Yan King's Mansion in Beiping City

  Zhu Dian and his family of six were resting in the garden, their eldest daughter Zhu Yu'e was chasing butterflies with the servants in a flower cluster, she played while beckoning her younger brother to come over.

  "Sister, sister wait for me." Two-year-old Zhu Gaogui struggled to walk through the flower bushes, his chubby body looking a bit scared next to the tall grass and trees. If it weren't for his older sister calling out to him up ahead, he would have run back to his father already.

  And only the one-year-old little girl in Zhu Di's arms was struggling, her legs kicking wildly, apparently also wanting to play with her brothers and sisters on the ground, but unfortunately Father held her tightly, she could only look at them enviously, making 'ah ah' sounds.

  At this time, Madam Xu's belly was already very obvious. The imperial physician had come to examine her a few days ago, and the midwife who would deliver the baby had also moved into the mansion early on. Everything was ready for the birth of the child.

  "Cough... cough..." A gust of wind blew by, and Xu Shi couldn't help but let out a few light coughs.

  "Dear wife, what's wrong? Are you unwell?" Zhu Di asked with concern.

  "Your Highness, don't worry, I'm fine. Dr. Ma has examined me and it's just a minor cold due to the chilly weather these past few days." Xu Shi patted Zhu Di's hand, indicating that he shouldn't be concerned.

  "It won't work out, you should take care of your body for now, let's just go back to the house." Zhu Di still thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

  Mrs. Xu smiled and shook her head, without answering, she just pointed to the two children who were still playing, listening to their occasional bursts of happy laughter.

  Zhu Di knew that his beloved wife loved the children dearly, and seeing that they were still in high spirits, he naturally didn't want to ruin their joyful mood, so he was unwilling to return to the house.

  "Someone, bring me that fur coat to give to the princess." Helplessly, Zhu Di could only follow her wishes and ordered a servant to add another layer of clothing for her just in case.

  While this family was enjoying a rare moment of domestic tranquility, a servant approached Zhu Di and said, "Your Highness, the Grand Historian has an audience to request."

  Zhu Bi could only glance at his beloved concubine with a hint of apology before walking out of the garden. Madam Xü shook her head, indicating that she didn't mind, knowing that her husband's identity made it impossible for them to enjoy time together like ordinary people, as Zhu Bi was not only her husband but also the prince of the Ming dynasty.

  ……

  "Your Highness, a swift horse has arrived from the Pinggu County bandit-suppressing army with an urgent message from Qiu Fu!" Zhou Chou slightly bowed and presented a letter and an account book.

  Zhu Dian first tore open the letter and took a look, his face suddenly turned cold, then picked up the account book again to flip through it.

  "Hmph!" Zhu Di slammed the account book on the table, "Look at this, this small bandit actually managed to get rid of a county magistrate!"

  Zhou Chao received the letter and account book, roughly glanced at it, then bowed his head and said: "Your Highness, whether what is said in this letter from Qiu Qianhu is true or false is still unknown. It's not necessarily believable to rely solely on the hearsay of a small flag."

  "Bo Xian, there are some things you don't know. Before I came to this place, I went back to my hometown in Fengyang and carefully examined all the grain tax collections and military reports from Beiping over the years. At that time, I discovered that the grain collection of a province like Beiping was surprisingly small, with excuses always being made about the harsh land and poor soil not being suitable for farming, resulting in very little output."

  But the officials who came to visit also reported that it was indeed so, so I didn't pay much attention to it, thinking that this border area really lacked food and didn't need the prosperity of the south. But today, after seeing the account book sent by Qiu Fu, I finally understood what's going on. All those excuses about not being suitable for farming were just pretexts. These people actually dared to sell the official grain, it's simply unforgivable!" Zhu Di's face was full of anger, and anyone who had just been accused of such a big thing would feel uncomfortable.

  "Bo Xian, immediately send a letter to Qiu Fu, telling him to bring Zhao Chuhai and others from Pinggu County to Beiping under guard."

  "This... Your Highness, there is no solid evidence for this matter yet. What was said earlier was just a speculation by the King of Yan. If we were to arrest the sixth-rank official of the imperial court without reason, it would likely lead to criticism." Zhou Chao continued to advise tactfully, understanding why Zhu Di had confirmed Zhao Chuhe's private sale of official grain, but he couldn't know that.

  When Zhu Di was about to leave Fengyang, he privately asked his father, the emperor, to borrow and examine the private files of the auditing office for the convenience of taking power in the vassal state. He knew that every year there were a large number of officials secretly selling official grain in Beiping, and this time when he saw this account book, it further confirmed that there were indeed many officials privately selling official grain in Beiping.

  But this matter is very big, and the people of the School Inspection Department have not yet investigated the mastermind behind the entire grain sales event. Zhu Yuanzhang also privately instructed Zhu Di to go to Beiping to secretly investigate this matter. Zhu Di was thinking of taking advantage of this opportunity to follow the trail and find out who was really behind it, he didn't want such a mole to exist in his own fiefdom.

  Zhou Chao saw that Zhu Di's mind was made up and no longer opposed, turned around to give Qiu Fu a reply letter. Just as he stepped out of the palace gate, a guard rushed in hastily.

  "Your Highness, Pinggu Qiu has urgent news!"

  "Huh?" Zhu Dian took over the military report with a puzzled expression, and upon reading it, he became extremely angry.

  This letter is about Zhao Chuhai's disappearance. Zhou Chao faintly heard Zhu Di's furious voice in his ear, "Useless! All useless! A scholar who can't even truss a chicken is unable to keep an eye on him... and yet he let Zhao Chuhai disappear..."

  Zhou Chao hastened his pace, now he knew that things seemed to be true, otherwise why would a sixth-rank county magistrate suddenly disappear without a trace...

  Beiping City Li Mansion

  This grand mansion is the residence of Li Yu, the newly appointed Right Administration Commissioner of the Beiping Provincial Administration Commission. At this moment, in the study of the Li Mansion, Zhao De, the current Procurator of Beiping, Li Feng, the Grain Intendant and Councillor, Yan Zong, the Director of the Imperial Register and Councillor, Wu Shi and others are all present. Including Li Yu, it can be said that half of the officials from the Beiping Provincial Administration Commission have arrived.

  This group of people all looked ugly, silently sitting in the study room. Li Yu tasted a mouthful of tea and coldly said to the group: "Do you have any opinions now? The account book of Pinggu County has been sent to the mansion of Prince Yan, who knows what will be implicated, Yan Can Zheng, this Zhao Chuhai is your student, don't you say something?"

  "In my humble opinion, this matter must be resolved as soon as possible, and not allowed to ferment and produce even greater consequences. As for that useless student of mine..." Yan Zong trailed off, his eyes narrowed.

  Everyone understands that no matter what the outcome of this matter is, Zhao Chuhao must disappear from now on. If he is caught by King Yan's men, the consequences will be unbearable for everyone. At that time, all the dignitaries present in this study may not escape being taken to the heavenly court.

  Seeing the tacit consent of others, Li Yu nodded slightly: "Everyone can rest assured, I have already sent someone to take care of this matter, and news should arrive soon."

  Just as the officials had just breathed a sigh of relief, Li Yu's voice rang out coldly again: "However! I hope this is the last time you make a mistake. After this matter, you'd better remind those people below to be more careful when doing things. I don't want to have to go through another heavenly trial at the age of almost 70..."

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