Chapter 121: If His Highness Wants Me To Do This, Can He Guarantee My Safety?

Li Rong listened to Li Chuan’s long-winded comforting for a while. Finally, she felt a bit tired and asked Jinglan to take away the now-cold eggs. Lifting her eyes to Li Chuan, she said, “Enough. Stop rambling on about this and that. If you have time, help me find out something.”

Li Chuan, hearing Li Rong’s request, quickly said, “Go ahead.”

“Has the chief examiner for the imperial examination been decided?”

Li Chuan didn’t expect Li Rong to ask this question. He instinctively replied, “It should have been decided.”

“So early?” Li Rong frowned. Li Chuan thought for a moment and said, “Normally, it wouldn’t be this early. After all, the imperial exam has never been considered a big deal. Those who pass—well, the aristocratic families already have arrangements for them. As for those from humble backgrounds, they either end up as minor officials with no real power or get sent to remote regions and never return. The person in charge has usually just been the Director of the Examination Department. Even having a Vice Minister oversee it would be considered high-level. So originally, it should have been decided later. But this year is strange. Minister Wang said that this year, the court truly regards selecting talent as a top priority. He even volunteered to His Majesty that he would serve as the chief examiner.”

As Li Chuan spoke, he couldn’t help but smile. He picked up a teacup from the side, held it in his hand, and looked at Li Rong. “Since he spoke up, who could say otherwise? The Minister himself as chief examiner—who could override him? So even if it’s not officially confirmed, it’s practically certain.”

Li Rong said nothing, deep in thought. Li Chuan took a sip of tea and then earnestly brought up her marriage again: “Actually, you shouldn’t be too upset. When the old goes, the new comes. How about I take you to meet some good prospects soon? Maybe you’ll find someone you like—”

“Enough, enough,” Li Rong interrupted with a frown. “You should worry about yourself first. How’s your marriage situation?”

“Do I have any say in that?” Li Chuan laughed. “I’ve said it before—whatever they want. Whenever they want to choose a Crown Princess, that’s when they’ll choose. Whoever they want, I don’t care. But now, guess what?” Li Chuan leaned closer, his tone mysterious. “Sister, guess what happened?”

“What?”

“Father and Mother secretly agreed,” Li Chuan’s eyes were full of barely contained joy, “to postpone the selection.”

“Postpone it?”

Li Rong exclaimed in surprise, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized why.

The Shangguan family had already given up on marrying into the Crown Prince’s household and was busy cleaning up its own internal problems. The competition for the Crown Princess position now fell among the other aristocratic families.

For Li Ming, he didn’t want the Crown Princess position to fall into the hands of any aristocratic family. That would only strengthen Li Chuan’s ties to them. He preferred Li Chuan to marry a woman from a humble background—or even not marry at all.

After all, whether Li Chuan’s position as Crown Prince was stable or not didn’t matter to him. In fact, he didn’t want it to be stable.

With both sides having their own agendas and no strong pressure from the Shangguan family, the Crown Princess selection was now at a stalemate.

“That’s actually a good thing,” Li Rong nodded.

Li Chuan cracked some sunflower seeds and, seeing that Li Rong didn’t seem displeased, asked curiously, “Sister, aren’t you worried that if I don’t marry, my position as Crown Prince will be unstable?”

“If not marrying is enough to make your position unstable,” Li Rong turned to look at him with a faint smile, “then your position was never stable to begin with.”

Li Chuan frowned slightly, looking puzzled, so Li Rong laid it out plainly for him:

“Chuan’er, remember this—if you want your position in court to be stable, it comes down to three things: money, troops, and people.

If you have money, you have provisions, soldiers, and people to work for you.

If you have people who speak and act on your behalf, your words carry weight.

And if you have troops, you can protect both your money and your people.

If you have these three things, whether you marry or not won’t affect your position.

If you don’t have them,” Li Rong’s smile turned cold, “then even if you marry countless noblewomen, in the eyes of others, you’re nothing but a puppet.”

“If one day they need to replace a puppet,” Li Rong tapped her palm lightly with her fan, “do you think it would be difficult?”

Just like in her previous life—Li Chuan had married five women, yet when Li Ming set up the Inspectorate for Prince Su internally and seized military power in the northwest externally, leaving control in Xiao Su’s hands, who was left by Li Chuan’s side then?

“I actually understand everything you’re saying, Sister,” Li Chuan said with a bitter smile. “It’s just that Mother doesn’t understand.”

“It’s not that she doesn’t understand,” Li Rong replied. “People just want to take the easiest path. She wants you to marry because she thinks marriage can bring you those three things. That’s far easier than you acquiring them yourself.”

Li Chuan nodded, then turned his gaze into the distance, looking somewhat weary. Li Rong patted his hand.

