good season

The more Liu Wang thought about it, the more he hated himself, not the Imperial Guards.

He was too timid; he only dared to think about those 500,000 taels of silver, but dared not actually take them.

Liu Wang thought of the deceased Zhang Hui. Yes, he couldn't let Zhang Hui die in vain. He and Zhang Hui were brothers, and he couldn't let Zhang Hui die in vain.

He lacks the ability, but the Fourth Prince does. The Fourth Prince will surely be able to get all 500,000 taels of silver, and then he can also get a share. With the money, he can appease Zhang Hui's family and choose a good burial site for Zhang Hui.

Yes, it was for Zhang Hui!

Liu Wang could no longer sit still, so he went to see the Fourth Prince.

It would be impossible for the Fourth Prince not to feel uneasy after losing ten ships.

This was the first time he had been given such an important task, and the lost grain had been transported from Huiji Granary.

The fourth prince paced around the room a few times before finally looking out the window.

Li Qing was talking to several Imperial Guards, clearly arranging the search for the missing person.

The fourth prince breathed a sigh of relief; at least the Embroidered Uniform Guard could take the blame.

The grain was being transported by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Since the Embroidered Uniform Guard lost the grain along with it, they couldn't be held responsible.

With a weight lifted from his heart, the Fourth Prince felt much lighter. If he weren't worried about catching the plague, he would have liked to go out for a walk.

He's a young man, and naturally can't stay idle. He's been forced to stay home these past few days, and he feels unwell all over.

Just then, Liu Wang requested an audience. Although the Fourth Prince disliked the You family, he was quite satisfied with Liu Wang, whom the You family had recommended to him.

Liu Wang didn't have any of the You family's bad habits. He was smart, quick-witted, perceptive, and sensible, and would never cause them any trouble.

But Liu Wang, standing before me, had red eyes, clearly having just been crying.

"Little Liu, what's wrong with you? Did those thieves scare you?" the Fourth Prince teased.

Liu Wang looked around seriously. The Fourth Prince waved his hand, and the eunuchs in the room silently withdrew, and the door closed again.

The fourth prince laughed and asked, "What's going on? Why are you being so mysterious?"

Liu Wang knelt down with a thud: "Your Highness, please avenge Zhang!"

The fourth prince hated hearing the word "revenge" the most.

What revenge?

Whom can I, as a prince, avenge?

My legs are two or three inches shorter than each other, and I want to seek revenge, but is it possible? No!

Because it was my father, the emperor, who ruined me!

So don't mention revenge in front of me, it makes me angry!

No one knew the Fourth Prince's preferences better than Liu Wang. Seeing the anger in the Fourth Prince's eyes, he continued, "Your Highness, Zhang Hui, Zhang Hui, he was killed by those Imperial Guards, and they stole a whole 100,000 taels of silver!"

The Fourth Prince thought he had misheard. Wasn't Zhang Hui kidnapped by bandits along with those Imperial Guards, and his body never seen again?

"Get up and answer me! What exactly happened?"

Liu Wang wiped away his tears, stood up, and recounted, with embellishments, how Yang Fanding sold disaster relief grain, killed Zhang Hui to silence him, and tried to kill Mr. Dai to steal his money.

The Fourth Prince's expression changed drastically. No wonder he felt something was off when Yang Fan told him that. Now he understood that it was because Yang Fan was lying.

"Go and summon Li Qing. I want to question him myself!"

Liu Wang quickly stopped him: "Your Highness, Yang Fan and Ding Gao are just lowly flag officers, how could they have such audacity? This is 100,000 taels of silver! If you say that no one is behind this, I will never believe it!"

The Fourth Prince narrowed his eyes slightly: "You suspect that Li Qing is behind them?"

Liu Wang nodded: "Your Highness, think about it. Besides you, only Commander Li has the ability and the courage!"

This time, the Fourth Prince remained silent for a long time. When he finally spoke, he didn't mention Li Qing, but instead asked, "You said that the merchant surnamed Dai originally prepared 600,000 taels?"

Liu Wang suppressed his joy and said, "This was raised by several merchants. They used 100,000 taels to test the waters, but they didn't expect to encounter Li Qing, who is unethical, causing them to lose 100,000 taels for nothing. That Boss Dai almost lost his life."

The fourth prince pondered for a moment, then asked, "Where is the man surnamed Dai?"

“He was rescued by the yamen runners of Tongzhou and is now in the manor. If you wish to see him, I will call him here right away.”

As Liu Wang was about to leave, the Fourth Prince stopped him, saying, "He is not worthy of being summoned by this prince. Go see him and ask him what he thinks. With so much silver, it will be difficult for him to take it away."

Liu Wang hurriedly said, "Your Highness, rest assured, as long as this man surnamed Dai isn't a fool, he'll know who can protect him now."

