Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

Qin Tianjian.

Duan Sheng held the book of star calendars and read it with great interest. He opened his right hand, and immediately a boy handed him tea and snacks.

"The Supervisor is truly living a leisurely life!"

Xu Muxin entered the room and saw this scene, and said sarcastically.

Su Zhi hadn't been laughing at first, but when she saw Duan Sheng throw down his book, twist his ankle from getting up too suddenly, and limp over, she finally couldn't help but laugh.

Before Fang could finish laughing, Duan Sheng looked at the two ladies with a worried expression, "County Princess, Madam Xiao, you two busy ladies, why have you graced our Imperial Observatory with your presence?"

Xu Muxin yawned. The wooden bed in the Xiao family was narrow and hard, which had kept her from sleeping well all night. Seeing Duan Sheng being served by so many people made her even angrier, and she waved her hand to shoo them away.

Su Zhi had dark circles under her eyes. She was already a light sleeper after becoming pregnant, and last night, listening to Xu Muxin tossing and turning, she also suffered from insomnia all night.

The two found a comfortable spot to sit down, and Xu Muxin, feeling sleepy, didn't care anymore and drifted off to sleep with her head tilted to the side.

Duan Sheng was dumbfounded, "What is the county princess doing...?"

Su Zhi forced a smile and said, "Never mind her. May I take a look at the star chart that you and your junior brother observed back then?"

Duan Sheng hesitated for a moment, but thinking that she might not understand it even if he gave it to her, he readily agreed.

A moment later, he came over with the scroll. Su Zhi unfolded it and looked at it with a pained expression.

"At the time, the north was suffering a severe drought, and the south was experiencing severe flooding. The sky was as red as blood, and the people were suffering terribly. The ancients were right; such tragic phenomena are closely related to celestial phenomena and are inseparable from them!"

“Yes!” Duan Sheng agreed wholeheartedly. “It’s a pity that His Majesty doesn’t trust the Imperial Observatory. Only the late Crown Prince was willing to treat us as human beings.”

Su Zhi nodded in agreement, "If the late Crown Prince were still alive, with your talent, you would definitely be able to rival your junior brother. At that time, you would sit in the position of Director of the Imperial Academy with dignity, and let's see who dares to talk behind your back!"

Duan Sheng almost burst into tears on the spot, "My wife understands me!"

Seeing that she had fooled him enough, Su Zhi began to elicit a confession.

"The eclipse of Venus by the Pleiades and the conjunction of Mars and Antares are both ominous omens. Faced with such calamities, past emperors always issued edicts of self-reproach and begged Heaven for forgiveness, and the Great Prayer Festival should have done the same. But in the end, why did it come down to the Crown Prince and the Director of the Imperial Censorate to resolve the situation?"

"Alas, this is also what I do not understand! My junior brother and I discovered at the same time that Mars was invading Ziwei. My junior brother, in his capacity as supervisor, submitted a memorial to His Majesty. Afterwards, the ministers linked the celestial phenomena with disasters and petitioned His Majesty to issue an edict of self-reproach, but His Majesty firmly disagreed."

Then the disasters became more frequent, and the ministers, to save the people from divine punishment, pressured His Majesty to abdicate in favor of the Crown Prince. His Majesty's attitude softened, and even the edict of abdication was written. But the Crown Prince suddenly changed his mind, dragging his junior brother to the gates of Juyang to commit suicide, claiming it was to appease the wrath of Heaven. Isn't that absurd?

"That's absolutely absurd!"

Su Zhi replied casually.

She had only heard a little about the former crown prince's affairs before, but now that she heard the details, she discovered that there were many clues hidden in them.

His Majesty does not believe in ghosts and gods, and believes that as long as he governs with benevolence, the world will surely be at peace. The Crown Prince, on the other hand, is too dependent on external things, has a gentle nature, and is easily influenced, so he naturally became a victim of the power struggles between various factions.

Although it is unclear what His Majesty and the Crown Prince said, in the Empress's eyes, her husband was the real culprit who killed her beloved son!

His Majesty knew this, and he guarded against the Empress's revenge, removing her fangs of power and leaving her powerless to watch her son's throne be taken by others time and time again.

