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

Although Prince Nian appeared very gentle on the surface, Bao Taishi knew exactly what kind of person he was in private.

If his words really offended Prince Nian, he might not even know how he died. Therefore, Bao Taishi was still very uneasy.

Noticing that the Prince's expression was off, he dared not say anything more, and knelt on the ground, not even daring to gasp.

The King's eyes were terrifying, as if he wanted to skin him alive.

Zhao Quan also sensed that something was wrong. He looked at Bao Taishi on the ground with smugness in his eyes.

This Bao Taishi is sometimes really too much. Just because he is favored by Prince Nian, he interrupts him time and time again. Doesn't he even know who he is with?

He was a staff member who had served Prince Nian for many years!

His help to Prince Nian was far greater than that of Bao Taishi, that incompetent county magistrate!

Time passed by, and the study grew quieter and quieter.

Bao Taishi felt his heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of his chest.

The more Wang Yue remained silent, the more panicked he became, until finally, he was so anxious that he almost cried.

I kept asking myself, was it a mistake to come see King Nian today?!

Just as he was filled with self-doubt, Prince Nian, sitting behind his desk, finally put down his pen.

He lifted his head from the table, staring intently at Bao Taishi, his face expressionless, and said coldly:

"I know everything you're talking about. It's just that the county government office was burned down. Why are you making such a fuss?"

So be it, it's burned down. I will write to the court and ask them to allocate funds to rebuild the government office.

As for the thieves you mentioned, since this happened in Liancheng, I naturally cannot sit idly by. There are countless eyes watching my every move.

You go back first, and I'll send people over in a bit to turn the whole city of Liancheng upside down. Even if the thief steals it, he can only move it to another place; he can't possibly move it out of Liancheng!

Making a fuss over such a small thing? You're a county magistrate, a local official. People who don't know the situation might think your family burned to death!

"It's just that some things were lost, some valuables were gone, but we'll get them back!"

While saying this, King Nian couldn't help but curse Bao Taishi in his heart, calling him a fool. How could he not know at all that thieves had broken into and taken away so many things from a perfectly good county government office, and even more than half of the county government office had been burned down!

Stupid, really stupid!

When the accident happened, no one knew where they were. If some precautions had been taken earlier, the county government office wouldn't have ended up in this mess!

King Nian was angry, but what angered him most was the person who had secretly made the move!

His eyes darkened slightly. That man was really courting death, knowing that the Northwest was his territory and that he, the Prince of Nian, was guarding this town.

They actually dared to come to Liancheng to commit all sorts of evil deeds, stealing chickens and dogs!

Was he a vegetarian when he was young?

Once he catches the man and finds the stolen goods, he will definitely have him skinned alive in the street in front of the entire Liancheng population, as a warning to others!

Is it because Liancheng and Northwest Taiping have been together for so long that everyone thinks he's easy to talk to?

They actually dared to make a move on his turf! They must have a death wish!

Despite his anger, he still admired the thief to some extent. Although he didn't respond to what Bao Taishi had just said, he had indeed listened carefully to it.

The entire county government office was completely emptied and half of it was burned down. The people inside the office didn't even have time to react. The thief's abilities should not be underestimated.

This skill is top-notch in the entire Dongling Kingdom; there are few like it in the world.

Although he had never seen the county government's patrols and guards in person, he had heard of them. The level of security was second only to his own Prince Lian's mansion.

Even the county government suffered such a heavy blow. If the thief had come to his Prince Lian's mansion yesterday, he wouldn't be able to guarantee that he would have been able to find the thief's trail.

He can't sleep peacefully if such a dangerous person isn't brought to justice.

This person is too capable. He can't sleep peacefully outside. If we can capture him and find a way to bring him under our control, he will have a great help!

Conversely, if he captures a thief and the man refuses to submit, he will kill him with a single stroke, thus eliminating any future trouble.

Bao Taishi knelt on the ground, listening to Prince Nian's words, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Prince Nian was going to take charge of this matter.

As long as Prince Nian takes action, the truth of this matter will most likely come to light. Prince Nian is very capable and has many people under his control. Finding a person or some items will be easy for him.

Unless the thief remains hidden and never shows himself, he will be discovered by the King of Nian's men once he does, and then his belongings should be able to be recovered.

Waaah, the thought of his entire county government office being completely emptied of its contents broke his heart.

The money and jewelry were minor matters; the real issue was the things in his storeroom.

The thought of the thing that had disappeared from the warehouse made him feel uneasy. His eyes darted around as he considered whether he should tell Prince Nian about it.

After all, having that thing stolen is a huge deal; it could cost you your life.

After much thought, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and said stiffly:

"Thank you, Your Highness. Also, Your Highness, there is something else I haven't told you yet."

The county government office was robbed; everything in the storeroom was stolen, except for my own belongings, the pile of coal that was previously stored there, and…”

"And what? Just say it! What are you stammering about? Coal can be stolen? Bao Taishi, do you want your head? Such a huge pile of coal, are all the people in your county government dead?!"

The king was so angry he almost jumped up.

That huge pile of coal—even if we had to steal it, we'd have to find a way to get it out!

This is bound to cause quite a stir!

It's impossible that there was absolutely no sign of it. With so many people under his command, how could Bao Taishi not have noticed anything? He seriously suspected that everyone in the county government office was dead on the night of the theft!

Knowing that the Prince would be angry, Bao Taishi was prepared to bear the wrath, so he gritted his teeth and told the rest of the story.

Whether it's a horizontal or vertical cut, it's still a cut; it's better to suffer later than sooner.

"Your Highness, besides the coal, there's also... a whole bunch of weapons in the storeroom, all of them are gone!"

Bao Taishi blurted out the rest of his words all at once.

The theft of the warehouse and the burning of the government office were minor matters; the real issue was the pile of weapons inside the warehouse.

When this pile of weapons was first placed in the county government office, Prince Nian said that it should not be shown to the public or to anyone. And he kept the weapons locked in the storeroom for many years without any problems.

No one had ever noticed it before. I never imagined that a single theft would lead to this!