After being reborn, I went on a killing spree in the imperial court.

Cao Yuan returned to the Xue residence.

Upon entering the Xue residence, one sees Cao Shang serving tea to Madam Xue in the inner hall, with Xue Xinian sitting to the side.

Xue Xinian truly treated his new daughter-in-law the same as everyone else.

Cao Yuan went straight into the inner hall. "Oh my, I've come at just the right time, just in time for my sister's morning and evening greetings."

"Why are you back again?" Cao Shang stood up and asked impatiently.

"Ah Yuan, you've arrived so early today!" Xue Xinian's face beamed with joy.

"This is my residence, so I can come and go as I please!" Cao Yuan said with a smile.

"Come on, you must also serve me tea!" Cao Yuan sat down next to Madam Xue, sitting on equal footing with her.

"Cao Yuan, are you never going to stop?!" Cao Shang roared.

"Xue Xinian, come here!" Cao Yuan called out.

"Ah Yuan! You speak." Xue Xinian obediently walked up to Cao Yuan.

"Tell me, should your son Shang'er serve me tea?"

Without even thinking, Xue Xinian said, "A Yuan was the one who entered first, so it's only right that way!"

"Xue Lang..."

"That's good! Cao Shang, did you hear that? It's only right that you serve me tea!"

"I had already canceled this rule, but Mother probably wanted to give you, the new bride, a hard time by making you serve tea!"

Madam Xue paled and quickly explained, "No, Princess, that's not how it is! At worst, we won't serve tea anymore."

"In that case, my dear sister, I can say that I have helped you!"

Aren't you going to thank me?

Cao Shang left the inner hall, unconvinced.

As soon as Cao Yuan returned to the house and reached the door, she heard Jin Zhu arguing with someone.

"This is His Highness's residence! Take all your belongings away!"

"Why should we! His Majesty has already decreed that Princess Huafeng will marry into the Xue family. Our Highness is pregnant and must live in the east wing!"

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Cao Shang's maid, Anping.

"What's all the noise about? You're all from the palace, what kind of behavior is this?"

Cao Yuan came in from outside the door.

“Your Highness, Princess Huafeng insists on staying in this room! This east wing room used to belong to us.”

“Princess Huayang, His Highness is unwell and needs to stay in the east wing. Please understand, Your Highness.” Anping spoke with her head held high, showing no politeness whatsoever.

Cao Yuan sat lazily on the daybed, one leg propped up on the bed, and said bluntly, "I, the Empress, am not considerate!"

"Did you hear that? Get out of here right now!" Jinzhu said.

"Princess, please stay in another room! It wouldn't be appropriate for the Prince Consort to say anything to your face when he arrives!"

"How dare you! How dare you, a mere maid, speak such words about our Highness! How many heads do you have to chop off!"

Jinzhu said excitedly, and Cao Yuan looked at her with satisfaction, as she seemed much more mature than before.

"Yes, believe it or not, I'll chop off your head!" Cao Yuan said sternly.

Anping shrank back in fright.

"What's all this noise about!"

The other three people also came over.

"Your Highness, Princess, Princess Huayang insists on staying in this room! She wants us to move out!"

"He even said he was going to kill me!"

Anping quickly filed a complaint.

"Xue Xinian, this room is mine. Tell your dog to get out of here! I want to rest for a while!"

"Anping, what's wrong with you! This house belongs to A-Yuan. Didn't we say we were going to live in the west?"

"Hurry up and pack your things and take them out!" This time, Xue Xinian readily agreed without saying a word.

"Elder sister, our marriage was arranged by the Emperor, so we should be equals! Who are you trying to impress with your arrogance?"

"It's not your place to chop down my men!"

Cao Yuan stood up, a half-smile on her face, and said, "People are not equal from birth! For example, I am the daughter of the late Empress, while your mother was just an insignificant palace maid..."

"Cao Yuan, you dare to humiliate me! I'll strangle you!"

"Shang'er, no!" Cao Shang reached out and grabbed Cao Yuan's neck, and Xue Xinian and the others quickly pulled Cao Shang away.

The room was in complete chaos. Cao Yuan stood there watching her go crazy, wanting the Xue family to know that their days would never be peaceful again.

"Is Princess Huayang at home?"

There was a sound outside.

The people inside came out upon hearing the noise.

It was Eunuch Wang standing in the courtyard with an imperial edict.

"Eunuch Wang!"

"They're from the palace!" Jinzhu exclaimed.

Everyone knelt on the ground.

"His Majesty has specially dispatched me to deliver the imperial decree!"

Xue Xinian knelt on the ground with a smile on his face, as if he had known all along that he would come to the mansion to announce the imperial decree.

