NOVPUBImperial Palace.
The early court session has just ended. The Emperor has not been in good health recently and did not appear at the morning court session, which was presided over by King Sheng.
Recently, King Sheng has been in the limelight.
Three months ago, the situation among the four Princes was still a tripartite struggle.
At that time, King Sheng wasn't even considered a significant contender; he was a neglected presence.
But in just three months, the three Princes had to join forces to deal with him.
At today's morning court, the Eldest Prince initiated the attack, immediately followed by the Second and Third Princes, who impeached several court officials with various charges.
These officials were all supporters of King Sheng, which was no secret in the court.
Originally, King Sheng could have ignored this matter because it involved the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice.
But due to his exceptional performance in judicial matters, both the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice are currently under his control, so he could not remain silent.
The courtiers initially thought that King Sheng would handle the matter lightly and brush it off.
Unexpectedly, he insisted that the Ministry of Justice investigate the case thoroughly and deal with it impartially.
This was quite unlike his usual behavior.
By enforcing the law impartially and standing for justice, the news spread, and King Sheng's reputation among the people naturally soared.
The voices criticizing him also decreased significantly.
However, for King Sheng's supporters, this was not good news.
Despite the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice being under his control, he did not help his own men but instead gained reputation by dealing with them.
They had done many things for King Sheng and received much money; anyone had some leverage in King Sheng's hands. If he could abandon those people now, wouldn't he be able to abandon them anytime in the future if needed?
The originally neutral officials, who had begun to lean towards King Sheng, also started to worry.
If a master doesn't even protect his own people, is he worth their loyalty? That's still up for debate.
But regardless of their thoughts, from a moral standpoint, what King Sheng did was perfectly fine, and everyone had to praise him for enforcing the law impartially, setting an example for all officials.
Because the evidence was conclusive, the next day's morning court saw those officials convicted and dealt with by the Ministry of Justice.
Listening to the officials' praises, King Sheng glanced at the other three Princes, raised his chin and left, flicking his sleeves.
The three Princes exchanged glances and saw surprise in each other's eyes.
They had originally intended to use this matter to curb King Sheng's momentum.
Because of the deeds of the Sixth Princess, his reputation among the people was too high. They couldn't just watch him continue like this. If he chose to cover up, it would undoubtedly affect his reputation.
They had expected King Sheng to definitely cover up.
But unexpectedly, he actually dealt with those people.
Although he preserved his intangible reputation, he lost actual support and votes. Whose idea was this? Didn't any other strategist at King Sheng Mansion try to stop him?
Inside King Sheng Mansion.
The attendants and strategists at the mansion initially tried their best to stop His Highness from dealing with his own men.
But somehow, a certain Mr. Lin seemed to have enchanted His Highness, making him listen to everything he said. Now, the entire King Sheng Mansion is practically run by Lin Han.
Some strategists initially wanted to persuade Mr. Lin.
But after a discussion, they were all convinced by Mr. Lin. 𝙣𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Nowadays, Mr. Lin is undoubtedly the chief strategist at King Sheng Mansion, and all other attendants and strategists follow his lead...
Inside the Princess Mansion.
Li Nuo couldn't understand King Sheng's contradictory actions either.
But he didn't have time to worry about King Sheng.
He only had three months left.
So far, he had only secured three votes from the Imperial Hospital.
The Imperial Doctor Order and two Chief Imperial Doctors were already using Medical School methods to try to extract some active ingredients from Qinghao. Besides Doctor Sun, Li Nuo added another three deputy compilers to the medical manual.
In addition to the Imperial Hospital, there were nearly two hundred officials with voting rights from the Three Provinces, Six Ministries, Nine Si, and other departments.
Of course, it was impossible to secure all of these two hundred votes.
But to be safe, they had to secure at least seventy votes for the Sixth Princess to surpass the other contenders.
Among these, the Three Provinces held thirty-six votes.
Each of the Six Ministries had eight votes, totaling forty-eight votes.
The Nine Si each had five votes, totaling forty-five votes.
The remaining dozens of votes were dispersed among the Imperial Censorate, Imperial Hospital, and the various local chief officials in the Capital.
These local votes could be directly abandoned.
Firstly, the time was too short, and he had no time to build connections. Secondly, the four Princes had been operating in these areas for a long time, making these places their strongholds. Even if much effort was expended, it might not yield any results.
However, because the central court officials were close to the Emperor, the Princes had less room to maneuver here, and most officials maintained neutrality.
