spend time

Song Yuan, who was standing by, was most sensitive to the sudden murderous intent of the princess, and immediately asked in a low voice: "Princess, is there something wrong in Nanyang County?"

Jiang Shaohua said nothing and stuffed the thin page of paper into Song Yuan's hand.

Song Yuan's eyes swept quickly, his expression suddenly changed, and his eyes were full of anger: "Who has such a big guts to assassinate Lord Changning!"

Chen Jinyu gasped, her pretty face turned pale: "Princess! Is Lord Changning seriously injured?"

Jiang Shaohua's face was covered with frost: "Cui Du injured his left arm. Cui Wang blocked the fatal sword for Cui Du and is now seriously injured and unconscious. Two of the three assassins were killed, and the other committed suicide by biting himself with poison."

Fortunately, Cui Du was not in danger of his life.

To Nanyang County, Cui Du is indispensable. To the county lord, Cui Du is irreplaceable. As for the unfortunate Cui Wang, whether he can survive this disaster depends on his luck.

Chen Jinyu was in mixed feelings and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Song Yuan's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he whispered: "The assassination of the Earl of Changning was aimed at the princess. In my opinion, these three assassins are most likely the same person as the mastermind last time. Someone must be resentful of the princess for blocking the way, and wants to warn her!"

Jiang Shaohua's eyes were cold and expressionless: "We in Nanyang County can pass on information faster than the imperial court. No one knows about this yet, so don't spread the word."

Song Yuan, Chen Jinyu and others all responded in a low voice.

Jiang Shaohua got off the carriage, stood outside the vermilion palace gate, looked up at the endless palace wall, and suddenly had a strong desire to leave immediately and return to Nanyang County.

No matter how good the capital is, it does not belong to her.

She worked tirelessly to maintain the stability of the court, and although she seemed to have everything under her belt, in fact, everyone was wary of her.

She has done everything she should and could do, so what's the point in staying?
It would be better to go back to her Nanyang County.

Jiang Shaohua suddenly turned around and said to Song Yuan, "Tell them to go back to the mansion and pack their luggage. We will set off back to Nanyang County in three to five days."

Song Yuan never questioned any decision made by the princess and immediately accepted the order.

Chen Jinyu was startled, and subconsciously said, "Isn't the princess going to stay in the capital for three months and return to Nanyang County at the end of the year?"

It’s only November now, and there’s still a month left before the scheduled return date!
Jiang Shaohua responded briefly: "I have changed my mind."

It was probably because Cui Du was injured! It turned out that Cui Du was so important to the princess. Upon hearing that Cui Du was injured, the princess lost her usual calmness.

Chen Jinyu sighed inwardly and said no more.

The palace gate slowly opened. Jiang Shaohua led the five people into the palace, and the rest of the guards rode back to the Nanyang Palace.

That night, Jiang Shaohua suffered from insomnia, which was rare.

As soon as she closed her eyes, Cui Du's pale face kept swaying in front of her eyes. When she thought of how Cui Du almost died at the hands of the assassin, her heart kept sinking. She was so upset that she couldn't fall asleep at all.

I finally fell asleep at the fourth watch, and woke up again at the fifth watch.

Jiang Shaohua changed into a princess's dress and put on some makeup to slightly cover the dark shadows under her eyes.

Today's court meeting was quite lively. The performance evaluation form, which was done once a month, had just come out. All the officials wanted to save face, so they acted calm on the surface, but in fact, they all pricked up their ears.

Prime Minister Wang personally read out the rankings of the ministers. The top three were Minister Zhou of Works, Minister Ji of Revenue, and Vice Minister Yang of Justice.

Minister Zhou, needless to say, personally led the officials of the Ministry of Works to repair the river embankment, and his hard work and contributions were great. Minister Ji stayed directly in the Ministry of Revenue to prepare for the war. Minister Yang was busy investigating a case and returned home late almost every day.

"This assessment form was calculated by the princess according to the template that was issued before, scoring each item one by one. Since Minister Zhou is not in the capital, please ask Minister Ji and Minister Yang to go to the emperor to see him and have him personally commend her."

Minister Ji and Vice Minister Yang held their heads high and looked very proud in the envious gazes of the ministers.

Jiang Shaohua suppressed his chaotic thoughts, smiled and praised Minister Ji and Minister Yang. Then, he glanced at Minister Li's face.

All the ministers knew what was going on and looked over in unison.

Minister Li's old face was filled with embarrassment.

Sure enough, the next moment, the princess said, "In the assessment last month, the last one was Minister Li of the Ministry of Rites. This is not Minister Li's fault. Among the six ministries, the Ministry of Rites does have the least work and is the most relaxed. Even if Minister Li wanted to show off, he didn't have much chance."

"Minister Li should submit a letter of apology to the emperor. I don't think the emperor will blame Minister Li."

The emperor would not blame him, but he had really lost face.

Minister Li agreed to it in a timid manner while his colleagues watched him. What else could he do? He ranked last in the assessment, so how could he have the confidence to argue with the princess?

The Li family was greedy for Nanyang County and even thought of asking the emperor to change the fiefdom. Empress Dowager Zheng taught Empress Dowager Li and the women of the Li family a lesson, and Jiang Shaohua hit Minister Li in the court in return.

Minister Li naturally knew what was going on, and he felt even more guilty and dared not say a word.

After the small court meeting, Zhang Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel took the initiative to speak: "The princess has inspected the five government offices, and only our Ministry of Personnel is left. The whole Ministry of Personnel respectfully welcomes the princess to come."

Since he hadn't left yet, he had to continue doing what he had to do. Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "This princess is planning to do just that."

……

The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of the assessment and promotion of officials below the third rank and is the head of the Six Ministries. The power of the Minister of Personnel is second only to the Prime Minister among civil servants.

Among the three most important civil officials under Prime Minister Wang, Zhou Shangshu was promoted by Prime Minister Wang. He was very respectful to Prime Minister Wang and almost obeyed his orders. Of course, Zhou Shangshu also had some abilities, especially in repairing the river embankment, which he did personally, and he deserves respect.

Dai Shangshu was old and experienced, and he and Prime Minister Wang were both senior officials of the same period, and they had the best personal relationship. They were not dependent on each other, but they had the same political views, and Dai Shangshu supported Prime Minister Wang in everything.

Zhang Shangshu was another case. In terms of age, Zhang Shangshu was ten years younger than Prime Minister Wang. According to the official practice of Daliang, once Prime Minister Wang retired, Zhang Shangshu would be the most powerful candidate for the next Prime Minister. Therefore, Zhang Shangshu praised Prime Minister Wang everywhere, hoping that after Prime Minister Wang retired, he could become the new Prime Minister of Daliang.

It can also be said that Prime Minister Zhang is quite ambitious in his career. Although he seems to be in the same boat with Prime Minister Wang, he also has his own plans in private.

Jiang Shaohua had been watching from the sidelines for so long and knew it all. After entering the Ministry of Personnel today, Jiang Shaohua did not rush to inspect the four departments of the Ministry of Personnel, but smiled and chatted with Minister Zhang.

Zhang Shangshu was prepared to be harassed and treated harshly. He never expected that the princess would be so gentle and polite. It was beyond his expectation and he was a little uncomfortable for a while. (End of this chapter)