Even the crown prince is getting a marriage of convenience? Why are you in such a hurry to stop bein

"If Lin Wan'er is still not giving up and wants to do something outrageous right under our noses, she doesn't need to report to me."

Xiao Lie decided to kill Lin Wan'er, thinking, "A person who always harbors ulterior motives is useless to keep alive."

"Put some poison powder in her food so she can be slowly poisoned to death."

Only the dead can no longer be disturbed.

Seventeen is hesitant. Didn't we say before that we'd keep Lin Wan'er for now?

Why are they trying to get rid of her now?

"The Lin family..." The Lin family's power is still not to be underestimated.

The Third Prince's relationship with Lin Wan'er was also because he coveted the Lin family behind her.

Xiao Lie wiped his neck, his meaning couldn't be clearer.

If Lin Wan'er cannot be kept, then naturally the Lin family must cease to exist.

Seventeen understood, accepted the order, and left.

There was a hint of worry in Sixteen's eyes. "The wound is a bit deep. With all this running back and forth, the bandaged area will probably reopen and bleed again."

Sixteen and Seventeen had been following him, so Xiao Lie was naturally concerned about Seventeen's injuries.

"The wound medicine you used on him is a miraculous medicine personally developed by Elder He." The wound will heal very quickly. As long as the bone is not visible, it can recover to the point that it was never injured within an hour.

Sixteen was too impatient and forgot about this.

Xiao Lie knew that he was just worried and confused, so he didn't say anything more.

A few days later, Shen Qinglan sent word that the underground gambling den could open for business.

This first deal was naturally with Jiang Yao, this big fat sheep.

"Your Highness, news has arrived that they are willing to allow you to bring a few of your close friends to the underground gambling den, out of respect for me."

Xiao Lie came to find Jiang Yao in person and even prepared a carriage for him.

Jiang Yao was overjoyed. "Young Master Xiao, thank you so much."

After watching the carriage carrying Jiang Yao drive out of sight, Xiao Lie quietly followed.

After he arrived at the underground gambling den, someone led him to a private room upstairs.

Gu Mingheng, Lin Yu, and Shen Qingge also came.

"Brother Xiao, why did you suddenly open an underground gambling den?" This territory was bought back by Shen Qingge.

After making numerous arrangements and putting someone who had no connection to their families into the open, they finally dared to officially open for business.

Underground gambling dens like these are not allowed to exist.

If caught red-handed, not only will everyone involved in gambling be arrested, but the person behind the gambling will also be beheaded and their head displayed in public.

Xiao Lie didn't even lift his eyelids, and ignored Shen Qingge completely.

Gu Mingheng spoke up, saying, "Brother Xiao has his own plans. If you don't understand now, just sit down and watch for a while, and you'll know."

Shen Qinglan has put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes to get to where he is today.

Sure enough, about an hour later, a number of unexpected people appeared at the underground gambling den.

Many of them were from the Sixth Department.

Gu Mingheng recognized several of them simply by sitting in the private room and looking down.

There were several senior officials from the Ministry of War, and also from the Ministry of Revenue...

I didn't expect that all of them would like this too.

"There are people stationed at the entrance, specifically to register the names." Lin Yu's mind suddenly cleared. "These names will become leverage against them in the future."

They are all officials, and most of them hold important positions.

If we can force them to work for us, it will be much easier for them to do whatever they want in the future.

"How could you come up with such a terrible idea?"

For a moment, it was unclear whether Lin Yu was praising him or mocking him.

What? Some people are allowed to open brothels and restaurants to gather information, but they are not allowed to open underground gambling dens and exploit others' weaknesses?

Xiao Lie did this all to protect the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

They were simply forced into a corner and had no choice but to take a desperate gamble.

Lin Yu noticed the slight displeasure in his eyes and dared not make any more jokes.

"I'm tired, I'll secretly return to the imperial estate first." The emperor was naturally suspicious, and he had also planted spies near the imperial estate.

Xiao Lie knew he shouldn't linger in the capital, so he immediately set off for the imperial estate.

Unexpectedly, just as he arrived at the imperial estate, news of another major event came from the capital.

This time, it was Yuan Ajiao who was the first to pass on the information she had gathered.

The Fifth Prince secretly gathered many city garrison generals from several cities near the Southern Barbarians, ready to launch a rebellion at any time.

We have soldiers, but we are still lacking some weapons.

His advisors were no pushovers either; they colluded with a doctor in charge of provisions in the Ministry of War to secretly smuggle a batch of fine weapons and provisions that were originally destined for the north from the Ministry of War's warehouse.

If these weapons and provisions could be sent to the frontier, they could be used by his grandfather, Xiao Tianze.

The difficulties of material shortages and the hardships faced by the soldiers were thus resolved.

If the Fifth Prince can steal, then why can't Xiao Lie rob him?

He hardened his heart and called Sixteen in.

Upon hearing this, Sixteen, for the first time ever, tried to dissuade him, "Young Master, this is too risky. If we are not careful, our entire Zhenguo Duke's Mansion will be finished."

"Think thrice before you act."

Xiao Lie rolled his eyes at him. "You're such a pig-brain."

"Theft and robbery must not be done openly." He was certain that the military supplies stolen by the Fifth Prince had been robbed, and he could only swallow this bitter pill and dared not send anyone to investigate.

Moreover, the Shadow Guards are no pushovers.

Most of them were unfamiliar faces, so it wouldn't be discovered that he, Xiao Lie, had ordered them.

Sixteen tried to dissuade him but to no avail, so he had no choice but to write a letter to Xiao Tianze behind Xiao Lie's back.

Xiao Tianze actually agreed to let Xiao Lie do it this way. Sixteen was puzzled. The Duke had also been led astray by the young master.

His little tricks, of course, did not escape Xiao Lie's notice.

Seeing Sixteen's sighing and groaning, Xiao Lie guessed that his grandfather supported him in doing this.

"Sixteen, go to the yard and set off the signal."

"Yes." As soon as the signal was given, the Shadow Guards sprang into action.

The Fifth Prince's men were caught completely off guard, and their provisions and weapons were looted.

They couldn't even catch up with them.

However, the fifth prince's situation was rather tragic.

He stole the weapon of General Wei, who was guarding the Northwest.

The soldiers guarding those fortresses in the northwest were all members of the Wei family.

These members of the Wei family are notoriously stubborn.

The military supplies that the court had promised to allocate to them were delayed, and the Wei family members were sending over several impeachment memorials every day by express urgency.

Even the emperor was angered.

To quell the anger of the Wei family, the emperor opened the national treasury and urgently sent a batch of supplies there.

He then summoned the Minister of War and asked, "How could you not notice your subordinates engaging in such petty theft?"

"I suspect that the Fifth Prince was behind this."

"Go and thoroughly investigate your Ministry of War. Arrest and imprison everyone who has had dealings with the Fifth Prince."

The Minister of War looked troubled. "Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable. How can we condemn them all with one blow?"