The master behind the Li manor was Consort Lan. For a long time, Master Li had used Consort Lan's name to sell official posts and appointments, cultivating forces within the imperial court for Qin Ye Cheng.
Qin Moyuan looked down at Li Yueshu and smiled faintly, "But the Li manor foolishly picked a fight with you, so I had Chai Yang use the Crown Prince's name to deal with them."
Therefore, even now, Consort Lan still believed that it was Qin Ye Xiu who had brought down the Li manor.
Qin Moyuan did not elaborate on the specific details, but simply summarized, "Because it was done in Qin Ye Xiu's name, the people I arranged to handle the aftermath for the Li manor were also Qin Ye Xiu's."
Li Yueshu's mind raced, and she instantly guessed some of the reasons. "This prefectural magistrate bought his official position from the Li manor. When Qin Ye Xiu was handling the aftermath, he discovered this and used it as leverage to turn this prefectural magistrate into his own person?"
"Ah Shu is so smart!" Qin Moyuan affectionately patted her head. "Not only the prefectural magistrate, but anyone who got their official position with the Li manor's help and was unwilling to give up their wealth and status has all become Qin Ye Xiu's man."
Buying official positions was a capital offense. With such a significant handle in his grasp, those people naturally had no choice but to obey Qin Ye Xiu.
Li Yueshu was very surprised but couldn't help but frown. "People who lack true talent resort to buying official positions. As the Crown Prince, doesn't Qin Ye Xiu know what it means for the Chen Nan Kingdom to have these people in office?"
As the male lead, Qin Ye Xiu shouldn't have made such a foolish mistake.
However, Qin Ye Xiu, the male lead, was set by the author. The original author could write a plot where Li Xiangru personally annihilated the Zhenbei General's manor, which had always supported her, after becoming Empress, suggesting they were not a morally upright person.
Qin Moyuan's eyes darkened slightly. "He naturally knows, but these people are distributed in various official positions throughout the Chen Nan Kingdom, big and small. Regardless of how they are used, they represent no small amount of power."
Those in high positions, especially when competing with other princes, are unwilling to let go of any force they can utilize.
Qin Moyuan paused his words and added, "Moreover, Qin Ye Cheng currently believes that Qin Ye Xiu hasn't discovered the Li manor's practice of selling official positions, nor does he know that these people have already betrayed him."
Hong Dai had been listening to their conversation the entire time, and her surprise was no less than Li Yueshu's.
Ming Yue Tower hadn't heard a single whisper about this matter. She hadn't expected Qin Moyuan to know such details.
She couldn't help but ask curiously, "Since you know that people are selling official positions, as the Regent, why don't you intervene?"
Li Yueshu also turned her head, seeing Qin Moyuan's composed expression, she had a guess. "You've been investigating this matter in secret?"
Given A Yuan's character, if he knew about this, he definitely wouldn't tolerate it. But his delay in acting must have other intentions.
"I only found out about this after the Li manor fell," Qin Moyuan explained patiently. "This matter is deeply interconnected, and the specific list is in Qin Ye Xiu's hands. If I acted rashly, I wouldn't only fail to completely eliminate these parasites but would also harm the foundation of the Chen Nan Kingdom."
"To resolve this with minimal loss, we must first obtain the list from Qin Ye Xiu."
Li Yueshu understood. "Does your Imperial Brother know about this?"
Qin Moyuan shook his head. "The people around the Emperor are a mixed bag. I'm worried about revealing any information and alerting them, so I haven't told him for now."
Hearing this, Hong Dai clicked her tongue. "Then you're telling me, aren't you afraid I'll leak it?"
Qin Moyuan casually glanced at her. "You can try."
Hong Dai felt a chill down her spine. "..."
Just kidding, why so fierce!
She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm a person of the martial world and don't get involved in your courtly affairs."
"This matter truly requires your involvement," Li Yueshu quickly said. "Sister Hong Dai, Ming Yue Tower specializes in intelligence. If we want to find the list that Qin Ye Xiu possesses, we'll need your help."
Hong Dai looked at her, then at Qin Moyuan, and suddenly realized, "You spoke so freely in front of me about this matter, you were waiting for me here!"
Li Yueshu rubbed her nose. "I just thought of it."
As for whether Qin Moyuan had planned this long ago, she didn't know.
Hong Dai felt like she had been manipulated. Although she found the two of them exasperating, she didn't refuse.
...
Since they knew this prefectural magistrate was Qin Ye Xiu's man, Xie Qizhi's approach towards him must be aimed at Qin Ye Xiu.
Although she didn't know his specific objective, for Li Yueshu, she only needed to sit back and watch the show.
Hong Dai had to go to Ming Yue Tower to arrange things, so the four of them stayed in Fengzhou for two more days.
They had been traveling all this time. It was rare to stop, so Li Yueshu decided to explore the city properly.
Fengzhou was located at the border of two countries, so there were not only people from the Chen Nan Kingdom in the city.
However, the appearances of people from the Qing Yan Kingdom and the Chen Nan Kingdom were not very different, and their clothing also had no significant distinctions, making it difficult to differentiate.
Mother Mo was perceptive and voluntarily offered to stay in the space, allowing Li Yueshu and Qin Moyuan to go out and have fun alone.
Qin Moyuan was naturally very happy to spend time alone with Li Yueshu and even sent away the hidden guards who were following them.
Because of this, when Li Yueshu bought a large pile of novel and fun items, Qin Moyuan became the porter.
Qin Moyuan: "..."
This was not what he had imagined!
His hands were almost full when Li Yueshu's attention was caught by something at a nearby stall.
Qin Moyuan quickly tried to stop her, but he suddenly sensed something and turned his head warily.
Not far away, an old man who looked to be over fifty was staring blankly at Li Yueshu, his expression complicated but not hostile.
Li Yueshu, having just bought something, was about to hand it to Qin Moyuan when she saw him frowning and looking in a certain direction, his gaze alert.
She followed his gaze and met a pair of eyes filled with nostalgia and excitement.
"Military doctor Meng, the medicinal herbs you requested are all packed. Do you need me to have someone deliver them to the military camp?"
A person from the nearby pharmacy suddenly ran out, interrupting their gaze.
The old man, addressed as Military Doctor Meng, nodded. "Please trouble the shopkeeper to deliver them to the military camp for me. I have some matters to attend to later and won't be returning with them."
The shopkeeper was clearly a regular, and he readily agreed without hesitation.
After seeing off the shopkeeper, Military Doctor Meng walked directly towards Li Yueshu.
Qin Moyuan's gaze deepened, and he glanced in a certain direction. A hidden guard who had been silently following behind them appeared and took all the items from his hands.
With his hands free, Qin Moyuan took Li Yueshu's hand and stood protectively in front of her.
Military Doctor Meng, who had been excited, paused in his steps. He naturally sensed the warning implied by the man with the imposing aura.
He calmed himself and looked at Li Yueshu with continued excitement.
"May I ask, young lady, is your surname Gu?"
Li Yueshu tugged at the person blocking her and looked at Military Doctor Meng with a gentle gaze. She shook her head. "My surname is Li."
Military Doctor Meng seemed somewhat disappointed but asked again, "Is it the 'Li' from 'Li Ming' (dawn)?"
Li Yueshu nodded. "Precisely."
As soon as she said this, Military Doctor Meng became instantly excited. "You... you are Ru'er? Child, I am your maternal grandfather!"