A few days later, Fu Zhen heard that a maid in the main courtyard had made a serious mistake. She was driven out by Nanny Li to do the sweeping. Unexpectedly, after a roundabout, she was taken back by Concubine Su and placed in her courtyard.
Bi Yu went outside to make a simple inquiry and found that it was undoubtedly Yuanyang.
Fu Zhen frowned slowly. Were Concubine Su and Yuanyang involved with each other? Was it a coincidence or on purpose?
"Bi Yu," she looked at the other girl, "have you ever had any contact with Qin'er, the maid in Concubine Su's room?"
Bi Yu was just tidying up the clothes hanging on the rack for her. Hearing this, she put down the feather duster in her hand and thought for a moment. "Concubine Su is not very prominent in the mansion. Her maids don't socialize much either. I only met her in the kitchen before. I only remember that she is strong and cheerful. She is not difficult to get along with."
"What's the matter, Miss? Do you need this servant to do something?" Bi Yu vaguely guessed Fu Zhen's intention.
Fu Zhen shook her head. If they were familiar with each other, it would be easy to operate. But now, getting close to her would only arouse others' suspicion. "Forget it. But these days, put aside other things and secretly keep an eye on the people in the South Courtyard. Report to me if there is anything wrong."
Bi Yu nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, Miss."
These days, something might have happened in the palace. Chen Tingfeng rarely stayed at home. Fu Zhen thought for a moment and put this matter aside.
After all, the other side hadn't taken action yet. She was only in the stage of suspicion. Telling Chen Tingfeng would only make one more person worry.
Speak of the devil.
Chen Tingfeng strode in. He was wearing a silver robe today, with a dark blue belt around his waist embroidered with cloud patterns. The sachet she gave him was also hanging on it. He looked extremely noble.
When he saw her, his originally cold expression softened, and a touch of tenderness emerged from the corners of his eyes and brows.
He walked over and held her hand. Seeing that she was sitting in the corridor enjoying the breeze and not cold, he finally felt relieved. "I've been a bit busy these days and haven't accompanied you. Do you blame me?"
Fu Zhen gave him a sidelong glance. "You've been dealing with important matters, not going out to have fun. Why should I blame you?"
He gave a soft laugh but showed a somewhat disappointed look. "Don't you miss me?"
She did miss him. She had just thought of him.
This cheesy tone made Fu Zhen a little uncomfortable. She changed the subject. "What have you been busy with these days?"
Chen Tingfeng led her to sit down and leaned against her side before slowly telling her what had happened.
The matter of the empty national treasury was exposed by the Eldest Princess.
If one were to say who the Emperor trusted most at present, it would be none other than the Eldest Princess. With just a few casual words, she directly angered the Emperor out of bed. He summoned the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and angrily questioned him. After getting a hesitant confirmation from the latter, he was so angry that he fell back onto the bed.
"How did the Eldest Princess know about this?" Fu Zhen suddenly frowned.
Wasn't she just new to the capital? How could she know so clearly about the affairs in the palace?
When Xie Yan told Chen Tingfeng about this, he also felt a little surprised. But after thinking carefully for a moment, he found that if it was the Eldest Princess who exposed this matter, it couldn't be more appropriate.
He had once thought of asking Lord Zhang to speak up. After all, the latter was highly respected and old. At most, the Emperor would be angry for a few days and wouldn't really do anything to him.
However, in this way, it would inevitably make the Emperor look unfavorably on the Zhang family.
But now that it was the Eldest Princess who said it, it was different.
He was really a little surprised at how she knew about this. But after the surprise, he was vigilant towards her.
If she could know about such a thing, her informants might be hidden deeper than he thought.
Chen Tingfeng raised his eyebrows. "Maybe someone told her. I'm not very clear either. But the matter has been exposed."
The Eldest Princess had now curried favor with them. One could easily imagine how angry Xie Guang would be.
Fu Zhen thought thoughtfully. "Is there a solution to this matter?"
Who would check the accounts and who would urge the debtors to repay were the key points.
Chen Tingfeng gave a soft laugh. "Guess who it will be?"
The Eldest Princess had always taken a neutral stance. Now, she suddenly showed favor to the Second Prince. This matter always made Fu Zhen a little confused.
Did she want to support Xie Yan to ascend the throne?
But she was always smart and steady. How could she suddenly be the first to stick her neck out? Moreover, Xie Yan had the support of the Marquis Mansion and the Zhang family. Xie Guang couldn't do anything to him for the time being.
Since he couldn't do anything to Xie Guang, wouldn't the Eldest Princess, who suddenly stepped in to stir up the muddy waters, become his biggest target?
Could the Eldest Princess not think of this?
No.
Fu Zhen shook her head in her heart and crossed out this speculation.
The Eldest Princess must have anticipated this consequence when she took action. To avoid this consequence, the next step...
"The Liu family will be selected to urge the debtors to repay," she said firmly.
Chen Tingfeng looked at her leisurely. "Why?"
Fu Zhen pursed her lips. Naturally, it was because the Eldest Princess also wanted to curry favor with Xie Guang.
Exposing this matter was actually beneficial to the court, which was why the Emperor would never suspect the Eldest Princess. To prevent Xie Guang from taking his anger out on the Eldest Princess, she had to stabilize him.
How to stabilize him?
Strike at the place where Xie Guang cared most.
There was no doubt that what Xie Guang cared most about was the court officials.
He was now in a weak position. At most, he had the Song family represented by the Queen and the Liu family on the surface. The rest were all opportunistic and wavering officials who couldn't play a big role.
Although the opportunity to urge the debtors to repay would offend people, if handled well, it would definitely allow him to win over a large number of people's hearts.
The struggle for the throne had always been a struggle for the hearts and minds of the people.
Chen Tingfeng quietly looked at her, and the admiration in his eyes became stronger and stronger.
He had never forbidden Fu Zhen to understand these things. In fact, since he and Fu Zhen had established their relationship, he had often told her about the affairs in the court, just like Chen Xuan told Lady Bai.
In his heart, Fu Zhen was by no means a fledgling bird waiting for his protection. On the contrary, if she were a man and could enter the court, she would surely occupy a place in it.
He sincerely admired her wisdom and favored her ambition.
"You guessed right," he said with a smile as he tapped the tip of her nose. "What you said is exactly what I guessed.不愧是表妹, you are truly extremely intelligent."
Fu Zhen was a little pleased. She leaned back against his broad chest and played with his long hair. "So the next step is to wait and see how Xie Guang urges the debtors to repay?"
To be precise, it was how the Liu family would urge the debtors to repay. But that sly old fox Liu Zhengze would never be dispatched by Xie Guang without some benefits.
Chen Tingfeng put his arm around her, and his voice came from his chest. "Of course. For the time being, there is nothing for me to do."
"Let's wait and see. The good show is about to begin."
The next day, an imperial edict was issued from the palace, asking Liu Zhengze, a fourth - rank official, to handle the corresponding matter of urging the debtors to repay.
The imperial edict was rather euphemistic, but that old fox Liu Zhengze could understand the meaning behind it. He managed to keep a straight face when he received the imperial edict. But as soon as he saw off the people from the palace, his face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.