I, who disguised myself as a woman, turned out to be a queen! ?

Chapter 1223 Empress: Young lady, you're in danger doing this.

The sky is leaky, the moon is dim, and the earth is remote, so the wind blows indiscriminately.

This place, Zhaoxingfang, located at the foot of the wall of the capital, was mostly a courtyard where large shops stored their goods. It was only exposed to the sun for half a day, so it was very dark.

It's only late in the evening, and the moonlight is blocked by the city wall, so not a single ray of light shines through.

The two long streets were all dark, with only a few rooms illuminated by dim candlelight, but compared to the darkness, they were nothing more than grains of rice.

Inside a courtyard, a middle-aged scholar in a blue robe and a jade crown held two dark gray chess pieces in his palm. He walked with his hands clenched gently, making the pieces creak.

Push the door open and enter.

There were already six or seven people sitting inside.

The scholar, unhurried, turned and closed the door, leaving only a single candle for light in the center of the group.

Everyone looked at the man, who appeared to be in his thirties, had read a few books, and exuded a calm and composed demeanor.

After the scholar sat down, he said, "The Empress did not go to the Su residence. But that doesn't mean she didn't go."

The others looked at him.

The only woman among them looked at the scholar without any politeness: "Mr. Shen, stop with the riddles. I don't have time to play riddles with you today!"

Shen Yuanhao, now the Vice Minister of the Imperial Guard, glanced at the woman and said with a smile, "As we expected, the wife of the Marquis of Anshan has been exposed, and she did not see the Empress."

A burly man frowned: "Doesn't this mean the Empress didn't go to the Su residence? If that's the case, then according to what you're saying, something must have happened in the palace, or rather, to the Empress. And don't forget what I just said: Wu Xingba, that good-for-nothing with one finger missing, sealed off all the gates leading to and from the outer palace walls, even the small gates. Even a lowly captain like me was summoned there."

Shen Yuanhao smiled and said, "That's the biggest problem."

Everyone looked at him.

Shen Yuanhao said, "We can't use Anshanbo anymore. He will definitely be investigated. Although it won't involve us, we can't underestimate the people of Shence Mansion. My suggestion is to do nothing for now."

One of them stood up and looked at Shen Yuanhao: "That sounds nice, but fifteen ships' worth of grain are gone, and that Xu kid even raided the hideout of seven hundred suits of armor. The general is still waiting for us to deliver them! Moreover, I took out all the forged Ministry of Revenue documents from before. The court is in chaos. Today, those officials are like madmen, especially Yang Shanchang, who even went to Su Wenqing and had a huge argument. Without the emperor to keep things in order, even if it's chaotic for a day, it's still a day sooner for us. I found those documents in Yuzhou, Luzhou, and Huizhou, which should be enough to fill about twelve large ships of grain, or at least ten if things are a little worse. As for the armor, I can't do anything about it."

Another person spoke up: "Dugu Ruyuan from the Dali Temple has already begun to suspect that there are problems within the temple, so he did not notify me to do anything. Instead, he secretly found a few people to investigate whether the grain and armor matters were related to the Six Ministries. If you want to do it, have someone send them out tonight. As you said, the sooner the better for us."

The official from the Ministry of Revenue nodded and sat down, but kept his hands clenched as he looked at Shen Yuanhao.

Instead, the official from the Dali Temple looked at Shen Yuanhao and said, "Mr. Shen, I think you understand what you mean. You think this is the Empress's youngest daughter playing the same old tricks again, trying to lure us into a trap, is that right?"

Shen Yuanhao said, "Whether it is true or not, she will definitely start investigating this time."

The woman clenched her fists: "You said it yourself, whether or not... In other words, she might really be sick, but she might also be faking it. Unlike you, Mr. Shen, who has a bright future, we're stuck with our past reputations. This is our life. We can only gamble!"

Shen Yuanhao did not continue speaking, but instead asked, "Yang Shanchang, did you deliberately go to the Prince of An's residence and the Prince of Chu's residence today because of those rumors you spread to disgust the young emperor?"

The former official from the Ministry of Revenue cursed, "Old fool! Even now, you still think he can lure us into a trap?!"