Su Zhi sighed, "When it comes to winning hearts and minds, no one in the world can compare to His Majesty."

Having learned more about the situation, she woke Xu Muxin, and the two left the Imperial Observatory together.

"Have you understood?"

Xu Muxin asked sleepily.

“No.” Su Zhi pressed her temple. “Duan Sheng said that the Crown Prince suddenly changed his ways and took his junior brother to commit suicide at Juyang Gate. There were no signs before that. I suspect that this matter may be related to His Majesty. I need to trouble you to check whether the Crown Prince saw His Majesty before his death.”

Xu Muxin looked hesitant. "Isn't this too risky? If it really was His Majesty who did it, and he finds out we're investigating what happened back then, we'll probably both die a horrible death!"

Su Zhi blinked. "So we need to be careful and not let His Majesty and the Empress find out."

She whispered a few words in Xu Muxin's ear, and the other asked, "Are you sure he's trustworthy?"

"When interests are at stake, there is no one who is absolutely trustworthy. As long as we know what a person wants, we can use that person for our purposes."

Xu Muxin nodded, "Okay, I'll do as you say. I'll go and meet him."

*

After leaving the capital, Xiao Zong led his army on a day-and-night raid without a moment's rest, and arrived in Qingzhou the following evening.

The group set up camp at the foot of the mountain. After arranging everything, Xiao Zong rode out alone and headed straight for the inner city.

Su Ziyuan was still dreaming when Xiao Zong grabbed him and threw him onto a carriage bound for the capital.

The other person, clutching their sore backside, complained, "Hey brother-in-law, what are you doing in the middle of the night?"

Xiao Zong, holding his long sword, glared at him. "I'm going away on official business and I'm worried about the child's safety in the capital. Isn't your Su family the most developed in water transport? Keep an eye on things for me, and write to me if anything happens."

Su Ziyuan: "..."

So he was just a messenger!

"No, with Marquis Changping and Uncle Chu in the capital, who would dare to bully her? There's no need for such trouble in sending a message. I'll just give the order to someone to take care of it."

Xiao Zong's eyes darkened. Su Zhi, that fearless girl, would dare to touch even a tiger's whiskers. Knowing that her opponent was the Empress, he knew she wouldn't let it go easily.

Right now, I reckon he's running around trying to find a way to get rid of the Empress!

"Emperor, empress, princes, princesses, ministers—there's no one she wouldn't dare offend. I don't trust anyone else with this responsibility, so you, as her elder brother, should do your part. That way, it won't be in vain that I've called you 'brother' so many times!"

Su Ziyuan waved his fists, wishing he could beat the person in front of him to a pulp.

"Xiao Congyun, when are you going to stop being so jealous?"

"forever."

"Such a petty person! I'll definitely tell my little sister Zhi'er myself when I see her!"

"Long-winded."

Xiao Zong was too lazy to waste words with him, so he slashed the horse's rump with his scabbard and sent Su Ziyuan on his way.

Upon returning to the barracks, everyone except a few on night watch had already fallen asleep.

Xiao Jianye was used to a comfortable life in the capital, and the sudden rush made his body feel like it was falling apart. He thought he would be able to get a good night's sleep because he was so tired, but when he lay down, he couldn't feel sleepy at all, so he went out for a stroll by himself.

After traveling for a while, he heard the sound of horses' hooves and stopped. Looking up, he saw that the person on horseback was his younger brother, Xiao Zong.

The two exchanged glances, understanding each other implicitly, and neither mentioned what he had done late at night.

Xiao Zong tied up his horse, walked to his side, and asked with concern, "Aren't you asleep yet?"

As a scholar, he might not be able to handle the long journey.

"Can't sleep."

Xiao Jianye looked up at the lonely moon in the sky and sighed, "In this situation, how wonderful it would be to have a pot of wine!"

"Don't even think about it!" Xiao Zong added some firewood to the fire and laughed, "Under my jurisdiction, drinking alcohol is strictly prohibited during official business."

Xiao Jianye was immediately disappointed. "You bunch of brutes, you're really boring!"

Xiao Zong didn't refute, but teased, "I think you miss your sister-in-law!"

"Don't you miss your wife?"

Xiao Zong also gazed at the moon, and after a long while said, "I was thinking about it."