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

The next day, an old eunuch with a pale face and a thin voice arrived right on time.

He looked down at him, chin slightly raised, with obvious disdain. But when he saw the young man in the center of the room slowly blowing tea steam, he still managed a reluctant nod and a bow.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. This old servant has been ordered to take inventory of the necessary items. This matter concerns the Empress Dowager's birthday, so this old servant must be careful. I beg Your Highness to be lenient and allow this old servant to complete the task."

Xiao Lie leisurely moved the tea leaves aside, a smile appearing on his face, and said.

"No problem, no problem. We're all doing our best for the Empress Dowager. There's no reason for us to make things difficult for each other."

"If I handle the Empress Dowager's matter well, it will also benefit me, Eunuch Shanqing, don't you agree?"

"Ah, that's the right way for the young master to think this way."

The old eunuch's eyes lit up, and he revealed a genuine smile. Even his bow was more elaborate than before.

He winked at the eunuch behind him and gave him an order.

"Alright, be quick and check everything out as soon as possible. Don't cause any trouble for the young master, understand?"

The young eunuchs all responded with a loud and pleasant "Yes, sir!"

Xiao Lie didn't waste any time. He clapped his hands, called Xiao Chunzi over, and told him to take his waist token to get the key and open the vault door.

Xiao Chunzi hurriedly retrieved the key and returned, bowing to Grandpa Shanqing and smiling obsequiously.

"Eunuch Shanqing, please come this way."

A large group of people left, and Xiao Lie put down his teacup, got up, dusted himself off, and followed them.

All those goods have been disposed of, and he had people watching the warehouse all night, so there was absolutely no possibility of any trouble. Therefore, Xiao Lie was not nervous at all; on the contrary, he was interested in watching the show.

Although he cut the most exciting climax early, it doesn't mean the play was without its flaws.

Xiao Lie chuckled and ordered two eunuchs to set up a table, chairs, and teacups in front of the storeroom. He even had them massage his legs and shoulders. He then lazily lay down on a chair, basking in the sun, looking as tired as if he had no bones.

Seeing his appearance, a hint of doubt flashed in Shanqing's eyes. He hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but ask.

"Young Master, what do you mean by this?"

The melon seeds and tea snacks were laid out here, and there were even eunuchs serving them. It was as if they were waiting to watch a show, but these palace servants were not actors on stage, so what was there to see?

Shanqing felt inexplicably uneasy, as if a knot had grown in his heart, so he couldn't help but ask more questions.

Xiao Lie yawned, propped his head up with his hand, and said with a lazy smile.

"Please forgive me, I've been so busy these past few days. I've been thinking about the Empress Dowager's birthday, and I have to get out of bed to go on duty before I'm even fully awake."

"I am not feeling well, so please forgive me if I have offended you, Eunuch Shanqing."

Shanqing gave a forced smile, but couldn't find any reason to complain, so he had no choice but to let it go.

"Alright, alright, hurry up."

Didn't Consort Xian arrange for a batch of goods to be sent in last night? And there was quite a lot of it. So why are these usually clever little devils all silent now, as if they've gone mute, making it impossible for him to retaliate against that annoying young master?

Shanqing walked up to the most clever and favored eunuch and impatiently urged him on.

"Did you find any problems?"

The young eunuch shook his head with a strange expression.

A sense of doubt arose in Shanqing's heart, and he muttered, "Nothing?"

The young eunuch shook his head again. "No."

Shanqing suddenly felt uneasy. He glanced around and then turned to look at the others. "Have you noticed anything wrong?"

This time his voice was somewhat shrill, faintly issuing a warning.

But the eunuchs looked at each other, hesitated for a long time, and in the face of the indisputable facts, they could only grit their teeth and shake their heads.

He responded in a cacophony of voices.

"Eunuch Shanqing, no."

"Really, no."

Shanqing's eyes widened, a chill ran down his spine, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "This is truly a ghost!"

Unconvinced, he pushed aside the eunuch beside him and inspected the silk himself. The result was that each bolt of silk was of the finest quality, with a warm, understated luster, smooth and cool to the touch, and not a single seam visible.

He was unwilling to give up, so he rubbed it harder, suspecting that there was a crack on it that he hadn't noticed, so he wanted to make it more obvious in this way. But the silks and satins were completely unaffected.

What exactly happened? Did something not go through last night?

Consort Kexian, there's no need for you to lie to him.

Could it be that the defective products were sent in last night, then moved out and replaced with a new batch?

He glanced at it furtively out of the corner of his eye, as if he'd seen a ghost. The young man, who was lying lazily in the sun like a boneless youth, suddenly felt a surge of unease.

If anyone has any complaints, the one most likely to take action in this procurement office is this young master.

But seeing his sleepy and half-awake appearance, Shanqing couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Such thoughts are indeed something he would have. His actions are meticulous and discreet. If he is truly the young master, he is probably not as simple as he appears on the surface. Could it be that for so many years, he has been playing dumb in the capital, manipulating a group of nobles to his advantage?

But before he could think about it further, this idea blew him away.

He shuddered and immediately denied it, saying, "No, no, no, that's impossible."

Xiao Lie is nothing but a good-for-nothing playboy; he wouldn't have such thoughts. If that were true, he would be terrifying.

This must be because someone sensed the threat and is secretly helping him resolve the situation.

Thinking of the renowned General Xiao on the border, Shanqing hissed, as if he had found the answer.

Although Commander Xiao had been away from the capital for many years, he was still one of the most distinguished officials in the capital when Emperor Taizu established the dynasty. It wouldn't have been impossible for him to have planted some spies and left behind a group of reliable elders back then.

That's right, that's right, that's the role those people played at the designated time.

Thinking of this, Shanqing was both angry and jealous. She glanced at him and couldn't help but sigh at his good luck.

He rubbed his index fingernail tip, gritted his teeth, and couldn't resist making a few scratches on the silk, framing the suspect on the spot.

Just as he was about to make a sneaky move, a cough suddenly rang out from the surroundings.

He was startled and looked around, only to meet a series of familiar yet slightly bewildered faces.

If it wasn't them coughing, then who was?

His voice trembled slightly as he asked the question.

"Just now, right here in this room, did you hear any coughing?"

A group of eunuchs looked around and exchanged glances. The two eunuchs closest to Shanqing nodded.

Shanqing was taken aback, his face flushed with anger, and he was quite exasperated.

"Who are you, you scoundrels, playing tricks on me and causing trouble? Come out here right now!"