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

Jiang Heng quickly wrote the letter, and the steward picked it up, acknowledged it, and quietly withdrew. He changed into a servant's uniform and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, quietly entered the Wang residence through the back door.

Upon learning that it was a letter from Prince Kang, Wang Mingyuan, who was still listening to music in his armchair, was so excited that he almost fell off the chair.

He opened the letter, glanced at it, his expression changed drastically, and finally silently stuffed the letter into his pocket, nodding in agreement.

"Your Highness's meaning is clear to this official. I will bring the person here tonight at Hai Shi (9-11 PM)."

The butler nodded, took his leave, and departed.

Wang Mingyuan was left alone, his eyes shifting as he muttered to himself.

"This time, His Highness is going to resort to drastic measures. If this plan succeeds, given His Majesty's mindset, Xiao Lie may not be able to be kept alive."

Meanwhile, Xiao Lie was checking the accounts of the manor.

With the Liu mother and son no longer causing chaos in the household, the atmosphere became much cleaner, and even the accounts became clearer. Moreover, at this time, Seventeen, by following Jin Daohe, also uncovered quite a few interesting things.

As Xiao Lie flipped through the accounts, he hummed in agreement and slowly began to speak.

"Go on."

Seventeen replied respectfully, "As Your Highness predicted, Jin Daohe became bolder after discovering that Your Highness neglected state affairs and acted as a mere figurehead."

"These days, he appears to be working diligently on his shop, but in reality, he has been secretly contacting the owners of several other shops. A little investigation suggests that those people are spies planted by Liu Changdong, but the last investigation of Liu Changdong was not thorough enough, giving them a chance to breathe."

"Now that Jin Daohe has returned, these people have reconnected, and things have started to rekindle."

Sure enough, it would have been difficult for Liu Changdong to create so many false accounts on his own.

In a split second, Xiao Lie had already made up his mind. He waved his hand, signaling Seventeen to go down and keep an eye on things.

Seventeen was taken aback, opened his mouth, and asked, "Your Highness, are we just going to keep an eye on those people like this?"

"Jin Daohe is His Majesty's person after all. It's best not to disturb her unless there's absolute certainty. She's just a few mouths to feed. With the wealth of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, they can afford to support her."

On the desk to the side, a letter written by Xiao Tianze was placed casually, with the eight characters "eat, drink, be merry, and bide your time" standing out in particular.

……

"Your Highness, Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Just as Xiao Lie had finally managed to enjoy a few days of peace, a waiter suddenly ran into the Duke's residence. He was so flustered that he almost tripped over his own foot.

Xiao Lie looked displeased.

"What happened?"

The waiter took a breath, bowed to Xiao Lie, and whispered.

"Your Highness, something has happened at the dock. Please come with me to take a look."

Xiao Lie had a vague feeling that something was wrong. He dismissed the servants and asked again. This time, the waiter looked around and, seeing that no one was around, finally spoke.

"Your Highness, the cargo ship arrived at the shore today. The canal patrol officers on board discovered...discovered smuggled salt."

"The shopkeeper was clever enough to slip the inspector a lot of silver before he was willing to let me go back. But it won't be long. If you, young master, are late, the inspector's men might come knocking on your door."

Xiao Lie's face paled. "And what's this about smuggled salt? You're doing this kind of business behind my back, don't you want to live?"

The current dynasty has extremely strict controls on salt smuggling, and merchants involved in such matters almost always meet a terrible end. The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is already a thorn in the emperor's side; if this matter were to reach the emperor's ears, wouldn't it provide him with a convenient excuse to eliminate the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?

The man panicked and realized the seriousness of the situation. He dared not take the blame and hurriedly tried to explain himself.

"Your Highness, we are all law-abiding citizens. The laws clearly state that we cannot interfere in things that are forbidden. This matter of smuggled salt was truly an accident, and we have no idea what happened."

"On the cargo ship, everything was fine except for the smuggled salt. Even if it were just smuggled salt, we could have dealt with it quietly. But today we've encountered a rigorous inspection and search... this..."

The waiter was so anxious he was almost in tears, fearing he would be dragged into this and end up as a servant whose body would never be recovered.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lie immediately understood. Someone had been up to something again, not only framing him but also contacting officials on the canal transport side, working together from the inside to trap him like a turtle in a jar. What a ruthless scheme.

Having figured it out, Xiao Lie didn't hesitate any longer and hurried over.

On the dock, several officials in charge of the canal transport looked at each other, hesitant to make a move against the Xiao family's cargo ship. They had already made an exception by allowing one of their men to return and report; the rest was up to the young master Xiao himself.

One of the inspectors cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "Report this matter. If we don't, and our efforts are exposed, we'll both be in trouble."

They were all low-ranking officials with meager salaries. If something unexpected happened, they might not be able to support their families. Just as everyone nodded in agreement and was about to take action...

Xiao Lie finally arrived in a hurry, panting heavily, and quickly spoke.

"Gentlemen, please wait a moment, allow me to say a few words..."

One of them frowned. "Your Highness, this matter is of a heinous nature, and we cannot show any leniency."

Xiao Lie stuffed silver into their hands one after another, saying as he did so.

"I understand, this is just a small token of my appreciation."

"It's just that my Zhenguo Duke's Mansion is so large and powerful that we can live and drink more than enough just from the estates and shops passed down from generation to generation. How could we possibly get involved in such a business that could cost us our lives? It's just that some of the people under us have become too ambitious and made a foolish mistake. Fortunately, the officials noticed it in time, otherwise, if this had happened, my Zhenguo Duke's Mansion would have been in real trouble."

"Rest assured, gentlemen, I will handle this matter properly with just a simple gesture from you, leaving no room for criticism..."

Xiao Lie showered them with money and addressed them as "Sir," giving them ample face. Under the onslaught of money and flattery, the inspectors were completely bewildered. After all, Xiao Lie could casually slip them several months' salary, which was undeniably tempting.

Having worked on the dock for several days without fail, rain or shine, and having searched the Xiao family's cargo ship for more than a day, he felt that what Xiao Lie said was not entirely false, and his resolve began to waver.

The inspectors exchanged glances and muttered to themselves.

The Xiao family's cargo ship has always been very well-behaved; this sudden incident today must mean something truly went wrong.

But where did this accident come from?

Having considered the recent series of events in the capital, the inspectors already had their own guesses.

Xiao Lie emphasized, "When gods fight, mortals suffer. Why don't you gentlemen avoid getting involved and become someone else's weapon? Wouldn't that be a loss?"

The group looked at each other and nodded to each other secretly.

That's the point. The situation is too complex for lowly officials like them to get involved in.

Within a few breaths, the officials had an idea.

"Why do you say that, Your Highness? We haven't searched the Xiao family's cargo ships yet. Why don't you go aboard and take a look first, so as to avoid any misunderstandings?"