Chapter 110 Speaking of today...

Chapter 110 Speaking of today...

In truth, all of this today was a trap set by Prince Cheng's mansion to lure us into a snare. Everyone was well aware that various factions had planted hidden agents within Prince Cheng's mansion.

The plan to send his men to Liangzhou to steal the account books was arranged after he rescued the brother and sister from the Shen family on the way.

At the time, Qin Ji wasn't actually sure what would happen if he sent someone to Liangzhou; he was just hoping to make a quick buck, no matter what. However, as the situation changed, the real scheme was laid out after his meeting with Su Mingyue that day.

Although he and the second prince maintained a respectable brotherly facade on the surface, they both knew that they harbored deep personal grudges against each other.

Therefore, if forced to choose between the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince, it would be more reasonable for Prince Qin Ji, the Prince of Cheng, to align himself with the Fifth Prince. And the most important item among the secrets stolen from the study was a confidential letter.

A secret letter from the Fifth Prince to Prince Cheng.

The main content of the letter was that the Fifth Prince Li Sheng confessed to Prince Cheng that he had obtained evidence of the Guo family's embezzlement and ghost salaries, as well as the Guo family's secret use of military equipment and elite troops to serve the Second Prince. He would soon present the evidence and hoped that Prince Cheng would use his prestige in the army and his current position as the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards to cooperate with him.

Besides persuasive words, the letter also listed several sets of very important data that would be difficult for anyone who had not seen the ledgers in person to know.

Anyone who sees such a letter would only think that the Fifth Prince, who is already a mortal enemy, is trying to win over the Sixth Prince, hoping to unite the two sides to bring down the Second Prince first.

Little did they know that it was all just a performance orchestrated by Qin Ji.

After tonight, not only will the matter of the stolen account books in Liangzhou be successfully pinned on the Fifth Prince, but if any part of the account books is actually leaked to the Fifth Prince, he will definitely take action.

If the secret letter was stolen in advance and the Second Prince knew about the Fifth Prince's plan, wouldn't he take remedial measures?

The Second Prince placed his confidants in the Ministry of Revenue precisely to coordinate efforts from within and without to gradually settle these messy accounts. The purpose of this secret letter was to tell him: there is not enough time. You must fill those holes before the Fifth and Sixth Princes launch their offensive, at least to make it appear presentable.

What could he do? If he didn't want to directly start a rebellion, didn't want the Guo family to be found guilty of huge embezzlement of military funds, and didn't want to be implicated in this matter, he could only use his own and the Guo family's money to temporarily cover up the situation and then plan for the future.

Of course, he could gamble, gamble that even if His Majesty knew about the military deficit, he wouldn't touch the Guo family, gamble that even if His Majesty knew he was involved, His Majesty would still protect him, but did he dare?

He dares not!

Therefore, he would inevitably choose to add more silver.

When the Second Prince repeatedly tried to take advantage of him, Qin Ji knew that he was short of money. To cause someone who was already short of money to lose a large sum of money was a painful but delightful thought.

Moreover, once a person is short of money, they lose a lot of the ability to do things, and they will think about making money first. Qin Ji had experienced the Second Prince's money-making methods firsthand. Besides undermining the court, the only other things this guy did were to seize by trickery and accept tributes from his subordinates.

Simply put, if it weren't for his status, he wouldn't have any ability to make money at all.

Moreover, from the Second Prince's perspective, in addition to the shortage of money, he also needed more helpers in order to counter the combined efforts of his younger brothers.

The Second Prince already has the support of the Guo family in the army, and his influence in the court is also considerable. If he wants to expand his power further, the current precarious balance will inevitably be broken.

Although the emperor is in poor health, his reluctance to appoint a crown prince shows that his desire for power will not diminish as his health deteriorates; on the contrary, it will become even stronger.

If such an emperor felt further threatened by the second prince, what would he do? He would only further strengthen the power of his other sons to counterbalance the second prince.

If everything goes smoothly in this situation, the relationship between the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince will worsen further, reaching a point of near-life-or-death conflict. Even the Emperor, who is trying to remain on the sidelines and act as the player, will inevitably be dragged back into the fray.

As for Prince Cheng, he is naturally His Majesty's good son and the Fifth Prince's good younger brother. He will cheer for the Second Prince and lend a hand at crucial moments.

Of course, political situations change rapidly, and things don't always go exactly as planned just by thinking about it.

The secret letter stolen last night was merely the first piece Qin Ji had officially placed after arriving in the capital. How things would develop from there remained to be seen, and more pieces would be placed gradually.

......

"It itches." In her drowsy state, Xiao Yan felt a series of itches on her face. She mumbled a protesting sound, scratched her face a couple of times, and then drifted back into a deep sleep.

Qin Ji lay on his side, supporting his head with his left hand, playing with a colorful sparrow feather in his right hand, his gaze fixed on Xiao Yanhui, who was still fast asleep beside him.

Soft peacock feathers began to slide slowly from her forehead, brushing against her long eyelashes and stroking her pert nose, and then... she heard the person next to her give a soft, muffled protest, then simply buried her face in the pillow and continued to sleep soundly.

Her rosy face appeared almost translucent in the increasingly bright indoor light, and her rosy lips were slightly pouting as she pressed her face into the pillow, making her look so tempting that one wanted to take a bite.

The sparrow feathers, which had just committed some mischief, were stirring again. This time, they lightly brushed against the red lips, passed over the cheeks, and lingered on the earlobe and auricle.

Seeing Yan Hui'er's increasingly trembling eyelids and furrowed brows, Qin Ji's smile became even more pronounced.

