After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

"Father, I know I was wrong." Xiang An placed his hand on the emperor's shoulder and gently massaged it.

Looking at her sly eyes, the emperor shook his head helplessly: "Alright, alright."

"Father is the best to his son!" Xiang An hugged the emperor's arm and rubbed his cheek affectionately against it.

"Just try not to cause me any more trouble," the emperor said, pointing to the kites drifting leisurely in the sky. "Do you like the kites I prepared today?"

Xiang An: "I like it, there's only one thing I don't like."

Emperor: "You like it? But you also dislike it a little? How so?"

Xiang An sat down, propped his chin on one hand, and tugged at the emperor's sleeve with the other: "I like it because I like playing with Father, and I don't like it because I couldn't fly a kite with Father."

The emperor chuckled: "You, Changfu, bring me a kite."

"Father, I want to fly a butterfly kite."

"The only one is in the sky."

Xiang An looked at the kite, then at the emperor, and said unreasonably, "Make them take it back and fly it again."

The spoiled little princess was perfectly portrayed. Xiang An secretly chuckled to himself.

"Alright, alright, accept it." The emperor doted on you immensely. "Your father will play with you while you play, then we'll go eat."

"Father is the best!"

As the sun gradually sets and its afterglow fades, it leaves behind a trail of joy.

On the way back, Changfu suddenly stopped and said, "Princess, His Majesty does not want you to be too close to the Prime Minister's residence."

"Why?" Xiang An asked, puzzled.

"This servant does not know." Changfu shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Princess, you don't need to think too much. His Majesty loves you very much and would never harm you."

Xiang An was taken aback: "Thank you for your guidance, Father-in-law."

She took out a white crane-patterned purse and handed it to him. Changfu did not refuse and quietly escorted her to the palace gate. He bowed and took his leave before departing.

As Xiang An sat in the carriage, watching the palace recede into the distance, she couldn't help but wonder: Did the emperor not want her involved in the Prime Minister's drowning incident? Or was it that women holding official positions was the emperor's Achilles' heel?

If the emperor's spies had been secretly watching all along, they would know that Xia Ruozhi's drowning today had nothing to do with her.

Xiao Ru's subsequent words of defending Madam Wang in every way out of the banquet were, on the surface, a gesture of respect to the Prime Minister's Mansion, the host of the banquet. No one could find any suspicion that the Princess's Mansion was deliberately taking sides in the investigation of the truth in place of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Therefore... only... what she said today goes beyond the current concept of male officials.

A cold sweat broke out on Xiang An's back. He thought to himself, "The emperor suddenly summoned me to the palace. On the one hand, he wanted to get rid of me, and on the other hand, he wanted to help me clarify what I said today?"

Based on what Changfu just said, this is very likely.

"So the emperor actually wants us to confess today?"

All in all.

"It seems the emperor is really good to his daughter. It's just a pity that the system has its eye on the emperor's throne."

Xiang An lowered his eyes and smiled bitterly, thinking to himself, "Original owner, who exactly poisoned you? If you hadn't died, I wouldn't have come to this godforsaken place, and you could have continued to enjoy your father's favor, and your father's dragon throne would still be intact. Look at you, you've been dead for so long, and you didn't even send me a dream on the seventh day after your death to tell me who poisoned you."

She repeatedly recalled her words and actions in the palace, and when she realized that the problem had been solved, she breathed a sigh of relief, lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, and felt the breeze, which calmed her emotions slightly.

With his mind at ease, he felt relaxed. Turning his head, he saw Xiaoru peeling oranges and asked An curiously, "Xiaoru, are the Prime Minister and Lady Wang very much in love?"

Xiao Ru paused in peeling the orange: "I've heard that's true. Back then, the Prime Minister had just become the top scholar in the imperial examination and married Madam Wang. Although the Prime Minister has a few more concubines now, each one was personally selected by Madam Wang, who nodded her approval and allowed them to be brought into the mansion."

"More concubines? How many more?"

“Eleventh wife.” Xiao Ru counted on her fingers for a while. “However, I heard the other day that Madam Wang is already looking for a twelfth wife.”

Xiang An's lips twitched involuntarily. Madam Wang was truly generous. Not only did she help her husband choose concubines, but she also took the initiative and made the selections ahead of time.

wrong.

Even if men in ancient times took concubines, there were rules to follow. For example, a man could only take a concubine if his wife had not given birth to a son or daughter within three years of marriage.

This applies to ordinary people, let alone high-ranking officials. If they casually take concubines, being impeached by censors is a minor matter. More importantly, it will create a reputation among outsiders that this person is lustful, unreliable, and incapable of handling important matters.

For an official career, the damage would be extremely severe. How could someone who is a prime minister make such an obvious mistake?

Xiang An hurriedly asked, "How old is the Prime Minister?"

After the incident of falling into the water today, only Madam Wang came; the Prime Minister did not even show his face.

Xiao Ru: "Sixty-six."

Xiang An was startled: "Eleven concubines plus one wife, and the Prime Minister has only had one daughter all these years?"

At sixty-six years old, an age considered very old in ancient times, and in an era that valued many children and a large family, it's no wonder that the Prime Minister only had one daughter all these years. It's likely that Lady Wang was anxious and worried about finding him a concubine.

"Prime Minister... is he not very good in that area?"

The question posed by An was veiled, and the innocent Xiaoru didn't understand. She asked, "Which aspect?"

Xiang An blushed and didn't ask any more questions.

Damn it, even though she'd never eaten pork in modern times, she knew how pigs run. She had no idea that Xiao Ru was so naive.

Crickets chirped, and a cool breeze blew.

In the imperial study, the emperor was reviewing memorials when Changfu bowed and respectfully placed the white crane purse on a corner of the imperial table: "Your Majesty, Princess Miankang has left the palace."

"Hmm." The emperor buried his head in reviewing several memorials before looking up. "Have you said everything?"

"I did," Changfu said respectfully. "The princess didn't ask any more questions, but she seemed quite puzzled. I saw her want to ask several times, but she held back. In the end, she got into the carriage, seemingly lost in thought."

The emperor's expression did not change much upon hearing this: "As long as she doesn't interfere in the affairs of the Prime Minister's residence, let her be. Go ahead."

The next instant, a slender man in black appeared out of thin air and silently knelt on one knee.

The emperor put down his brush and straightened his aching back: "Has the matter of the Prime Minister's residence falling into the water been investigated?"

"Your Majesty, Minister Xia, dissatisfied with the Prime Minister's repeated attacks in court, deliberately instructed his eldest daughter, Xia Ruozhi, to stage a scene of falling into the water at a banquet. Minister Xia told Xia Ruozhi in his study: 'If it succeeds, we will impeach the Prime Minister. If it fails, we will implicate Princess Miankang and play the victim in front of the princess, taking the opportunity to get acquainted with her.'"

The emperor's eyes darkened: "I know. Keep a close eye on the prime minister. I need to know his every move."

"Yes." He then vanished in a flash.

In the corner, inside the incense burner, the burning sandalwood incense swirled and dissipated, and the imperial study fell silent for a moment.

for a long time.

"He's certainly playing a clever game." A slight smile tugged at the corner of the emperor's lips, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Changfu, how much of what Minister Xia said to his daughter is true and how much is false?"