She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

Jiang Ruining raised his index finger and shook it: "Although the Empress Dowager is his biological mother, he also hates that she treats him like a puppet. He's not confident he can turn the tables on the Empress Dowager's faction after the cooperation ends; he won't be foolish enough to hand over the strength he's worked so hard to build!"

"Even if he wanted to give in, we couldn't force him to!"

Xiao Che raised an eyebrow: "How?"

Jiang Ruining has never experienced palace intrigue or family feuds, but she has read many novels and watched many TV dramas! She has accumulated a lot of experience.

"What the Empress Dowager needs is a puppet. If she knew that the puppet wanted to be in charge, what would she do?"

Xiao Che didn't respond, waiting for her to continue.

He was very curious about how deep this guy, who had never been involved in the imperial court or the harem and seemed to have no cunning, could see!

Jiang Ruining: "Your Majesty is thirteen years old. At this age, you can have an heir!"

"If the Empress Dowager allows His Majesty to linger on the dragon bed, then the question of whether it is you, the crown prince appointed by the late emperor, or the heir of the usurper who ascends the throne will not be raised."

"The Empress Dowager has taken action. The young emperor and his people will know that hatred is like an abyss that cannot be healed. The young emperor's scheming in the cracks shows that he is extremely ambitious and would never be willing to be killed for his own benefit. Cooperation between them is impossible!"

"The young emperor is more likely to come to you for cooperation."

Xiao Che seemed to find this quite reasonable, but then countered with a question: "How can an official dare to pledge loyalty to someone who can even harm their own mother?"

Jiang Ruining hadn't thought deeply about this question, but her mind had already come to the answer: "In the face of power, what mother and son are there? Everyone can see that in the Empress Dowager's eyes, the Emperor is merely a tool for her to seize power."

"Once Cui Shengan and the Empress Dowager are dealt with, their cronies will naturally side with the young emperor."

She frowned and looked at him.

How could such a cunning and almost demonic fellow not have thought of these things?

"So many questions, what are they? A test of my worth?"

Xiao Che didn't deny it: "Let's hear different perspectives."

Jiang Ruining was a little unhappy and pulled his hand to dip it into the icy water that had melted from the ice mirror: "For the officials of the Cui faction, offending you is already a fact. If you succeed, even if they are not purged, they will never have a chance to rise again in this life."

"But the young emperor is different. He is young, and those people will feel that the opportunity to climb over him is limitless! And opportunity will motivate ambitious people to risk everything."

"At that time, the young emperor will have the opportunity to compete with you."

Xiao Che did not stop her actions.

Not bad.

This mind is sharp enough to see things more clearly than most of the ministers in the court. If she were to be exposed to the specific situation in the court, she could see even further: "Your analysis is very good. We'll do it your way." She paused, then added, "It's a bit cold."

Jiang Ruining pulled his slightly reddened hand out of the icy water, grinned at him, and then pressed it back down: "I'm so smart!"

Her pranks were childish.

Xiao Che's lips curled upwards: "What do you think, clever Miss Jiang, is the best way to make use of an ambitious person like Grand Tutor Xu? If it is as you say, and the young emperor takes over Cui Sheng'an's power, he will lack a minister with deep roots like the Grand Tutor and Grand Protector to protect him."

"Wan Taibao is my man, so there's a high chance that Grand Tutor Xu will defect."

Jiang Ruining said, "We need to keep an ambitious man like Grand Tutor Xu on the fence, give him a break from time to time, and let him feel that he can find loopholes to develop his power in a sneaky way, so that one day he will have a chance to compete with his master for the right to speak."

"Since he is a key minister, he should naturally become the vanguard and main force for you to deal with Cui Sheng'an! According to Cui Sheng'an's temperament, if he is to lose, he will definitely drag his opponent down with him, and at that time the foundation of the Xu family will suffer a significant loss."

"Grand Tutor Xu should weigh the price he will have to pay for betraying you."

In the end of the book, he joined Xiao Che in raising the power to force the emperor to abdicate. After much deliberation, he still felt that not setting up the palace was the safest course of action!

"Grand Tutor Xu is cautious in his actions. He seeks a sure win and the glory of his entire clan. He will not do anything he is not confident about."

"Playing it safe," Xiao Che could understand: "What does 'developing stealthily' mean?"

Jiang Ruining explained: "They secretly and cautiously develop their strength in the shadows."

Xiao Che pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Your words are very interesting, and you've thought them through thoroughly."

Jiang Ruining scoffed and let go of his hand.

Suddenly, everything felt so pointless. Leaning against the edge of the tank, she sighed, "To put it nicely, it's an exam; to put it bluntly, it's a test. If I'm not smart enough, you'll definitely kick me away and leave me out of the game!"

Xiao Che glanced at the hand that had been thrown down, its sleeve slipping into the icy water and becoming soaked, darkening the color of his clothes. His heart sank slightly as well: "It's not a test, I just want to know how much you can see through."

Jiang Ruining ignored him.

"Are you angry?" Xiao Che remembered the last time she was angry, she said she wanted to learn to be a mute who couldn't speak!

If it weren't for needing his protection, I don't know how many days I would have been angry.

He didn't really understand why she was angry when she came back.

Because of a test?

Or is it because he was the one testing them?

This thought made him tighten his grip on the wet hem of his clothes, water dripping down.

Even if you don't speak well, I won't kick you out.

Jiang Ruining didn't believe it. Those in power are driven by self-interest; why would they keep a useless person around to run rampant?

"Those in positions of power don't need friends; I was just being presumptuous."

Xiao Che's phoenix eyes flickered, and his heart pounded slightly.

So he guessed right.

It's not that she can't accept being tested, it's just that she doesn't like being tested by him.

Shi'an, who was eavesdropping, muttered from ten steps away, "They can be husband and wife, even if they can't be friends!"

Xiao Che had excellent hearing and listened carefully.

Jiang Ruining's ears were filled with the chirping of cicadas, so she didn't hear it.

Xiao Che smiled, a smile he himself didn't even realize was playing on his lips: "Is it that serious?"

Jiang Ruining turned her face away, refusing to even look at him.

Xiao Che's tone, though softened, was serious: "This is a one-time exception."

Jiang Ruining covered her ears: "I don't want to talk to you right now, Your Highness Regent." She paused, "From now on, will I have to refer to myself as a servant girl or a commoner?"

His Highness the Regent regretted his actions and wanted to coax him, but he didn't know how. His kind words were like thorns, stuck in his mouth and he couldn't get them out.

Hearing the second half of the sentence made him feel like he had broken a cardinal rule.

"No need! I don't treat you like a subordinate."

Jiang Ruining seemed to have heard it, but also seemed not to have listened carefully at all. She gave an "Oh" and seemed absent-minded.

Xiao Che decided to coax him gently: "Tell me, why are you so unhappy?"

Jiang Ruining couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she was just unhappy and didn't want to talk to him.

She got up and ran off to find Zheng Lingyi to play with.

Xiao Che: "..."

He didn't follow her. Through the crowd, he watched as she became happy again, chatting animatedly with her friends.

Some helpless.

I was going to ask her what Shao Yunting had said to her earlier.

Now, I can't ask.

Shi An approached, five steps away, and sighed softly.