Quick Transmigration: What to Do When the Male Supporting Character You Saved Becomes Obsessed with

Chapter 228 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (128)

For so many years, the An family has kept a low profile, fearing that the emperor would once again suffer a great misfortune because he dislikes them.

Because of the Empress's affair, the An family was never given important positions again.

The old patriarch of the An family lived to the end, never getting another chance to go to the battlefield. On his deathbed, with his eyes closed, he kept murmuring...

They talked about all the things that happened in the past when they were in the camp, with their children and grandchildren gathered around them, which could be considered a happy ending.

Border wars have been ongoing, but it's not just the An family that can fight; the Zhuang family, the He family... not only were the older generation skilled in battle, but the younger generation is also brave and valiant.

I heard that the youngest daughter of the Zhuang family, riding a horse, wearing armor, and carrying a long sword, looked incredibly heroic and imposing, as if she could withstand ten thousand men!

This is something that Anjia falls far short of.

He was the second son who accompanied the old man on his campaigns, but the second son died young, a few years before the old man. This was undoubtedly related to the old wound that damaged his lungs on the battlefield.

The current patriarch of the An family is the eldest son. He has been studying since childhood and wanted to pursue a career as a civil official. When his younger sister became empress, he thought his official career would be smooth sailing, but things didn't go as planned, and he has been stuck in the past.

There are a few other brothers who are not from the same mother, but they all separated from the family early on and don't see each other much now.

The Empress's reinstatement stirred up their own thoughts, but this time the eldest son's family was the first to be affected.

Ji Shuqin had already received He Diaoyu's memorial, praising the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review for not only being upright but also efficient and decisive.

While the An family was still trying to pull strings, Lord He, with his impartial and incorruptible nature, directly revealed the whole story to the higher authorities.

An official under the Dali Temple cautiously advised him: "Sir, the Crown Prince still has the blood of the An family flowing in his veins... We don't yet know the Crown Prince's temperament. If you do this, what if... what if you offend him?"

But then Lord He slammed his official seal shut and ordered his men to deliver the memorial immediately.

Then he spoke calmly: "If I were to handle cases and see that everyone was bleeding the same blood, the capital would have been in chaos long ago."

The officials below grimaced inwardly, sweat beading on their foreheads...

Others might say this is boasting, but when it comes to this official, it's not an exaggeration at all.

The He family had served as officials in the capital for generations, but no one could call them a powerful and influential family, because they were the ones who specifically caused trouble for powerful and influential families.

In the capital, anyone who has committed a crime or brought bad luck will frown upon hearing the name of the He family.

Lord He's father was in charge of the Ministry of Justice and also oversaw the supervision when he was alive.

When the late emperor was in his prime, he was more ruthless and suspicious than the current emperor. His supervision of officials was not just the responsibility of the censors.

After the current emperor ascended the throne, the court was rectified for decades and reached a stable point. In order to show his leniency and benevolence, the current emperor gradually abolished the original harsh supervisory system.

When He Diaoyu became the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he dared to investigate cases that others dared not touch and people that others dared not investigate. Whatever case came into his hands, he would not rest until he had investigated it thoroughly!

Forget about ministers and nobles, even some members of the collateral branches of the royal family were imprisoned by him! He was an important minister of the emperor, a sharp knife, and how many of these powerful families could withstand investigation... Whoever the emperor wanted to suffer, He Diaoyu could make them suffer. He was very useful.

When it came to He Pingyan, everyone thought he would follow in his ancestors' footsteps, but instead he went to the battlefield, adding another glory to the He family.

The officials below pondered Lord He's words and then stopped trying to persuade him.

But he still didn't quite understand why Lord He suddenly became so aggressive at this time. The Empress was in the limelight recently, so why did he have to make trouble at such a critical moment? It wouldn't be impossible to smooth things over or postpone the discussion. It wasn't a case that needed to be rushed.

Doesn't this also put His Highness the Crown Prince in a difficult position?

If His Highness the First Prince really does ascend the throne in the future, the Dali Temple will be in for a rough time!

But they were all on tenterhooks, while Lord He went about his business as usual, attending court as before.

This morning, seeing the An family request an audience with the Empress, they hung their heads, not daring to breathe, thinking to themselves: This is a direct confrontation! They've pushed the First Prince right to his face!

When I glanced at Lord He out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he was calm and composed, standing there without even lowering his head...

Then, in the next instant, they heard the Crown Prince directly reject the An family's request.

Officials: ...

