Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1545: While the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits!

After carefully selecting Guo Yan, Qiqige also found some famous storytellers from Yijing to teach Guo Yan, so that An Miaoyi could have a better experience in listening to books!

The girl Guo Yan was very smart. She also knew that she had served the Empress well in the palace, which was good for her. So she studied very hard. In just one month, she could speak very well.

At this time, under Guo Yan's vivid and emotional narration, An Miaoyi, who was sitting on the sofa, couldn't help but sigh at the unfairness of fate. The heroine Lin Yan'er in the novel Butterfly Tears really had a tragic fate. She finally got together with the person she loved, but unexpectedly, before they had been in love for a few years, her husband had a new love, and she was even bullied by her mother-in-law!
As An Miaoyi thought about it, she didn't know why she felt empathy. She suddenly sat up from the sofa and cursed:
"No man is good! They are all heartless bastards!"

After An Miaoyi said this, the palace maids and nannies in the room, although they didn't know what was going on, were so scared that they knelt on the ground and trembled, not knowing what to do!
Just when everyone was at a loss, Qiqige walked into the room. After seeing the situation in the room, she was stunned for a moment, then gave a look to the other people in the room, and all the palace maids and nannies immediately bowed and retreated.

After all the maids and nannies left, Qiqige also asked tentatively:

"My lady, do you know everything?"

An Miaoyi frowned slightly upon hearing this, somewhat confused as to what it meant, and immediately asked back:

"What do I know?"

"Your Majesty, where did you go to Murong Xinyun again tonight..."

As soon as these words came out, An Miaoyi's already ugly expression immediately dimmed by three points. She sat back on the sofa and closed her eyes and asked:
"How many times has this happened?"

"This is the fifth time in the past ten days, and it happened two days in a row!"

After saying this, An Miaoyi said coldly:
"Although this little girl is usually quiet, she is really capable!"

Qiqige nodded and agreed:

"Even when Concubine Pei was the most favored, His Majesty only went to bed with her three or four times in ten days at most. Now this bitch has been to bed with her for the fifth time in ten days. It seems that she is more favored than Concubine Pei. I really don't know what tricks this bitch has!"

An Miaoyi's eyes flashed with a strange look when she heard this. After pondering for a moment, she asked:

"Where is Murong Hui?"

Qiqige thought for a moment and replied:

"He should be arriving in Jiyu soon!"

An Miaoyi nodded slightly, and then stopped talking, looking like she was thinking about something.

Seeing this, Qiqige asked cautiously:
"My queen, do you want to have your men find an opportunity to get rid of this evil?"

Qiqige's words interrupted An Miaoyi's thoughts. An Miaoyi glanced at the maid who had grown up with her, and then said unhappily:
"He is now the governor of Liaoyang appointed by His Majesty himself. How many heads do you have to kill him?"

Hearing An Miaoyi say this, Qiqige couldn't help but look a little unhappy, while An Miaoyi said leisurely:
“Although we cannot touch him, you have to have your men keep an eye on him, especially his every move in Ji and Yu. He used to be an inspector in Ji and Yu, and he might reveal something when he returns to Ji and Yu this time…”

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The next day, Yijing

Although Su Junjie was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, he was not like another Vice Minister, Chen Changgui, who usually liked to work in the Ministry of Works. He preferred to return to the Second Manufacturing General Administration to work in his own area.

However, today Su Junjie did not go to the Second Manufacturing General Administration as usual, but came to the Ministry of Industry early in the morning!

The reason why Su Junjie behaved abnormally was that the Ministry of Works was leaderless. The Minister of Works Chen Fu resigned due to old age and frailty, and the Vice Minister of Works Chen Changgui was beaten with thirty sticks in the court and could not walk, so he was recuperating at home. So when the top two figures in the Ministry of Works were unable to perform their duties for some reason, Su Junjie, the third-ranked figure in the Ministry of Works, had to come out to preside over the work of the Ministry of Works!
After spending a day at the Ministry of Industry and handling some matters, Su Junjie also got off work on time. However, he did not go home directly as usual. Instead, he asked his driver to come to a mansion.