“Don’t dwell on it. Go back early. Have someone keep an eye on Father’s little inner cabinet—see who he’s trying to place in there. Block the ones that need blocking. Positions like that can’t be given away.”

“Understood.”

Li Chuan agreed. He knew how to handle these matters.

After giving her instructions, Li Rong had Li Chuan leave quietly through the back door and told him to visit less often in the future.

It was too risky for him to come to the Princess’s residence now—better to avoid it.

Once Li Chuan left, Li Rong returned to the courtyard and lay on the rocking chair for a while. Suddenly, the courtyard felt empty.

She turned and asked Jinglan, “Has the Prince Consort’s stuff all been moved out?”

“He didn’t take much with him,” Jinglan replied as she tidied up. Li Rong looked at her. “Why? Planning to buy everything new?”

“The Prince Consort said,” Jinglan crouched down and whispered, “he’ll be back sooner or later, so he didn’t bother moving everything.”

Hearing this, Li Rong suddenly felt that the desolate air in the courtyard had vanished.

She couldn’t help asking a few more questions: “Did he move back to the Pei family estate?”

“No,” Jinglan shook her head. “Prime Minister Pei had a residence in the capital. The Prince Consort moved there.”

Li Rong nodded. After lying on the rocking chair for a while, she got up and instructed, “Find Tuoba Yan and have him ask around the houses near the Prince Consort’s residence. See if anyone’s willing to sell. If they are, even if the price is high, it’s fine.”

Jinglan couldn’t hold back her laughter as she looked at Li Rong. “Your Highness said not to waste money, didn’t you?”

“Buying property is an investment,” Li Rong said righteously. “How can that be called wasting money?”

The maid beside her, Jingmei, who was massaging her legs, couldn’t help but burst out laughing with a “pfft.”

Li Rong raised an eyebrow at her, and Jingmei quickly smiled and apologized, “Forgive me, Your Highness, this servant didn’t mean to laugh at you.”

There was no need for further explanation—Li Rong already knew what they were laughing about. She lifted her fan and lightly tapped Jingmei, scolding playfully, “Cheeky girl.”

The three of them were joking around in the courtyard when the head guard of the Inspectorate walked in.

Ever since Xun Chuan left Huajing, the head guard had been replaced by a man named Zhao Chongjiu. He was personally trained by Xun Chuan, and Li Rong had tested him several times before appointing him. He carried a tray of scrolls—reports sent from all over the empire.

After Li Rong was reborn, she had Pei Wenxuan rebuild the secret intelligence network from her previous life. But aside from the network Pei Wenxuan managed, she had her own backup system.

She never liked betting everything on a single possibility. Pei Wenxuan was useful, but that didn’t mean she would rely on him alone.

Later, when she established the Inspectorate, these networks were merged into it. Once Xun Chuan left the capital to set up branches across the empire, the expansion of these intelligence networks doubled in speed—especially in the northwest and southwest.

In the northwest, with Qin Lin present, Xun Chuan’s work was smooth. In the southwest, Lin Feibai hadn’t made much progress yet, but since there were no powerful aristocratic officials there, Li Rong’s agents could set up operations much more easily.

Of course, this also meant one thing—money.

The Inspectorate had funds allocated by Li Ming, but that was far from enough. She had to dip into her private treasury. At the current rate of spending, she wouldn’t last long. Fortunately, last year Pei Wenxuan had made a series of strategic investments—bringing in Gu Chenzi, improving agriculture in her fief of Qingzhou, acquiring real estate and various businesses, and even enlisting Tuoba Yan to help manage finances. Thanks to that, her accounts were just barely holding together this year.

Zhao Chongjiu presented the reports respectfully:

“Your Highness, these are the latest updates from all regions.”

Li Rong acknowledged him and began flipping through the documents quickly.

As she read, Zhao Chongjiu continued, “Your Highness, the matter of the divorce has been mostly clarified.”

“Speak.”

Li Rong’s voice was calm as her eyes scanned Xun Chuan’s report on the northwest.

There was no large-scale war now, but this winter was bitterly cold. Many cattle and sheep froze to death beyond the Great Xia defense line, leading to several small raids—quick strikes on individual cities to seize supplies before retreating.

Qin Lin had been sent to the front lines to defend a city. He recruited locals who had lost their grain to raids, adding them to the army, along with the Qin family’s original troops. The biggest problem now was lack of funds—he wanted Li Rong to find a way to raise money.

“Last night in the palace, Su Rongqing had a private discussion with His Majesty. After that, His Majesty issued an edict to cut the Inspectorate’s budget and to require Qingzhou to submit half its tax revenue to the court to support the northern army.”

Hearing this, Li Rong paused for a moment. Then she pulled out the report from Lin Feibai in the southwest.

