Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

Chu Ning came out of the Yangxin Palace with a bad look on his face.

Zhao Yu, who was waiting outside, reminded quietly: "Your Highness, the masters are still waiting for you in the palace."

Chu Ning came back to his senses and nodded slightly: "Let's go, I also have something to tell them."

There are still many things to deal with when I return to Beijing this time, and the matter of Shen Wanying's poisoning must be investigated thoroughly.

Thinking of Shen Wanying's pale appearance, Chu Ning felt a little bad and added:

"Please ask Lord Ling, the Minister of Justice, to come over as well!"

"Yes!" Zhao Yu responded and went downstairs to make arrangements immediately.

Chu Ning then returned to the East Palace.

In the main hall.

Liu Shouren, Deng Hongwen, Jia Yu, Yun Jianye, Lu Xiuwen, Ran Ming, Guan Yun and others gathered together.

Everyone was talking to someone they knew, when suddenly, two footsteps were heard outside the hall.

Ran Ming's ears moved, and he turned to look at the palace entrance: "The prince is coming!"

Everyone fell silent, and Chu Ning walked over with Zhao Yu.

"Greetings, Your Highness!" Everyone saluted in unison.

Chu Ning nodded slightly, walked quickly to the main seat, and said in a deep voice: "My Lords, there is no need to be so polite. I am in great trouble with you all during the time when I am not in Kyoto City."

"Let's first talk about what happened in Kyoto during this period, Lord Deng, and start with your side."

Deng Hongwen, who was named, stood up and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, His Majesty's mausoleum can be completed next year."

"The Ministry of Rites is currently making full preparations for your enthronement ceremony. In addition, His Majesty has ordered that preparations for your wedding be made as well."

The Ministry of Rites has a lot of things to do, including the emperor's mausoleum, the crown prince's enthronement ceremony, and the wedding.

Chu Ning nodded slightly and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Lord Deng. Please ask the Ministry of Rites to come up with a set of rules for the specific etiquette of the enthronement ceremony."

"I have prepared it." Deng Hongwen took out a memorial from his arms and handed it over.

Zhao Yu took the memorial and handed it to Chu Ning.

Chu Ning did not look through it, but put it on the table. He looked at Liu Shouren and asked, "Master Liu has been in the three states of Jiangnan for more than half a year. I believe you have gained something, right?"

Deng Hongwen withdrew, and Liu Shouren stepped forward and said solemnly: "Your Highness, I have already negotiated with the local noble families in the three states of Jiangnan."

"In the future, the annual tax revenue will be reduced. They agreed to distribute the land to the local people, but they need to keep some for themselves."

As the Minister of Revenue, it is impossible that he spent so much time in the three states of Jiangnan just for the summer harvest.

What is more important is to promote the fertile land system!

Now Bingzhou, Liangzhou, Yunzhou, as well as Zhao and Yan are all implementing it, and the three states in the south of the Yangtze River cannot stay out of it.

Liu Shouren went there with a mission!

Since the Jiangnan family has agreed to give up most of their interests, it is not unacceptable to retain a small part of their interests.

After all, some things in the future still depend on these people. It is impossible to kill them all. Who would be willing to work for the court in the future?

When he was a prince, he could kill as many people as he wanted. But once he became a prince, he had to consider many things.

"This is within the King's expectations!"

Chu Ning nodded slightly: "The people in the three states of Jiangnan are all old-fashioned families, and they still have a lot of people under their control. Some things have to be done slowly."

After affirming Liu Shouren's achievements, Chu Ning looked at Jia Yu with a gloomy expression.

"Master Jia, has anything important happened in the court during the time that I was away from Kyoto?"

Jia Yu stepped forward and saluted: "Your Highness, recently, His Highness the Fifteenth Prince has been actively recruiting soldiers and horses."

"His Highness the Fourteenth Prince doesn't make much noise, except that he often goes to places of fireworks."

"As for the sixteenth and seventeenth princes, they have united and focused their attention on business."

Chu Ning was not surprised by this.

Of the eighteen princes, apart from himself and Chu Kuang who came back with him, there were only four princes left.

Among these four, the Fourteenth Prince is lustful, the Fifteenth Prince is ambitious, and the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Princes are greedy for money!

But now that the position of crown prince has been decided, these people can’t cause any trouble.

But, that's not what he wanted to ask!

Chu Ning narrowed his eyes and said coldly: "Master Jia, you should know what I want to ask!"

The cold eyes fixed on Jia Yu, making Jia Yu feel a chill.

He knew that Chu Ning was angry.

Jia Yu quickly knelt on the ground and said, "Your Highness, I was indeed inconsiderate about the princess being poisoned. I beg Your Highness to forgive me."

Chu Ning had a cold expression on his face and didn't say anything. He just stared at Jia Yu.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly froze, and no one dared to stand up and plead for Jia Yu at this time.

At this moment, a voice came from outside the palace: "Your Highness, Lord Ling from the Ministry of Justice is here."

"Let him in!"

A moment later, Ling Haoran, who had received the news, came into the hall.

Seeing so many people present, his face straightened and he bowed to Chu Ning: "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Chu Ning nodded slightly: "Lord Ling, you have come at the right time. Let Lord Jia tell us about the incident when the princess was poisoned."

He looked at Jia Yu and said, "Stand up and speak."

Jia Yu's face straightened, and he told the story: "That day, the princess took people to Hongguang Temple to pray for His Highness, and our people were originally following them."

"But the princess felt that too many people would disturb the meditation of the people in the temple, so she asked us to wait outside the temple."

"At that time, our people surrounded the entire temple, and there were people waiting inside, so it should have been safe."

"Unexpectedly, a monk in the temple poisoned the incense. The princess went in alone to burn incense, so she was poisoned."

"This poison is extremely toxic. The princess was fine at the time. It was only after she returned to the East Palace that she discovered symptoms and that's when she sent someone to invite the imperial physician."

"Then I personally led people to surround the temple, but the person who poisoned the temple had committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and the clues were cut off."

"Then the princess did not want to make the matter worse, so she announced to the public that she had caught a cold."

Chu Ning listened with indifference, and then his expression improved a lot.

If a person planned a poisoning in this way and then committed suicide after it was accomplished, he must be a murderer without a doubt.

He turned to look at Ling Haoran and said in a deep voice: "Lord Ling, you already understand this matter. Next, please cooperate with Lord Jia to thoroughly investigate this case."

Ling Haoran said solemnly: "Your Highness, rest assured. If such a villain appears in Kyoto, I will investigate the matter as soon as possible."

As the Minister of Justice, he certainly could not accept such a thing happening in Kyoto.

It was good enough that the emperor and Chu Ning did not punish him. If the person behind the scenes could not be found, his career as the Minister of Justice would probably be over.

After dealing with these matters, Chu Ning finally turned his attention to Guan Yun: "When will General Han and Lord Di return to Beijing?"

Guan Yun stepped forward and saluted: "We will arrive in three days. Also, Lord Zhang Xuan from Liangzhou will arrive in three days."

After a pause, he added, "I heard that the Queen of the Great Zhou will personally attend your enthronement ceremony this time."

Chu Ning was stunned, and the empress's exquisite face appeared in his mind.

Unexpectedly, she came too.

Now Kyoto City is going to be really lively.

The four women with whom he is most deeply involved in his life are about to meet.

It just so happens that among these four women, one is poisoned, one wants to marry him, one keeps her distance from him, and one wants to join in the fun.

This time, he not only has to deal with the enthronement ceremony and find the murderer, but also has to balance the relationships between these four women.