The seductive princess is no longer being pursued; the aloof prime minister is facing a crematorium.

Chapter 174 Jiang Jinshuang is really curious!

Hearing Chun Tao's words, Jiang Jinshuang was slightly taken aback and raised an eyebrow: "Pei Du went back?"

“Yes,” Chun Tao nodded, “It was around noon today that I saw the carriage returning to the manor from Wenshan Pavilion.”

After a pause, Chun Tao scratched her head and thought carefully: "After Lord Pei returned to his residence, he never came out again. Many ministers in the court tried to establish a kinship under the guise of visiting him, but they were all stopped by the guards."

Jiang Jinshuang narrowed her eyes and chuckled softly, "It seems that this Grand Secretary has obtained the reward he desired."

Chun Tao blinked, somewhat puzzled: "Is it also possible that Lord Pei simply couldn't hold on any longer and gave up?"

Jiang Jinshuang shook her head: "Pei Du is a very stubborn person. He will get what he wants even if it means being shattered to pieces."

Don't be fooled by the fact that he knelt outside the palace for three days and three nights, which didn't look very respectable.

But the ones who are truly unhappy now are definitely the imperial family in the Mingtang Hall.

In fact, Pei Du was a man who had a very keen understanding of people's hearts and how to maintain proper boundaries.

Just like this incident, the Tian family's attitude towards him is actually a very delicate balance.

As a powerful minister of Wan Jin and the chief minister of the country, he actually forged an imperial edict and privately led 300,000 black-armored cavalry to resist foreign enemies.

Such behavior, in any other situation, would be a capital offense punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family.

However, Pei Du skillfully exploited the Prince of Changping's rebellion, turning his passive position into an active one.

Imagine if Pei Du hadn't had the foresight to decisively send troops to defend against the enemy, and if the King of Changping had realized his mistake, the situation would have been far more complex than simply defending against a foreign enemy.

Because Pei Du took the lead in leading the Black Armor Cavalry, they had no chance to react when the King of Changping arrived. Even if the mask of the God of Slaughter was indeed the Tiger Tally, the Black Armor Cavalry wouldn't have been able to react in time, and the King of Changping's ambitions wouldn't have been exposed so quickly.

Moreover, the fact that the Black Armored Cavalry resisted the Northern Huai army at this critical juncture was a reminder and warning to the Northern Huai ruler.

—Wan Jin is not without ministers who cannot fight, and without Prince Ruiyang's black-armored cavalry, it will not be a disorganized mess.

This was a relatively small battle, and Pei Du, representing Wan Jin and the Emperor, wanted to convey a message to the ruler of Beihuai.

These are things that the imperial family could not have foreseen.

Or rather, Tianjia had thought of it, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, nor did he dare to truly break ties with Beihuai.

Ultimately, Jiang Huayan was old. All he wanted was to hold onto his throne and his own little territory.

If he were truly forced to cede territory, including Baiyujing and twelve nearby cities, to Beihuai, Jiang Huayan, after careful consideration, would be willing to do so.

In other words, Pei Du swiftly cut off Jiang Huayan's escape route, making the choice for him.

Moreover, he won, and won cleanly and decisively.

In this way, all the glory and reputation would no longer belong to Pei Du alone.

Because he acted on the Emperor's decree, in the eyes of others and the people of Wan Jin, the one who made such a clear and decisive decision was the Emperor himself, sitting in the Mingtang Hall.

The people's hearts are won over.

Even without Jiang Jinshuang making a special effort to inquire, she could guess that in the past few days, there must have been a constant stream of children's rhymes and plays in Chang'an praising the Grand Secretary and Emperor Jiang Huayan.

This is actually a very real problem.

If this battle is lost, Jiang Huayan will blame Pei Du for conveying the imperial edict and kill him as a warning to others and to appease public anger.

But now that the battle has been won, and won brilliantly, and Jiang Huayan is not stupid, it is only natural to go with the flow and embrace the praise and accolades of the people.

Pei Du understood this point about the imperial family very well, and he grasped it accurately.

Therefore, His Majesty cannot pursue the matter of him falsely conveying the imperial edict any further, neither morally nor logically.

Not only could he not be held accountable, but in order to earn the praise of the people, he would also reward and reward him.

Pei Du grasped the delicate balance in the king's mind.

—He asked him for a reward.

Given Pei Du's merits this time, ordinary rewards, such as promotions, titles, or thousands of taels of gold, would be trivial matters.

Therefore, the reward Pei Du requested was precisely at the critical point of the imperial family's anger. Thus, he knelt for three days and three nights, using the people's praise as invisible pressure to force Jiang Huayan to grant his request for the reward.

It's a very clever, yet very risky, approach.

If he hadn't been able to fathom the Emperor's intentions, he would be a corpse by now.

Pei Du was very clever.

This made Jiang Jinshuang even more curious.

—What exactly did Pei Du ask for?
Putting everything else aside, the military achievements he made this time are enough that His Majesty would grant him a promotion and a rank equivalent to that of a king.

It could enrage the imperial family and also make Pei Du stand firm.

To be honest, Jiang Jinshuang was incredibly curious.

I'm itching to try it.

That's just her quirk; she loves watching a good show and never misses a chance to stir up trouble.

Now that Pei Du has left the palace and returned to Wenshan Pavilion, there can only be one possibility.

—He won the bet, and the officials relented.

Chuntao was unaware of the intricacies of officialdom.

Hearing Jiang Jinshuang say this, she just nodded as if she understood. She scratched the back of her head and changed Jiang Jinshuang's blanket to a thinner one.

"This servant doesn't know about these things, but this servant heard that after Lord Pei returned to Wenshan Pavilion, he had a high fever that wouldn't go down. Three or five imperial physicians went to see him and didn't leave until very late."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jinshuang clicked her tongue and shook her head: "Your health is really poor."

Chun Tao smiled helplessly and said, "Your Highness, should our Princess's residence send some tonics over to make things look better? You don't know, today when the ministers heard that the Grand Secretary was ill, they sent boxes of deer antler and ginseng to Wenshan Pavilion."

They were all stopped and sent back by Jingmo.

Jiang Jinshuang's eyes lit up: "Send it! Chuntao, you go and deliver it yourself. You can also ask Jingmo what Pei Du asked for."

She was genuinely curious.

"Huh?" Chun Tao blinked. "Your Highness isn't going in person?"

Jiang Jinshuang also imitated Chuntao, blinking her eyes and looking obedient: "Mr. He told me to rest quietly, so I can't go out."

They looked so well-behaved.

Upon seeing this, Chuntao couldn't help but laugh out loud.

She always went along with her prince, so she nodded and said, "Alright, then this servant will try to get some information out of Lord Jingmo."

Jiang Jinshuang nodded, and Chuntao gave a few more instructions before leaving.

Jiang Jinshuang lay back down on the bed. The summer night was hot, so Chuntao changed her to a thin silk quilt, which felt cool and comfortable on her body.

A dreamless night.

I slept until dawn.

Jiang Jinshuang was awakened by the aroma of meat wafting from the courtyard.

She got out of bed in a daze, slipped on her shoes, and walked out of the room.

In the courtyard, someone had set up a stove and was roasting meat on the grill.

Amidst the smoke and flames, a man dressed in white stood untouched by the dust.

Hearing the commotion, the man looked over.

Seeing Jiang Jinshuang dressed in loose robes, without any makeup, and wearing casual shoes, she looked lazy and languid, like a lazy and carefree cat.

"Your Highness, it's windy this morning. You're dressed too lightly."

It is Si Ning.