met free Page 223
Page 223
"Dean Chen, let's do as you say."
Chen Pingping bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"
"Given the current situation, the priority is to stabilize Li Chang'an!"
Emperor Qing's expression returned to calm. "We must begin collecting evidence of Li Chang'an's treacherous intentions."
"I hope that this time, the Oversight Council will not disappoint me again!"
The main reason why Li Chang'an grew into such a behemoth was the dereliction of duty by the Surveillance Bureau.
Because of the erroneous intelligence from Western Qin, Emperor Qing made the wrong judgment and sent Li Chang'an to the border army.
Several days later, at the Dragon Guard Manor.
Fan Ruoruo, Zhan Pianpian, and Ye Ling'er are playing mahjong with Lin Wan'er.
In front of Lin Wan'er, there was already a pile of loose silver and silver notes.
Fan Ruoruo held a card in her hand, hesitating for a long time before daring not to play it.
Lin Wan'er smiled slightly, "Princess Qin, why are you making me rush you again!"
Fan Ruoruo gave a wry smile and played the card in her hand, "Two of Bamboo!"
Lin Wan'er, who had already won the hand, remained silent, and Fan Ruoruo breathed a long sigh of relief.
After a round of cards, Ye Ling'er happily played a two of bamboo.
"Hehe! This was played by my older sister, Wan'er, you shouldn't be playing this hand!"
Lin Wan'er looked coldly at Ye Ling'er, "You should call me Princess. You've already lost the right to call me Wan'er!"
Ye Ling'er's eyes were empty; she had nothing left to lose, and had reached the point of losing even to the point of using proper etiquette and address.
"Yes, yes, Your Highness~"
Lin Wan'er's lips curled slightly as she pushed over the tiles in front of her. "I won! I've been waiting for your two of bamboo!"
Ye Ling'er immediately protested, "Sister also played the two of bamboo just now! Why didn't you win against her!"
Lin Wan'er set this rule specifically to win against Ye Ling'er, letting Fan Ruoruo go and allowing Ye Ling'er to light the cannon.
"Ye Ling'er, what's wrong? You can't accept defeat!"
"From this round onwards, call me Princess Yichen!"
Ye Ling'er didn't know why, but Lin Wan'er always seemed to target her from time to time.
After thinking it over, she concluded that it must be because she got married first that Lin Wan'er was unhappy!
Ye Ling'er pleaded, "Let Qingwen do it, I don't want to play anymore, I don't want to play anymore."
Lin Wan'er said sternly, "If you leave the competition, I will cut off Li Chang'an and Ye Zhong's supplies!"
Lin Wan'er was in charge of the Imperial Treasury, but Li Chang'an's grain supplies were provided by the Ministry of Revenue, and Li Chang'an had never relied on grain supplies from the capital.
But Ye Ling'er didn't know that her husband, father, and brother were all in the Northwest, so she dared not offend Lin Wan'er at all.
Ye Ling'er and Zhan Pianpian have never won against Lin Wan'er since Lin Wan'er started playing at the table.
Unable to fight back or back down, Ye Ling'er was truly caught in a dilemma.
Fortunately, at this moment, Gao Wuniang quickly walked in and reported the news to Lin Wan'er, which saved Ye Ling'er.
"Your Highness, His Majesty has issued a decree."
"His Highness Prince Qin is appointed Prefect of the Capital, and the former Prefect of the Capital, Mei Zhili, is demoted to Prefect of the Capital."
"By imperial decree, His Highness Prince Qin is granted the privilege of entering the palace with a sword and shoes, entering the court without hastening, and being exempt from naming rites during audiences; he is granted all these special honors, placing him one rank above the Crown Prince!"
"Furthermore, His Highness Prince Qin will be rewarded with three times his princely salary, 100,000 taels of silver, and 10,000 taels of gold..."
Upon hearing this news, Lin Wan'er smiled with relief.
"Your Majesty is bringing out ancient rituals; the salary and gold and silver are just for show and don't count."
"The most crucial thing is that he was granted the title of Prince and appointed Prefect of the Capital, along with special honors that surpassed those of the Crown Prince."
All three princesses knew that Lin Wan'er was Li Chang'an's best friend and knew even more than they did.
Therefore, there are no taboos about discussing these matters at the Dragon Guard Villa.
