After swapping bodies with the princess, this prince slaughtered his way through the court and becam

"Brilliant plan! Burn the salt coupons, seize the moral high ground, and use that to coerce the other ministers!"

Zhang He clapped his hands in praise.

Ren Bingze showed a hint of worry:

"Isn't this a bit too harsh?"

Zhang He shook his head:

"Is Marquis Ren worried about offending the ministers behind the salt merchants?"

His Majesty has even dismissed the prime minister, so who do we need to be afraid of offending?

Now is the perfect time to support His Majesty!

We must make His Majesty understand, and make the world understand.

"Our Heir Apparent is the most loyal person to His Majesty!"

After the two marquises decided to follow Ren Jingxing's approach.

The two discussed many details and explored other possibilities.

Wei Xinyan originally wanted to go back to study, but Zhang He kept her there, saying he would help them confirm it.

Wei Xinyan had no idea about these principles.

She could only nod repeatedly in place.

After the discussions are completed.

Marquis Anren, Zhang He, suddenly spoke up, expressing his desire to speak with the heir of the Marquis's residence alone.

Ren Bing, along with his wife and a group of servants, left the main hall, leaving the space for Zhang He.

Zhang He looked at Wei Xinyan, remained silent for a moment, and then asked:

"I have another question that I hope the Crown Prince can answer."

"How did the Crown Prince manage to bypass the inner palace and contact the Empress to persuade me?"

Wei Xinyan blinked, somewhat confused by Zhang He's meaning.

Zhang He continued, "..."

Today I was summoned to the inner palace by the Empress.

She scolded me harshly, demanding that I give up the smuggled salt, and even slapped me.

However, I discovered that the Empress's words were almost identical to what the Crown Prince had advised me back then.

That's why I said that this slap was also thanks to Marquis Ren.

Previously, my elder sister had always supported me, but this sudden change of heart must be due to the Crown Prince's advice behind the scenes.

Wei Xinyan's face immediately showed a shocked expression.

Could it be that Ren Jingxing went to see the Empress in the inner palace?

The Empress even took the initiative to persuade Marquis Anren to give up the private salt trade?

Why does Ren Jingxing always manage to cause such a stir?

Although Wei Xinyan complained, deep down she also felt a great deal of respect for Ren Jingxing.

You should know that she was originally just a nobody in the harem.

She was just a down-on-her-luck princess who was bullied at will by the laundry maids.

As a result, ever since she swapped bodies with Ren Jingxing...

Now she actually dares to interfere in court affairs in front of the Empress!

Wei Xinyan's feelings were somewhat complicated at this moment.

At this point, Marquis Anren, Zhang He, continued to earnestly persuade him:

"Although the Zhang family was saved to some extent by the heir apparent..."

However, I must still advise the Crown Prince that the inner palace is a treacherous place, and as an outsider, you must not easily get involved!

Wei Xinyan forced a smile and nodded.

Ren Jingxing didn't just interfere in the harem; he completely immersed himself in it, his very soul!

After resolving the matter, Marquis Anren Zhang He took his leave.

Before leaving, Zhang He bowed to Wei Xinyan again:

"I have heard that gambling dens in the capital are currently offering betting on the heir's imperial examination."

Now I've decided to use the heir's five thousand taels of silver to gamble on whether he can pass the county examination!

The confiscation of smuggled salt by the heir apparent has caused the Zhang family to suffer a huge financial loss.

Whether the Zhang family can turn their fortunes around with these five thousand taels of silver depends on you, young master!

Zhang He is expressing his support for Ren Jingxing by placing a bet.

The next day, another major news broke in the capital city.

First, an imperial censor impeached the Marquis of Xuanwei.

He believed that the salt sold by the salt shops under the Xuanwei Marquis's name had reached the standard of tribute salt.

This must be because Marquis Xuanwei used underhanded methods to intercept the tribute salt from the local areas.

Liu Zhenji, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, immediately followed up, stating that the salt from the salt shop was of unknown origin and indeed needed to be temporarily sealed off for a thorough investigation.

Those in the court did not understand why they were suddenly targeting Marquis Xuanwei.

They thought the court was planning to kick Xuanwei Marquis out of the court.

Immediately afterwards, Marquis Xuanwei stepped forward.

He expressed his willingness to hand over his family's salt mines and salt shops to the imperial court for management, and strongly supported His Majesty's reform of the private salt industry.

He even took out his salt coupons on the spot, indicating that he was willing to help the illegal salt merchants bear the losses.

Then, in front of high-ranking officials and the emperor, over 100,000 jin of salt coupons were burned on the spot.

This shocked the high-ranking officials in the court.

I originally thought it was about the Marquis of Xuanwei.

It turns out it's about salt administration reform again!

Moreover, the one who instigated this incident was a marginal nobleman!

Where did Marquis Xuanwei get the audacity to openly influence salt and iron policies?

Just then, five marquises, including Marquis Changxin, stepped forward.

They stated that they also have a share in the salt shops on Suzaku Street, and the salt mines behind them.

They were also willing to support His Majesty in handing over the salt mines and salt shops, and burned the salt coupons they had purchased!

Finally, Marquis Anren, the head of the salt merchants in the capital, also stepped forward!

There was a bright red handprint on his left cheek!

Marquis Anren stated that he was willing to hand over all his salt mines and salt-selling businesses to the imperial court.

This was intended to support the reform of the salt and iron industry and the increasingly depleted national treasury!

Now, what was originally just the actions of the censor and Liu Zhenji, who were targeting Marquis Xuanwei, has suddenly escalated into obstructing the salt and iron monopoly!

Five nobles and one maternal relative, Wang Xiang, the key figure in the salt smuggling operation, have been dismissed.

Furthermore, Zhang He was the head of the salt merchants, and even he stood up to support the salt and iron monopoly.

The faction that supported smuggled salt production was powerless to fight back, and the reform of the salt and iron monopoly was finally settled.

Of course, the implementation of the salt administration was inevitably accompanied by personnel changes.

The censor who reported the Marquis of Xuanwei was directly demoted to a local post.

Liu Zhenji, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was transferred to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

It appears to be just a lateral transfer.

However, Liu Zhenji's achievements in the Ministry of Justice were wiped out.

Moreover, half of the connections he had built up in the Ministry of Justice were essentially wasted.

Of course, most importantly, Liu Zhenji was one of the five major salt merchants in the capital.

Deeply impacted by the salt administration reforms, without financial support, it's possible that they would find it extremely difficult to move forward within the Ministry of Works.

When someone steps down, someone else steps up.

As the key figure who led to the success of the private salt reform, Marquis Anren Zhang He's actions were greatly appreciated by His Majesty, who directly promoted him to Duke of Anren.

Ren Jingxing's father, Ren Bing, was an initiator of the reform movement promoted by the imperial court.

However, given their actual low strength, directly promoting them to a high position would be more harmful than beneficial.

Furthermore, the emperor was unaware that Ren Jingxing was the mastermind behind it all.

Therefore, Marquis Xuanwei, Ren Bing, was only given the position of Minister of Agriculture in a county government office in the capital.

When attending court, one continues to attend court; when not attending court, one must remain at the yamen (government office).

Although it was just a minor local official position in the capital, the Xuanwei Marquis's family had ultimately entered the officialdom and had more opportunities to build connections.

To celebrate,

The Xuanwei Marquis's family returned to the estate and held a grand banquet.

But amidst the hustle and bustle, Ren Bing noticed something different about the village.