The southwest had seen several major battles this year. Lin Feibai had risen quickly, but now faced a problem—he needed to bribe officials to secure further promotions.

In short, the same issue: lack of money.

Seeing the word “money” again gave Li Rong a headache. Thinking back to Li Ming’s original edict demanding funds from her, she felt a wave of frustration. Without looking up from the report, she asked:

“Who delivered the message from Father?”

“The Emperor went to Consort Rou’s quarters,” Zhao Chongjiu replied calmly. “After returning, he changed his mind.”

Hearing this, Li Rong smiled. “Looks like Pei Wenxuan’s prediction was right.”

There was indeed a rift in the alliance between Consort Rou and Su Rongqing.

Otherwise, since Su Rongqing had already proposed a plan, Consort Rou should have fully supported its implementation instead of suddenly changing course midway.

This gave Li Rong some relief.

Su Rongqing knew the financial situation of the Princess’s residence all too well. His suggestion to cut her income struck her weakest point. Fortunately, Consort Rou didn’t follow his advice—she had misjudged the depth of Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan’s relationship.

But such coincidences wouldn’t happen often.

Su Rongqing would surely realize that Consort Rou now harbored resentment toward him. Since he intended to use her, he wouldn’t allow that resentment to fester. He would definitely take steps to repair their cooperation.

And Li Rong could not give him that chance.

As she pondered this, her thoughts shifted to the matter of the imperial examination’s chief examiner. Suddenly, a name came to mind.

She quickly looked up at Zhao Chongjiu and ordered, “Go contact Cui Yulang for me. Ask him if he still intends to proceed with what he mentioned to me last time.”

Zhao Chongjiu raised his hand respectfully and replied, “Yes, Your Highness.”

Zhao Chongjiu worked efficiently. That very night, he found Cui Yulang in a narrow alley.

Cui Yulang had just left a pleasure house, staggering drunkenly down the street, reciting poetry as he walked. Halfway along, he saw a man standing in the middle of the alley.

Zhao Chongjiu, dressed in the Inspectorate’s uniform with a saber at his waist, stood silently. Cui Yulang frowned, leaned against the wall, took a swig of wine, and said, “What’s this, sir? Have I committed some crime that warrants a trip to the Inspectorate?”

Zhao Chongjiu’s expression didn’t change. He simply said, “Her Highness sent me to ask you something.”

At those words, Cui Yulang lifted his head, his gaze turning cold. Then Zhao Chongjiu continued, “She wants to know—do you still intend to go through with what you told her last time?”

Cui Yulang froze on the spot.

His expression shifted several times, as though struggling internally. Zhao Chongjiu frowned and pressed him when he remained silent, “Lord Cui?”

“My lord,” Cui Yulang hesitated for a long time, then took another drink before finally speaking, “Then please ask Her Highness this for me—if I agree to her plan, can she guarantee my life will be safe?”

Zhao Chongjiu nodded. “Anything else?”

“Yes,” Cui Yulang said solemnly. “After it’s done, will Her Highness help me investigate a case and bring justice for a friend of mine?”

Zhao Chongjiu confirmed again, “Any other questions?”

“If Her Highness agrees to both conditions, please inform me,” Cui Yulang said with a look of grim resolve. “Three days from now, on the rest day, I will await Her Highness in a private room on the top floor of Deshun Inn. But before coming, please make sure the Prince Consort does not know.”

“Compared to the Prince Consort, I am but an ant,” Cui Yulang bowed respectfully. “I beg Her Highness to show mercy.”

Zhao Chongjiu: “…”

He didn’t know why, but something about this felt oddly complicated. Still, he nodded. Seeing that Cui Yulang had nothing more to say, Zhao turned back to deliver the message.

Zhao Chongjiu repeated Cui Yulang’s words almost verbatim. Li Rong, soaking her feet as she listened, heard Jingmei mutter, “Your Highness, why did he suddenly bring up the Prince Consort? And what does he mean by asking for mercy?”

Li Rong gave Jingmei a calm glance and said in a tone that was both tolerant and faintly pitying, “He’s timid. We need to be understanding.”

Then she turned to Zhao Chongjiu and instructed, “Go back and tell him to meet me at Qingyue Teahouse in three days.”

Zhao nodded and was about to leave when Li Rong added, “And tell him to stop overthinking things. Act normal.”

Zhao Chongjiu agreed—he also thought Lord Cui’s mind didn’t seem quite right.

When Zhao delivered the message, Cui Yulang froze for a moment upon hearing the new location. Then he sighed with a trace of emotion, “Her Highness really knows how to play.”

Zhao looked at him and said flatly, “Her Highness also said—”

This made Cui Yulang tense up again.

“—to act normal.”

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