Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Inside a flower shop in the Prime Minister's Mansion in the East City.

An old man with a well-proportioned figure, dressed simply, and with a gloomy expression was intently pruning a potted plant.

His name is Ye Mo, the powerful prime minister of the Great Chu Dynasty, and the person Jiang Mengxuan vowed to bring down.

Suddenly, the steward Juan came to his side and said cautiously, "Master, news has come from the palace that His Majesty went out of the palace today and only returned half an hour ago."

Upon hearing this, Ye Mo didn't even look up and continued tending to the potted plants.

"Has anyone found out where His Majesty has gone?"

"This, I don't know."

"I don't know?"

Ye Mo stopped what he was doing, looked up at Hu An, and couldn't help but snort coldly.

"What's the point of keeping you around if you can't even keep an eye on a single person?"

The servant immediately bowed and apologized repeatedly: "Master, it was my incompetence, please forgive me..."

Ye Mo waved his hand: "Alright, is there anything else?"

Juan replied, "There's one more thing. Liu Qinghuan of the Zixia Sect has already arrived in the capital."

"Zixia Sect?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mo got up and sat down in a rattan chair.

Juan immediately poured him a cup of tea and continued, "The informant reported that he appeared in the West Market around noon, but we were unable to find out where he went."

Ye Mo slid the teacup lid along and said slowly, "It seems that she is most likely here for the Jinling Secret Realm. If I am not mistaken, His Majesty must have invited her to join the scheme."

Juan was taken aback: "Sir, what do you mean?"

Ye Mo chuckled lightly: "Your Majesty was once a disciple of the Zixia Sect. This time, I propose to Your Majesty..."

Allowing the Azure Robe Pavilion to enter the secret realm first would surely displease His Majesty, so the Purple Cloud Sect was also brought in.

The goal is to prevent the treasures of the secret realm from falling into the hands of the Green Robe Pavilion.

Juan whispered, "Then, sir, should we go and inform the Green Robe Pavilion?"

Ye Mo took a sip of tea, then shook his head: "There's no need for that. You should inform Ye Xiang and the others."

Bring Liu Qinghuan to my residence; I want to see her tonight and speak with her in person.

Juan replied, "Yes, sir, I'll take care of it right away."

"Is there anything else?"

Juan replied, "Yesterday, Sun Shigui, one of the three sons of the Sun family, was murdered by the Jingwei Division in Luoyue Pavilion. His father, Sun Lingyu, hopes that you, sir, can seek justice for him."

Upon hearing this, Ye Mo snorted lightly, his face full of disdain: "That's what his son deserves, using the name of my Prime Minister's Mansion to do evil."

I told his son to behave himself, but he wouldn't listen to a word. Now that his son has been murdered, he wants my Prime Minister's mansion to intervene? Does he deserve it?!

Juan: "But sir, the Jingwei Division is targeting the Sun family, but this is a slap in your face! If we don't give you an explanation, the Jingwei Division will only become more and more arrogant in the future."

And today, three more people died in Wenxiang Tower, also done by the Jingwei Division. Master, are you really not going to do anything about it?

Ye Mo narrowed his eyes, got up, grabbed a pair of scissors, and went to a pot of roses.

"It's good that these scoundrels are dead. The Prime Minister's mansion needs useful people, not lackeys who bully others by abusing their power."

Go back and tell their family that this matter has nothing to do with the Prime Minister's residence. If they are unhappy, they should speak directly to His Majesty and not bother me anymore.

"Yes, sir, I understand."

Ye Mo nodded and continued, "By the way, all the recommendation letters recently sent by prominent families from various regions should be sent to His Majesty."

Juan was taken aback: "Sir, what do you mean by this?"

Ye Mo said expressionlessly, "I've read all these recommendation drafts. A bunch of pedantic scholars who only know how to write flowery words, what kind of country can they govern?"

Letting them stand on the stage and talk big, pontificating about everything, is more impressive than anything I could do.

If we were to give them a city or a region, what could they possibly do besides make money?

"Do you think my Ye family accepts just any kind of goods? Let His Majesty decide on this troublesome matter."

Juan asked, puzzled: "But the heads of the Liang family in Suzhou and the Xie family in Yangzhou both want you to take care of their clansmen."

