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

Upon receiving the reply, Xiao Lie could only give a cold smile.

"He has no choice in this situation."

The young man turned around, picked up a pen, wrote a few names on the paper, and handed it to Sixteen.

"Send them to Prince Kang's residence. If Prince Kang asks about them, just say that these people have recently received a lot of 'care' from the military supervisor. Prince Kang will understand what I mean."

Upon learning that the Duke's mansion had come again, Jiang Heng looked at them with disdain and wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but his expression changed slightly after seeing the secret letter handed over by the servant.

His gaze was intense, fixed intently on Sixteen.

"What does this mean?"

Sixteen smiled slightly, neither humble nor arrogant, and repeated what Xiao Lie had taught him, then said.

"I wonder if Your Highness still intends to maintain your original stance?"

King Kang's eyes turned cold, revealing a hidden murderous intent.

"Are you threatening me?"

"I dare not, but the Crown Prince has one more piece of advice for Your Highness: time is running out. If Your Highness delays any longer, there may be no chance to change your mind in the future."

"you!"

The people on the paper were several northern border generals with whom he had dealings. Jiang Heng couldn't help but suspect that Xiao Lie was involved in the matter, given how accurately Xiao Lie could name them. Of course, if the rumors were unrelated to Xiao Lie, his ability to pinpoint the people so precisely indicated that the situation in the northern border was extremely urgent.

If this drags on any longer, I'm afraid my father will see concrete evidence of his crimes in the imperial palace.

Jiang Heng shuddered, startled, as if his soul had just taken a trip to the eighteenth level of the underworld. His whole body was ice-cold, and his back was covered in a layer of sticky cold sweat.

He suppressed the trembling in his voice and forced a smile, "Very well, since the young master has sincerely invited me, it would be impolite of me not to go."

The smile on Sixteen's face became more genuine. He cupped his hands in greeting, turned around, and took his leave.

At midnight, King Kang changed into dark clothes, put on a cloak, and came under the cover of darkness. The old servant on night watch was already waiting at the back door, ready to carry a lantern and lead the way for him.

Jiang Heng, accompanied by a servant, followed the old servant, turning left and right, until they arrived at the study in Qingfeng Garden.

Only Xiao Lie was in the study. There was only a dim candle lit and two cups of tea, indicating that he had been waiting for a long time.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Xiao Lie raised his eyes with a smile and spoke leisurely.

"Your Highness, it's been a long time since I last saw you; you still look as dashing as ever."

King Kang gave a cold snort, unable to utter a single kind word.

Xiao Lie exchanged pleasantries with him, then pushed his teacup closer to his seat and said quietly.

"Since Your Highness has come, you must have already made your decision. I'll be frank and direct: this supervisor poses too great a threat and must be eliminated."

Jiang Heng frowned. "He's thousands of miles away. How can I possibly make a move?"

"There are countless ways to kill someone. Take those generals in the Northern Border, for example. Didn't they all meet their demise a thousand miles away? The military supervisor is His Majesty's confidant. If he dies, it will surely cause a huge uproar. The only one who can touch him is His Majesty."

"you mean?"

Xiao Lie leaned closer and whispered a few words. Jiang Heng's expression was uncertain, his face tense, and he finally managed to utter a sentence after a long while.

"You...you have some nerve."

"If we weren't bolder, it might not be the supervisor who loses his head, but one of us."

Jiang Heng's expression was rather unpleasant, but he didn't listen to Feng Ren's words. He knew that Xiao Lie's words, to some extent, exposed the truth.

After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh and responded with a single word, "Okay."

Jiang Heng said coldly, "This is a one-time thing. Afterwards, we'll go our separate ways and have nothing to do with each other. If you want to use this to blackmail me..."

Jiang Heng narrowed his eyes slightly, a murderous glint almost seeping from them.

Xiao Lie took only a sip of tea, somewhat helplessly, "Why would I threaten you? Wouldn't that be a lose-lose situation? I'm not that stupid."

"Hmph, you know that much!"

Under the influence of the remnants of the old party of the Kang King, many of the supervisor's dirty deeds were exposed.

Beating and killing palace maids and eunuchs, and accepting bribes are minor matters. The most serious matter is that the old party of Prince Kang actually dug up several cases of the eunuch accepting benefits and suppressing the folding of certain officials.

For example, in a certain year, the nephews of a certain official in the capital were rampant in the countryside, beating and killing innocent people, which aroused the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. Countless people rose up and wrote a petition, but it was forcibly suppressed by the unscrupulous local officials who colluded with him. That petition from ten thousand people, as well as all the memorials related to this matter, were all suppressed.

For example, in a certain year, a severe drought struck a certain area, and the capital allocated grain for disaster relief. However, as the grain was distributed, it was intercepted and deducted along the way, so that only about 20% of it reached the disaster victims. Driven to desperation, the refugees stormed the government offices to open the granaries and distribute the grain, and even killed several minor officials in the process.

The officials in charge of this matter should have been severely punished, but in the end, no news reached the capital. Instead, the officials twisted the truth and claimed that some rioters were ungrateful and had gathered to cause trouble, which led to the leaders being shot to death by the local army that came to suppress them.

……

Such incidents were not isolated cases; they reached the ears of the Emperor, who was furious.

The emperor immediately issued an edict dismissing him from his post as military supervisor and ordering the northern border to escort him back to the capital for his personal trial. The investigation, therefore, had to be temporarily postponed.

"Although the immediate problem has been solved, what if Father sends another military supervisor?"

Xiao Lie scoffed, "Which of His Majesty's trusted eunuchs has a clean record? With one example already set, don't they know what to do and what to do? Besides, isn't this buffer period enough for His Highness to clean up the mess?"

Jiang Heng swallowed hard, his voice turning cold.

"Young Master Xiao, please be careful with your words."

Xiao Lie smiled slightly and said no more.

Even if the later military supervisor wanted to cause trouble, he would likely be much more restrained based on the lessons learned from the past, and he believed that his adoptive grandfather could handle it.

Later, Xiao Lie heard that the emperor's favored eunuchs had all been reprimanded, and he learned that his mission to investigate the border troops had been delayed.

Upon learning this, Xiao Lie simply straightened his sleeves, showing no surprise whatsoever.

"It seems those old folks are still somewhat clever; they know which jobs are easy and which are difficult."

Sixteen scratched his head and chuckled.

"This is all thanks to the Crown Prince's wisdom."

Xiao Lie gave a nonchalant snort, "Just flattering me."

……

"Your Highness, Consort Xian knows that the prayer ceremony has ended, and has specially sent this servant to fetch you back."

Shen Qinglan sighed inwardly. She had originally planned to stay at Qingtan Temple for a while longer, but she hadn't expected the Consort Xian to be so vigilant, as if she was afraid that she would run away. She couldn't wait to send someone over as soon as the prayer was over.

"I understand, there's a lot to pack, please wait a moment, Auntie."

Qiulan nodded with a stiff smile, "I happen to have brought quite a few palace maids with me, so let them lend a hand so we can get down the mountain sooner."

A glint of light flashed in Shen Qinglan's eyes, suspecting that Consort Xian was deliberately testing her to see if the dowry was with her.

However, Shen Qinglan was unharmed and simply smiled faintly in agreement.

……