Exile? A mad, wicked woman empties the national treasury to escape famine.

The eldest prince knelt on the ground with a furrowed brow. The fact that the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion had become an empty shell was indeed strange. They hadn't found a single clue in all these days, so it was only natural that his father was angry.

However, he also found it strange. The Prince of Zhenbei's mansion was located in the capital, right under the emperor's nose. How could the things in the mansion disappear without a trace?

There was also the Minister's Mansion. The Minister's Mansion was raided without any prior warning; it was entirely his father, the Emperor, who made the decision on a whim. Yet, all the valuable items in the Minister's Mansion were gone.

Is this just a coincidence?

Or did the Minister's Mansion collude with the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion to transfer their assets?

snort!

What a fine Minister Ji!

On the surface, they were at odds with the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion, but unexpectedly, they had already been colluding with each other in secret!

They conspired together to trick them!

"Father! We really can't find any clues in this matter. The only plausible explanation is that the Minister's Mansion knew about the confiscation of their property long ago and colluded with the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion. Then they moved all the gold and silver treasures in their house beforehand, which is why we can't find any clues at all!"

"Your Majesty, I believe the key lies with the people in the Prince of Zhenbei's residence and the Minister's residence. If we start with them, we're sure to find some clues!"

His scouts had reported to him that Ji Yunshu and Xie Moyao had been living quite comfortably on their journey and didn't seem to be short of money.

But on the day their home was searched, they clearly didn't have a single penny on them!

That's enough to explain the problem!

The emperor's face was grim as he stared at the eldest prince below, his tone carrying a hint of anger and reprimand.

"Hmph! A prince of the highest rank, unable to even handle this simple matter, yet you have the nerve to kneel here? I'll give you one more chance, and I'll give you plenty of time. No matter what means you use, you must find the missing gold and silver treasures from the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion and the Minister's Mansion for me!"

"Besides these, you know perfectly well what else is needed! If that thing can't be found, you don't need to come back! This is my last chance for you. If you still can't handle it, I'll send someone to bring your second brother back. If you can't do it, someone else will!"

The eldest prince's body suddenly stiffened.

Call my second brother back?

Father Emperor is really impatient!

Don't think he doesn't know what his father is thinking. From childhood to adulthood, his father has always favored his second brother more!

The emperor had four or five sons, but everyone could see his favoritism towards his second brother!

There's absolutely no way he'll bring his second brother back!

"Father, rest assured, this time I will do my utmost! I will absolutely not let you down!"

The emperor snorted coldly, waved his hand, and looked impatient.

"Since you think you can handle it, I expect you to give me a satisfactory answer next time you return to the capital. If you still can't satisfy me, don't blame me for disregarding our father-son relationship!"

"Nothing else, you can go now!"

In the end, he didn't even bother to look at the eldest prince.

The eldest prince gritted his teeth, bowed, and left the hall.

Sooner or later, he will never put up with this humiliation again!

Second brother?

Without his permission, my second brother would never be able to return to the capital alive!

Without lingering in the palace, the eldest prince returned directly to his residence and instructed his servants to pack his valuables.

He was about to leave the capital.

In the palace, after the eldest prince left, everyone in the hall remained kneeling on the ground as before.

Without the emperor's word, they dared not, and could not, rise from their seats.

The emperor took a deep breath, his eyes unfathomable, and dismissed everyone.

Only when he and his personal eunuch were left in the main hall did he call out towards the shadows in the corner.

"Dark Separation"

As soon as he finished speaking, a dark figure emerged from the corner.

He was dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit, his expression solemn, his figure robust, and a sword hanging at his waist. He approached the emperor and knelt on one knee.

"His Majesty!"

The emperor didn't even raise his head, his voice icy, "Go, find the Second Prince, and tell him that I have ordered him to return. Also, this matter must not be known to anyone else."

An Li nodded, then returned to the shadows, disappearing without a trace a short while later.

The personal eunuch knelt carefully to the side until An Li had completely disappeared before walking to the emperor's side and changing his cup of tea.

"Eunuch Li, tell me, regarding the matter of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, does the First Prince truly have no leads, or is he concealing something from me?"

His eyes were deep and unfathomable, and his hand tapped idly on the armrest of the dragon throne, the tapping sound striking the heart of the chief eunuch.

Eunuch Li...

Omg.

Why would the emperor ask him about these things?

He was just a eunuch.

He knew the saying, "The more you know, the faster you die." Serving the emperor was like serving a tiger; it was best to be deaf and blind and just do your job.

But he did hear what had just happened. This time, the emperor was different from usual; he had unusually kept him in the palace. He didn't know if it was a test or something else.

Eunuch Li's body was trembling slightly, but he still tried to remain calm and make his voice sound the same as usual.

"Uh, Your Majesty, this servant is just a lowly servant and doesn't know much about these things. But this servant thinks that this is, after all, the capital, under the emperor's nose. Your Majesty is all-powerful, hearing in all directions and seeing in all directions. Even if the eldest prince does something, it certainly won't be hidden from Your Majesty. The eldest prince should know what he's doing."

After saying this, Eunuch Li lowered his head and said no more.

His words were perfectly proper, and the emperor glanced at him, his tone teasing, "Hmph, you certainly know how to talk."

Eunuch Li chuckled awkwardly. Having served the emperor for many years, he had a good understanding of the emperor's temperament.

The emperor was very pleased with what Eunuch Li said.

Yes.

This was in the capital, right under his nose, and even the eldest prince dared not harbor any other thoughts.

As for the truth of the matter, we'll have to wait for the Crown Prince to investigate. If he finds out the truth, then so be it; if he doesn't, then we can take this opportunity to demote the Crown Prince out of the capital as well.

***

In the team

The group continued their journey at a leisurely pace. Although they had doubts about what had happened at the city gate, no one dared to ask Ji Yunshu what had happened.

So I simply stopped asking.

Anyway, it's all over now, and it's good that nothing bad happened to their team.

Having witnessed the previous two incidents, Ling Yun led his team forward at an even faster pace. Based on their past experience, the route they were currently traveling through was through areas that had previously suffered severe famine. Once they passed through this section, the situation would improve.

The team rushed along as fast as they could, without even stopping for a rest at noon.

In the afternoon, everyone was too exhausted to stay awake any longer, so Lingyun led the group into a grove of trees.

The woods were sheltered by trees, so they weren't very conspicuous while resting there.

After traveling all afternoon, they were now quite far from Dongyang County, and they hadn't seen many people on the road.

Only then did Ling Yun and the officials finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Everyone, let's rest where we are. It's still early, so we can get something to eat. After we eat, we'll hurry to the village ahead and rest there for the night."