The Aloof Lord's Mysterious Wife
Chapter 655: Not Running Away, But Directly Teleporting

Chapter 655: Not Running Away, But Directly Teleporting

Fushun took note.

To save Chu Yan’s face, they quietly arrived, with only four Imperial Guards following them. The rest of the Imperial Guards remained hidden to protect them from the shadows.

By the time they reached the Prince Yu Mansion, it was already afternoon.

The mansion’s guards greeted him with a salute. Qing Feng learned of his arrival and personally came out to greet him. Upon seeing that the Imperial Guards were carrying a large box, he couldn’t help but mutter to himself, As expected of the Third Prince, just newly appointed and already sending gifts.

Ye Siheng had just finished practicing a set of sword techniques. Upon hearing that Chu Yan had arrived, he restrained his inner strength and returned to Liuli Pavilion.

"Royal uncle," Chu Yan saluted with a bow.

Ye Siheng raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

His tone, usually cold, was unusually gentle. Though he felt a little jealous, Chu Yan was family, so his attitude was naturally different.

"My father is unwell and has piles of memorials to read. Tomorrow, he may not be able to handle them, so I brought them here, hoping that royal uncle could assist with reviewing them. I would also like to learn a thing or two in the process," Chu Yan explained.

"What?" Ye Siheng was immediately stunned.

The Imperial Guards opened the box.

Indeed, it was filled with several neatly organized memorials.

Seeing this, Qing Feng stumbled slightly.

Chu Yan continued, "I would like to ask royal uncle for guidance."

Ye Siheng was both annoyed and amused. "How... Your imperial brother will teach you himself. Why the hurry to bring the memorials here?"

"My father is unwell and lacks the strength. I dare not trouble him," Chu Yan said smoothly. Seeing Ye Siheng’s expression darken, he looked sincere. "Royal uncle, you don’t want to send me away, do you? I’m only being diligent and hardworking because of the lessons my father and imperial brother taught me."

Being the ruler of all under heaven is no easy task.

Though he had read many books and his martial skills were decent, what he had learned before had been for the imperial examinations, which were suited for serving as a subject.

Now that he had to take on the role of a ruler, it was a whole different set of skills.

Ye Siheng saw how earnest Chu Yan was and lost his temper. He sighed lightly. "Move the memorials to the study, I’ll change my clothes and come over."

Chu Yan smiled and called out, "Thank you, royal uncle!"

Ye Siheng hadn’t reviewed memorials in a while, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t concerned with state affairs. After all, he would still look over the reports sent by the Supervisory Office every day.

The most important memorials weren’t here, as they had already been filtered by the cabinet. They would be mentioned during court meetings, where they would be discussed and deliberated with the civil and military officials.

The memorials in this box were largely inconsequential reports on the people’s well-being, so Ye Siheng quickly wrote "Noted" on them.

But occasionally, there were some memorials that piqued his interest, involving multiple people. Ye Siheng scanned through them at lightning speed, already having a clear idea of the situation, and began writing his review.

He turned to look at Chu Yan. "Do you know why the court hasn’t directly allocated silver for the governance of the Xiao River?"

"The Xiao River floods every year, and the court has already allocated quite a bit of silver for flood control, but the results have been minimal. The Xiao River borders Yu State, and the governor of Yu State appears to be a good official on the surface, but behind the scenes, he’s likely pocketed a lot of silver. Royal uncle, I believe you want to work with the appointed flood-control minister to ensure that the Yu State governor doesn’t get his hands on the silver, right?" Chu Yan said.

Ye Siheng narrowed his eyes. "Everyone speaks of the governor of Yu State as a good official, working for the country and its people. How can you be so sure he’s pocketed silver?"

"I want to re-investigate an old case, which happens to involve the governor of Yu State," Chu Yan continued. "It’s not difficult—just look at the records from the Dali Si Procuratorate, and we can roughly deduce which of our court officials are clean, which have shady dealings, and which factions are involved in mutual protection."

Because many cases simply ended without resolution.

Ye Siheng gave him a compliment. "A’Li’s efforts in helping you strengthen your body weren’t in vain."

There were countless case files, but Chu Yan had managed to learn how to investigate while going through them.

He was indeed resilient.

He asked, "Have you spoken about this outside?"

Chu Yan lightly shook his head. "I know the danger of speaking carelessly. Some matters are best kept to myself. There’s no need to tell others. But royal uncle... you seem to know a lot about the affairs in various states and counties. Why don’t you deal with this governor of Yu State?"

Ye Siheng replied, "The governor of Yu State acts cautiously, but I’m not unable to find evidence. The problem is that he has supporters in the court, people who have formed factions with him. It would be easy to remove him alone, but if we want to catch the people behind him, it will require patience."

Chu Yan was surprised. "There’s even someone royal uncle can’t catch?"

After all, the officials from the Cold Sect faction were so cautious, yet they were all caught. Even the exact amount of their corruption was documented clearly.

Ye Siheng smiled. "I already know who it is. But even imperial brother has difficulty dealing with this person, so it’s best to hold off for now."

Chu Yan nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed, if my father had to deal with his own royal uncle, it would be too controversial. If he acted too harshly, people would talk. If he acted too lightly, the common people would suffer, and it wouldn’t serve as a deterrent. It’s quite troublesome."

Now it was Ye Siheng’s turn to be surprised. "How did you know this person is the late emperor’s younger brother?"

"My second brother told me," Chu Yan said. "He got news that the Yu State had produced a flawless piece of glowing jade, and he immediately sent someone to Yu State to buy it. But by the time he got there, it was already too late." Chu Yan continued, "About a month later, this glowing jade appeared at Lord Ji’s waist. The Yu State’s jade stones are controlled by the governor, and such fine jade should have gone through the auction route. Yet there was no news from Yu State, which shows that the governor had planned to give the jade to Lord Ji. The two of them are clearly in cahoots, which isn’t hard to guess."

As for how his second brother knew, it was simply because he loved collecting rare treasures and was willing to spend money to buy information, so he had learned of this.

Ye Siheng said, "But he only took it out once. How did you even notice and recognize it?"

Chu Yan laughed. "I happened to see it myself while on business that day!"

"You saw it, fine. But how did you recognize it as glowing jade from Yu State?" Ye Siheng asked.

"Thanks to my second brother, who collects jade from all over! He has pieces from every origin! I’ve seen enough that I can recognize them now." Chu Yan smiled happily when mentioning his family.

"...," Ye Siheng was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Chu Shuo’s collecting hobby to be so useful.

After all, glowing jade was rare. Even Ye Siheng only had one piece in his collection.

Chu Yan suddenly became serious. "But Lord Ji’s collusion with the governor of Yu State is causing immense suffering to the people of Xiao River. This matter can’t be delayed. It should be dealt with as soon as possible."

Ye Siheng closed the memorial and asked, "If it were you, how would you deal with it?"

Chu Yan became serious.

He moved a chair closer and began discussing the plan of action with Ye Siheng.

They talked late into the night, forgetting the time. By the time they finished, it was already past midnight, and they hadn’t eaten dinner.

Chu Yan was still excited and wanted to ask Ye Siheng more questions.

Although Ye Siheng had plenty of energy, he didn’t want to keep talking to Chu Yan.

He could only gently advise him. "Don’t tire yourself out. Overworking will hurt your body. How can you go far if you’re in poor health? Go to the guest room and rest now!"

After saying this, he didn’t run away but directly teleported.