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

"Your Excellency, as an official, you must know the principle of blending in with the world. It is better to share happiness than to enjoy it alone. If you do not have the help of others and make enemies on all sides, I am afraid that your position as Your Excellency will not be secure. You might as well listen to my advice and avoid capsizing in the gutter."

"Oh? Are you threatening me, Your Highness?"

"No, no, Your Excellency is of noble status and comes from a distinguished family. How could someone as lowly as Fuqing threaten you? I am only speaking the truth from the bottom of my heart. I truly do not wish for Your Excellency to suffer any harm."

Fuqing paused, then added quietly.

"Does the Deputy Envoy know how the Chief Envoy died?"

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere instantly froze. Xiao Lie narrowed his eyes slightly, his killing intent surging forth.

This lackey has some nerve, daring to threaten him with the death of the chief envoy. He couldn't help but laugh in anger, but in his anger, he became unusually calm.

"Oh, you mean that if I, the Crown Prince, don't listen to you, I'll suffer the same fate as the former chief envoy?"

"No, no, Your Highness is of noble status, you would never stoop to such a level."

It's not that it's not that it's not true.

This old eunuch has stopped acting altogether. It seems that he has been lazily passing his days in the procurement office, which has made these lackeys forget their place.

How dare he speak like that? Does he think that he, the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo, has no temper?

He coldly ordered, "Sixteen, drag this insubordinate lackey to the main hall and give him thirty lashes as a warning to others."

"Your Highness!"

The old eunuch suddenly opened his eyes wide in disbelief, and then he immediately panicked, realizing that he had misjudged the situation.

The blood flowing in the veins of this young master Xiao is that of Commander Xiao; he is not some spineless coward who can be manipulated at will.

He quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "My lord, this old servant meant well. Why won't you heed my advice? If you order punishment, aren't you afraid of offending the powerful figures behind me?"

But Xiao Lie's only response to him was "noisy".

He glanced coldly at the old eunuch as if he were looking at worthless trash, then abruptly looked away and drifted away.

"Sixteen, gag him, don't let me hear another bark."

"Yes, sir!"

Soon the old eunuch was dragged to the main hall. He was terrified and struggled desperately, but Sixteen held his arm down and gripped it tightly, making him unable to move.

Sixteen then summoned two eunuchs and had them tie him to a chair, whereupon he carried out the execution in public.

With each blow, the old eunuch's agonizing cries were muffled by the tattered cloth, but the bulging veins on his forehead, his flushed face, and his forehead covered in cold sweat all revealed the immense pain he was enduring.

The onlookers fell silent, as if each falling board was hitting them. At this moment, several eunuchs in the crowd exchanged glances, seemingly having already made up their minds.

Xiao Lie remained silent, but in reality, he took in all these subtle changes.

……

After the thirty strokes of the cane, the old eunuch's back and buttocks were covered in blood, and he was half-dead. Xiao Lie pointed to a few junior eunuchs, and they immediately stepped forward and carried the old eunuch away.

Xiao Lie instructed, "Be careful, don't let him die."

With the Empress Dowager's birthday approaching, such an incident would be distasteful. Furthermore, this person is clearly Consort Xian's man. If he were to be beaten or killed in public, it would likely provoke that crazy woman, Consort Xian, to a fault, and who knows what she might do then.

As expected, when the news reached Chaohua Palace, it immediately sparked a wave of resentment and curses.

"How dare you strike one of my people! Isn't this tantamount to slapping me in the face in public?"

"Your Majesty, Xiao Lie is completely unaware of the intricacies behind this. Perhaps he felt his authority had been offended, which is why he used such force. Your Majesty, please don't be angry. If Your Majesty is displeased, you can find a way to punish Xiao Lie properly, but please don't harm your health."

Qiulan's words were earnest and sincere, like a bucket of cold water poured over Consort Xian's head, immediately calming her down considerably.

"You're right. Since Xiao Lie is ungrateful, don't blame me for being ruthless. Tell me, what methods have you come up with?"

Qiulan curtsied and began to speak slowly.

"For the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration, Xiao Lie is entrusted with the important task of procurement. If anything he procures goes wrong and is exposed in public, he will be severely punished."

"Your Highness, doesn't the Feather Robe Workshop still have a batch of silk left over? Why don't we..."

Yuyifang did indeed have a stockpile of silk fabrics, all of which were of the highest quality. However, due to improper storage during transportation, they were exposed to the sun and baked, resulting in the fabrics being thin, brittle, and prone to tearing. On the surface, these fabrics looked no different from the other fabrics, except that their luster was somewhat dull. But once you touched them, you would know the difference.

For this reason, Yuyifang has been unsure how to deal with this batch of old goods.

Consort Xian wiped her lips with a handkerchief, a look of satisfaction in her eyes.

"You have a good idea. In that case, have someone secretly do it over there and give them a surprise."

Qiulan's thoughts shifted, and she came up with a few more ideas.

You can bake the fabric a little longer, make a light cut on it with a knife, or pull out one or two threads. Then, with just the slightest movement, the fabric will be ruined...

Consort Xian was even more delighted to hear this, "Then you should let the people from Yuyi Workshop think about it carefully."

"yes!"

Qiulan smiled and accepted the order to leave. That day, Yuyifang closed its shop early, and the shopkeeper, along with several reliable helpers, studied how to destroy the fabrics without damaging their appearance.

The long night stretched on, the flickering candlelight immediately disturbing the shadows between the shopkeeper's and his assistants' eyes.

The shopkeeper gave a low shout, "Be careful, everyone, don't let anyone notice anything amiss."

The second night, the door to the purchasing department's storeroom was quietly pried open, and several eunuchs replaced the items inside, then secretly moved the extra fabric away. They thought they had done it perfectly, unaware that they had been seen through.

Xiao Chunzi left quietly, and the next day when Xiao Lie was on duty, he immediately went to the side hall to report.

"Your Excellency is right, those people were indeed trying to sabotage things."

He gave a detailed account of what had happened the previous night.

Xiao Lie nodded and sent Xiao Chunzi to deliver a message, instructing them to move the fresh fruits and melons that the fruit merchants had brought in. Once almost everyone in the procurement office had been dismissed, Xiao Lie ordered the warehouse to be opened.

"Take a thorough inventory of everything inside and pick out the defective products."

The finished fabrics from the two fabric shops have different patterns. Although some colors and patterns are similar, a closer look will quickly reveal the differences.

Xiao Chunzi, having been to Jinxiufang many times, naturally knew everything about the shop. In no time, he quickly picked out the inferior goods mixed in.

"The adults are all here; there's no mistake or omission."

Xiao Lie glanced around and instructed his men to secretly smuggle some fabric out and bring back a similar batch. He then led Sixteen to inspect the fabric again, and finding nothing amiss, he left with peace of mind.