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

Imperial City.

Royal Garden.

The empress was feeling uneasy today. Looking at the gloomy sky, she felt indescribable distress in her heart.

She walked slowly and stopped in front of a pot of peonies.

"Qiuyue, these flowers have all withered, why don't you change them?"

Chen Qingyun said softly.

"Your Majesty, I will order someone to replace it right away."

Qiuyue did not dare to neglect.

Chen Qingyun had no intention of appreciating the flowers. He just stood beside the clear pond, looking at the carp swimming in the water, and suddenly became distracted.

"I wonder how Jiang Zuo is doing in Yecheng. Am I being too hasty in asking him to deal with the Jiangnan family?"

Chen Qingyun felt depressed.

"What's wrong with me? I'm actually worried about a minister?"

Soon, she regained her dignity as empress.

My eyes returned to the carp, which was swinging its tail and moving closer to the shore. But in an instant, it suddenly froze and raised its belly, as if it had died...

The situation before him shocked Chen Qingyun.

Happened to see a carp die in front of me?

The empress suddenly felt a little uneasy.

"Come on, quickly take out the fish in the pond and replace them with new ones. We will say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. Good fortune is coming..."

Qiuyue was good at observing people's expressions and seeing that the empress was in a bad mood, she immediately ordered people to fish out the dead fish.

Chen Qingyun remained silent, thinking about something in his mind.

"Your Majesty, it's a little cold here. Why don't you go back to the palace first?"

Qiuyue asked proactively.

In the entire imperial city, only she, the senior palace maid, could speak to the empress in this way.

But Chen Qingyun shook his head slightly and remained silent.

"Urgent report!"

Suddenly a shout was heard.

Chen Qingyun's body was shocked and he immediately turned around to check the urgent news.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Urgent news has arrived from Yecheng!"

The imperial guards knelt down and presented a memorial.

Chen Qingyun's usually serious face showed a hint of anxiety.

She opened the memorial and took a closer look.

"Jiang Zuo was assassinated?!"

When Chen Qingyun saw Ma Hengwei's handwritten memorial, his mind went blank.

How is it possible? Jiang Zuo was the governor-general appointed by her. Who would dare to be so bold?

"Master Jiang has fallen into a coma, and his life or death is unknown..."

Chen Qingyun's hand tightly grasped the memorial.

The words "uncertain life or death" made Chen Qingyun feel extremely worried.

"Jiang Zuo, you can't die!"

At this moment, there was only one thing in the empress's mind, and that was to hear the news that Jiang Zuo was safe and sound.

No wonder I was so worried today, it turns out something bad really happened.

She quickly learned the whole story from the memorials.

"Lord Jiang was investigating the Jiangnan Li family's corruption and abuse of power, but the witness who was supposed to identify Li Yang had to give up his testimony under threat because seven people in his family were murdered... Because someone came to the government office to seek justice, Lord Jiang went to investigate in person and was injured by an assassin disguised as a civilian..."

"That's unreasonable!"

Chen Qingyun couldn't help but get angry.

This anger directly frightened the nearby palace maids and eunuchs.

The empress was furious and the consequences were extremely serious.

"Jiang Zuo was assassinated because he thoroughly investigated the Jiangnan family?"

Chen Qingyun frowned, and inexplicably felt a little guilty.

Whether out of love for Jiang Zuo, a capable minister, or other feelings, she didn't want anything to happen to Jiang Zuo.

"Your Majesty? What's the problem?"

Qiuyue asked nervously.

She rarely saw such complex sorrow on the empress's face.

Chen Qingyun sighed and said, "Jiang Zuo was assassinated."

"Your Majesty, do we need to send someone to Yecheng to conduct a thorough investigation?"

Qiuyue was very surprised at this moment.

Jiang Zuo was an official appointed by the imperial court. On the surface, the plan was to assassinate Jiang Zuo, but in reality, it was a challenge to the authority of the empress.

How can we tolerate such rampant behavior!

"Order the Dragon Warrior Army to send a thousand soldiers to Yecheng immediately with my order!"

Chen Qingyun was so furious at this moment that he almost wanted to destroy the Jiangnan Li family immediately.

Anyone who dares to hurt me must be tired of living!

Qiuyue nodded and said, "As you wish."

If the empress gets angry, there will inevitably be another bloody storm.

She sighed silently in her heart and felt a little surprised.

The Longwu Army is the elite among the Imperial Guards. His Majesty can send out such a large army of relatives for the sake of a minister, which is enough to prove the importance of Jiangzuo in his eyes.

"Send the best imperial physicians in the palace to Yecheng. If they cannot cure Jiang Zuo, they will all be punished!"

Chen Qingyun ordered again.

Qiuyue nodded repeatedly: "Yes, sir."

It seems that not many people know what kind of chain reaction will occur when Jiang Zuo is assassinated...

At this moment, the capital city seems to be about to be hit by a downpour.

Returning to the imperial study, Chen Qingyun once again read the letters sent from Yecheng.

One of the letters was a memorial recently sent back to the capital from Jiangzuo.

"The Li family in Jiangnan is quite powerful. I suggest that we don't need to use force to solve the problem. We can use economic warfare to gradually erode the Li family's market and defeat them. I have already opened a government market in Yecheng. By selling high-quality products produced in Anding County, I am trying to squeeze the Li family's market share in Yecheng and break their price monopoly. It has been very effective, but it still requires some funds. I wonder if Your Majesty can donate hundreds of thousands..."

Seeing this, Chen Qingyun really didn't know whether to be angry or laugh.

This Jiang Zuo, no matter what time, only has money in his eyes.

However, the empress also felt that his suggestion made sense.

Although there were some words in it, Chen Qingyun was not able to fully understand them.

But Chen Qingyun has great faith in Jiang Zuo's talents.

The power of the Jiangnan families is spread throughout Dayan. It is almost impossible to completely eliminate them, and it may even cause the families to rebel.

Although she would never use force against these aristocratic families unless absolutely necessary, the empress would never tolerate these lawless people if anything happened in Jiangzuo.

After putting down Jiang Zuo's memorial, Chen Qingyun couldn't help but sigh, and then opened the letter.

That handwritten letter from Jiang Zuo to Miss Chen Siyue.

"To Miss Siyue: Jiang Zuo has been very busy recently and cannot return to Anding for the time being. I hope you will wait patiently for Jiang Zuo's reply. In fact, I miss you very much and want to return to Anding County immediately, put down my work, and watch the fireworks with Miss Siyue..."

fireworks?

Chen Qingyun was stunned.

At this moment, the fireworks blooming in the night sky that night appeared in her mind.

That fleeting splendor.

Looking back on those days, they were indeed the most comfortable and relaxing times since Chen Qingyun ascended the throne.

For some reason, Jiang Zuo's face suddenly appeared in front of her.

I wonder if Jiang Zuo is safe and sound at this moment...

"Qiuyue, is there something called fireworks in the capital?"

Chen Qingyun murmured, his mind full of thoughts.

"His Majesty?"

Qiuyue heard His Majesty's call and walked in, but she didn't hear the empress's words clearly and was quite confused.

But Chen Qingyun's thoughts at this moment had drifted far away.

Maybe it was the Great Yan, or maybe it was in Yecheng...