After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Chapter 538: The Prince's Trial

"Young master, a carriage is blocking the way."

After finishing his shift, Li Mo picked up Jiang Xiaoqi as usual to take her home, but unexpectedly, a rather luxurious carriage blocked his way on their daily route.

Adhering to the principle of neither provoking trouble nor fearing it, Li Mo reined in his horse and inquired of his master.

"Young Master, should we take a detour or go forward to negotiate?"

Jiang Xiaoqi lifted the carriage curtain and glanced inside. "Let's take a detour. They're obviously blocking the way on purpose. Why should we give in to their wishes?"

"Yes!"

Li Mo's driving skills are now superb. The road here isn't too narrow, so there's still room to turn around.

The coachman opposite panicked the moment he saw the Jiang family's carriage turn around.

Whether or not they had consulted their master in the car, they drove straight after them.

Fearing that the Jiang family's carriage would turn around and run away, the driver couldn't help but shout twice, "Wait! Wait!"

Jiang Xiaoqi was speechless and told Li Mo to stop the car. "Stop and see what they're up to."

"Does the young master know who the other party is?"

"I probably guessed it."

Inside the teahouse, the aroma of tea wafted through the air, but Jiang Xiaoqi, having eaten nothing, would not drink tea on an empty stomach.

Li Mo took out a food box from the carriage at the right moment, which contained the snacks that Jiang Xiaoqi had been enjoying recently.

It was originally meant to be a snack for his young master on the way, but now that tea has been served, he couldn't let his young master drink tea on an empty stomach.

"Your driver is so considerate~ Unlike mine, he's so clueless."

"Your Highness is too kind. Li Mo is indeed considerate, but he is not a coachman; he is my subordinate."

Jiang Xiaoqi corrected the Fifth Prince's way of addressing Li Mo. In fact, Li Mo himself didn't care. He was willing to be either a subordinate or a coachman, as long as he was following his young master.

"Haha, I misspoke. I rarely have contact with Lord Jiang, so naturally I don't know these things. Please forgive me."

"Your Highness is too kind. It's just a small matter, no need to worry about it. Last time I was in a hurry, and I haven't had a chance to thank Your Highness for helping me out of that predicament."

After a few awkward words, Jiang Xiaoqi brought up the incident where the Sixth and Seventh Princes had caused trouble for her last time.

Although Jiang Xiaoqi knew that it might be a play orchestrated by the Fifth Prince, she still couldn't afford to give anyone cause for gossip.

I have already formally thanked you, and it's not like I did anything of immense help. I hope the Fifth Prince won't try to take advantage of my kindness.

Whether the Fifth Prince would agree or not, the topic was dropped.

"This is the best Biluochun tea in this teahouse. Doesn't Lord Jiang like it?"

Jiang Xiaoqi still didn't pick up the teacup, but instead pushed her family's pastry box towards the Fifth Prince.

"Your Highness, please eat something before drinking tea, otherwise you may experience abdominal cramps."

"I see. No wonder Lord Jiang had his men prepare some snacks. I didn't expect that Lord Jiang, at such a young age, would be so knowledgeable about health and wellness."

"They're just life experiences; you always learn from your mistakes."

After Jiang Xiaoqi finished speaking, the Fifth Prince remained silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

"That's right, you learn from your mistakes, that's a good saying!"

The Fifth Prince picked up a piece of peach blossom pastry. Perhaps he only wanted to give Jiang Xiaoqi face at first, but when he put the pastry in his mouth, he was somewhat surprised by the taste.

"These snacks are really delicious. There must be a master chef in Lord Jiang's kitchen."

"There's no expert here, but there is indeed an extraordinary cook who enjoys researching new dishes."

As Jiang Xiaoqi finished speaking, a hint of pride mixed with a touch of embarrassment flashed across Li Mo's face. Yes, this extraordinary cook was indeed his mother.

I never imagined that my mother was so highly regarded by the young master. I must learn to say these words from her when I get back, so that she can be happy.

Hehe ~

There are many extraordinary people in the world, but most of them are rare and hard to come by.

Rather than saying that Lord Jiang was a blessed man, it would be more accurate to say that Lord Jiang was also an extraordinary man.

After all, only extraordinary people can attract other extraordinary people to their side, pledge their loyalty, and willingly serve them.

Heh, the true colors are revealed at the last minute?

Jiang Xiaoqi didn't reply, but instead picked up a piece of peach blossom pastry and ate it slowly.

Then, I picked up the Biluochun tea, which had cooled to just the right temperature, and took a sip. "It really is a good tea!"

Although his words seemed incoherent, Li Mo, standing to the side, felt as if he understood them. Sure enough, it was true that following the young master would make one smarter!

Compared to the eldest and third princes, the fifth prince was better at disguising himself and being patient.

But his disguise and forbearance are completely different from those of the Second Prince.

The second prince made this choice to protect himself, when his life was in danger.

The fifth prince is younger, but he may have developed ambitions earlier.

He was more like a lurking venomous snake, retracting his tongue and hiding his fangs, keeping his venom hidden in his belly.

Show the enemy weakness, and when the enemy is at a disadvantage, secretly give them a taste of their own medicine.

At first, everyone believed that the two groups of assassins from the First Prince's residence were the work of the Third Prince alone, but Jiang Xiaoqi's subsequent investigation revealed more and more suspicious points.

However, Prince Xuan Nan was eager to close the case, and His Majesty the Emperor hated the Third Prince at the time. With everyone's intentional or unintentional push, the assassination case was closed just like that.

That said, did the Fifth Prince really not know that he was in charge of the case?

The Prince of Xuan Nan was someone the Emperor openly acknowledged, so the princes dared not go too far with their schemes or methods.

Looking back now, Jiang Xiaoqi felt that the fact that he had performed meritorious service but did not receive any reward was a form of protection from the emperor.

But why was I put in charge of such a big case in the first place? It's a bit of a contradiction.

Jiang Xiaoqi's thoughts had already drifted far away, but she controlled her expression perfectly, showing no sign of smuggling.

"It is indeed good tea, but it is far inferior to the tribute tea from the palace. Lord Jiang is now the tutor of the princes, so I suppose you have drunk plenty of tribute tea from my second brother, haven't you?"

A single sentence brought Jiang Xiaoqi back to the tea table. Jiang Xiaoqi's expression was indifferent. "I was fortunate enough to have some tea a couple of times, after all, the Second Prince doesn't like tea, he prefers sweet soup."

This is quite true; the Second Prince does indeed have a sweet tooth, which is an open secret in the palace.

Even if Jiang Xiaoqi said that the Second Prince enjoyed tea, someone would have to believe her.

Seeing that Jiang Xiaoqi finally revealed some information about the Second Prince, the Fifth Prince's smile became more genuine.

"My second brother has always been like that since he was a child. When he was a child, he fought with my fourth and third brothers several times because of eating candy."

But in the end, it was always the third and fourth brothers who suffered, after all, the second brother was the emperor's favorite son, and he was different from others.

These words were extremely sarcastic, but Jiang Xiaoqi merely twitched the corners of her mouth.

The Third Prince has been exiled, and the Fourth Prince... well, let's not even mention him.

Neither of these two poses any threat to the throne, so why does the Fifth Prince actually consider the Second Prince, who is known as a "mentally challenged child," as a rival?

Just because of His Majesty's favoritism? It just doesn't seem right.