The substitute prince: Reported the emperor's brother at the beginning

"What's wrong? Are you not liking the food?" Ning Yi slowly ate with chopsticks, glanced at the three of them, and asked lightly.

The three of them immediately bowed in apology. Tan Donglin, the highest-ranking Censor, smiled wryly, "Sixth Prince, you're joking. The food tastes good, but I don't know why His Highness invited the three of us here."

"Yes, His Highness specially invited us to the banquet. We are so nervous, afraid that we can't help His Highness solve his problems and disappoint him. We dare not even pick up our chopsticks now."

One by one, they immediately and carefully apologized.

Ning Yi sneered, but said gently on the surface: "Don't worry, the three of you. I asked you to come today because I think you are the youngest and most outstanding officials in my Great Wu Kingdom."

The three of them just listened to this kind of words and continued to watch Ning Yi continue speaking.

Ning Yi continued to slowly sip his tea and chuckled, "Secondly, the three of you are the officials responsible for disaster relief in Donghai City. I believe you all know that my father has entrusted this important task to me, so naturally, I will host a banquet for you three to discuss how to successfully complete this disaster relief mission."

"By then, you three will have the merit of disaster relief. Wouldn't it be a smooth ride in the imperial court?"

This sounds nice, but none of the three officials are happy about it.

If this matter was presided over by the Fourth Prince, they would naturally support the disaster relief work wholeheartedly.

But now his immediate superior has changed, and it is the Sixth Prince, who is the sworn enemy of the Fourth Prince.

As disciples of the Prime Minister, how could they possibly help the Sixth Prince wholeheartedly? If so, the Prime Minister only needs one word to make them completely unlucky.

Tan Donglin was the first to say, "It is naturally a good thing that Your Highness has received such an important matter as disaster relief."

"But the three of us are of low rank and influence, so I'm afraid it's difficult for us to help His Highness."

It's very clear what I'm saying, that is, we can't help you, so don't look for us.

Ning Yi looked at these three guys without changing his expression, as if he didn't hear Tan Donglin's polite refusal at all.

When the three of them were feeling anxious, Ning Yi suddenly said leisurely, "Censor, you've been in the Inspectorate for three years, right?"

"It has indeed been three years." Tan Donglin said this with some complacency: "I was selected as a Jinshi by His Majesty three years ago and directly entered the Inspectorate."

Ning Yi simply said, "Do you remember the Meng family in Qinzhou?"

When Tan Donglin heard the word "Meng family", he suddenly became alert. His originally complacent eyes turned into shock: "Your Highness, you..."

Ning Yi waved his hand: "There are some situations that this prince is very clear about."

Tan Donglin's whole body trembled all over.

Ning Yi ignored him and looked at the other two again: "It is said that the Ministry of Revenue is going to transfer personnel. It just so happens that my father-in-law has a good relationship with the Minister of Revenue..."

"It is said that the Ministry of Personnel often receives correspondence from officials who come to Beijing to report on their work."

The expressions of these two officials kept changing.

Ning Yi's words also hit their sore spot, catching them by the tail, and everyone's heart was pounding.

But after Ning Yi finished speaking, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, these are just trivial matters."

"As long as the three of you handle the disaster relief work well, this prince guarantees that you will all have ample opportunities to ascend to high positions in the court in the future."

The three of them looked at each other, their eyes changing constantly. The Sixth Prince wanted them to choose sides.

However, the three of them did not dare to make a hasty decision. Once they followed the Sixth Prince, it would mean betraying the Prime Minister. On the one hand, they would face retaliation from the Prime Minister, and on the other hand, they would be despised by the officialdom, which was equivalent to betraying the team.

At this moment, the door to the private room suddenly opened, and the Fourth Prince swaggered in. When the three of them saw the Fourth Prince, they immediately stood up and saluted: "Your Highness the Fourth Prince."

The Fourth Prince glanced at the three of them, his eyes filled with anger, and said coldly, "Well, you three are really brave. You actually came to the banquet."

This made the three of them at a loss for words. The Sixth Prince was treating them, but they really didn't want to come.

But his position was too low, and he was being personally examined by the commander of the personal guards, so how could he dare to refuse?

They are not the prime minister or the minister, so they don't need to pay any attention to these princes.

Seeing the three guys looking terrified, the Fourth Prince snorted coldly, "I'll settle the score with you when I get back."

Looking at Ning Yi who was still sitting there leisurely drinking, he said in a mocking tone, "Sixth Brother, you're so good! You just cleared yourself of the suspicion of raising troops for rebellion, and now you're forming a clique for personal gain?"

These words frightened the three officials: "Fourth Prince, you..."

Fourth Prince, we are your people. Don’t be so greedy that you can’t tell friend from foe.

"Shut up! Do you have the right to speak here?" The Fourth Prince glared at them fiercely.

If the Sixth Brother could be charged with forming a clique for personal gain and the other three could be buried with him, what would that matter? They were just disciples of the Prime Minister's Mansion, a bunch of petty officials, not worth mentioning.

Ning Yi put down his wine glass, stood up and faced the arrogant and domineering Fourth Prince, who was feared by everyone else. He chuckled and said, "Fourth brother, there are some things you can't say carelessly. Is eating a meal against the law?"

"Otherwise, I, your younger brother, will go to Father and sue you for defamation again."

When the Fourth Prince mentioned this matter, his eyes became filled with anger. The last time he accused the bastard Old Six of raising private soldiers and plotting rebellion, he had lost face in front of the Emperor.

The commander of the Imperial Guards is still being interrogated in the Heavenly Prison. Not only did they lose the wife, but they also lost their soldiers.

But this time the Fourth Prince had irrefutable evidence: "Sixth Brother, you had a meal and you also invited officials of the dynasty to a banquet. You invited three officials at once. Isn't this forming a clique for personal gain?"

"Then I invited you, so you are also forming a clique for personal gain." Ning Yi raised his eyebrows and teased him.

"I……"

The Fourth Prince was stuck, but he immediately snorted coldly: "I won't do such a stupid thing with you."

"Then why are you here?"

Ning Yi naturally wanted to drag the Fourth Prince into this. If he wanted to complain then he could go ahead and file a complaint. Two sworn enemies of the princes forming a clique for personal gain?

I guess Emperor Wu himself didn't believe it, so he told them to get out of here right away and stop bothering others with this kind of nonsense.

"Besides." Ning Yi took a step forward and squinted at the Fourth Prince. "Fourth brother, I just invited three adults here, and you got the news and rushed over right after."

"It seems that Fourth Brother is well-informed about the news in the court. Does he have spies everywhere?"

"How about telling Father and letting him investigate thoroughly?"

The Fourth Prince's face suddenly turned sour. How could such a thing withstand investigation? Han Changqing almost lost his head because of this matter. If the Sixth Prince went and said something nonsense again, he would be the next one that the Emperor would send to the Heavenly Prison.