The Bad Guys: Playing the Fake Li Xingyun at the Beginning

After saying this, Meng Po sighed deeply again and bent her back even more.

Mirror Heart Demon also felt a kind of resentment in his heart that he had nowhere to vent, but he opened his mouth and said nothing. He also sighed, bowed to Meng Po, and turned to leave.

Chapter 197 The Bad Guys Send a Message

The next day, Su Ming got up early to attend court, leaving Chi Meng alone in bed.

After he left, Chi Meng woke up and stared at the empty bed in a daze. Beside her, blood-red plum blossoms were faintly visible on a white brocade handkerchief.

Tai Chi Hall.

The ministers were divided into two rows, civil and military, and stood in the hall. Li Siyuan stood in the front row of military generals, while the empress stood in front of the civil officials. The two were clearly distinguished and vaguely opposed.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

Su Ming, wearing a dragon robe, sat on the dragon throne. He glanced at the ministers and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, please stand up."

"Your Majesty, the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works have been overworked for this wedding. Many officials have fallen ill. I request Your Majesty to allow them to take leave and rest." As soon as he came up, the Minister of Rites Feng Dao made a memorial.

Su Ming pondered for a moment and nodded, "Approved. The officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works have worked hard for two months and have made great contributions. Each of them will receive a three-month salary increase. Those who are seriously ill will be treated by doctors from the Imperial Hospital. No losses must be allowed."

Paid vacation?

The eyes of the officials mentioned suddenly lit up, and they quickly bowed and saluted, "We thank your Majesty."

"Be flat."

Next, the ministers submitted memorials again, reporting on disasters and bandits in various places, all asking the court for money. However, all these proposals were blocked by Ren Yuan.

You must be kidding. For a grand wedding, the national treasury was emptied by nearly half, and the rest was used to provide for palace expenses and the salaries of court officials. After calculating, there was basically no money left, so how could there be money to spend?

Besides, giving money to the feudal lords is like throwing meat buns at a dog, which will never come back.

In fact, Ren Yuan did not expect Su Ming to be so troublesome. Logically speaking, the imperial court would not lose out in this wedding.

But in order to solve the funding problem, Su Ming set up the Emperor's Inner Treasury, and all the gifts sent by the military governors and the vassal states as well as Yelu Zhiwu's dowry were put into the Emperor's Inner Treasury.

In order to achieve this goal, Su Ming simply put forward a new proposal. In the future, the emperor would not be allowed to withdraw money from the national treasury at will. The money and grain transported from various places every year would be divided between the inner treasury and the court in a ratio of 3:7.

The court took seven, and the emperor took three.

The clear distinction between public and private affairs could, to a certain extent, end the chaos in court spending, limit the emperor's extravagance, and improve the court's financial situation. Moreover, this matter was proposed by the emperor himself.

They were very happy to have such a good thing, because in this way the emperor would lose control over the money and grain and could only use his own 30%.

Over the past year, Ren Yuan has been working in a very cautious manner in his position as the Minister of Three Departments, fearing that the Emperor would find out something wrong. He was even very careful in allocating military funds to Hedong, fearing that Su Ming would check the accounts one day.

Now, with the Imperial Treasury, the emperor could no longer ask them for money openly, and he was no longer afraid of audits.

Li Siyuan didn't say anything about the money because he had discussed it with Ren Yuan.

Afterwards, the court meeting ended and the officials returned to their offices to continue their duties.

Only the empress, Li Cunli, Li Siyuan, Ren Yuan and Feng Dao were left behind, waiting to be summoned by the emperor.

Ganlu Temple.

Su Ming changed out of his court clothes and put on a bright yellow dragon robe. He sat in the main hall while the empress and several others stood below.

"Prince Qi, how are the preparations for the concubine going?"

The empress bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, beauties from all over the country have already set off one after another and will arrive in Luoyang soon."

Su Ming nodded slightly and looked at Feng Dao, "How is the Ministry of Rites preparing?"

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites is currently planning for this and is working with the palace."

Then, Su Ming looked at Li Siyuan again and said meaningfully, "Prince Jin, when the beautiful girl enters the city, how are the city defenses and garrisons prepared? Don't make any mistakes by then."

Li Siyuan was startled, thinking that he would be in trouble if something went wrong. He immediately passed the buck and said, "Your Majesty, the defense of Luoyang City has its own officials. I will urge them to strictly implement it and make sure there are no mistakes."

Su Ming did not expect to control him on this matter. He nodded expressionlessly and looked at Ren Yuan. "The three officials have the heaviest tasks. The time required for the concubines to enter the palace cannot be short."

Ren Yuan lowered his eyes and quickly glanced at Li Siyuan. Seeing that he did not respond, he reluctantly bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, don't worry. The three departments will definitely not be cut off from money and food."

After the matter was settled, several people left one after another.

Su Ming sat there, motionless, as if waiting for something.

After a while, the empress came back and walked in front of him. She looked him up and down with her cold eyes, a smile on her face, "Did it work last night?"

Su Ming nodded, "It will come naturally."

"Okay, now You Chuan can't escape. At least, Chi Meng won't turn against you then."

A trace of worry flashed across Su Ming's eyes. "Will she not turn love into hate, and love into enmity? After all, I am not that person."

The empress chuckled, "Why? Are you scared?" Without waiting for his answer, she continued, "Women in Raojiang are passionate, but they are very loyal. Now that you have got her, treat her well and don't neglect her."