"Ah! You bastard who disturbs my peaceful sleep!" Finally, Xiao Yan was provoked and got up from under the covers.

Qin Ji felt a sudden darkness before his eyes as a soft, slightly sweet-smelling blanket was pulled over his head, followed by the pain of being "heavily" pounded all over his body.

"Qin Ji, you dare to mess with me and wake me up! Do you dare to do it again?" Xiao Yan Hui's mood at this moment was comparable to that of someone who had just finished a big project and finally wanted to sleep in on their day off, but was woken up by that tactless person. She was extremely irritable.

Then, upon discovering that the oblivious person was still leisurely lying next to him with a cheerful smile, his anger surged even higher. In a fit of rage, he covered Qin Ji's hateful smile with his own, nimbly flipped over and straddled him, giving him a good beating.

"Pfft... Haha, I was wrong, I was wrong, I won't do it again." Qin Ji admitted his mistake while stretching his hands out from under the covers.

With a swift movement, Xiao Yan Hui felt as if the world had turned upside down.

Well, now it's Xiao Yan who's trapped in the blankets again. But she's a little better off than Qin Ji was before, at least her head is outside, although her body is wrapped up in the blankets like a silkworm.

Her panting lips were quickly kissed.

"You...uh!"

She only said one word before she was kissed again.

Then, when Qin Ji tried to use the same trick to marry her again, Xiao Yan preemptively struck first.

The sound of "thump" was the sound of their foreheads hitting each other.

Qin Ji bumped into her and heard Xiao Yan hiss slightly. He quickly looked at her forehead and saw a faint red mark on her fair skin: "Did it hurt? Nobody does what you do, hurting yourself terribly."

As he spoke, he rubbed her forehead with his palm.

"Who told you to provoke me so early in the morning?" Xiao Yan, wrapped in the blanket, rolled away from Qin Ji's grasp before finally emerging from the blanket.

After coming out, her gaze quickly swept over a certain part of Qin Ji, and sure enough... she hadn't been mistaken when they were folded together under the blanket.

"Why is it so early? If you sleep any longer, you can have lunch right away. Get up and wash up. Aren't you hungry?" Although Xiao Yan's gaze moved quickly, Qin Ji still didn't miss it, and without the blanket to block or cover her, it was indeed quite obvious.

"I'm going to wash up first." With feigned composure, Qin Ji got out of bed with a slightly stiff and awkward posture. It was fortunate that he remembered to call the maid guarding the door to come in and serve Xiao Yanhui in this situation.

"Pfft, hahaha..." At this moment, Xiao Yanhui was lying on the edge of the bed, looking at Qin Ji's back and his bright red ears, covering her mouth and kicking her feet in the air, laughing softly.

Hearing laughter behind him and feeling the lingering excitement in his body, Qin Ji wiped his face and could only manage a helpless smile.

God knows he's been counting down the days, but since he made a promise to Yan Hui'er back then, he doesn't want to break it. This is probably a kind of ritual for them, so he's stubbornly holding on until her birthday.

The result was that it was difficult to sleep in the same bed as someone else.

"Qin Ji, with your perseverance, you'll succeed at anything, really." Xiao Yan's teasing voice came from behind, and Qin Ji gritted his teeth.

......

They already woke up late, and after all that fuss, by the time they had both washed up and sat down to eat, it was already lunchtime.

"What else do we need to do?" Xiao Yan picked up a piece of Yunnan ham and stir-fried vegetables with her chopsticks and showed a satisfied smile. This Wangfu kitchen can be considered to have been trained.

"My lord, Your Highness, the matter has been completed." Wei Sa, as expected of a secret guard, appeared and disappeared without a trace. Suddenly, he appeared at the window and reported this.

"Understood." Qin Ji had barely finished speaking when Wei Sa outside the window had already disappeared.

Xiao Yan realized that Wei Sa was referring to the person who had entered the study yesterday and stolen the secrets.

"We've already chosen that house in the east of the city, and since this Prince's Mansion still needs further renovations, we can move there. We have our own people working there now, so we'll feel more comfortable and at ease living there."

Aside from moving, all you need to do is maintain a good relationship with your fifth sister-in-law. If you have time, you can also choose a few female relatives with compatible temperaments to visit each other.

The rest involves managing some of our businesses. Not only will you have some of your existing assets, but I'll also gradually transfer some of mine to you for handling.

At this point, Qin Ji frowned.

After that, he would have to shift his focus to the court, and the power of the Imperial Guards couldn't be obtained simply by holding the title of deputy commander. He might need to devote more attention to this army that was closest to the capital.

Now that the emperor has given him such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he is certainly not going to relinquish this part of the military force.

The things Yan Hui will have to deal with afterward are no less than his, and may even be quite arduous.

Faced with her emotional concerns, Xiao Yan readily agreed to return this time.

She was particularly interested in business management, and all the businesses she had handled in the past few years had been very profitable. This undoubtedly boosted her confidence and gave her a lot of enjoyment.

Moreover, before coming to the capital, Xiao Yan had already made comprehensive plans and designs for the subsequent development after arriving here, so she wasn't unaware of the situation. She felt confident that she could handle it well.

At this moment, I wasn't thinking about the hardships that lay ahead, but rather about the excitement and ambition I was about to have for what I was about to do.

"Don't worry, I've been managing most of your businesses for a year or two now. Do you think I've caused you losses? Besides, you've seen my plans before, and we've discussed them one by one. They're all highly feasible."

Thinking about the days when I can make a fortune every day, it doesn't seem like a big deal to work hard, right? Xiao Yanhui comforted Qin Ji instead.

Seeing her so confident and radiant, Qin Ji could only say, "What more could a husband ask for?"