After traveling through time, I became a princess in ancient times

After a few days of bumpy journey, Xia Yurou finally returned to Prince Chen's Mansion. She excitedly walked through the courtyard to the east wing, her skirt fluttering in the wind, and she shouted happily, "Prince, I'm back."

However, Ren Chenxi was not in the east wing, so he ran to the west wing, but there was no sign of the prince either.

Just when she was feeling lost, she heard hurried footsteps and Butler Lin came hurriedly to her.

Xia Yurou asked anxiously: "Where is the prince?"

Seeing the princess coming back, Steward Lin was delighted and said respectfully: "Princess, the prince has gone to the palace to see the emperor."

She said "Oh" and looked towards the direction of the palace. Her thoughts surged like a tide and she hoped that the prince would return soon.

Since there was nothing to do now, Xia Yurou asked Butler Lin to bring the account book and carefully checked the accounts page by page.

Xiaoxue stood beside her, holding a folding fan in her hand and gently fanning the princess, bringing a hint of coolness.

After looking at the account book, Xia Yurou was very satisfied, because the hot pot restaurant made a lot of money during this period, and there had been no problems, let alone profits or losses.

She put down the account book, turned to look at Butler Lin, and praised him with satisfaction: "Uncle Lin, you have managed the mansion and the hot pot restaurant well. You have worked hard these days."

Hearing this, Steward Lin smiled modestly, bowed slightly and replied, "Princess, you are too kind. This is what I should do. Since the princess is not at home, I will naturally do my best to take care of everything."

Xia Yurou nodded in satisfaction, the joy on her face became even stronger, and she said with a smile: "Uncle Lin, starting from this month, everyone's salary will be doubled, and they will have three days to go back home to visit their relatives."

The sudden surprise made Xiaoxue so excited that her eyes were filled with tears, and she fanned herself even harder with the folding fan in her hand.

But Steward Lin bowed his head respectfully, his voice trembling: "Princess, you are wise, you are so kind."

Having said that, he happily announced the good news.

At this time in the palace's council hall, the emperor had a gloomy expression and frowned, and was furious about the events in Beiling County.

"Brother, the Marquis of the County is diligent in his work and loves the people. He is deeply loved by the people. Although his son has committed a serious mistake, it has nothing to do with the Marquis of the County."

Ren Chennan on the side disagreed with Ren Chenxi's point of view. He coughed lightly and retorted: "But as a local official, the county marquis failed to handle this matter properly, which inevitably led to such a tragedy. I think the county marquis must be severely punished to defend the dignity of our royal family."

Ren Chenxi angrily glared at Ren Chennan and said hastily: "The pain of losing his son is already his greatest punishment, how can we make it worse? I beg you to give him a chance of survival for the sake of his past contributions."

Ren Chennan's cold laugh echoed in the council hall: "Third brother, what you said is wrong. As an official appointed by the court, how can you ignore the court's laws because of personal feelings?"

The emperor sighed and said slowly: "The laws and regulations of the court cannot be abolished lightly, and the people's will and opinions cannot be ignored."

After saying this, he instructed the eunuch Li beside him: "Pass on my decree, considering his past merits, pardon his crime, remove his official position and ban him from government affairs again."

Although Ren Chenxi was unwilling to accept the emperor's decision, he also understood that it was the best outcome for the Marquis.

"Brother Emperor, Beiling County cannot be without an official for a day. I think my third brother has made great contributions to the drought relief in Beiling County and is deeply loved by the people. He is indeed the best candidate."

Ren Chennan spoke earnestly, but he could not hide a smug smile on his face. He turned to look at Ren Chenxi, and his eyes seemed to say provocatively, "Let's see how you respond."

"King Chen, what do you think?"

Ren Chenxi knew Ren Chennan's intention and declined politely, "Brother Emperor, I am willing to help the court, but I am afraid that I am not talented enough to take on this important task."

"King Chen, there is no need to shirk your responsibility. I will confer upon you the title of King of Beiling and immediately merge several counties in the north into your fiefdom."

As the emperor finished speaking, Ren Chennan's face suddenly changed. He didn't expect that his brother would be so decisive and directly grant Beiling County and surrounding areas to Ren Chenxi. This was his carefully planned layout to push Ren Chenxi into the fire pit.

Ren Chenxi still wanted to refuse, but he knew that the emperor's decision could not be changed, so he could only take the golden seal and imperial edict handed to him.

The three characters "King of Beiling" were engraved on the golden seal. The glittering golden handwriting symbolized supreme power and great responsibility.

Ren Chenxi and Ren Chennan left the council hall one after another. The golden sunlight fell on them, but it could not illuminate the complexity and conspiracy deep in the palace.

Ren Chennan leaned slightly to the side, a false smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he pretended to bow and said, "Congratulations to my third brother for being crowned King of Beiling. This is a great joy."

Ren Chenxi frowned as he looked at Ren Chennan. He understood the deep meaning behind the congratulations and said coldly, "It is my brother's will to make me king. It is not my wish."

Ren Chennan's face froze, and he secretly cursed Ren Chenxi for being ungrateful, but he could only suppress his inner dissatisfaction. He still maintained that hypocritical smile on his face, but he could no longer maintain the false respect. He left angrily, leaving Ren Chenxi alone, stretching out his lonely figure in the sun.

The magnificent palace walls sparkled in the sun. Eunuch Li walked in front of Ren Chenxi with delicate steps and bowed, saying, "Prince Beiling, the emperor has a message."

Ren Chenxi's heart tightened, this must be related to his newly-appointed identity as King of Beiling, and he waited for Eunuch Li to announce the decree.

"The Emperor has heard that there are bandits causing chaos in Huaxi County, and the people are suffering greatly from them. King Beiling has just ascended the throne, and he hopes to demonstrate his merits, so he has specially ordered you to go to Huaxi County to suppress the bandits."

Ren Chenxi's face changed slightly. He knew that suppressing the bandits was not an easy task, and Huaxi County was adjacent to Beiling County. If it could not be pacified quickly, Beiling would probably be affected.

He looked at Eunuch Li and asked, "Eunuch, I wonder how many troops the emperor has sent to me to suppress the bandits in Huaxi County?"

"Prince Beiling, the treasury is tight, and the border is constantly at war, so we can't mobilize too many troops. The emperor knows that the princess is both wise and brave, and she will definitely be able to come up with a good plan for the prince."

The vermilion gate of the palace slowly opened, and the sunlight shone on Ren Chenxi's resolute face, forming a golden halo.

Feeling the burden on his shoulders as heavy as a thousand stones, this bandit suppression mission was arduous, and without the support of money and soldiers, Ren Chenxi felt unprecedented pressure.

He sat in the sedan with a heavy heart. The laughter of children playing and fighting in the street came like a clear spring flowing slowly into his heavy heart.

Looking at the innocent smiling faces of the children, thinking about the people of Huaxi County who were suffering from the bullying of bandits, he tightly grasped the golden seal that symbolized supreme power in his hand, as if he could draw endless strength from it.

Outside the sedan, the laughter of children gradually faded away, and the frightened and helpless eyes of the people of Huaxi County kept appearing in my mind.

The sedan chair moved forward slowly. Even though he was alone, he vowed to wipe out the bandits and bring peace to the people.