Chapter 186

In the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace, Li Sining hadn't seen Li Chen for a long time and missed him terribly.

She thought about him while eating, thought about him while cultivating, and even thought about him while sleeping.

Even her good sister Chu Ruoyan felt that if there were no Li Chen, Li Sining would probably not be able to live.

Seeing Li Sining so depressed, even Xia Qing took leave to accompany her in refining elixirs to relieve her boredom.

But now that Li Chen had returned, Li Sining was revived on the spot, pouncing into Li Chen's arms and frantically absorbing the "nutrients" needed to survive.

"During the time I was away, did you cultivate properly?"

Hearing Li Chen say this, Li Sining felt somewhat guilty.

"Perhaps I did."

"As long as you did, I brought your cousin to you."

Li Chen wasn't very strict about Li Sining's cultivation, as long as she cultivated.

At this time, Li Sining discovered that there was also a peerless beauty beside Li Chen.

Her appearance was three parts similar to Li Sining's, but her figure was indeed very full.

Because she hadn't seen Li Chen for a long time, Li Sining only had Li Chen in her eyes and hadn't noticed there was someone else beside him just now.

Jiang Rong was entering the palace for the first time and indeed showed a very nervous feeling; hearing that there were relatives in the palace, she followed Li Chen over.

She was taking deep breaths the whole way, fearing she would do something wrong.

Hearing her mother say that there were many rules in the palace, violating the regulations would lead to beheading!

When she arrived here, she saw a beautiful young girl who could topple a country, who was said to be Aunt Yi's daughter and also Li Chen's younger sister.

From the outside, Jiang Rong was much more mature, whether in temperament or figure; she had been busy with the Jiang family's business for these few years.

Looking at Li Sining, the childishness on her body hadn't faded, a pure, sweet, and cute girl.

Actually, Li Sining was a bit older than Jiang Rong, so Jiang Rong was her cousin.

Li Sining also hadn't expected that besides her mother and Li Chen, she actually had relatives!

Jiang Rong's arrival made Li Sining feel overjoyed.

Li Sining soon came near Jiang Rong and was just about to greet her when she suddenly looked at Li Chen and asked: "Brother, is this your concubine?"

Li Chen said confidently: "That goes without saying."

Li Sining nodded, with an "I knew it" expression, which made Jiang Rong somewhat embarrassed.

Since she was Li Chen's official concubine and also her cousin, Li Sining, as the older sister, definitely had to take good care of her younger sister.

All along, she had been the one being taken care of; whether it was her several older brothers, or her mother and the Empress Dowager, they all took good care of her.

Finally having someone she could take care of, she began to familiarize Jiang Rong with the harem.

Li Chen didn't bother with her; not having returned for a period of time, there was another pile of memorials in the Imperial Study waiting for him to read.

The only things that could make Li Chen sigh were probably these.

After Li Chen left, Li Sining had already chatted with Jiang Rong for a while.

Upon learning that Jiang Rong managed so many shops by herself, Li Sining was very impressed; in her view, Jiang Rong had the feeling of a career-driven woman.

Jiang Rong hurriedly indicated that she wasn't any career-driven woman; just guarding that family business was already very difficult.

Hearing that Jiang Rong was bullied in Shanghe City, Li Sining was furious; in her view, the Jiang family could also be considered her home, and these people actually dared to snatch the Jiang family's industry; she wanted to go find the Empress Dowager to complain.

Recently, the Empress Dowager had been very good to her, and she could still rely on the Empress Dowager for this little matter.

However, Jiang Rong indicated that Li Chen had helped a lot, and now the Jiang family's industry had not only been recovered but was also thriving.

Hearing this, Li Sining finally breathed a sigh of relief; perhaps in her view, those were all her family's money, and it was unacceptable for people to snatch it away.

Actually, the ones who should breathe the biggest sigh of relief should be those people in the Shanghe City Chamber of Commerce.

If they really let Li Sining complain to the Empress Dowager, with the Empress Dowager's methods, they would definitely be in big trouble.

Li Chen was relatively benevolent, and also belonged to the type who couldn't be bothered to manage.

"By the way, we've chatted for so long, and I haven't introduced you yet."

Li Sining had been chatting with Jiang Rong and only then remembered there were two other people beside them.

Chu Ruoyan, as Li Chen's first woman and also Li Sining's good sister, she naturally introduced her emphatically.

To tell the truth, Jiang Rong was very afraid the first time she saw Chu Ruoyan; she felt Chu Ruoyan had that kind of "main palace" temperament, even stronger than the feeling on Wu Nanzhi.

In her view, Chu Ruoyan was that kind of noble young lady, a pampered young miss; she herself was a country girl and indeed had to understand etiquette in front of her.

If she offended this main palace lady, she would be beheaded!