"I've already been considerate by not sending the manuscript back directly."

Ye Mo threw down the scissors and glared at Juan.

"It is up to His Majesty to decide whether to accept these people or not. I, Ye Mo, cannot bear the shame of recommending such a bunch of scoundrels."

Juan nodded and bowed: "Yes, sir, I'll arrange it right away."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

"return."

"Is there anything else you need, sir?"

Ye Mo pondered for a while and then asked, "Have you found out who killed Sun Shigui?"

"We've found out. His name is Shen Lang, a centurion of the Jingwei Division. He was transferred from the Bingzhou Army to the Jingwei Division in the early years of the Xuanyuan era."

"Bingzhou Army...Shen Lang..."

Ye Mo muttered to himself for a while.

"I remember now, it's that young man who retired from the border army, the captain who was personally recommended by Prince Jing to join the Jingwei Division?"

“Master has a good memory; it is indeed this lad.”

"Okay, I got it. Go ahead and get busy."

"Yes, sir."

After Juan left, Ye Mo continued pruning the potted plants.

……

On the other side, after returning to the palace, Jiang Mengxuan immediately retrieved the files of the Jingwei Division's centurions and began searching through them one by one.

It wasn't until he saw Shen Lang's file that he opened it and carefully examined it.

However, Jiang Mengxuan was surprised after seeing Shen Lang's biographical records.

He joined the army at the age of five, went to the battlefield at the age of ten, and killed thirteen Yan soldiers in his first battle.

"He was promoted to squad leader at the age of eleven and killed a centurion of the Yan army..."

"At the age of thirteen, he was appointed as a captain. At the age of twelve, he led a small team of one hundred men to repel an invasion of 20,000 Yan troops, killing more than a thousand enemy soldiers. The entire army returned to camp without any casualties and was promoted."

As Jiang Mengxuan read about Shen Lang's experiences, her heart pounded.

"Shen Lang's experience is indeed extraordinary. If he can be put to my use, he will be a great help..."

Shen Lang completed over a hundred missions flawlessly, making Jiang Mengxuan remember this man completely.

However, when she flipped to the only record of her defeat in battle, she couldn't help but frown.

"In early April, Shen Lang led a hundred men to Fengsui Fort. In late May, Fengsui Fort fell. Of the entire guard, only Shen Lang survived; the remaining ninety-nine men were all wiped out..."

This account of the experience is written in a vague and ambiguous way, as if it is hiding something.

The discipline of the Great Chu army is extremely strict. Any soldier who deserts in the face of battle, regardless of the reason, will be punished according to military law.

But Shen Lang seemed to be completely unharmed, and this was Shen Lang's last combat record in the Bingzhou border army. Not long after, he was discharged and recruited into the Jingwei Division.

"Could there be some unspeakable secret behind this?"

Thinking of this, she opened the files of the Bingzhou military camp again.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that Jiang Shangxian had also been rewarding his troops in the Bingzhou military camp during the Battle of Fengsuibao.

She immediately spoke up: "Shuyue, summon the Imperial Uncle to the palace immediately. I have important matters to ask him."

Before long, Jiang Shangxian came running up to Jiang Mengxuan, his eyes narrowed and his face full of smiles: "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

He thought to himself: "My niece is the most reliable. She must have prepared gold, waiting for me to come and go. I must hide it well. This is the capital for my future pleasures."

Sure enough, the moment Jiang Mengxuan saw Jiang Shangxian, she said, "Uncle, I summoned you to the palace for two matters."

The first thing, of course, is the thousand taels of gold I promised my uncle during the day; I have already prepared it.

As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of silver notes from under the desk, twelve in total, each worth one thousand taels of silver.

Upon seeing these silver notes, Jiang Shangxian's eyes widened, and he repeatedly said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will certainly handle the matter of the Jinling Secret Realm properly."

As he spoke, he took the silver notes from Jiang Mengxuan's hands, his heart screaming: I want a massage, I want a bath, I want to be surrounded by women!

But what he said next caused Jiang Shangxian's expression to change drastically.

"Uncle, you were once ordered by the late emperor to go to Bingzhou to oversee the troops and reward them. Do you remember the Battle of Fengsui Fortress?"