The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 372 I Want to Go to the Brown Country

Some ministers with differing opinions were about to speak up in their debate when a sharp shout from within the light screen interrupted them.

"Nonsense!"

Wu Qing, filled with righteous indignation, accused them as if he were the one who had suffered an injustice.

The real person involved, Diao De, showed no sign of panic at being accused, because this time, he truly had a clear conscience.

“Your humble servant is upright and honest, and there is nothing I cannot say to anyone. If I have embezzled even a single penny of the disaster relief funds, may I be condemned to eternal damnation in the Avici Hell after my death, to suffer the eighty kinds of torment!”

The expressions of the people of Dayong were quite interesting.

"this time……"

"As expected of the old fox who has been navigating the court for so long, Diao De's choice of words is indeed precise."

If the people of Dayong can understand this, surely the people of Heguo can too?

That is of course impossible.

But surprisingly, no one exposed this fact.

Zong Haochu opened his mouth, but the words swirled in his mouth several times before he finally uttered them.

Seeing his arch-rival suffer misfortune, Qi Yongji, sitting above, showed little joy.

How could he not know where all that disaster relief money went?

He wanted to keep this matter a closely guarded secret more than anyone else.

But some people are bold enough to make this a public issue.

Look at Diao De's murderous gaze, he probably suspects that he did this, right?

He pursed his lips, his face unusually pale.

Of course, it had to be "abnormal"; he had to make Diao De see his anger and discover his innocence.

Diao De did hesitate for a moment.

He knew perfectly well where the money went. Logically speaking, Qi Yongji should have kept quiet and made a fortune. What good would it do him to make a big fuss?

Is he absolutely certain that he can pin this mess on him?

Outside the light screen, Tao Heng murmured, "The attempt to sow discord has failed..."

Those who truly want to kick Cen Wan when she's down: You've said what we wanted to say, so what are we supposed to say?

Cen Wan didn't even bother to look at him.

failure?

She chuckled softly and looked at Diao De, who had regained his composure in the light screen.

Those who are good at manipulating power have an unavoidable flaw—suspicion.

The higher she climbed, the more she held in her hands, and the more she understood this.

In the imperial court, every position is a vacancy, and those below you want to remove you from power, those around you want to suppress you, and those above you hope you will step down and be replaced by their right-hand men.

If you don't have a lot of vigilance and suspicion, you might not even know how you died.

Diao De and Qi Yongji were no exception to the common practice.

Inside the light screen, Diao De lowered his head, concealing the glint in his eyes.

Just as Cen Wan thought, he didn't believe it.

I don't believe Qi Yongji's portrayal of innocence.

Their emperor has always been audacious, and he has done many unconventional and risky things; there is nothing he wouldn't dare to do.

Moreover, how many people in the entire country can manipulate speech silently?

No one spoke again, and the atmosphere suddenly froze.

Cai Xin coughed lightly: "There seems to be more to this than meets the eye..."

Diao De and Qi Yongji rolled their eyes at the same time, annoyed that he was just spouting nonsense.

"There's no hidden story. I never expected that Lord Diao, who usually seems so refined and gentle, would have such a huge appetite. Tsk tsk, this time he's raised three million in silver alone. If you include the funds allocated by the national treasury and some disaster relief supplies, it must be five million..."

Wan Yao, who was speaking, made no attempt to hide his schadenfreude and even added fuel to the fire, as if he wanted to stir up trouble.

He was being simplistic; if the embezzlement was exposed, someone would have to take the blame.

If the blame could be pinned on Diao De, wouldn't the emperor seize the opportunity to kick him while he was down?

"Wan Yao! Come to think of it, you haven't gotten involved in this at all, so why are you jumping around like this? Could it be... you're the mastermind behind it all?"

Outside the light screen, Zheng Xun remained silent.

The Great Yong Kingdom was strangely harmonious, while the Brown Kingdom was strangely chaotic.

It's a miracle that the Brown Kingdom survived, given that even the slightest spark could ignite their internal strife.

Zheng Xun had a premonition that this internal strife would be the beginning of Qi Yongji consolidating power.

From this perspective, Cen Wan's plan seems to be paving the way for Qi Yongji's success.

However, Zheng Xun did not intend to stop it.

The reason is simple: she favors Cen Wan, and even if she can't openly show favoritism, she's willing to give her opportunities to learn from mistakes and grow.

No, it's not quite right to say I have a preference.

Cen Wan's identity destined her to be at a disadvantage in this era, and her favoritism only brought her and others to the same starting point.

Zheng Xun recalled that Cen Wan had come looking for her a few days ago.

"Your Highness, it is inevitable that Qi Yongji will reorganize the He Kingdom."

Zheng Xun raised an eyebrow and asked her curiously, "Oh? You spoke so confidently in the Fengqin Hall, but it turns out you were just deceiving everyone?"

Cen Wan shrugged innocently: "There's nothing I can do, I have to keep this under control."

As everyone says, there are limited positions in the imperial court, and everyone wants to climb up and replace those above them.

Moreover, her colleagues were filled with hatred for the Brown Kingdom, and many people envied her for being the one who could slap the Brown Kingdom.

She had to do something to solidify her position and temporarily quell their covetousness.

Zheng Xun raised his chin: "Continue."

“We are too far from the Brown Kingdom. Even if we have spies, our reach cannot extend that far.”

Qi Yongji knew that there were spies from Dayong in the He Kingdom, so everything he did was done with them in mind, and he might even release some smokescreens.

Just as the other adults said, if he really got serious, they wouldn't have time to deal with it.

At that time, the scene of a large number of spies being arrested will be repeated.

They are far away in Dayong, and all they can do is cause trouble and delay, and they are not guaranteed to succeed every time.

Therefore, Cen Wan thought that rather than waiting for Qi Yongji to catch them off guard, it would be better to keep the momentum in Dayong's hands.

If he were to clean up the court, many positions would inevitably become vacant.

The Great Yong Kingdom has been operating in the Brown Kingdom for so long, so it's not like they don't have good seeds.

These seeds are not ordinary scouts; they can stand higher and create greater value.

"Is everything planned out?"

"The arrangements have been made; please assist me, Your Highness."

Cen Wan was bold, but she didn't intend to risk the lives of the Da Yong spies.

Zheng Xun nodded slowly: "I'll keep an eye on things for you."

"Your Highness."

"Ok?"

"I want to go to the Brown Country."

Zheng Xun took a deep breath: "Are you crazy?!"

"Your Highness, this is a plan I have carefully considered."

“Cen Wan, your identity is not something you can hide.”

As the only female official who rose through the imperial examination system, she was also officially registered in the court of the Brown Kingdom.

Her portrait and features have probably been widely circulated by now.

If the Brown People expose my identity...

Zheng Xun dared not think about it.

But Cen Wan was very stubborn.

"It's not exactly hidden, but it's not impossible to hide either. Precisely because everyone is watching, they're even less likely to imagine that I'd venture into the lion's den. You understand, only by going there can I react in time."

"Impossible, Cen Wan, give up on that idea."

She trained Cen Wan to have an extra ally, not to send her to her death!