Actually, her feeling wasn't wrong; Chu Ruoyan had entered the palace the longest, and as the Empress Dowager's person, taught by the Empress Dowager herself, her main palace temperament was definitely strong.

But she hadn't transformed for long and was born into a cultivation clan; family rules definitely existed, but not as many as noble children, and she wasn't any pampered young miss, actually being about the same as Jiang Rong.

Chu Ruoyan told her not to be nervous, showing a very kind appearance.

As the main palace, naturally, she had to get along well with Li Chen's other women, so that Li Chen could have the energy to care about state affairs.

Next, what Li Sining introduced was Li Chen's reserve concubine, Xia Qing.

Xia Qing was too lazy to explain now; anyway, everyone treated her as a concubine.

But she indeed wasn't yet; according to her, Jiang Rong's status was much more official than hers, so she told Jiang Rong not to be afraid; she should be the one afraid of Jiang Rong.

This statement made the women nearby laugh together.

Upon learning that Xia Qing was an elixir refining genius, Jiang Rong sighed: "Big sisters are truly talented and versatile; I'm the only one who can't do anything."

I don't know if it was seeing Jiang Rong somewhat disappointed, or if she had this idea long ago, but Chu Ruoyan proposed whether they should do business together.

In Chu Ruoyan's view, her family had connections, Li Sining was imperial and had prestige, Xia Qing was a powerful elixir refiner and had a sect status, plus Jiang Rong's business acumen, they could indeed create a business belonging to them.

This proposal immediately received Jiang Rong's support; she was afraid she couldn't do anything in the harem, but if it were doing business, she was still very good at it.

Li Sining felt it sounded very interesting, which meant she could earn money to spend.

Xia Qing felt this idea was not bad; she could also try how the elixir market in the Imperial Capital was; if the effect was good, the elixirs from the sect side could also be taken to sell, obtaining more income.

The four women cooperated just like that.

Chu Ruoyan hadn't expected that this plan she casually mentioned would develop and grow later.

Because she grasped the timing.

Li Chen was now about to take action against a behemoth; as long as this behemoth fell, many monopolized industries would be vacated.

Then countless families and forces would fill in and eat the dividends.

As the saying goes, when a whale falls, everything lives; that's just how it is.

With Li Chen's return this time, the harem also gradually began to become lively.

Yi Fei's palace had always been very deserted; besides Li Sining and Li Chen, very few people went there.

There were also very few palace maids in the palace, and not many people talked to her, so she just stayed like that, always in a state of not fighting or grabbing.

But today was different; three people came to her palace, two acquaintances she hadn't seen for a long time, and a young married woman.

Jiang Ningyue was Yi Fei's older sister, whom she definitely recognized; Xie Minjun was her sister-in-law, whom she had also seen, as they were all one family before.

It was just this young married woman named Dong Zhiqing she hadn't seen; hearing she was Jiang Ningyue's daughter-in-law.

"Older sister, sister-in-law, why didn't you tell me in advance when you came to the palace? I could have entertained you."

Yi Fei had no power, but she had this little ability, and could just say a word to the Imperial Kitchen.

"How would we dare to trouble you, younger sister; we will need you to take care of us more in the future."

Jiang Ningyue held Yi Fei's hand and said with a smile.

Actually, at this stage, Yi Fei still thought Jiang Rong was entering the palace as a concubine, which is why they followed; she didn't know they were also here to cling to Li Chen's thigh.

Jiang Ningyue's words made Yi Fei think her older sister was asking her to take good care of Jiang Rong.

As for the other women, they were all arranged by Wu Nanzhi.

The choice of the sleeping palace, and some precautions, Chu Ruoyan had taken Wu Nanzhi through them once, and Wu Nanzhi naturally remembered them; now it was her turn to bring the newly entered concubines.

She took very good care of Wang Yueyao, and the palace she chose for them was also very good, mainly for Li Chen's convenience.

After finishing, Wu Nanzhi also breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, being busy with these also had benefits; after all, these women were new to the Imperial Palace and relied on her very much, so she could establish a good relationship.

Wu Nanzhi didn't have the Empress Dowager's support and could only rely on her own efforts in the harem.

However, as long as she obtained Li Chen's favor, her status would be very stable.

After leaving the palace chosen by these women, Wu Nanzhi came to a relatively strange place, because this place seemed to have powerful palace maids guarding it.

Wu Nanzhi curiously asked the palace maid: "What kind of people are inside?"

The palace maid replied: "Replying to the Empress, inside are women from the north."

Originally thinking of going to establish a good relationship, but hearing Li Chen hadn't favored them yet, she just let it go.

Wu Nanzhi felt one thing was very strange, because she had just seen the appearance and figure of these two women, coupled with that mature charm, they should both be the type Li Chen liked very much.

Could it be that there was something special about them?

