After the failed attempt to pretend to be dead, the sickly child was favored by the treacherous mini

"Your Majesty, the horse that the Ninth Prince rode on today was tampered with."

"I took the imperial physician to examine it carefully. There were more than ten sharp iron needles placed under the saddle. The cotton padding under the needles was three inches thicker than the cotton padding on the other side. Therefore, the Ninth Prince was fine when he first sat on it. However, as he sat on it for longer and longer, the iron needles would pierce into the horse's back, causing the horse to go crazy."

"The reins held by the Ninth Prince are made of a rare material. If the reins are pulled hard, the horse's head will be severely scratched. The horse will be forced to throw the Ninth Prince off under the pain of being hit from both sides."

"I then took people to the stables to investigate. The groom who was in charge of feeding the horse last night just committed suicide by taking poison. Everyone who had contact with the horse today has been poisoned to death."

Xun Xiang raised his head slightly and glanced at Xia Hong's hands that were tapping repeatedly. In the end, he did not take out the silver bill hidden in his sleeve.

Now Xia Hong has not decided on whom to put the blame, so Xun Xiang, as a minister, naturally cannot force Xia Hong to make a choice.

When the evidence reaches this point, all clues are gone.

The implication of all clues being broken is that any ending Xia Hong wants can be achieved at any time.

This is the Great Xia Palace, and there are only a few people who can deal with these people so accurately and quickly.

Satisfied that the prime minister was still as smart as before, Xia Hong began to issue orders: "Prime Minister Xun, please work harder these days. Interrogate everyone in the palace who had contact with the groom. I must catch the person behind this."

After hearing this, Xun Xiang understood that what Xia Hong wanted was for the person pointed out by the evidence to bear all the blame.

"The old minister obeyed."

Xun Xiang took the order and left. Xia Hong sat on the dragon chair and thought for a long time before he said to Eunuch Lin: "Go to Xianyun Palace and explain the whole story to that child."

"You must tell your eldest sister-in-law that Yu'er is fine and not to worry. If she is still worried, you can take her to the Imperial Hospital in person."

Eunuch Lin accepted the order and left the Golden Palace, taking all the servants in the palace with him.

Shen Jinmo and Xia Hong were the only two people left in the hall. Shen Jinmo took out a thick stack of silver bills wrapped in silk cloth from his arms, lowered his head slightly and handed it to Xia Hong.

"This natural disaster has befallen us. Except for Dingxi County where I am located, officials from other counties and prefectures have all sympathized with the suffering of the people and have donated all their wealth to help with disaster relief. All the unused silver should be turned over to the national treasury."

Shen Jinmo's attitude was very serious. It was Shen Jinmo who made money in Dingxi County, but what was now paid into the national treasury were donations from officials from various counties and prefectures.

The fruits of his labor should naturally be enjoyed by Xia Hong, and Shen Jinmo will certainly bear the blame firmly on his shoulders.

Only by giving him something to hold over him can Xia Hong feel more at ease in employing people.

There were only the emperor and his minister in the hall, so Xia Hong had no need to be shy.

After peeling off the silk cloth and looking at the silver bills with a face value of one thousand taels each, Xia Hong's smile was so strong that it overflowed from his eyes.

Shen Jinmo, you can both provide disaster relief and donate silver.

He, Xia Hong, wanted Shen Jinmo to be a traitorous minister, and Shen Jinmo could be a good traitorous minister.

He, Xia Hong, wants Shen Jinmo to do practical things, and Shen Jinmo will also hand in excellent political achievements.

With Shen Jinmo around, he could really enjoy the freedom of being above thousands of people with peace of mind.

Sitting on the dragon chair with an increasingly relaxed posture, Xia Hong waved his hand and asked Shen Jinmo to sit down:

"It's been a while since Wang Heng left the capital. Nan Xing must have told you about the previous events. Now that these two events are put together, what does Wang Heng think?"

