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

The emperor waved wearily, and the imperial guards, upon receiving the order, immediately arrested Liu and her son.

Meanwhile, Wang Fugui was furious.

"Just when things were about to be settled, Xiao Lie returned to the manor at this crucial moment, ruining my entire plan."

"Mom, do you think he did it on purpose? He's a good-for-nothing, so he can't stand to see me doing well."

Liu stroked Wang Fugui's chubby face with heartache, "My son, you've really suffered. These past few days, you've put in so much effort to secure this position, and yet that heartless Xiao Lie has ruined it all."

She gritted her teeth, indignant. "Why didn't he come back earlier or later? Of all times, he had to come back now! If he didn't do it on purpose, what was it?"

"Hmph, he got so worked up over just because I used a little money. He's so petty. Does he still have no backbone at his age?"

Wang Fugui was also indignant, but he was even more worried.

"Mother, Xiao Lie has driven us away time and time again. Does he want to sever all ties with us? If so, where will we find such a good life again?"

Without the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, they would just be ordinary families living in the capital, how could they possibly live such a comfortable life?

This matter is not only a source of worry for Xiao Lie, but also a knot in the hearts of both him and his mother.

Liu's eyes hardened, and she patted Wang Fugui's hand, comforting him.

"Don't be afraid, His Highness Prince Kang has already made arrangements. When we get to the palace, we just need to cry loudly and accuse Xiao Lie of being unfilial and disrespectful. Someone will speak up for us."

"I am his aunt, and you are his cousin. What can he do to us? If he dares to treat us even the slightest bit badly, the entire capital will drown him in spittle. At that time, the entire Duke of Zhenguo's mansion will be under our control."

Wang Fugui nodded in agreement, "Mother, I'll listen to you."

The mother and son, united in their hatred of the enemy, had already envisioned the scene of them lording it over the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion after their plan succeeded.

Just then, the gate was suddenly kicked open, and a well-trained squad of imperial guards rushed in, grabbed Liu and her companion, and carried them outside.

Liu forced a smile. "Young man, is it His Highness Prince Kang who invited us? Don't worry, my son and I will definitely cooperate. We can walk on our own."

But the imperial guards wouldn't listen to a word they said, and could only escort them away like prisoners.

Liu felt uneasy and kept asking questions.

"Young man, what's the situation at court these days? Has my good-for-nothing nephew been punished by His Majesty?"

"Young man, has my nephew ever mentioned me and my son? Did he cry his eyes out, full of regret?"

The more anxious Liu became and the more questions she asked, the more dissatisfied the team leader became.

The man coldly shouted, "Enough nonsense, just follow me. If you keep asking questions or trying to scheme, I'll break your arms and legs and drag you straight to the main hall. Anyway, His Majesty only asked you to come, not that you had to come unharmed."

Startled by the ruthlessness in the man's words, Liu and her son shuddered and dared not utter another word.

Upon arriving at the palace, all the officials were solemn, and King Kang's face was ashen. Only the young man in the center of the hall seemed unaffected, which made Liu extremely uneasy.

King Kang stepped forward and coldly questioned him.

"Liu, Wang Fugui, over the years you have embezzled a total of 27,000 taels of silver from the Duke of Zhenguo, plus IOUs. Explain clearly where all this silver went. If you can't explain, the prison has its own methods to make you talk. If you are honest, you will suffer less torture."

Liu's legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground, completely unaware of how things had come to this.

Xiao Lie walked over, sighed softly, and spoke with pity.

"Aunt, cousin, all these years I have treated you as family, and treated you with all my heart. But what have you done? Taking advantage of my youth and ignorance, you have deceived me many times, not only squandering money recklessly and living a life of extravagance, but also taking away a lot of money from the manor without my permission."

"Aunt, don't you feel any remorse for doing these things?"

Wang Fugui spoke indignantly.

"We're family, what's wrong with using your money? Why are you being so petty? You even took it to His Majesty. You're really narrow-minded and short-sighted."

These words not only caused several officials to widen their eyes in surprise, but even Jiang Heng couldn't hold back his emotions.

Twenty-seven thousand taels of silver was no small sum for anyone present, yet Wang Fugui spoke of it so casually, which showed just how arrogant he had been in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in the past.

Meanwhile, Liu, whose mind had always been flawed, wanted nothing more than to slap her own son twice. She tugged at Wang Fugui's sleeve, forcing a smile.

"Your Highness, these were just unintentional words spoken by your cousin in a moment of anger. You mustn't take them to heart."

She then turned her head and stared at Wang Fugui, giving him a meaningful look.

"And you! You've received so much kindness from your cousin over the years, yet you show no gratitude. You're heartless and ungrateful! Is this how I taught you? Aren't you going to apologize to your cousin?"

Wang Fugui was incredulous, never expecting that his mother, who had previously doted on him so much, would turn against him so quickly. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Xiao Lie coldly smiling and taking a step back.

"No, I'm not related to either of you. I don't want to be a sucker and give away a sum of money for nothing."

Liu forced a smile, "We're all family, how can you call this a free gift..."

Before she could finish speaking, the emperor on his throne had already lost patience. The situation was obvious, and it would be a waste of time to let the courtiers watch this mother and son's clumsy act any longer. He waved his hand and ordered the mother and son to be dragged away.

"Give me a thorough interrogation!"

Under the forceful dragging of the Imperial Guards, the two finally panicked, crying and howling as they begged for mercy.

"Your Majesty, I was merely confused about money; I absolutely did not intend to plunder the Duke's mansion. Lie'er, please save your aunt! She is your second closest relative in the capital. Can you really bear to see her and your cousin suffer?"

Even Wang Fugui, who had been so stubborn just moments before, had backed down.

"Cousin, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said those things. Please beg for my forgiveness!"

Plead for mercy? Dream on...

The two things that pleased him most today when he came to the palace were slapping Jiang Heng in the face and punishing the greedy mother and son.

They keep pushing their luck, do they really think the heir of the Duke's mansion is just a dog on the street that they can climb up to?

Seeing the young man's indifferent expression, Liu and her son felt a growing sense of panic and despair, as if they were losing control.

How could this happen? If they had treated Xiao Lie better before, wouldn't things have turned out differently?

Liu screamed in anguish, expressing her regret, but as the Imperial Guards moved further and further away, their voices gradually faded away.