Not being able to figure it out, Wu Nanzhi let the Imperial Kitchen prepare some things and carried them to the Imperial Study herself. Just after entering, she saw Li Chen buried in a pile of memorials working, which made her feel a burst of heartache.

She first served Li Chen well, massaging Li Chen's shoulders.

"Your Majesty, you have been tired all the way until now; drink some porridge first."

Wu Nanzhi's words were gentle and full of love.

Don't look at how she likes to talk back to Li Chen usually; it's only because their relationship is good that she would be like this.

After Li Chen agreed, she sat in Li Chen's arms and began to feed Li Chen things to eat.

After eating enough, she asked Li Chen: "Your Majesty, is there something bothering you? Can you tell your concubine?"

Wu Nanzhi knew she couldn't help with many things, but she could be a listener, and also hoped Li Chen wouldn't keep it bottled up.

Some things are indeed better said out than suppressed.

Li Chen enjoyed the tenderness while saying: "The battle in the north was a great victory, breaking through the Ice Bear tribe's city, which is indeed a good thing, but the powerhouses of the Northern Royal Court have begun to appear, creating various harsh climates to block the Northern Army's advance, and the progress has begun to slow down."

!

According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies, Guo Guo Po Yun, the May Tian Ce Dynasty's army also couldn't fight in a climate that rained one moment, snowed the next, and hailed the next.

The best way to solve this is to dispatch Sage Realm experts to find the location where the opposing powerhouses set up the formation, and then go and attack the Sage Realm experts who set up the formation.

Which means a certain amount of assistance is needed.

Sage Realm's individual combat ability is the strongest, and Guo Guo Po Yun's army indeed doesn't have any.

This problem is not big; Li Chen can let several Sage Realm experts from the Jiuyuan Sacred Domain take action.

Besides this, there was an incident of sea beasts attacking merchant ships in the eastern waters of the May Tian Ce Dynasty.

According to the memorial submitted by the Naval Admiral, it should be the Sea Clan, not sea beasts.

Sea Clan and sea beasts are different; the Sea Clan is an alien race, a race with wisdom, while sea beasts are just monster beasts in the sea.

Because many troops in the eastern part of the May Tian Ce Dynasty were managed by the Third Prince Li Yu, he led his army south to fight the Prince of Zhennan.

The battle line in the eastern part of the May Tian Ce Dynasty was somewhat weak and needed to increase manpower to prevent emergencies.

This Naval Admiral felt that the May Tian Ce Dynasty hadn't encountered a Sea Clan attack in the last five hundred years, but that didn't mean it was impossible this time.

This problem is also not big; Li Chen let the Ministry of War temporarily transfer some troops from the central part of the May Tian Ce Dynasty over.

The biggest problem is the various impeachments by court officials and local officials; these are things that need to be investigated for evidence and handled.

It sounds like there's nothing to be afraid of, not as big as the previous problems.

However, the memorials of impeachment are numerous!

A pile has accumulated, all of which are various impeachments and reports.

Then Li Chen needs to appoint some officials to investigate.

Actually, Li Chen really wants them to find evidence before submitting memorials, but if that's the case, they won't submit memorials without evidence, leading to some harms that can't be handled in time, and also hitting the enthusiasm of ministers to submit memorials.

Ever since Li Chen ascended the throne, ministers felt that this new emperor didn't favor anyone; as long as there was a violation of the law, he would handle it.

So they submitted memorials very diligently.

Especially those few Censor-in-Chiefs, having finally encountered such an enlightened monarch, they just kept pestering Li Chen.

Things that the late emperor and other emperors couldn't handle before were all dumped on Li Chen.

Li Chen felt like they had nothing better to do, even digging up old cases from a long time ago.

Making Li Chen want to go and beat them up.

But the problem is, Li Chen really did find some unjust, false, and wrong cases.

As long as Li Chen handles one, then those who submit memorials feel: His Majesty can handle this too, and more and more people want to overturn cases.

Li Chen felt that he had to find some experts in handling cases and let them handle these.

If I have to do everything, wouldn't I be exhausted to death?

Perhaps at this moment, Xiao Ming, who was drinking with Lin Mo, didn't expect that work was coming soon.

In the Imperial Study, Wu Nanzhi heard Li Chen's work was so much, and felt a burst of comfort.

Before, she felt the emperor just attended the morning court, had nothing to do, and usually just played around.

Now that she was an Imperial Concubine, she knew the emperor's hardship.

She couldn't handle the official business Li Chen had accumulated, but she could handle other things that had accumulated.

When Chu Ruoyan entered the Imperial Study, she was very confused; wasn't it said Wu Nanzhi was here? Why couldn't she see anyone?

She only saw Li Chen sitting at a table blocked by a tablecloth.

However, Li Chen's expression at this moment was slightly relaxed and comfortable, which also made her feel much more at ease.

After all, she didn't want to see Li Chen looking sad and frowning all day long deep in her heart.

