I manage female characters in all the heavens.

The next day has arrived, and before he could report his mission to the supervisor, he was suddenly bombarded with this devastating news.

Pi Xiaotian grabbed one of the eunuchs who often served Cao Zhengchun and almost instinctively burned him on the spot, but he barely managed to restrain himself.

He angrily demanded, "What exactly happened? How could the Supervisor have disappeared? You don't even know where he went! Have you even served the Supervisor properly?"

The eunuch cried with a mournful face: "Master, spare my life! Yesterday, the Grand Eunuch brought Princess Yunluo here for a secret meeting. Afterwards, he instructed us to entertain the Princess well, and then he abandoned us and disappeared without a trace."

"With such high martial arts skills, we never thought there would be any problems. Let's just wait for him to come back. This isn't the first time he's done this."

"But we only realized something might have happened when the Supervisor still hadn't returned today, so we rushed here to report to you!"

"We really didn't know this would happen! Boss, please think of a way to bring the Supervisor back!"

The entire Eastern Depot can be roughly divided into two parts: civil and military. The civil part was headed by the Chief of the Thousand-Household Criminals, who was responsible for judicial interrogation, internal affairs management, and so on.

On the military side, there were the detectives, who were the backbone of the Eastern Depot's espionage activities. Led by Pi Xiaotian, they controlled the Eastern Depot's combat power.

The Chief Executioner was transferred from the Embroidered Uniform Guard; he wasn't even a eunuch and couldn't be considered one of Cao Zhengchun's confidants.

The one who was truly Cao Zhengchun's confidant and could be called the number two figure in the Eastern Depot was Pi Xiaotian.

The chief eunuch has gone missing. The news was reported to Pi Xiaotian, who was instructed to find him. There was no problem with that; the personal eunuchs did the right thing.

But Pi Xiaotian would rather they hadn't done the right thing!

Since this news has been reported to him, he has to deal with it.

But how could he know where to find Chief Supervisor Cao? There was simply no solution!

Combined with the news I heard last night about the earthquake at the palace...

It must have been that Commander Cao's meritorious deeds were so great that he defied the heavens and caused an earthquake, which resulted in divine retribution and his ascension to immortality!

Kidding.

Pi Xiaotian seemed to have lost all his strength, and he plopped back into his chair, running his hands into his hair, his face full of pain.

He knew very well the Chief Supervisor's martial arts skills and was extremely aware of his work ethic. If the Chief Supervisor hadn't run into trouble, he certainly wouldn't have remained silent for so long without leaving any trace.

The Grand Eunuch is probably dead.

He felt completely lost and helpless, having no idea what to do next.

The Eastern Depot became powerful under Cao Zhengchun's leadership. It can be said that Cao Zhengchun was the soul of the Eastern Depot, and only he had the ability to control this enormous power and make it function properly.

Now, having suddenly lost Cao Zhengchun, the Eastern Depot has lost not only a leader who gives orders, but also its direction and goals, as well as the confidence to stand against the world.

The Eastern Depot losing Cao Zhengchun is like a car losing its engine; the entire system will be paralyzed.

Pi Xiaotian is far from mature enough to handle the Eastern Depot, a weapon whose sharp edge is too exposed.

He could only do his best and leave the rest to fate, sending his men to search for Cao Zhengchun, hoping that a miracle would happen and the great Governor Cao would return unharmed.

Little did they know, this clearly exposed the information.

Rumors of the death of the Grand Eunuch spread like wildfire in the Eastern Depot, and it wouldn't be long before they reached outside the Eastern Depot, causing a stir in the court and among the people!

Pi Xiaotian knew that there was a very high chance that Governor Cao would not be able to return. In order to avoid being held accountable afterward, he had to report the news to the Emperor in a timely manner and ask him to make a decision.

The Eastern Depot was undoubtedly a weapon in the emperor's hand, its power entirely derived from the emperor. The disappearance of the Eastern Depot's chief supervisor was a grave matter, and if such a huge piece of news were kept from the emperor, he would be beheaded in no time.

He found the clerical staff of the Eastern Depot and asked them to polish the report he had hastily written before rushing off to the palace.