The eunuch Wang opened the imperial edict: "Princess Huayang is virtuous and talented, and unparalleled in loyalty and courage. She has devoted herself wholeheartedly to the affairs of the state, offering numerous wise strategies; on the battlefield, she has bravely led the charge, defeating countless enemies. Her achievements are remarkable, which greatly pleases me. I hereby bestow upon her the title of Prince Shuo, appointing her to oversee the Ministry of War, and awarding her a thousand taels of gold, a hundred bolts of silk and satin, and a certain amount of land. I hope that she will make new contributions to my empire and the well-being of the people. This is my decree."

"Your Highness? Your Highness has been granted the title of Prince! What an honor!" Jinzhu was overjoyed.

"My God, our Xue family is truly bringing glory to our family!" Old Madam Xue looked up to the sky and roared. Anyone who didn't know better would think that the honor was bestowed upon Xue Xinian.

“Princess Huayang… oh no, this old servant misspoke. Your Highness, please accept the decree!” said Eunuch Wang.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great favor!" Cao Yuan accepted the imperial edict with both hands.

Cao Shang got up and left, smashing things up in his room.

Xue Xinian followed her in, pulled her into his arms, and comforted her, "Shang'er, don't upset the baby!"

"Father is too biased! He won't want the three of us to be together forever, will he? I don't want to be with Cao Yuan!" Cao Shang cried, nestled in Xue Xinian's arms.

"Now that she's a prince and oversees the Ministry of War, her power is growing. We'd better not provoke her. You should just focus on your pregnancy!"

"This isn't good for the baby. Should I send someone to find a doctor to take a look?"

Cao Shang wiped away her tears. "No need. I know my own body. You go and do your thing!"

"Shang'er, I won't be coming home for dinner tonight. The Ministry of Rites has been quite busy lately!"

After saying that, Xue Xinian left in a hurry.

How could Cao Shang swallow this insult?

-

Cao Yuan was granted the title of King, temporarily taking over the position previously held by the Fourth Prince.

In other words, she could attend court openly and legitimately.

above the hall.

Where is the Censorate?

"Wei Chen is here!"

"Is there any progress in the investigation of the four princes' treason and collusion with the enemy, which I ordered you to pursue?"

Minister Liu of the Censorate reported, "Your Majesty! Your humble servant has not yet investigated the matter thoroughly!"

The Censorate was previously under the control of the Fourth Prince. Although the Fourth Prince was in prison, they still dared not investigate.

"In that case, let's hand it over to Minister Chu of the Court of Judicial Review..."

The emperor was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly remembered that Chu Yan had already passed away.

The Prime Minister lowered his head even further.

Cao Yuan felt a dull ache in her heart, a feeling she couldn't quite describe.

Cao Ji suddenly stood up and said, "Your subject is willing to investigate!"

Cao Yuan frowned; he probably had ulterior motives for taking the initiative to investigate the case.

Rather than...

“Father, may I assist my elder brother in investigating the case?” Cao Yuan also stepped forward.

"You want to investigate too?"

"Fourth Princess, although you are brave and skilled in battle, you are not good at investigating cases, and you also have to manage the Ministry of War!"

It seems that Cao Ji did not want Cao Yuan to get involved.

"Although I am not good at investigating cases, I have learned a lot from Lord Chu. Why don't I assist you, my brother?"

"That's right!"

Come out.

Cao Yuan called out to the Prime Minister, "Prime Minister Chu, please wait!"

"Your Highness, Prince Shuo!" Prime Minister Chu bowed respectfully.

"When I went to the Dali Temple last time, they said that Lord Chu had passed away. Is that true?"

"Of course, Yan'er's health has never been good!"

"May I ask what kind of illness it is?"

The Prime Minister of Chu hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's tuberculosis!"

"If Your Highness has nothing else, I'll head back now. My wife has recently fallen ill, and I need to go back to take care of her!"

"Prime Minister Chu, please accept my condolences!"

"By the way, before my son passed away, he instructed me to give Your Highness something. Your Highness, please remember to come to my Prime Minister's residence to retrieve it yourself."

"Understood, thank you, Prime Minister."

Cao Yuan sighed as she watched Chu Xiang's aged figure disappear into the distance.

"Your Highness, you're so heartbroken over Lord Chu. What are we supposed to do?" Cao Ji patted her on the shoulder from behind.

"What do you mean by this, Your Majesty? As a colleague, it is truly a pity that I was unable to attend Lord Chu's funeral!"

"If Lord Chu were still alive, we wouldn't need to worry about these things."

"Brother, have you decided where you want to start your investigation?"

Cao Yuan changed the subject.

“Naturally, we’ll start with the trial. When will my sister have time?” Cao Ji said.

"There's no time like the present, let's go for the interrogation today."

"it is good!"