When Li Rong arrived at the main hall, she saw Wang Houmin, Gu Zichun, and Zheng Qiu already seated in the hall with a dozen people.

Li Rong walked out and smiled at everyone. “It’s already this late, yet you lords still came. Have you thought through the matter from last time and come to give this palace an answer?”

Everyone stood up and bowed to Li Rong.

“Your Highness,” the eldest, Gu Zichun, spoke first. “We understand Your Highness’s meaning, but we’re just unclear—if we completely listen to Your Highness, what if Your Highness…”

Gu Zichun didn’t finish his words, but Li Rong already understood.

They wanted to ally with her because they didn’t want to personally confront Li Ming head-on.

With Li Ming currently protecting Consort Rou and Prince Su like this, he was after all the Son of Heaven. If they weren’t prepared to rebel, whoever took the lead first would risk being punished by Li Ming.

If Li Ming forcibly dealt with the person who took the lead, it would be fine if the others united and rebelled together. But what if everyone calculated their own interests and remained silent?

Everyone had their own calculations. The aristocratic families seemed like a solid bloc, but internally each had their own twists and turns. So they needed someone to come forward and bear this risk for them.

In the previous life, Li Rong had taken on this role. She understood these aristocratic families’ mentality thoroughly. So she also understood that Gu Zichun was now seeking a guarantee from her.

A guarantee that this transaction wouldn’t turn out worse than Consort Rou in the Constabulary Bureau.

“Lord Gu,” Li Rong’s voice was very soft. “This palace has a fief.”

With these words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Li Rong was imperial family, the fact that she had her own fief meant that setting aside her imperial identity, she was no different from any ordinary aristocratic family.

“Please rest assured, my lords,” Li Rong’s voice was very soft. “What this palace wants is merely,” Li Rong raised her eyes and smiled lightly, “stability.”

Stability and order.

This was also what the aristocratic families most wanted.

As long as the Crown Prince remained that virtuous, gentle, aristocratic-born, orthodox legitimate son Li Chuan, as long as the aristocratic families remained aristocratic families with their privileges, everything unchanged—that was most important.

“Then, please instruct us, Your Highness,” Wang Houmin said respectfully. “What should be our next step?”

“During these coming days, you should all gradually impeach Consort Rou together, for whatever reason—just impeach her.”

Li Rong tapped her palm with her fan. “I’ll handle the follow-up.”

“Besides this, this palace has one more requirement,” Li Rong raised her eyes to look at them. “This year’s military provisions for the northwest, the portion for Xiao Su—find a way to withhold part of it and deliver it to Qin Lin instead.”

Everyone was stunned, not expecting Li Rong to make such a request.

Seeing them hesitate, Li Rong smiled. “What, you just said you’d listen to me, but now when I tell you not to embezzle military provisions and send the money to the front lines, you can’t even do that? Xiao Su is Consort Rou’s elder brother. If you put money in his hands and make his troops strong and well-equipped, are you waiting for him to turn around and attack Hua Jing to slaughter us all?!”

“Your Highness, it’s not that we won’t listen to you,” Cui Mingzhi from the Ministry of War spoke with some difficulty. “It’s just that His Majesty has been watching the military provisions sent to Xiao Su very closely.”

“His Majesty watches closely, so you can’t think of any methods?”

Li Rong laughed coldly. These people simply didn’t want to cause trouble. If they were willing, she didn’t believe that with so many links in the chain, these aristocratic families couldn’t think of a way.

Li Ming could watch over Hua Jing, but could he watch all the way to the northwest?

“But the problem is, not only does His Majesty watch closely,” Cui Mingzhi thought for a moment and still spoke, “the Xie family is also helping Xiao Su keep watch.”

Everyone fell silent for a moment, subconsciously glancing at Li Rong.

Li Rong had exiled Xie Lanqing, who was the Xie family head. Having formed this enmity, they would probably oppose Li Rong to the end no matter what.

Li Rong listened without speaking. If a great family like the Xie family was helping Li Ming watch over Xiao Su’s military provisions, then trying to secretly manipulate these provisions would instead easily give someone leverage against them.

But continuing like this, Qin Lin, relying on tax revenue from her Qingzhou to support himself, probably couldn’t sustain it for long. Meanwhile, with Xiao Su’s strong troops and well-fed horses, in the end they might have to rely on the aristocratic families pooling their household troops to help Li Chuan.

Moreover, in this life with Su Rongqing present, whether they could even gather the aristocratic family troops was still a question.

Li Rong was thinking when she saw a maid walk in carrying refreshments. On the tray was a small folded note. Li Rong took the note to look at it and saw three characters written on it: “Cut military provisions.”

Since Xiao Su’s military provisions couldn’t be cut off, then cut them down. After all, however much provisions Xiao Su had didn’t affect Qin Lin.

He originally received the least anyway.

Li Rong hesitated for a moment before finally raising her head to look at everyone. “Then let’s cut them all.”

“Your Highness means…” Li Rong picked up a cup from beside her. “Isn’t the south repairing rivers? That requires money. Besides, right now Xiao Su is raising troops and horses in the north without doing anything, just taking court provisions—isn’t that wasting money?”