Fan Ruoruo slowly said, "So, the Great Qing Kingdom will now have two crown princes?"
Zhan Pianpian blinked her clear, large eyes. "Your Crown Prince has no merits and no talents. Why doesn't Your Majesty just depose him?"
The astute Lin Wan'er had already guessed that Li Chang'an was finally coming back soon.
"Your Highnesses, I have important matters to attend to today, so I will take my leave now."
After the three princesses saw Lin Wan'er off, Lin Wan'er turned around and slapped Ye Ling'er on the butt.
"Ye Ling'er, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you off the hook for now."
After saying that, Lin Wan'er smiled and walked away.
Zhan Pianpian asked cautiously, "Ling'er, how did you offend Her Highness the Princess?"
Ye Ling'er said with a mournful face, "How should I know!"
Fan Ruoruo chuckled softly, as if she had noticed a hidden clue.
Half a month later, Li Chang'an led two groups of dragon cavalry back to the outskirts of the capital.
The Crown Prince, the First Prince, the Third Prince, and high-ranking civil and military officials went ten miles outside the city to greet them.
Li Chang'an could see banners obscuring the sun and music filling the air from afar, creating a lively scene.
As Li Chang'an rode closer, the Crown Prince respectfully bowed and clasped his hands, while everyone else knelt down.
"Welcome back in triumph, Your Highness the King of Qin!"
Li Chang'an dismounted and glanced at the kneeling crowd and the fluttering banners.
Immediately, his expression darkened.
The banners are wrong, and the music is wrong too!
Chapter 154 Execution of a Second-Rank Official in the Street! The Crown Prince's Adultery Exposed! (33)
Li Chang'an's troops included the Shadow Guards and two elite cavalry units.
There were also two prison carts, one for Ashina Shabi, the Khan of the Northern Barbarians, and one for Subida, the Chanyu of the Western Barbarians.
The young emperor of Western Qin was rewarded for offering land, and he traveled by horse-drawn carriage the entire way.
Faced with a sea of officials kneeling on the ground, Li Chang'an did not tell them to get up.
Where are the officials from the Ministry of Rites?
Li Chang'an's voice was devoid of emotion, yet it was extremely oppressive.
A sixth-rank official from the Ministry of Rites crawled out from the crowd, his voice trembling slightly.
"Your Highness, I am here."
Li Chang'an asked, "You arranged this procession to welcome me. Do you see any problems with that?"
After Li Chang'an finished speaking, more than a dozen Shadow Guards dismounted and stared menacingly at the sixth-rank official.
This official from the Ministry of Rites held a low position, but he had heard about Li Chang'an's killing of Gong Dian and Qin Yi.
He knew perfectly well whether the ceremonial procession was appropriate or not.
He is very clear-headed now, and if he takes on this responsibility, he may lose his life.
"Your Highness, there are four more palace lanterns and twelve more banners. The music being played is the same music used to welcome Your Majesty back then."
The man explained it so clearly that the prince's face instantly changed color.
This was originally a trap set for Li Chang'an. They were to greet Li Chang'an with the etiquette due to an emperor. If Li Chang'an didn't realize it, a large number of censors would immediately impeach him.
Seeing that this junior official was so clever, Li Chang'an didn't make things difficult for him. "Is there anything else you want to say?"
Which official in the capital wasn't clever? This official from the Ministry of Rites immediately resigned.
"The welcoming procession was approved by Vice Minister Xin!"
Upon hearing this, Xin Qiwu immediately scrambled out of the crowd.
Xin Qiwu, who was a fourth-rank official in the Court of State Ceremonial, was promoted to a third-rank official in the Ministry of Rites. His official career was going very well.
Before he could speak, Li Chang'an casually remarked, "Oh, isn't this Xin Qiwu, a disciple of the Crown Prince?"
Xin Qiwu knelt on the ground, his back covered in sweat.
Digging a pit for the King of Qin and misusing the etiquette for welcoming the emperor—if you take responsibility for this, you'll be beheaded!
"Your Highness, it must be a mistake made by the clerk in charge of the matter..."
He had barely opened his mouth when Li Chang'an lost patience and stopped listening to him.
"Li Chengru, I have not yet resigned as the wartime Grand Commander."
If someone is found to be plotting a rebellion, can they be executed on the spot?