"Your concubine pays respects to Your Majesty; may Your Majesty's dragon body be healthy, and may you have ten thousand blessings and peace." Chu Ruoyan's voice was very soft.

"Oh? Does my beloved concubine have something to come here for?" Li Chen's gaze moved away from the memorials on the desk, looking at her, a hint of inquiry flashing in his eyes.

"Your Majesty handles ten thousand matters a day, working hard for the country and the people, but you must also pay attention to your dragon body; now that it is dinner time, your concubine has specially come to respectfully invite Your Majesty to move to dine." Her words carried concern and consideration.

"Fine, if you hadn't said it, I would have almost forgotten, but wait until I finish these few volumes; you go with Nanzhi first."

"Where is big sister Nanzhi?"

"You'll know when you come over."

The next day, Li Chen also attended the morning court after a long time; the most active one changed from Pang Jin to the Minister of War.

The new Minister of War indicated that the Empress of the Sassanid Dynasty had already accepted the May Tian Ce Dynasty's declaration of war, and the two countries had officially entered a state of battle.

And the former Minister of War, now Vice Minister of War Zou Chong, had already "completed the mission" and returned to the Imperial Capital.

Because Li Chen was the issuer of the mission, Zou Chong didn't capture the Third Prince, but let the Third Prince go fight the Prince of Zhennan.

Whether it counted as completing the mission, it all depended on Li Chen.

Hearing Zou Chong had returned, Li Chen asked where Zou Chong was.

The Vice Minister of War could attend the morning court; hearing Li Chen's words, Zou Chong stepped forward and bowed: "Your humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty."

"Minister Zou, your persuasion of the Third Prince this time, making him unable to rebel as he wished, is truly a great merit; my heart is very comforted." Li Chen said slowly.

Hearing this, Zou Chong felt a burst of joy in his heart and hurriedly thanked him: "Your humble servant is terrified; this is your humble servant's duty, and I dare not speak of merit."

That's what he said, but he knew he should be rewarded.

Li Chen smiled slightly and continued: "Merit is merit; I will naturally reward based on merit. How about this, I will promote you to Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, in charge of supervising all officials."

Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, high position and heavy power, in charge of supervising all officials, is an extremely important position in the court.

Hearing this, Zou Chong was overjoyed, hurriedly kneeling on the ground, and thanking him loudly: "Your humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness, and will definitely perform my duties faithfully, not failing Your Majesty's high expectations."

This was one rank higher than his original position; Zou Chong was definitely willing.

Originally, he had also planned to impeach the Minister of War later and restore his original position, but now he temporarily dismissed this thought; impeaching other colleagues just after being promoted was indeed not very good.

After being satisfied, Zou Chong returned to his position.

Because there were relatively many places fighting recently, the Minister of War's report was also very serious.

After he returned, Pang Jin stood out.

Whenever this person stood out, the people nearby were somewhat uneasy.

Because when the Minister of Justice stood out, it was mostly nothing good, or it could be said someone would be unlucky.

However, this time Pang Jin just reported something regarding the problem of Sassanid Dynasty spies, which made people breathe a sigh of relief.

On the Sassanid Dynasty side, they demanded the May Tian Ce Dynasty release people, feeling that the May Tian Ce Dynasty was taking a crackdown on legitimate Sassanid Dynasty merchants, and let the May Tian Ce Dynasty stop this behavior.

This is normal diplomatic rhetoric, and Li Chen doesn't need to pay attention; anyway, they are going to fight, so why care about this.

After the morning court ended, Pang Jin came to the Imperial Study.

Eunuch Cui knew as soon as he saw it that he had to avoid it again, so he took the eunuchs and left the vicinity.

After everyone left, Pang Jin handed the intelligence he had investigated in the last few days to Li Chen.

Which was conclusive evidence proving that the Wang family harbored remnants of the previous dynasty.

According to Xiao Ming's investigation, the Ministry of Justice even found some places where remnants of the previous dynasty were hiding.

As for how the Crown Prince died, this was temporarily unknown, but Pang Jin was certain that as long as the Wang family and the remnants of the previous dynasty in the Imperial Capital were captured, it would definitely be possible to ask.

The crime of harboring remnants of the previous dynasty was already enough to have the Wang family's entire family beheaded.

As long as the attack on the Crown Prince was investigated clearly, then it would be extermination of the nine clans.

"In my humble opinion, Your Majesty had best make a decision as soon as possible, because the Wang family seems to have been restraining itself recently, perhaps having heard the wind from Shanghe City."

In his view, if you want to take action, do it quickly, don't wait for Wang Tengfeng to run away, as the aftermath would be endless.

"Then let it be tonight; you go arrange it, and I will naturally appear when the time comes."

As Li Chen said this sentence, Pang Jin knew that tonight, the Imperial Capital would flow with blood!

(End of chapter)