“But the front lines…”

“If you’re worried,” Li Rong’s gaze swept over them, saying to the speaker, “why not quietly send some to the front lines? How much of the military provisions actually reaches the front,” Li Rong’s tone turned slightly cold, “don’t you lords know in your hearts?”

Seeing Li Rong’s tone carry anger, everyone dared not speak. Li Rong set down her teacup and remembered something. “Oh, speaking of which, my Qingzhou plans to build a residence.”

Hearing this, everyone immediately understood. “However much silver Your Highness needs, we will prepare it immediately.”

Li Rong thought for a moment and said slowly, “This palace wants to use gold bricks for the floors and jade pillars for this residence. Although it’s not large, calculating it… five hundred gold should be the minimum requirement, shouldn’t it?”

Everyone’s faces showed difficulty. Li Rong smiled. “Or perhaps everyone feels it would be better to discuss Consort Rou’s matter with His Majesty yourselves?”

“Your Highness’s affairs are our affairs.”

Gu Zichun spoke first, saying slowly, “We need some time to prepare.”

“Fine,” Li Rong nodded. “When the money arrives, this palace will go inquire about Consort Rou’s matter.”

Hearing this, Wang Houmin quickly spoke. “Rest assured, Your Highness. Within ten days, we will definitely produce these five hundred gold.”

Wang Houwen was still in prison. Once October passed and he was executed, he couldn’t be brought back.

Li Rong smiled as she stood and nodded to everyone. “Then I’ll trouble all of you.”

After seeing everyone off, Li Rong returned to the back courtyard to find Pei Wenxuan leaning against a pillar by the courtyard gate.

“Did you hear everything just now?”

Seeing the note, Li Rong knew Pei Wenxuan had been listening in the shadows.

Pei Wenxuan raised his hand to rest on Li Rong’s shoulder, saying softly, “Your Highness even asked for an extra five hundred gold—quite calculating.”

“Otherwise who will support Qin Lin?”

Li Rong rolled her eyes. “Will you support him?”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Pei Wenxuan laughed. “I need Your Highness to support me.”

“Didn’t you inherit the family business?” Li Rong poked him. “You still want to live off me?”

“What’s mine is all Your Highness’s,” Pei Wenxuan entered the room with Li Rong. He closed the door. “Whatever I eat is ultimately Your Highness’s food.”

“Pei Wenxuan,” Li Rong turned to look at him. Hearing Li Rong call him, Pei Wenxuan turned back puzzled, only to see Li Rong stand on tiptoe to kiss him once, saying with a smile, “Your sweet mouth!”

Somehow, Pei Wenxuan actually felt somewhat embarrassed.

After September, the weather turned cold quickly.

Qingzhou had a good harvest this year. Li Rong looked at Qingzhou’s tax revenue, had people count it, then had Tuoba Yan circulate the revenue through grain shops before quietly sending it to the northwest. After Xun Chuan received the provisions, he sent a letter back to Li Rong.

Xun Chuan was now following Qin Lin in the military and had already achieved some merit. Together with Cui Qinghe, he became one of Qin Lin’s left and right vice generals.

At the same time, Li Rong also received the five hundred gold. She had people send the money to the southwest to purchase weapons and deliver them to Lin Feibai.

By mid-September, memorials impeaching Consort Rou had piled up like mountains, while debates about tax reform raged endlessly in court.

Li Ming was determined to protect Consort Rou. Facing the officials’ accusations against her, not only did he not punish Consort Rou, he even had several officials who impeached her beaten with rods.

The imperial examinations, tax reform—every one of Consort Rou’s actions became beautiful tales among the people. Voices calling to depose the Crown Prince and establish Prince Su also gradually found echoes.

Compared to Consort Rou’s spreading fame, the scholars from the imperial examinations, under Pei Wenxuan’s guidance, began adapting to their positions one by one.

Every day, Pei Wenxuan helped guide these scholars, leading them to make friends. In these scholars’ hearts, Pei Wenxuan gradually became an existence like a benefactor and teacher.

At the end of September, with tax reform undecided, Consort Rou was impeached again by the Wang family. This time they accused her of exceeding protocol by using patterns only an empress could use. No matter how much Li Ming protected her, he had to put on some appearance and fined her one month’s salary.

Consort Rou hadn’t suffered such grievances in a long time. So that very day, she had Cui Yulang prepare a memorial, planning to confirm Wang Houwen’s execution date at tomorrow’s morning court to teach the Wang family a lesson.

After Cui Yulang received Consort Rou’s order, he turned around and told Li Rong the news.

Looking at the letter Cui Yulang sent, Li Rong thought for a moment and smiled. “Good enough.”

With that, Li Rong turned to Jing Lan. “Go inform the Prince Consort that tonight I’ll have Chen Houzhao return to the city to file a complaint at the Ministry of Justice. Tell him to inform Pei Liming to handle the matter—don’t let Su Rongqing intercept anyone. Prepare all the testimony from before about Consort Rou threatening students to abandon their complaints and bring it to me tonight.”

“Yes.”

“Also instruct Miss Shangguan to compile all the evidence from before for me.”

“Understood.”

“Prepare a beautiful outfit.” Li Rong walked to the mirror and raised her hand to wind the hair by her cheek behind her ear. Looking left and right in the mirror, she was quite pleased. “Tomorrow, this palace will attend court looking absolutely beautiful!”