As the carriage stopped in front of the mansion, Su Junjie got off the carriage. Looking at the words "Chen Mansion" on the door plaque, Su Junjie smiled slightly, then raised his hand and asked the attendants around him to go in and report!

After the attendant announced his identity, Su Junjie was quickly invited into the mansion. In the main hall, Su Junjie leisurely drank a sip of tea. At this moment, a plump and beautiful woman came out. This person was none other than the wife of Chen Changgui, the Minister of Works, and Lady Wang, a fifth-rank lady of the Daqian Empire!

Seeing the visitor, Su Junjie stood up, bowed, and said with a smile:

"Junjie meets sister-in-law!"

After Wang returned the greeting, she said apologetically:
"Sir Su, my husband is not feeling well and cannot meet guests. I hope you can forgive me..."

Su Junjie smiled and said:
"Sister-in-law, I have worked with my elder brother Chen for many years. I believe that my elder brother Chen understands me. I really have something important to discuss with him. Please talk to my elder brother Chen!"

Wang was a little embarrassed when she heard this, but when Su Junjie bowed, the woman nodded and walked back. After a cup of tea, Wang walked back again and nodded at Su Junjie and said:
"Master Su, please come in!"

Because he had been to the Chen Mansion several times, Su Junjie was not unfamiliar with the Chen Mansion and did not need Wang to lead the way. He walked into Chen Changgui's bedroom with familiarity. At this time, Chen Changgui was lying on the bed with a dark face. Su Junjie couldn't help but chuckle when he saw this.

Chen Changgui pretended to be angry when he heard this: "Su Junjie, if you are here to laugh at me, get out of here!"

Su Junjie stopped smiling when he heard this and said seriously:

"My dear brother, even if I laugh at others, I can't laugh at you!"

"How's the injury?"

Chen Changgui sighed and said:

"Thanks to Director Ye's care, although my skin is torn apart after the thirty lashes, they are just superficial injuries. It's nothing serious. I will be fine in ten days or half a month..."

Su Junjie nodded slightly and said:

"Director Ye is indeed a rare good man! It is a blessing for us brothers to have him in the Guards Department!"

The two chatted for a while, and then Chen Changgui took the lead in getting to the point:

"Junjie, you came to see me today. Do you have an explanation for what's going to happen next?"

Under Chen Changgui's gaze, Su Junjie said with a serious face:

"I heard from my friends in the Ministry of Personnel that His Majesty is planning to demote you, Brother Chen, to become a prefect!"

Although Chen Changgui had been mentally prepared for the current outcome after learning that Chen Fu had really retired and returned to his hometown that day, when he really heard such a result, Chen Changgui still felt mixed emotions and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Seeing this, Su Junjie couldn't help but comfort him:

"Brother Chen, how can life be smooth sailing? How can there be no storms blocking the road you are determined to take?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Changgui forced a smile and nodded slightly.

Su Junjie continued to speak:
"Brother Chen, to be honest, after something like this, there is still a prefect to do it. It has already made a big thing small, and a small thing nothing. This is only you, Brother Chen. If it were someone else, I'm afraid by now, I'm afraid they would have been fired!"

Chen Changgui couldn't help but fall into memories when he heard this. In fact, he felt a little regretful after the quarrel with Chen Fu at the meeting of the Ministry of Works that day. After all, Chen Fu was still the Shangshu and his superior. It was absolutely a taboo in officialdom to insult his superior in public. According to the rules of the court, he would be dismissed from his post...

In view of the serious consequences, some of Chen Changgui's subordinates persuaded him to find Chen Fu and admit his mistake, so that he could get lenient treatment!
Chen Changgui had seriously considered this suggestion. If it were someone else, he might have really admitted his mistake. However, Chen Changgui looked down on Chen Fu, the old man, from the bottom of his heart and felt that he was not worthy of being the Minister of Works of Daqian!

