After speaking, Jun Qing turned to the Empress, "Empress, do not listen to Shaohua—she needs to be disciplined."

The Empress merely smiled.

Then, she gently comforted Jun Qing, "Shaohua is still a child; you shouldn’t be too harsh on her."

"Father, who told you that I was thinking about the adults who were driven away by my fury?" Ye Shaohua arrogantly took a seat in the chair.

In fact, having reached this status, Ye Shaohua didn’t need to pretend much—she had always been accustomed to pride. Just by being herself, she could make people grit their teeth in irritation.

Watching her actions, her palace attendants standing by the door slightly lowered their gaze, feeling sympathy for the Second Princess.

Hearing Ye Shaohua’s words, if it hadn’t been for the Empress present, Jun Qing would have hardly been able to resist twisting Ye Shaohua’s ear, "If it wasn’t for you angering him, why would the Prime Minister have left?"

"Perhaps he was stunned by my unparalleled talent. He couldn’t have anticipated there was someone like me, with such brilliant strategies and grand plans, prompting a life crisis that drove him from the palace to cool down?" Ye Shaohua said, smilingly.

Hearing her audacious statement,

Especially since there were looks from people in the room,

Jun Qing felt so embarrassed that she wanted to cover Ye Shaohua’s mouth.

He knew his daughter all too well. To say she had moved people with her talent—how come she didn’t ascend to the heavens instead?

Barely containing the turmoil inside, Jun Qing turned back to the Empress, looking very gentle (though in actuality quite twisted) on the surface, "Empress, I heard that General Xuanyun returned today, you might wish to go back and see him first."

At the mention of this name, Ye Shaohua’s eyebrows twitched.

The Empress nodded, smiling, "Alright, I’ll head back now."

As for what Ye Shaohua said, the Empress did not believe a word. Her daughter, whom she had doted upon, was she not clear about her ways?

Spending her days in endless indulgence, choosing only the most attractive attendants—she really had some nerve.

"Wait, Mother, do remember to discipline Second Sister for me!" Ye Shaohua called out from behind.

The Empress took a deep breath, her eyes exuding a chilled intent though she concealed it very well; turning back, she said, "Alright, I will visit Consort Qin and confine Mingxin for three days; what do you think about that?"

"That’s fine, as long as I don’t see her," Ye Shaohua nodded in satisfaction.

Under the sun, the Empress gazed at Ye Shaohua, her lips slightly curling into a smile.

Once she left Jun Qing’s palace, her expression instantly darkened.

"My eldest daughter truly lives up to her reputation for stupidity," the Empress said with a grim face.

Ni Lan slightly bowed her head, "Everything has been arranged, Your Majesty. I sent someone to monitor the Crown Princess last night, and as expected, she made the Second Princess write her policy essay for her. Now that the Prime Minister has been angered away by her, and with the guidance you provided to the Second Princess, who is also very smart, the Prime Minister, being a loyal subject, will certainly know what to do."

Hearing Ni Lan’s words, the color on the Empress’s face softened significantly, "You are right; those two can’t be pleased for much longer."

After finishing, she walked forward with big strides.

Behind her, Ni Lan glanced back at the palace of the courtier with a look that was both ironic and sympathetic.

In the entire palace, those with discerning eyes probably already saw the situation.

Ironically, the two in Fengyi Palace really believed the Empress truly doted on them. As the Empress’s trusted aide, Ni Lan was very clear that it was not only the Empress’s favor that Qin Youming enjoyed.

His nephew, Qin Xuanyun, had broken the tradition of female generals in the Wang Dynasty, becoming the first valiant and capable male General.

At not even twenty, he had already become a valiant General.

He was many times more powerful than the generals from the Jun Family.

The military was no longer dominated solely by the Jun Family.

Instead, with Qin Xuanyun’s superior martial arts, having defeated the barbarians to the north, his fame in the military shone like the midday sun, eclipsing that of the Jun Family.

Now, Qin Xuanyun had returned to the Royal Court.

When the time came, the situation for these two from Fengyi Palace would not be so favorable.

By then, with the Empress protecting Consort Qin and the Second Princess inside the Palace, and the valiant General intimidating outside, who would dare to provoke those two?

Now everyone with clear sight knew that the Qin Family was not the one from the past anymore, and the Second Princess had begun to show her edge—Qin Family had become formidable.

Yet, at such a time, the Crown Princess remained clueless and capriciously made life difficult for the Second Princess—wasn’t she practically begging for death?

No wonder the Empress was so angry.

The Empress and Ni Lan departed.

In Fengyi Palace, Jun Qing was still troubled by his dissolute daughter, "Shaohua, what am I to do with you? I pleaded with the Empress to have the Prime Minister come and teach you statecraft, but you don’t listen at all. You are now the Crown Prince—if you continue with your previous reckless demeanor, who in the Royal Court will respect you? Now, you’ve gone and driven the Prime Minister away. It’s one thing for others, but for the Prime Minister, I don’t know how to make amends."

Jun Qing lamented earnestly.

While speaking, he sighed.

But he knew his daughter would definitely not listen.

She had been spoiled by the Empress, always unaware of how the world worked, and it would be strange if she took his advice now.

Jun Qing already heard from someone that the Second Princess had written that policy essay; there was no need to ask, Ye Shaohua must have forced the Second Princess to write it, and the Prime Minister discovered it.

The Prime Minister had been driven away by her unruliness, undoubtedly having reprimanded Ye Shaohua before leaving.

Having suffered indignation from the Prime Minister, she came back to have the Empress discipline the Second Princess in retaliation.

"Father, why do you sigh?" With the Empress and Ni Lan gone, Ye Shaohua lounged back in the chair, carelessly pouring herself a cup of tea, her demeanor incredibly relaxed, void of the previous air of frivolity, "Don’t worry; the Prime Minister will surely come to see me by tomorrow."

"Keep dreaming!" Jun Qing laughed in exasperation.

**

Li Shangshu was overwhelmed with the issue of flood control.

Upon seeing the Prime Minister arrive, he immediately looked up, exclaiming with surprise, "Prime Minister, did you know? The Second Princess just sent someone with a note, stating where to build the dam to block the flood and methods to dredge it—her ideas enlightened me! I had no idea that the Second Princess possessed such brilliant strategies and grand plans!"

The Prime Minister didn’t speak, pulling out a policy essay she had transcribed from her sleeve, "Then, Li Shangshu, take a look at this one as well."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com