I heard that the Crown Prince had privately told the court officials who were discussing state affairs with him, "I once worked on a case with the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. I know he is honest and upright. I am very reassured that he is handling the case thoroughly."

Because of this incident, quite a few people have changed their opinion of the Crown Prince.

Even those who were not part of the Second Prince's faction felt that the First Prince was too mild-mannered and seemed to lack his own opinions, making him unsuitable for the throne and easily manipulated.

Especially the Empress... Many people have noticed the Empress's unusual ambition and are worried that she will use this to interfere in politics!

Unexpectedly, the eldest prince was so decisive when facing the empress's maternal family.

Women who sought an audience with the women in the imperial court were not allowed to behave properly, and the Empress was no exception. Over the years, the Dowager Consort had been respected, and no one had ever dared to openly request an audience with her like this!

An Jia's actions were intended to intimidate the Minister of War and He Diaoyu.

Let them know that they are the Empress's maternal family, and make them back down.

Unexpectedly, failing to recognize his own status and position, he was directly embarrassed by the Crown Prince.

The eldest master of the An family couldn't believe it and remained in a daze until he returned home.

"How is it? Has the Empress seen you?" His wife, Madam Chen, stepped forward to ask. She was worried about her youngest son and had been looking worried these past few days.

"What's wrong... why do you seem so lost?" Seeing that Master An didn't speak, Madam Chen hurriedly urged him.

"The Crown Prince refused my request to see him," Lord An finally said.

"What! You are his uncle! How could he... You asked to see the Empress to see your sister, why won't he allow it?" Madam Chen panicked. She originally thought the matter could be resolved easily, but unexpectedly, one problem after another arose.

She could imagine how much face the An family would lose this time, and how they would ever be able to face anyone again.

"Because of what happened to them, the Emperor has implicated the An family for so many years. Father-in-law and mother-in-law... they've all passed away. How could that be related to worrying about them!" Madam Chen twisted her handkerchief with her fingers, muttering with resentment and anger.

“Now that they’ve turned their lives around, how can they not care about their own family? You haven’t accomplished anything in all these years, haven’t you been implicated as well…” So many years of wasted time had long filled Chen with resentment.

The Empress's status has been too low over the years, and Lady Chen has shown her no respect.

When she married into the An family, the Empress was not yet married, and she didn't particularly like her proud and arrogant sister-in-law from back then.

"Shut up!" Master An was very annoyed. He had wanted to establish the authority of the An family, but he didn't expect it to backfire.

"Now that the Dali Temple has heard this... won't they come after you relentlessly? What will happen to our Xian'er then?" Madam Chen panicked even more.

"What are you babbling about! I'll write another letter to the palace requesting an audience! The Empress will see me eventually!" Master An thought that the Empress must not know about the Crown Prince's actions.

He was so powerful and influential in the capital when his sister first became Empress. Just the other day, he reminisced about those good old days…

Ji Shumin heard Ji Shuqin tell the story in person, and this time Ji Shuqin had no hesitation whatsoever; his tone even carried a hint of anger.

What are they trying to do?

"Doesn't Your Majesty know perfectly well what they're up to?" Ji Shumin said calmly, glancing at Ji Shuqin.

Now, the hesitant look he once had has vanished.

"Why? Why would someone have such thoughts?"

“It’s not just them who have these thoughts; because everyone has them, it’s only getting worse. Everyone recites the words ‘loyalty to the emperor,’ and everyone talks about them and writes them down, but it’s not just empty talk. We’ll only know if they actually do it,” Ji Shu sighed.

Ji Shuqin seemed to be deep in thought.

“How can I…” Ji Shuqin murmured, but Ji Shumin did not answer him.

"You did this?" Lu Liruan was no longer easily fooled. She had been taught by Ji Shumin for a longer time, and her thinking unconsciously followed Ji Shumin's.

Lu Liruan once lamented that she would consider herself a master when she could understand even half of Ji Shumin's thoughts.

But now, sometimes when Ji Shumin talks about something, she can immediately follow his train of thought. When their eyes meet, they can understand each other perfectly, and they are quite like accomplices.

No, it's a meeting of minds.

This whole affair seems inextricably linked to Ji Shumin, especially after learning that the He family actually had designs on Ji Shumin, and that they didn't change their minds even though he was disabled.

Why does Li Ruan miss me so much?

In the blink of an eye, midsummer has passed, and the mornings and evenings are starting to get cooler again. Season after season, year after year, time flies by remarkably fast.

Ji Shu felt cold and had already put on several layers of clothing and covered himself tightly with a thin blanket.