For a merchant who has been targeted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the only one who can protect him is the Fourth Prince.

The fourth prince waved his hand: "Go. If he dares to ask for more money, let him fend for himself."

Liu Wang was overjoyed. The man surnamed Dai was not only not stupid, but also very capable. Now he had reached a dead end. If he did not cooperate with the Fourth Prince, he would just have to wait to be taken advantage of by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Liu Wangxing left in a hurry, but the Fourth Prince was very excited.

This is no small sum; it's five hundred thousand taels of silver!

Not only him, but even his father would not remain indifferent.

The third and fifth princes are so proud of themselves for earning seventy or eighty thousand taels of silver with Young Master Zhen. If they knew that I, the prince, could earn five hundred thousand taels of silver in one trip, they would be so angry they would vomit blood.

Of course, the fifth prince no longer even has the chance to speak to me. As for the third prince, after this mission, he probably won't be able to speak to his father and mother either.

The fourth prince became increasingly smug, and Liu Wang did not disappoint him. After several rounds of negotiations, Boss Dai had no choice but to relent, not only negotiating the price but also agreeing to several of Liu Wang's unreasonable demands.

When you're under someone's roof, you have no choice but to compromise and make do; otherwise, don't even think about leaving the village unscathed.

That night, Xiao Zhen returned to the mountain in the middle of the night, only to find Zhao Xingzhou lying on his bed, snoring loudly.

Looking at the person sprawled out on the bed, Xiao Zhen was momentarily dazed. It turned out that the Emperor Emeritus also snored in his sleep, and it was deafeningly loud.

Besides snoring, his feet also smell terrible!

Xiao Zhen felt sorry for his blanket. He wasn't a germaphobe, but he really didn't want to sleep on a smelly blanket anymore.

Xiao Zhen nudged Zhao Xingzhou a few times before finally waking him up.

Zhao Xingzhou rubbed his eyes and saw that it was Xiao Zhen who had pushed him. He said irritably, "Do you know how tired I am today? Don't bother me!"

Turn over and go back to sleep.

Xiao Zhen had no choice but to spend the night with Da Zhuang and the others.

The next day, Xiao Zhen woke up to find Zhao Xingzhou gone. He was eager to know what kind of work Zhao Shiqing had assigned to Zhao Xingzhou that had exhausted him so much.

After asking a few people, Xiao Zhen learned that Zhao Xingzhou was helping Granny Sun take care of her child, so she decided to go and see him.

But before they could find Zhao Xingzhou, they heard Grandma Sun's loud voice: "You old fool, what are you dawdling for? I told you to wipe the child's bottom, why haven't you gone yet? The child is playing with poop!"

Then, Zhao Xingzhou's voice was heard: "You child, why are you playing with poop? You've smeared it everywhere!"

The child burst into tears, and Grandma Sun's scolding resumed: "Why are you scolding the child? It's clearly your fault! Who told you not to wipe the child's bottom? Go get some water to wash the child! Why did you get cold water? Warm water, warm water! Are you stupid?"

Xiao Zhen suppressed a laugh, turned around, and left.

When you're needed to be a good father, you choose to be an emperor; when you're needed to be a good emperor, you choose to be a Taoist priest. Fine, whatever.

Xiao Zhen didn't even get to see Zhao Shiqing before hurriedly heading down the mountain again.

He didn't actually have to come back, but he wanted Zhao Shiqing to know that he was alright and nothing had happened to him.

Even if they never meet, as long as she knows he came back, that's enough.

Inside the Huang family mansion.

The men Li Qing sent out returned, but Ding Gao and the others, along with the ten boats, still hadn't been found.

Li Qing did not report this matter to the Fourth Prince. He ordered Yang Fan to be kept under guard, as he always felt that there was something fishy about the matter.

At this moment, the fourth prince sent someone to invite him over.

"Commander Li, have those nineteen people been found?" the Fourth Prince asked, knowing the answer already.

Li Qing shook her head: "Still no clue."

The Fourth Prince sighed: "Losing so many Imperial Guards at once, not only you, but I am also to blame. Alas, I don't know how I will face my father and Commander Han when I get back."

Li Qing hurriedly said, "This has nothing to do with Your Highness; it is my duty."

The Fourth Prince shook his head: "No, I also bear responsibility. Here's what we'll do, Commander Li, tomorrow you will personally lead men to search for them. We must find them alive or dead, and bring them back with us!"

Li Qing became suspicious. Yesterday, he wanted to go find the person himself, but the Fourth Prince refused, worried that he would be left unprotected.

Why did the Fourth Prince change his mind after just one night?
The fourth prince was already in tears: "They are just like you and me, sons, husbands, and fathers. If they can be found, whether they are alive or not, it will be a blessing for the country and the family."

It's better if they're alive. If what's found is a body, then they've died in the line of duty, and their parents, wife, and children can all receive compensation.