Pi Xiaotian was originally a eunuch in the Directorate of Ceremonial. He was sent to the Eastern Depot as a confidant to assist Cao Zhengchun after the emperor appointed Cao Zhengchun as the director of the Eastern Depot.

Now, returning to the palace, I can say I know the way like the back of my hand.

In the western garden of the imperial palace, at the Leopard Chamber government office, Zhu Houzhao, unusually, was not frolicking or playing around today. Instead, he took some time to deal with the government affairs that had been piling up for several months.

A large pile of memorials was stacked on his desk. He would randomly pick some to review, usually just glancing at them and writing a yes or no.

But there were some things that interested him, such as memorials concerning military matters. He would read them in detail, write them down, and give very detailed instructions, like micro-management across vast distances.

At this moment, he saw a memorial to the throne, the contents of which greatly interested him. He had some thoughts and couldn't help but share them with his younger sister who had come to visit him.

He shook the memorial in his hand and said with a smile, "The report from Liaodong says that recently small groups of Jurchen cavalry have repeatedly invaded the border and harassed the border towns."

"The Liaodong General wanted to take the initiative, but the army's equipment and warhorses had not been updated or replenished for a long time. Due to the wear and tear from daily high-intensity training and the losses from small-scale but protracted battles, the army was already running out of resources and could no longer equip itself with an elite army for a proactive attack."

Yunluo pursed his lips, thinking it was utter nonsense, a pure money-making scheme.

"Now, he is applying to the court for support in the form of supplies, armor, warhorses, and provisions, in order to arm an elite force to teach the Jurchen tribes a lesson."

This isn't from now at all; this is a memorial from three months ago...

"Yunluo, what do you think I should do?" Zhu Houzhao asked, a barely perceptible expectant smile on his face.

Yunluo put down the precious item she had just retrieved and been admiring from somewhere in the room, and said speechlessly:

"Brother, you don't need to ask me this insincerely. If you want to lead the army in person, then go ahead and do it. Don't expect to hear the answer you want from me."

"You have used me to go out of the palace to have fun several times. Every time the ministers ask about it, you say that it was my suggestion. Many ministers say that I am deceiving the emperor and harming the country. I am so wronged."

"You were the one who wanted to do all this, using me as a shield, and you didn't even take me with you when you went out to play. I won't fall for your tricks again!"

Zhu Houzhao was slightly embarrassed. It was indeed his fault for being so unfair, but he really didn't want to listen to the ministers' nagging, so he could only let his sister suffer.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Yunluo, you're quite clever. You've learned from your mistakes and your wisdom is gradually reaching the heavens."

"But this time, if you help me with this again, I'll take you to Liaodong to experience life in a border town that's completely different from life in the capital. How about that?"

Yunluo's eyes widened in surprise. "If you're going to talk about this, I won't be sleepy anymore."

You're taking me to Liaodong? That's wonderful!

She was worried that her progress in the central government was too slow, and with such a peerless master as Zhu Wushi around, there was no way to use special means. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty's ancestral precept that the empress's harem should not interfere in politics also greatly restricted her.

But if you take me to the border town, without Zhu Wushi's threat, I'll use the Three Corpse Brain God Pill and the Soul Transfer Technique to make the entire command system of the border town call me Your Majesty in a week. That's a piece of cake.

Controlling the entire command system of Liaodong Garrison means controlling the entire Liaodong Garrison's 100,000-strong army. With this kind of power, what's the point of advancing in the central government? It's much easier to storm the palace than to pass the imperial examination!

Of course, the theoretical strength is 100,000 troops, but the actual number is a complex issue.

But it's alright.

If you try to make money off Zhu Houzhao under the guise of military affairs, he will be overjoyed and personally lead an expedition to launch a real war, making you lose money.

The emperor will personally come to Liaodong. If you, the general, cannot muster the required 100,000 troops to be handed over to the emperor for command... Think carefully about the consequences. You will have to pay out of your own pocket to make up for the missing troops and return all the empty salaries you received before.

From now on, they will all be my soldiers, and not one can be missing!

"Brother, you must keep your word! You are the Emperor, and your word is law!"

Yunluo approached Zhu Houzhao with great seriousness.

"If you really can take me there, I'll bear the infamy of bringing disaster to the country and its people!"

