My whole family time-traveled! I became a god during my exile in a famine.

Chapter 111 Decay
"You truly deserve to die." The Crown Prince said coldly.

Wang Yinghui's heart skipped a beat, and her head naturally sank even lower.

I've heard that this Crown Prince, who has been a hostage in Northern Yan since childhood, is aloof and taciturn.

Since returning to Beijing six years ago, he has lived a secluded life, rarely appearing in public.

In recent years, the emperor has repeatedly considered deposing the crown prince and establishing the fourth prince, Xiao Mingduo, as the new crown prince.

Unfortunately, the late Empress's maternal family was powerful, and the Duke of Yin's mansion had accumulated numerous military achievements, making it difficult to shake them in the slightest.

So the emperor racked his brains to weaken its power, but before the new crown prince could be supported to take the throne, an unpredictable natural disaster struck.

Wang Yinghui's son, Wang Shanting, knelt behind his father with his head down, seemingly obediently accepting a scolding, but inwardly he was somewhat disapproving.

In the past, this aloof and independent Crown Prince did not have a strong presence. Even with the full protection of the old ministers of the Duke of Yin's mansion, so what? He still had to share the court with Prince Jin, Xiao Mingduo.

Not to mention the current chaotic situation, what can the Crown Prince do?
Now, whoever has the food, weapons, and manpower is the true ruler.

Even if he is a dragon prince, without power, influence, food, or manpower, he can only obediently curl up and let others slaughter him.

A hint of mockery flashed in Wang Shanting's eyes.

The Crown Prince seemed oblivious to the provocative look Wang Shanting was giving him.

He remained calm and composed, looking down at the mountains with a smile, his voice like an underground spring, each word flowing out.

"Wang Yinghui, do you intend to occupy Wan'an Prefecture and declare yourself king?"

Prefect Wang's heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly raised his hands and made a prostration gesture, saying, "This humble official would never dare to have such a thought. I hope His Highness the Crown Prince will understand."

The convicts stood huddled behind Xin Wenyuan, all looking at Xiao Jinzhi with disbelief in their eyes.

Most of the convicts were genuinely unaware that His Highness the Crown Prince had been living and eating with them for days without revealing anything.

At first, they just thought that the Sixth Miss had casually picked up a down-on-his-luck young man.

Unexpectedly, this person turned out to be the Crown Prince of the current dynasty.

As for the court officials who knew the Crown Prince's identity, they were all shrewd and discreet. They naturally saw through the Sixth Miss's intention to conceal it but did not expose her.

"Blazing Fire".

“It is Your Highness.” Liu Huo stepped forward and glanced at Prefect Wang Yinghui. “I already spoke with Prefect Wang two days ago.”

"Yes, yes, yes." Wang Yinghui appeared trembling with fear. "Lord Liuhuo came to inform me of the massacre of the entire Xiaoling Village. I have indeed been following His Highness's orders and have sent people to investigate whether there are any similar cases in the vicinity."

As he spoke, he glanced at Zhou Tongpan and Yang Tongzhi, who were prostrate beside him.

Several officials quickly echoed, speaking respectfully, "As Lord Wang said, we have sent people everywhere to search for bandits these past few days. We are taking strict precautions to prevent such incidents from happening again."

"Your strict guard is only aimed at ordinary people?" Liu Huo sneered. "Lord Wang, do you know why your men died?"

"I just revealed my identity card, but they didn't even glance at it and attacked us as usual. From top to bottom, Wan'an Prefecture has now become the prefect's personal fiefdom. Is the prefect plotting rebellion and declaring himself king?"

"No, no, no, Lord Liu Huo, you are too kind." Prefect Wang waved his hands repeatedly, then crawled a few steps toward Xiao Jinzhi, saying anxiously, "Please calm down, Your Highness. This matter was indeed handled improperly by this official. Lieutenant Wang was audacious and deserved to die."

"But it is also true that many of the refugees gathered outside Wan'an Prefecture are sick. I ordered the city to be closed and the passageways locked because I was worried that if a large number of sick people flooded into the city, the entire Wan'an Prefecture would be in imminent danger and could be wiped out at any time." "Lord Wang, do you think we are sick?" Liu Huo asked with a half-smile, not letting up.

"No, no, I dare not." Wang Yinghui quickly shook his head. "It was my subordinates who failed in their duties and offended you all."

"Your Highness has traveled a long way and is covered in dust. Please come with me into the city and get some rest."

Xiao Jinzhi glanced at Liu Huo, who understood and immediately asked, "Lord Wang, does His Highness mean that the matter you were asked to handle is progressing well?"

"We're investigating, we're investigating," Wang Yinghui said with an embarrassed smile, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Wang Yinghui's son, Wang Shanting, finally lost his temper and angrily shouted, "What do you mean? Two days ago you came over and left us with a few words, telling us to investigate ourselves. My father has to send people to do all the hard and dirty work. Xiaoling Village isn't close to us, and it wasn't originally under the jurisdiction of Wan'an Prefecture. They come to us with their troubles..."

"Stop the young master!" Wang Yinghui exclaimed in fright.

Two bodyguards rushed over and covered Wang Shanting's mouth to stop him from speaking.

Wang Yinghui looked embarrassed and gave an awkward laugh. "Your Highness, please forgive me. My son has been studying all his life and his brain is a bit messed up. He doesn't know how to speak properly, so I hope Your Highness won't hold it against him."

Wang Shanting was furious and wanted to curse, but his guards covered his mouth tightly, preventing him from making a sound.

Wang Yinghui looked embarrassed. "Your Highness understands perfectly. With such a serious incident in Xiaoling Village, it's hard to guarantee that similar situations won't occur in nearby villages. We must prevent it, we absolutely must prevent it."

"Your Highness, rest assured, the people I sent out..."

"Check my ass!" A deep, gruff voice came from afar.

Xin Nian turned her head and saw that the burly-faced Commander Hu was leading a group of guards in a long stride.

"Your Highness." Commander Hu bowed to his master, his face extremely grim. "These past few days, I have led men to visit all the nearby villages."

"Sure enough, there was a band of bandits called Mountain Ghosts who had been burning, killing, and looting in the nearby villages."

"According to the villagers, this group of mountain demons appeared as early as the second day after the earthquake, and began to loot in a small area. Now, their group has grown to a hundred people."

"The Mountain Ghosts appeared near Wan'an Prefecture and are inextricably linked to it. Prefect Wang, don't tell me you've never heard of these Mountain Ghosts bandits." Commander Hu said sarcastically, casting a disdainful glance at Wang Yinghui.

Wang Yinghui inwardly groaned.

Two days ago, when this close advisor to the Crown Prince came to inform him of a self-examination, he didn't take it seriously at all.

Who would have thought that in just a few days, the Crown Prince himself would descend upon Wan'an Prefecture.

He knew about the bandits, Shan Gui, but they only robbed the outer villages and did not cause him, Wang Yinghui, any real loss, so he let them do as they pleased.

Xiao Jinzhi glanced at Wang Yinghui and immediately knew what the prefect was thinking.

He knew six years ago that the entire dynasty was still so corrupt, weathered, and aged.

These people are beyond saving.

To break free from decay and achieve new life, we must start from the very root and crush it completely.

They were crushed and mixed back into mud, allowing the new foundation to grow and multiply inch by inch from the newly formed land...

(End of this chapter)