He leaned there, looking quite content, his fingertips holding a piece of soft jade, carving it with each stroke.

"I wasn't wrong..." he readily admitted, brushing the crumbs off his sleeves with interest: "How did Li Ruan figure it out? Did I talk in my sleep last night and Li Ruan overhear me?"

Lu Liruan raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself: You still think it's that time when you were half-dead? I worry about you passing away even if I close my eyes for a moment.

Lu Liruan's days of constant fear and anxiety finally began to ease after several months. When watching Ji Shumin, she no longer worried that he would die so easily...

Only those who have experienced it understand that even after things have improved, even knowing that the other person is not that fragile, one still subconsciously feels worried or even fearful.

"I'm so bored..."

Having been together for so long and experienced so much, they could be considered an old married couple. Lu Liruan's love for Ji Shumin had not diminished, but it was no longer the time when she would feel excited and happy just by looking at him.

"Didn't you teach me? When discerning something, don't just look at the surface, but look at the whole story, see who it points to, what their purpose is, and who wants to achieve that purpose."

"Although the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is an upright man, it's a bit too far to investigate from riding a horse in the bustling city to finding out that the young man from the An family and other sons of powerful families were involved in gambling." This was the first thing that Lu Liruan noticed that was a bit strange.

“The An family humiliated the Minister of War. The Minister of War was furious and exposed the An family’s secrets. He privately reported it to the Court of Judicial Review to seek justice for his daughter. Isn’t that reasonable?” Ji Shumin retorted.

"Hmm, but it's too much of a coincidence. Not only is Lord He so eager to investigate, but he also delivered the memorial to the Emperor before the An family. If it had been two days later, the An family might have sincerely asked to see the Empress, and the Emperor might have softened and agreed."

"Lord He is a decisive and efficient person. He always does things quickly and never procrastinates." Ji Shumin curled the corners of his mouth.

“So no one has any doubts, after all, this is not contrary to Lord He’s usual behavior.” Lu Liruan shrugged.

"Given Your Majesty's character, you are well aware of the An family's actions. You will certainly not allow them to engage in such threatening behavior in court." This statement also takes Ji Shuqin's temperament into account.

“But since the An family has made this move, they certainly won’t let it go. The Empress will definitely know about this, and at the same time, she will also know about my brother’s decision,” Lu Liruan continued.

“The Empress will definitely question my brother about this matter, but given her personality, how could she just ask such a simple question…” Lu Liruan knew without having to think too much.

The Empress had so many people under her control, but now she suddenly discovered that he had broken free from her control and learned to make his own decisions. The matter still involved her maternal family.

If placed together, the Empress and Ji Shuqin would certainly not be at peace.

“Indeed.” Ji Shumin admitted, “But after going through such a long and winding road, what purpose can we possibly achieve?” Ji Shumin looked at Lu Liruan with a smile, much gentler than when he was teaching Ji Shuqin. His eyes sparkled with affection and warmth that was almost overflowing.

“The rift and conflict between my brother and the empress is even greater, which is naturally the situation you most want to see, and it is also the situation I want to see,” Lu Liruan leaned forward and said with certainty.

Now that Ji Shumin is able to stand up, he teaches Ji Shuqin everything in detail, so naturally he has no idea that Ji Shuqin has been fooled by the Empress.

More effective than words is letting experiences teach people to be truly knowledgeable. People only truly believe things after they have personally experienced them.

“Now that the court is rife with factions, if we open this door, we won’t be able to control it in the future,” Ji Shumin said slowly.

In fact, Lu Liruan had some things she didn't say, because she wasn't sure herself.

The more the Empress clashed with Ji Shuqin over this, the more insistent Ji Shuqin became on his own, and the more frantic the Empress inevitably became.

In this process, Ji Shuqin will realize more deeply that as long as he is in power, the Empress will never have a moment's peace.

He was not one for fighting or contention, and if things continued this way, he might grow increasingly weary of it, which would gradually diminish his desire to fight Ji Shumin in the future.

Although Lu Liruan didn't know whether he had those kinds of thoughts...

Ji Shumin probably wouldn't really do anything to Ji Shuqin, which is also a way to win people's hearts.

But Lu Liruan wasn't sure if Ji Shumin actually harbored such thoughts; she couldn't read it from his face.

The incident where An Jia's youngest son rode his horse recklessly in the bustling city and bumped into someone's daughter was an accident.

After learning of this, he quickly won over people's hearts, followed the trend, and used their strength to his advantage, setting up this inescapable trap without leaving a trace. It was truly brilliant.