The Demon Prince

Xiao Xingyue flipped through the list, stopping in the middle:

"One page is missing."

Li Wangshu immediately avoided eye contact: "No."

Xiao Xingyue stared at her:

"My wife, I can tolerate you embezzling banknotes, but listing the embezzled items is going too far."

Li Wangshu blushed instantly, not because she had been exposed, but because his way of addressing her made her feel inexplicably itchy and strangely comfortable.

She gritted her teeth and said:

"Who is your wife? That page involves the old maternal relatives, and my mother said there's no need for you to see it."

Xiao Xingyue got up and left.

Li Wangshu panicked and grabbed his sleeve: "Where are you going?"

"Of course, we're going to find Princesses Six, Seven, and Eight." Xiao Xingyue gently tugged at his sleeve.

"Also, please have some self-respect, Ninth Princess, and don't pull or tug at each other."

Li Wangshu opened his mouth:

"You dare?"

Xiao Xingyue lowered his gaze and glanced at her full chest:

"The Jiang family wants the position in the Ministry of Rites, but they don't want me to touch anyone from the Jiang family."

"There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

Li Wangshu was both ashamed and angry. Finally, she took out a folded piece of paper from her sleeve:

"for you."

Xiao Xingyue opened it, and only one name stood out: Jiang Li, the uncle of Consort Shu, who had once been in charge of the examination hall's clerks and had close ties with Lu Chengzhang.

Li Wangshu lowered his voice:

"Your mother knows you are investigating Lu Chengzhang, but this person is involved with the Jiang family. If you find out about him, the Jiang family will definitely stop you."

Xiao Xingyue raised an eyebrow: "The Jiang family doesn't want the Ministry of Rites position anymore?"

Li Wangshu shook his head:

"Given the Jiang family's domineering nature, they naturally want both the position and to prevent this person from implicating the Jiang family. Even if he might have clues, they cannot act against him easily."

Xiao Xingyue carefully put the list away:

"Then I'll go find Princesses Six, Seven, and Eight."

Li Wangshu's eyes reddened:

"You're just trying to annoy me."

She got up to leave, but Xiao Xingyue wasn't buying her act at all.

When she reached the door, she saw that Xiao Xingyue was not moving, so she had to stop. Finally, she took a jade token from her waist and put it into Xiao Xingyue's hand.

The jade is warm and smooth, and the character "Jiang" is engraved on it.

"If Mother asks, I'll just say it's lost."

Xiao Xingyue stared at her, and she blushed, turning her head away.

"This token can be used to command some of the Empress Dowager's men, so don't use it recklessly."

Xiao Xingyue gripped the token:

"My wife has grown up."

Li Wangshu's cheeks flushed red:

"I'm just afraid you'll go around courting death and end up dying."

She turned and left as soon as she finished speaking, walking very quickly, as if any slower and people would see through her soft heart.

……

The morning bell tolls, clang clang clang.

Officials gathered, and oxen and horses went to work, standing in neat rows.

The atmosphere was rather awkward, with everyone secretly glancing at Xiao Xingyue.

The news that Xiao Xingyue was ordered to select officials for the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War, as well as the news that the Prince of Zhenguo's Mansion accepted gifts, had already spread throughout the capital.

Some people sent gold and silver, calling cards, and others used old acquaintances as a pretext to dig up distant ties between their ancestors and the Xiao family.

Overnight, the threshold of the Zhenguo King's Mansion was almost trampled apart.

They were naturally restless during the morning court session, eagerly awaiting the outcome.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, with beaded curtains hanging down. The candles inside the palace were still burning, and the morning light finally shone in from outside the palace doors.

Xiao Xingyue stood to the side of Wu Chen, wearing a plain court robe over his white robe, with a mourning belt tied around his waist.

This outfit stood out conspicuously among the purple and crimson robes of the officials throughout the hall.

Some people saw the mourning band and swallowed the words that were on the tip of their tongues, while others couldn't swallow them.

The old guard of the Ministry of War made the first move; the Vice Minister of War, with his half-white hair and beard, stepped out of the ranks and bowed with his hands clasped in salute.

"Your Majesty, the position of Minister of War has been vacant for a long time."

Military affairs cannot be left unattended for even a day. I urge Your Majesty to appoint a leader as soon as possible to reassure the troops.

