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

As Chu Jingrui spoke, he took the letter in his hand, placed it on the candle in front of the table, and lit it.

The north wind howled in through the window, making the candle on the table flicker, and the letter in his hand turned to ashes in an instant.

Liu Zi stood to the side without saying a word.

Standing beside Chu Jingrui, he knew that Chu Jingrui wasn't talking to him; he just needed to listen quietly.

He had no say in what decisions the emperor made.

On the contrary, he felt that the emperor's decision to send 50,000 troops to Liancheng was quite wise.

For some reason, although Liu Zi had heard that the Prince of Liancheng was a very good person, he always felt that this man was not simple when he dealt with him.

Currently, both the eldest and second princes are in Liancheng, and one of them will inevitably become the crown prince of Dongling Kingdom in the future.

No matter which prince it is, no mistake can be made.

His Majesty sent 50,000 troops to protect the two princes.

Moreover, Prince Nian and His Majesty have known each other for many years, and His Majesty knows Prince Nian's character best.

Although Prince Nian appears gentle and harmless, who knows what kind of person he is behind the scenes? Your Majesty must know Prince Nian's character well, which is why you did this.

These were the calculations Liu Zi made in his mind, but he dared not say them aloud.

It's just that the Second Prince is arrogant and thinks that with his princely status, he can solve everything. I'm afraid that if I say these things, the Second Prince will think I'm talking too much.

In short, Liu Zi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the Emperor had sent 50,000 troops.

Chu Jingrui brushed the ashes of the burned letter aside, and a gust of wind blew them away without a trace.

"Alright, you don't need to stay here anymore. Get me some paper and pen. I'll draw Wang Zheng's appearance, and you can show it to your men."

Take back the portrait and have them search for Wang Zheng's whereabouts. Also, keep a close eye on the army's movements. Once you learn that the army is approaching Liancheng, immediately send your men with my token to meet them.

With my token, even if the army enters the city, the guards at the gates won't dare to stop them.

Once the 50,000-strong army entered Liancheng, the city was completely in his hands. His men were everywhere in Liancheng, and he could rightfully take over the city.

At that time, no matter how capable King Nian was in Liancheng and the Northwest, he would not dare to oppose his 50,000-strong army.

Chu Jingrui felt a surge of secret satisfaction. Sure enough, it's good to have money and power!

Without his father, the emperor, as his backer, he would have been unable to move an inch. With his army, he could do whatever he wanted, and the whole world would be his.

No wonder his father had always wanted him to go to the border to command the army; it turns out, it was all preparation for him to be where he is today.

Now that he has military power, if he can also take control of the Northwest, then the whole country will truly be his.

By then, it will only be a matter of time before he ascends the throne.

Once he ascends the throne, the first thing he'll do is deal with his good older brother.

Keeping his elder brother around would always be a major threat to his future throne, so he wouldn't leave himself any trouble.

Liu Zi responded, walked to the table to the side, picked up the brush, ink, paper and inkstone, turned back to Chu Jingrui, placed the paper and brush for him, and then stood aside to grind the ink.

Chu Jingrui picked up the paper and pen in front of him, closed his eyes, and imagined what Wang Zheng looked like before. Based on the image in his mind, he drew Wang Zheng's appearance on the paper.

Liu Zi had also met Wang Zheng before. He looked almost exactly like Chu Jingrui had drawn. This man was tall and strong, making him easy to recognize.

After the ink on the paper dried, Chu Jingrui folded the paper and handed it to Liu Zi.

"That's roughly what Wang Zheng looks like. Have your men take a look and remember his features."

Then go to Liancheng and search for him house by house. Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find Wang Zheng for me!

At this point, Chu Jingrui paused, then added a sentence.

"Remember, tell your men that I want prisoners alive, and they must bring them back alive!"

"The portrait must not be leaked to me under any circumstances! Bring him back to us before anyone else finds him! Capture him alive—this is a death order!"

Wang Zheng is very useful. Only by controlling Wang Zheng can we have the opportunity to control Xie Moyao, and by controlling Xie Moyao, we can control Ji Yunshu.

The hidden weapon in Ji Yunshu's hand was what he wanted.

He absolutely had to get his hands on that hidden weapon in Ji Yunshu's possession!

That hidden weapon could take on a hundred enemies. If every soldier in his army had one of these weapons, not only would the Eastern Ling Kingdom be his, but the entire world would be his.

Liu Zi listened to Chu Jingrui's words and nodded silently. He carefully put away the portrait in front of him, placed it against his chest, said a few more words to Chu Jingrui, and then left the room.

Chu Jingrui's room was not far from Chu Jinsheng's; they were practically across the hall. Whatever the other did, it was basically impossible to hide from the other's eyes.

Only when the door is closed inside a room will it be less likely for others to hear you.

Once they leave the house, the other knows where they go and what they do.

Therefore, as soon as Liu Zi went out, he saw Xiao San standing guard outside the house.

Liu Zi turned around, closed the door behind him, and left without making a sound.

As soon as he left, the mistress quickly called over a few people and whispered instructions.

"You guys, go follow Liu Zi and see what he does when he goes out. Don't lose him, and don't let him notice."

The guards, having received their orders, dared not linger any longer and quickly went to follow Liu Zi from behind.

As soon as the guards left, Xiao San glanced outside and saw that several tails had followed them away.

He sighed inwardly, knowing that if he sent someone to follow Liu Zi, the Second Prince's men would definitely find out.

But he was keeping watch here, and seeing that Liu Zi was acting suspiciously, he couldn't possibly not send someone out.

No matter how well you investigate, it's good to get at least some information.

He paused for a moment, then turned around and knocked on the door behind him.

"Your Highness, I have something to report."

"Come in." Chu Jinsheng's slightly tired voice came from inside the room.

Xiao San'er pushed open the door and entered. Xiao Wu was standing behind the eldest prince, massaging his forehead.

The mistress knelt on the ground and bowed her head in response.

"Your Highness, I just saw the Sixth Prince come out of the Second Prince's room. He seemed to be in a hurry, so I guessed he had something to do. I sent my men to follow him."

Chu Jinsheng slowly opened his eyes, which had been closed, and a shrewd glint flashed in them.

"I understand. What they've been busy with these past two days is simply finding out where Wang Zheng is."

From the last time I talked to my good second brother about Wang Zheng, I knew he wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.

In the past two days, besides us trying to find out Wang Zheng's whereabouts, he has also been trying to find out as well.

Unfortunately, none of our people knew what Wang Zheng looked like.

But since my good second brother wanted to find someone, and he had seen what Wang Zheng looked like, and he didn't go looking for him himself, I suppose he must have sent his men to search for him.