a third - rank gentlewoman. In the Prime Minister's Mansion, she was only second to Su Yun, the prime minister's wife, who held the first - rank imperial title!