Shen Yuanhao spoke up: "I think he didn't intend for us to go looking for it, and he doesn't think we're stupid enough to do that."

An official from the Ministry of Revenue spoke up: "What does he mean by that! Back then, everyone respectfully called him 'teacher' and followed him, but he sold them all out! All the wealth he had accumulated over the years went into the national treasury! That old bastard did this just to save his own life and the lives of his family!"

The woman spoke up, "Disgusting to you?"

Shen Yuanhao laughed and said, "Don't underestimate Su Wenqing and Yang Shanchang. The old are immortal and they are evil. The two of them are not just planning to do this. Especially Yang Shanchang, there must be a reason why he is so active this time."

The Imperial Guard general slapped his thigh: "Who cares what they're going to do? If you ask me, the most important thing is to get the grain and armor to Shu as soon as possible. Besides, Mr. Shen, you were planning to have Zhang Tai and Yan Wenxu do those things, but the Empress found out and ruined everything, delaying a lot of our work. We almost couldn't even deliver the grain and armor to Shu."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yuanhao smiled helplessly. It was after that incident that these people began to disobey him.

His original idea was that Zhang Tai and Yan Wenxu, one in charge of commerce and the other in charge of transporting armor, would make things much easier once things were settled, as many merchants in the capital would be on his side. However, he never expected that these two fools would get into trouble over a woman.

The official from the Dali Temple spoke up: "Whether it succeeds or not, tonight was just a discussion about whether to do this or not. Since everyone except Mr. Shen agrees to do it, then let's do it! Fortune favors the bold, what else can we lose? At worst, we can all go home, pack our bags, and leave. Anyway, no one will care if we leave."

"Gentlemen," a middle-aged man who had been silent until now opened his eyes in the corner, "I don't care what you do or how you act, but there's a girl watching from the rooftop outside."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression froze.

The middle-aged man spoke up: "I'll have my apprentice handle this. Everyone, please discuss this and make a decision quickly, then leave. It's not safe here anymore."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man gently knocked on the window a few times.

On the rooftop of a two-story building in another house directly opposite this place, Qi Pei was lying there.

With such a major incident occurring in the capital today, the sword-wielding officers under the command of the Thirteen Left and Right Guards naturally received orders as well.

Qi Pei wasn't sure if this was the right place.

But she had a list in her hand.

The judge of the Dali Temple, Dian Cong. Previously, Li Nishang's faction was somewhat ambiguous.

Fan Junwen, the head of the granary department of the Ministry of Revenue. He used to work for Yan Jingqing.

Zhang Tao, a captain of the Imperial Guards. Before Wu Xingba, he was a subordinate of the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards under Li Nishang.

And Fang Qing, who was transferred from the Shangyi Bureau due to her interactions with Li Nishang, is now the head of the Jiali Division of the Ministry of Rites.

Without exception, all four of them had some connection with those former traitors. The reason why they were still able to hold official positions and not be purged was simple: it meant that these people were only in contact and had not yet done anything to violate the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty.

As a result, they were only transferred to minor departments, and without exception, all of them were minor officials of the seventh or even eighth rank.

Qi Pei hid on the roof, holding a tinderbox in his hand, his brows furrowed as he looked at the list in his hand.

There were only a few people there, but a scholar had just walked into the room.

If Qi Pei is not mistaken.
He remembered that the man was the Vice Minister of the Imperial Guard, not a high-ranking official, but still a sixth-rank official.

What is he doing here?

And
Qi Pei got to know that person because Lin Huaimu introduced her to him through a man named Shen Pei.

Qi Pei only learned what Mr. Shen had done later, and he felt great respect for him.

And the "Shen" in Shen Yuanhao is the same as the "Shen" in Shen Pei.

He is Mr. Shen Pei's younger brother.

"Qi Pei, you'll burn yourself lying down like that with the tinderbox. It's dangerous." Just as Qi Pei was frowning, wondering why Shen Yuanhao was here, he suddenly heard this.

Qi Pei's expression froze for a moment, and he turned to look over.

They were already relying on the faint light of the tinderbox, but when they turned their heads, a demonic face appeared right in front of them.

Qi Pei's pupils immediately dilated, and he quickly stood up.

But your hand might slip.

(End of this chapter)