With the cannon fodder script in hand, it is easy for the king to change his fate

Chapter 1028 The Heir Takes the Empire as Dowry 40
"What? It didn't work?" The voice inside, though ethereal and impossible to pinpoint, sounded somewhat young and carried a hint of surprise at the result, clearly unable to believe that the medicine he had given had no effect.

Zhou Hanyi's heart was in his throat, but he still honestly said to the jade tablet, "Yes, the Kang Prince and his son have been taking the medicine for many days, but so far there has been no effect."

"It shouldn't be like this..." the voice inside the jade pendant murmured, revealing its bewilderment.

Zhou Hanyi didn't dare to breathe loudly. Don't be fooled by the old man's voice; he's still young. But when you actually face him, you'll know what true pressure is.

No emperor could compare to their Zhou family's ancestor.

"It's nothing serious. We can investigate it later. Just find some excuse to send them away." After a long while, the voice came from the jade tablet. Clearly, he wouldn't make a special trip to the capital for the sake of Prince Kang and his son, and he didn't take the matter seriously.

"Yes."

When the Prince Kang and his son learned that the itinerant doctor surnamed Wen had disappeared, they felt as if the sky was falling, but there was nothing they could do. They sent someone to the Zhou family to obtain a general understanding of the itinerant doctor surnamed Wen, and then arranged for people to search for him in various places.

Little did they know that no matter how hard they searched, they would never find it.

Azhen plans to recruit a group of female officials. While the imperial examinations for women are not yet open, she will still conduct some assessments and recruit female officials. Of course, the positions will not be high-ranking. In fact, not all male officials in the court have risen through the imperial examinations.

Among the women participating in this assessment was Jiang Bilan, the daughter of the Prime Minister.

Actually, Azhen was aiming for Jiang Bilan in this female official assessment, but also wanted to give other noble ladies a chance. Before the imperial examinations, they wouldn't be confined to the inner quarters so early, which would create various obstacles for them if they wanted to work outside the home later.

When it came to evaluating female officials, Prime Minister Jiang Shengqin was the most proactive.

My son is very outstanding, so I don't need to worry about him.

Now that his daughter has a chance, how could he not be happy? He loves his children dearly and knows best that his daughter is also very smart and talented.

Rather than letting his daughter marry, have children, and become an ordinary housewife, he would much rather see her display her talents. Besides, his daughter was interested in these things, so why shouldn't he support her?

As expected, Jiang Bilan lived up to Azhen and Jiang Shengqin's expectations, not only passing the assessment but also ranking first, stealing the spotlight.

Jiang Bilan herself was also very happy, and almost couldn't keep her expression in check.

As the first, Azhen bestowed a jade pendant upon Jiang Bilan. This jade pendant also represented the identity that Jiang Bilan would be assigned to next, and she was required to wear it with her at all times.

Jiang Jingzhuo's fall from his horse is easy to resolve; all we need to do is assign someone to keep an eye on things and deal with the accident when the time comes.

Jiang Bilan's sudden madness was likely due to some kind of drug or even a secret technique, which was beyond the ability of the guards to defend against.

Therefore, finding an excuse to give the other party something is the most appropriate.

Moreover, Jiang Bilan herself is capable and insightful. After all, the Prime Minister is her father and values ​​her highly. Her talent and knowledge are far beyond those of ordinary women. With a little training, she will definitely be useful in the future.

If Zhou Huo were to drug Jiang Bilan this time, it would backfire on the person who drugged her.

If any magic or spell is used, it will backfire even more.

It's a pity that the person behind the Zhou family still hasn't shown up. Even when something unexpected happened to Prince Kang and his son, the other party didn't intend to appear.

It must be something concerning Prince Kang and his son that isn't enough to warrant their attention.

Meanwhile, Zhou Huo was also looking for an opportunity to make a move against Jiang Bilan. Upon learning that Jiang Bilan had actually passed the assessment, he felt he needed to act quickly, otherwise, unforeseen circumstances might arise.

He wasn't afraid that taking action would arouse suspicion, after all, the methods of his ancestors, and the one in the palace, no matter how many people were sent to investigate, it would be useless.

Zhou Huo bumped into Jiang Bilan, who was happily leaving the palace, and greeted her with a smile.

Jiang Bilan returned the greeting indifferently, not wanting to say anything more to Zhou Huo, and then got into the carriage.

Nothing could make her happier than becoming a lady-in-waiting. Even though she didn't like Zhou Huo, his appearance didn't dampen her spirits.

Unexpectedly, one day she was able to get up early to work with her father and older brother. It's a pity her mother passed away so young; otherwise, she would surely be happy.

"Miss Jiang, wait... is this one of your lost items?"

Zhou Huo's voice rang out from outside the carriage. Even though Jiang Bilan didn't want to pay attention, she still lifted the carriage curtain.

Zhou Huo had already handed a sachet to Jiang Bilan. She subconsciously took it, examined it, and finally shook her head: "This is not mine."

"So it wasn't; it must have been lost by someone else." Zhou Huo put away the sachet, his heart pounding. He hadn't expected it to go so smoothly.

Our ancestors said that as long as the other party touches this sachet, the matter will be accomplished.

But before that, he needed to cause Jiang Jingzhuo some trouble. Having such a powerful brother-in-law wasn't a good thing; to avoid future trouble, it would be better for Jiang Jingzhuo to get into some trouble.

He had already planned everything, but the process was a bit complicated. After all, many ancient prescriptions were found in the underground palace. If Jiang Jingzhuo were simply injured, the imperial physicians would probably be able to cure him. So he also arranged for other things to make sure that even the imperial physicians couldn't cure Jiang Jingzhuo.

What our ancestors bestowed upon us, no one can solve.

Jiang Bilan didn't take Zhou Huo seriously, but this scene was still witnessed. When Jiang Jingzhuo found out, he returned to his residence and asked about it. Based on his intuition, he always felt that Zhou Huo had ill intentions.

Right at the dinner table, Jiang Shengqin also said, "Keep your distance from the Zhou family; the Zhou family is a treacherous place."

"The Zhou Huo incident last time was mostly a pretext; only they themselves know the truth." Jiang Shengqin didn't think Zhou Huo was anything good. If he were really so great, why would Madam Xu have broken off the engagement so quickly? Even if there was a reason back then, it inevitably left room for gossip and somewhat damaged their reputation.

He feared that his daughter would be misled by Zhou Huo's words.

Jiang Bilan was speechless: "Father, don't worry, I have absolutely no feelings for Zhou Huo. In fact, I feel disgusted by him every time I see him."

Whether before or after Zhou's reputation was ruined, she had an innate aversion to Zhou Huo.

“He must have been trying to strike up a conversation with my daughter today, and he did it in such an old-fashioned way,” Jiang Bilan said. “He even handed her the sachet, and she was caught off guard. She could only take it and glance at it before quickly getting into the carriage and going home.”

"Thinking back on it now, I regret it a little. I should have let Xiaomei get checked." Jiang Bilan frowned, wondering why she had been so rash today.

Little did she know, that sachet was no ordinary one.

Jiang Shengqin frowned, but couldn't figure it out. He gave her a couple more words of advice before giving up. Then he told Jiang Bilan to do her job well in the future.

Aside from some disagreements, both he and His Majesty hope that the Zhao Kingdom can become powerful.

This selection of female officials has really hit Jiang Shengqin's sweet spot.