l.He knelt before the hall with a thud and shouted, "Your Highness, tens of thousands of refugees have poured into the outskirts of the capital. Driven by hunger, they stormed the southern camp of the...Chapter 31: The Treasury is Robbed

At this very moment, a flurry of footsteps echoed from outside the Xizheng Hall, followed by Xu Changqing's heart-wrenching shout, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! Your humble servant, Xu Changqing, has something urgent to report. I beg to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

The unexpected shout completely shattered the atmosphere Li Chen had carefully created in Xizheng Hall.

Liu Sichun seemed to have received a pardon, she darted away like a rabbit, keeping a safe distance. She bowed to Li Chen and hastily said, "This humble woman will take her leave."

After finishing his words, Liu Sichun opened the door to Xizheng Hall. Just then, Xu Changqing stumbled and rolled in. Seeing the panicked Xu Changqing, Liu Sichun glanced at him and hurriedly ran away.

If we don't leave soon, my reputation will be ruined.

While Liu Sichun narrowly escaped death, Li Chen was left holding a burning gun. What seemed like a sure thing ended up flying away just as it was about to be cooked.

He glared at Xu Changqing with extreme displeasure, suppressing the anger in his heart and gritted his teeth, "If you don't tell me something today, this palace will pluck your head off and use it as a chamber pot!"

Xu Changqing exclaimed in panic, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The Chen and Hu families had a total of four million taels of silver on hand, but it was all stolen!"

This sentence is short, but the content is like a bolt from the blue.

Li Chen widened his eyes, fury blazing in them. His rage was palpable as he fixed his icy gaze on Xu Changqing. "Four hundred thousand taels of silver right under the Emperor's nose! It would take half a day to carry it all, and you tell me it's been stolen!"

Xu Changqing's face turned pale. He felt the might of the Crown Prince like a tidal wave, crashing down on him one after another. Even the air around him seemed to solidify, making it hard for him to breathe.

With all his courage mustered, Xu Changqing said: "The four million taels of silver from the Hu and Chen families is not in Beijing. It is stored in their money house in Tongxian County. I was ordered to search all assets of the two families. After clearing the silver in the money houses of the two families in Tongxian County, I will make an account according to the regulations and then seal them up before transporting them to the national treasury."

“As I still had other assets to inventory and seal, I remained in Tongxian County and asked the county magistrate to dispatch yamen servants to send them to the capital. According to regulations, once outside Tongxian County, officials from the Ministry of Revenue would immediately take charge of the silver with an escort of soldiers. However, this batch of silver had just left Tongxian County and hadn't reached the borders of the capital when it was robbed by a group of people directly. All the yamen servants were killed without exception, and I rushed to the scene after hearing the news. All the silver had disappeared.”

"My heart is filled with fear, I dare not conceal anything. I immediately come to the crown prince to confess my guilt and beg for death!"

Xu Changqing, speaking, burst into tears and prostrated himself on the ground in a gesture of deep submission.

Li Chen's anger boiled over, but his mind remained remarkably calm. He said in a frigid tone: "What use is there in killing you now Even if you die, will the four hundred thousand taels of silver return! Who knows the route it was being transported on!"

"Apart from myself, the magistrate of Tongxian County also knows." Xu Changqing replied hastily.

"Where is everyone!" Li Chen gritted his teeth and asked.

Xu Changqing sensed the almost overwhelming killing intent in Li Chen's words. He shuddered and said, "Kneel outside the East Palace."

"Have him brought before me!"

Li Chen let out a roar of anger, and immediately, a chubby middle-aged man in the garb of a county magistrate, with disheveled hair and a terrified expression, scrambled to his feet and ran towards him outside the East Palace.

He bowed his head and hurried to the outside of Xizheng Hall. Seeing Li Chen in a crimson dragon robe, he didn't dare to look too much. With a thud, he knelt on the ground, his forehead colliding heavily with the bricks, making a dull sound.

"The humble official, Xu Jiuan, the county magistrate of Tongxian County, kowtows to His Royal Highness the Prince."

Li Chen strode up to Xu Jiuan and kicked him in the shoulder with a mighty kick.rtless and that the crown prince acting as regent was incompetent. But when the ninth prince came out to appease and provide relief at this time, he took all the good reputation for himself.In politic...