Chapter 1 Undercurrents

Under the dim candlelight, a golden hairpin shimmered.

Xu Jiaying watched, her slender hand reaching out subconsciously.

But just as she was about to touch the hairpin, as if awakened by an invisible force, she abruptly retracted her hand!

No!

That old dog, Mei Wenshi, was still alive, and her father's grievances had not been cleared. She couldn't touch this dog emperor yet!

Wait a little longer, until the obstacles were cleared and there were no more ties...

Then, it would be this dog emperor's death!

Seemingly seeing Jiang Chen's appearance of unbearable pain, Xu Jiaying's eyes revealed a manic delight. Then, she curled her lips into a sweet smile and drifted off to sleep.

In her dreams, she was still the simple girl doted on by her parents and cared for by her elder brother...

Until the curtains were completely quiet, with no sound.

Jing Yue, who had been hiding on the beam, floated down.

Her martial arts were strong, and she hadn't missed Xu Jiaying's movements earlier.

Fortunately, this woman was sensible and stopped in time.

Otherwise, she, Jing Yue, would have taken her life!

"A-Yuan," Jing Yue said in a cold voice.

A slender man, seemingly weak and unremarkable, emerged from the corner.

"Keep an eye on Consort Xu. Record all her daily activities, and report any abnormalities immediately."

A-Yuan bowed and accepted the order.

He didn't make a sound, afraid of waking Jiang Chen, and then disappeared into the room in a few flashes.

The dark guards were the closest and strongest protective barrier for the emperor.

Omnipresent, mysterious, and secretly deterring all evildoers in the world!

The next day.

Jiang Chen woke up in a suffocating feeling like drowning.

In a daze, his anger surged!

Which blind idiot dared to let him, him... Looking at Xu Jiaying, who was clinging to him like an octopus, Jiang Chen was at a loss.

The anger that was about to erupt was directly extinguished.

The woman who had repeatedly provoked him last night and spoken harshly was now nestled obediently in his arms, her slender white arms tightly hugging his chest, as if holding a precious treasure she couldn't lose, murmuring in her mouth.

Jiang Chen was helpless, and a little curious. He couldn't help but lean closer, and heard a series of tearful pleas.

"Dad, Mom... don't go, don't leave..."

Jiang Chen was silent.

He looked at the tears constantly seeping from the corner of the girl's eyes, sighed, and lay back down.

The displeasure that had accumulated because of Xu Jiaying's offense dissipated at this moment.

In the end, she made these moves because the original owner had sinned.

Thinking this, Jiang Chen slowly pulled out his hand, straightened Xu Jiaying, and got out of bed to put on his clothes.

There was a morning court today, and he couldn't be late.

Moreover, he had promised Xu Jiaying yesterday that he would make her a Noble Consort.

Originally, he planned to drag it on for a few days to curb the woman's arrogance... but now, looking at the tearful woman in bed, Jiang Chen decided to get it done quickly.

This was what the original owner, and he, owed Xu Jiaying.

He only hoped that the power of time could wear away the hatred between the two. Besides that, there should be no better way.

Golden Luan Hall.

Jiang Chen sat high on the throne, looking down at his ministers.

He had just issued an imperial decree to the Ministry of Rites, making Xu Jiaying Noble Consort and granting her residence in Huaqing Palace.

This matter surprised the ministers, but they did not object, and even expressed their approval.

Xu Jiaying was the only daughter of Grand Commandant Xu Da.

And Xu Da was an important minister who had assisted two emperors. The officials had all had contact with this righteous and public-spirited old man, and many had even benefited from his kindness.

Now that the Xu family had been exterminated, it was also something they, as old friends, were happy to see that Xu Gong's only daughter could receive preferential treatment.

For a time, their perception of the emperor improved a lot.

Being able to turn back and be responsible for his mistakes was the mark of a monarch!

Just as the officials were praising him, Mei Wenshi, standing in the ranks of the civil officials, had a gloomy expression.

Install Xu Da's daughter as a Noble Consort?

Could it be that the emperor had found the backup he had left behind?!

While thinking, Mei Wenshi noticed the changes in his colleagues' expressions, and his brows furrowed even tighter.

He had used many schemes to alienate the ministers from the emperor.

But now, with the decree to make her a consort, the rift between the ruler and his subjects actually showed a tendency to heal!

No, he couldn't let the emperor establish his authority!

Mei Wenshi took a step forward, took out the prepared memorial, and cupped his hands.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

"This is a list of corrupt officials that you asked this old minister to investigate. I have recorded their wrongdoings in this memorial. Please review it."

The purpose of his move was very simple.

It was to show the emperor's intention to investigate corruption to the ministers and make them feel the danger.

Jiang Chen took the memorial from Feng Jin's hands, opened it, and glanced at it briefly.

The main thing was to look at the official positions of those corrupt officials, and the amount of money they had embezzled.

A sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth. Jiang Chen threw the memorial on the imperial desk, and said with a half-smile,

"Minister Mei, I asked you to handle this matter because I trust you and believe in your ability!"

"But what about you? You use a few insignificant officials to fool me, do you think I don't dare to touch you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the court fell silent.

The ministers who had been smiling just now were now sweating profusely.

Corruption!

These two words filled them with too much fear!

Mei Wenshi, who was facing the emperor's anger, knelt down with a 'thump', his expression panicked.

"Your Majesty, I wouldn't dare!"

"The people on this list are all those that I carefully investigated and wrote down after obtaining evidence. As for the other ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, I haven't found any evidence that they have accepted bribes and embezzled, so I didn't write them down, for fear of wrongly accusing innocent people. I hope Your Majesty will see clearly!"

At this time, Grand Censor Zhang Kang also spoke up. He stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Minister Mei is right."

"As the saying goes, 'caught red-handed with the loot', arbitrarily slandering others and ruining their reputation without evidence is slander. According to the laws of our Great Wei, it is a crime punishable by imprisonment. Minister Mei's emphasis on evidence shows that he is not someone who seeks credit and will not fabricate false cases in order to complete the task. This is what a loyal minister should do!"

"Lord Zhang is right, if we want to investigate corruption, we must find evidence to convince the public!"

"Your Majesty, I agree with Minister Mei's approach..."

Jiang Chen looked at the excited ministers below and sneered in his heart.

Officials protect each other, he had witnessed it today.

Mei Wenshi using small officials to take the blame for his subordinates could actually be portrayed as 'the actions of a loyal minister'... However, he didn't intend to punish Mei Wenshi in the first place, so he simply followed this opportunity.

"Enough, I will not blame Minister Mei for this matter."

"Ministry of Justice, Dali Temple, you will take over this matter, arrest all the officials on this list, interrogate them strictly, and be sure to catch their accomplices. Also, all the gold and silver found will be turned over to the national treasury, and their families will also be implicated, and they will not be allowed to take the imperial examination for three generations..."

Before Jiang Chen could finish speaking, Feng Jin, who was standing under the steps, suddenly rushed up, his expression extremely panicked: "Your Majesty, Her Grace, the Noble Consort..."