"When the prince was in Dingxi County, he prayed for rain and it was quite successful. And the heavens did send down a rain. Now the prince, who has the will of heaven and the support of the people, has become the only candidate to inherit the throne in the hearts of the people of this divine capital."

Shen Jinmo did not make any speculations. He simply stated what he saw after returning to the Divine Capital.

The matter of succession to the royal family's kingdom is definitely not something that someone in Shen Jinmo's position can talk about now.

"Humph." Xia Hong sneered, "This is God's will. If I want him to have it, he can have it. If I don't want him to have it, he will become the one who is cursed by everyone."

Xia Hong was adept at this kind of framing technique.

Shen Jinmo drank half a cup of tea quietly before asking, "I am a dull person and still cannot understand why the emperor wants to send this will of heaven and the will of the people to the prince."

A minister must be able to understand the emperor's open thoughts. As for those things that he has in mind, even if Shen Jinmo understands them, he cannot say them.

No one likes to be seen through by others, let alone that person is the king of a country.

Shen Jinmo gave Xia Hong the absolute sense of security he needed.

Some of the anger faded from his eyes, and Xia Hong was filled with a rare joy that came from the fulfillment of his long-cherished wish when he was young: "Your grandmother did a great job as a wife, eldest sister-in-law, mother, and mother of this country."

"Now, the only thing she really has to worry about is her identity as a mother."

As a mother, how could you turn a blind eye when your son suffered catastrophic disasters again and again?

Xia Hong's brief words were still meant to test him.

Test Shen Jinmo's heart and see what choice he would make between his master and his grandmother Zhong Yuanyuan.

Shen Jinmo's expression was calm as he brushed the tea lid lightly, without a single ripple.

He was just analyzing the situation from the perspective of a minister: "But the Ninth Prince is weak after all. No matter how capable the Queen is, she is just a woman in the harem. How can she go against the government?"

"Do you really think I am a heartless and heartless wooden man?"

Xia Hong picked up his folding fan and fanned himself gently, calming the rising heat in his heart: "As long as I am here, I am their biggest supporter. No one can touch them."

And the murderous intention Xia Hong showed in the court today was to pave the way for them and their mother.

Shen Jinmo raised the corner of his lips: "What if the queen still doesn't want to?"

If forcing Zhong Yuanyuan to compromise by allowing Xia Yu to be hurt can be considered love, then destroying an entire clan in order to get that beauty is also love.

Was it really Zhong Yuanyuan that Xia Hong loved?

What he loves is just the self that never got what he wanted in the past.

What Xia Hong is making up for is his past self.

This question really hit the nail on the head for Xia Hong. With Zhong Yuanyuan's intelligence, he could have guessed that Xia Che would not let him live since Xia Che was exiled from Luoan.

As the eldest son of her and the late emperor, Xia Che's importance must be no less than Xia Yu's.

But Zhong Yuanyuan acquiesced to Xia Che's death and never lowered her head from beginning to end.

This time, what Zhong Yuanyuan faced seemed to be the life and death of Xia Yu, but in fact it was about who was the one living in Zhong Yuanyuan's heart between Xia Qi and Xia Hong.

Eunuch Lin returned from Xianyun Palace, knelt on the ground trembling with fear and said: "Your Majesty, the Queen said that she is relieved now that the Ninth Prince is fine."

All the joy came to an abrupt end at this moment, and Xia Hong dropped the folding fan in his hand heavily on the desk.

Eunuch Lin was so frightened that he prostrated himself even more. Shen Jinmo, on the other hand, sat calmly on the soft stool: "How did the queen feel when she heard the news?"

Seeing that Xia Hong did not stop him, Eunuch Lin trembled and said, "It seems that he is angry."

These five words were enough to suppress Xia Hong's uneasiness.

If a person who has not caused any trouble for more than ten years gets angry, then everything is not in vain.

All Xia Hong could do was wait.