Joy of Life: Me, the Second Prince? Summon Yuan Tiangang!

"A new force?" Li Yunrui tapped the edge of the couch lightly with his slender fingers, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes.

"Yes." The steward swallowed hard and forced a smile. "This force seems to have appeared out of nowhere. They also sell soap, and... and the quality is excellent, even finer than our own soap, yet the price is almost the same. The high-ranking officials and nobles of Northern Qi are now scrambling to buy their products."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunrui raised an eyebrow, slowly sat up straight, stretched her graceful waist, and said in a lazy yet dangerous tone, "Oh? Daring to compete with the Imperial Treasury for business, you have quite the nerve. Have you found out who this person is? Is it some powerful family from Northern Qi, or that old fox Shen Zhong?"

The steward lowered his head even further: "This servant...this servant is incompetent and has not been able to find out anything about the other party. I only know that this force is extremely mysterious, and...and its strength is terrifying."

How terrifying is it?

"According to our spies in Northern Qi, the people on the other side are actually... actually having ninth-rank experts in charge of escorting and guarding the place! And there's more than one!"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Li Yunrui's eyes, which were always filled with smiles, finally narrowed, a cold light flashing within them.

"A ninth-rank master...and there's more than one?"

She murmured softly, a playful smile curving her lips, "In Northern Qi, besides the royal family with that old bald monk Ku He in charge, there's probably no one else who can casually produce several ninth-rank experts for business."

In her view, a ninth-rank master is extremely rare in this world; who would use them to sell soap? Unless it's part of the state apparatus.

"It seems that the young emperor and empress dowager of Northern Qi are getting restless and want to snatch food from the imperial treasury."

Li Yunrui waved his hand, his tone returning to its indifferent state: "Alright, step back. Since it was the Northern Qi royal family that made the move, it's normal that you can't find anything."

"Yes, Your Highness, thank you for sparing my life!" The steward, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, scrambled out of the room.

Li Yunrui stood up, straightened his clothes, and a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes: "I must inform my elder brother about this matter."

……

Inside the Imperial Study.

Emperor Qing still looked unkempt, and was using a thin iron pick to fiddle with the armor plates on his armor.

After listening to Li Yunrui's report, Emperor Qing paused slightly in his hand movements, but then continued fiddling with the objects as if nothing had happened.

"You mean, someone in Northern Qi has copied soap and even stolen business from the Imperial Treasury?" Emperor Qing's voice was unreadable.

"Yes." Li Yunrui stood respectfully to the side and said softly, "Moreover, the other side has many experts, and it is suspected that the Northern Qi royal family is behind this. Your Majesty, this soap is one of the cash cows of the Imperial Treasury. If the Northern Qi obtains the technology, the Imperial Treasury's revenue will be severely damaged in the long run."

Emperor Qing put down the iron halberd in his hand, raised his head, and his gaze was as deep as an abyss.

"The things that woman left behind, though exquisite, are ultimately just techniques," Emperor Qing said calmly. "Since they were made by humans, they can naturally be learned by others. Northern Qi values ​​literature and has no shortage of skilled craftsmen; it's not surprising that they could be imitated."

Emperor Qing seemed unconcerned about the technology leaks. In his eyes, while these ingenious skills and tricks might be profitable, they were not the foundation of a nation.

"but……"

Emperor Qing abruptly changed the subject, his gaze sharpening. "You just said that the other side has several ninth-rank experts overseeing them?"

"Exactly." Li Yunrui nodded. "If it weren't for the royal family, who could afford such a grand gesture?"

Emperor Qing stood up, walked to the window with his hands behind his back, looked at the imperial garden outside the window, and remained silent for a moment.

"Nine ranks in numbers..."

He repeated it in a low voice.

That's what really made him suspicious.

Although the Northern Qi royal family had Ku He's support, ninth-rank experts weren't exactly commonplace. Sending several ninth-rank experts as guards for a mere soap business? That seemed like a waste of talent.

Moreover, if it was done by the Northern Qi royal family, why would they be so secretive, making it seem like a gangster organization?

"That's interesting."

Emperor Qing's lips curled into a cold smile, and a hint of the controlling desire unique to emperors flashed in his eyes.

"Yunrui, stay calm about the internal treasury matter, there's no need to panic."

Emperor Qing turned around and looked into the shadows. There was no one there, but he knew someone was listening.

"By imperial decree, the four offices of the Imperial Censorate and the palace spies shall immediately depart for Northern Qi."

…………

Li Chengze sat cross-legged on the couch. After listening to Yuan Tiangang's report on the frequent probing by the Detective Bureau and the Imperial Treasury's spies in Northern Qi, he did not show any panic on his face. Instead, a meaningful sneer appeared on his face.

He stretched out his fingers and gently tapped his knee. After a moment of contemplation, he looked up at the ghostly black figure in front of him.

"General, since Father and the Censorate are so curious, let them investigate."

Li Chengze stood up, his hands behind his back. Although he was still small, the aura of a superior was already beginning to take shape.

"After today, you will depart for Northern Qi to take charge. In the capital, you only need to leave some inconspicuous spies to relay messages."

At this point, a ruthless glint flashed in Li Chengze's eyes, and his tone was chilling: "Anyone trying to probe the soap business and find out who's behind the law... whether they're from the Imperial Treasury or the Censorate, if they dare to cross the line, chop them up!"

"Your subject obeys." Yuan Tiangang bowed slightly, his eyes beneath the mask revealing absolute loyalty.

"And Zhao Gao," Li Chengze continued, "have him find those orphans with excellent potential and train them using the Net method. What I need is a group of emotionless, bloodthirsty assassins."

"Your Highness, rest assured, Zhao Gao is quite proficient in this art," Yuan Tiangang replied.

Having arranged everything, Yuan Tiangang's figure quietly disappeared into the darkness.

Li Chengze lay back down on the bed, looked at Chengchen, and smiled slightly.

……

Spring passes and autumn comes, cold comes and summer comes.

Time flies like an arrow; in the blink of an eye, several years have passed.

In recent years, Li Chengze has lived an exceptionally "fulfilling" life.

Within the palace, he was a prodigy prince of exceptional talent. After finishing "Dream of the Red Chamber," he went on to "write" several more poetry collections, and his fame spread throughout the world.

With the blessing of the "Tian Gang Jue" and the nourishment of countless rare medicinal herbs extracted and exchanged from the system, his internal strength has become increasingly profound. Although he still appears to be a weak scholar, he has actually reached the seventh rank, and his foundation is far more solid than that of ordinary people.

When he had nothing to do, his greatest pleasure was teasing Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

In the Imperial Garden, one could often see Li Chengze using a few seemingly innocent but actually sarcastic words to make the Crown Prince so angry that he would turn red in the face and jump up and down cursing. In the end, the Crown Prince would be helpless because of Li Chengze's "innocent" appearance and could only go to the Empress to complain.

Whenever this happened, Emperor Qing would always turn a blind eye, and even think that it was a sign of "deep affection" between brothers.

In addition, Li Chengze's relationship with the Eldest Princess grew increasingly close. He often stayed at the Eldest Princess's residence, and the two aunt and nephew had a "deep affection for each other." To outsiders, the Second Prince had become the Eldest Princess's most beloved junior.

Until Li Chengze celebrated his thirteenth birthday.