"How dare you speak to this princess with such disrespect!" Princess Xin Yue, no matter how slow-witted, could tell these words should never have been uttered.
"I never had such an idea, nor would I contend with Elder Sister for anything!" Princess Xin Yue's expression was stern. "Do not speak nonsense, or this princess will punish you!"
"Your Highness, it is not I who speaks nonsense," Chu Chen said with a wry smile. "What happened today, to you, is merely an ordinary banquet. But if it were to reach the ears of other officials, it would imply that Your Highness has ulterior motives!"
"Some people do not need to consider what you are thinking; they merely need to use Your Highness as an excuse."
Princess Xin Yue finally understood what a foolish thing she had done today!
"You mean my attending the Prime Minister's banquet would give those people a very bad idea?" Princess Xin Yue asked nervously.
Chu Chen nodded helplessly.
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?" Princess Xin Yue was suddenly furious.
"If you had reminded me earlier, I wouldn't have made such a grave mistake!"
"I..." Chu Chen said helplessly, "I did remind you at the time, that it was best not to go."
"But you didn't listen to me then," Chu Chen lowered his head. "I... am merely a personal eunuch, how could I dare interfere with Your Highness's decisions?"
Princess Xin Yue's face turned slightly red. If she hadn't been indulging in playfulness, things wouldn't have escalated to this point.
Having made up her mind, Princess Xin Yue ordered Chu Chen to inform Prime Minister Chen and prepare to leave.
Chu Chen secretly lamented. If he had a choice, he would not want to meet the Prime Minister alone.
But the princess had commanded it, and he had no choice but to obey.
...
After hearing Chu Chen's explanation, Chen Yuanliang showed a look of regret. "Is that so? That is truly a pity."
"Then I shall take my leave," Chu Chen bowed and was about to depart.
"Eunuch Chu, please stay," Chen Yuanliang said with a slight smile. "I heard that earlier in the palace, someone intended to harm Eunuch Chu..."
Chu Chen's expression remained unchanged, and he smiled faintly. "Prime Minister, where did you hear such rumors?"
"I am doing quite well in the palace and have not suffered any grievances."
Chen Yuanliang's eyes flickered. "Is that so? I heard that when you first entered the palace, you were envied by petty people and almost failed to complete His Majesty's task!"
"Hahaha, rumors, all mere rumors," Chu Chen said with a mysterious smile, like an innocent child. "Let me secretly tell Prime Minister, I..."
Chu Chen pointed upwards. "I have someone in the palace!"
"Oh?" Chen Yuanliang's interest was immediately piqued. "No wonder you've been doing so well in the palace in such a short time."
Then, he leaned closer to Chu Chen and asked curiously, "I wonder if Eunuch Chu would be willing to reveal..."
Chu Chen immediately became vigilant. "What does Prime Minister mean? Are you..."
"Alas..." Chen Yuanliang sighed deeply and said with a wry smile, "Eunuch, you may not know, but serving the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. I fear displeasing His Majesty one day..."
"So I also wish to have someone in the palace who can speak for me."
Chen Yuanliang's demeanor was sincere. "This way, should I make any grave mistake, someone might speak a good word for me in His Majesty's ear, and perhaps save my life."
Chu Chen appeared to be reluctantly convinced.
Chen Yuanliang, however, continued, "I heard Eunuch is currently a favorite of His Majesty. I wonder if you..."
"I am not a favorite!" Chu Chen waved his hands repeatedly. "Please do not speak such nonsense!"
Chen Yuanliang's expression remained unchanged, but he took out two silver notes from his embrace. "Please, Eunuch, enlighten me."
Chu Chen almost couldn't maintain his composure.
This was completely different from what he had imagined.
Chen Yuanliang's humble demeanor almost fooled him.
If not for the experience simulated by the Life Simulator, Chu Chen would have almost believed that Chen Yuanliang genuinely just wanted to build a connection.
Chu Chen's internal alarm bells were ringing, but his face showed no cracks.
He nimbly pocketed the silver notes and smiled faintly. "Since Prime Minister has asked, I shall show you a way."
Chu Chen moved closer to Chen Yuanliang and whispered, "Do you know the Commander of the Guards, Lord Xue Yun?"
Chen Yuanliang nodded slightly. "Lord Xue is famous. How could I not know him!"
"Let me tell you secretly, Lord Xue is deeply trusted by His Majesty!" Chu Chen smiled faintly. "He is the true favorite by His Majesty's side!"
"Is that so?" This time, Chen Yuanliang's surprise seemed genuine.
"Absolutely true!" Chu Chen said with conviction.
"Could it be that Eunuch, you and Lord Xue..."
Chu Chen shook his head repeatedly. "How could that be? I am such a minor figure, how could I possibly connect with Lord Xue?"
Then, Chu Chen's expression became somewhat awkward. "However, speaking of which, I did have some misunderstanding with Lord Xue before, hence those... rumors."
"But the misunderstanding has now been resolved, all thanks to Lord Zhu Hong helping to mediate." Chu Chen said with feigned relief.
As he spoke, he seemed to recall something. "Oh right, and Lord Luo Jiang also helped me quite a bit."
"Otherwise, perhaps I would still be chopping wood and boiling water in the Imperial Kitchen!"
"Is that so?" Chen Yuanliang looked enlightened.
"Eunuch truly has good fortune."
Chu Chen appeared humble. "Not at all, Prime Minister, you jest."
"It is all Lord Xue's credit..." Chu Chen said with emotion.
"Indeed, you are right, serving the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. I, following Your Highness..." Chu Chen stopped mid-sentence. "It is best not to mention it."
"However, I have a connection with Prime Minister. If there is an opportunity, I will surely put in a good word for Prime Minister before His Majesty."
Chen Yuanliang chuckled. "Then this subordinate thanks Eunuch Chu."
Watching Chu Chen's departing back, Chen Yuanliang fell into deep thought.
After leaving the Prime Minister's mansion with Princess Xin Yue, Chu Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Previously, through his life simulations, Chu Chen had learned that the Prime Minister and Xue Yun belonged to two different factions, and they knew very little about each other.
This gave Chu Chen the opportunity to deceive them.
He pretended to have connections with Xue Yun, then feigned ignorance, seemingly unintentionally leaking Xue Yun's information.
Although Chen Yuanliang failed to win him over, due to Chu Chen's feigned innocence, Chen Yuanliang would certainly not act against him.
Instead, Chen Yuanliang would try to maintain a good relationship with him, hoping to extract more information from him.
At the very least, until Xue Yun was completely dealt with, Chen Yuanliang would definitely not make a move against him.
And Chu Chen could use this opportunity to, with the Prime Minister's hand, quietly eliminate Xue Yun, or even let them both suffer heavy losses!