I traveled through time and space to become the mistress of a royal palace. My daily routine is to a

Chapter 259 The end of the road

Minister Zhong was indeed afraid, but Song Changwei couldn't say that! If people knew about it and spread it out, Minister Zhong was afraid of a maid... then how could the Zhong family keep its reputation?

"My lady, you have misunderstood. Father has learned about the vandalism of the Princess's villa. Father is deeply saddened by this, but this matter still needs to be investigated carefully."

"Investigation? Are you saying that our eldest princess has wronged your Zhong family?"

Jin Xin jumped up immediately!

Their eldest princess is the master. No matter how high the Zhong family's official position is, they are just servants of the royal family. What reason do they have to wrongly accuse a servant? It's a joke!

"My lady, you misunderstood. Father meant that he would personally go to the princess's house to talk about this matter. So please go back for the time being. How about I arrange the carriage?"

Song Changwei's attitude was very humble, which surprised Jin Xin a little. In the eyes of the world, people of the Zhong family were all arrogant.

Since the other party has already said so, Jin Xin naturally cannot be unreasonable. She snorted and nodded.

"You are quite sensible. I heard that you married the eldest daughter of the Zhong family. This eldest daughter has a good reputation, but it's a pity that she was born in the Zhong family."

Song Changwei was not annoyed, he just smiled gently, neither humble nor arrogant.

"My wife and I are in love with each other. It has nothing to do with which family she is from. Thank you for the compliment, young lady."

"Then arrange for a carriage. I am tired after standing for several hours. I will return to the mansion to report now."

After Jin Xin finished speaking, she glared at the gate of the Zhong family, turned around and walked away quickly, and the maid behind her hurriedly followed.

Song Changwei did not dare to delay and quickly ordered the servants to bring several carriages for the girls to get on. The carriage convoy drove from the Zhong Mansion to the Princess's Mansion.

Overnight, the joke that Minister Zhong was so scolded by his maid that he dared not go out spread throughout the capital. Upon hearing the rumor, Minister Zhong was so angry that he smashed the pens, ink, paper and inkstone in his study.

But no matter how angry he was, he still had to fulfill his promise, so the next day Shangshu Zhong stood in front of the princess with a smile on his face.

The eldest princess sat lazily in the main seat, looking down at Minister Zhong who was standing below her, and snorted coldly after a long time.

"The Zhong family has been so prosperous recently that I almost thought I couldn't hire Minister Zhong anymore."

"I am terrified! Princess, what are you talking about? I have been able to achieve my current position thanks to the kindness of Your Majesty, and I will devote myself to serving the Great Sage."

"Okay, let's not talk about the scene anymore. How do you plan to reconcile with me?"

The eldest princess' voice was so calm that no emotion could be heard, as if she was just discussing today's weather, but Minister Zhong broke out in a cold sweat on his back.

The eldest princess' words were ambiguous. On the surface, she was asking Minister Zhong how to compensate her for her losses, but in reality, of course, it would not be that simple.

Shangshu Zhong is an important official in the court. Although he holds a high position, it is only a civilian position and he has no power to mobilize soldiers. Naturally, he is not allowed to keep killers.

Referring to the Lan family in the past, they hired so many killers, but in the end, weren’t they all killed?

If Minister Zhong admitted today that he had sent those assassins, how would he explain the origins of these assassins?

If you say she was hired, then you need to provide evidence. If you say she was not hired, then she was hired by him!

What was the purpose of a civil official raising these assassins? The Lan family was finally convicted of treason and their entire clan was executed. What about the Zhong family? Would they also be charged with treason?

So although the eldest princess' question seemed to be a simple one, the hidden meaning in it was chilling. If the Zhong family wanted to skip this matter, they would naturally have to bleed heavily. It all depended on what the eldest princess wanted.

"I am willing to let the princess handle this for you, as long as she calms down."

After saying this, Minister Zhong closed his eyes, lifted up the corner of his robe, knelt down and knocked his head to the ground, quietly waiting for the eldest princess's reaction.

The surroundings were so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. The princess picked up the teacup on the table, held the bottom of the cup with one hand, and lifted the lid with the other hand to stir the tea leaves. She took a sip elegantly, then covered the cup and put it back on the table.

During this time, the only sounds that could be heard were the princess' shallow breathing and the subtle sounds of porcelain colliding, each of which hit Shangshu Zhong's heart like a hammer.

Finally, after a long silence, the eldest princess spoke.

"After all, this matter is not a big deal. Minister Zhong does not need to be so panicked."

"There are no trivial matters in the royal family. We, as subjects, should take our master's affairs to heart."

"Minister Zhong is thoughtful. Now that my brother is not in good health and cannot come out to preside over the overall situation, I will have to do it for him. Minister Zhong has worked hard for the country over the years, so why not rest at home for a while."

As soon as the princess finished speaking, Minister Zhong collapsed and lay on the ground for a long time without being able to recover.

Such a casual statement of going home and resting completely disrupted the Zhong family.

What time is it now? The emperor is critically ill, and the crown prince has not yet been decided. The most likely successor to the throne is Prince Huai Zhao Huaijin.

And since Zhao Huaijin is not in the capital, Prince Yu still has a chance to compete. At this most critical moment, if the Zhong family is ruined, Prince Yu will no longer trust the Zhong family.

No matter how deep the conflict between the Zhong family and Prince Yu is, they are still in the same boat. Presumably, after this incident, there is no possibility for the Zhong family to repair its relationship with Prince Yu's Mansion.

Seeing that Shangshu Shu was reluctant to get up, the princess frowned in displeasure.

"Why? Minister Zhong has any objection to what I said?"

"I dare not...thank you, Your Highness."

Minister Zhong almost gritted his teeth as he thanked her. The princess naturally heard his reluctance, but so what? As long as she achieved the result she wanted, it was fine.

After returning from the Princess's Mansion, Minister Zhong began to refuse visitors because he was not feeling well, but the Princess had already spread the news.

All the civil and military officials knew that Shangshu Zhong had offended the princess and was put under house arrest in disguise, and Shangshu Zhong was helpless about it, so the Zhong family fell into decline.

Of course, Shangshu Zhong could not just sit there and wait for death, so he wrote several letters asking for help and sent them to Prince Yu's mansion.

But Prince Yu didn't care. How could Prince Yu be stupid enough to cause trouble for the Princess's Mansion for someone who was not on the same page with him and had no ability?

When Minister Zhong saw that all his letters had fallen on deaf ears, he finally used his last trick.

That day, Minister Zhong called Song Changwei to his study and handed him a letter. Song Changwei asked in confusion.

"Father, should this letter still be sent to Prince Yu's Mansion?"

"No, you go find someone in person to deliver this letter to the North."

"Northern Territory?"

"Yes, send it to the Third Prince of Dongyue."

"The third prince? Tuoba Jun?"

Minister Zhong nodded and looked at Song Changwei with hope. This was the only way out for the Zhong family.