So Chen Changgui really couldn't lower his head. Just thinking about bowing his head and admitting his mistake to Chen Fu made him feel sick and wanted to vomit!
In addition to his unwillingness to bow his head, Chen Changgui also has confidence in himself. The First Manufacturing Bureau has been developing very well under his leadership over the years, especially the several projects that His Majesty has focused on are progressing steadily. When His Majesty came to inspect, he always gave high praise. These are the reasons why he dares to challenge Chen Fu!

Chen Changgui believes that he has the trust of His Majesty, and even if you, Chen Fu, really report the matter, you may not be able to do anything to him.

But the facts proved that Chen Changgui was a little too self-righteous. Although Ye Mingsheng admired his abilities, he cared more about the laws of the court.

That day in the imperial study, Ye Mingsheng said, "I was also a general of the Great Zhou. Am I a traitor in your eyes?" It can be said that Chen Changgui was frightened to death. Chen Changgui really did not expect Ye Mingsheng to be so angry. If he knew that Ye Mingsheng would be so angry, he would have gone to Chen Fu to make amends and apologize...

Although he was scared half to death at the time, Chen Changgui soon realized that His Majesty wanted to lift him up high and put him down gently, so he soon felt relieved. However, he did not expect that Chen Fu, the old idiot, would be so ungrateful and insisted on forcing His Majesty to deal with him!
As a result, he was beaten with thirty sticks and lost his position as the Minister of Works. Chen Fu was also not in a good situation and had to retire and return home. It can be said that the two of them fought to a draw and neither of them gained any advantage!

After pondering for a while, Chen Changgui looked at Su Junjie. In this turmoil in the Ministry of Industry, the only person who benefited from it was probably Su Junjie!
Thinking of all his efforts, which were ultimately in vain for Su Junjie, Chen Changgui could not help but glare at Su Junjie and said with a hint of reluctance:

"This time, Chen Fu and I were fighting each other, and you got to be the fisherman!"

Su Junjie waved his hand and said:

"My dear Brother Chen, please don't talk nonsense about this matter!"

"Humph! If you really haven't even started yet, would you come to me? You must be going to find Minister Gu now!"

Seeing that Chen Changgui saw through his little thoughts, Su Junjie smiled awkwardly, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise!
As both Su Junjie and Chen Changgui were assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, it was natural that they were no exception and had ideas about the position of the Minister of Works. And as a meritorious minister of Daqian, Su Junjie also had complaints and objections to Chen Fu, an outsider, becoming the Minister of Works.

However, compared to Chen Changgui, Su Junjie's reaction was not as intense. After all, he knew very well that even if Chen Fu was not the Minister of Works, the position would belong to Chen Changgui, not him, Su Junjie!
He and Chen Changgui lead the First Manufacturing Bureau respectively, and their official ranks are similar. On the surface, they seem to be equals and neither is more powerful than the other, but in fact, there is a huge gap between them...

During the previous war period, the First Manufacturing Bureau led by Chen Changgui could be said to be the core department of the Fengwu Army's political authority. Chen Changgui also made great contributions in ensuring the supply of arms and weapons to the front line, which made his political status in the court far higher than his own.

Therefore, Su Junjie knew very well that he had no way to compete with Chen Changgui. If he forced himself to compete with Chen Changgui, he would not have any chance of winning. Therefore, he was willing to be a younger brother in front of Chen Changgui and curse Chen Fu in private together with Chen Changgui!
Su Junjie knew that Chen Changgui was the type of person who dared to think and act, and had a strong style. What's more, the most important thing to him was Chen Fu, whom he looked down upon. So he would definitely not get along with Chen Fu, and the two would fight sooner or later. In Su Junjie's opinion, this was his best chance to get promoted!

In order to achieve this goal, Su Junjie basically did not go to the Ministry of Industry to work in the past. He worked in the office of the Second Manufacturing Bureau to paralyze Chen Fu and Chen Changgui, making you two feel that I have no intention of competing with you for power and profit, and I only want to manage my own piece of land.
Su Junjie's operation was indeed as he wished. Chen Fu and Chen Changgui were now both injured in the fight. For the stability of the Ministry of Industry, Ye Mingsheng could only make the most prudent choice and let Su Junjie serve as the Minister of Industry and preside over the daily work of the Ministry of Industry...