I just reached the maximum level, and you want me to be a puppet emperor?

Chapter 138 Who encouraged this unhealthy trend? (Please subscribe and vote)

Pang Jin is not a rigid and reckless person. After so many years in the officialdom of the imperial capital, he also knows the rules here.

Even though everyone thinks Lin Yue'e is very stereotyped, she also understands certain principles, she is just more persistent.

In Pang Jin's opinion, the person who benefited the most from the death of the prince and the emperor was undoubtedly Li Chen.

Regardless of the reasons why the Queen Mother supported Li Chen in the first place, the Queen Mother and Li Chen now have a very harmonious relationship. As the Minister of Justice, he can naturally find out this.

Having solved cases in the Ministry of Justice for many years, Pang Jin naturally has his own way of thinking.

Since the arrow is now pointing to the Queen Mother's forces, the people in the dark are instigating him to deal with the Queen Mother.

Pang Jin now has several plan ideas in his mind.

In the worst case scenario, the prince's death might have been done by Li Chen. Li Chen and the queen mother were in cahoots. Only if the prince died suddenly and the emperor passed away could Li Chen take the opportunity to ascend to the throne legitimately.

Perhaps the forces hiding in the dark wanted to tell Pang Jin this.

Pang Jin only dared to think about these things, but he definitely didn't dare to say them out loud.

If this is true, Pang Jin will definitely stop the investigation or delay the progress of the investigation. As the Minister of Justice, he can still do this.

As long as he doesn't want to investigate, no one will know how the prince died.

He can continue investigating indefinitely on the pretext that there are not enough clues.

This is what the previous Minister of Justice, Feng Huai, did, but he did lack clues.

Pang Jin was only a newly promoted Minister of Justice and was not bold enough to investigate the emperor.

Besides, the Minister of Justice is just the emperor's dog, and it is not right for a dog to bite its master.

Pang Jin's power was given by Li Chen, and Li Chen is also his background. If he overthrows Li Chen, he will be the one who suffers.

He is just capable and doesn't like to go along with the crowd. His goal is to survive in a complicated place like the imperial capital. He is not so honest as to get to the bottom of everything.

Besides, there is no right or wrong in the royal struggle.

Li Chen has reached the great perfection of the saint realm. Even a famous and powerful master like Dingtian Shangren has been defeated by him. There is no need for him to provoke Li Chen, and he has no way to deal with Li Chen.

However, Pang Jin felt that this was most likely not done by Li Chen. Li Chen did not have the desire for imperial power, and he did not centralize power after becoming emperor.

In other words, if Li Chen wanted to be emperor, he could just show his strength directly, and then the late emperor would even beg him to be the emperor. There would be no need for him to resort to such means and ruin his own reputation.

Even if that doesn't happen, Pang Jin still has to consider the possibility.

The second option is that it was done by the Queen Mother and has nothing to do with Li Chen.

Then the person in secret must want to take this opportunity to sow discord between Li Chen and the Queen Mother.

Because once the matter is investigated and the truth is made public, Li Chen will definitely deal with the Queen Mother in order to maintain the dignity of the royal family.

The most important thing is that Li Chen has the ability to deal with it, he is the emperor of the Saint Realm.

So judging from the current relationship between Li Chen and the Queen Mother, Li Chen is just cutting off one of his own arms.

If something happens to the Queen Mother, Zou Shi of Xiliang will not let it go.

If it was really done by the Queen Mother, Pang Jin came to ask Li Chen whether he wanted to investigate further.

If Li Chen really wanted to deal with the Queen Mother, Pang Jin would definitely be the vanguard. If Li Chen wanted to protect the Queen Mother, Pang Jin would pretend not to see it.

It all depends on what Li Chen wants him to do.

Of course, Pang Jin did not mention the first plan, he only told us the idea of ​​the second plan.

As for other options, they are irrelevant and he has the ability to solve them himself.

Just because Pang Jin doesn't dare to touch the people around Li Chen doesn't mean he doesn't dare to touch other people.

As the Minister of Justice, others should be afraid of him.

In recent times, he has dealt with quite a few royal nobles.

Li Chen looked at the file in his hand and indeed realized this.

The Queen Mother must be hiding something very deeply. Perhaps she had been playing games with the Emperor a long time ago. Li Chen had heard a little about this.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work recently. Please check this matter here first, and I will reply to you tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Pang Jin took his leave and left.

