Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 309 Rules for Women's Survival
The son of the Minister of Rites got anxious and immediately presented all sorts of evidence.

However, the daughter-in-law of the Minister of Rites refuted him point by point, with reason, evidence, and emotion, making her far more persuasive.

The matter went on and on without any clear direction, but in any case, the charge against the Minister of Rites is absolutely unfounded.

Jiang Liuyun's plan has failed once again.

The two sides argued incessantly, but it was clear to everyone that the Minister of Rites' son was becoming increasingly timid.

After the Minister of Rites cried out that he was innocent, the matter ended with the son accusing his father.

Seeing the Minister of Rites' son and daughter-in-law being taken away, Jiang Liuyun was furious. He knew perfectly well that the Minister of Rites had made preparations beforehand.

To put it more clearly, Lin Zhiqing had been prepared all along!

It must be said that Jiang Liuyun's guess was correct.

Lin Zhiqing had indeed made preparations for the matter of becoming Minister of Rites long ago.

Lu Huai was also involved in this matter.

Lu Huai couldn't help but recall the things he and Lin Zhiqing had analyzed before.

The only breakthrough lies with people.

The reason why the son of the Minister of Rites had kept quiet all along was because he and the Minister of Rites were in a community of shared interests and maintained a delicate balance.

His current accusations against the Minister of Rites, disrupting the balance, are also driven by self-interest.

Money, beautiful women, power—that's all Jiang Liuyun can offer.

It's more than enough to deal with a second prince.

However, Jiang Liuyun overlooked another person in the incident, namely the daughter-in-law of the Minister of Rites.

This person is the central figure in the incident, and more importantly, she is a woman.

Given the harsh treatment of women in Dasheng, how could she dare to admit to her affair with her father-in-law?
Her husband's choice was contrary to her expectations from the very beginning.

If the truth comes out, she will definitely not survive.

Lu Huai and Lin Zhiqing gave her a choice: if she wanted to make this public, Lin Zhiqing would find a way to bring down the Minister of Rites.

But the Minister of Rites' daughter-in-law refused, knowing that doing so would cost her reputation and she was unwilling to take the risk.

Even though she felt helpless about this idea, Lin Zhiqing understood that this was the rule for women to survive in Dasheng.

Therefore, they could only give her another option: to help her get a divorce after this matter was settled.

That's the whole story.

Lu Huai watched as the Minister of Rites' son was taken away, and Zhou Chongzheng was also reprimanded. A slight smile appeared on his lips.

Then, Xu Yuansui, the Minister of Revenue, spoke again: "Your Highness, I have another matter to report."

His words made most people uneasy.

Everyone knows that the Ministry of Revenue has been acting like a mad dog lately, biting anyone it encounters.

Xu Yuansui stood up straight:
"When I was organizing the records of the Ministry of Revenue last year, I unexpectedly discovered that some of the items recorded in the books were missing."

"I ordered Lu Huai, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, to investigate this matter. He recently recovered those items. I would like to request Your Highness to take a look."

As they spoke, someone carrying a tray entered the Golden Palace.

Inside the tray were a sword, a painting, and a jade pendant.

They are all top-quality products.

Jiang Liuyun narrowed his eyes, and when he saw the sword, a hint of doubt and anger flashed between his brows.

What puzzled him was that he wasn't sure what Lu Huai wanted to do.

What angered him was that when he went to the Ministry of Justice to look for Mole Lady, someone had indeed sneaked into the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence and stolen the imperial gift that originally belonged to the Lin family, which was the sword in the tray.

The matter was too complicated for him to make public, but he was certain that Lu Huai and Lin Zhiqing were the ones who stole the items.

He originally thought that even if the item was stolen back, Lu Huai and Lin Zhiqing would be subject to many restrictions and wouldn't dare to use the imperial gift as leverage, just like with the case of the woman with the mole. Even if Lin Zhiqing had the woman with her, she would have to consider whether this evidence was enough to bring down both the Minister of Justice and the Marquis of Zhenyuan's mansion at the same time.

The answer is, of course, no.

If Lin Zhiqing takes direct action, he will face an even stronger alliance between the Minister of Justice and the Marquis of Zhenyuan's mansion.

This was originally Jiang Liuyun's goal.

However, Lin Zhiqing did not choose to link the Minister of Justice with Jiang Liuyun, but instead chose to devise a scheme to split the two.

In Jiang Liuyun's eyes, the same applied to gifts bestowed by the emperor.

Lin Zhiqing's exposure of the matter brought no benefit to the Lin family whatsoever.

But now, the one who spoke was the Minister of Revenue... He looked at Lu Huai with icy eyes.

At the same time, the Crown Prince spoke up: "Where is the head of the Ministry of Revenue?"

Lu Huai stepped forward slowly: "Your subject Lu Huai, Principal of the Ministry of Revenue, pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Your humble servant has successfully fulfilled his mission and recovered all the items a few days ago."

While he was speaking, the crown prince had already looked at those items.

The Minister of Revenue seized the opportunity to say, "Your Highness, Lu Huai is the son of Lord Lu Zhen. He is meticulous and especially skilled in mathematics, and his contributions are immense."

"Lu Zhen's son? It's been a long time since I've seen my teacher. The Ministry of Revenue is full of talented people, and Lord Xu has made great contributions. Not bad, I'll reward him as well!" The Crown Prince was sparing with his words and didn't say much.

Lu Zhen once served as the Crown Prince's tutor, but he resigned soon after because he had offended the emperor.

His resignation marked the end of his life in seclusion in the countryside, and the old tutor who had once taught the emperor returned to the court.

However, that's all in the past.

After expressing his gratitude, Lu Huai returned to his quarters.

But those present were all shrewd old foxes, and they still sensed something amiss in the Minister of Revenue's behavior.

Whether Lu Huai made meritorious contributions or not was not important, because his father, Lu Zhen, had once offended the current emperor and resigned in anger, and the Lu family rarely made a name for themselves.

But recently, who hasn't heard the rumors that Xu Yuansui, the Minister of Revenue, is about to resign?

Most people were initially speculating about who would become the next Minister of Revenue.

Some people were even eager to try and get their own people into the Ministry of Revenue.

However, Xu Yuansui's promotion of Lu Huai under such special circumstances left much to the imagination.

Although Lu Zhen was arrogant, apart from the rumors that had circulated about him with the restless Lin Zhiqing from the Lin family, no one could find fault with Lu Huai in any other aspect.

Moreover, everyone clearly heard that the Crown Prince did not get angry when he mentioned Lu Zhen.

Moreover, he praised Lu Huai.

The situation in the Ministry of Revenue is likely about to change.

Many people have begun to re-evaluate Lu Huai.

Today's morning court session was truly spectacular, and even after the session ended, many courtiers were still discussing what had just happened.

Jiang Liuyun's romantic escapades, on the contrary, have attracted less attention.

Minister of Revenue Xu Yuansui was clearly in a good mood, his face full of smiles.

Anyone would be happy to have another achievement recorded before leaving office.

He stroked his beard: "Lu Huai, the Ministry of Revenue is fortunate to have you. From now on, it will be the era of you young people."

He didn't deliberately lower his voice, and everyone around him could hear him clearly.

This statement is already a clear indication that Lu Huailai will be the next Minister of Revenue!
In an instant, many people began to approach and talk to Lu Huai.

Jiang Liuyun, standing behind Lu Huai, narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly.

(End of this chapter)