No sooner had the words been spoken than someone from the Ministry of Rites stepped forward:

"Your Majesty, the matter of the Ministry of Rites official should not be delayed either."

The funeral of the Prince of Zhenwang, the documents for foreign reparations, and the old ceremonial cases in various places all require someone to preside over them. If this is delayed any longer, it may tarnish the dignity of the imperial court.

These words sound grand and dignified, but in reality, everyone understands them.

They weren't in a hurry to get things done; they were in a hurry to grab positions.

Cao Bi's old faction feared a reckoning, the remnants of the Ministry of Rites feared an overturning of the verdict, civil officials wanted to protect the Ministry of Rites, and military generals wanted to seize control of the Ministry of War...

Nobody is clean.

Soon, another censor stepped forward, his gaze falling on Xiao Xingyue:

"Your Majesty, I heard that yesterday the Prince of Zhen's mansion was bustling with visitors, and visiting cards from various families were piled up like mountains."

Since Your Highness has entrusted you with this important task, you should naturally be impartial and selfless. However, having received so many visiting cards, I dare to ask a question...

"These two casting choices won't just be decided by the highest bidder, will they?"

Many people in the hall lowered their heads, pretending not to hear.

Xiao Xingyue yawned:

"You'll have to be the one to handle this hermaphrodite role. From now on, I'd like to hand over the position of chief eunuch to you."

The censor's face darkened, and then a civil official stepped forward:

"The young prince is accomplished, and this is known throughout the court."

However, the Prince Zhenguo's Palace already holds the hearts of the old troops in the northern border. If it were to further interfere with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites, wouldn't that be going too far?

After these words were spoken, the hall finally fell silent.

Forming a faction and seizing power? That's no small accusation.

Qin Zhenyue stood at the front of the military officials, his brows furrowed deeply.

You little bastard, how are you going to respond this time?

If you choose someone from the Qin family, the civil officials and the Ministry of Rites will be dissatisfied; if you choose someone from the Jiang family, the Qin family and the military generals will be dissatisfied; if you choose someone from the Beitang family, the civil officials in the Ministry of Rites will be furious; if you choose someone who doesn't rely on anyone, everyone will join together to find fault with you!

His Majesty dumped this burden on you; did you really dare to accept it back then?

Qin Zhenyue was seething with anger. He thought of Xiao Junlin, that scoundrel who always managed to turn a dead end into a way out on the battlefield.

But the imperial court isn't a battlefield! It's full of cunning old foxes!

The emperor finally spoke:

"Xiao Xingyue, all the officials are asking."

Has the list been finalized?

Everyone looked at Xiao Xingyue, who then looked up:

"Reporting to Father Emperor, it has been drafted."

The slightest movement inside the hall caused some people to straighten their backs, some to have sweaty palms, and others to have gleaming eyes.

Xiao Xingyue raised his hand, and two eunuchs carrying the scrolls entered the hall.

With a thud, the first stack of files landed on the gold bricks, followed by another thud as the second stack was placed down.

The edges of the pages are yellowed, and the cover still bears the old seals of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites.

Xiao Xingyue looked at Li Shunhua:

"It's your turn."

Li Shunhua stepped out from the ranks of military officials, her back straight and her eyes sharp.

The white silk that was in front of the mourning hall of the Prince's Mansion yesterday is still tied to her wrist today.

She walked into the hall and bowed to the emperor:

"Father, I have something to report."

The emperor glanced at her:

"explain."

Li Shunhua opened the book in her hand, and as soon as the first page was unfolded, several Ministry of War officials in the hall changed their expressions.

"The list of wounded and disabled former soldiers of the Northern Frontier shows that during Cao Bi's tenure as Minister of War, a total of thirty-seven people were suppressed. Among them, twelve were missing limbs, five were blind, and sixteen were so weak and unable to continue serving in the army..."

Four more people died while awaiting their pensions!

Her voice was clear and cold, like a sharp knife, each word cutting through the dignity of some people:

"The compensation for those killed in action was delayed for three batches, and the resettlement funds for the former subordinates of the Prince of Zhenguo's Mansion were blocked for four years by the Ministry of War on the grounds that the documents were incomplete."

Similar old accounts also exist in the western border.

Your Majesty believes that, not only in the northern border regions, but also in all soldiers wounded for the Great Xia, and all those who died for the Great Xia on the frontier, their compensation should not be withheld by any government office!