Is This the Shoulder to Lean On

Just as Luo Zhao's voice fell.

A hand reached out from her side without warning, unceremoniously snatching the plain stationery... right out of her grasp.

"?!"

Luo Zhao was startled. Her body instinctively tensed up as a surge of offended fury instantly rushed to her heart!

Who dared to be so bold?!

To actually dare to take such an important document directly from her without permission?!

She whipped her head around, her phoenix eyes filled with murderous intent, shooting a piercing glare to her side.

Then, she saw Gu Chengyin's face.

He had appeared beside her at some point, so close that they could feel each other's breaths.

At this moment, he was looking down at the snatched stationery in his hand.

Inside the bedchamber... there were only her and Gu Chengyin.

This realization instantly extinguished the reprimand that was about to blurt out of Luo Zhao's mouth.

She remembered now. Shangguan Yunying had gone to the Ministry of Personnel, and everyone else had long since withdrawn.

The anger was like a flame forcefully stuffed back into a furnace, burning sullenly in her chest, unable to erupt.

She could only stare fixedly at Gu Chengyin, her teeth biting her lower lip tightly, her fair hands balled into fists.

This damn Gu Chengyin! His abilities were indeed formidable, always bringing unexpected assistance.

But his ability to anger her, challenge her bottom line, and ignore her majesty was even more outstanding!

Gu Chengyin's attention was completely captivated by the stationery, completely oblivious to Luo Zhao's gaze that looked like she wanted to bite him to death.

On the stationery, aside from the names of a dozen or so officials and their related matters.

At the very bottom, a name was heavily circled in vermilion ink, with a few keywords written next to it.

Gu Chengyin's gaze fell on the circled name. He raised an eyebrow slightly and read it aloud in a low voice:

"Xiao... Song?"

He had an impression of this name; it was none other than one of the four Grand Secretaries of the current dynasty.

Hearing his murmur, Luo Zhao took a deep breath and followed up in as calm a tone as possible:

"That's right, Xiao Song. Of the four Grand Secretaries in the current Cabinet, two come from aristocratic families of generations of nobility, and two are outstanding talents from humble backgrounds who climbed up step by step through the imperial examinations."

"Xiao Song is one of the representatives of the aristocratic families in the imperial court. Behind him is the Lanling Xiao clan, which has a legacy of a thousand years."

She paused, her voice turning a bit colder as she added his more crucial identity: "At the same time, he is also... the Chief Minister of the Cabinet."

Chief Minister of the Cabinet!

Gu Chengyin's eyes narrowed.

This was truly a position under one person and above ten thousand, controlling the central secrets, possessing monstrous power!

He nodded slightly, indicating his understanding, but then thought of a question and looked at Luo Zhao with some confusion. "I remember... Shangguan Yuan should also be from an aristocratic family, right?"

"Why would he choose to target Xiao Song, who is also from an aristocratic family? Isn't he afraid of provoking a backlash from the other families?"

Hearing this, Luo Zhao shook her head, her voice dropping even lighter:

"There are also differences... between aristocratic families."

"Like the Lanling Xiao clan, and the main branch of the Vice Minister Cui Shifan, the Qinghe Cui clan, they both belong to the old-guard aristocratic families that have been entrenched for a thousand years."

"They have been officials for generations, with disciples and former subordinates spread all over the world. Their foundation lies more in power and reputation."

"But the Shangguan clan..."

"Is a newly emerged aristocratic family that rose in Luodu over the past century. They started out in business, and only after accumulating immense wealth did they begin to step into officialdom. Their foundation leans more towards commerce and profit."

Luo Zhao took the stationery back from Gu Chengyin's hand, her fingertip tapping on Xiao Song's name. "For Xiao Song, maintaining the privileges and noble reputation of the entire aristocratic class is where his fundamental interests lie."

She pointed vaguely at the purple sandalwood box. "And the new aristocratic families represented by Shangguan Yuan, their interest demands are more direct and pragmatic."

"In some areas involving massive interests, especially things like engineering and trade, conflicts and friction are inevitable."

"As the Chief Minister, it is not uncommon for Xiao Song to restrict or suppress officials with merchant backgrounds, or those closely related to merchants, on certain key policies."

"More importantly," a cold light flashed in Luo Zhao's eyes, "although Shangguan Yuan is slick, he is fundamentally closer to a capable official. He understands that the operation of the dynasty requires the actual support of money and grain."

"Whereas old-guard aristocratic leaders like Xiao Song focus more on tradition and decency. They would even not hesitate to sacrifice the interests of emerging aristocratic families like the Shangguan clan in order to maintain the overall interests of the aristocratic families."