"I was the one who ordered the allocation of supplies, I was the one who gave up the troops, I was the one who personally delivered the slanderous message about the emperor personally leading the expedition, and I was the one who begged and pleaded to be taken along. My brother only reluctantly agreed because he couldn't stand his sister's coquettishness."

"I'm being so sincere, you can't lie to me!"

Princess Zhu Houzhao stood with her hands on her hips, bowed slightly, and brought her face close to meet his gaze. She was lively, cute, and charmingly girlish.

Zhu Houzhao smiled. His adorable younger sister was already a source of joy, and now that she was willing to take the blame for him, he was truly delighted.

He waved his hand, about to promise to take her along.

Just then, a eunuch rushed in to report, interrupting him, saying that the Eastern Depot had urgent news to report and that Pi Xiaotian was waiting outside the hall.

Yunluo straightened up, thinking to herself that she had finally arrived. This was the original purpose of her visit to Zhu Houzhao today; Liaodong Town was just an unexpected bonus.

She's here to plot against the Eastern Depot!

Zhu Houzhao frowned slightly, thinking that the visitor had come to report on the progress of the case of the Empress Dowager's fright, and he was somewhat displeased.

He personally ordered the investigation, and any progress should indeed be reported to him promptly, but no matter what, it should have been Cao Zhengchun, the supervisor, who came in person.

Who is Pi Xiaotian? Does he even deserve to meet the Emperor? I won't see him!

The eunuch immediately saw through Zhu Houzhao's thoughts and quickly explained that Pi Xiaotian was also an old servant of the emperor, having served him since before his ascension to the throne, until a few years ago when the Eastern Depot was reorganized and he was sent there to assist Cao Zhengchun.

The implication is that Pi Xiaotian is Zhu Houzhao's true confidant, and his information must be extremely important.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao vaguely recalled the name; it was indeed one of his trusted eunuchs.

The reason I sent him to the Eastern Depot was not only to lend Cao Zhengchun a hand, but also to secretly keep an eye on him.

Now, Pi Xiaotian has come to report news to him alone, which obviously cannot be about the progress of a case.

Zhu Houzhao's eyes narrowed. Could it be that Cao Zhengchun betrayed me?

That was indeed urgent intelligence that we absolutely had to hear!

"Let him in."

As soon as Pi Xiaotian entered, he saw Princess Yunluo and the Emperor. Four pairs of eyes were fixed on him at the same time, as heavy as Mount Tai pressing down on him, making him unable to stand up straight. He quickly knelt down on the ground.

"This servant, Pi Xiaotian, greets Your Majesty and the Princess!"

Pi Xiaotian broke out in a cold sweat, feeling a sense of awe. It had been several years since he had seen the Emperor, and the Emperor's majesty was even more overwhelming than before. Just his gaze alone was enough to make him feel breathless and his heart tremble.

But in reality, there was no imperial majesty; it was merely his own psychological effect.

"Speak, what is it?" Zhu Houzhao said indifferently, pretending to review the memorials.

Pi Xiaotian quickly began his report according to the prepared script: "Yesterday..."

Since Yunluo was present, after much deliberation, he decided to omit the part that was originally in the manuscript: Cao Zhengchun had a private conversation with Princess Yunluo before disappearing alone.

In this matter, since the princess is here, she will speak up if she wants to, and if she doesn't want to speak up, reporting it herself would be the same as accusing the princess, especially to her face!

The disappearance of Governor Cao was certainly a major event, but offending the princess was an even bigger one. Pi Xiaotian could clearly distinguish between the two.

They are just servants. No matter how important a servant is, how can he compare to his master?

Upon hearing the news of Cao Zhengchun's disappearance, to Pi Xiaotian and "Yunluo's" surprise, Zhu Houzhao did not fly into a rage, but instead fell into a strange silence.

His fingers tapped rapidly on the table, revealing his unsettled state of mind.

He was lost in thought.

Cao Zhengchun was a tool he pushed up to check and balance Zhu Wushi and the Protectorate Manor.

Now that the knife is gone, but the Dragon Guard Manor is still intact, he has to wonder if this is a signal that the Divine Marquis has finally decided to stop pretending and is about to take action.

From the very beginning, he never trusted Zhu Wushi.

This was not only his intuition as an emperor, but also a warning from his father, the Hongzhi Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, before his death.