Chapter 1 Jiang Zuo Wang's Plan

Mount Tai Imperial Palace, side hall.

Jiang Zuo Wang stood by the window, hands clasped behind his back, his eyes sinister, venomously gazing at the distant mountains.

Another failure!

Jiang Chen allowed that dog emperor to escape again… Damn it!

This plan, led by Mei Ruoying, had been analyzed by him countless times, sealing off all possibilities of failure.

But that suddenly appearing, lowly 杨暮溪 (Yang Muxi), caused him to fail, and even lose hundreds of men…

Thinking of this, Jiang Zuo Wang's expression became even more ferocious.

"Why?"

"Why does that good-for-nothing always have such good luck? No matter what trap he encounters, someone always helps him?!"

"Jiang Chen, this Wang will never admit defeat!"

"Open your dog eyes and wait; one day, this Wang will make you lose everything!"

As he muttered to himself, a flash of ruthlessness appeared in Jiang Zuo Wang’s eyes. He said sternly, "Someone, prepare a secret letter. This Wang requests to marry the legitimate daughter of the Zhenhai Regional Commander."

Now that the emperor's power is growing stronger, he must win over a reliable ally to fight against the enemy together.

Although relying on a woman's connections is somewhat disdainful, those who achieve great things do not adhere to petty details… Moreover, the Zhenhai Regional Commander is also famously wealthy. Once they become in-laws, he can completely intervene in the name of his wife and seize those industries for himself.

Even when necessary, he can use the Zhenhai Regional Commander's family as a shield to divert the emperor's attention.

Such a good thing that achieves multiple goals is not something he can't bring himself to do.

After weighing the pros and cons, the cold, hard face of Jiang Zuo Wang finally softened a little, and the atmosphere in the hall was no longer so oppressive.

This subtle change made the subordinate who had been summoned nearby breathe a sigh of relief. He cautiously approached and reminded,

"Your Highness, the emperor is already suspicious of us and has sent secret guards to monitor us. Requesting to marry the daughter of a high-ranking official at this juncture… won't the risk be too great?"

Jiang Zuo Wang glanced at him and said coldly, "Are you teaching this Wang how to do things?"

The sinister gaze made the subordinate tremble uncontrollably. He quickly lowered his head and admitted his mistake: "This subordinate has overstepped his bounds, this subordinate deserves to die. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

"Alright, do you want to attract the emperor's spies with your loud voice?" Jiang Zuo Wang frowned, his tone somewhat irritable.

"This time, I'll let it go. After returning, go find the steward to receive your punishment… As for the emperor's side, with this Wang's wisdom, he will never guess the real purpose of this Wang's marriage!"

"When the time comes, our two families will be married, and the Zhenhai Regional Commander's family will be able to share the emperor's attention for this Wang. Only when those two parties fight each other will this Wang be able to fish in troubled waters and act freely."

Hearing this, the subordinate's eyes trembled slightly, recalling Mei Wen Shi, who was ordered to be killed by Jiang Zuo Wang, and a chill ran through his heart.

Although he knew that Jiang Zuo Wang was cold-blooded, he found it somewhat difficult to accept scheming against allies to such an extent, even as an assassin.

Suppressing his thoughts, the subordinate lowered his head and clasped his fist: "Yes, this subordinate will do it now!"

At the same time, in a secluded palace dozens of miles away.

Consort Lü, who had been worried all day, was also standing by the window, looking at the mountains with a hint of sorrow on her pretty face.

As things developed to this point, the unease in her heart had reached its peak, and she even felt a faint sense of regret.

She was aware of the disturbances that had occurred in the past few days, all of which were the work of Jiang Zuo Wang, but they had been resolved one by one by the emperor.

This is not a good sign… Perhaps, before long, the power they had built up over the years would be exposed by the emperor!

Thinking of this possibility, a touch of solemnity flashed across Consort Lü's beautiful phoenix eyes: "No, we can't just sit and wait for death!"

"If the emperor really catches us, this Ai Jia and Jiang Zuo Wang will surely suffer a miserable fate, and even the sixth and seventh princes will be implicated… We must make some other preparations!"

A look of determination gathered between her brows as she pondered her value.

But as a woman in the deep palace, there was no other way to protect herself except to gain the emperor's favor.

Thinking of this, Consort Lü subconsciously touched her face, her expression hesitant for a moment, but she quickly made up her mind.

Opportunities are fleeting, and she must seize them. Being coy will only delay important matters.

Having made up her mind, Consort Lü returned to the inner chamber, sat down in front of the dressing mirror, carefully examined her face, and whispered softly.

"Judging from His Majesty's words and actions during his previous visits, he seems to be fond of Ai Jia's appearance… However, how long can one gain favor by using one's beauty?"

"If I want to tie His Majesty's heart, I still have to think of other ways!"

"Perhaps, I can give birth to another heir for the royal family?"

Consort Lü's voice stopped abruptly as she stared at the charming woman in the mirror, her beautiful eyes sparkling with an unusual light, and she remained silent for a long time…

The next day, the sun rose high.

Carriages filled with members of the imperial clan and ministers escorted Jiang Chen's dragon carriage, heading towards the imperial capital with impressive momentum.

Although there were constant disturbances, the Feng Chan ceremony was finally successfully concluded, without losing the imperial court's face, so the atmosphere on the return journey was relatively relaxed.

Except for Meng Qi, Xu Changqing, and others who were responsible for security and guarding, who were mentally tense, the rest of the imperial relatives and ministers all wore smiles, and even had the leisure to admire the scenery along the way.

The group moved forward at full speed, and finally arrived at the main gate of the imperial capital city near evening.

Amidst the admiring gazes of the people along the way, they entered the imperial palace.

After getting off the dragon carriage, Jiang Chen first instructed Feng Jin to arrange a place to live for Yang Muxi, and then said a few intimate words to Consort Shu.

Then he came to the Hall of Diligent Governance to discuss matters with a group of trusted ministers.

"Gentlemen, do you have anything to report regarding the Feng Chan ceremony?" Jiang Chen asked with a solemn expression.

Minister of Rites Shi Ping was the first to kneel down, his tone panicked: "Your Majesty, this humble minister is guilty. I actually allowed rebels to mix into the imperial palace and carry out conspiracies to sabotage the Feng Chan, and even kidnapped and threatened you. This minister deserves to die!"

Vice Minister of the Great Prison Su Wen also came out and knelt down: "Your Majesty, this minister is also guilty. I failed to bring the criminal woman Mei to justice, causing you to almost fall into the hands of the rebels. This minister should be punished!"

"..."

In just a few breaths, more than a dozen ministers had knelt down in front of Jiang Chen, all with ashamed expressions, asking for punishment.

The loopholes in this Feng Chan were too big to be easily covered up. They could only hope that His Majesty would take into account their good attitude in admitting their mistakes, and turn a blind eye and not investigate further.

Jiang Chen saw through the ministers' wishful thinking and sneered: "Each and every one of you are slow and evasive when handling matters, but you are quick to reflect afterward. Do you think I won't seriously investigate?"

As soon as these words came out, all the ministers were horrified and denied it repeatedly.

Jiang Chen was too lazy to listen to their nonsense and said forcefully: "The death penalty can be avoided, but the living penalty cannot be escaped."

"The rebels are indeed cunning and difficult to deal with, but your dereliction of duty cannot be denied. Considering your past merits, I will deduct your salaries for two years and add thirty strokes of the board as a small punishment as a warning."

"However, my tolerance is only once!"

"If there are any more mistakes, you will all pack your bags and get out of here, understand?"