He has a lot of things to do, and next he will be busy with the work of connecting with the sect.

This point may be brought up in court tomorrow.

The Tiance Dynasty needs to set up a new department to be responsible for the registration and management of these sects.

This administrative department has great power, equal to the six ministries, and is in charge of a lot of resources, so Li Chen’s confidants need to be arranged to take charge.

Pang Jin would definitely recommend Lin Yue'e. Although Lin Yue'e's official position is low, her political achievements are really outstanding, but she has not been promoted yet.

At that time, even if other court officials had opinions, they would not dare to speak directly. If they opposed Lin Yue'e, they would most likely offend Li Chen.

Pang Jin had considered stopping this matter in the Ministry of Justice.

He had considered many points here. If he were to take charge of the sect's affairs, then the power in his hands would become greater and greater. There were already many masters in the Ministry of Justice, and if he could get help from the sect's strong men, it would have a certain impact on the imperial power.

Even if everything is fine now, it’s because the current emperor is strong enough and is at the saint level.

But what about the future? Can we guarantee that the emperors who come after us will always be saints? Will the future minister of the Ministry of Justice, who has so much power, be arbitrary in ruling the country?
These are all things that Pang Jin needs to consider, so after thinking about it for a few days, he decided to set up a new department and delegate power.

By the way, do Lin Yue'e a favor.

Lin Yue'e has never been promoted to a higher position, simply because she can't find a suitable position.

Pang Jin had met Lin Yue'e and felt that she was capable and somewhat persistent, but these were secondary. The main thing was that Lin Yue'e was absolutely loyal to Li Chen.

This is just Pang Jin’s idea now, and the details can only be discussed in the court tomorrow.

There was one thing that Pang Jin was very confused about, that is, how Li Chen would deal with this matter. Did Li Chen have other ways to obtain intelligence? Or did Li Chen know some inside information?
These are just his guesses. What to do specifically depends on the news from Li Chen.

Li Chen has his own way of thinking. After Pang Jin left, he also left the imperial study and went directly to the empress dowager's bedroom.

During this period of time, the Queen Mother was practicing exercises in the room because she had eaten a lot of hot pot recently and needed to maintain her body curves.

Normally, at times like this, no one else is allowed to disturb her. The empress dowager is wearing training clothes, which is equivalent to a tights. Not to mention her plump curves, even her camel toe can be seen clearly.

After she practiced for a while, she suddenly stopped.

It wasn't because he had practiced it wrong, but because Li Chen had been standing at the door without him noticing.

It can be said that except for not seeing the whole picture, Li Chen could see clearly what the empress dowager looked like inside.

In particular, the flexibility of the Queen Mother's body and the various grooves produced by the fullness and squeezing are truly a feast for the eyes.

"Your Majesty, when did you come?" The Queen Mother stopped practicing and walked over.

Her eyes were looking at the trusted palace maid beside her, as if saying: Why didn't you tell me that the Majesty was coming?
But the trusted palace maid was also in a difficult situation. When Li Chen came, she actually wanted to report, but Li Chen made a gesture to be quiet, so she didn't dare to speak.

"I've been here for a while. I just saw that you were practicing very attentively and didn't want to disturb you. If you haven't finished practicing yet, you can continue. Don't worry about me." Li Chen said casually.

Anyway, this kind of good program is pleasing to the eye, and Li Chen wants to watch it for a while longer.

The Queen Mother's figure is indeed more tempting when she jumps out.

I will have to let Fairy Youlan and the others learn more in the future, but based on their cultivation foundation, this should not be difficult.

As the Queen Mother approached, Li Chen could feel the extreme temptation.

At this time, the Queen Mother asked the maid to bring clothes to her and put them on. Li Chen stopped her directly and asked the maid to go out, close the door and go away.

What surprised the empress dowager was that her own maid actually left.

Huh? Don't you need to ask for my opinion?

The palace maids had no idea of ​​this. They had always thought that the Queen Mother and Li Chen were in cahoots, just as Pang Jin thought.

As Li Chen approached, the Queen Mother sensed a sense of crisis. She felt that she should have paid more attention to her image just now, and now she thought that Li Chen was going to make a mistake.

Just when she was about to warn Li Chen not to mess around, Li Chen had already sat down in the seat next to her and motioned for her to sit down as well.