"Besides, even she herself may not understand her own heart. In my opinion, she may not really like Li Xingyun. Don't worry, even if she doesn't help you, she won't deal with you at all."

"Besides, if she doesn't help you, won't You Chuan? Can he watch you die at the hands of Yuan Tiangang? If you died, Chi Meng would definitely be very sad. Would he bear to let her be sad?" At the end, the empress showed a hint of sarcasm.

In the future, You Chuan would definitely be a bootlicker, a warm-hearted man, and a spare tire. In the eyes of women, he is a good man, but he is not a suitable partner for love, and in the end he will only become a scapegoat.

Su Ming thought about it and found that what the empress said seemed to be true. You Chuan was really that kind of person.

Unfortunately, in this world, those who bootlick the dog have no good ending, and he is no exception.

……

In the following days, Su Ming practiced martial arts while dealing with the three women, the empress, Yelu Zhiwu and Chi Meng, enjoying their different styles.

However, happy days are always short-lived.

On this day, Su Ming received a secret letter from the Jinyiwei. When he opened the letter, his pupils shrank. The seal on it was not that of the Jinyiwei but that of the Unruly People.

Since he ascended the throne, he has never had any open contact with the Bad People. Why would they send a secret letter?

When he finished reading the contents, a strong sense of crisis surged in his heart. Yuan Tiangang was coming, and he was coming to find him.

After waiting for so long, this day finally came.

For a moment, Su Ming felt mixed emotions, including excitement, fear, and nervousness.

He thought Yuan Tiangang would give him a little more time, but he didn't expect him to come so early. The secret letter only said that the Bad Commander would arrive in Luoyang soon, but did not specify the exact time.

Chapter 198 Discuss Countermeasures

Su Ming sat on the couch, stunned for a long time, before gradually coming back to his senses.

Afterwards, he summoned the eunuch and asked him to invite the empress.

Half an hour later, the empress entered the palace exhausted. Seeing Su Ming's expression, she realized something was wrong and quickly dismissed her attendants. "Why are you calling me here in such a hurry? What happened?"

Su Ming did not speak, but handed the secret letter in his hand to her.

The empress quickly finished reading the secret letter. Her eyebrows knitted together and her face was filled with worry. She said worriedly, "Is this news true? Is it a lie?"

Su Ming shook his head and said in a deep voice, "The secret letter was sent through the Jinyiwei channel, and it also has the mark of the Unruly People on it. It is absolutely impossible to be forged."

After being with the empress, Su Ming confessed many things to her, including the Jinyiwei. In this world, few people knew about the Jinyiwei, and those who could send information through this channel were definitely not ordinary people.

At the very least, not everyone can do it.

The empress also realized the key point. The news that Yuan Tiangang was coming was probably true.

"Is this message sent by the bad guys?"

"Well, there's no signature on the secret letter, and I can't tell anything from the handwriting, but I can probably guess who it is."

"Who?"

"Mother Meng."

"Is it her?" The empress raised her eyebrows, and a look of surprise appeared in her bright eyes.

"My Jinyiwei was formed by her by drawing on the elite members of the Xuanming Sect. There must be bad people infiltrating among them. There are not many things in this world that can be hidden from them, and I have never intended to hide anything."

"There should be no one else except her who can hide it from my eyes and send the message through the Jinyiwei channel." Su Ming analyzed.

The empress looked at him in confusion, "Meng Po, are you trying to show us your goodwill?"

Su Ming sat up from his chair, his face dimming and brightening under the light, "Well, she is warning us that Yuan Tiangang is not here with good intentions."

Although he was mentally prepared, Meng Po's warning still made him feel frightened.

A man's reputation is like the shadow of a tree. There is no way he wouldn't be afraid!

If possible, he really didn't want to be an opponent of such a guy.

Unfortunately, he had no choice!

If you obey him, you will die!

The empress pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "You should confess to Yelu Zhiwu and Chi Meng as soon as possible. The sooner the better. You must keep them calm. After I go back, I must tell my brother and see what he says."

"Okay, go back first and don't tell anyone. The fewer people who know about this, the better."

……

After returning to Prince Jin's Mansion, the empress still looked worried.

At this time, Li Wentong was sitting in the yard, drinking wine and admiring the moon. He looked as if he had unloaded a burden, with a comfortable smile on his face.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and spoke slowly, "Come out."

The empress walked out from the corner, helplessness written all over her delicate face.

"Sister, why are you here so late?" Li Wentong was stunned. He didn't expect that the empress hadn't slept yet.

The empress's words made his expression change drastically, "Brother, Yuan Tiangang is coming."

His body trembled, and he looked at the empress in disbelief, "What? Say it again!"

"Yuan Tiangang is coming to Luoyang."

Li Wentong forced himself to calm down, raised his glass, and drank the wine in it. "After sixteen years, I finally get to see him again. I didn't expect that I would run into him as soon as I came back."

As he was talking, he suddenly laughed, then turned to look at the empress, "Sister, you have no way to retreat now. All we can do is to risk our lives with him. Once Yuan Tiangang completes his plan, he will never let us go."

"First of all, you must stay calm and not let this incident disrupt your plans. Otherwise, if you lose control because you think he hasn't arrived yet, won't you lose before the battle even begins?"

When the time came, it was Li Wentong who first regained his composure and turned to counselling the empress.

It has to be said that he is worthy of being a person who has fought his way up from the bottom and has experienced so many ups and downs. In this world, he is probably the only one who has dealt with Yuan Tiangang the most and is most familiar with him.

……