But if they are like this, nowhere to be found, dead or alive, then what are they?
They certainly can't be considered to have died in the line of duty. What about their families?

The more the Fourth Prince spoke, the more heartbroken he became. Li Qing also felt bad. He hadn't expected that the Fourth Prince would actually care about these ordinary Imperial Guards.

Yes, even if all that is found is a corpse, it is still considered a death in the line of duty. Not only will the family receive compensation, but their children and nephews can also continue to serve in the Embroidered Uniform Guard through their connections.

But what if even the body can't be found?
Of course, he would try his best to fight for them, but it would be fraught with difficulties. It depended on whether the higher-ups would investigate. If they did, it would be considered dereliction of duty, and they might even be suspected of colluding with thieves.

"Very well, Your Highness, rest assured, I will certainly not fail in my mission!"

Li Qing led his men away overnight, and the Fourth Prince finally felt relieved.

He used to rely on the Embroidered Uniform Guard for everything, almost forgetting that besides the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he also had his own bodyguards.

These guards were all from his palace, and many of them were extremely loyal.

The fourth prince quickly selected thirty men, led by Liu Wang, and also took Lao Dai with them. They set off at dawn.

Li Qing is only temporarily away and will return in three to five days at most, so the Fourth Prince decided to take advantage of Li Qing's absence to get things done, and thus decided to make a big move.

This time, the Fourth Prince directly transferred fifty ships of disaster relief grain from the Huiji Granary, which surprised the granary officials: "Why transfer so much at once?"

Liu Wang raised his chin high: "Gentlemen, you sit there chatting and drinking tea, of course you can't understand the suffering of the people of Tongzhou, who are in dire straits, starving and freezing. The people are suffering, their homes have been destroyed, their fields have been destroyed, their wives and children have been separated, and their children's bellies are swollen from hunger. Do you know why? Because they ate Guanyin clay!"
What about those people who can't even get Guanyin clay? They resort to cannibalism!
In Tongzhou, starving people can be seen everywhere. Alas, the Fourth Prince, worried about the country and its people, has fallen ill.

So, shouldn't we ensure that people have enough to eat? Shouldn't we?

The ambassadors dared not speak; if they asked any more questions, they would be seen as having malicious intentions.

Huiji Granary has grain, but it's not something that can be filled all at once for fifty boats. Liu Wang had already considered this, and they would stay here tonight.

Right outside the Huiji Granary was the official post station, where officials who came to Huiji Granary to collect grain were received.

After Liu Wang and his group settled down there, Old Dai came to see Liu Wang: "Young Master Liu, please take me to Baofeng City. I need to prepare the money."

This was agreed upon beforehand. Of course, Liu Wang was not comfortable with Lao Dai going alone, so he sent four people, ostensibly for protection, but in reality for escort.

Old Dai is a businessman, and no businessman is without cunning; Liu Wang cannot completely trust him.

After seeing Lao Dai off, Liu Wang set up a table at the official post station, invited several courtesans to sit with him, and invited the granary magistrate of Huiji Granary and his manager to come over. After a round of drinks, they became sworn brothers and couldn't be closer.

The next morning, Liu Wang's boat was placed first in line and given priority for loading.

Liu Wang personally supervised the work, working up a sweat.

Liu Wang was unaware that while he was indulging in revelry with the people from Huiji Cang last night, Xiao Zhen had also checked into this official post station.

Along with Xiao Zhen, there was another person Liu Wang never dreamed of moving in: Li Qing!

That night, Li Qing left the manor and encountered Xiao Zhen, who had been waiting for him.

The blazing torches illuminated Xiao Zhen's face, making it appear both real and unreal, almost unreal.

Li Qing was stunned for a moment. He had always been curious as to why Xiao Zhen was still alive.

As the commander, he had personally witnessed Xiao Zhen's body back then.

Although the corpse had been gnawed by wild beasts to the point that its original appearance was unrecognizable, its build and clothing clearly identified it as Xiao Zhen.

But two years later, Xiao Zhen stood alive and well in front of him, just like that day, and just like tonight.

"Young Master Xiao, what are you doing here?"

Xiao Zhen smiled and said, "I would like to invite Commander Li to watch a good show. I wonder if Commander Li would be willing to do me the honor?"

Although Li Qing didn't know what Xiao Zhen was up to, she still agreed.

It wasn't that he trusted Xiao Zhen, but rather that he didn't believe Yang Fan's words; he needed the truth.

They checked into the official post station, and soon Li Qing learned that Liu Wang was also staying at the same post station and was hosting a banquet for the people of Huiji Granary.

Judging by the time, Liu Wang set off from the manor no sooner had he left than he did.

The Fourth Prince deliberately lured him away, then sent Liu Wang to Huiji Granary to requisition grain. (End of Chapter)