The Queen Mother finally breathed a sigh of relief, as she had thought she was going to be in big trouble this time.

It seemed that Li Chen wanted to talk to her about something, so she sat down next to him.

However, she always felt strange wearing this outfit while talking to Li Chen, but Li Chen's words made her dispel the complicated thoughts in her mind.

Li Chen asked, "Did you kill the prince?" The queen mother replied expressionlessly, "Your Majesty, what do you mean by that?"

She looked like this, and there was indeed no sign of any psychological fluctuations.

This is what she learned in the harem.

However, the fluctuations in his body can still be seen.

She couldn't hide this.

"My subordinates have already found the Zou family and asked me if I want to continue investigating." Li Chen still spoke casually.

"I don't understand what you mean." The Queen Mother had been observing Li Chen's expression, as if she wanted to see something.

"Hey, don't tell me these roundabout ways. You know what our relationship is. If you killed him, just tell me directly. I will ask Pang Jin to stop investigating. If you didn't kill him, I will ask Pang Jin to continue investigating. I will tell you the truth. Just look at my answer."

Li Chen is not the kind of person who likes to waste time or play games.

If it were any other emperor who was not so powerful, he would definitely be afraid of the pressure from the court officials and afraid of offending the empress dowager, so he would have to inquire indirectly. It would be best if he could not let the empress dowager know that he was inquiring about her and do things in a secretive manner.

Then when the Queen Mother heard the news, she would also be on guard and try to test the waters with words.

The two began to play the game.

They are friendly on the surface, but fight to the death in secret.

Li Chen has no need to do these troublesome things, and he doesn't like to intrigue with others.

He could even ask directly like he was doing now.

You have your conspiracies, and I have my own way of playing.

When I have the ability to make anyone disappear from this world, I can play the game the way I want.

Li Chen looked at the Queen Mother and said, "Just tell me the truth. We have a good relationship. If it was really you who did it, I will protect you. Anyway, I am not familiar with the Prince, and I don't claim to be a wise ruler."

Hearing what Li Chen said, even the empress dowager, who had been fighting openly and secretly in the harem for so many years, was stunned.

The Queen Mother would judge what a person was going to do and what his intentions were from every word he said.

Even the late emperor was very particular about his choice of words when speaking to her.

But Li Chen spoke so plainly and directly, it was the first time the empress dowager heard it.

I originally asked in a rhetorical tone, shouldn't you continue to test it out, and just say that?

Not only did she directly ask whether she had killed the prince, she also mentioned Pang Jin.

But think about it, Pang Jin is the Minister of Justice, he can indeed find out, and he also listens to Li Chen.

Besides, if Li Chen wanted to protect Pang Jin, no one would dare to touch him.

The more obedient the dog is, the more protective the owner will naturally be.

At this time, the Queen Mother opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it.

It’s not that she finds it difficult to say it, but she instinctively wants to say the conversational words. This has become her habit.

Considering that Li Chen didn't want to listen, she was thinking about how to say it directly.

After wearing a mask for a lifetime, it is difficult to tear it off.

After thinking about how to say it bluntly, the Queen Mother said, "I definitely didn't kill the prince. There's no benefit for me to kill him. But the prince wanted to please me before and had contact with my clansmen. There are many factions within the Zou family, and I can't control them alone. You can ask Pang Jin to continue investigating."

The Zou family is a large and complex clan. In order to gain more power, the people in it naturally make friends with other forces everywhere.

Not to mention the remnants of the previous dynasty, the Zou family has come into contact with even the foreign forces from the West, their own King Zhennan, and even the top families of the Tiance Dynasty.

The reason why the Queen Mother said this was because she also wanted to know who was responsible for the death of the Crown Prince, and since she had a very good relationship with Li Chen now, she could also appropriately help Li Chen get rid of those people in her family who had grievances against Li Chen.

As long as Li Chen's throne is stable, her position will also be stable.

It’s not like the Queen Mother had never thought about becoming an empress, but the Emperor was at the saint level, so what could she do?

People are flexible. At that time, Li Chen did not deliberately play dumb to humiliate her, so she just climbed down the stairs, thinking about changing the track and "recruiting" Li Chen to her own camp, which was actually possible.

It cannot be said that Li Chen should submit to her. As long as she needs it, Li Chen can help. Isn't this a way to belong to her own camp?

