Yu Mingyue shook her head, "I don't think it's a test."
The Emperor's handling of the matter was swift, though the urgency of the season, which dictated the planting time, might have contributed.
It felt more like a pre-planned move, with candidates even selected beforehand.
"Does your uncle know who the accompanying officials are for this trip?" Yu Mingyue asked.
"They are all young officials from the Six Ministries, nobodies. I can't recall their names," Cui Jiu replied.
Yu Mingyue, however, frowned. Unknown individuals were not necessarily useless. Those who dared to enter the imperial court were not content to remain subordinate.
Officials like Lu Zhongcheng were the Emperor's imperial swords, and these young men were the blades.
The Emperor was selecting capable individuals for the new ruler, tempering them, and simultaneously winning the hearts of the people.
While the policy of reclaiming land and planting mulberries appeared to give the aristocratic families control over the court's lifeline, they were, in fact, being manipulated. This maneuver had significantly diminished the prestige of the aristocratic families in the eyes of the common people.
"Uncle, whose idea was this 'reclaiming land and planting mulberries' policy?" a thought flashed through Yu Mingyue's mind.
"It seems to be Mr. Chai..."
The large-scale mulberry planting had indeed brought considerable profits to the Cui family. He also worried about a food shortage, but according to his father, the Cui family's grain reserves were sufficient to sustain Qinghe for three years without interruption.
"The Chai family of Nanyang?"
"Precisely!"
"Chai Xinye?"
"You know his alias, Yue'er? His real name is Chai Ying, and he calls himself the Hermit of Xinyie."
Yu Mingyue suddenly remembered. She knew him all too well.
This man was skilled in strategy, deeply cunning, and operated from the shadows, stirring up trouble.
He had been both a mentor and a friend to Xie Jia Yan in the early days, and they had worked together seamlessly. Later, their differing ideologies and his jealousy of Xiao Che's trust in Xie Jia Yan led him to exploit the resentment of the aristocratic families towards Xie Jia Yan, inciting conflict. Xie Jia Yan's several assassination attempts were all due to his strategies offered to the aristocratic families.
Of course, this also pushed the aristocratic families to a point of no return, with no possibility of a comeback.
Xie Jia Yan, as a result, died of exhaustion and grief.
This Chai Xinye was indeed brave and resourceful, but his intentions were not pure.
However, he did not meet a good end either.
He died at the hands of the Cui family before Xie Jia Yan's demise, so in a way, his death was deserved.
So, the Cui family's movements were all within the Emperor's control.
No wonder he dared to remain unconscious for so long. The Cui family had an informant for the Emperor, and likely other families did too. He had indeed orchestrated a grand scheme.
But the more this was the case, the more she could not reveal Chai Xinye's identity to her maternal grandfather. If the Emperor could place one person, he could place more. At least she could now identify the internal mole.
However, if she didn't find a way to persuade her maternal grandfather soon, it would be too late. The Cui family was already in a precarious situation.
"Yue'er?"
Cui Jiu Lang saw Yu Mingyue frowning deeply, her expression serious, and wondered what she was thinking.
"Uncle, I want to go to Jiangzhou."
"Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Your maternal grandfather will not agree."
"I will naturally depart after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Jiangzhou is only a day's journey away. I will travel on the Cui family's ship, and there will be people looking after me along the way. I will be fine," Yu Mingyue said.
"I dare not promise you that. Although the Cui family has its own calculations, your maternal grandfather truly dotes on you. There have been disturbances from refugees outside these past few days, and it is not safe for you to go out now."
Because of the policy of reclaiming land and planting mulberries, the people were filled with resentment. Recently, villagers from several villages had banded together to become river pirates, hijacking several merchant ships.
If anything were to happen to Yue'er, how could he explain it to his sister?
"Has something happened outside?" Yu Mingyue had not left her residence since returning from Taohua Village that day. Judging by her uncle's expression, something seemed to have occurred.