Jiang Yan Chuan directly summoned the two inside.
Under the gaze of the crowd with their varied thoughts, Jiang Yingcheng looked listless. Even when she walked up to Jiang Yan Chuan, she only forced a slight curl of her lips and called out to him weakly.
Like a kitten’s meow.
Jiang Yan Chuan chuckled softly, not taking it to heart. He lifted her and placed her on the pre-prepared soft chair, casually pushing the pastries in her direction.
Several quick-witted ministers exchanged glances, already forming their own conclusions.
This was the place where officials of the second rank and above continued discussions with the Mingze Emperor after court adjourned. While not necessarily solemn and dignified, at the very least, the Mingze Emperor had never eaten so much as half a pastry here.
It seemed this suddenly favored Little Princess truly held an extraordinary status.
In fact, even disregarding this matter, the fact that the Mingze Emperor had specifically chosen this place to discuss the selection of the Little Princess’s tutor with them was telling in itself.
Jiang Yan Chuan cast a deep glance at Jiang Yingcheng, who was mechanically stuffing sweets into her mouth.
His original intention had been to listen to “Tong Ge’s” assessment of these important court officials, but the little one seemed too deeply affected by the shock. Her inner thoughts were now circling endlessly around how to make him discover Weng Zizhen’s true identity.
After waiting a long time without seeing the little one recover, he had no choice but to wave his hand, signaling the ministers could leave.
After the ministers withdrew, Lu Yao, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was summoned into the hall.
The moment he entered, his attention was captured by Jiang Yingcheng sitting beside the Mingze Emperor, nearly forgetting to pay respects to the Emperor and committing a breach of etiquette.
But this couldn’t be blamed on him.
He was one of those who had been diagnosed as “sick” by the Little Princess on the road just moments ago.
The ability to hear others’ thoughts—something he had never heard of in his decades of life—was now actually happening to him. The entire world seemed to have suddenly become much more surreal.
Lu Yao mustered his courage to sneak a glance at the young Emperor behind the desk.
Before entering, the eunuch at the door had repeatedly urged him to act according to circumstances.
He winced as if with a toothache.
If they were so intent on reminding him to act according to circumstances, why couldn’t they just say a bit more?
He had no idea what he was supposed to do now!
Jiang Yan Chuan took in all of Lu Yao’s reactions. Seeing that he had finally digested most of his astonishment, he finally spoke: “How is the progress on the investigation into Weng Zizhen that I previously assigned to you?”
Lu Yao: “……”
His heart rate, which had just calmed down, shot straight back up to its peak.
Yesterday, wasn’t he told to investigate the private affairs of court officials?
When did he receive the task of investigating the top scholar?
Just as Lu Yao was hesitating, unsure how to respond, an obviously delighted, childish voice suddenly rang in his ears.
[Ooh ooh, has Father Emperor already discovered that Weng Zizhen is actually the Second Prince of Northern Xinjiang in disguise?]
Lu Yao: “……”
Lu Yao: “？？！！！”
What was that?
Weng Zizhen is the Second Prince of Northern Xinjiang in disguise??
For a moment, he couldn’t quite distinguish whether his shock came more from being able to hear the Little Princess’s thoughts, or from the revelation that the Second Prince of Northern Xinjiang had assumed the identity of the new top scholar.
Lu Yao abruptly looked up, his expression dazed as he glanced at the supreme ruler seated above. In that instant, he gained a completely new understanding of the phrase “act according to circumstances.”
His heart raced wildly, countless conjectures flooding his mind instantly.
Were those unusual tasks Mingze Emperor assigned him two days ago related to the Little Princess’s inner thoughts?
Since those tasks had all been verified as true, did that mean today’s revelation about Weng Zizhen was also a real event?
Lu Yao swallowed hard, then bowed and tentatively replied: “Your Majesty, I… suspect that Weng Zizhen is actually the Second Prince of Northern Xinjiang, Su Hongzhen, in disguise. However, I haven’t found conclusive evidence yet.”
This should be the right approach, shouldn’t it?
Lu Yao cautiously lifted his head to observe Mingze Emperor’s expression, only to meet the other’s gaze directly.
He froze momentarily, then quickly lowered his head again, his heart pounding with uncertainty.
But…
In that brief glance, he had actually seen a satisfied expression on the Tianzi’s perpetually icy face.
Lu Yao felt he must have gambled correctly this time!
[Huh? Why do we still need evidence?]
[Can’t we just rather kill by mistake than let anyone escape?]
The Little Princess’s inner voice was full of frustration. Lu Yao thought miserably, what kind of tyrant talk is this…
Although Mingze Emperor had a poor reputation among various nations, he was actually someone who strongly valued reason.
Though that reason was whatever he decided it to be…
[Oh oh oh!]
Lu Yao’s spirits lifted.
[That Weng Zizhen reported a case before entering the capital, saying he was robbed on the road? At that time his clothes were tattered, and the birthmark on his chest was exposed, seen by many people?]
[If that’s the case, then just send someone to Weng Zizhen’s hometown Kangyang County to investigate, find these eyewitnesses, and we can prove the current one is fake, right?]
[But how do I tell them?]
Lu Yao suddenly spoke up loudly: “But! I plan to send people to Weng Zizhen’s hometown Kangyang County to investigate, to see if we can find relevant clues.”
Although current human skin masks could almost perfectly imitate real faces, surely the Second Prince of Northern Xinjiang wouldn’t redraw a birthmark on his chest every day?!
If this could be verified as true once again…
Lu Yao looked at Jiang Yingcheng with shining eyes.
I wonder if the Little Princess would be interested in joining the Jinyiwei family?
She likes eating small cakes, right?
The Jinyiwei had the most information – they knew exactly which shops in the capital had the best small cakes!
Lu Yao rubbed his hands together, already fantasizing about numerous scenarios of promotion and salary increases.
These inner thoughts were so useful!
The Little Princess was simply an Auspicious Omen!
“Granted.” Jiang Yan Chuan suddenly spoke, interrupting Lu Yao’s thoughts.
Lu Yao suppressed his restless emotions, bowed, and withdrew from the hall.
As soon as he stepped out, he encountered dozens of pairs of eyes looking at him simultaneously.
The expressions on these officials’ faces were uniformly dazed, exactly like his own before he entered.
A sudden conjecture arose in Lu Yao’s heart.
These officials probably could all hear the Little Princess’s inner thoughts.
Because they failed to control their expressions earlier, they were detected by guards stationed in hidden locations, then gathered here to await summons by Mingze Emperor.
Due to the extremely sensitive nature of this location, despite having countless questions swirling in their minds, they dared not inquire directly. Instead, their gazes swept over Lu Yao repeatedly with intense curiosity.
Lu Yao straightened his posture, his face radiating the smug satisfaction of someone who had already grasped the complete picture of the situation.
“Hey, folks.
What lies beyond is the new world.”