Chapter 376 - Shooter
The Crown Princess arrived at the Fu Imperial Gates where she met the First Prince and General Xiao. The two greeted the Crown Princess. "Please get into the palanquin, Crown Princess." Jian Guozhi looked around and asked, "You should have brought a maidservant with you."
"No, it is not needed, Brother Jian," Ying Lili replied and went towards the palanquin. She got inside it, while the First Prince and General Xiao hopped on their horses. The palanquin was lifted by the carriers, and they left it up.
Soon, they reached the office of the Capital Bureau. The officials, workers, and servants who were working were bewildered to find out the sudden news.
Ying Lili walked inside, followed by the First Prince, General Xiao, and a few soldiers. She went to the main office building, where the Minister of State Affairs, Minister Zhong welcomed her. Ying Lili bowed and looked around the office. The officers were on their respective tables, standing with bowed heads.
"Your highness, you did not tell about your visit," Minister Zhong asserted.
Ying Lili looked at him. "It was a sudden thought," Ying Lili replied. "But, Minister Zhong, I wonder why are you here? Court Ministers are usually in the Palace at this time," Ying Lili was curious.
"Your highness, I come in the morning to see the reports. After new administration policies are implemented, it is mandatory," Minister Zhong answered. Ying Lili nodded and looked at Jian Guozhi.
"Let's see that report, then. What does Brother Jian think?" Ying Lili asked about his opinion.
"It's great. We can start with the report first," Jian Guozhi affirmed. A servant brought chairs for them, on which they took seats. Minister Zhong brought the file and handed that to the Crown Princess. She skimmed through it while whispering a few things to Jian Guozhi, who hummed at her.
The Crown Princess asked for more reports. Spending a good time analyzing the reports, Ying Lili was satisfied the work was done with utmost honesty and all the grade officers became sincere towards their job after the reforms in the policies and a few laws.
Ying Lili was ready to leave when she encountered Minister Gu Zhenya. They both bowed to greet each other. "The Crown Princess in the Capital Bureau does not suit the societal norms," the first remark he could come up with against the Crown Princess, who snickered.
"Minister Gu shall need to work upon his thinking," Ying Lili stated.
"The Crown Princess is lucky because of the Crown Prince. But she needs to keep the Confucian teachings in her mind as well," this time Gu Zhenya was a little harsher.
"Minister Gu, you are talking in a wrong way with the Crown Princess. Apologize to her," Jian Guozhi intervened. Gu Zhenya smiled and apologized. Ying Lili turned and left the Capital Bureau.
Ying Lili got back into the palanquin and returned to the Palace. She got out of the palanquin and joined Jian Guozhi once again. "Earlier in the morning, Sister Mi was not in the hall. Is everything fine, Brother Jian?" Ying Lili questioned him.
"Umm... I should not say everything is fine. I could not believe she plotted against you. Thank you for informing me about her intentions the other day, but how come the Crown Princess found out about her true nature?" Jian Guozhi was curious.
"I only told you to keep an eye on her, Brother Jian. You did the rest of the work. It is saddening that she schemed against me. I hope she will not do this anymore, else rifts can occur among us," Ying Lili pronounced. "Brother, what is Sister Mi's background? I apologize to you if I am rude," Ying Lili stated.
"She is from the Zhi Family, Southern Province. It's not a powerful family, but it has a good relationship with my father, so he decided to marry her," Jian Guozhi replied. "It seems the Crown Princess is suspicious of her family. Don't be. The Zhi Family has been loyal to us for a long time," he proclaimed.
Ying Lili nodded and halted upon reaching the Palace Grounds, so was Jian Guozhi. She looked at the Jade Emblem carved on the top of the Pavilion and said, "Brother, I want this Royal Family to be united but sometimes, it seems there are still insecurities among us."
"It may be because of the upbringings that we cannot change. Every mother wants to secure the future of her child, but they end up getting greedy because of power at the top. It does not mean that hearts cannot be changed. It will take time," Jian Guozhi asserted.
"I think it is because of the inferiority complex. When my uncle killed my father, I realized this. Somewhere, uncle felt inferior, which made him join hands with the late Empress Wei," Ying Lili deduced and looked at him.
"Hmm. There are many possibilities. This is the main one. Even I felt inferior to Sheng Li because I was the firstborn. My upbringing made me think ill of him. I lost my conscience and did what I felt was right. I contemplated my character and now, I feel good. At least, my heart is not restless unlike the earlier times," Jian Guozhi explained to the Crown Princess.
Ying Lili agreed with Jian Guozhi. "Brother Jian has a good heart," Ying Lili said with a smile. Jian Guozhi smiled back. They both turned to walk when an arrow passed right in front of them and hit the wooden pillar. They got alerted and looked for the shooter.
The shooter was on the roof, in black clothes. His face was covered as well. Jian Guozhi ran towards the other building, calling the soldiers, who got down the roof and surrendered himself, dropping the bow from his hand.
The soldiers surrounded him while Jian Guozhi went to him with a sword in his hand. He pointed the sword at him and removed the cloth mask from his face. "Who are you?" Jian Guozhi skeptically asked.
"I will answer to the Crown Princess," the man stated, bringing his hands up.