It was because she wanted to understand this that she started investing in Li Chen.

As for the remnants of the previous dynasty and other things, the empress dowager knew a lot, but Li Chen didn't ask, and she was too lazy to say.

She has many secrets hidden in her.

Li Chen was too lazy to know too much. The imperial capital was undercurrent, like a vortex that could swallow people at any time. Most people hid, fearing that they would be targeted by the vortex and then swallowed.

But he dared to stand outside alone and do things according to his own will, and Xuanwo didn't dare to get close to him.

Because it is still uncertain who will destroy whom.

Now that he knew that the prince was not killed by the Queen Mother, Li Chen was willing to stay here for a while.

He even had dinner with the Queen Mother before returning.

What made the Queen Mother speechless was that she wanted to change clothes the whole time, but Li Chen simply refused to let her do so on the grounds that it looked better this way.

She was a little helpless, do you think it looks good? I am too embarrassed to point it out to you!

The Queen Mother continued to wear the shameful training clothes until Li Chen left.

In Li Chen's bedroom, Chu Ruoyan had been waiting here for a long time. She wanted to share Xia Qing's information with Li Chen.

She had just found out what Xia Qing liked.

As long as we tell Li Chen these, it will be easier for Li Chen to conquer him, and it can also be regarded as helping Li Chen to relieve his worries to the best of his ability.

But before she could open her mouth, Li Chen blocked her mouth.

The next day in the court, Li Chen was still sitting lazily on the dragon throne.

No matter how he sat, the court officials felt that he was like a real dragon!
When it comes to reporting on others in court, the court officials all think that Pang Jin is the most active, and every time he opens his mouth, someone gets into trouble.

But this time, the first to step forward was the Assistant Minister of War.

Everyone thought that he would start talking about the war situation in the north. He would talk about every great victory at the morning court. This was a routine and his duty.

But when the Assistant Minister of War opened his mouth, he did not talk about the war situation in the north, but about his own Shangshu Zou Chong. He had been in Qingqiu City for such a long time, but had not sent back any news. He was simply incompetent and of low level, and might even have been bribed by the Third Prince!
The Minister of War is the Empress Dowager's man, and the unknown Vice Minister of War dared to make a report. He is really bold.

More court officials believed that this might be the intention of a certain big shot in the court, who wanted to weaken the power of the empress dowager.

But Li Chen seemed to have noticed that the Assistant Minister of War seemed to be full of resentment, and it was he who reported it.

As the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, he is acting as the Minister of War. Now he is required to take charge of the military situation, resource mobilization, etc. of the war in the north.

He is busy from morning to night, and in the end the political achievements may be given to Zou Chong.

Thinking of this, the Assistant Minister of War would certainly not be convinced. He was receiving the salary of an Assistant Minister but doing the work of a Shangshu. What if the war was about to end and Zou Chong came back to grab the credit?

Instead of trying to save face, he simply reported his own minister.

Anyway, Zou Chong went to Qingqiu City for a long time but nothing happened, so it was reasonable for him to participate.

At this time, many court officials were looking at Li Chen. Li Chen had a good relationship with the Queen Mother. Would he have a conflict with the Queen Mother over the Minister of War?

Perhaps they overlooked one point. Li Chen didn't seem to know that the Minister of War was the Empress Dowager's man.

Even if he knew, it didn’t matter. In Li Chen’s view, weren’t these all his subordinates?
I don’t care who you are. I am the emperor and you have to listen to me!
Since this subordinate feels aggrieved and the other subordinate cannot achieve any results, then it is easy to deal with.

Li Chen said, "You have performed really well recently, so you can switch positions with the Minister of War."

When the Minister of War heard this, he was overjoyed. He got promoted! He finally made it!
He immediately knelt down to thank the emperor and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

This surprised the surrounding court officials.

They thought that Li Chen would appease the Minister of War and give him some reward, and the matter would be over.

Who knew that Li Chen would give him a promotion? If he hadn't asked for it this time, he might have been just a working assistant minister of the Ministry of War all his life.

What happened next was outrageous. Prime Minister Zhao Wenyuan felt that many people were looking at him.

He suddenly thought of something and glared back.

You are rebelling, and you still want to interfere with my promotion! ?

Who is encouraging this unhealthy trend?
Oh, it’s Your Majesty, that’s okay!

(End of this chapter)