After rebirth, she became the favorite of the powerful minister.

On New Year's Eve, near midnight, fireworks were already being set off on the white marble square outside the main hall.

Before this, most of the ministers had already yawned and returned home in groups of three or four.

Tong Mingru leaned slightly closer to Madam Tong, whispering, "You go back first later." He raised his head and smiled at his colleagues who came to invite him to leave the palace. "I had some free time this afternoon and took a short nap. I'm in a good mood now. In previous years, I left before the fireworks were set off. This year, no matter what I say, I have to see how many imperial fireworks there are, haha!"

Upon hearing this, colleagues also laughed and bowed to say goodbye.

Tong Mingru stood up, straightened his clothes, squinted his eyes and muttered to himself with a smile, "This year I will also learn from the young people and stay up all night to celebrate the New Year!" After that, he glanced at Qin Yongpei meaningfully and walked out like Maitreya Buddha.

Qin Yongzhao didn't leave either, he just rested his chin on his hand and drank his wine intermittently. Seeing this, he also glanced at Qin Yongpei and pointed meaningfully at the outside, "Second brother, aren't you going to watch the fireworks?"

"You didn't go either, didn't you? It's the same every year. No matter how beautiful it is, you'd get tired of it." Qin Yongpei rolled his eyelids lazily. "The Ministry of Rites has always done things like this. This year they imitate last year, and the new people imitate the old ones. Not to mention that they dare not have the slightest intention, they just copy last year's exact appearance..."

As everyone knows, the Minister of Rites had been in close contact with the Third Prince a while ago. The two of them would sit together to eat and drink every now and then, without any reservations. It was rumored in the court that the Minister had joined the Jin family's camp.

Qin Yongzhao lowered his eyes and chuckled, "When did second brother develop such an inexplicable anger towards the Ministry of Rites? Could it be that he had other ideas after listening to the gossip outside? Don't worry, the Minister of Rites loves wine, and he happens to have similar tastes as me, the third brother. We are just drinking buddies, and there is no other messy stuff... Second brother is the legitimate son and is more capable than me. I, the third brother, am too lazy to fight for those things that are tiring and exhausting." His words were so frank that they seemed to be fearless and made people's teeth itch.

This seems to be a common trait that is integrated into the blood of the Jin family. They do not care about the occasion, do what they want, and speak without restraint.

Although most of the ministers had left, there were still people present. Qin Yongpei was too lazy to discuss such things with this person in public, so he raised his hand to stop the palace servant who was about to pour tea, "No need, it's all the same old stuff, Your Highness might as well go back home and rest early..."

Qin Yongzhao obviously didn't realize how "annoying" he was. He still smiled and looked at Qin Yongpei who had already stood up. "Second brother, are you leaving now? You're not going to sit for a while? Is there a beauty waiting for you in the mansion?"

Qin Yongpei glanced at Qin Yongzhao. Even though he thought he was well-mannered, he couldn't help it at this time. "Shut up! If you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb! Come to think of it, your words remind me that after this year, you should get married at your age. Then I will remind my father to help you find a marriage partner. Has the granddaughter of the Minister of Rites reached the age of marriage?"

Qin Yongzhao's face froze, he smiled awkwardly and clasped his hands together, "Second brother, second brother... Buddha said, it is better to demolish a temple than to hasten a marriage. The Minister of Rites and I really only had a little drinking issue, you can relax! The Minister of Rites is not blind, why would he not support the Queen's legitimate son but support me, a useless bastard? Please, please——"

He had a playful look on his face and it was hard to tell what his true nature was. Even in the hall, which was as bright as day, his eyes were filled with impeccable calmness.

A prince who seems to be non-competitive but is actually capable of competing.

Qin Yongpei glanced at Qin Yongzhao who seemed out of tune, pressed his lips, turned around and left, walking behind the ministers who were watching the fireworks. Tong Mingru calmly took a half step back and looked at Qin Yongpei. Qin Yongpei shook his head almost imperceptibly, nodded towards the outside of the palace, silently hinting: Let's talk outside.

So, Prime Minister Tong, who had just said that he wanted to learn from the young people to stay up all night to celebrate the New Year, pressed his sore neck which had been leaning forward for too long, and said goodbye to the ministers with an embarrassed smile, "I'm old, and I've only been looking for a while, and my neck can't support it anymore... I'll go back first, everyone, goodbye, goodbye." After that, he straightened his clothes and walked out of the palace leisurely with his hands in his pockets. Even at this midnight, Prime Minister Tong would never let anyone find any fault with his appearance and demeanor.

Qin Yongpei exchanged greetings with the ministers on his left and right before leaving.

"Have you heard?" A nosy minister looked around and saw that there were no palace servants around, so he lowered his voice and gossiped, "I heard that this prince upset His Majesty again a few days ago, and His Majesty got very angry in the imperial study..."

"Do you know why?"

"Hey, it's still about that matter. In order to form an alliance with the Tong family... His Majesty had already agreed and was just waiting for the decree. But then something happened. Now that the person is gone, the Second Prince brought up the old matter again. His Majesty didn't agree to it. He even broke several teacups and kicked the Second Prince out."

"You are still young and a little impatient... On the contrary, the one inside seems to be idle, but I think he is smart. Have you seen His Majesty get angry with him over the years? He may be naughty, but he behaves in a measured way!"

"In that case, it is true..."

The few ministers stood in their respective camps tacitly and spoke to each other about their opinions and plans. The deliberately suppressed words were drowned out by the sound of the fireworks. From afar, it looked like a beautiful scene of everyone being well and all the ministers and family being together to celebrate the New Year.

In the carriage of the Second Prince, who had just left the palace, the atmosphere was stagnant and depressing, and the heavy curtains were hanging heavily and motionless.

The two people sitting face to face looked at each other, sitting upright, as if waiting for the other to speak first.

Finally, Tong Mingru came straight to the point with an unhappy look on his face, "I heard that Your Highness went to the Imperial Study to bring up the matter of marriage with the Tong family again. Why didn't Your Highness discuss it with this old minister in advance?"

Qin Yongpei poured himself a cup of tea and leaned against the wall of the car to press his temples. He then raised his eyelids and looked over. He seemed to be a little drunk and lazy. "Hasn't this been discussed long ago? It was delayed because of Tong Wanzhen's nonsense. Now that she is gone, what's the problem with this prince marrying Yu Han?"

Tong Mingru refuted with a cold face, "How can it be the same now?!"

"How is it different? Could it be that Prime Minister Tong feels that Yu Han has been wronged?" Qin Yongpei put the tip of his tongue against his back teeth and sneered sarcastically, "I thought Prime Minister Tong came to me for more important things... For example, the sealed Zuihuan Tower, the imprisoned Honglan, and the business that was forced to be interrupted because of this... Shouldn't these be more important?"

Tong Mingru was suddenly stunned, and the anger was frozen on his face.