I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

into the night.

Shen Ye sat in the study room anxiously, holding the bowl of hot soup in his hands, still trembling.

What happened today was undoubtedly extremely frightening for a weak scholar like him. If Situ Hua and others had not appeared in time, he would probably have died on the spot.

Just as I was thinking about that, there were bursts of noises coming from the roof again.

Shen Ye was startled and his body trembled. He could hardly hold the hot soup. The soup splashed and scalded his hands.

He put down what he was holding, calmed down a bit, and stared at the gate.

After a while, it finally quieted down.

"little six?"

Shen Ye shouted.

"little six."

"Sir, what's the matter?"

Xiaoliu lived in the next room. When he heard Shen Ye calling, he came over immediately.

"What on earth is going on outside this room? It keeps making noises and it's hard for me to concentrate."

Shen Ye asked anxiously.

The book boy Xiaoliu outside the door said, "Sir, there is nothing outside the house. Maybe it's a night bird. Why don't you go to bed early?"

Shen Ye frowned and said, "Ask someone to keep watch at night. I'm worried that the evil guys will come again."

After what happened today, how could Shen Ye possibly sleep? He even had no interest in reading his favorite books.

In this state, what should we do in the palace examination in a few days?

Shen Ye felt a little more regretful in his heart. He should have listened to the advice and not moved around. Now he was feeling very anxious and had forgotten a lot of the knowledge he had just memorized.

The servant Xiaoliu said, "Don't worry, young master. The court has already sent people to protect you. Please rest assured and have a good rest."

After hearing this, Shen Ye felt relieved, thinking that perhaps the group of people who appeared in time today were the imperial court secretly protecting him.

"You should go to bed early too."

Shen Ye took a deep breath and picked up the book on the table again.

The palace examination is coming soon, and he must also prepare well.

I just don’t know what will happen before the palace examination.

The next day.

royal palace.

"Prime Minister Jiang, His Majesty is in the Yangxin Palace. Prime Minister Jiang, please come this way."

The chief eunuch said to Jiang Zuo.

Jiang Zuo nodded slightly and followed him.

It's a rare day today when the Empress is not busy reviewing memorials, so Jiangzuo can take a break.

When they arrived at the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, Chen Qingyun was leaning on a bench with his eyes closed.

"Your Majesty, I, Jiang Zuo, am here to attend your Majesty's visit."

Jiang Zuo stepped forward and said.

Chen Qingyun slowly opened his eyes, with a slightly tired look on his face, and turned to look at Qiuyue beside him.

Qiuyue understood and ordered the others in the Yangxin Palace to leave.

Jiang Zuo raised his head, looked at the empress who was resting with her eyes closed, and asked, "Your Majesty, do you not need to deal with government affairs today?"

After a moment, Chen Qingyun held his forehead and said, "I have a headache today..."

"I will help your majesty rub it."

Jiang Zuo slowly stepped forward and gently rubbed Chen Qingyun's forehead.

Chen Qingyun remained silent, letting his thoughts run wild.

While massaging, Jiang Zuo said, "I have said before that Your Majesty is overworked and does not get enough rest, which is why you often have headaches. You should combine work and rest, like you did in Anding County."

"Can you be quiet?" Chen Qingyun said expressionlessly.

Jiang Zuo said, "Your Majesty, are you so quick to dislike me?"

"I don't have the time to dislike you." Chen Qingyun said in a rather calm tone.

"I thought Your Majesty would get tired of me so quickly." Jiang Zuo said with a smile.

Chen Qingyun still closed his eyes and said, "Indeed, there is a little bit of that. Do you have anything else to report to me?"

"What's the matter? Your Majesty, are you talking about the palace examination in a few days?" Jiang Zuo said.

"No." Chen Qingyun shook his head slightly.

Jiang Zuo asked in confusion: "What is that?"

Chen Qingyun suddenly grabbed Jiang Zuo's hand and asked him to stop, then slowly turned around and looked at Jiang Zuo.

This look made Jiang Zuo feel uneasy. Could it be his private money? He couldn't help but wonder, "Could it be that my private money has been discovered by the empress again?"

After a while, Chen Qingyun finally said, "Why did you hide such an important matter as Shen Ye's assassination from me?"

Shen Ye is the talent that the empress favors most in this palace examination. If anything happens to him, it will be a real loss to the court.

Jiang Zuo gently held the empress's hand and said, "Your Majesty, so you are talking about this matter. I just want to prevent Your Majesty from worrying too much. You see, Your Majesty is having a headache now. Dealing with government affairs every day is already a headache enough. If your friends worry about these things, wouldn't it be even more exhausting?"

Chen Qingyun turned around and said, "No matter what, if there is anything in the future, you must report it to me immediately and you can't hide it from me anymore."

"I understand." Jiang Zuo nodded repeatedly, "I wonder how Your Majesty knew about this?"

Chen Qingyun asked, "Do you think you are the only one who knows that you need to send someone to protect Shen Ye?"

"Your Majesty is really considerate." Jiang Zuo finally realized that Shen Ye was such an important person, so of course His Majesty would always send people to protect him. In that case, Jiang Zuo was quite relieved.

Chen Qingyun asked again: "Have you found out who is behind this?"

As for who exactly wanted to assassinate Shen Ye, Chen Qingyun actually already had an answer in his heart.

Jiang Zuo didn't dare to jump to conclusions, and only said: "Those people have all received professional training, they will definitely not reveal anything. Maybe it's not important who is behind it."

Chen Qingyun sighed slightly and said, "Those old officials really refuse to settle down."

The empress was about to say the names of that group of people. Chen Qingyun had naturally heard about everything these old ministers had done behind the scenes.

The previous indulgence was also a helpless act.

To get rid of them, half of the officials in the court must be implicated.

Chen Qingyun has not made this decision yet.

After the palace examination, when more talents have been gathered, the empress can begin to optimize and cleanse the court.

The country can be governed well by relying on this group of old stubborn people who pretend to obey but actually disobey.

"Your Majesty, how will you deal with these people in the future?" Jiang Zuo asked curiously.

Although he also understood that the Empress' methods of solving problems were always quite rough.

Chen Qingyun sighed and said, "If they want to be more respectful, I will let them leave with dignity. If they are still so stubborn, there will be only one outcome."

The outcome will be death.

Jiang Zuo also said: "Then let's follow your majesty's wishes."

Chen Qingyun said: "What's more, they have targeted you many times before, and I haven't settled accounts with them yet. If they are so bold now, it will not be as simple as a simple punishment."

Before Jiang Zuo defeated the State of Chen, many people jointly impeached Jiang Zuo. Chen Qingyun knew who was behind all these things.

Jiang Zuo also looked heavy-hearted. "Your Majesty, when you deal with these officials, please do not forget the situation in the northwest."

Chen Qingyun nodded silently. She also understood that the biggest internal enemy was not in the court, but in Liangzhou.

Right now, for her, the entire country is not completely stable...