The abandoned concubine who transmigrated woke up shouting "Long live the widow!"

Knowing that his father would not leave today, Ye Muchen was initially a little uneasy. He was afraid that his father would find out that he and Jingxue were not living together. But then he thought that the Golden Armor Guards had come to the mansion before, so his father should already know.

Since that's the case, there's no need to worry. At worst, I'll just have to listen to my father scold me a bit.

On the other side, Prime Minister Zou returned to his residence and ordered the secret room to be filled in, but it seemed that the pent-up frustration in his heart had also been filled in.

He ordered someone to inform Hu Yucheng and Wang Hansheng to come to his residence that evening. After having dinner, the two arrived at the Prime Minister's residence one after the other.

The Minister of Personnel, Wang Hansheng, arrived first. That day, his residence was safe and sound, and no valuables were lost. He was secretly relieved that the things he had buried underground had not been discovered, because his valuables were buried under the water vat in the courtyard.

His yard was guarded every day, and besides, it was easy to tell at a glance whether the water vat had been touched, so he was certain that those things were safe and sound.

Just as he and Prime Minister Zou picked up their teacups to drink, Hu Yucheng arrived. The three were all relatives, so there wasn't much formality between them.

"His Majesty has punished me by confining me to my room for five days to reflect on my mistakes!" Prime Minister Zou said coldly.

Wang Hansheng raised an eyebrow. "This also shows that the Emperor treats you differently, perhaps because of Consort Li and the Third Princess!"

Hu Yucheng nodded, "Brother-in-law is right. After all, rumors were flying everywhere. Fortunately, they were quickly suppressed by other matters. Otherwise, if things had gotten too out of hand, public opinion could have been devastating!"

"Is it really..."

Hu Yucheng didn't continue speaking and looked at Prime Minister Zou.

Ignoring everything else, Wang Hansheng asked directly, "Was it really done by one of the guards in your household?"

Prime Minister Zou sneered, "How could that be? It wasn't him, but I have no choice. If I don't push him out, I can't explain myself."

"Who would want to harm you like this? Are you sure?" Wang Hansheng asked.

Hu Yucheng glanced at Prime Minister Zou, who then looked up at his brother-in-law and slowly said, "I suspect it's the Princess Consort of War!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Hansheng also thought of Jingxue in the Dali Temple courtroom. He was inexplicably startled. If it was the Princess Consort of Zhan, then his valuables were in danger!

He was getting restless, but he still held onto a sliver of hope. It wasn't just a silver note; could that girl really have such power?

"Do you have any evidence? If you do, we can not only bring down the War King, but also make Jing Zhiyuan lose his head!" Wang Hansheng said.

Prime Minister Zou shook his head. "Not only did I lack evidence, but I also lost a capable subordinate!"

Hu Yucheng raised his hand and rubbed his temples. "It can be said that Princess Zhan is the most suspicious. She did this to retaliate against us for impeaching her father in court!"

"So we're just going to accept this? Be completely fooled by a young girl?" Wang Hansheng said.

Prime Minister Zou let out a breath. "To tell you the truth, not long ago, the gold and silver in my secret room disappeared without a trace!"

"What?" Hu Yucheng and Wang Hansheng exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

"Then why didn't you report it to the authorities?" Hu Yucheng immediately felt like he'd lost his mind. The valuables kept in the secret room couldn't possibly be exposed to the light of day. Who would dare report it to the authorities? Wouldn't that be walking right into a trap?

Wang Hansheng really wanted to go back to his mansion immediately, muttering to himself, "There are quite a few things buried underground in my mansion too!"

Hu Yucheng was extremely fortunate at this moment. He did have some private savings, but he didn't keep them in his own residence.

"Isn't there any way to deal with her?" Hu Yucheng said unwillingly.

“I once sent men to assassinate her, but they never returned!” Prime Minister Zou said.

Hu Yucheng and Wang Hansheng exchanged a glance. They recalled the table that Jingxue had smashed with a single palm strike in the courtroom; Jingxue's martial arts skills were probably beyond their comprehension.

“If force doesn’t work, we’ll think of other ways. She’s not a god. I don’t believe that we old guys can’t handle a young girl.” Wang Hansheng said.

Hu Yucheng nodded. "That's right. Everyone has a weakness, and that girl is no exception. It's just that we didn't take her seriously!"

Prime Minister Zou said, "I invited you all here today to discuss what to do."

The three of them fell into deep thought for a moment.

When the retired emperor saw the lantern in the Jingning Garden courtyard, he was no longer angry. He was afraid he would die of anger because there were too many good things for him to handle.

Turning to Ye Muchen behind him, he said, "Why are you following me? I have servants to accompany me to my bedside! Are you afraid I won't be able to find Lingyun Pavilion?"

The Emperor Emeritus believed that Ye Muchen was still living in Lingyun Pavilion!

Ye Muchen said helplessly, "Father, now that you've come to my residence, I'd like to spend more time with you!"

"No need, go do what you need to do!" The retired emperor said and strode forward.

Ye Muchen had no choice but to say to Eunuch Xi, "Eunuch, if you need anything, just send someone to find the steward or come to me!"

"Your Highness, rest assured!" Eunuch Xi replied and hurried a few steps to catch up with the Emperor Emeritus.

Although Ye Muchen was scolded by his father, he felt relieved. His father didn't seem to care about where he was staying, so he quickly took Gao Chi back to Mingyuan Pavilion.

That night was practically spent in a charcoal brazier for Wang Hansheng, because as soon as he returned from the Prime Minister's residence, he couldn't wait to have the servants move the water vat that had run dry.

As the men pried open the stone slab and dug through the frozen soil, Wang Hansheng saw that his jewelry box was gone, and he took two steps back.

But still unwilling to give up, they had them dig deeper, but still nothing.

Helpless, he ordered the yard to be cleaned up, and then he returned to his study with weak steps.

He was heartbroken!

That was the money he had saved up over the years, and it was all gone just like that!

However, like Prime Minister Zou and Li Wenqing, that money did not come from legitimate sources.

He could only swallow this bitter pill.

That damned Princess Consort and the King of War are both bad people!

He, Prime Minister Zou, and Hu Yucheng had devised a plan, hoping to kill Princess Zhan in one fell swoop and condemn her to eternal damnation.

It seems I still need to find an opportunity to collect the money, but I can no longer keep it in my own residence. I refuse to believe that the Princess Consort of Zhan could steal it.

The next day, Wang Hansheng went to court with dark circles under his eyes.

Today, there are two more people in the imperial court: one is Li Huan, the prefect of Qingzhou, who is also Jingxue's maternal uncle, and the other is Wang Shumo, the prefect of Yizhou.

Qingzhou and Yizhou are located to the west and east of Shangjing City respectively, but both are more than 100 li away from Shangjing, so the two were the first to enter the capital.

Wang Shumo reported his duties first, followed by Li Huan.

Although Yizhou also experienced drought, it was not severe; it only resulted in reduced yields, and the people managed to get through it by tightening their belts.

In Qingzhou, the situation was similar to that of Yizhou. However, because the magistrate of Kangping County secretly bought up grain at high prices, many people in Qingzhou sold their already meager grain reserves out of greed. Now, some people's rice jars are almost empty.

On his way to Shangjing, Li Huan encountered some groups that came to buy grain.

Li Huan reported these circumstances truthfully, but he did not say who had bought the grain at a high price.

After listening to their reports, the emperor did not immediately comment. Unexpectedly, Wang Hansheng stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, Li Huan, as the prefect of Qingzhou, has been slow to realize the plight of the people. I believe this is a serious dereliction of duty!"