Li Nuo set his next target on the Imperial Censorate.
Compared to the Imperial Hospital, the Imperial Censorate holds greater importance.
An Imperial Censor, two Deputy Imperial Censors, and four Assistant Imperial Censors together hold seven votes, just one less than the Six Ministries.
King Sheng's act of righteousness this time is likely aimed at gaining the support of the Imperial Censorate.
To hold office in the Imperial Censorate of Zhao Country, nurturing Vast Righteous Qi is a strict requirement, just like in Daxia.
There is no doubt that every official in the Imperial Censorate is a person of integrity, dedicated to the public good.
Li Nuo didn't need to say or do anything; the mere presence of Princess Six's Vast Righteous Qi would make them understand everything.
After the end of work, Li Nuo and Zhao Zhiyi left together.
The Imperial Censor had just returned to his mansion, changed out of his official robes into casual clothes, when a servant reported that Princess Six requested an audience.
The elderly man, with hair as white as snow, raised his eyebrows, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Let the Princess in."
In such sensitive times, if it were the people of the four Princes, he wouldn't have allowed them into the mansion.
But he had witnessed all the deeds Princess Six had done for the common people.
If even one of the four Princes had half the virtue of Princess Six, he wouldn't still be undecided about whom to vote for.
Even if he disapproved of the Fourth Prince, he had to give some face to Princess Six.
A moment later, two figures walked into the courtyard.
The elderly man glanced over the young pair, cupped his hands to Zhao Zhiyi, and said, "Greetings, Princess Six."
Zhao Zhiyi smiled and said, "No need for formalities, Doctor Wang."
The three walked into the room, and a servant served them hot tea.
The Imperial Censor directly asked, "I wonder what brings Princess Six here."
Zhao Zhiyi looked at him and didn't hide anything, saying, "To be frank, Lord Wang, I am here for the vote in your hand."
The Imperial Censor stated outright, "Since Your Highness is here, I will speak plainly. Among the four Princes, in terms of talent and character, King Sheng is the least qualified. My vote will go to anyone but King Sheng."
After speaking, he took a sip of tea, clearly signaling that the conversation was over.
At that moment, Zhao Zhiyi shook her head and said, "Doctor Wang, you misunderstand. This vote is not for my elder brother."
The Imperial Censor looked at her, puzzled, and asked, "Then it's for...?"
Zhao Zhiyi's expression was calm, but her tone was particularly firm as she said, "For me."
As soon as she finished speaking, an aura emerged from her body.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Feeling this aura, the Imperial Censor almost choked, his eyes widened in shock as he looked at Zhao Zhiyi.
Vast Righteous Qi, he was all too familiar with it.
What shocked him was that Princess Six possessed Vast Righteous Qi.
This meant she was not like the other Princes, who pretended to care for the people for the sake of appearances; she truly cared for the common people.
Other things could be faked, but not Vast Righteous Qi.
Once he regained his breath, the realization dawned on him.
Confucian scholars had always served Imperial Authority.
They had never become the Imperial Authority themselves.
A ruler with Vast Righteous Qi would undoubtedly be a blessing for the people, the realm, and the few righteous Confucian officials in the court.
Thinking of this, he couldn't contain his excitement. Though he had many words in his heart, he could only laugh loudly and say, "Good, good, very good!"
...
King Sheng Mansion.
King Sheng had just received a report from his subordinates. In one day, Princess Six and Li Nuo had visited all seven officials of the Imperial Censorate and stayed in their mansions for quite a while.
For the Princes, the Imperial Censorate was undoubtedly the hardest to win over.
Their officials, being filled with Vast Righteous Qi, were upright and incorruptible, unyielding to threats or bribery.
Even with a knife at their throats, they might not vote as desired.
These days, including King Sheng, the Princes had been doing good deeds every day, aiming to boost their reputation among the people and to win over the Imperial Censorate officials.
Previously, their people couldn't even get through the gates of the Imperial Censorate's mansions.
This time, could it be because he had dealt with those officials?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but be grateful and murmured to himself, "Luckily, I heeded Mr. Lin's advice and didn't act willfully..."
If he had chosen to cover up at that time, Zhiyi probably wouldn't have been able to enter the Imperial Censorate official's homes.
King Sheng sat on the chair, closed his eyes, seemingly already sitting on the Dragon Chair.
With the Six Subjects' Scholar outside and Mr. Lin inside, he felt like a tiger with wings. How could he fail in the great cause?
[ps: Not enough words, there will be more at midnight.]