"Therefore," Gu Chengyin suddenly realized, taking over the conversation, "Shangguan Yuan choosing Xiao Song means he has grasped conclusive evidence against Xiao Song and the old-guard aristocratic families."

"It is also to use this to show His Majesty and Your Highness that he is not purely a partisan of the aristocratic families, but a useful minister who can sever ties with the aristocratic families for the sake of the big picture."

Luo Zhao gave him an approving look. "Mhm."

These deep inner workings regarding the internal factions, interest entanglements, and old-and-new conflicts among the aristocratic families.

If it weren't for core imperial family members like Luo Zhao, or figures deeply involved like Shangguan Yuan, ordinary people would have no way of knowing at all, much less understand the intricate key points within.

Having finished explaining, Luo Zhao originally wanted to take the purple sandalwood box to a place specially used for handling official business.

However, Gu Chengyin's next action almost made her lose her composure again.

Gu Chengyin's gaze swept around the bedchamber.

Then, he actually unceremoniously pulled a round stool over and placed it in front of the large and magnificent vanity table.

Following that, right under Luo Zhao's disbelieving gaze, he blatantly sat down!

He even spread out all sorts of documents from the purple sandalwood box all at once on the vanity table and began to seriously flip through them!

That posture, those movements, were completely natural.

It was as if this was not the inner chamber of the Crown Princess's bedchamber, not her, Luo Zhao's, most private space.

But his, Gu Chengyin's, own study.

Not only did he treat Luo Zhao's vanity table as a desk, he treated the bedchamber as his own home!

Luo Zhao's chest heaved violently. She felt the anger she had just suppressed fiercely shoot up again. Her temples throbbed, and the veins on her forehead faintly bulged.

This bastard! Did he not know the distinction between sovereign and subject? What etiquette of superiority and inferiority was? What a private domain was?!

She really wanted to immediately call people in and drag this presumptuous and insolent fellow out! Or personally throw him out herself!

However, reason once again told her she couldn't.

At least not right now.

In the end, Luo Zhao could only forcefully swallow this vile breath once more, using a nearly masochistic endurance to maintain an outward calm.

She glared viciously at Gu Chengyin's back, and then made a decision that even she found absurd.

She walked to the other side of the vanity table, pushed a few exquisite small boxes slightly aside, and cleared out a small space.

Then, she also brought over a smaller embroidered stool and sat down.

Just like that, the esteemed Eldest Princess of Great Luo, the current Crown Princess Luo Zhao.

Sat shoulder to shoulder with Gu Chengyin in front of the vanity table, jointly reviewing the documents in the purple sandalwood box that were enough to destroy heaven and earth.

Neither of them spoke again. There was only the rustling sound of flipping pages, and the occasional soft sound of a pen tip scratching across the paper.

Occasionally, they would even pass a certain document to the other party and exchange a word or two of opinion in a low voice.

"This appropriation record for the river engineering project does not match the archives of the Ministry of Works. The shortfall is massive."

"Hmm, look here. This money ultimately flowed into the merchant houses of the Xiao family's collateral branch."

"The number of mining permits issued has surged in recent years, and the final approvals were all bottlenecked at Xiao Song."

"The backgrounds of these merchant houses are very complex. On the surface, they have nothing to do with the Xiao family, but the actual controllers..."

After an unknown amount of time, light footsteps came from outside the sleeping chambers, followed by Shangguan Yunying's announcement:

"Your Highness, the decree has been delivered to the Ministry of Personnel. It is currently being stamped and filed, and it will be promulgated within half an hour."

"Enter," Luo Zhao replied without even lifting her head.

Only then was the chamber door gently pushed open. Shangguan Yunying walked in with light steps, carrying a tray holding two cups of freshly brewed hot tea.

However, the moment she clearly saw the scene inside the chamber...

"!"

Shangguan Yunying's footsteps abruptly halted, as if she had been struck by an immobilization spell.

The hand holding the tray trembled slightly, causing the teacups to clink against each other and let out a crisp sound.

What did she just see?

Her usually aloof and exalted Royal Highness the Eldest Princess was actually sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Gu Chengyin in front of the vanity?!

This... this...

Although Her Highness had just granted Gu Chengyin the title of Marquis Side-by-Side, bestowing upon him unparalleled favor.

But Shangguan Yunying never in a million years imagined that the "side-by-side" part of his title literally meant sitting shoulder-to-shoulder like this?!

Shangguan Yunying felt as though her brain had completely short-circuited. She stood rooted to the spot holding the tray, caught in a dilemma of whether to advance or retreat, her face covered in utter bewilderment.

Seemingly noticing her daze, Luo Zhao finally raised her head from the documents. She glanced at her and furrowed her brows slightly:

"Yunying? Put the tea down and come take a look at this."